Atomistic theory and simulation of the morphology and structure of ionic nanoparticles

Computational techniques are widely used to explore the structure and properties of nanomaterials. This review surveys the application of both quantum mechanical and force field based atomistic simulation methods to nanoparticles, with a particular focus on the methodologies available and the ways in which they can be utilised to study structure, phase stability and morphology. The main focus of this article is on partially ionic materials, from binary semiconductors through to mineral nanoparticles, with more detailed considered of three examples, namely titania, zinc sulphide and calcium carbonate

Editorial

We are delighted to welcome you all to Perth, whether it be in-person or online. We have had to wait three long years to make this conference happen. A great deal of change has happened in that time. During the last year we thought that this conference would be further delayed. However, life may not be back to a pre-COVID norm, but we have been able to welcome colleagues from around Australia into Perth once more. The last time Perth hosted ACSME was in 2015. We hope that this year’s conference lives up to the excellent conferences from the past. The theme of the conference has not changed from the discussions that were had in late 2019. The idea came from a talk given by a University of Sydney student at the 2019 ACSME. She was part of a panel discussion and she spoke so eloquently about challenges facing students, that we felt we had to continue the conversation. The phrase that stuck in our mind was “an education for all”. All students face challenges, some more than others. We hope that the ideas that are discussed during this conference will help inspire further developments so that education is more equitable, accessible and sustainable. This is the first ACSME that is being held in-person and online, which is very much in line with the theme of the conference. We hope that those of you watching from afar have as good an experience as possible. We thank the organising committee for the great ideas, the energy and determination to get this conference organised. Thank you to Julia Collins, Magdalena Wajrak, Damian Laird, Alyssa Van Dreumel, Reva Ramiah, Miriam Sullivan and Susan Howitt for the time they put towards shaping the conference. We owe special thanks to Joanne Castelli for being the program chair. The program committee was made up of Myra Keep, Kylie Jones, Damian Laird, Miriam Sullivan, Alexandra Yeung, and Sarah Etherington. Joanne led the team that reviewed all submissions and provided feedback where necessary. We are grateful to Ana Lopes for managing the reviewing process and the production of the proceedings, and to Glenda Key for providing us all with highly professional executive support. We hope that you find this conference inspiring and thought provoking. We hope that you come away with new ideas to improve your teaching so that we work towards an education for all that is equitable, accessible and sustainable. Dr Dino Spagnoli and Dr Alexandra Yeung Co-Conference Chairs The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Educatio

The impact of a virtual laboratory tour on affective domain of first-year chemistry students

The affective domain, in particular students’ attitude and self-efficacy, is an important factor for educators to consider as they are linked to students’ overall success in a subject (Flaherty, 2020). The following presentation will describe the design, implementation, and impact of a 360-degree virtual laboratory tour. The purpose of this was to improve students’ familiarity within the laboratory by showing them where their classes would take place and the equipment they would be using in order to improve their feelings towards the chemistry laboratory. To measure the impact of this resource we designed a pre-post-test study where students were surveyed before and after they used the resource. As students’ attitudes towards chemistry and self-efficacy were of interest the Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory v2 (ASCIv2; Xu & Lewis, 2011) and a modified version of the College Chemistry Self-Efficacy Scale (CCSS; Uzuntiryaki & Çapa Aydın, 2009) were used. It was determined that students who used the resource (N = 40) had an increase in self-efficacy however there was no change in students’ attitude. A majority of students who used the virtual laboratory tour said they used it to gain familiarity with the laboratory. This study will discuss the success and failures of virtual laboratory tours and the journey to create an effective tour for first year chemistry students. REFERENCES Flaherty, A. A. (2020). A review of affective chemistry education research and its implications for future research. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 21(3), 698-713. Uzuntiryaki, E., & Çapa Aydın, Y. (2009). Development and validation of chemistry self-efficacy scale for college students. Research in Science Education, 39, 539-551. Xu, X., & Lewis, J. E. (2011). Refinement of a chemistry attitude measure for college students. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(5), 561-568

STUDENTS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF LIGHTBOARD AND POWERPOINT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

Lightboard videos offer a unique approach to deliver information to students. Although widely used it is unclear what benefit, if any, lightboard style videos provide to students compared to a PowerPoint style video (Fiorella, Stull, Kuhlmann, & Mayer, 2018). The aim of this study was to compare the differences in student learning between a lightboard video and a PowerPoint video with the same content. Students were divided into two groups, one group of students received an online survey and lightboard video (n=13) and the second group received the same survey and PowerPoint video (n=12). As part of the survey, students were asked to complete a pre-test before watching the video to determine prior knowledge. After watching the video students were given a post-test with the same questions. Using a paired t-test we determined there was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for both groups. However, there was little difference between a lightboard video and PowerPoint in pre- and post-test scores. Students were then asked to participate in a follow up interview where they were shown both videos. The qualitative thematic analysis of student responses to interview questions clearly showed a preference of the lightboard video based on engagement

Towards accessibility in chemistry education using technology

Access is an important aspect of tertiary education as students with disabilities are significantly underrepresented at the university level and in the workforce (Soong, Agmata, Doyle, Jenne, Adamo, & Simpson, 2018). By making a course accessible it allows students with disabilities to have an equitable education experience. Additionally, students who have not disclosed a disability will also be included in the course. Overall, using inclusive and accessible practices will be beneficial to all students in a course and can enhance their education experience. In this presentation we will describe technologies we have implemented to improve access across our laboratory course in chemistry. Technology has enabled students to experience high quality course content which they had previously not had access to. In our course we used pre laboratory videos, augmented reality applications, laboratory tours and online pre-recorded lectures among other technologies, to address accessibility issues identified within a large first-year chemistry course. This presentation is told from the point of view of a student support worker who has worked closely with students with disabilities over the past four years. This point of view has given important insight into what works and what does not work for students with disabilities in science. REFERENCE Soong, R., Agmata, K., Doyle, T., Jenne, A., Adamo, T., & Simpson, A. (2018). Combining the maker movement with accessibility needs in an undergraduate laboratory: a cost-effective text-to-speech multipurpose, Universal Chemistry Sensor Hub (MUCSH) for Students with Disabilities. Journal of Chemical Education, 95, 2268−2272

Atomistic simulations of the mineral water interface

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PERSPECTIVES ON MOVING TOWARDS ONLINE LEARNING DUE TO THE DISRUPTIONS OF COVID-19

Due to the lockdown restrictions of COVID-19, universities in Australia have moved their systems from physical face-to-face lectures to online studies. With little time given for the transition, students and educators had to adapt to new ways of teaching and learning very quickly. This project began in 2020 when COVID-19 first caused the lockdown of all universities in Australia. Interviews were conducted with students from three Australian universities (The University of Western Australia, Curtin University and The University of New South Wales) to determine students’ perspectives towards the online learning. This study continues the project by using the interviews conducted to design and distribute a survey to students at the same universities to gain a greater understanding of student perspectives. Several aspects were investigated further including self-reflection, socialisation, academic performance, attendance, lecturers’ engagement, technology, and university assistance, as they were the predicted factors which would differ when learning online compared with learning face-to-face. Both positive and negative aspects of online learning were determined. Students’ preferences were determined to be the traditional face-to-face classes, with students indicating that online learning cannot replace physical class attendance. Possible improvements were discovered and can be applied when designing online lessons

CHEMISTRY STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE SHIFT TO ONLINE LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

There have been major disruptions to all parts of everyday life due to the impact of the illness COVID 19. This was especially true for students and staff at universities in the first half of 2020. The sudden shift to remote teaching and learning meant that classes never intended for the digital space (e.g. labs and tutorials) had to be reimagined and redesigned. Students were left facing diminished peer interaction and a need to adapt their study strategies on the fly. This study follows the experiences of first year chemistry students who favour in-person attendance for classes, from three different institutions. Three online interviews were conducted with the students across the teaching period. A qualitative thematic review of student experiences revealed that first-year students use face-to-face lectures to provide a structure to their study plans during a week. This was now missing. Students were struggling to keep to a study plan when the material was presented only online – synchronously or asynchronously. Moreover, students were conscious that they did not form the social connections with their peers that they would have done in a face-to-face setting. This research emphasises the need for online courses to be scaffolded to provide students with a structured study plan, which facilitates online social interactions between students (Salmon, 2002; Seery, 2012). REFERENCES Salmon, G., (2002). E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning. London; Kogan Page Limited. Seery, M. K. (2012) Moving an in-class module online: a case study for chemistry. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13(1), 39-46

ACSME 2022 Special Issue – Editorial

The 2022 Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (ACSME) was finally held in Perth, three years after the original decision was made to bring the conference west. COVID-19 had a massive impact on the tertiary education sector with many of us still feeling the aftershocks of a rapid change to online modes of teaching and learning. The conference organisers were determined to create an in-person conference that so many of us were craving during the COVID years. The theme of the conference was “An Education for All: Accessible, Equitable, Sustainable”. A hybrid conference format was challenging to administer but we were very glad that we took this decision, as it allowed accessibility to those that could not make it to the conference due to funding restrictions or teaching commitments. The authors in this special issue have presented very different studies on different aspects of STEM tertiary education. Field trips are an important part of the agriculture and earth science disciplines and there is a study on the development of virtual field trips. Laboratories are a major part of any science tertiary education curriculum and there is timely analysis of student grades of wet laboratories on overall failure rate. Finally, the format of meaningful learning for bioscience students and their perceptions of meaningful learning are explored. The paper by Suresh Krishnasamy, Millicent Smith, Edward Narayan, Ammar Abdul Aziz and Eleanor Hoffman develops and evaluates a virtual field trip for students in agriculture. Field trips are an expensive part of the agriculture curriculum. Moreover, students that have other commitments such as childcare and work often find it hard to take the time to travel the long distances for field trips. Therefore, the development of a virtual field trip can help provide a more sustainable and accessible mode of teaching. Although the students surveyed in this study did not want the virtual field trip to replace the in-person experience, they did have positive reflections. Students reflected that the virtual field trip was an active learning experience, relevant and authentic. Sheila Doggrell provided analysis of the allocation of marks to wet laboratories and its affect on the academic performance of students in the biochemistry discipline. Students perform well on their laboratory, and this was a moderate predictor of academic performance in the exam. However, further modelling by allocating a higher overall percentage of marks to the exam would cause the failure rate to increase. The allocation of marks to wet laboratories can have a major effect on the percentage of students who pass courses. This paper presents an interesting discussion on the allocation of marks to wet laboratories and potential future implications. Daniel Andrews, Emile van Lieshout and Bhawana Bhatta Kaudal present an interesting analysis of the results of a survey completed by 321 students to determine which class formats (lectures, workshops, laboratories) and delivery modes (online, face-to-face) they believe maximise opportunities for meaningful learning. As educators try to utilise more online learning, this study provides the student voice on what they value in their education. In-person workshops and laboratory classes were rated highly. Barriers to meaningful learning included a lack of engagement, difficulty in facilitating peer and educator interaction, and a lack of opportunities to confirm understanding. We hope that you find the papers in this special issue interesting and thought provoking.   References Andrews, D., van Lieshout, E., & Kaudal, B. B. (2023). How, where, and when do students experience meaningful learning? International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 31(3), 28-45. https://doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.31.03.003 Doggrell, S. A. (2023). Does the proportion of marks for wet laboratories affect the overall mark, grade, and failure rates? International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 31(3), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.31.03.002 Krishnasamy, S., Smith, M. R., Narayan, E., Aziz, A. A., & Hoffman, E. W. (2023). Developing virtual field trips for Agriculture. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 31(3), 3-19. https://doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.31.03.00

On a Mission: The Case for Sustainability and Embedding Values in a Changing Higher Education Landscape

Change in higher education creates many risks to the sustainability of teaching practices. In this paper, we review some perspectives and resources on change in higher education and examine strategies for educators to participate in sustainable change. Central to this is the role of local mission statements, formulated to consciously reflect common values and purpose within a team of colleagues, and used to guide decision making, particularly in times of change. This discussion considers changes in teaching practice, such as those required for active learning, informed by principles concerning general organisational change, and specific qualities of contemporary higher education in the sciences