Fostering Creativity Through Engineering Projects

Final year projects are a showcase for engineering students’ creativity. All final year engineering students at Swinburne University of Technology are required to spend part of their final semester of studies developing and completing various aspects of a major project. The theme of the project work is defined either by industrial sponsors or academic supervisors or by both. In addition, project guidelines are provided by the university for the final submission and completion of the work. The project may be any combination of research, design or developmental work. Within the constraints required by these factors, students’ creativity in their approach and execution of the project work may be both limited and expanded to simulate conditions experienced in a work environment. The culmination of the project work is in a written, oral and visual presentation to a professional audience. It is the students’ own creativity which determines not only the format of all three forms of presentations, but also their assessment which is again limited or enhanced by constraints of time and resources. Examples of project work creativity are presented which highlight and emphasize the broad spectrum which such creativity can encompass.     

The Assurance of Standards at Masters level: An empirical investigation

This article presents the findings of a study of 94 Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes (PGTMs) offered in twelve Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK. It is based on interviews with administrators and with degree programme directors. Documentation was also analysed. The study was commissioned by the HEQC/QAA as a result of the recommendations of the Harris and Dearing Reports. The study reveals wide variation in regulatory frameworks relating to Masters programmes and in the design of programmes, but consensus on the defining characteristics of work at this level and the nature of benefits that students obtain. While institutional procedures for initial approval and validation appear to be rigorous and effective, the ongoing assurance and monitoring of standards is heavily dependent on the external examiner system and informal academic networks with virtually no systematic staff development or benchmarking in place. Several issues are identified in relation to the proposed national typology of courses/levels.     

Health care, information needs, and outreach: reaching Ohio's rural citizens

As a rural state, Ohio has a vital interest in addressing rural health and information needs. NetWellness is a Web-based consumer health information service that focuses on the needs of the residents of Ohio. Health sciences faculty from the state's three Carnegie Research I universities--University of Cincinnati, Case Western Reserve University, and The Ohio State University--create and evaluate content and provide Ask an Expert service to all visitors. Through partnerships at the state and local levels, involving public, private, commercial, and noncommercial organizations, NetWellness has grown from a regional demonstration project in 1995 to a key statewide service. Collaboration with public libraries, complemented by alliances with kindergarten through twelfth grade agencies, makes NetWellness Ohio's essential health information resource.     

Does shame influence nonsuicidal self-injury among college students? An investigation into the role of shame,negative urgency,and brooding

College students experience high levels of life stress that put them at increased risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). It is important to understand which vulnerabilities put students most at risk, in order to inform treatment in college counseling centers. This study investigated the joint contributions of specific vulnerabilities to lifetime history and frequency of NSSI among a sample of undergraduates (50% reported a history of NSSI). Results showed shame-proneness was uniquely associated with NSSI frequency beyond other negative emotions. Negative urgency and brooding exacerbated this effect. This study provides insights into the contributions of specific vulnerabilities to NSSI and implications for practice.     

Developing secondary students’ epistemic agency in a knowledge-building community

A key educational objective for the twenty-first century is developing students’ epistemic agency. Epistemic agency is the active process of choosing when, what, where one learns and how one knows, as well as the capacity to create knowledge in a community. The knowledge-building communities model developed by Scardamalia and Bereiter was used in a New Zealand Year 13 distance art history class to support the development of students’ epistemic agency in 2013. In this study, students were given more control in the learning process, and were able to exercise epistemic agency through identifying their knowledge gaps, sharing information and ideas, developing ideas and creating communal knowledge. A number of factors that increased students’ development of epistemic agency are also discussed in this article.     

倘若她是天使

有着俊朗外貌的Tommy Shane Steinerr以纯正的乡村歌喉演唱着属于他牛仔风格的歌曲。他出道后,受到了许多前辈的关注和提携:连续11年主持乡村音乐协会年度颁奖典礼的歌星Vince Gill出人意料地为Steiner的主推曲What If She’s An Angel配唱了合     

Group tagging: Using video tagging to facilitate reflection on small group activities

Collaborative learning in class-based teaching presents a challenge for a tutor to ensure every group and individual student has the best learning experience. We present Group Tagging, a web application that supports reflection on collaborative, group-based classroom activities. Group Tagging provides students with an opportunity to record important moments within the class-based group work and enables reflection on and promotion of professional skills such as communication, collaboration and critical thinking. After class, students use the tagged clips to create short videos showcasing their group work activities, which can later be reviewed by the teacher. We report on a deployment of Group Tagging in an undergraduate Computing Science class with 48 students over a semester. Through our analysis of interviews and log data, we show that Group Tagging helped the students remain attentive and on-task during group work, and encouraged them to participate more during group activities.