Relevance,challenge and motivation: The ingredients of a novel managerial development program

The Division of Information and Academic Services (DIAS) is a large service division (over 400 staff) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In 2002 it supported a novel one‐month rotation of roles by the three department directors. The rotation was conceived as an important professional development opportunity for each of the directors and by example, to other divisional staff. It was also designed to fast track a more collaborative culture across the Division and identify opportunities for improved services. The three‐way nature of the exchange created a particular tension and a unique learning opportunity. Each director simultaneously played the role of novice manager, critical friend and reflective observer. The learning opportunity was relevant because it was contained within the one institutional culture. It was challenging because it demanded a shift in professional perspective, and motivating because it fostered a collegial working environment where change was welcomed, supported and reinforced. Overall, the directors and the staff viewed the rotation positively. Each director gained a better understanding of the operations the other departments either through direct engagement in a “host” department or by inclusion in three‐way director debriefing sessions. The initiative was evaluated using a third party process to gather feedback from the staff involved. Some important opportunities for collaboration have been identified and implemented. All three directors have emerged from the experience feeling better able to seek and offer advice about management and organizational issues. There is greater empathy for the challenges inherent in each of the departments and a greater willingness and confidence to accept a divisional responsibility for complex cross‐departmental projects. Increasingly, there is a collective and shared understanding of how to get things done across the organization. Most importantly, it suggests a novel model of academic development that has the potential for broader application.

La Division of information and Academic Services (DIAS) constitue un vaste service (plus de 400 employés) de la Queensland University of Technology (QUT). En 2002, elle a mis en place une nouvelle rotation mensuelle en qui a trait au rôle des trois directeurs de départmant La rotation était conçue comme une opportante de développment professionnel pour chacun des directeurs et, à titre d’exemple, pour les autres membres du personnel de la division. Elle visait aussi à accélérer la mise en place d’une culture davantage collaborative dans l’ensemble de la division, en plus d’identifier des opportunités pour ameéliorer les services. La nature tridimensionnelle du changement a ceéé une opportunité d’apprentissage unique et fut paticulièrement pertinente parce qu’elle avait lieu à l’intérieur d’une culture institutionalle. Chaque directeur jouait simultanément le rôle d’apprenti‐gestionnaire, d’ami critique et d’observateur réflexif. L’initiative a été évaluée par l’entremise d’un processus impliquant des tierces parties de façon à recueillir des informations auprès du personnel impliqué. Les trois directeurs sont ressortis de l’expérience avec une plus grande empathie en ce qui a trait aux défis inhérents à chacun des départments, ainsi qu’une plus grande volonté et confiance relativement à leur attribution de responsabilités divisionnelles pour des projets inter‐départementaux complexes. De plus en plus, il existe une compréhension collective et partagée des dimensions relatives à l’accomplissement de certaines tâches ausein de l’organisation. De façon importante, ceci suggère un nouveau modèle de développement académique, lequel a un potentiel correspondant à des applications plus vastes.     

Building community in academic settings: the importance of flexibility in a structured mentoring program

Academic mentoring is increasingly being used by many universities as a tool to enhance the quality of research‐led teaching, promote cross‐faculty collaboration and encourage a mentoring culture and community. This article reports on a pilot project established to investigate the benefits of building flexibility into a structured academic mentoring program at the University of Sydney. Twenty‐six academics from the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Education and Social Work participated in the program. The mentors ranged in position from lecturer to professor and the mentees from associate lecturer to senior lecturer. Flexible arrangements were shown to be important in a variety of ways, from the pairing of mentor with mentee, to focussing on issues of work survival and life balance, research outcomes and career advancement. The project highlighted the lower number of male academics involved in formal mentoring, which merits further exploration. All participants reported positive outcomes, although refinement of the pairing process was recommended. A variety of unanticipated outcomes was reported by mentees.     

Clinicians' opinions on the clinical relevance of anatomy education at Stellenbosch University

Anatomical science is a fundamental element of undergraduate medical education; thus, it is imperative that the course serves future medical professionals when entering clinical practice. However, anatomical education has faced challenges in recent years including decreased allocated time, increased class sizes and over-stretched staff. Technological advancements in anatomical education may provide relief to these issues. Therefore, exploring clinicians' perspective on the clinical relevance and efficacy of anatomical education, within an African context, can inform its future. This study used a qualitative research approach within an interpretive paradigm. Eight semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with clinicians associated with Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data, creating themes and codes. Trust worthiness of the data was ensured through peer debriefing and member checking. Results reveal that clinicians find clinically relevant anatomy valuable to students. However, some feel that this is not delivered effectively at present. Clinicians see potential for the incorporation of clinical technologies into anatomical pedagogy. Although clinicians are hopeful for new technological developments in anatomical education, concerns were reported about its autonomous nature. This study concludes that although clinically relevant anatomical education is beneficial to students, the time and the resources via which it is delivered should be considered. There is optimism for the future of anatomical education with the advancements of technologically based educational resources, however, new resources should be incorporated with planning and supervision.     

What do upper-elementary and middle school teachers know about the processes of text comprehension?

Reading and Writing - Teachers’ knowledge of reading comprehension processes is underresearched relative to teachers’ knowledge of word identification and phonological awareness. In...     

The Pedagogical,Linguistic, and Content Features of Popular English Language Learning Websites in China: A Framework for Analysis and Design

As increasing numbers of Chinese language learners choose to learn English online, there is a need to investigate popular websites and their language learning designs. This paper reports on the first stage of a study that analyzed the pedagogical, linguistic, and content features of 25 Chinese English Language Learning (ELL) websites ranked according to their value and importance to users. The website ranking was undertaken using a system known as PageRank. The aim of the study was to identify the features characterizing popular sites as opposed to those of less popular sites for the purpose of producing a framework for ELL website design in the Chinese context. The study found that a pedagogical focus with developmental instructional materials accommodating diverse proficiency levels was a major contributor to website popularity. Chinese language use for translations and teaching directives and intermediate level English for learning materials were also significant features. Content topics included Anglophone/Western and non-Anglophone/Eastern contexts. Overall, popular websites were distinguished by their mediation of access to and scaffolded support for ELL.     

Clay modeling as a method to learn human muscles: A community college study

The efficacy of clay modeling compared with cat dissection for human muscle identification was examined over two semesters at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, NY. The 181 students in 10 sections in this study were randomly distributed into control (cat dissection) and experimental (clay modeling) groups, and the results of the muscle practical examination were analyzed. The clay‐modeling group was significantly better at identifying human muscles on human models than the cat‐dissection group, and was as good at identifying muscles on their self‐made clay mannequins as the cat‐dissection group was at identifying cat muscle on their specimens. This study demonstrated that clay modeling is more effective than cat dissection for learning human muscles at the community college level. Anat Sci Ed 2:19–23, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Participatory evaluation: implications for improving electronic learning and teaching approaches

This paper examines the participatory approach used by a group of academic support staff in evaluating an academic professional development resource designed to support e‐learning and teaching. The resource, titled Designing Electronic Learning and Teaching Approaches (DELTA), showcases examples of electronic learning and teaching approaches developed at Monash University, Australia. The evaluation included individual and collective reflection, dialogue and action, drawing on the features of participatory action research. This paper explores the value of this critically reflective, participatory approach for evaluation to improve the use of new learning technologies, demonstrating how it provided a clear decision‐making framework for iterative improvement of the DELTA site by identifying consensus items for action and recording other items for later consideration, while also contributing to team members’ own professional development.