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Driving Course Engagement Through Multimodal Strategic Technologies
Get PDFThis paper describes the development of a new second-year level undergraduate Physics course at the University of Newcastle, comprising three four-week modules (encompassing Special Relativity, Nuclear and Particle Physics) for a combined roster of both Newcastle and James Cook students. A series of multimodal digital learning technology platforms were employed to see if they could maximise student engagement. Specifically, a flipped classroom system was trialled whereby students were tasked with creating their own lecture notes from online videos (created using Lightboard and PowerPoint). This approach resulted in 90% of the class actively engaging with the lecture content. Weekly online tutorial workshops consistently achieved an attendance rate of approximately 85% and included an online quiz based on embedded questions within the lecture videos. In addition, innovative STEM laboratory workshops exploited active engagement strategies including purely online worksheets to blended and remote experiments. The inclusion of a Slack-based project management hub enabled students to work seamlessly under constantly changing COVID-19 restrictions while exposing them to planning, management and Python control coding, under the visage of “embracing technology and best practice to deliver the greatest possible student experience”. A review of students’ view of the Lightboard and PowerPoint lecture content was conducted with Lightboard being the student’s outright preference
An investigation of the place of inquiry-based learning in chemistry laboratories in senior secondary school and first-year university
Get PDFOne of the most important aspects of science education is understanding how evidence, data, and models explain the natural world. Laboratory work strengthens this understanding by linking content knowledge to science practices and promoting student inquiry. Inquiry within chemistry education is generally taught through laboratory experiments, ranging from traditional, guided inquiry and open inquiry experiments (Furtak et al., 2012). This poster will look at the preliminary results from 152 undergraduate Curtin University students who completed year 11 chemistry. A questionnaire derived from five Likert scales (Chatterjee et al., 2009; Cheung, 2011; Fraser et al., 1993) was used to understand students' past experiences with inquiry types and if changes should be made to the level taught at year 11. The results showed strong support for guided inquiry laboratories compared to open and procedural laboratories. While guided inquiry was favoured, students acknowledged that conducting procedural experiments better develops practical skills. Additionally, participants had to match the most frequent type of inquiry to a scenario with students struggling to decide between open and guided inquiry; students more uniformly identified procedural laboratories.
REFERENCES
Chatterjee, S., Williamson, V. M., McCann, K., & Peck, M. L. (2009). Surveying students' attitudes and perceptions toward guided-inquiry and open-inquiry laboratories. Journal of Chemical Education, 86(12), 1427. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed086p1427
Cheung, D. (2011). Teacher beliefs about implementing guided-inquiry laboratory experiments for secondary school chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(11), 1462-1468. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed1008409
Fraser, B. J., McRobbie, C. J., & Giddings, G. J. (1993). Development and cross-national validation of a laboratory classroom environment instrument for senior high school science. Science Education, 77(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730770102
Furtak, E. M., Seidel, T., Iverson, H., & Briggs, D. C. (2012). Experimental and quasi-experimental studies of inquiry-based science teaching: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 82(3), 300-329. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465431245720
Advanced Organic Chemistry laboratory curricula in Australian universities: Investigating the major topics and approaches to learning
Get PDFA key goal of tertiary education is to prepare graduates with the training, skills, and knowledge necessary to thrive in the workforce. In chemistry, 50% of undergraduate students from Australia, New Zealand and the UK plan to pursue a career that uses chemistry (Ogunde et al., 2017). However, it has also been noted that there is a mismatch in the skills desired by industry when compared with what is taught to undergraduates (Martin et al., 2011; Yasin & Yueying, 2017). Laboratory work is an essential part of undergraduate programs with the objective of developing practical and interpersonal skills with ‘real world’ engagement in chemistry. It is therefore concerning to note the perception among industry stakeholders that the laboratory skills of high-achieving chemistry graduates do not meet the desired standard (Kirton et al., 2014).
This project aims to investigate how we can better develop higher level undergraduate chemistry laboratory programs to improve training and competency with industrially relevant skills. This research will undertake an initial investigation into the current organic chemistry laboratory curricula of second- and third-year courses in Australian universities through content analysis of laboratory manuals and unit outlines. To extend our understanding, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key external stakeholders, academics, and post-graduate teaching staff. This presentation will introduce the initial stages of this project and expand on our intentions to utilise these data to develop an intervention and set of recommendations for undergraduate laboratories.
REFERENCES
Kirton, S. B., Al-Ahmad, A., & Fergus, S. (2014). Using Structured Chemistry Examinations (SChemEs) as an assessment method to improve undergraduate students’ generic, practical, and laboratory-based skills. Journal of Chemical Education, 91(5), 648-654.
Martin, C. B., Schmidt, M., & Soniat, M. (2011). A survey of the practices, procedures, and techniques in undergraduate organic chemistry teaching laboratories. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(12), 1630-1638.
Ogunde, J. C., Overton, T. L., Thompson, C. D., Mewis, R., & Boniface, S. (2017). Beyond graduation: Motivations and career aspirations of undergraduate chemistry students. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(3), 457-471.
Yasin, N. Y. B. M., & Yueying, O. (2017). Evaluating the relevance of the chemistry curriculum to the workplace: Keeping tertiary education relevant. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(10), 1443-1449
Absent but still engaged: Connecting with diverse student cohorts using self-paced, online physiology modules
Get PDFPROBLEM
On-campus clinics to support mastery of challenging physiology threshold concepts among a cohort of Murdoch University students were introduced to BMS206 (Biomedical Physiology) in 2009, and recognised for their impact on student learning and engagement in an Office of Learning and Teaching Citation. Despite ongoing popularity, clinic attendance declined to less than 5% from 2014-2018, with personal commitments cited as barriers to participation.
PLAN
To adapt to changing student needs, on-campus clinics were reconceived in asynchronous, self-paced, digital form.
ACTION
Nine question-and-answer style clinics were created to direct students on digital learning journeys through physiology threshold concepts, providing alternate, scaffolded, individualised “paths” through material, depending on students’ responses.
REFLECTION
Clinic participation increased from 5 to 75% with implementation of optional, non-assessed online clinics. Student perception and unit performance data indicate that clinic use promotes deeper learning. Diverse students (undergraduate and postgraduate, with wide ranging Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs) cite clinics’ in-built flexibility, effective use of repetition to promote mastery and confidence and interactive, engaging presentation as particular benefits. Students describe a sense of connection with staff in self-paced clinics, thanks to the careful incorporation of the staff voice, helping online clinics to transform students’ confidence and motivation when faced with challenging material.
Removing the fear from teaching Traditional Ways of Knowing in science
Get PDFIncorporating Traditional Ways of Knowing (TWK) into science education has long been recommended (e.g., Meyer & Crawford, 2011; Rich, 2012; Zidny, Sjöström, & Eilks, 2020). While many students are unaware that alternatives to western knowledge exist (Rich, 2012), cross-cultural education can provide students with the tools for a multiple-knowledge approach to real-world problems and can increase the relevance of science education beyond theories and facts, contextualising learning in everyday life (Zidny et al., 2020). Embedding TWK into science education can also engage under-represented students and assist in the development of academic hospitality toward Indigenous peoples (Meyer & Crawford, 2011; Rich, 2012). However, it is important to not make this approach only a box-ticking exercise (Rich, 2012).
While TWK is best done in cooperation with Aboriginal people, the opportunities for this are limited. We have developed TWK with the assistance of Traditional Owners and have implemented cultural awareness training for all science students at Flinders University. We have also developed a program of TWK embedded across an entire science degree in Conservation Biology. We will discuss how we can build, facilitate, and embed Indigenous perspectives as non-Indigenous Australian lecturers, and how through experience, we can build confident and competent delivery of material.
REFERENCES
Meyer, X., & Crawford, B. (2011). Teaching science as a cultural way of knowing: Merging authentic inquiry, nature of science, and multicultural strategies. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(3), 525-547.
Rich, N. (2012). Introduction: Why link Indigenous ways of knowing with the teaching of environmental studies and sciences? Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 308-316.
Zidny, R., Sjöström, J., & Eilks, I. (2020). A multi-perspective reflection on how Indigenous knowledge and related ideas can improve science education for sustainability. Science & Education, 29(1), 145-185
Two new species of Genoplesium R.Br. sensu lato (Orchidaceae: Prasophyllinae) from the Central Coast of New South Wales
Get PDFWe describe two new species of Prasophyllinae from New South Wales, in the genus Genoplesium R.Br. following the generic classification currently in use at the National Herbarium of New South Wales. One of these new species, Genoplesium branwhiteorum M.A.M.Renner & P.H.Weston, which we name for the Branwhite family, has been known for nearly a decade under the informal name Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven (NSW896673). The other new species, G. geminatum M.A.M.Renner & Towle has been confused with both G. rufum (R.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. and G. trifidum (Rupp) M.A.M.Renner, although it is more similar to G. mucronatum (Rupp) M.A.M.Renner and G. tasmanicum D.L.Jones, and possesses a combination of features of consistent expression supporting its recognition as a new species. Three new combinations are made. Genoplesium cuspidatum (D.L.Jones & L.M.Copel.) M.A.M.Renner, comb. nov. is based on Corunastylis cuspidata D.L.Jones & L.M.Copel., Genoplesium laminatum (Fitzg.) M.A.M.Renner, is based on Prasophyllum laminatum Fitzg. and Genoplesium mucronatum (Rupp) M.A.M.Renner is based on Prasophyllum mucronatum Rupp. [listed as a synonym of G. rufum in PlantNet]
Grevillea tesselata Olde (Proteaceae: Grevilleoideae: Hakeinae), a rare new species of uncertain affinity from the Avon Wheatbelt region of south-west Western Australia.
Get PDFGrevillea tesselata Olde is described here as a new species from south-west Western Australia, known only from a small population in a fragmented roadside landscape, and previously recognised under the phrase name Grevillea sp. Trayning (W. Johnston WJ 071). Following the Flora of Australia, the new species keys to the Grevillea Acacioides Group which comprises only three species, G. endlicheriana Meisn., G. acacioides C.A.Gardner ex McGill. and G. gordoniana C.A.Gardner. A binary assessment of 50 morphological characters presented here supports the view that G. acacioides and G. endlicheriana are sister species. A key to the new species is provided and its distribution updated. Grevillea tesselata has a Priority One Conservation Code according to the Western Australian Herbarium