Student-Project Allocation with Preferences over Projects

We study the problem of allocating students to projects, where both students and lecturers have preferences over projects, and both projects and lecturers have capacities. In this context we seek a stable matching of students to projects, which respects these preference and capacity constraints. Here, the stability definition generalises the corresponding notion in the context of the classical Hospitals / Residents problem. We show that stable matchings can have different sizes, and the problem of finding a maximum cardinality stable matching is NP-hard, though approximable within a factor of 2

Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain---namely, upper-division physics labs---they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. PE

A Student-Centered Project for Earth System History

This article presents an idea for a classroom activity that is intended to replace some of the lectures that would ordinarily be necessary in a survey of Earth history over geologic time. Students take the lecturer's place in front of the class and present some of the material to their colleagues. They work in groups on a single era or period. Each student plays the role of an expert (such as an oceanographer) and works with teammates playing other sorts of experts (a biologist, a geologist, an atmospheric scientist). Their presentations will require them to do research and to construct resource lists to keep track of how they learned what they are presenting. They will also write brief summaries of the findings within their area of expertise. While the students are researching and preparing their presentations, the instructor will give lectures on the earliest time units, modeling the kind of presentation that the students will be doing. Eventually, students will take the stage, presenting their time units in order. Rubrics for assessing the presentation and the resource list are included. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Building Bridges: Using the Office Consultation Project to Connect Students to Theory and Practice

The Office Consultation Project is an innovative capstone project that partners graduate students in student affairs preparation programs with academic and student affairs practitioners. It provides an opportunity for students to apply research and scholarship to practical settings, while giving practitioners new insight into their units, additional work support, and expanded professional networks. The project benefits graduate preparation programs by cultivating cross-divisional networking and increasing campus awareness about the student affairs profession that could generate new practicum and assistantship opportunities

Student engagement, practice architectures and phronesis in the student transitions and experiences project

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Student Transitions and Experiences (STEP) project, in which visual and creative research methodologies were used to enhance student engagement. Design/methodology/approach – The article provides an overview of three main strands within the field of student engagement practice, and explores the STEP project as an instance of the “critical-transformative” strand. The article draws on recent theorizations by Kemmis et al. of practice architectures and ecologies of practice to propose an understanding of the STEP project as a practice “niche”. Findings – In thinking through some implications of student engagement as a practice architecture, the article sheds analytical light on student engagement as a specific and complex form of contemporary education practice. The later part of the article focuses on a consideration of phronesis and praxis in specific instances from the STEP project. Working with concepts from Barad, the article develops a conceptualization of the STEP project as an intra-active, entangled situated and particularistic practice of phronesis-praxis. Originality/value – This article aims to contribute to the development of theoretical and empirical understandings of the field of student engagement. It does so by providing insights into a recent empirical study; by developing some new theorisations of student engagement; and by a detailed exploration of specific instances of student engagement practice.</p

Developing a collaborative project on higher education pedagogy: The institutional, organizational, and community identity dimensions of student staff partnerships

This case study presents an ambitious student-staff partnership project at University College London (UCL) to publish a collaborative book on higher education pedagogy. Over two-and-a-half years, a total of 86 students and staff contributed to the project, which sought to provide educators with a new type of scholarly material under the unifying theme of connecting research and teaching. Multiple layers of student-staff partnership were interwoven throughout the project; this case study contextualizes these layers against three dimensions: institutional, organizational, and community identity. Central to the project was our distinctive approach to engaging with Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and their crucial role in bringing the three dimensions together. As such, the project represents a model of enhanced student-staff partnership that has the capacity to empower students and break down educational silos to form new, multi-specialty learning communities.</jats:p

Understanding unintentional plagiarism and international students’ approaches to academic reading: a participatory approach to researching the international student experience

This project aimed to investigate international student approaches to reading and source-use in preparation for a written assignment as part of a commitment to identifying the learning needs of students undertaking independent learning tasks outside of the university classroom. To date, student literacies and plagiarism avoidance support have focused almost exclusively on writing practices and authorial identity. This study, therefore, sought to explore student approaches to reading as the basis for developing recommendations for the better support of all students engaging in researching and reading for assessment. The project also sought to pilot a collaborative approach to the scholarship of learning and teaching by engaging students as co-researchers in the data collection, analysis and dissemination of the project outcomes

A critical examination of the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support

This thesis presents an investigation into the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support and comprises three volumes. Volume 1 provides an overview of the background literature, research methodology, ethical and reliability considerations linked to two projects whose overarching theme is the support and improvement of the student experience. The overview begins with an outline of the aim of this thesis, followed by a synopsis of the literature concerning student support in higher education and the use of technology to support learners. The methodological framework is then discussed and a brief introduction to the projects is provided. The overview concludes with an exploration of the effectiveness of faculty-based student learning support and the presentation of a new blended approach to the organisation, delivery and typology of advising. This seeks to demonstrate the strength of a blended approach and thus makes a contribution to the practice, theory and method of supporting student learning. Volume 2 discusses the Advice Shop project and considers the processes, methods and ethics of this student learning support. A summary of eight interventions is presented together with details of how the project was subsequently rolled out across the University. A consideration of the organisational model and personnel involved in student advising is also offered. The volume concludes with student and staff feedback and a discussion of how the project aims have been achieved. Evidence of the research output and components of practice relating to Project 1 can be found in Volume2 Part 2. Volume 3 presents a discussion of Project 2 - the use of technology to support learners. The project presents two technology-enhanced interventions - an electronic student attendance monitoring scheme, and the development of two online learner support tools using QuestionMark Perception as the delivery software. The methods and ethical considerations used to establish and implement these interventions are present together with feedback from students and staff. The volume concludes with a discussion of how the aims of the project have been achieved. Evidence of the research output and components of practice relating to Project 2 can be found in Volume 3 Part 2

Never again!: how the lessons from Auschwitz project impacts on schools in Scotland

As the education for citizenship agenda continues to impact on schools in Scotland, and with the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) in conjunction with the Scottish Government organising its Lessons From Auschwitz Project for Scottish students and teachers until 2011, this study aimed to investigate the school processes by which students were chosen to participate in the Lessons From Auschwitz (LFA) project; examine student and teacher perceptions of the LFA Project; investigate the impact the LFA Project has on student citizenship values and on their schools and communities; and investigate the impact the LFA Project has on teachers

The Teacher-Student Data Link Project: Three Lasting Accomplishments

In 2010, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invited five states and three pilot districts in each state to participate in the Teacher-Student Data Link (TSDL) project. Mathematica developed a report presenting findings from 2011, the project's first year of implementation. Building on that report, this brief articulates three lasting accomplishments of the TSDL project: (1) Building implementation support for states and districts; (2) Continuing collaboration among states; and (3) Creating new TSDL-inspired activities. The brief also presents additional resources regarding the activities of the pilot states and districts, best practices for initiatives like TSDL that intend to bolster linked teacher-student data, and a support network for education agencies involved in similar work