Motivation,Confidence, and Control; Unraveling Active Learning for Nutrition and Food Undergraduates

Abstract: Nutrition and food students at Sheffield Hallam University completed an “active learning” assessment as part of a final year module, Applied Nutrition 2. The purpose of the “active learning” assessment was to encourage and enhance learner autonomy. The assessment consisted of 5 main stages: a briefing, thought shower, oral business proposal presentation, a feedback stage, and Nutrition Fair. To assess learner autonomy, levels of motivation, confidence, and control were quantitatively and qualitatively monitored throughout the learning journey. The results showed that levels of confidence, motivation, and control increased following each stage and significantly across the learning journey. However, there were significant gender differences in terms of achievement of marks and in levels of motivation at various stages. On average, females achieved higher marks in certain assessments and they demonstrated higher levels of motivation after the initial briefing. Further, significant differences were also reported between different degree routes in terms of achievement of marks and levels of confidence, motivation, and control. “Active learning” has been shown to foster improved levels of confidence, motivation, and control in a cohort of nutrition and food students, contributing to overall learner autonomy. Graduates able to demonstrate such qualities will undoubtedly be welcomed by employers in the relevant sectors.     

Using learning analytics to assess student engagement and academic outcomes in open access enabling programmes

Curriculum design, teaching methods, assessments and range of academic support need to be inclusive in Open Access Enabling courses. The findings of this study confirm a correlation between student access to online learning materials and a positive impact on grades in science courses. More specifically, students who frequently use the online learning system to access materials have better assessment and exam results.     

Discourse Analysis and Multimodal Meaning Making in a Science Classroom: Meta-Methodological Insights from Three Theoretical Perspectives

Research in Science Education - This article provides rich insights into the process of data generation for discourse analysis from three separate studies of the video recordings of a single...     

Ethnic Differences in Course Choices

The aim of this study was to examine the lack of participation of Asian‐Australian students in humanities courses in contrast with students of other nationalities. In addition, this study investigated the difficulties faced by Asian‐Australian students in humanities courses. Focus group interviews were conducted with groups of Asian students to explore reasons for course choices and a questionnaire was developed out of interview responses. The questionnaire, in the form of closed‐ and open‐ended questions, was administered to 173 students from an Australian technological university. These students participated in different courses and were from various ethnic groups. The results suggested that students from different ethnic groups differed in their reasons for course choices. The responses from the questionnaire highlighted the unique difficulties faced by Asian‐Australian students undertaking humanities courses.     

Expecting penises in Chatroulette: Race,gender, and sexuality in anonymous online spaces

ABSTRACT

As a femme woman of color, I employ critical autoethnography based on my participant observation within Chatroulette for a qualitative study on how online impressions through web cameras with strangers are formed in quick bursts of time. Chatroulette’s anonymity adds interesting context for impression creation in an online environment that emphasizes ocularcentrism of the embodied self. This article adds to methodologies of self-care for the qualitative researcher by positioning the issue of self-care in the online field, where “regular” interactions based on race, gender, sexuality, and more may leave autoethnographers from marginalized communities especially vulnerable. This study complicates the conceptual boundaries of “audience,” “participation,” and “observation” for online autoethnographic research. This research contributes to impression formation theory by focusing on the importance of the body in immediate, one-time impression constructions with conversational partners online. Race, gender, and sexuality impact online communication, even when a word is not even said.     

Student-Created Curricular and Co-Curricular Pathways Toward Participation in a Diverse Democracy

This study explored the ways in which undergraduate students intentionally navigate complex curricular and co-curricular choices in preparation for engaging in a diverse democracy. Our study examined these choices among students at a university that lacks formal structures to facilitate these choices. Four curricular and co-curricular pathways that exemplify particular forms of the student experience across disciplines emerged and are discussed.