scholarly journals Perceptions and Misconceptions about the Undergraduate Laboratory from Chemistry, Physics and Biology Academics

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Anthony Buntine ◽  
Karen Burke da Silva ◽  
Scott Kable ◽  
Kieran Lim ◽  
Simon Pyke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Educational Research ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Laboratory Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory ◽  
The Usa

The undergraduate laboratory occupies a large fraction of science students’ time. Over 3000 students were asked to rate their laboratory learning experience using 12 metrics. 362 academics were asked to predict which of these 12 aspects of the student experience would correlate with the overall laboratory learning experience. Responses from academics in biology, chemistry and physics departments, and from the USA and Australia, are statistically the same. However, the correlation between these staff predictions and student results is poor. The student results are consistent with extant educational research, but it appears that these findings are not reaching those who are responsible for developing undergraduate laboratory courses. There is a great need for educational research to be made more accessible for academics who are trained in scientific, but not in educational research.

scholarly journals Toward a comprehensive and distributed approach to assessing university student experience

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily M. Zeng ◽  
Luke K. Fryer ◽  
Yue Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Distributed Leadership ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
University Student ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Distributed Approach ◽  
The Usa

Higher education’s rapid expansion is paired with growing social expectations of its benefits and concern on its teaching quality. In response to these, institutional/national surveys based on an array of theories are widely used in universities for quality assurance, enhancement, and benchmarking. This paper reviews three major types of instruments used for such purposes, including two distinct schools of theory that have guided the development of such assessment in the USA, Australia, UK and then spread to the other parts of the world. The theories shaping the development of the two instruments, the dimensions assessed, and the challenges and criticisms involved when using such instruments for quality assurance are each discussed. This review concludes with a call for comparisons of different lines of research in this area, discussions on student learning experience that include more diverse characterizations of student experience across different educational contexts, development of tools to enable distributed leadership among teachers, and encouragement of students as partners for quality enhancement in higher education.

A fitness screening model for increasing fitness assessment and research experiences in undergraduate exercise science students

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Brown ◽  
Frank Lynott ◽  
Kate A. Heelan
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Blood Cholesterol ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Campus Community ◽  
Exercise Science ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Fitness Assessment ◽  
Health And Fitness

When students analyze and present original data they have collected, and hence have a cultivated sense of curiosity about the data, student learning is enhanced. It is often difficult to provide students an opportunity to practice their skills, use their knowledge, and gain research experiences during a typical course laboratory. This article describes a model of an out-of-classroom experience during which undergraduate exercise science students provide a free health and fitness screening to the campus community. Although some evidence of the effectiveness of this experience is presented, this is not a detailed evaluation of either the service or learning benefits of the fitness screening. Working in small learning groups in the classroom, students develop hypotheses about the health and fitness of the population to be screened. Then, as part of the health and fitness screening, participants are evaluated for muscular strength, aerobic fitness, body composition, blood pressure, physical activity, and blood cholesterol levels. Students then analyze the data collected during the screening, accept or reject their hypotheses based on statistical analyses of the data, and make in-class presentations of their findings. This learning experience has been used successfully to illustrate the levels of obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and lack of physical fitness in the campus community as well as provide an opportunity for students to use statistical procedures to analyze data. It has also provided students with an opportunity to practice fitness assessment and interpersonal skills that will enhance their future careers.

International perspectives on English teaching

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Locke
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a personalised overview of the content of English Teaching: Practice and Critique for the years it was hosted at the Wilf Malcolm Institute for Educational Research (WMIER) at the University of Waikato (2002-2014). Design/methodology/approach – It notes trends in relationship to the context of origin of 335 articles published in this period (excluding editorials), including significant increases in articles originating in the USA and Pacific Rim Asian nations, particularly South Korea and Taiwan. It comments on articles that relate to the original vision of the editors’ founders, especially their emphasis on practice, criticality and social justice. Findings – Prevailing themes across 13 years are mapped and in some cases discussed. Originality/value – A number of reflections are shared in relation to the future of the journal and some challenges currently facing subject English.

scholarly journals Design for learning – a case study of blended learning in a science unit

F1000Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Barbara Macfarlan
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Design For Learning ◽  
Learning Management

Making material available through learning management systems is standard practice in most universities, but this is generally seen as an adjunct to the ‘real’ teaching, that takes place in face-to-face classes. Lecture attendance is poor, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage students, both in the material being taught and campus life. This paper describes the redevelopment of a large course in scientific practice and communication that is compulsory for all science students studying at our Melbourne and Malaysian campuses, or by distance education. Working with an educational designer, a blended learning methodology was developed, converting the environment provided by the learning management system into a teaching space, rather than a filing system. To ensure focus, topics are clustered into themes with a ‘question of the week’, a pre-class stimulus and follow up activities. The content of the course did not change, but by restructuring the delivery using educationally relevant design techniques, the content was contextualised resulting in an integrated learning experience. Students are more engaged intellectually, and lecture attendance has improved. The approach we describe here is a simple and effective approach to bringing this university’s teaching and learning into the 21st century.

scholarly journals Envisioning a McGill University lifelong learning and living (L4) community

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Allan Rigby ◽  
Marlene Chan ◽  
April L. Colosimo
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Intellectual Capacity ◽  
The Impact

Lifelong learning and cognitive resilience are integral to a changing 21st century education paradigm for learners of all ages, as they are for health and well being of the individual student and wider community. Neuroscience in particular is continually making inroads on the impact that learning has on the brain and the interrelationships between body and mind that help to maintain physical and intellectual capacity over a lifetime. There is a long-standing community dedicated to sustainable lifelong learning on campus, the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning (MCLL). There are also worldwide efforts underway to promote lifelong learning in the context of age friendly cities under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Health Organization. Moreover, the international network of Age Friendly Universities, Lifelong Learning Institutes and over 200 University Based Retirement Communities (UBRCs) in the USA offer resources, guidelines, operating principles and research for building unique and innovative local responses to the changing demographics, increased cultural diversity and technological changes in education futures for learners in a given community. The poster will highlight national and international research initiatives and networks to enhance well-being and mental health through lifelong learning.Different L4 community options will be explored, building on MCLL’s peer learning experience over the past 27 years. It will reflect opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with university and wider Montreal community stakeholders, including health care professionals, caregivers, and educators.The poster will demonstrate that a lifelong learning approach to whole person care has the potential to be transformative. 

scholarly journals Alternatives for Pragmatic Responses to Group Work Problems

10.28945/3425 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Davey ◽  
Karoly Bozan ◽  
Robert Houghton ◽  
Kevin R. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Group Work ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Collaborative Tools ◽  
Video Tutorials ◽  
Time Work ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Part Time Work

Group work can provide a valuable learning experience, one that is especially relevant for those preparing to enter the information system workforce. While much has been discussed about effective means of delivering the benefits of collaborative learning in groups, there are some problems that arise due to pragmatic environmental factors such as the part time work commitments of students. This study has identified a range of problems and reports on a longitudinal Action Research study in two universities (in Australia and the USA). Over three semesters problems were identified and methods trialled using collaborative tools. Several promising solutions are presented to the identified problems, including the use of video tutorials and commentary using screen recordings as a means of providing feedback to students.

Advancing Undergraduate Laboratory Education Using Non-Model Insect Species

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 485-504
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Beck ◽  
Lawrence S. Blumer
Keyword(s):  
Insect Species ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Authentic Inquiry ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Laboratory Education ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Pedagogical Goals ◽  
Fundamental Shift ◽  
Regulatory Economic

Over the past decade, laboratory courses have made a fundamental shift to inquiry-based modules and authentic research experiences. In many cases, these research experiences emphasize addressing novel research questions. Insects are ideal for inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory courses because research on insects is not limited by regulatory, economic, and logistical constraints to the same degree as research on vertebrates. While novel research questions could be pursued with model insect species (e.g., Drosophila, Tribolium), the opportunities presented by non-model insects are much greater, as less is known about non-model species. We review the literature on the use of non-model insect species in laboratory education to provide a resource for faculty interested in developing new authentic inquiry-based laboratory modules using insects. Broader use of insects in undergraduate laboratory education will support the pedagogical goals of increased inquiry and resesarch experiences while at the same time fostering increased interest and research in entomology.

scholarly journals Measuring Networking as an Outcome Variable in Undergraduate Research Experiences

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. ar38 ◽  
Author(s):  
David I. Hanauer ◽  
Graham Hatfull
Keyword(s):  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Psychosocial Variable ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Final Study ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory ◽  
Discussion Partners

The aim of this paper is to propose, present, and validate a simple survey instrument to measure student conversational networking. The tool consists of five items that cover personal and professional social networks, and its basic principle is the self-reporting of degrees of conversation, with a range of specific discussion partners. The networking instrument was validated in three studies. The basic psychometric characteristics of the scales were established by conducting a factor analysis and evaluating internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha. The second study used a known-groups comparison and involved comparing outcomes for networking scales between two different undergraduate laboratory courses (one involving a specific effort to enhance networking). The final study looked at potential relationships between specific networking items and the established psychosocial variable of project ownership through a series of binary logistic regressions. Overall, the data from the three studies indicate that the networking scales have high internal consistency (α = 0.88), consist of a unitary dimension, can significantly differentiate between research experiences with low and high networking designs, and are related to project ownership scales. The ramifications of the networking instrument for student retention, the enhancement of public scientific literacy, and the differentiation of laboratory courses are discussed.

Graduate and undergraduate laboratory courses in acoustics and vibration

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo A. Glean ◽  
John Judge ◽  
Joseph F. Vignola ◽  
Patrick F. O'Malley ◽  
Teresa J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Undergraduate Laboratory
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