Managing reading and related literacy difficulties: University students’ perspectives

This study explored the experiences of university students who identified as always having had reading difficulties. Thirty-three participants, all from one Australian university, were surveyed and 10 were also interviewed. Findings revealed that many shared academic challenges related to studying, along with a belief that their difficulties were not well understood by staff or peers. While participants disclosed many similar personal struggles related to completing their studies, positive attributes such as determination and time management strategies were frequently mentioned as instrumental in allowing them to reach university. Experiences were more variable regarding awareness of, access to, and satisfaction with university-based support and academic adjustments. To facilitate optimal inclusive educational practices, this study supports the need for greater awareness among staff about challenges faced by these university students along with a more individualised and targeted approach to providing them with academic supports and accommodations.     

Effect of wetted surface area on friction,pressure, wave and total drag of a kayak

Using theoretical principles, the components of drag (friction D _F, pressure D _PR and wave D _W) of a single-seat kayak were analysed. The purpose was to examine the effect of changes in wetted surface area due to changes in kayaker’s weight and the relative contribution of D _F, D _PR and D _W to the total passive drag as function of velocity. The total passive drag values were based on experimental data collected in a single-seat kayak. Three different kayaker simulated weights were tested – 65, 75 and 85 kg. D _F was the drag component that contributed the greatest percentage (between 60 and 68% at 5.56 m/s the top velocity tested) to the total passive drag for all the velocities tested and simulated weights. D _W was the most affected by the increase in kayaker’s simulated weight, mainly when comparing 65/75 to 85 kg. Results support the importance of a kayak design selection that minimises the kayak’s drag for the individual weight of the kayaker. Also, the results suggest that the path for better hydrodynamic kayak performance should seek changes that can reduce D _F, D _PR and D _W with D _F offering the most potential to reduce passive drag.     

Representational guidance and student engagement: examining designs for collaboration in online synchronous environments

In this paper we report the results of a study which investigated the affordances of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) for collaborative learning from a design perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, we conducted a comparative study of the effect of varying representational and interactional design features on a collaborative design activity in three online synchronous environments. We compared environments featuring multiple modes of interaction (MUVEs), shared representations (text chat and 2D still images) and text-only features. Sixty-one students enrolled in an undergraduate course on Child Development participated in the study. Participants were asked to design a theoretically-based, developmentally appropriate, preschool classroom setting. Students were randomly assigned to one of three online learning environments that provided varying levels of representation and interaction. Significant differences in collaborative problem solving interactions were found. Participants in the shared representations + text condition evidenced stronger learning outcomes as regards substantive discussion and integration of child development concepts; while participants in the MUVE condition reported the most enjoyment with the experience. These findings are explained by the concepts of representational guidance, representational bias, educational affordances and interface design metaphors. Suggestions for the design of MUVEs for collaborative learning are provided.     

MBA Program Trends and Best Practices in Teaching Sustainability: Live Project Courses

This study offers a model for incorporating live sustainability consulting projects in an MBA curriculum to nurture cross‐functional faculty collaboration while offering students proving ground for solving contemporary challenges related to ethical management of all forms of capital. We attempt to first lay a foundation for the recent evolution of sustainability within business schools, and then provide evidence that an opportunity exists for decision science scholars to play a key role as facilitators of this wave of pedagogy. Our research is based on publicly available data that rank business schools relative to their integration of sustainability within MBA programs, our experiences with 39 project clients over a 3‐year period, an analysis of client and student feedback, and anecdotal evidence of success in the development of live project‐based consulting courses. The case study highlights the potential and scalability of this proposed pedagogy to deliver live projects as either a stand‐alone course or an integrated part of the curriculum.     

Disrupted Lessons in Engineering Robotics: Pivoting Knowledge Transfer From Physical to Virtual Learning Environments

Journal of Science Education and Technology - This study examined the effects of an Arduino microrobot activity on college students’ interest in robotics through three specific objectives:...     

Scholarly traditions and the role of the professoriate in uncertain times

Significant challenges confront many Westernised institutions of higher education. Financial pressures, the increasing commodification of higher education and the insistent demands of the global marketplace, have changed the configuration of academe. One of the immediate consequences has been that the role of the professoriate has altered through unrelenting pressure to serve the managerial interests of the university rather than the scholarly interests of the field. The new competitive realities of the corporatised university have inevitably and irrevocably changed the role of the contemporary professoriate. What is now required is a defence of the university as a public institution and the advancement of public intellectual inquiry. This is the fundamental challenge for the professoriate in the twenty-first-century university.     

Teachers’ reports of learning and application to pedagogy based on engagement in collaborative peer video analysis

Given international use of video-based reflective discussions in teacher education, and the limited knowledge about whether teachers apply learning from these discussions, we explored teachers’ learning of new ideas about pedagogy and their self-reported application of this learning. Nine inservice and 48 preservice teachers participated in video-based reflective discussions and documented their learning, sources of knowledge that contributed to their learning, and application of this learning to their teaching in their practica courses. A total of 227 response sheets with this information were collected. Multilevel logit regression was used to examine how sources of learning and content learned were related to teachers’ application of learning to their teaching practices. We found that teachers reported applying 40% of their learning; particularly, what they learned about methods and materials for instruction, and that they learned from both video and discussion almost equally.     

Giving the “Viewser” a Voice? Situating the Individual in Relation to Personalization,Narrowcasting, and Public Service Broadcasting

This article undertakes a critical comparison of contemporary personalization practices on Web platforms such as YouTube and Facebook with long-established practices of narrowcasting. Though such platforms appear to adhere to goals of universality similarly adhered to by public service broadcasting (PSB), the implementation of personalization on these platforms proves problematic to their discursive positioning as free “public” services. Furthermore, though public service broadcasters have embraced personalization in the name of pluralism, critics suggest that the narrowcasting inherent in personalization exists in tension to PSB's enduring commitments. Finally, the article argues that system-initiated personalization negates the “consumer sovereignty” that narrowcasting has traditionally mobilized.     

Educational administration and history Part 1: debating the agenda

In this first editorial paper we scope the terrain on which the JEAH is located and consider the knowledge production process that will shape the journal and, in turn, enable the journal to shape what is known and what is worth knowing. We begin by making a case for productive pluralism where we assert that the JEAH is not directly connected to a particular society or epistemic group, and so the opportunity exists for a range of work that focuses on historical understandings of educational administration to be published. We make the argument that educational administration is a field of study and practice, and that it can draw on historical perspectives and research designs to enable new insights and theoretical explanations to be developed.