Book REVIEWS

Books Reviewed in this Article: Teaching Large Classes in Higher Education. Third World Guide 91/92. PM649 Supporting Primary Mathematics, The Open University. Exploring Statistics with Minitab. Ability, Partial information, Guessing: Statistical Modelling applied to Multiple-choice Tests. Mathematical Statistics. The Crest of the Peacock.     

One Policy,Disparate Reactions: Institutional Responses in Florida’s Developmental Education Reform

This paper seeks to better understand how community colleges in Florida planned to implement a new sweeping state policy pertaining to developmental education. Via a cluster analysis, we identify three distinct patterns in the ways in which the colleges responded to the policy: reformers, responders, and resisters. Further, we find that these patterns are related to the extent to which individual colleges had previously enacted campus-based developmental education reform measures, the magnitude of students previously enrolled in developmental education, and the colleges’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the policy.     

Photographs

Although the literature is replete with claims of the benefits of case-based instruction, few researchers have examined how individual students respond to and approach learning from this instructional method. In this paper we paint a picture of the contrasting experiences of two students enrolled in a case-based biochemistry laboratory course. These experiences are highlighted to support and extend knowledge gained from the first author's study of the responses and approaches of a freshman class of veterinary students recently introduced to case-based instruction. In the primary study, nine students were interviewed three times during the semester to explore their initial and changing responses and approaches to the case method. Using a constant comparative analysis method, three common themes were identified. In this paper we illustrate these themes by contrasting two students' responses and approaches to the same casebased course.     

Focused Multisensory Anatomy Observation and Drawing for Enhancing Social Learning and Three-Dimensional Spatial Understanding

The concept that multisensory observation and drawing can be effective for enhancing anatomy learning is supported by pedagogic research and theory, and theories of drawing. A haptico-visual observation and drawing (HVOD) process has been previously introduced to support understanding of the three-dimensional (3D) spatial form of anatomical structures. The HVOD process involves exploration of 3D anatomy with the combined use of touch and sight, and the simultaneous act of making graphite marks on paper which correspond to the anatomy under observation. Findings from a previous study suggest that HVOD can increase perceptual understanding of anatomy through memorization and recall of the 3D form of observed structures. Here, additional pedagogic and cognitive underpinnings are presented to further demonstrate how and why HVOD can be effective for anatomy learning. Delivery of a HVOD workshop is described as a detailed guide for instructors, and themes arising from a phenomenological study of educator experiences of the HVOD process are presented. Findings indicate that HVOD can provide an engaging approach for the spatial exploration of anatomy within a supportive social learning environment, but also requires modification for effective curricular integration. Consequently, based on the most effective research-informed, theoretical, and logistical elements of art-based approaches in anatomy learning, including the framework provided by the observe–reflect–draw–edit–repeat (ORDER) method, an optimized “ORDER Touch” observation and drawing process has been developed. This is with the aim of providing a widely accessible resource for supporting social learning and 3D spatial understanding of anatomy, in addition to improving specific anatomical knowledge.