How do students define their roles and responsibilities in online learning group projects?

The goal of this study was to explore the processes of group role formation in online class settings. Qualitative analysis was used to code chat logs and discussion threads in six undergraduate Family and Consumer Sciences online courses that required online group projects. Four themes related to the process of group role formation emerged: testing the waters, apologies as being nice, tag – you’re it, and struggling to find one’s role. Students created roles of leader, wannabe, spoiler, agreeable enabler, coat‐tails, and supportive worker as the group process evolved over the course of the semester. Results lend support for a balance between allowing students to create and experience roles on their own and faculty assignment of roles. Questions are raised related to faculty approaches toward directing and scaffolding the group process.     

Integrated carbon fiber electrodes within hollow polymer microneedles for transdermal electrochemical sensing

In this study, carbon fiber electrodes were incorporated within a hollow microneedle array, which was fabricated using a digital micromirror device-based stereolithography instrument. Cell proliferation on the acrylate-based polymer used in microneedle fabrication was examined with human dermal fibroblasts and neonatal human epidermal keratinocytes. Studies involving full-thickness cadaveric porcine skin and trypan blue dye demonstrated that the hollow microneedles remained intact after puncturing the outermost layer of cadaveric porcine skin. The carbon fibers underwent chemical modification in order to enable detection of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid; electrochemical measurements were demonstrated using integrated electrode-hollow microneedle devices.     

Creating Positive Lived Experiences in Schools for International Relocatee Parents and Their Children

Early Childhood Education Journal - Children benefit from strong home–school relationships. Yet, parents who are immigrants and refugees are expected to follow frameworks for school...     

Teachers’ resilience and well-being: a role for educational psychology

The retention and resilience of teachers are subject to many influences. Children’s behaviour is often cited as a major source of stress for teachers and a challenge to their resilience. We suggest that an understanding of teachers’ attributions and efficacy beliefs may provide the foundations for work to support teachers. We outline findings from research that has examined teachers’ attributions for the causes of children’s misbehaviour, teachers’ beliefs in their efficacy as classroom managers of children’s behaviour as well as how, in principle, such beliefs may be supported and enhanced. We also relate these findings to those associated with educational and developmental outcomes for children. We conclude with some illustrative evidence of ways (involving consultation and other interventions) that applied psychologists have contributed to the professional well-being and resilience of teachers.     

Analyzing a service-learning experience using a social justice lens

This mixed methods study explores a service-learning experience embedded in a social foundations course in a teacher education program. The authors differentiate learning outcomes for social justice and charity service-learning, and utilize this framework to examine whether the service-learning experience fosters a social justice perspective. The findings demonstrate that while the experience did foster social justice perspectives for some students, the data also reflect evidence of learning outcomes that align with charity service-learning.     

Vocational Students Experiences with Assessment in Workplace Learning

Vocational education, as part of the Norwegian upper secondary education, includes both school-based learning and workplace learning. While school-based learning is characterized by formal structures and guided by aims in the curricula, workplace learning is often informal, incidental and directed by the daily work-tasks. Assessment in workplace learning is mainly formative and different stakeholders are involved in the assessment; namely students, teachers and workplace instructors. However, the guidelines for assessment are vague and call for a close cooperation between the stakeholders. This is demanding and has resulted in a variety of assessment practices. The study presented in this article is a qualitative study of students’ experiences with assessment in workplace learning periods in their first year in vocational education. The aim of the study is to give voice to students` experiences with assessment and illuminate how assessment supports their learning processes. Data was collected through focus group interviews with two groups of students in the Programme for Health and Social Care. The main findings indicate different assessment cultures in school and workplaces. This is expressed through the students’ perceptions of assessment, assessment criteria, tools for assessment and vocational knowledge. It is recommended that an open dialogue about the discontinuity in assessment between schools and workplaces is one of several measures necessary to bridge the gap between the stakeholders.     

A Survey of Scholarly Literature Describing the Field of Bioinformatics Education and Bioinformatics Educational Research

Bioinformatics education can be broadly defined as the teaching and learning of the use of computer and information technology, along with mathematical and statistical analysis for gathering, storing, analyzing, interpreting, and integrating data to solve biological problems. The recent surge of genomics, proteomics, and structural biology in the potential advancement of research and development in complex biomedical systems has created a need for an educated workforce in bioinformatics. However, effectively integrating bioinformatics education through formal and informal educational settings has been a challenge due in part to its cross-disciplinary nature. In this article, we seek to provide an overview of the state of bioinformatics education. This article identifies: 1) current approaches of bioinformatics education at the undergraduate and graduate levels; 2) the most common concepts and skills being taught in bioinformatics education; 3) pedagogical approaches and methods of delivery for conveying bioinformatics concepts and skills; and 4) assessment results on the impact of these programs, approaches, and methods in students’ attitudes or learning. Based on these findings, it is our goal to describe the landscape of scholarly work in this area and, as a result, identify opportunities and challenges in bioinformatics education.