OnTrack to science literacy: Addressing the diverse needs of non-traditional students engaged in an Australian pre-university enabling program

In recent years, enrolments in ‘OnTrack’ - Murdoch University’s pre-university enabling program - have substantially increased; and the study choices of these students diversified, with many students choosing to commence undergraduate science programs. Concurrently, the university’s commitment to developing an ‘interdisciplinary perspective’ in undergraduates has strengthened. These changes necessitated the inclusion of a curriculum module focused on developing scientific literacy to be undertaken by all ‘OnTrack’ students. However, the nature of this module required careful thought as the ‘OnTrack’ student cohort is characterised by diverse interests, aspirations, attitudes and past educational experiences related to science learning. In this session, the authors discuss their rationale for using an “everyday science” approach, rather than the traditional “pipeline” science approach in designing this module. There is ongoing research into the success of this approach in facilitating both student engagement in learning about science and opportunities for transformative learning

Understanding the learner: Effective course design in the changing higher education space

Due to the ‘Bradley’ review of Higher Education in 2008, there has been a shift in demographics of students entering universities in Australia (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008). Moreover, the uncertainty around university funding has created additional challenges for many universities. However, as Jobs once stated “innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat” (2011), and emerging from this space arose an opportunity at Murdoch University to create OnTrack Sprint, which specifically aimed to capture school-leavers aspiring to university but achieving an ATAR just below the cut-off for direct entrance (i.e. between 60 - 69.95). This four-week intensive program was offered for the first time pre-semester one, 2015. Of those who started the course, 92% were retained and 96% of retained students progressed to enrolling in an undergraduate course at Murdoch University. The effectiveness of this enabling program stemmed from a curriculum that was informed by the learning needs (Kift, 2009) of this targeted demographic. This paper dances with the idea that a successful student-teacher relationship is reliant on ‘knowing’ your learner (Hattie, 2009) and refers to the program OnTrack Sprint to demonstrate how an effective transition pedagogy that is cognisant of the learner can be intentionally constructed and delivered to effectively engage and transition enabling students

Addressing social and emotional learning: Fostering resilience and academic self-efficacy in educationally disadvantaged learners transitioning to university

In recent years, the impact of mental health issues on university students’ ability to successfully access, transition and participate in university has gained increasing attention. Mental wellbeing is of particular concern in pre-university enabling programs which often specifically target educationally-disadvantaged equity groups. It has become increasingly clear that in addition to ‘academic skills’, these students also need to be equipped with social and emotional skills that support their transition to university, as well as promote resilience, sustained motivation and academic self- efficacy. In response to this, we reviewed and revised the curricula of two of Murdoch University’s key enabling programs to incorporate material which focused on developing these skills. This paper presents our rationale and examples of our diverse approaches to addressing social and emotional learning in curricula which aims to support and enable the transition of educationally disadvantaged students into undergraduate studies

Le collocazioni nei manuali di italiano come lingua straniera: corpus linguistico

Whoever studies a foreign language wonders what are the most effective ways to improve their fluency, both in speaking and writing. One of the answers is to learn the collocations of the studied language. Therefore, the aim of this article is to create a Corpus from the analysis of 25 manuals of Italian as a foreign language in order to prove the importance of collocations in the process of learning the Italian language and, as a consequence, to provide material for their study.Chiunque studi una lingua straniera si interroga su quali siano i modi più efficaci per migliorare la propria fluidità, sia nel parlare sia nello scrivere. Una delle risposte è imparare le collocazioni della lingua studiata. Pertanto, l'obiettivo del presente articolo è creare un Corpus partendo dall'analisi di 25 manuali di italiano come lingua straniera per provare l'importanza delle collocazioni nel processo di apprendimento della lingua italiana e, come conseguenza, proporzionare materiale per il loro studio

Ejercicios de colocaciones en lengua inglesa para el nivel B1

Quien estudia una lengua extranjera se pregunta qué es lo que puede hacer para mejorar su fluidez, tanto en el hablado comoen el escrito. Una de las respuestas es aprender unidades fraseológicas. Por ello, en este trabajo nos centraremos en los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje de colocaciones de la lengua inglesa. Se tratarán, concretamente, colocaciones sustantivo + sustantivoy verbo + sustantivo, debido a sus numerosas unidades. Se presentará el Enfoque Léxico de Lewis (1993) y su repercusión en la enseñanza del léxico de la lengua inglesa. A continuación, se abordará el concepto de colocación y se delinearán las diferentes tipologías según el esquema propuesto por Corpas Pastor (1996). Por último, se presentarán cuatro actividades originales sobre algunas colocaciones de la lengua inglesa, para facilitar la enseñanza y aprendizaje de este tipo de unidades en el aula del inglés LE.Anyone studying a foreign language wonders what they can do to improve their fluency, both in spokenand written form. One of the answers is to learn phraseological units. Therefore, in this paper we will focus onthe processes of teaching and learning English language collocations. We will deal, specifically, with noun + noun and verb + noun collocations, due to their numerous units. Lewis' Lexical Approach (1993) and its impact on the teaching of the English language lexicon will be presented. The concept of collocations will then be addressed and the different typologies will be outlined according to the scheme proposed by Corpas Pastor (1996). Finally, four original activities will be presented on some English language collocations, in order to facilitate the teaching and learning of this type of units in the English LE classroom

A Teaching Approach to Phraseological Units (Italian – Spanish)

En el presente trabajo se analiza el fenómeno lingüístico de las unidades fraseológicas de la lengua italiana y, en particular, se profundiza en la didáctica de estas combinaciones léxicas, además de proporcionar una propuesta clasificatoria de las mismas. Debido a que se tratan estas unidades desde un enfoque didáctico, en el primer capítulo se abordan las diferentes metodologías de enseñanza de una lengua extranjera, desde el método tradicional hasta el método comunicativo. Asimismo, se analizan distintos enfoques, como el natural de Krashen (1988) o el léxico de Lewis (1993), donde se afirma que el vocabulario de una lengua extranjera ha de aprenderse por bloques lingüísticos y no a través de la memorización de listas de palabras aisladas y descontextualizadas. El segundo capítulo versa sobre el concepto de fraseología y las definiciones de las diferentes unidades fraseológicas de un idioma, como colocaciones, locuciones y enunciados fraseológicos. Aunque el eje principal del trabajo sea el análisis de las unidades fraseológicas de la lengua italiana, se ha decidido introducir un apartado sobre la fraseología en ámbito hispánico, puesto que se hallan más estudios teóricos y taxonómicos sobre el tema. Al respecto, se analizan las teorías de Casares (1950), Coseriu (1967, 1978, 1986), Zuluaga (1975a, 1975b, 1980), Ruiz Gurillo (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002) y Corpas Pastor (1996, 2003), mientras que en la parte dedicada a la lengua italiana se incluyen las aportaciones de Dardano (1978, 1997), De Mauro (1982, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2005), Casadei (1994, 1995, 1996, 2001), Simone (1995, 1997), Voghera (1993, 1994, 2004) y Vietri (1985). Tras aclarar el estado de la cuestión, en el último apartado, se proporciona una nueva propuesta de clasificación de las unidades fraseológicas del italiano, a partir de las clasificaciones elaboradas por Corpas Pastor (1996), Casadei (1996), Simone (1995) y Voghera (2004), en la que se incluyen, además de colocaciones, locuciones y los proverbios, las combinaciones semilibres en las UFs de la lengua italiana, no contempladas en las clasificaciones anteriores, como en las de Dardano (1978), De Mauro (1982), Casadei (1996), Simone (1995) y Voghera (2004). El tercer capítulo se dedica a la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las unidades fraseológicas tanto en España como en Italia, analizando diferentes textos sobre el argumento, como el de Penadés Martínez (1999), Ruiz Gurillo (2002) para el español y Ambroso y Stefancich (2002) para la lengua italiana. Desde este punto de vista, la lengua española posee varios materiales sobre la enseñanza de las unidades fraseológicas, que se han analizado para la elaboración, en el capítulo quinto, de actividades de fraseología italiana. Para averiguar si en los materiales de italiano se contempla el estudio de las UFs, se han examinado, en el cuarto capítulo, diferentes manuales de italiano como lengua extranjera desde un punto de vista lingüistico y didáctico. A saber, se ha analizado el modelo de lengua meta propuesto deteniéndonos, en concreto, en qué UFs se incluyen en las distintas unidades didácticas, cómo se presentan estas combinaciones léxicas en ejercicios y textos, y con qué finalidad didáctica. Ello nos permitirá valorar los presupuestos metodológicos y conceptuales subyacentes a la planificación docente de cada libro de curso. El corpus de análisis comprende veinticinco manuales divididos entre los niveles A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 y C2 del MCER. Se trata de textos muy recientes, elaborados en los últimos 10 años, y de editoriales como Edilingua, Alma Edizioni y Casa delle Lingue Edizioni. La recopilación de las unidades fraseológicas halladas nos ha permitido elaborar un inventario de elementos fraseológicos que se puede consultar en apéndice a esta tesis doctoral. Para finalizar, el último capítulo es un compendio de unidades didácticas, dirigidas tanto a estudiantes como a profesores, en las cuales es posible encontrar ejercicios de fraseología italiana, del nivel A1 hasta el nivel B2/C1. Dichas actividades se han creado como herramienta didáctica a utilizar en clase de italiano como lengua extranjera, debido a la escasez de material fraseológico, de hecho, se han empleado en clases prácticas en varias instituciones públicas como, la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Almería, la Universidad de Córdoba, la Universidad de Almería, la Universidad de Innsbruck y la “Università per Stranieri di Siena”. Los ejemplos y textos que forman los ejercicios son de producción propia y reflejan parte del léxico empleado, cotidianamente, por nativos italianos.Nel presente lavoro di tesi dottorale si analizza il fenomeno linguistico delle unità fraseologiche della lingua italiana e il loro uso nell’insegnamento di lingua straniera, oltre a proporzionare una proposta classificatoria delle stesse. Poiché tali unità vengono trattate da un punto di vista didattico, nel primo capitolo si presentano differenti metodi di insegnamento di una lingua straniera, da quello tradizionale a quello comunicativo. Inoltre, si analizzano diversi approcci, tra cui quello naturale di Krashen (1988) e quello lessicale di Lewis (1993), in cui si afferma che il vocabolario di una lingua straniera deve essere appreso per mezzo di blocchi linguistici e non attraverso la memorizzazione di liste di parole isolate e decontestualizzate. Il secondo capitolo verte intorno al concetto di fraseologia e alle definizioni delle diverse unità fraseologiche di una lingua, come collocazioni, locuzioni ed enunciati fraseologici. Sebbene l’obiettivo principale del presente lavoro sia l’analisi delle unità fraseologiche dell’italiano, ci è sembrato opportuno introdurre una parte dedicata agli studi fraseologici portati a termine in ambito ispanistico, a causa della copiosa quantità di ricerche sul tema. In merito a quanto appena affermato, si analizzano le teorie di Casares (1950), Coseriu (1967, 1978, 1986), Zuluaga (1975a, 1975b, 1980), Ruiz Gurillo (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002) e Corpas Pastor (1996, 2003) che riguardano la parte spagnola, e gli apporti di Dardano (1978, 1997), De Mauro (1982, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2005), Casadei (1994, 1995, 1996, 2001), Simone (1995, 1997), Voghera (1993, 1994, 2004) e Vietri (1985) in riferimento all’italiano. Dopo aver esposto lo stato d’arte sugli studi in ambito fraseologico, nell’ultimo paragrafo, si propone una proposta classificatoria delle unità fraseologiche della lingua italiana, che si basa sulle classificazioni elaborate da Corpas (1996), Simone (1995) e Voghera (2004). In questo nuovo modello si includono, oltre alle collocazioni, locuzioni ed enunciati fraseologici, le combinazioni libere e semilibere, non contemplate nelle precedenti classificazioni teorizzate da De Mauro (1982), Casadei (1996), Simone (1995) e Voghera (2004). Il terzo capitolo si incentra sulla didattica e l’apprendimento delle unità fraseologiche, sia in Spagna sia in Italia, nel quale si analizzano diversi testi sul tema, tra cui quelli di Penadés Martínez (1999), Ruiz Gurillo (2002) per lo spagnolo e Ambroso y Stefancich (2002) per l’italiano. Per ciò che concerne il loro insegnamento, la lingua spagnola possiede una copiosa quantità di testi, che sono stati presi in esame nel quinto capitolo per l’elaborazione di attività pratiche di fraseologia italiana. Con il fine di verificare se nei manuali di italiano come lingua straniera si contempla lo studio delle UFe, si sono analizzati, nel quarto capitolo, venticinque libri di testo da un punto di vista linguistico e didattico. Si prende in considerazione il modello di lingua proposto soffermandoci, concretamente, su quali UFe si introducono nelle unità didattiche, come si presentano tali combinazioni lessicali in esercizi e testi e a che scopo didattico, il che ci permetterà di valutare i presupposti metodologici e concettuali soggiacenti alla pianificazione docente di ciascun manuale del corso. Il corpus di analisi comprende, come è stato affermato in precedenza, venticinque manuali suddivisi tra i livelli A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 e C2 del QCER. Si tratta di testi abbastanza recenti, elaborati negli ultimi dieci anni, pubblicati da Edilingua, Alma Edizioni e Casa delle Lingue Edizioni. Il compendio delle unità fraseologiche reperite ci ha permesso di elaborare un inventario di elementi fraseologici che si può consultare in appendice alla presente tesi dottorale. Per concludere, l’ultimo capitolo è un insieme di unità didattiche, volte sia a studenti sia a docenti, nelle quali è possibile trovare esercizi di fraseologia italiana da un livello A1 fino ad un livello B2/C1. Tali attività sono state create a causa dell’insufficienza di materiale fraseologico, per tale motivo si considerano uno strumento didattico da utilizzare in una lezione di italiano come lingua straniera, difatti, sono state presentate in lezioni pratiche in varie istituzioni pubbliche, come la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Almería, l’Università di Almería, l’Università di Córdoba, l’Università di Innsbruck e l’Università per Stranieri di Siena. Gli esempi e i testi che formano gli esercizi sono di produzione propria e riflettono parte del lessico impiegato, quotidianamente, dai madrelingua italiani.The present work analyzes the linguistic phenomenon of the phraseological units of the Italian language and, in particular, it focuses on the didactics of these lexical combinations. In addition to this, a classification proposal of them will be provided. Since these units are treated from a didactic approach, the first chapter deals with the different teaching methodologies of a foreign language, from the traditional method to the communicative one. In addition to these methods, the Lexical Approach by Lewis (1993) and the Natural Approach by Krashen will be fully examined since, both of them, focus on the importance given to the learning of lexis. The second chapter addresses the concept of phraseology and the definitions of collocations, locutions and phraseological sentences. Although the main focus of the work is the analysis of the Italian phrasemes, it has been decided to introduce a section on the Spanish phraseology, since there are more theoretical and taxonomic studies on the subject. Actually, the theories of Casares (1950), Coseriu (1967, 1978, 1986), Zuluaga (1975a, 1975b, 1980), Ruiz Gurillo (1997, 1998, 2001, 2002) and Corpas Pastor (1996, 2003) and the part devoted to the Italian language, which includes the contributions by Dardano (1978, 1997), De Mauro (1982, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2005), Casadei (1994, 1995, 1996, 2001), Simone (1995, 1997), Voghera (1993, 1994, 2004) and Vietri (1985) will be examined minutely. After clarifying the state of the art, in the last section, a new proposal for the classification of the Italian phraseological units is provided. It is based, mainly, on the classifications formulated by Corpas Pastor (1996), Simone (1995) and Voghera (2004), which include, in addition to collocations, locutions and proverbs, semifree combinations, which are not contemplated in the previous classifications by Dardano (1978), De Mauro (1982), Casadei (1996), Simone (1995) and Voghera (2004). The third chapter is devoted to the teaching and learning of phraseological units. As far as it is concerned, different texts on the subject, such as those of Penadés Martínez (1999) and Ruiz Gurillo (2002) for Spanish and Ambroso and Stefancich (2002) for the Italian language will be studied. As it has been mentioned previously, the Spanish language possesses several materials on the teaching of phraseological units, which have been analyzed for the elaboration of Italian phraseology activities in chapter five. In order to ascertain if the study of all of these phrasemes is contemplated in the Italian materials, different manuals of Italian as a foreign language have been examined in the fourth chapter from a linguistic and didactic point of view. In other words, the proposed target language model is investigated, focusing, in particular, on what units are included in the different teaching topics, how these lexical combinations are presented in exercises and texts, and for what didactic purpose. This will allow us to assess the methodological and conceptual budgets underlying the teaching planning of each course book. The corpus comprises twenty-five manuals among levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 of the CEFR. These are very recent texts, written in the last 10 years and published by Edilingua, Alma Edizioni and Casa delle Lingue Edizioni. The compilation of the phraseological units found has allowed us to draw up a corpus of elements that can be consulted in appendix to this doctoral thesis. To conclude, the last chapter is a compendium of didactic units, aimed at both students and teachers, in which it is possible to find exercises on Italian phraseology, from level A1 to level B2/C1. These activities have been created as a teaching tool to be used in classes and due to the scarcity of phraseological material, in fact, they have been employed in practical lessons in various public institutions such as the Official School of Languages of Almeria, the University of Cordoba, the University of Almeria, the University of Innsbruck and the “Università per Stranieri di Siena”. The examples and texts that make up the exercises are self-produced and reflect part of the everyday vocabulary used by Italian native speakers

Emotional labour demands in enabling education: A qualitative exploration of the unique challenges and protective factors

Students in enabling programs bring richness, diversity, and complexity to the teaching and learning environment. They are often from under-represented backgrounds, have experienced educational disadvantage or disruption, belong to multiple equity groups, and face academic and non-academic challenges, including mental ill-health. This pilot study explored academic staff experiences in teaching and supporting students in enabling programs. Using a collaborative autoethnographical approach, four members of a multi-institutional research group wrote first-person reflections in response to guiding questions. From generative and reflective discussions, different themes arose. A major theme was the high ‘emotional labour demands’ of teaching a vulnerable cohort, with both positive and negative effects on staff. Other major themes included: the diversity of emotional responses and coping strategies; the complex, sometimes contradictory, role of the enabling educator; the importance of communities of care and support; and the impact of witnessing students’ transformations. Within these themes, the challenges, rewards, and protective factors, which mitigate stress among enabling educators, were identified

Frequency and number of ultrasound lung rockets ( B-lines ) using a regionally based lung ultrasound examination named Vet BLUE ( veterinary bedside lung ultrasound exsam ) in dogs with radiographicallynormal lung findings

Lung ultrasound is superior to lung auscultation and supine chest radiography for many respiratory conditions in human patients. Ultrasound diagnoses are based on easily learned patterns of sonographic findings and artifacts in standardized images. By applying the wet lung (ultrasound lung rockets or B-lines, representing interstitial edema) versus dry lung (A-lines with a glide sign) concept many respiratory conditions can be diagnosed or excluded. The ultrasound probe can be used as a visual stethoscope for the evaluation of human lungs because dry artifacts (A-lines with a glide sign) predominate over wet artifacts (ultrasound lung rockets or B-lines). However, the frequency and number of wet lung ultrasound artifacts in dogs with radiographically normal lungs is unknown. Thus, the primary objective was to determine the baseline frequency and number of ultrasound lung rockets in dogs without clinical signs of respiratory disease and with radiographically normal lung findings using an 8-view novel regionally based lung ultrasound examination called Vet BLUE. Frequency of ultrasound lung rockets were statistically compared based on signalment, body condition score, investigator, and reasons for radiography. Ten left-sided heart failure dogs were similarly enrolled. Overall frequency of ultrasound lung rockets was 11% (95% confidence interval, 6–19%) in dogs without respiratory disease versus 100% (95% confidence interval, 74–100%) in those with left-sided heart failure. The low frequency and number of ultrasound lung rockets observed in dogs without respiratory disease and with radiographically normal lungs suggests that Vet BLUE will be clinically useful for the identification of canine respiratory conditions.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1740-8261hb201