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

Making connections in science: engaging with ICT to enhance curriculum understanding

The “Teaching Teachers for the Future” (TTF) project (DEEWR, 2012) provided the La Trobe University School of Education with the opportunity to rethink the integration of Information and Communication Technology in the science curriculum subjects offered in their teacher education programs. The La Trobe University iteration of the Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) project focused initially on subject in the second semester, third year of the Bachelor of Education course called the Multi-Disciplinary Science & Technology Integrated Experience (MSTIE). Two pairs of pre-service teachers were placed in the school where the TTF ICT Pedagogy Officer (ICTPO) worked as an ICT specialist. The two teams worked with classroom teachers and the ICTPO to cooperatively plan, teach and evaluate a science curriculum project enhanced by strong ICT integration. The experience was a catalyst for significant educational insight, for the students involved, but also for other pre-service teachers and teachers from the school and university. In the second cycle of the project the ICTPO worked with academics from the university to draw on findings from the first cycle in order to design and implement integrated ICT initiatives in a first semester, second year Science curriculum subject. This structure means that students who will take MSTIE in their third year will have a strong foundation of Science ICT integration on which to base their MSTIE preparation and implementation. &nbsp

Designing experiments using digital fabrication in structural dynamics

In engineering, traditional approaches aimed at teaching concepts of dynamics to engineering students include the study of a dense yet sequential theoretical development of proofs and exercises. Structural dynamics are seldom taught experimentally in laboratories since these facilities should be provided with expensive equipment such as wave generators, data-acquisition systems, and heavily wired deployments with sensors. In this paper, the design of an experimental experience in the classroom based upon digital fabrication and modeling tools related to structural dynamics is presented. In particular, all experimental deployments are conceived with low-cost, open-source equipment. The hardware includes Arduino-based open-source electronics whereas the software is based upon object-oriented open-source codes for the development of physical simulations. The set of experiments and the physical simulations are reproducible and scalable in classroom-based environments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Succesful teaching of experimental vibration research

For more than 20 years, master students have been offered a practical training on experimental vibration research by the Structural Dynamics & Acoustics Section of the University of Twente. The basic theoretical knowledge, necessary to attend this practical training, is provided for the Master part of their study and it consists of a series of lectures on advanced dynamics, measurement techniques and the concept of modal analysis. The practical training consists of performing vibration experiments on a well defined simple structure. Use is made of a digital signal processing (DSP) Siglab system, together with ME'scope as analysis tool. In order to guarantee maximal transfer of knowledge toward the participants, small groups consisting of two students are formed. These groups are supervised by an experienced tutor, who intensively monitors the progress of the practical training. It lasts one day and the students have to write down their findings in a report. In order to attend the practical training in an efficient way, students have to study the theoretical basics of experimental vibration research in advance. In order to achieve an optimal preparation to the practical, a ‘virtual’ vibration measurement based on Labview is developed for the next academic year. Students will thus be able to run this experiment remotely from behind their PC by activating a real-life test case placed in the laboratory. In this paper the content and execution of the practical training is described. The experience of the authors is that the vast amount of interesting educational ingredients contributes to a profound understanding of both theoretical and experimental vibration research for Mechanical Engineering students

Pedagogy First, Technology Second: teaching & learning information literacy online

This paper explores the pedagogical and technical issues, challenges and outcomes of creating an online information literacy course. Currently under development, this course will be offered as a parallel study option to Advanced Information Retrieval Skills (AIRS:IFN001 ) for QUT postgraduate students, a compulsory face-to-face course for all QUT research students. The aim of this project is to optimise students’ access to AIRS:IFN001 and meet the University’s objectives regarding flexible delivery and online teaching. Still in its developmental stages, AIRS::Online extends beyond the current notion of static online information literacy tutorials by providing a facilitated, student focussed learning environment comprising content and learning experiences enhanced by appropriate multimedia technology and resources which engage students in planned facilitated and/or self-paced learning events. Course assessment is formative and summative, and is comprised of a research log and reflective journal to provide a means for reviewing the content and key process of advanced information searching and retrieval

Using an interactive whiteboard and a computer-programming tool to support the development of the key competencies in the New Zealand curriculum

Does children’s use of the software Scratch provide potential for the enhancement of key competencies as they work in pairs at the interactive whiteboard (IWB)? This article looks at how children using Scratch collaborated and managed their projects as they set about designing, constructing, testing and evaluating a game for others to play, a task that provided a sustained challenge over six weeks and beyond. The findings showed that the key competencies of participating, contributing, and relating to others were enhanced by the collaborative use of Scratch at the IWB, and that creative and conceptual thinking processes were sustained. Children became increasingly adept at using Scratch, and some children, previously thought to have poor social skills, began to articulate their understandings to others. While a guiding and scaffolding role was evident in teachers’ actions, close monitoring of group progress and direct input from teachers is required to keep the challenge high but achievable, and to extend children’s knowledge and thinking as they use Scratch at the IWB

WinEcon Fiscal Pathways: A Computer Based Learning Module for the Subject Macroeconomic Theory and Policy

trade reforms, manufacturing performance, Australia