Integrating Alternative Teaching & Learning Methods to Enhance the Standard Power Point Lecture

The traditional PowerPoint lecture format was enhanced by the ‘flipped classroom’ approach in a teaching session involving mathematical equations on a microbiology module in the School of Applied Sciences. A screencast was constructed which contained much of the theory contained in the original lecture. Feedback on student learning gained from the screencast was identified during the experimental teaching session via voting pads. Seven out of nine questions were answered well (over 85% of students giving the correct answer). When answers were largely incorrect, explanations and further background information was given, followed by a repolling, which resulted in a much higher proportion of correct answers (over 80%). The time saved by using a screencast was utilised by including an animation using ‘Videoscribe’, which demonstrated how the equation linked to laboratory procedures, a game which explored one aspect of the equation, and tutorial questions to consolidate learning. On the whole, tutorial questions were answered confidently, indicating that the animation and game were useful in enhancing student learning

Sticking together: teaching, learning and the art of research

In this paper we emphasise the importance for community educators of building bridges between emerging needs, research, teaching and learning. A case study of recent work is used to illustrate the way in which research in vocational education and training offers the potential for practical outcomes which are not necessarily defined by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). We believe that fragmentation must be resisted: the glue securing teaching, learning and research must be preserved. The project which functions as our case study concerned the education and training needs of youth and community arts practitioners. Situated in the north of England, the research was directed by a partnership comprising Yorkshire and Humberside Arts, West Yorkshire Youth Association, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, youth and community arts practitioners and the University of Huddersfield. This innovative collaboration led to pragmatic outcomes in course development, teaching and learning: a new postgraduate course is planned in direct response to the research, a conference was held to share the findings with practitioners whose input, using a focus group approach, was vital in the writing of the final report. We also envisage the work having a practical impact on future approaches to teaching and learning. We analyse the glue which holds together the collaborative partnership and answer the question: what is the nature of cross-sectoral partnership and how do all the partners get what they want? We believe this brings us back to the good old fashioned idea that the purpose of educational research is to inspire change, and is not only to add to the sum of human knowledge. Sadly, all too often nowadays there is a tendency for research to serve the demands of the RAE

What inequality means for children: evidence from young lives. Background paper for the Global Thematic Consultation “Addressing Inequalities” in the post-2015 Development Agenda

Understanding how poverty and inequalities impact on children is the major goal of Young Lives, a unique longitudinal, mixed-methods research and policy study. We are tracking two cohorts of 12,000 children growing-up in Ethiopia, the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) India, Peru and Vietnam. In this paper we offer eight key research messages, focusing on: 1. How inequalities interact in their impact on children’s development, and the vulnerability of the most disadvantaged households. 2. The ways inequalities rapidly undermine the development of human potential. 3. How gender differences interconnect with other inequalities, but do not always advantage boys in Young Lives countries. 4. The links between poverty, early ‘stunting’, and later outcomes, including psycho-social functioning, as well as emerging evidence that some children may recover. 5. Inequalities that open up during the later years of childhood, linked to transitions around leaving school, working, and anticipating marriage etc. 6. Children’s own perceptions of poverty and inequality, as these shape their well-­being and long-­term prospects. 7. Evidence of the growing significance of education, including the ways school systems can increase as well as reduce inequalities. 8. The potential of social protection programmes in poverty alleviation. We conclude that since inequalities are multidimensional, so too must be the response. Equitable growth policies, education and health services, underpinned by effective social protection, all have a role to play

What inequality means for children: evidence from Young Lives

Understanding how poverty and inequalities impact on children is the major goal of Young Lives, a unique longitudinal, mixed-methods research and policy study. We are tracking two cohorts of 12,000 children growing-up in Ethiopia, the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) India, Peru and Vietnam. In this expanded version of the paper prepared for UN Global Consultatation on Inequalities we offer eight key research messages, focusing on: 1. How inequalities interact in their impact on children’s development, and the vulnerability of the most disadvantaged households. 2. The ways inequalities rapidly undermine the development of human potential. 3. How gender differences interconnect with other inequalities, but do not always advantage boys in Young Lives countries. 4. The links between poverty, early stunting, and later outcomes, including psychosocial functioning, as well as emerging evidence that some children may recover. 5. Inequalities that open up during the later years of childhood, linked to transitions around leaving school, working, and anticipating marriage etc. 6. Children’s own perceptions of poverty and inequality, as these shape their well-being and long-term prospects. 7. Evidence of the growing significance of education, including the ways school systems can increase as well as reduce inequalities. 8. The potential of social protection programmes in poverty alleviation. We conclude that since inequalities are multidimensional, so too must be the response. Equitable growth policies, education and health services, underpinned by effective social protection, all have a role to play

The challenge of cultural gerontology

Over the last decade, Cultural Gerontology has emerged as one of the most vibrant elements of writing about age (Twigg, J., & Martin, W. (Eds.) (2015). The Routledge handbook of cultural gerontology. London: Routledge). Reflecting the wider Cultural Turn, it has expanded the field of gerontology beyond all recognition. No longer confined to frailty, or the dominance of medical and social welfare perspectives, cultural gerontology addresses the nature and experience of later years in the widest sense. In this review, we will explore how the Cultural Turn, which occurred across the social sciences and humanities in the late 20th century, came to influence age studies. We will analyze the impulses that led to the emergence of the field and the forces that have inhibited or delayed its development. We will explore how cultural gerontology has recast aging studies, widening its theoretical and substantive scope, taking it into new territory intellectually and politically, presenting this in terms of 4 broad themes that characterize the work: subjectivity and identity; the body and embodiment; representation and the visual; and time and space. Finally, we will briefly address whether there are problems in the approach

Multiplicative reasoning task design in teacher education with student teachers in Scottish schools : valuing diversity, developing flexibility and making connections

Peer reviewedPostprin

Postmortem Objectification: A Spectacle of Human Remains in German Museums

The net of scientific entitlement is woven from a single thread that extends from German colonialism to present-day exhibits like Körperwelten. The work of physical anthropologists in Germany and the development of the field from the late 1800s offers insight into the creation and continuity of scientific entitlement to the body of individuals deemed to be ‘others’. Museums and their exhibits embody the intentionality of the curators and researchers, and communicate these intentions to the visitors through curation and exhibit design choices. The inclusion of human remains in exhibits should be considered carefully as to be respectful of the individuals, their communities, and the visitors of the museum. The controversial Körperwelten and its creator walk the fine line of art versus science, allegedly providing an exhibit that fosters education and reflection, while in actuality trivializing the humanness of the individuals on display. The path of dehumanization and othering that are core to scientific entitlement deserve to be traced, as the exclusion of their consideration results in the negligent perpetuation of these notions