Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2005

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2005

Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

Game-Based Learning, Gamification in Education and Serious Games

The aim of this book is to present and discuss new advances in serious games to show how they could enhance the effectiveness and outreach of education, advertising, social awareness, health, policies, etc. We present their use in structured learning activities, not only with a focus on game-based learning, but also on the use of game elements and game design techniques to gamify the learning process. The published contributions really demonstrate the wide scope of application of game-based approaches in terms of purpose, target groups, technologies and domains and one aspect they have in common is that they provide evidence of how effective serious games, game-based learning and gamification can be

Exploring student perceptions about the use of visual programming environments, their relation to student learning styles and their impact on student motivation in undergraduate introductory programming modules

My research aims to explore how students perceive the usability and enjoyment of visual/block-based programming environments (VPEs), to what extent their learning styles relate to these perceptions and finally to what extent these tools facilitate student understanding of basic programming constructs and impact their motivation to learn programming

Mental Health Literacy for Adolescents with Special Needs: A Pilot Occupational Therapy Curriculum in a Middle School

In school communities, addressing student mental health and establishing safe, supportive relationships have become part of our everyday work. National statistics currently report one in five children in the United States struggles with a mental disorder (One in Five Minds, 2020). Students are presenting with increasingly complex psychiatric, behavioral, and trauma experiences that impact their ability to access education and navigate the tasks of adolescence-with life-long health results. This doctoral project has explored youth mental health prevention and promotion interventions for the occupational therapy practitioner and contributing factors such as youth marginalization, social inequity, and youth health literacy deficits. Throughout my career, I have worked in diverse settings, serving in different roles. Each experience has taught me skills and built upon core professional values to shape my practice. I have worked collaboratively with patients, parents, and peers to create programs that expanded the role of occupational therapy in a given community and have been privileged to work with individuals who have experienced significant loss or trauma. Their stories have inspired me to develop professional competencies to create safe, supportive environments that teach skills and allow healing. Through facilitating successful occupation and engagement in community, I have helped individuals define and create their next chapter of meaningful living. My three knowledge translation projects apply the occupational therapy lens to maximize effectiveness and student engagement in implementation of mental health promotion programs in a school serving adolescents with special needs. The project aims are to improve mental health literacy of adolescent students with special needs by offering a pilot curriculum within the science class of a special education setting, to increase awareness of occupational therapy contributions to a school-based mental health program for adolescents with special needs through a professional presentation at an interdisciplinary national conference, and to introduce entry-level occupational therapy graduate students to the process and outcomes of a pilot mental health literacy curriculum for adolescents in a special education setting through completion of an educational module. The projects, themselves, and their outcomes have been significantly impacted by societal changes of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health literacy pilot, begun in a middle school classroom, was converted and successfully delivered through virtual learning. Despite changes, both students and staff consistently reported positive increases in knowledge of mental health with effective strategies for coping in everyday life. The interdisciplinary conference proposal is currently stalled as we await the conversion of the conference to a virtual format. The presentation for occupational therapy graduate students was successfully developed for virtual delivery. The questions and dialogue with the students were insightful and hopeful about the future of occupational therapy in addressing mental health needs in school-based practice. In reflection, I can identify two aspects of achievement in these doctoral projects. In the first, my clinical expertise has been honed into an innovative, successful intervention approach for youth-supported by science and implemented with creativity and flexibility. The second is the understanding that completion of an advanced practice degree comes with a responsibility to share one’s narrative, from both a scholarly and a clinical perspective, to guide and encourage others in their practice. If the work resonates, they carry it forward in multiple directions similar to a pebble that creates ripples in a pond

Integrating Technology With Student-Centered Learning

Reviews research on technology's role in personalizing learning, its integration into curriculum-based and school- or district-wide initiatives, and the potential of emerging digital technologies to expand student-centered learning. Outlines implications

Improving awareness of health hazards associated with air pollution in primary school children: Design and test of didactic tools

One of the objectives of the MAPEC-Life project is raising children’s awareness on air quality and its health effects. To achieve this goal, we designed didactic tools for primary school students, including leaflets with more information for teachers, a cartoon, and three educational videogames. The tools were then tested with 266 children who attended six primary schools in four Italian cities. A control group of 51 children received only explanations from teachers. An improvement in knowledge after using the audiovisual package was demonstrated, with higher efficacy compared with the control group. In addition, the use of videogames was greatly appreciated

A serious game for programming in higher education

Programming is a highly difficult skill which is a constituent of many undergraduate programmes at Higher Education (HE) level. With the advancement of games technology there is an increasing opportunity for educators to provide innovative assessment tools for students on their courses which are highly immersive and graphically indicative of the times. This could potentially be in a supplementary capacity or to a greater extent inextricably linked to the learning outcomes and assessment outcomes. Notably serious games and Games-Based Learning (GBL) have received high levels of attention from educationalists due to being motivational, novel learning approaches. This paper will outline two empirical studies conducted to develop a game to teach programming at HE level. The first study will gauge the acceptability of a computer game for teaching programming and formulating content integration development requirements. The second study will outline the evaluation of the developed game being placed in a module as a formative assessment tool to assist learners to revise for their formal class test. Study one showed that acceptability of the game was high with 61 participants completing an acceptability/content integration questionnaire. The game was designed to consolidate knowledge on rudimentary and advanced programming concepts, data structures and algorithms. 48 participants evaluated the game in study two with the results generally indicating that they enjoyed playing the game as a revision alternative with 14% of participants rating it as very effective and 51% of participants as effective for allowing them to prepare for their class test. The majority of participants also believed that games could be utilised in a formative and summative assessment capacity on courses for independent study