Assessment in a Tight Time Frame: Using Readily Available Data to Evaluate Your Collection

The William S. Carlson Library of The University of Toledo is experiencing a major renovation project. Its first floor is being transformed into a state-of-the-art information commons. In order to provide the space necessary for this transformation, several collections, specifically the reference and circulating, needed to be moved and shifted in a timely manner. This paper highlights how readily available data were used to evaluate the volumes in the reference collection and the circulating collection in order to maximize the space for the renovation projects.     

Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-based assessment for undergraduate science education

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace—a problem faced in the UK and USA also. Curriculum development in this area, however, hinges on first evaluating how communication skills are taught currently as a base from which to make effective changes. This study aimed to quantify the current standard of communication education within BSc degrees at Australian research-intensive universities. A detailed evidential baseline for not only what but also how communication skills are being taught was established. We quantified which communication skills were taught and assessed explicitly, implicitly, or were absent in a range of undergraduate science assessment tasks (n?=?35) from four research-intensive Australian universities. Results indicate that 10 of the 12 core science communication skills used for evaluation were absent from more than 50% of assessment tasks and 77.14% of all assessment tasks taught less than 5 core communication skills explicitly. The design of assessment tasks significantly affected whether communication skills were taught explicitly. Prominent trends were that communication skills in tasks aimed at non-scientific audiences were taught more explicitly than in tasks aimed at scientific audiences, and the majority of group and multimedia tasks taught communication elements more explicitly than individual, or written and oral tasks. Implications for science communication in the BSc and further research are discussed.     

The use of augmented reality games in education: a review of the literature

This paper provides a review of the literature about the use of augmented reality in education and specifically in the context of formal and informal environments. It examines the research that has been conducted up to date on the use of those games through mobile technology devices such as mobile phones and tablets, both in primary and secondary education. The review of the relative literature was carried out in the period 2000 to early 2014 in ScienceDirect and ERIC. The outcomes of this review illustrated a set of studies that provide evidence of positive outcomes regarding student learning. These studies, which focused mainly on the natural sciences and took place within informal learning environments, used both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The earliest study that was conducted about this topic used personal digital assistants, while the more recent one used smart (mobile) phones and tablets. The services of augmented reality focused on markers/quick response codes, virtual items, global positioning system services as well as on platforms for game creation. The findings of the literature review are discussed in relation to research approaches that are needed for augmented reality games to be played either in formal or informal learning environments.     

Not the nine o'clock service: Using children's culture

This paper discusses current thinking and practice about the use of popular culture in the primary school to teach literacy. It attempts to question the methods that attempt to galvanise children's interest in popular texts to teach the current literacy curriculum. It argues that there is an incompatibility between the pleasures and practices of the world of popular culture and the traditional environment and curricula of school. The paper argues that instead of ‘using’ children's culture to teach the literacy curriculum in school, children's vibrant, sophisticated and valuable culture needs to be embedded within it.     

Studying science teacher identity: current insights and future research directions

Over the past 10?years an increasing number of articles have been published in leading science education journals that report on research about teacher identity and describe interventions that support teacher identity development. My purpose in this review paper is to examine how the construct of science teacher identity has been conceptualised and studied in science education. In doing so, I synthesise the findings of 29 empirical studies on teacher identity within the field of science education in an attempt to respond to the following questions: (a) In what ways have researchers used the construct of teacher identity to examine science teacher learning and development? (b) What approaches to supporting science teacher identity development have been documented in the literature? Following that, I identify gaps and limitations in the existing literature and I offer recommendations for future research in the area of science teacher identity and identity development: (a) studying teacher identity as a process; (b) connecting science teacher identity research and reform recommendations; (c) conducting large-scale, longitudinal and life-history studies; and (d) examining teacher identity enactment in school classrooms.     

Understanding How Families Use Magnifiers During Nature Center Walks

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent–child interaction framework to understand families’ interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the outdoors. Findings include that families used magnifiers for scientific inquiry as well as for playful exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation where families develop roles to support their joint endeavor, three roles to support family thinking were found to be: (a) tool suggester, (b) teacher, and (c) exploration ender. Some families struggled to use magnifiers and often, parents and older siblings provided support for younger children in using magnifying lenses. Implications to informal science learning theory are drawn and suggestions for future family learning research are offered: (a) inclusion of sociocultural and situated perspectives as theories to study informal learning in outdoor spaces, (b) further study on the role of siblings in family interactions, (c) design-based research is needed to encourage family role-taking when engaging in science practices, and (d) new conceptualizations on how to design informal programs that support science learning while leaving space for visitors’ personal agendas and interests that can guide the families’ activities.     

Structural change from physical foundations: The role of the environment in enacting school change

Educational change is known to be challenging and therefore research exploring the conditions that seem to facilitate change is important. The literature relating to school level change shows some awareness of the part played by the physical school environment, but the role of the school premises in change is rarely the focus of research rooted within this literature. This is a notable omission. The history of innovation in school design parallels the recognised challenges of school reform and change. Educational leadership practice and certain historic policy initiatives suggest awareness of how the physical environment may encourage or constrain, and so is potentially an important part of a change process, but this understanding is not developed. This paper brings together our research concerning school environments and our work with schools attempting pedagogical change to develop such an understanding of the place of the physical setting in initiating, supporting and sustaining school level change. It is a conceptual exploration of the role of the physical environment in enacting change using an empirical base to illustrate our argument. We present a narrative account of two schools’ approaches to change and use the theoretical framework of culture, structure and individual action, where the physical environment is part of the structure within which change is attempted. It becomes clear that although the physical setting is intimately related to other school structures, particularly certain organisational features, there is a qualitative difference in the way the physical setting, as a tangible and visible entity, contributes to change processes. As well as contributing to the development of conceptualisations of educational change, our exploration has implications for the wider understanding of structures within human society, and their relationship to culture and individual agency.     

Improving Groupworking Skills in Undergraduates Through Employer Involvement

Frequently undergraduate project work involves students working in groups. Such groupworking is often problematic owing to poor groupworking skills on the part of the students involved, yet ‘teamwork’ is one of those generic skills highly prized by employers. This study describes a pilot project to involve employers in the development of groupworking skills in undergraduate students, with the aims of increasing student awareness of group dynamics and processes and of promoting more effective groupworking. Students worked in small groups over a period of six to eight weeks on a problem associated with the module being studied. Employers observed students working in their groups and provided feedback to the students on their groupworking skills. The reactions (extremely positive) of students, staff and employers are presented. The procedures and methods used in the pilot are described and evaluated.