Shifting goal posts: the impact of academic workforce reshaping and the introduction of teaching academic roles on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

This qualitative study reports on findings from interviews with ten academics in an Australian university six to twelve months following academic workforce reshaping and the widespread introduction of teaching academic roles. The research aimed to determine how the workforce reshaping impacted on the capacity of academics with teaching responsibilities to engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Findings indicate that whilst academics were willing to undertake SoTL, participants’ capacity to engage was hampered by the workload model, middle academic leaders’ capacity to define and lead SoTL, and a perceived lack of SoTL value. A major concern for participants was that shifting goal posts (in relation to roles and expectations) would make it difficult to successfully apply for future academic work. The research indicates the need for the sector to consider the selection criteria for middle leadership roles, as well as ongoing academic leadership development to support adaptability and change agility.     

Habituation as a function of similarity and temporal location of target and distractor stimuli

Three experiments examined the habituation of rats’ neophobia to novel flavors, and the disruption of that habituation by presentation of a distractor flavor either immediately before or immediately after the target flavor. Habituation of neophobia to lemon solution was more seriously disrupted by presentation of saline as a distractor than by presentation of coffee as a distractor, and this was true whether the distractor was presented before or after the target on each habituation trial. Two further experiments established that the relative ineffectiveness of coffee as a distractor could not be attributed to its lack of salience, and was probably related to its greater similarity to the target lemon flavor. These results do not fully accord with those reported by Robertson and Garrud (1983), but are readily explained in terms of generalization of habituation between distractor and target flavors.     

Role of comprehension on performance at higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy: Findings from assessments of healthcare professional students

The first four levels of Bloom's taxonomy were used to create quiz questions designed to assess student learning of the gross anatomy, histology, and physiology of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Information on GI histology and physiology was presented to separate samples of medical, dental, and podiatry students in computer based tutorials where the information from the two disciplines was presented either separately or in an integrated fashion. All students were taught GI gross anatomy prior to this study by course faculty as part of the required curriculum of their respective program. Student responses to the quiz questions were analyzed to assess both the validity of Bloom's cumulative hierarchy and the effectiveness of an integrated curriculum. No statistically significant differences were found between quiz scores from students who received the integrated tutorial and from those who received the separate tutorials. Multiple regression analyses provided partial support for a cumulative hierarchy where scores on the lower levels of Bloom's taxonomy predicted scores on higher levels. Notably, in the majority of regression analyses, the comprehension score was the key foundational predictor for application and analysis scores. This study supports the suggestion that educators increase the number of comprehension level questions, even at the expense of knowledge level questions, in course assessments both to evaluate lower order cognitive skills and also as a predictor of success on questions requiring application and analysis levels of the higher order cognitive skills of Bloom's taxonomy. Anat Sci Educ 11: 433–444. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Scenariation: Scenario generation for online teaching in nursing and health sciences

There are increased opportunities for online delivery innovation within the education sector because of rapid advances in Internet technology. This paper describes a unique and efficient approach to simulation called ‘scenariation’. The scenariation project aimed to establish efficient processes for the development of scenariation content and evaluate the use of a specific scenariation nurse education module. Students were presented with video simulating the workplace and then prompted to make clinical decisions such as selecting treatment options. The scenariation approach was implemented with a group of 380 1st‐year nursing students and evaluated using multifaceted online evaluation. The results of this qualitative evaluation highlight not just the potential of scenariation but also some of the difficulties associated with online delivery to large and diverse student groups. Students valued the relevance to practice and interactive nature of scenariation, but some reported technical difficulties. The paper concludes by extending the discussion of scenariation to the areas of inter‐professional learning and the integration of scenariation with face‐to‐face high fidelity simulation.     

Can generating representations enhance learning with dynamic visualizations?

This study explores the impact of asking middle school students to generate drawings of their ideas about chemical reactions on integrated understanding. Students explored atomic interactions during hydrogen combustion using a dynamic visualization. The generation group drew their ideas about how the reaction takes place at the molecular level. The interaction group conducted multiple experiments with the visualization by varying the amount of energy provided to ignite the reaction. The generation group integrated more ideas about chemical reactions and made more precise interpretations of the visualization than the interaction group. Embedded assessments show that generation motivated students to interpret the visualization carefully and led to more productive explanations about ideas represented in the dynamic visualization. In contrast, the interaction group was less successful in linking the visualization to underlying concepts and observable phenomena and wrote less detailed explanations. The study suggests that drawing is a promising way to help students interpret complex visualizations and integrate information. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 1177–1198, 2011     

Family income, parent education, and perceived constraints as predictors of observed program quality and parent rated program quality

Observed child care quality and parent perceptions of child care quality received by children in poor (below Federal Poverty Line, FPL), low-income (between FPL and 200% of FPL), and non-low-income families were examined. Observations were completed in 359 center- and home-based child care programs in four Midwestern states and surveys were received from 1313 parents whose children were enrolled in these programs. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that programs with higher proportions of low-income families tend to have lower observed quality than programs with a higher proportion of non-low-income families. Programs with more educated parents tended to have better observed quality, however, more educated parents tended to have lower perceptions of quality.     

The prison is another country: incarcerated students and (im)mobility in Australian prisons

ABSTRACT

Space, time and movement have particular meanings and significance for Australian prisoners attempting higher education while incarcerated. In a sense, the prison is another ‘world’ or ‘country’ with its own spatial and temporal arrangements and constraints for incarcerated university students. The contemporary digital university typically presupposes a level of mobility and access to mobile communication technologies which most Australian prisoners cannot access. This article examines the immobility of incarcerated students and their attempts to complete tertiary and pre-tertiary distance education courses without direct internet access. Drawing on critical mobilities theory, this article also explores attempts to address this digital disconnection of incarcerated students and where such interventions have been frustrated by movement issues within the prison. Prison focus group data suggest the use of modified digital learning technologies in prisons needs to be informed by a critical approach to the institutional processes and practices of this unique and challenging learning environment. This article also highlights the limitations and contradictions of painful immobilisation as a core strategy of Australia’s modern, expanding penal state, which encourages rehabilitation through education, while effectively cutting prisoners off from the wider digital world.     

Educative mentors? The role of classroom teachers in initial teacher education. A New Zealand study

Classroom experience is an important part of initial teacher education (ITE) and the teachers who work with student teachers in schools have a significant impact on learning in this context. While many studies have documented what the role of these teachers should be, it is also important to consider how the role is conceptualised by the teachers themselves. This qualitative study compares the views of New Zealand primary school teachers with that of an ITE provider. The findings show some differences among the teachers and significant differences between classroom teachers’ interpretations of their role and the expectations of the ITE provider. Teacher interpretations are firmly held and there is more work to be done to explore understandings of educative mentoring and so develop a coherent shared vision of roles in the practicum community.     

Promoting writing amongst peers: establishing a community of writing practice for early career academics

In the current research-focused climate, academics are facing increasing pressure to produce research outputs. This pressure can prove particularly daunting for early career (EC) academics, who are simultaneously attempting to master new teaching and administrative demands while establishing their own independent research trajectories. Previous reports suggest that academic writing retreats can be an effective way of increasing research outputs. Such retreats generally involve academics from a range of career stages and require expert facilitators. Through organising a series of structured writing events, this project aims to cultivate an enduring community of practice for academic writers. Reflecting on our EC retreat and subsequent writing days with academics from different career stages, we suggest that success hinged on three key factors: (1) A formal structure comprising bounded periods of intense writing, flanked by group reviewing and goal-setting; (2) Co-located writing with participants based in a shared space, away from their usual workstation and distractions; (3) Peer discussions involving participants at a similar career stage. Specifically we found that writing amongst ‘equals’ increased productivity and confidence amongst EC academics.