Co-Tutor: a relationship management system to enable staff to monitor students' engagement and provide support to at risk students

Co-Tutor: a relationship management system to enable staff to monitor students' engagement and provide support to at risk student

Examining High School Students on their Ideas about the Social Exclusion of Peers with Learning Difficulties

This thesis investigated the reasons high school students believed their peers with learning difficulties were excluded, and compared male and female responses. Participants included twenty grade twelve students who were interviewed on why they believed students with learning difficulties were excluded. Responses were analyzed (a) qualitatively to identify response themes, and (b) quantitatively to examine gender differences. Five response categories were identified including (a) thoughts and behaviours of students without learning difficulties, (b) classroom-related activities, (c) differences between students with and without learning difficulties, (d) thoughts and behaviours of students with learning difficulties, and (e) exclusion is not a problem. Categories were divided into subcategories. Gender differences were found in some subcategories. Specifically, males focused more on differences in social behaviour, and characteristics of students without learning difficulties, whereas females focused more on differences in interests and conversation topics, and negative thoughts and actions of students without learning difficulties

The realist evaluation of educational technology

PURPOSE. This thesis considers the best way to address the challenges faced by educators, institutions and funding bodies trying to not only develop and implement educational technology successfully but tackle the challenge of understanding and evidencing what works (and what does not) and why. The aim of the research was to find and validate an evaluation method that provided usable and useful evidence. APPROACH. A range of evaluations were undertaken to elicit the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches, augmented by drawing upon the experiences and outcomes published by others. An analysis of the issues was made and significance of the problem established. The problem being premature timing, unsuitable models, rapid change, complex implementation chains, inconsistent terminology, ideology and marketisation. A tailored realist evaluation framework was proposed as an alternative method and it was tested to evaluate an institutional lecture capture (LC) initiative. FINDINGS. The theory-driven realist approach provided a level of abstraction that helped gather evidence about wider influences and theories of potential future impact of the LC programme and its linked policy. It proved valuable in generating real and practical recommendations for the institution, including what more could be done to improve uptake and support embedding in teaching and learning, from practice, policy and technological points of view. It identified some unanticipated disadvantages of LC as well determining how and when it was most effective. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS. A Realist Evaluation of Technology Initiative (RETI) framework has been produced as tool to aid the rapid adoption of the approach. Recommendations for future research and seven guiding principles have been proposed to encourage the formation of a community of realist evaluative researchers in educational technology. ORIGINALITY/VALUE. The rigorous application of a tailored realist evaluation framework (RETI) for educational technology (including the development of two Domain Reference Models) is the primary contribution to new knowledge. This research is significance because it has potential to enable the synthesis of evaluation findings within the sector. This will enable an evidence-base of what works, for whom, in which contexts and why, ultimately benefiting policy-makers and practitioners to support better informed decision making and investment in education

Woody Plant Communities of the Iowa Loess Hills: Expansion From 1855 to 2000, Extant Composition, and Ecological Succession.

The Loess Hills of western Iowa are a unique geologic landform historically covered by scattered bur oaks in a matrix of mixed-grass prairie. Since European settlement, however, woody plant encroachment has altered the ecosystem and presently endangers the last substantial prairies remnants in Iowa. Aerial photographs from 2000 and General Land Office field survey notes from the 1850s documented an increase in woody Plant cover from 7% in 1855 to 25% in 2000 for three centuries in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa. Woody Plant species composition along a lowland-ridge-top coenocline on both north and south aspects in centrally located Monona County, Iowa, was evaluated to quantify extant vegetation and to serve as a base for future comparison. Ridge-tops were dominated my smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and rough-leaved dogwood (Cornus frummondii) with middle slopes dominated by bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), ironwood (Ostrya viginiana), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), or hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Lower slopes were dominated by American linden (Tilia americana) with an understory of ironwood, although green ash and hackberry were also represented. Assuming woody plants expand upslope, these communities infer a sere for the study stite succeeding from eastern red cedar to bur oak-ironwood to hackberry-ironwood communities on hilltops and slopes with species such as American linden, green ash, or hackberry dominating lower slopes. Overall, this study indicated that, in the absence of active management, woody communities of some type can ultimately be expected to replace both the prairie remnants of the Iowa Loess Hills and the extant bur oak-dominated forest

Evaluating business simulation software: approach, tools and pedagogy

Purpose - To identify a business simulation appropriate for MEng Engineering students. The selection was based on the following factors; exploring methods for evaluating potential software and enhancing the learner experience. Design/methodology/approach - An interdisciplinary project team was formed to try and resolve the pedagogic, technical and business aspects that would need to be addressed in order to implement such software within the programme. Tools included a questionnaire to assess the potential enhancement of employability skills and a usability questionnaire on ease of use. These were supplemented with discourse on technical and pedagogic issues. Findings - After the initial scoping study, our findings indicated that two business simulation software packages had potential. These were ‘Marketplace - Venture Strategy’ and ‘SimVenture’. Marketplace proved to be the most suitable in terms of the pedagogic and technical requirements. Research limitations / implications - We were not able to fully trial each simulation over the recommended duration of play because of practical time constraints and we did not have any student contribution to the process. Findings will need to be verified with the piloting cohort of students. Further pedagogic research could be carried out to evidence the enhancement to the student learning experience. Originality/value - This study is valuable because it purposefully uses an interdisciplinary team comprising expertise in; teaching and learning, technology, business and sector knowledge. This was vital in the decision making process. Development of generic methods and tools to measure and evaluate software suitability in relation to usability and employability skills

The grass-roots development and institutional embedding of the tutoring management system Co-Tutor

The grass-roots development and institutional embedding of the tutoring management system Co-Tuto

Supporting and developing engineering education in the UK and beyond

This paper details the emergence and development of the 'Centre for Engineering and Design Education' (CEDE) at Loughborough University, UK, and provides ample evidence that such a Centre can prove to be a highly effective support mechanism for discipline-specific academics and can develop and maintain valuable national and international networks and collaborations along with considerable esteem for the host university. The CEDE is unique in the UK and has achieved considerable success and recognition within the local engineering education community and beyond. Here we discuss the historical background of the Centre's development, the context in which it operates, and its effective management and operation strategy. The success it has enjoyed is described through examples, with much evidence of the generation of a significant amount of external funding; the development of high quality learning spaces; learning technology systems, improvements in curriculum design; a strong record of research and publication on the pedagogy of engineering; strong links with industry and employers; and a wealth of connections and know-how built up over the years