Breathing Life into the Syllabus: The Collaborative Development of a First-Year Writing Course for Nursing Students

In this essay, we tell the story of how a team of English and nursing professors came together to develop curriculum for a mandatory first-semester writing course in the collaborative Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BScN) at Fanshawe College and Western University, both in London, Ontario. The discussion focuses on the implementation of the course at the Fanshawe site. Following a review of literature that has informed our thinking about writing in nursing, we discuss how the team, consisting of both English/writing and nursing faculty, solved curriculum problems to develop an effective course. We also look forward to areas for future development. *** In this essay, we tell the story of how a team of English and nursing professors came together to develop curriculum for a mandatory first-semester writing course in the collaborative Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BScN) at Fanshawe College (hereafter Fanshawe) and Western University (hereafter Western). The need to build this course resulted in ongoing discussions among educators of very different disciplinary backgrounds about topics ranging from the basic mission of the course to the development of discipline-relevant assignments. Our reflections on this process will likely interest educators interested in developing a similar course; however, these reflections also raise larger questions regarding students’ needs, interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration, and curriculum development processes

Weaving Together Indigenous and Western Knowledge in Science Education: Reflections and Recommendations

The Culturally Responsive Indigenous Science (CRIS) project was a collaborative effort between three Tribal communities in the Pacific Northwest and faculty and students from Washington State University, many of who are Tribal citizens. The project was designed to integrate Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) and Western Knowledge into science curricula and professional learning opportunities. At the end of the 5-year grant project, members of the CRIS team (including Tribal and university partners) gathered to reflect on the work accomplished and the lessons learned about the process of integrating ITEK within science education. In this conceptual paper, the authors discuss four key takeaways from their reflections: 1) Creating relational space for cultural values and practices, 2) Indigenous science education requires many educators with diverse expertise, 3) Respecting Tribal and individual autonomy and timelines, and 4) Remembering who the work is meant to serve. In summary, the authors highlighted important recommendations to be considered when weaving together ITEK and Western science to better serve and engage Native American youth

Learning from a study visit to Norway: observations to implications for practice as teacher educators

Student engagement when learning outdoors was the focus of a study visit to Northern Norway for two members of the primary science team in an English University. The University College that was visited in Northern Norway has a well-established reputation for its outdoor learning provision. The visit focussed on the structured observation of teacher educators working with student teachers in a woodland playground project and a ‘Land art in the tidal zone’ residential fieldwork project. This afforded rich opportunities for the observation of the teacher educators’ pedagogical practice and of student teacher responses. Implications for our practice have been derived from an analysis of what was observed and reflections from the academic literature in this field. Suggestions are made for the development of practice in the primary science team in our University, and proposed for initial teacher education. It is suggested that high quality outdoor learning experiences, including fieldwork, encourage skill development and that positive teacher–student relationships with the development of self-efficacy for student teachers is important for securing high levels of engagement and involvement when learning outdoors

Initiating Community Engagement for Enhancing Preservice Teacher Education

Facilitating community engagement in education is promoted and emphasised in university policies and strategic plans. How can a university facilitate innovations to develop collaborative partnerships with its community? This paper presents leadership processes for initiating community engagement with an Australian university and highlights examples of innovations in Science Education for Sustainable Living (SESL) with preservice teachers’ reflections on their teaching practices. Data collection included observations of practice, interviews, minutes of meetings, and written correspondence with a wide range of participants (i.e., senior QUT staff, lecturers, preservice teachers, principals, school executives and teachers, and other community members). A four-step process for implementing SESL innovations provided an example of university-community engagement, and was used as a catalyst for preservice teachers (n=14) to reflect on SESL, which provided opportunities for enhancing their science teaching practices. Results indicated that connecting the community with preservice teacher education aided in promoting understandings of sustainable living and kept environmental issues on the agenda. The four-step process implemented by the preservice teachers for SESL assisted to conceptually advance understandings of scientific causes and effects in order to propose appropriate solutions. Initiating university-community engagement required articulating visionary directions, understanding change processes, motivating potential key stakeholders, and promoting collaboration and team effort. In addition, distributing leadership aided in facilitating university-community collaboration and allowed for the implementation of a wider range of innovations. It was concluded that distributing leadership will be essential in order to sustain university-community engagement, particularly as key stakeholders in leadership roles can deploy energy and resources at levels required for successful collaborations

Written Reflection Influences Science Students’ Perceptions of Their Own and Their Peers’ Teamwork and Related Employability Skills

The impact of written reflection on tertiary students’ self-efficacy, and corresponding evaluation of their peers’ abilities, is often imprecise and lacking in clarity. This study thus sought to assess the effects of a written reflective diary on science undergraduates’ teamwork-related and other employability skills. Employability skills, in particular students’ teamwork-related skills, are crucial to students’ career development and progression. Assessment was carried out using a series of pre- and post-reflection online surveys, the TeamQ assessment rubric, and student focus groups. Participants identified five key teamwork skills, the importance of which remained constant over time. Written reflection had a significant, positive effect on students’ self-efficacy of their oral communication skills. Students’ written reflections were also important in shaping their perceptions about the domain of fostering a team climate, both in terms of their own self-efficacy and perceptions of their peers’ abilities. This study has interesting implications for future research into science students’ teamwork and other employability skills

"We are the heroes because we are ready to die for this country": Participants' decision-making and grounded ethics in an Ebola vaccine clinical trial.

The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic presented a challenging setting in which to carry out clinical trials. This paper reports findings from social science research carried out in Kambia, Northern Sierra Leone during first year of an Ebola vaccine trial (August 2015-July 2016). The social science team collected data through ethnographic observation, 42 in depth interviews; 4 life narratives; 200 exit interviews; 31 key informant interviews; and 8 focus group discussions with trial participants and community members not enrolled in the trial. Whilst research often focuses on why people refuse vaccination, we instead explore participant motivations for volunteering for the study, in spite of prevailing anxieties, rumours and mistrust during and after the Ebola outbreak. In so doing the paper contributes to on-going debates about research ethics and community engagement in resource poor contexts, offering reflections from an emergency and post-epidemic setting. We analyse participants' perceptions of the risks and benefits of participations, highlighting the importance of a contextual approach. We focus on four types of motivation: altruism; curiosity and hope; health-seeking; and notions of exchange, and argue for the role of social science in developing grounded research ethics and community engagement strategies that can take into account context and local realities

Re-visioning Curriculum and Pedagogy in a University Science and Technology Education Setting: Case Studies Interrogating Socio-Scientific Issues

We present reflections on case studies in which a team of researchers and student researchers at the Copperbelt University in Zambia carried out real-world context investigations. The case studies involve estimating the greenhouse gas emissions associated with activities in the university, exploring agro-applications of biotechnologies, investigating chemical pollutants that are potential endocrine disruptors in the environment and in fish, and modelling how to mainstream the socio-scientific issues into curriculum and pedagogy for science educators and teachers. The analysis using the lenses of education for sustainable development (ESD) and ‘learning as connection’ lead to the suggestion of re-visioning curriculum and pedagogy. This re-visioning entails that the learning of the technical content of science subjects is balanced with a consideration of socioscientific issues and ESD processes.  Project-based learning provided the model for integrating the concepts and principles of ESD and ‘learning as connection’ into the curriculum and pedagogy

Intercultural Competence Development in Comenius Project "Me and My Europe: Intercultural Challenges of Modern Pre-Primary Education" Participants at Pre-Primary Education

The paper maximizes on the reflections on the Comenius project “Me and My Europe: Intercultural Challenges of Modern Pre-Primary Education” (implementation period 2012-2014) procedures in 9 states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Island, Turkey). The Lifelong Learning Programme documents, Latvia Ministry of Education and Science documents on preschool education, preschool guidelines by CiCe and findings on competences by the scientist Spona are at the theoretical basis. The content describes the acquisition of the intercultural competences in team workshops and Art Labs. The project served as a tool to promote intercultural competences (knowledge, skills, attitudes and self-experience) of the project participants (teachers, parents and young learners) and was attested by help of discussions, observations and a questionnaire.

ISDC Reflections on Emerging One CGIAR Research Portfolio and Investment Plan

The Executive Management Team (EMT) requested the Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC) to comment on the preliminary set of Research Initiatives. The rapid evolution of the Investment Plan presents limited information and time to review. Therefore, this document provides brief reflections that used additional information such as material from the 12th CGIAR System Council Meeting and learnings shared from the ISDC Investment Advisory Group (IAG) members

Infusing a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) into an Allied Health Curriculum

Purpose: Infusion of a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) into an existing research design course in an applied science curriculum allowed medical laboratory science students (n=22) to each be a contributing team member in a hand’s-on research experience, where most of the work was completed during the class time on campus. This design allowed for equal access, an equitable experience, and inclusion of all students enrolled in the course. Methods: Students and instructors worked together to develop a research question. The group agreed that the research question would be to determine the number of environmental specimens that were positive for mycobacteria species in residential plumbing specimens from different faucets and showerheads within residences in local areas. Before the actual collection of specimens, students reviewed the literature and completed more traditional modules in research ethics and Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training. Once that was completed, students designed and assembled the collection kits, collected and processed the specimens, and reported their results. Results: Students completed most tasks during the designated class time, and those tasks that had to be completed outside of class were not overwhelming for the students either in time or effort. The students’ reflections as the human subjects in this CURE indicated that 1) 90% of the students agreed they had a better understanding of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process, 2) 100% of the students agreed the collection process was easily completed, 3) 100% of the students agreed the specimen testing was easily completed and interpreted, and 4) 100% of the students agreed the required parameters of a CURE were met. Conclusion: A CURE can be infused successfully into an applied science course allowing every student to become a contributing member of the research team