Learning through the physical environment in the workplace.

The physical surroundings are often overlooked in discussions on learning in the workplace. The physical environment, however, may hold significant messages for organizational members in relation to what they need to know about the culture, structure and roles and routines of the organization. This paper discusses how differences in the physical environment of two departments in the same organisation influenced the way that people worked and learned

Following the leader: the social character of learning in the Australian Army

The complex environments in which modern soldiers operate require high functioning individuals who are able to adapt and apply their knowledge, skills and experience in a variety of contexts. In order to adapt to challenges associated with increasing complexity and take advantage of its various knowledge bases, the Australian Army has pursued a goal of becoming a learning organisation. Drawing on data collected from 20 unstructured group discussions conducted with over 150 Army personnel, this qualitative study explores the significance of leaders (usually commanding officers but also instructors) as ‘creators’ or ‘shapers’ of learning environments within their units, and the extent to which they facilitate learning by their staff. Findings suggest that the creation of learning environments (within units) often occurs in an ad hoc manner, reflecting the personalities or dispositions of leaders, rather than reflecting an organisational commitment to ‘empowered’ learners. Consequently, soldiers’ abilities to make and learn from mistakes, ask questions, and display initiative fluctuated according to their posting. However, in contrast to the top-down approach to facilitated learning and empowerment often reported in the literature, findings also suggest that subordinates facilitate learning for leaders. Thus, the paper extends the theory of facilitated learning through leadership by acknowledging the recursive nature of empowerment and the agency of subordinates in shaping their learning environment

An insight into the daily experience of science students

What does the world of science students look like? How do they build meanings and perceptions of their experience? This presentation will provide a preliminary report on a study aiming to explore the experience of science students at xxxx. Ten students were recruited to use video cameras to record elements of their lives and to provide a commentary on those elements throughout a semester. The students represented first year and commencing students, the various disciplines, gender and age groups. The students acted as "participant-researchers", identifying and exploring the phenomena they experienced and the meaning and sense making they constructed in terms of science, their science studies, the value of their degree and how these issues impact on their lives. This approach not only provides valuable information to science teaching staff and decision makers; it also enhances the skill base of the student researchers as they receive training in video recording, phenomenological research, the processes of planning and reflecting on their experience, in ethics involving human subjects, and in the process of qualitative data collection and analysis. In addition to presenting the research methodology, this presentation will give a preliminary analysis of the recordings students made and the follow up interviews

Developing a Common Visual Literacy amongst First Year Chemistry Students

During the course of their studies, chemistry students are exposed to multiple, progressively more sophisticated models of submicro scale particles. In this paper we report on the introduction of submicro drawing questions into a first year university chemistry laboratory program with the aim of revealing alternative conceptions that may have gone undiagnosed using traditional teaching methods. Ultimately, such questions are beneficial as a learning tool incorporated into a learning process aimed at improving students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental chemistry concepts. Introducing submicro drawing questions involved developing a common visual literacy amongst students to enable comparable drawings to be produced for assessment purposes. This process included asking students to attempt three drawing tasks while following research informed guidelines worded to allow visual diagnosis of a range of commonly reported alternative conceptions

First year university students’ visualization of the submicroscopic world

In one way or another, knowledge and understanding of chemistry is generated, expressed, taught, and communicated at three different “levels”, these are known as the macro, submicroscopic and symbolic levels of representation (Johnstone, 1991) (Johnstone, 1993). The submicroscopic level of representation concerns the world of atoms and their derivatives; ions and molecules, and this unobservable world is accessible only by imagination. Imagination is a key component of student understanding and its significance cannot be underestimated (Bucat & Mocerino, 2009). However, most students’ knowledge resides almost exclusively at the symbolic level (Johnstone, 1991). The aims of this research include understanding how first year chemistry students imagine chemical processes at the submicroscopic level of representation. To date, data has been collected on how students visualize the products (including the solvent) of a common precipitation reaction. Students who were prepared to participate further in the research project were interviewed at the end of first semester to assess how their understanding of the concepts had changed. Students drew diagrams of ions, atoms and molecules, which were assessed for conceptual appropriateness using set criteria. The diagrams for each compound were initially grouped into two broad categories of appropriate or inappropriate representations. Inappropriate representations were further grouped into sub-categories

A picture is worth a thousand words: developing a common visual literacy amongst first year chemistry students

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND This paper reports on the development and implementation of student-generated submicro drawing questions into a first year chemistry laboratory program. AIMS This study aims are to use student-generated drawings to diagnose alternative conceptions held by first year chemistry students and enhance their understanding of the main concepts covered in each laboratory class. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION Asking students to attempt submicro drawing tasks for assessment purposes first requires the development of a common visual literacy amongst students that helps to build familiarity with such tasks and allows comparable drawings to be produced. Developing a common visual literacy for this study involved students attempting three drawing tasks and watching a short video presentation. The drawing tasks were accompanied by guidelines but still required students to express their understanding of concepts such as molecular geometry, relative sizes of atoms and ions and the interactions between the chemical entities in their diagrams. Students attempted the questions individually before being invited to attempt them again in collaborative groups. DESIGN AND METHODS The participants for this study were first year general chemistry students at a large university in Victoria, Australia. The study compiled preliminary data which involved the collection of over three hundred student-generated drawings produced solely from the imaginations of the participants during week 1 of semester 1, 2013, followed by participant interviews at the end of the semester. A review of the relevant chemistry education literature and the preliminary data were used to develop the drawing tasks and video presentation that introduced students to a common visual literacy during weeks 1 and 2 of semester 1, 2014. Student-generated drawings collected during the preliminary data stage were assessed against criterion developed using a grounded approach which enabled themes to emerge by coding and categorizing the drawings through repetitive comparison. RESULTS Figures 1 – 3 are examples of student-generated drawings and highlight some of the alternative conceptions that can be revealed when students’ are asked to visually express their understanding of how ions interact in an aqueous solution (Figure 1) and in a solid (Figure 2). Students also revealed a number of alternative conceptions relating to water molecules and a difficulty in representing the detail required for solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions to be demonstrated (Figure 3). Figure 1: Drawings not meeting one or more criteria developed for aqueous calcium nitrate Figure 2: Drawings not meeting one or more criteria developed for solid silver chloride Figure 3: Drawings not meeting one or more criteria developed for liquid water CONCLUSIONS This study is situated within a constructivist framework which seeks to understand students’ alternative conceptions and to introduce effective pedagogical approaches that help to engage students in the learning process. Questions that require students to draw submicro diagrams and use them to facilitate a shared understanding with their peers are consistent with the collaborative nature of chemistry and a student-centred approach

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Investigating First Year Chemistry Students’ Ability to Visually Express Their Understanding of Chemistry Concepts

This paper reports on research into understanding the ability of first year chemistry students to visually express their understanding of chemistry concepts. The aim was to gather data to inform the development and implementation of student-generated drawing questions into a first year university chemistry laboratory program; part of which involved the development of a criteria framework for assessing the drawings. The purpose of introducing drawing questions was to help diagnose alternative conceptions and improve conceptual understanding by engaging students’ at the macro, symbolic and submicro levels of representation. The need for such questions in the laboratory program was deemed necessary after a review of the existing questions highlighted that students were being asked to express their understanding of what they were learning in each class invariably at the macro and symbolic levels of representation, but not the submicro level. Investigating students’ ability to visually express chemistry concepts involved a review of the relevant chemistry education literature, student interviews and the collection of over three hundred student-generated drawings that were produced solely from the imagination of the participants

Locating space in qualitative research: questioning culture through the corporeal

Londo

Learning Through the Physical Environment in the Workplace

Delhi, Indi