1,720,991 research outputs found
Student preference and perceptions of asynchronous online activities for first year allied health physiology blended block units
Get PDFFoundational knowledge in Anatomy and Physiology is integral to all health courses, however, first year students often find the volume and complexity of the concepts challenging (Vitali et al., 2020). Furthermore, our typical demographic student profile comes from a low socioeconomic status with a limited Science background. To help students with their study, health science education literature supports the importance of self-directed study including the use of technology-enhanced learning in blended approaches to learning (Gagnon et al., 2013; Geng et al., 2019). In 2018, Victoria University(VU) launched the VU Block model (where students study only one unit at a time for 4 weeks, for all first year units, (McCluskey et al., 2019). Our design included a blended approach, combining pre and post class technology-enhanced online learning activities and resources supported by face-to-face workshops involving small team based guided inquiry learning with no lectures. Within a block, blended learning environment, little is known about which online learning activities and resources students prefer and engage with. We utilised surveys, student grades and learning analytics to investigate student outcomes including preference for and participation in learning activities. Students preferred and engaged the most with the asynchronous online formative quizzes and H5P learning interactives. Both the number of H5P’s and quizzes utilised by students were significant (p=.001, p=.001) in predicting final grade (F(2,1245) = 102.19, R2=.141, p=<.001). Student satisfaction data via the institutional unit evaluation survey was high for our traditional 12- week blended design and reduced for the intensive block mode setting. We suggest that providing students with a variety of asynchronous online learning activities and resources supported the blended design for block
H5P and the Brave New World of Learning Interactives: A Case Study in First Year Anatomy & Physiology units
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ACSME 2020 Special Issue - Editorial
Get PDFThe 2020 Australian Conference of Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME) was held online due to the COVID-19 epidemic with the theme: “A science education for uncertain times.” This special issue of the International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education (IJISME), consisting of six papers, is rich in the discussion of a range of issues, including thoughtful detail of the enhancement of teaching practices in the face of the current COVID-19 challenges. Twenty-five authors and co-authors, from a variety of disciplines, contributed to this edition.
Some authors detail how they have adapted to the current COVID-19 circumstances and how their innovations and modifications have impacted students. These range from implementation of instructional videos, conceptual understanding and self-efficacy for first-year physics students, student perception and experience of online topographical first-year anatomy laboratory classes using Zoom technology, and discussion of the transition of mathematics and statistics support “in a room” to “via Zoom” and its implications for students. Also included in this edition is a paper on the insights into student cognition using creative exercises as an evaluation tool in undergraduate first-year organic chemistry, and a paper on an Australian perspective on integrating cultural competence into science teaching via cultural accountability. Furthermore, we have included a discussion paper outlining short-term and long-term responses to COVID-19 in the context of quality assurance, quality improvement and scholarship requirements for curricula, which was supported by an inaugural Australian Council of Deans of Science (ACDS) Teaching Fellowship.
We hope these papers inspire you to strengthen your own educational research activities and engage in, and write papers about, your scholarly teaching and learning practices, particularly in these changing times where the generation of new ideas and innovative practices has become a necessity for quality education of our science graduates
Do Online Maths tools improve undergraduate mathematics outcomes within the block teaching model?
No full textA notable decline in secondary mathematics enrolment has raised concerns over numerical capacity and readiness for STEM learning in tertiary education over recent years. This has prompted some university academics to shift from traditional pedagogical delivery methods to a constructivist teaching approach such as incorporating online teaching tools within a more interactive learning environment. While some online tools have been purpose build, none to the best of our knowledge have been contextualised for biomedical sciences, or supported by research into their effectiveness when taught within the block teaching model. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of freely available online mathematics learning tools when applied to the biomedical sciences taught in a time compressed block teaching format. One hundred and seventy-six first year students completed a survey reflecting on their level of comfort, competence, and enjoyment of mathematics, including their highest level of previous study in the discipline. Students were also surveyed about their tertiary entrance rank and completed a short quiz to establish their pre-learning numeracy skill baseline. Students completed a post-unit assessment at the end of each unit, together with a survey about the extent of their online tool usage. Our results show that there is significant improvement (p<0.001) when students supplemented their learning using online maths tools, by a clear pre versus post increase in tests results. This improvement was statistically significant and remained consistent across all identified ability groups. However, this improvement was not linked to the students’ university entrance rank score and interestingly nor was the result skewed by differential group usage of the online resources provided
The importance of developing a metric to classify student experience in mathematics within the framework of intensive block teaching
Get PDFThe number of students enrolling in higher level mathematics units at high school have been in decline for a number of years. This is of particular concern when they then continue their studies within undergraduate STEM disciplines at University, leading academics to search for better methods to support mathematical instruction. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of a simple and robust tool to classify students’ mathematical capacity within a time compressed block teaching environment. One hundred and seventy-six first year students completed a survey reflecting on their level of comfort, competence, and enjoyment of mathematics, including their highest level of previous study in the discipline. Students also completed a short quiz to establish a pre-learning numeracy skill baseline. The survey provided data for development of the metric, from which, three groups ranked on their mathematical ability (low, medium and high) were identified which were then matched with scores arising from their baseline assessment. The classification grouping was uniform across all four offerings of the mathematics unit taught and matched with common baseline assessment scores. The importance of this tool shows both reliability and robustness in being able to identify students likely to have difficulty in studying undergraduate mathematics especially within the context of the time limited intensive block teaching, permitting early intervention to help students at risk of failure to succeed
Teacher Narratives and Narratives of Teaching: Inquiry into Lived Experiences
No full text216 p.This Reprint explores teachers' lives through narrative methodology, with the aim of fostering an enhanced appreciation for teaching. Leading experts show how different narrative methods including autobiography, oral history, interviews, photography, reflective writing, social media posts, and surveys can reveal a fuller picture of the reality of being an educator. These narratives reveal both the challenges teachers face and the meaningful connections they build with students, parents, and colleagues. Through these accounts, we see how teachers handle constant changes in education while staying resilient, creative, and committed to their work. By sharing teachers’ lived experiences, this work highlights education's wide-reaching effects: how teachers transform individual students, strengthen communities, and play a crucial role in building our future. The collection presents an inspiring picture of educators that may encourage others to embrace and sustain the teaching profession
Engaging first year biomedical students with scientific literature via the innovative Perusall online reading platform
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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