Forms, Foci and Forces: The Need for Overseas Pre-Service Teacher Professional Experiences

This paper represents the first analytic foray into a “narrative inquiry” that focused on collecting data centered on understanding the impact of an overseas professional teaching experience on twenty pre-service teachers. Research in this paradigm seeks to explore the breadth and depth of individual’s ‘lived experience’. A key axiomatic position regarding data collection and data analysis in a ‘lived experience’ project is that the human condition is grounded in the nature and nuances of the narratives we each tell ourselves. These narratives are deeply hermeneutic in nature and are contextually situated, cyclical, transient, multi-voiced and are constantly being reframed

Technological Universities: an International Perspective on Instructional Support and Collaboration

There exists a common endemic characteristic of collaboration among modern international technological universities beyond the marked diversity and localization of each one’s mission and vision. Technological universities prioritize collaborative work with students, industries, communities, and cultures. This openness to cooperative enterprise fosters numerous opportunities for innovation, exploration, and experimentation in teaching at technological universities. Their entrepreneurial ethos and emphasis on practice as fundamental to the student learning experience offer a more permeable learning environment between the formal classroom and the professional world. Institutions, such as Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Purdue Polytechnic Institute (PPI), are tackling this challenge through a multitude of different pedagogical frameworks: real-world challenges, active learning, innovative curricula, industry collaborations, and international experience

Forms, Foci, and Forces - The Need for Overseas Pre-service Teacher Professional Experiences

This article represents the first analytic foray into a “narrative inquiry” that focused on collecting data centered on understanding the impact of an overseas professional teaching experience on 20 pre-service teachers

Instructor Perceptions of Teaching in a New Active Learning Building

This study analyzes instructor attitudes toward 26 collaborative spaces at a large, R1 university in the United States. The authors conducted 151 interviews with instructors, identifying elements of classroom spaces that helped or hindered teaching and student learning. Approximately 44% of the instructors (n=67) had participated in a professional development program designed to encourage and enhance student collaboration and active learning in courses. A comparison between that group and all other instructors (n=84) showed instructors who had participated in the development program stated fewer hindrances to their teaching

The openness of new learning spaces in campus-based institutions

In this research presentation we present and explore open educational practices and resources in the context of learning spaces, broadly defined to include lecture theatres, classrooms, social areas, and online environments. Specifically, we examine the ways in which the use of space in campus-based institutions has been opened up through the evolution of learning theories and technologies (Brown & Long, 2006), and how the design and use of physical learning spaces has been remediated through the evolving use of blended and online learning in campus-based programmes. We have undertaken collaborative research comprising a literature review and desk study of existing institutional practices as the basis for planned fieldwork and further collaborative research in our respective institutions, Technological University Dublin (soon to become TU Dublin) in Ireland, and Purdue University in the US. Both institutions are engaged in the redesign of physical spaces, as well as the creation of entirely new buildings such as those on the Grangegorman campus in Dublin. These large scale projects have allowed us the opportunity to reconsider the purposes of physical learning spaces in the 21st century, and whether/how architecture has interacted with the rapid changes in educational technology and pedagogy. In our review of the literature, we have examined relevant research for the key insights and lessons that can inform campus development and reflect the potential and actual use of new technologies. We will draw out elements of this research linking with open practices as an important dimension of new physical and blended learning spaces. Some key themes for discussion are: Evidence that changes towards more open and shared educational spaces afford new opportunities to educators and students. Research has already pointed to the contribution of learning space design towards improving student learning, and enhancing shared practices amongst teachers and informed institutional planning (Alterator & Deed, 2013; Brooks, 2010; Cohen & Harvey, 2008). We consider whether new kinds of physical space in turn contribute to greater openness in teaching practices, and the use and reuse of open educational resources. Evidence for the development of confidence and enhanced practice amongst lecturers/faculty through providing active learning spaces (Fitzsimmons, Neubauer & Haston, 2018). As university educators develop and enhance their teaching practice overall, we can identify new opportunities for the design and redesign of physical spaces towards active learning and connection with students. Theorising on the potential for further change and development: building on the work of Rook, Choi and McDonald (2015) we consider how the evolution of learning theories and specifically open educational practices will influence the design of learning spaces in the future. The potential role of educational development teams in developing open practices in new kinds of learning space: we examine the roles of academic developers and educational technologists in supporting colleagues towards more effective use of new kinds of learning space as well as the adoption of open practices (Fisher & Newton, 2014; Jamieson, 2003). References Alterator, S. & Deed, C. (2013). Teacher adaptation to open learning spaces. Issues in Educational Research, 23(3), 315-330. Brooks, D.C. (2010). Space matters: The impact of formal learning environments on student learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(5), 719-726. Brown, M. & Long, P. (2006). Trends in Learning Space Design. In Oblinger, D. (Ed). Learning Spaces, pp. 9.1-9.11. EDUCAUSE e-book. Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB7102.pdf Cohen, P. & Harvey, J. (2008). Next-generation learning spaces: built pedagogy in action. In Weaver, M. (Ed). Transformative learning support models in higher education: educating the whole student. London: Facet. Fisher, K. & Newton, C. (2014). Transforming the twenty-first century campus to enhance the net-generation student learning experience: using evidence-based design to determine what works and why in virtual/physical teaching spaces. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(5), 903-920. Fitzsimmons, J., Neubauer, K. & Haston, A. (2018). Space Matters, But It’s No Guarantee: Reconceptualizing Active Learning Classrooms. Conference Presentation, Purdue University. Jamieson, P. (2003). Designing more effective on-campus teaching and learning spaces: a role for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 8(1-2), 119-133. Rook, M.M., Choi, K. & McDonald, S.P. (2015). Learning Theory Expertise in the Design of Learning Spaces: Who Needs a Seat at the Table? Journal of Learning Spaces, 4(1), 1-29

Validation of a Farsi version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (F-EDE-Q) in adolescents and university students from Iran

BACKGROUND: Although the Farsi version of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (F-EDE-Q) is frequently utilized to assess disordered eating in Iran, its factor structure, reliability, and validity have not been investigated in Iranian samples, which is the aim of the current investigation. METHOD: Using convenience sampling, this study recruited 1112 adolescents and 637 university students to complete disordered eating and mental health-focused questionnaires, including the F-EDE-Q. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses of the 22 attitudinal items in the F-EDE-Q indicated that a brief seven-item, three-factor model (i.e., Dietary Restraint, Shape/Weight Overvaluation, Body Dissatisfaction with Shape and Weight) was the only factor structure that fit the data well for either sample. This brief version of the F-EDE-Q was invariant across gender, body weight, and age. Adolescent and university participants with higher weight reported higher average scores on each of the three subscales. Subscale scores showed good internal consistency reliability in the two samples. Further, supporting convergent validity, subscales were significantly associated with measures of body image-related preoccupation and bulimia symptoms, as well as measures of other theoretically related constructs including depressive symptoms and self-esteem. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that this brief, validated measure will enable researchers and clinical providers to appropriately assess disordered eating symptoms in adolescent and young adult Farsi-speaking populations

Transforming spaces: Fostering student-centered learning through the intentional design of formal and informal learning spaces

Transforming the academic experience and success of students by building Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) is increasing, but ALCs are still fewer than traditional classroom spaces. These new learning spaces create an inherent tension between increasing student enrollments and active learning environments. Accommodating increased class sizes does not have to exclude fostering an active learning space. We have an opportunity every time a classroom is renovated or a new building is built to intentionally acknowledge and engage this tension to positively influence student learning and success. As we renovate and construct new learning spaces on our campuses, it is not only important to understand how the “built pedagogy” (Monahan 2000, 2002) and “architecture as pedagogy” (Orr 1993, 1997) of our spaces can help or hinder more active learning pedagogies, but also how to support effective teaching in these spaces (Levesque-Bristol, 2019). While many institutions are prioritizing active learning as old classrooms get renovated, few are doing so at the broad campus-wide scope necessary to affect larger-scale culture change (Park & Choi, 2014). Two such institutions that are developing and supporting large-scale active learning spaces are the Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and Purdue University (Indiana, USA). TU Dublin and Purdue are conducting collaborative research focusing on how each institution’s new, large-scale construction of formal and informal learning spaces is impacting teaching and learning

The Definitive Abundance of Interstellar Oxygen

Using the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) onboard HST, we have obtained high S/N echelle observations of the weak interstellar O I 1356 A absorption toward the stars Gamma Cas, Epsilon Per, Delta Ori, Epsilon Ori, 15 Mon, Tau CMa, and Gamma Ara. In combination with previous GHRS measurements in six other sightlines (Zeta Per, Xi Per, Lambda Ori, Iota Ori, Kappa Ori, and Zeta Oph), these new observations yield a mean interstellar gas-phase oxygen abundance (per 10$^6$ H atoms) of 10$^6$ O/H = 319 +/- 14. The largest deviation from the mean is less than 18%, and there are no statistically significant variations in the measured O abundances from sightline to sightline and no evidence of density-dependent oxygen depletion from the gas phase. Assuming various mixtures of silicates and oxides, the abundance of interstellar oxygen tied up in dust grains is unlikely to surpass 10$^6$ O/H $\approx$ 180. Consequently, the GHRS observations imply that the total abundance of interstellar oxygen (gas plus grains) is homogeneous in the vicinity of the Sun and about 2/3 of the solar value of 10$^6$ O/H = 741 +/- 130. This oxygen deficit is consistent with that observed in nearby B stars and similar to that recently found for interstellar krypton with GHRS. Possible explanations for this deficit include: (1) early solar system enrichment by a local supernova, (2) a recent infall of metal-poor gas in the local Milky Way, or (3) an outward diffusion of the Sun from a smaller galactocentric distance.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 5 Postscript figures; ApJ, in pres

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy