Discipline-Specific Compared to Generic Training of Teachers in Higher Education

A recurrent theme arising in the higher education sector is the suitability and effectiveness of generic versus discipline-specific training of university teachers, who are often recruited based on their disciplinary specialties to become teachers in higher education. We compared two groups of participants who had undergone training using a generic post-graduate certificate in higher education (PGCertGeneric) versus a discipline-specific course in veterinary education (PGCertVetEd). The study was conducted using a survey that allowed comparison of participants who completed PGCertGeneric (n=21) with PGCertVetEd (n=22). Results indicated that participants from both PGCertGeneric and PGCertVetEd considered teaching to be satisfying and important to their careers, valued the teaching observation component of the course, and identified similar training needs. However, the participants of the PGCertVetEd felt that the course made them better teachers, valued the relevance of the components taught, understood course design better, were encouraged to do further courses/reading in teaching and learning, changed their teaching as a result of the course, and were less stressed about teaching as compared to the PGCertGeneric participants (p<.05). It is likely that the PGCertVetEd, which was designed and developed by veterinarians with a wider understanding of the veterinary sector, helped the participants perceive the training course as suited to their needs

Rendering an Account: An Open-State Archive in Postgraduate Supervision

The paper begins with a brief account of the transformation of research degree studies under the pressures of global capitalism and neo-liberal governmentality. A parallel transformation is occurring in the conduct of research through the use of information and communication technologies. Yet the potential of ICTs to shape practices of surveillance or to produce new student-supervisor relations and enhance the processes of developing the dissertation has received almost no critical attention. As doctoral supervisor and student, we then describe the features and uses of a web-based open state archive of the student's work-in-progress, developed by the student and accessible to his supervisor. Our intention was to encourage more open conversations between data and theorising, student and supervisor, and ultimately between the student and professional community. However, we recognise that relations of accountability, as these have developed within a contemporary "audit revolution" (Power, 1994, 1997) in universities, create particular "lines of visibility" (Munro, 1996). Thus while the open-state archive may help to redefine in less managerial terms notions of quality, transparency, flexibility and accountability, it might also make possible greater supervisory surveillance. How should we think about the panoptical potential of this archive? We argue that the diverse kinds of interactional patterns and pedagogical intervention it encourages help to create shifting subjectivities. Moreover, the archive itself is multiple, in bringing together an array of diverse materials that can be read in various ways, by following multiple paths. It therefore constitutes a collage, which we identify as a mode of cognition and of accounting distinct from but related to argument and narrative. As a more "open" text (Iser, 1978) it has an indeterminacy which may render it less open to abuse for the technologies of managerial accountability

Market intelligence for informing crop-breeding decisions by CGIAR and NARES

Crop breeding by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in partnership with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) and privately owned seed companies, forms the backbone of the research and development (R&D) effort needed to ensure future food security in developing regions. Over the past decades, varieties derived from CGIAR germplasm have helped provide food for hundreds of millions living in harsh and vulnerable environments. However, the capacity to deliver increased benefits from crop breeding will depend on effective strategies to address the stubbornly slow rate of uptake of improved varieties. Meeting the challengewill require, among other inputs, deeper insights on the evolving preferences and requirements of farmers, processors and consumers. In short, breeding will need to be led more by demand. Key to the success of demand-led breeding will be the availability of reliable and timely intelligence on the current and future preferences and requirements of farmers, processors and consumers. Although ‘market intelligence’ has existed in various forms in CGIAR’s social science research agenda, an opportunity exists for increased relevance based on shared approaches and tools and new partnerships, both within CGIAR and between CGIAR and its partners. Beginning in 2022, a coordinated effort through the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence looks to build cross-functional and transdisciplinary teams to provide market intelligence in support of crop breeding and seed-system development

Technology for nurture in large undergraduate statistics classes

This paper reports on a practitioner study of a first-year undergraduate service course that aligns a web-based, student-lecturer communication system with the mathematical curriculum. The report presents and analyses data from students and from the lecturer and outlines the nature of the technical interface. The paper indicates how communication of the students affective learning needs had a positive influence on the professional development of the lecturer himself. Furthermore, it is claimed that the success of mathematics/statistics teaching that integrates emotional responses from learners is intimately related to the knowledge, skills, beliefs and values of the lecturer

E-learning and professional development – never too old to learn

A growing concern among healthcare professionals is the need to continually update knowledge and skills in order to enhance clinical practice. It is recognized that there are major concerns about recruitment and retention of staff within health care, and an increasing need for greater emphasis on valuing the existing workforce. This article contributes to the debate about the role of e-learning in conjunction with continuing professional development (CPD) and personal professional development. It describes how healthcare professionals utilized an innovative, self-managed, pickup and put-down distance learning module delivered online or by CD-ROM. Staff enrolled on the module were encouraged to complete a questionnaire online or by post upon completion of each unit; to enhance validity, telephone interviews were also conducted with selected staff. Results indicate that participants showed some improvement in all categories, especially patient care where 90% of staff reported some improvement after completing the course. This particular method of teaching and learning was shown to be favoured by staff as a method of CPD, and thus has the potential to enhance patient care