Mentoring interdisciplinary undergraduate students via a team effort

We describe how a team approach that we developed as a mentoring strategy can be used to recruit, advance, and guide students to be more interested in the interdisciplinary field of mathematical biology, and lead to success in undergraduate research in this field. Students are introduced to research in their first semester via lab rotations. Their participation in the research of four faculty members-two from biology and two from mathematics-gives them a first-hand overview of research in quantitative biology and also some initial experience in research itself. However, one of the primary goals of the lab rotation experience is that of developing teams of students and faculty that combine mathematics and statistics with biology and the life sciences, teams that subsequently mentor undergraduate research in genuine interdisciplinary environments. Thus, the team concept serves not only as a means of establishing interdisciplinary research, but also as a means of incorporating new students into existing research efforts that will then track those students into meaningful research of their own. We report how the team concept is used to support undergraduate research in mathematical biology and what types of team-building strategies have worked for us.     

‘I like the sound of that’ – an evaluation of providing audio feedback via the virtual learning environment for summative assessment

This study aims to ascertain student and staff attitudes to and perceptions of audio feedback made available via the virtual learning environment (VLE) for summative assessment. Consistent with action research and reflective practice, this study identifies best practice, highlighting issues in relation to implementation with the intention of redesigning activities in the light of the findings. It utilises four case studies where audio feedback was provided to students using the Wimba voice authoring tool within Blackboard Learn+ for various types of summative assessment. The intention was to identify how and in what context audio feedback via the VLE is effective and why. The research was undertaken via a combination of techniques, including a student survey and staff reflective logs. The findings indicate that students liked the convenience, effectiveness, flexibility and personalised nature of this feedback, but raised concerns with some aspects of the technology. This paper also makes practical recommendations for the use of the feedback mechanism, focusing on the most effective use of the digital medium, and highlights directions for future research.     

Propagation from the start: the spread of a concept-based instructional tool

We describe the propagation of a technology-based educational innovation through its first 3 years of public use. The innovation studied is the Concept Warehouse (CW), a database-driven website developed to support the use of concept-based pedagogies. This tool was initially developed for instructors in undergraduate chemical engineering courses, but has spread to other disciplines as well. In this time, it has grown to over 650 registered instructors representing over 170 institutions. While this study is specific to a particular case, the intent of this article is to provide an exemplar of real-time propagation that informs other researchers and developers. We frame our analysis with Diffusion of Innovation Theory and use a design research methodology that focuses on communication channels, types of knowledge, and stages of the innovation-decision process. Data sources include usage records and survey responses which are analyzed with network diagrams and non-parametric statistics. We find that in comparison to mass media, interpersonal communications tended to result in higher proportions of how-to knowledge and implementation. Three types of opinion leaders were identified through user data and network diagrams. All played critical roles in the tool’s propagation, especially the project collaborators—opinion leaders who actively promoted the CW, in part, because it also propagates their own innovations. Finally, users with self-identified prior principles knowledge showed statistically significantly greater progress in gaining how-to knowledge, but no significant difference in progressing to the implementation stage of the innovation-decision process when compared to users without.     

Narrative construction of professional teacher identity of teachers with dyslexia

This paper considers the development of teachers’ professional identity in the context of educators that have diverse backgrounds. We elucidate how teachers with dyslexia working in tertiary education use narrative resources to construct and negotiate their professional teacher identities. The analysis of narrative interviews, interpreted within the framework of positioning theory and the theories of narrative identity, indicated that the interviewees constructed several professional teacher identities that were closely linked to each teacher’s perception of their dyslexia. The experience of dyslexia was clearly evident as a positive element in each identity. Instead of seeing it as an obstacle it can become a part of the teacher’s own identity and can be used as a tool to thrive in their profession.     

Formative assessment of procedural skills: students’ responses to the Objective Structured Clinical Examination and the Integrated Performance Procedural Instrument

Assessment of clinical skills is a critical element of undergraduate medical education. We compare a traditional approach to procedural skills assessment – the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with the Integrated Performance Procedural Instrument (IPPI). In both approaches, students work through ‘stations’ or ‘scenarios’ undertaking defined tasks. In the IPPI, all tasks are contextualised, requiring students to integrate technical, communication and other professional skills. The aim of this study was to explore students’ responses to these two assessments. Third‐year medical students participated in formative OSCE and IPPI sessions on consecutive days. Although performance data were collected in both assessments, quantitative data are not presented here. Group interviews with students were conducted by independent researchers. Data were analysed thematically. The OSCE and the IPPI were both valued, but for different reasons. Preference for the OSCE reflected the format of the summative assessment. The IPPI was valued for the opportunity to practise patient‐centred care in a simulated setting which integrated technical, communication and other professional skills. We posit that scenario‐based assessments such as the IPPI reflect real‐world issues of patient‐centred care. Although the limitations of this study prevent wide extrapolation, we encourage curriculum developers to consider the influence of assessments on what and how their students learn.     

Changes in instructors' assessment thinking related to experimentation with new strategies

Formative assessment has been recognised as a critical element in teaching for conceptual development. A case study research design was employed to: (1) characterise the assessment thinking of three science instructors at a research‐based university; and (2) examine the complex relationship between instructor thinking and practice by encouraging experimentation with alternative assessment strategies. Interviews, reflective journals, field notes and course documents were the data sources used to create a single case study that documented the development of these university instructors’ assessment thinking during their experimentation with formative assessment strategies. Throughout two semesters of experimentation, the instructors’ assessment thinking became more sophisticated; they grew to view the purpose of assessment less as a summative activity used for the assignment of marks and more as a tool for diagnosing student learning. However, more sophisticated thinking was not associated with revisions in teaching practice based on formative assessment data. Further investigations are needed to more completely understand the nature of assessment thinking and how assessment thinking influences assessment practices. Implications for professional development of university‐level science instructors include personalised experiences through which instructors can become active participants in gathering evidence of student learning that promotes growth in assessment thinking.