Students as co-researchers

Student engagement in researching aspects of their own course to enhance learning and teaching and the student experience. Students in different roles as co-researchers on projects, peer teachers and peer mentors, and in co-research with the ECS Course Leader, impacting positively on ECS course design and content

Class Size and Nursing Students\u27 Perception of Empowerment

Due to increases in enrollment and budget cuts in many states, college class sizes are reaching unprecedented sizes (Carpenter, 2006). Nursing schools are facing the same challenges. Only limited research has been conducted on the effects of class size on nursing students\u27 perception of empowerment Conger (1989) defines empowerment as the act of reinforcing one\u27s belief in his or her perception of competence. Empowerment is important for nursing students\u27 education (Chally, 1992). To achieve the optimal learning experience in face of increasing class size, it is important to explore how nursing students experience learning in both small and large class environments. This study surveyed 71 BSN students enrolled in both small- and large-size classes on their perceptions of empowerment The study\u27s findings showed statistically significant differences in favor of smail classes positively impacting the students\u27 perceptions of empowerment and the quality of their individual learning experiences

The State of Sustainable Research Software: Results from the Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE5.1)

This article summarizes motivations, organization, and activities of the Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE5.1) held in Manchester, UK in September 2017. The WSSSPE series promotes sustainable research software by positively impacting principles and best practices, careers, learning, and credit. This article discusses the Code of Conduct, idea papers, position papers, experience papers, demos, and lightning talks presented during the workshop. The main part of the article discusses the speed-blogging groups that formed during the meeting, along with the outputs of those sessions

Speech and language therapy students’ experience of peer assisted learning:Undergraduates investigate PAL as a means of enhancing academic and professional development

The implementation of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) on healthcare courses in Higher Education Institutions has been explored in a number of studies. This paper presents research into the experience of PAL on a BSc Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) programme. The research was conducted by final year undergraduate SLT students to form the basis for their final dissertations. The focus for their research was on the effects of PAL on academic and professional development for both mentees and mentors on the same course. Data were generated from standard PAL evaluations and focus groups. Findings indicate that mentees benefit from PAL in terms of their university experience and learning. Mentors benefited from opportunities to develop and practice skills for their future employment. Engagement with PAL is attributed to its structured yet informal nature and the enthusiasm of the mentors. However, the collaborative nature of PAL takes time to develop, impacting on the behaviours of both mentees and mentors. Overall PAL offers mentees and mentors opportunities which enhance their academic learning and professional development

An Examination of Students Perceptions of Learning in a Study Abroad Experience and Recommendations for Effective Pedagogy

Undergraduate study abroad programs are becoming more popular in our increasingly global society. Students consider the opportunity to study abroad to be a personally impacting educational experience. This study provided empirical data demonstrating that study abroad experiences are unique as students learn in ways that differ from the tradition classroom. Additionally, the results indicate that students struggle with the interdependent terms study and abroad. The experience of living abroad is exceptionally educational as well deeply personal and impacting. However, traditional classroom study practices (reading textbooks, taking exams, etc.) impose obstacles for the experiential learning (living in another culture). As such, more instructional communication scholarship is needed to understand the unique pedagogical act of studying abroad. Ultimately, this research posits that creative pedagogy may provide students a more educational and impacting study abroad experience

Reflections on R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Internship

This thesis provides a personal reflection on an internship with the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Organization through S.T.A.R. Central at the University of Arkansas. An evaluation of the experience was conducted by providing strengths and weaknesses as an intern, positive and negative aspects of the internship, an objective analysis, connection to nursing, and impact on future career. The focus of this honors project was providing education to peers on sexual assault topics, including consent, rape culture, and bystander intervention. Overall, the internship proved to be a positive learning opportunity that allowed for the development of improved communication skills, gaining of knowledge and passion for sexual assault topics, and positively impacting the University of Arkansas campus community

Investigating changing work and economic cultures through the lens of youth employment : a case study from a psychosocial perspective in Italy

Changes in the forms and cultural meanings of work have gone deep during the last decades, with the transient nature of work becoming the norm rather than the exception. This is impacting particularly on youth employment, as Italy’s case epitomizes. Based on interview and focus group data, our study provides a multidimensional model to read and map the multiple tensions young people experience, at an emotional level, on entering today’s corporations. Our findings show, on the one hand, that young professionals’ expectation of work as a place of social learning and exchange clashes with the corporate focus on assimilating young people into target-oriented environments. On the other hand, both in younger and older workers, we found the experience of labour relationships that struggle to direct themselves towards a creative purpose and a developmental prospect, while tending to collapse emotionally inwards, in a fight for security

In the eye of the storm: preliminary evidence on the use of online learning diaries

The surprising lack of pressure and speed in the centre of the vortex of a storm are in stark contrast to the force and destruction often experienced at its periphery. Many spectators watching a developing storm will be caught between fear and a desire to escape. The metaphor of a storm has been applied here to the emotions experienced by many students enrolling in online learning courses. Not only do the requirements of studying online collide with personal and professional commitments, the experience of learning online (often in groups) results in many students feeling displaced, scared or out of control. Learning diaries, especially in an online environment, present students with an opportunity to reach the centre of the vortex, though this may not be as quiet and safe as we may have presumed. This paper reports on students’ reflections in their learning diaries as a prescriptive part of the Professional Certificate in Management offered by the Open University. The research focused on the unstructured learning diary entries of 12 students from one tutor group over an 18 day period of a short compulsory online course. This phenomenographic study used grounded theory as methodology to analyse and describe students’ use of their learning diaries. The research found ample evidence that online learning diaries provide students with a safe space to reflect on the vortex around them. Without a quiet and reflective centre, students may be overwhelmed by the wider forces impacting on them. Students’ postings provided rich descriptions of the vortex of studying online and the function of having a centre to which to withdraw. There is, however, also evidence that posting reflections in learning diaries can itself be a dislocating and uncomfortable experience for some learners, while others question its usefulness. The work provides practical and useful information for managers of online learning experiences, instructional designers and curriculum developer

Student Engagement and Satisfaction with Online Learning: Comparative Eastern and Western Perspectives

This study investigated the antecedents of student engagement in online learning and the consequent impact on higher education students’ satisfaction with online learning. More specifically, a structural model was proposed to examine students’ perceptions of adaptability, interactivity, computer/ Internet self-efficacy and psychological safety as key factors impacting their engagement with online learning tools and satisfaction with the online learning experience. A self-administered online survey was conducted with 539 undergraduate students in China, Australia, and South Korea. Structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis were used to test the study’s hypotheses. The findings indicated that the proposed four antecedents significantly impacted their engagement with online learning tools, influencing their overall satisfaction with the online learning experience. In addition, this study found significant differences between the relationships of the four antecedents of engagement with online learning tools among students in China, Australia, and South Korea, influencing their satisfaction with the online learning experience. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications informing future institutional practices

School change and development: the influence of a reflective practitioner

The broad reality of change is impacting on every organisation including schools. More than often in a process of change there will be an input of an enormous amount of human energy and physical resources that results in change that in effect does not lead to improvement. Therefore, the question remains: How can we ensure that responses to change from managers and teachers within the organisation will lead to school improvement? The case study reported in this book substantiates the importance of the individual in a leadership role, acting and learning within a context, dealing with the reality of change that is part of the routine tasks of the organisation. This book argues that only attention to the individual will bring about long lasting change. People change themselves and people change organisations. The experience of the individual relayed in this book will resonate with leaders in organisations and provide insights into actions that bring about change in long standing, stable organisations