Responses to COVID-19 in the Context of Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement and Scholarship Requirements for Curricula

Our Curriculum Evaluation and Research-STEM Teaching Fellowship embeds leadership for active engagement in scholarship within teaching teams. It is a response to Higher Education Standards Framework (HESF) minimum requirements for continuous evaluation informing ongoing curriculum transformation, specifically the TEQSA Guidance Note: Scholarship (2018). The Fellowship contextualised the existing ‘Curriculum Evaluation Research (CER) framework’ (Kelder & Carr, 2017) for the specific characteristics of STEM degrees and teaching teams. The framework supports team-based planning and doing activities that are aligned with institutional structures, processes and governance instruments, so that scholarship can be made visible, monitored, measured, met and reported at the level of degree curriculum. Here we describe fellowship outcomes in the context of responses to COVID-19 using a case study at the University of Tasmania.

First Year Student Perception and Experience of Online Topographical Anatomy Laboratory Classes using Zoom Technology during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During semester one of 2020, the units ‘Functional Anatomy of the Trunk’ and ‘Functional Anatomy of the Limbs’ which focus on human topographical anatomy were re-designed into an online delivery format and taught remotely in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. It was expected that the move to remote teaching would negatively impact student perception and learning experience, in particular that of the cadaver-based laboratory work. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the replacement of traditional face-to-face cadaver-based anatomy laboratories with an online version using digital anatomy resources and Zoom technology as the communication platform would achieve comparable student learning experience and outcomes. First Year Students (n=69) enrolled in these units were invited to participate in this study and were asked at the conclusion of each unit to complete an anonymous opinion-based survey via Qualtrics. The Qualtrics data, student grades and Learning Management System (LMS) statistics were analysed. Results indicate that student perception of the online gross anatomy laboratory learning was positive and that it had complemented their learning. Most students agreed that as a visual learning resource, it provided an improved understanding of anatomy and helped with the application of anatomical knowledge. Interestingly, student performance showed a similar range of marks compared with previous years. However, students strongly agreed that the online 2D learning experience had significant limitations when compared to live use of cadavers in laboratories.

Instructional Videos, Conceptual Understanding and Self-Efficacy in the Time of COVID

Advances in technology offer new opportunities for teaching. Many students engage with online videos that enable them to watch, and re-watch these support materials flexibly and at their own pace. In our large-enrolment introductory first-year physics unit, many students find the content very challenging. To support their learning, we have developed short videos of 4-7 minutes explaining concepts and providing demonstrations of the problem-solving process. Our study was originally designed to evaluate and compare the effect on conceptual understanding and self-efficacy of students engaging with two different types of videos: screencasts (e.g. Khan Academy style) and lightboard videos, where the teacher presents direct to the camera on a writable transparent board (the image is then inverted to be the right way round). Then COVID struck, and all our learning was moved online. Thus, in the second semester of the study, we only used screencasts, and focused our research on exploring the relationship between online engagement, self-efficacy and conceptual understanding of students. We found that students preferred lightboards, and that both semesters’ average survey scores on self-efficacy and conceptual understanding were generally stable or increased only slightly. This is at odds with other studies of similar cohorts. However, the small number of paired responses in our study meant that a self-selection bias may have skewed results. Scores on the conceptual understanding were weakly correlated with assessment performance, suggesting the presence of other contributing variables. Initial self-efficacy scores did not predict subsequent engagement. Instead, missing multiple early assessments was identified as a stronger predictor of failing to pass the subject.

Mathematics Support – Essential at the Best of Times, Crucial at the Worst of Times

Mathematics and statistics support is essential in today’s higher education system. It gives students the guidance, expertise, skills and nurturing they need to be successful in their studies and beyond. It offers them opportunities to explore past their limits, self-motivate, self-assess, seek relevance, and ask questions. The Maths Hub at La Trobe University, Australia, recently changed, as we all did, with our face-to-face support in a physical space transitioned to face-to-face support via Zoom, almost overnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is our tale – how we transitioned from the vibrant, busy, demanding physical space to a wholly online world. The advantages, the surprises, the incidents, the attendances, and the feedback, will be highlighted. Not only was the interaction and intimacy of one-to-one sessions successful, but also the increased engagement in the tailored cross-disciplinary online modules that we offer. It is the worst of times, but it is also the best of times for creating innovative online opportunities, and it is changing times. But the thirst for mathematics and statistics support remains strong.

‘You’ll Never Get Cultural Competence in Science’: An Australian Perspective on Integrating Cultural Competence into Science Teaching Via Cultural Accountability

In the last decade, the Australian higher education sector has championed the inclusion of cultural competence (CC) as a key graduate quality. Diverse disciplinary learning and teaching approaches requiring careful consideration about how best to achieve the end goal of supporting graduates on their individual, life-long pathways to engage with CC. Science can be viewed as an inflexible and immovable discipline. This perception seems particularly prevalent with respect to scientists acknowledging epistemes outside of a western cultural frame. It follows that eliciting curriculum reform with respect to CC broadly, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives more specifically, was perceived to be a significant challenge. Through interviews with eleven non-Indigenous academics across the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, we uncovered several strategies for including multiple knowledges in science, with academics traversing these new horizons by building on the work of and collaborating with Indigenous Elders and academics to create enriched learning spaces. Alongside these strategies are staff reflections on their CC journey, which indicate that this endeavour entails necessary and vital discomforts that ultimately enable transformation. This process while guided by CC, led to experiences of cultural humility and a conviction in the role of cultural accountability.

Insights into Student Cognition: Creative Exercises as an Evaluation Tool in Undergraduate First-year Organic Chemistry

It is known that while students can be adept at recalling specific information, especially in end of semester summative exams, they can still often struggle to connect or link this information over different topic areas. In many cases, this issue is exacerbated by traditional assessments and teaching styles that focus on and reward students who have only interacted with the learning materials on a more surface level. Many attempts have been made over time to rectify this, with one such example shown in the use of Creative Exercises (CEs). CEs are open-ended tasks that allow students to connect as much prior knowledge as possible into one cohesive response, potentially developing a student’s ability to link and connect disparate topic areas and content. In this study, CEs were introduced into a large scale first-year course and focused on fundamental organic chemistry reactions for the first time (to the best of our knowledge). Students performed the CEs in groups, and the paper responses were collected over six weeks (N=945 in total). Analysis of these artefacts revealed that students did indeed struggle to connect information over subsequent teaching weeks. This inability to connect information was despite being encouraged to do so both by the tasks and the teaching staff. Additionally, while more ‘advanced’ students (as noted by prior performance) were noted to raise more topics in a given week, they were just as susceptible to ‘siloing’ the information as lower-performing students. Recommendations are made on the future use of CEs.

Fostering Learning with Incremental Scaffolds During Chemical Experimentation: A Study on Junior High School Students Working in Peer-Groups

Scaffolds are considered to be a promising method of supporting learning. In this study, we investigated the learning efficacy of scaffolds in an inquiry-based learning scenario. Three tasks posed a question/problem to facilitate inquiry-based learning, and scaffolds offered the answer/solution in multiple steps (so-called incremental scaffolds). The use of the scaffolds was voluntary and students’ learning efficacy was compared with a traditional teaching approach. A total of N = 105 seventh graders participated in the quasi-experimental study. Incremental scaffolds were available to the students in the treatment group. Students in the control group received the same question/problem but could only ask the teacher about the answer/solution. Concept maps were used at pre- and posttest to assess conceptual knowledge acquisition. In-line with our hypothesis, results show that students in the treatment group outperformed controls concerning conceptual knowledge acquisition. Regarding the number of misconceptions students used, there were no differences between the groups. Our study indicates that incremental scaffolds are an appropriate method to provide students with the exact help they really need. Based on our findings, we offer practical implications and recommendations for future research.

A Learning Analytics-informed Activity to Improve Student Performance in a First Year Physiology Course

Learning Analytics (LA) can be employed to identify course-specific factors that hinder student course (outcome) performance, which can be subsequently rectified using targeted interventions. Supplementing interventions with predictive modelling also permits the identification of students who are at-risk of failing the course and encourages their participation. LA findings suggested that a targeted intervention for our course should focus on improving student short answer question (SAQ) performance, which we attempted to achieve by improving their understanding of features pertaining to various SAQ answer standards and how to achieve them using examples of varying scores. Every student was invited to the intervention via a course-wide announcement through the course learning management system. At-risk students identified using predictive models were given an additional invitation in the form of a personalised email. Results suggest that intervention improved student understanding of SAQ performance criteria. The intervention also enhanced student end-of-semester SAQ performance by 12% and 11% for at-risk and no-risk students respectively. Course failure rate was also lower by 26% and 9% among at-risk and no-risk intervention participants. Student perception of the intervention was also positive where an overwhelming majority of participants (96%) found the interventional activity to be useful for their learning and exam preparations.

Teachers in conversation with industry scientists: Implications for STEM education

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is dominating industry as we become more technology-dependent and the workplace evolves. Consequently, engaging industry professionals in STEM education continues to be a priority in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, as industry look to invest in students who will become future innovators. While industry partnerships with schools can help to drive authentic education in STEM, there needs to be a mutually respectful approach that capitalises on the expertise of each partner; that is, the deep discipline knowledge of industry and the pedagogical knowledge of educators. This research partnered industry scientists with early career science teachers to explore the implications of industry-school partnerships. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups with 15 participants. The qualitative data were inductively coded and triangulation occurred between different focus groups for dependability. The advice from industry scientists to educators focused on making science practical and authentic, while educators sought to engage industry partnerships to support the development of content knowledge and to overcome resourcing issues. In addition, the conversations between scientists and science educators illuminated a number of barriers to partnering, including what type of STEM careers to introduce to students and the appropriate age groups to target to ensure successful partnerships.

Facilitating Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning with Question-Asking Scripting Activity and its Effects on Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Critical Thinking in Science

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) provides an environment that enhances social interaction and shared knowledge construction among students. However, limited research has examined CSCL reinforced by question-asking scripting activity. This research investigated the effects of CSCL with question-asking scripting activity on the development of conceptual understanding and critical thinking in science. Moreover, the research design was a three-group pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental study in which the research sample were 106 Grade 7 students. The only difference between the control and the experimental groups was the exposure to CSCL. The experimental groups were exposed to CSCL approaches: one without scripting while one was exposed with question-asking scripting activity. Results revealed that CSCL approaches significantly affected the development of students’ conceptual understanding and critical thinking. Specifically, CSCL with scripting stimulated more intellectual discussion which allowed learners to deepen lesson comprehension and improve their critical thinking skills. Insights on the innovations through technology integration, collaborative inquiry learning, and question-asking activity to enhance science education were also discussed. The findings of this study have important implications for future practice.