A taxomony of Engineering Design tasks and its applicability to university Engineering Education

Engineering Design is rightfully regarded as a key element within all university Engineering courses and most laboratory assignments and project work seek to optimise the student's acquisition of knowledge and understanding of this process. Within this paper Engineering Design has been classified into a new 'hierarchy of task level' each one defined by an increased degree of design freedom that an Engineer has to consider. It is argued that this classification accurately reflects the varying complexity of tasks found within real world industrial environment. The optimal matching of these task levels to university course assignments is discussed and limitations identified. The need for further design experience within a wider industrial context is shown to be essential if the nature of design freedom is to be fully appreciated by the next generation of professional Engineers.     

Selecting the Qualified: A Standards-Based Teacher Education Admission Process

A standards-based admission process for qualifying caring and competent candidates for teacher preparation is presented. The major elements of the admission process include prerequisite standards that address the knowledge, dispositions, and skills candidates should possess upon entrance to the teacher education program; multiple assessments that evaluate the prerequisite standards; and an admission interview process that involves collaboration of arts and sciences faculty, education faculty, undergraduate students, and professionals from the field. A unique aspect of the admission process is its strong focus on dispositional standards. Emphasis is placed on qualifying future teachers into teacher education programs based upon demonstrated evidence of their meeting defensible and education community supported admission standards.     

Advocacy for gender minority students: recommendations for school counsellors

Abstract

Research shows that teachers’ and educators’ responses to gender diversity issues in schools either improves or limits the experiences of students. The school counsellor has an important role to play in this process by working closely with other stakeholders to advocate for transgender, intersex and genderqueer (TIG) students. Following a review of recent developments in the USA, recommendations are made and resources identified to assist school counsellors in validating TIG students, and improving school systems in pursuit of their academic, social and emotional success.     

The effect of gender composition of faculty on student retention

The gender composition of faculty is an important issue on many campuses. Substantial efforts are taken by colleges to hire a diverse faculty where women are equitably represented. Several papers suggest that female faculty can act as role models for female students. This issue is particularly emphasized in science and engineering programs. However, empirical research finds mixed support for this hypothesis. We provide a new test of this issue by examining whether female students have higher first-year retention rates when a greater percentage of their classes are taught by female faculty. There is a positive relationship between retention of female students and the percentage of their science and mathematics classes taught by female faculty. Also faculty gender has a greater impact on female students when their classes have few female students. Thus this study provides support for gender-based programs for hiring.     

Accountability and Student Learning

Holding teachers accountable for other people's (students) behavior is inappropriate policy that results in ineffective teaching, diminished enthusiasm for learning, and lower levels of achievement. There are both legal and psychological reasons for this. Making teachers responsible for students' behavior absolves students of responsibility for their own actions and develops an externalized locus of control in students that leads to teacher control and student dependence. Because every person is accountable for his or her own behavior but not for what other people do, teachers must be held accountable for what they do as teachers but not for what their students do as learners. Students are responsible for their own learning.     

Using ROI to demonstrate performance value in the public sector

The demand for accountability through measurement continues to increase. Although much progress has been made, it remains an issue that challenges even the most sophisticated and progressive performance improvement function. This article provides an overview of best practices in the return‐on‐investment process and describes how applying these measurement practices can have a positive impact on organizational performance and the credibility of performance improvement professionals in the public sector.     

Preservice and inservice teachers’ perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure

This study investigated preservice and inservice teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure. A sample of 180 preservice teachers and 135 preK-12 teachers participated in the study. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups of teachers in their perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure in the three dimensions: Uncommon Topics, Uncommon Purposes, and Consideration of Students. No significant differences were found in the two dimensions: Common Topics and Common Purposes. This study makes an excellent contribution to the theoretical framework of the study of teacher self-disclosure and also provides implications for teaching and teacher education.     

Conserving and managing animals that learn socially and share cultures

Socially learned behavior can be a crucial factor in how animals interact with their environment and, thus, in conservation and management. For species in which social learning and culture are important determinants of behavior, several factors complicate conservation and management. These include the rapid spread of novel behavior through social learning, the inhibition of adaptive behavior because of cultural conformism, the evolution of maladaptive behavior, and the development of culturally isolated but sometimes sympatric groups. These factors can affect habitat suitability, movements, how animals react to anthropogenic effects, and genetic structures. Social learning and culture may be important factors in translocation success, and should sometimes be considered when delineating population units for conservation and management. We should aim to protect cultural as well as genetic diversity. Unfortunately, clear data on social learning and culture in the wild are scarce. Hence, the ideas and methods outlined in this special issue have great potential.