Engineering performance and teamwork perceptions shaped by structured learning experiences in a makerspace.

The ability to work on teams is of critical importance to the field of engineering and a critical competency for future engineers. Fostering performance of effective teamwork through the education of engineers emphasizes the humanistic dimension of the engineering profession and engages future engineering professionals in complex and dynamic team experiences. Team performance and effectiveness of student teams is strongly influenced by individual student perceptions of teamwork as a learning mechanism for successful collective learning experiences. Initial perceptions of teamwork among first year engineering students are often negative due to prior adverse or unproductive team performance. Makerspace learning environments are becoming more prominent in engineering education as promising environments for open-ended, team-based learning experiences that promote positive perceptions of teamwork and performance. The educational potential that makerspaces have to promote engineering design-thinking among the community of teams has great appeal among engineering education. This study explored the engineering performance and student teamwork perceptions of a cohort of first year engineering students (N=488, 126 teams) engaged in a team-based learning experience within a makerspace learning environment. The mixed methods convergent case study design examined teams within and across cases to extract systematic patterns within and across the three constructs of this study: 1) team effectiveness, 2) engineering practice, and 3) teamwork perceptions. Using a 3-phase analysis approach teams were found to be effective in their ability to perform and a relationship emerged between the effectiveness of a team and the team’s collective efficacy. Student perceptions were found to shift over time and through experience. The team-based learning experience implemented through the course was valuable to improving student perceptions of teamwork by 1) ensuring multidisciplinary teams, 2) gradually releasing teams to perform complex, ill-structured problem solving, and 3) using the resources and space within the makerspace to encourage teams to creatively solve the design problem. More research is needed to investigate the inner dynamics of the teams, particularly how well makerspace learning environments engage diverse individuals and what differences exist among experiences

An evaluation of initiatives implemented to support undergraduate students’ transition into Higher Education at one post-1992 university

Supporting students in the transition to Higher Education is crucial to improving retention. Set in a post-1992 university, admitting a high proportion of students from a widening participation background, this paper analyses first year undergraduate students’ experience of their transition and, in particular, the initiatives implemented to support them. Through questionnaires and focus groups with students and interviews with course leaders, the study identifies the importance of pre-entry and first year engagement in helping students make proactive decisions, develop realistic expectations and integrate both socially and academically. A number of initiatives were evaluated and these were largely positive with the majority successfully managing the transition. However, student transition and retention is multi-faceted and this paper demonstrates the challenges post-1992 universities face in supporting a diverse student body. Nevertheless, areas of good practice were identified, including opportunities for social integration during induction and the use of course social network sites

Effective nursing care of children and young people outside hospital

THIS ARTICLE presents an exploratory study that was financed and commissioned by Health Education, North Central and East London (NCEL), and the local education and training board (LETB); it was undertaken by the University of Hertfordshire between February and August 2014. The research was funded to explore the educational needs of the nursing workforce in relation to out-of-hospital care for children and young people in the UK. The data will be used to inform the development of service provision. Read More: http://journals.rcni.com/doi/10.7748/ncyp.27.5.28.e610 Open Access with Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0). Copyright © 2017 RCN Publishing Company Ltd.Aim To assess the preparation required to ensure a workforce of nurses who can provide high quality out-of-hospital services for children and young people. Methods Using mixed methods, questionnaires were sent to young people and community children’s nursing teams, interviews were conducted with academic staff and clinical nurses, and focus groups were undertaken with pre-registration children’s nursing students. Findings Nurses’ communication skills and clinical abilities were most important to young people. There is a range of opinions about optimum out-of-hospital clinical experience. Pre- and post-qualification education and recruitment in this area, therefore, need attention. Conclusion Out-of-hospital care presents problems, but is developing rapidly. Adequate, updated training, supervision and resources are needed.Peer reviewe

Sustainability science graduate students as boundary spanners

Graduate training in sustainability science (SS) focuses on interdisciplinary research, stakeholder-researcher partnerships, and creating solutions from knowledge. But becoming a sustainability scientist also requires specialized training that addresses the complex boundaries implicit in sustainability science approaches to solving social-ecological system challenges. Using boundary spanning as a framework, we use a case study of the Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) at the University of Maine to explicate key elements for graduate education training in SS. We used a mixed-methods approach, including a quantitative survey and autoethnographic reflection, to analyze our experiences as SSI doctoral students. Through this research, we identified four essential SS boundaries that build on core sustainability competencies which need to be addressed in SS graduate programs, including: disciplines within academia, students and their advisors, researchers and stakeholders, and place-based and generalizable research. We identified key elements of training necessary to help students understand and navigate these boundaries using core competencies. We then offer six best practice recommendations to provide a basis for a SS education framework. Our reflections are intended for academic leaders in SS who are training new scientists to solve complex sustainability challenges. Our experiences as a cohort of doctoral students with diverse academic and professional backgrounds provide a unique opportunity to reflect not only on the challenges of SS but also on the specific needs of students and programs striving to provide solutions

Curriculum renewal for interprofessional education in health

In this preface we comment on four matters that we think bode well for the future of interprofessional education in Australia. First, there is a growing articulation, nationally and globally, as to the importance of interprofessional education and its contribution to the development of interprofessional and collaborative health practices. These practices are increasingly recognised as central to delivering effective, efficient, safe and sustainable health services. Second, there is a rapidly growing interest and institutional engagement with interprofessional education as part of pre-registration health professional education. This has changed substantially in recent years. Whilst beyond the scope of our current studies, the need for similar developments in continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals was a consistent topic in our stakeholder consultations. Third, we observe what might be termed a threshold effect occurring in the area of interprofessional education. Projects that address matters relating to IPE are now far more numerous, visible and discussed in terms of their aggregate outcomes. The impact of this momentum is visible across the higher education sector. Finally, we believe that effective collaboration is a critical mediating process through which the rich resources of disciplinary knowledge and capability are joined to add value to existing health service provision. We trust the conceptual and practical contributions and resources presented and discussed in this report contribute to these developments.Office of Learning and Teaching Australi

Transition in Rural Communities

This metasynthesis examines transition planning and services in rural communities, especially those in Alaska. It considers the barriers and challenges to transition implementation, the cultural responsiveness of rural educators, the developments in and suggestions for transition services, and approaches and strategies for transition planning. It illuminates the importance of building community relationships and tapping into human resources. Finally, the metasynthesis stresses the rural educator's need for cultural sensitivity in rural Alaska Native communities

Inter-professional education and primary care : EFPC position paper

Inter-professional education (IPE) can support professionals in developing their ability to work collaboratively. This position paper from the European Forum for Primary Care considers the design and implementation of IPE within primary care. This paper is based on workshops and is an evidence review of good practice. Enablers of IPE programmes are involving patients in the design and delivery, providing a holistic focus, focussing on practical actions, deploying multi-modal learning formats and activities, including more than two professions, evaluating formative and summative aspects, and encouraging team-based working. Guidance for the successful implementation of IPE is set out with examples from qualifying and continuing professional development programmes

Systems Theory in Special Education

In this review I looked at 22 articles that explored two of the primary interventional perspectives used when addressing the needs of exceptional students. A number of the articles elucidate the present prevalence of student based practices in U.S. schools, administration, and legislation. The body of the literature surveys how family centered interventions can be, and are used, to better serve students by integrating the needs and concerns of the family, as well as those of the student. The review was concluded with a discussion of the importance of finding a balance between the current legislative trend which emphasizes a student's needs based on an annual standards driven success model, versus a model which emphasizes the development of the whole child at home, and in the school, during all educational and developmental stages

Collaborative pedagogy and digital scholarship: a case study of 'Media Culture 2020'

This paper presents an educational case study of ‘Media Culture 2020’, an EU Erasmus Intensive Programme that utilised a range social media platforms and computer software to create open, virtual spaces where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe and was designed to develop new pedagogical frameworks to encourage collaborative approaches to teaching and learning in the arts. The main objective of the project was to break down classroom and campus walls by creating digital learning environments that facilitated new forms of production, transmission and representation of knowledge. Media Culture 2020 was designed to pilot a novel mode of ‘blended learning’, demonstrating a number of ways in which ‘Web 2.0’ networked technologies might be adopted by academics to encourage open and collaborative modes of practice. The project utilised a number of social media platforms (including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Google Hangout, Google Docs and Blogger) to enhance the learning experiences of a diverse set of students from different cultural and international contexts. In doing so, Media Culture 2020 enabled participants with a diverse range skills and cultural experiences to develop new working practices that respond to the convergence of digital media and art, as well as the internationalisation of media production and business, through the use of open, interactive software

Teaching and Professional Fellowship Report 2007/08 : Combining student, staff, industry skills and experiences, to facilitate a commercial venture

Having visited a number of international trade fairs for fashion and homeware, staff and students involved with Surface Design courses at LCC had begun to realise the importance for our students and emerging young designers to be represented at such occasions. Encouraged by students’ enthusiasm, we decided to exhibit at Indigo, part of Premier Vision, which is an international trade fair recognised by the fashion textiles trade, held in Paris twice a year. Indigo is where individual designs are sold to fashion houses and manufacturers. It attracts a diverse audience of buyers and agents for a variety of products, and its reputation ensures a well attended show