Examining the Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Success of an Embodied Learning Activity in the Study of Hand Anatomy for Clinical Application

A student's own body provides an often disregarded site of knowledge production and corporeal wisdom. Learning via cognitive processes anchored in physical movement and body awareness, known as embodied learning, may aid students to visualize structures and understand their functions and clinical relevance. Working from an embodied learning perspective, the current article evaluates the use of an offline physical learning tool (Anatomical Glove Learning System; AGLS) for teaching hand anatomy for clinical application in medical students. Two student samples (N₁ = 105; N₂ = 94) used the AGLS in two different ways. In the first sample, the AGLS was compared to a traditional approach using hand bones, models and prosected specimens. Secondly, the AGLS and traditional approach were combined. The evaluation consisted of three outcomes: short-term learning (post-test), medium-term applications (mock-objective structured clinical examination, MOSCE), and longer-term assessment (objective structured clinical examination, OSCE). Findings from the first sample indicated no significant differences between the AGLS and traditional laboratory groups on short- (F_(1,78) = 0.036, P = 0.849), medium- (F_(1,50) = 0.743, P = 0.393), or longer-term (F_(1,82) = 0.997, P = 0.321) outcomes. In the second sample using the AGLS in combination with a traditional approach was associated with significantly better short-term post-test scores (F_(2,174) = 5.98, P = 0.003) than using the AGLS alone, but demonstrated no effect for long-term OSCE scores. These results suggest an embodied learning experience alone does not appear to be advantageous to student learning, but when combined with other methods for studying anatomy there are learning gains.     

Social summarization in collaborative web search

A critical challenge for Web search engines concerns how they present relevant results to searchers. The traditional approach is to produce a ranked list of results with title and summary (snippet) information, and these snippets are usually chosen based on the current query. Snippets play a vital sensemaking role, helping searchers to efficiently make sense of a collection of search results, as well as determine the likely relevance of individual results. Recently researchers have begun to explore how snippets might also be adapted based on searcher preferences as a way to better highlight relevant results to the searcher. In this paper we focus on the role of snippets in collaborative web search and describe a technique for summarizing search results that harnesses the collaborative search behaviour of communities of like-minded searchers to produce snippets that are more focused on the preferences of the searchers. We go on to show how this so-called social summarization technique can generate summaries that are significantly better adapted to searcher preferences and describe a novel personalized search interface that combines result recommendation with social summarization.     

Ovens,Peter et al (2012) Developing inquiry for learning Routledge (New York & London) isbn 978‐0‐415‐59877‐4 226 pp £24.99 http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415598774/

The authors provide some useful ideas and a bridge from face‐to‐face into blended learning contexts which teachers interested in an inquiry pedagogy may find useful. There are various scaffolds and exemplars as well as exploration of appropriate digital tools which can be used for critical inquiry. If the content of this book is likely to be relevant to you, I advise that you will probably find only parts of it of interest or use. Robyn Smyth     

Costabile,Angela & Spears,Barbara A ed (2012) The impact of technology on relationships in educational settings David Fulton (Routledge,Abingdon UK & New York) isbn 978‐0‐415‐61008‐7 217 pp £29.99 http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415610087/

Teachers interested in harnessing the internet for positive purposes will enjoy this book—it lays bare some myths, challenges perceptions, and provides evidence of interventions which hold great promise for ameliorating negative misuse, such as cyber‐bullying. Case studies from European, American and Australian practitioners highlight the work being done to harness the positive power of social networking and connectedness. If the content of this book is likely to be relevant to you, I recommend that you arrange to borrow a copy for a while. Robyn Smyth     

School effects and subject choice: The uptake of scientific subjects in Ireland

Studies of subject take-up within secondary education have tended to focus on student characteristics and have rarely attempted to take account of the broad variety of ways, formal and informal, in which schools can constrain or facilitate particular subject choices. In contrast, this article explores both the school and student factors shaping the take-up of Biology, Physics, and Chemistry at upper secondary level. The analyses draw on detailed information on almost 4,000 students in 100 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Schools are found to differ in the proportion of students taking science subjects, even controlling for the profile of students. School structures at both lower and upper secondary levels are found to play a role in shaping the choices made by students regarding science.     

Towards a Practice of Critical Teaching about Teachers' Work

Abstract

This paper represents our struggle to interpret the practical intent of critical theory as a resource for teaching in a postgraduate degree in education. In this paper we argue for the increasing need for critical teaching about teacher's work at a time when the possibilities of engaging in a curriculum making practice capable of delivering on commitments to social justice seem less likely. We describe the struggle to develop a practice which opens up opportunities for our students (experienced teachers) to connect the life‐worlds of their classrooms with the relentlessly changing surrounding sociocultural milieu. On this nexus teachers have an opportunity to investigate the possibilities for developing agency as the makers of culture as opposed to the delivers of somebody else's curriculum     

A new approach to training teachers to meet the diverse learning needs of deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children within inclusive Australian schools

A restructured postgraduate teacher education programme is described specifically with regard to its commitment to prepare educators to work effectively with deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children in inclusive settings. The focus of the paper is on the design and development process rather than on the evaluation of the outcomes. Background information is provided about the design and development of the programme, including the components that support a strong relationship between special and general educators. The paper details the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of the programme, planned outcome measures for the graduate teachers, and highlights the challenges in programme design and development.