Audio and screen visual feedback to support student learning

Feedback has been highlighted as the most powerful influence on student achievement, but students are often less satisfied with feedback than with other aspects of the student experience. It is hence important that ways of offering feedback are found that are useful both for improving learning and for gaining student satisfaction. This ongoing study was designed to explore and to improve feedback in a variety of differing contexts, two of which are reported here: i) audio feedback on a first year undergraduate written assignment in Geography (product-oriented feedback); and ii) video feedback from ongoing laboratory sessions with first-year Biosciences students (process-oriented feedback). These contexts have been selected as offering different ways of working and for highlighting a number of issues and areas for further development. Student and staff views have been gained via surveys, focus groups, individual interviews and ‘stimulated recall’ sessions. Findings suggest that students have high expectations in relation to feedback; many anticipate the kinds of individual face-to-face interaction they experienced in school and are not easily satisfied by other ways of working. In addition, offering audio or video feedback that is supportive to learning in both affective and cognitive terms is not necessarily easy. In the context of written assignments there is still much to be learned about appropriateness of length, tone, the register of language, the balance between praise and criticism, and the best contexts and timing for audio feedback. In the context of large classes for laboratory sessions, further research is needed on how lecturers and demonstrators can give ongoing feedback that is useful when captured for replay in video form, and also about how effective video taken in class might be then used for training purposes in order to enable student demonstrators to be more effective and knowledgeable when offering feedback to student

Do we really make a difference? A case study on the value of taught environmental sustainability postgraduate programmes within geography

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to discover the impacts of taught environmental sustainability-focused geography postgraduate programmes on student attitudes, behaviours and practices in relation to environmental awareness within two research-intensive universities in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A case study involved online surveys to measure environmental attitudes, behaviours and practices at the start and end of four taught geography postgraduate programmes. Findings: There was widespread attitudinal change and an increasing prioritisation of environmental issues reported among participants after they had completed their programme. However, behavioural change was limited, and there was little evidence of greater awareness being translated into changed practices. The learning benefits included a greater focus on interdisciplinarity, holistic thinking and critical self-reflection. Practical implications: The findings demonstrate that postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes in sustainability improve student awareness and concern about environmental issues but do not necessarily lead to widespread behavioural change. This raises questions for programme convenors about how education for sustainability can be truly transformational and avoid leading students to develop eco-anxieties over the scale of change required. Originality/value: There is a lack of research engaging with students on PGT programmes, especially in understanding their impacts on environmental attitudes, behaviours and practices. The research provides an evidence base for understanding the effects of PGT programmes in challenging student values, attitudes and practices and by implication knowledge transfer post-graduation, with the potential to help protect the environment and identify ways of living better with the ever-changing planet.</p

Decolonising Environmental Risk Assessments of Potentially Polluting Wrecks:a Case Study of the Wreck of the USS Mississinewa in Ulithi Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia

Millions of tonnes of oil lie entombed within wrecks from two world wars which, when released, can cause environmental devastation. Wrecks are predominantly risk assessed by the Global North Nations responsible, resulting in an epistemology that separates human from nature. This research aimed to decolonise risk assessments to capture the spatially heterogeneous nature of human vulnerability to oil pollution. Triangulation analysis of interviews and official reports relating to the USS Mississinewa oil spill identified three Global South issues a Eurocentric risk assessment failed to capture: region-specific meteorological conditions causing the leak, remoteness making external resources slow to arrive, and the impact of the fishery closure on traditional subsistence lifestyles. A vulnerability assessment is proposed to prioritise wrecks in susceptible locations. Recommendations are made for a collaborative approach to wreck management by including local voices, resisting the Global North assumption of generality, and recognising the priorities of those living with wrecks

Student voice and engagement: connecting through partnership

This paper draws on research conducted across an English higher education partnership to investigate the ways in which student voice was engaged in further education colleges offering university awards through partnership arrangements. Such collaborations are characterised by the marginal presence of higher education students in an environment that is dominated by further education structures, culture and practice. This provides challenges for both colleges and universities in developing higher education student identity and appropriate mechanisms of student engagement that comply with expectations within the higher education sector but also recognise the contextual situation of students within the college environment. It is argued that student partnership collaboration can be a positive driver in an increasingly marketised global environment, where student voice and feedback mechanisms are at the forefront of quality assessments and institutional reputation. An ideal types framework is suggested as a heuristic device for the evaluation of college strategies of engagement.TFA

The challenges of OER to Academic Practice

The degree to which Open Educational Resources (OER) reflect the values of its institutional provider depends on questions of economics and the level of support amongst its academics. For project managers establishing OER repositories, the latter question - how to cultivate, nurture and maintain academic engagement - is critical. Whilst participating in the HEFCE funded institutional OER programme (2009-10), the team at the University of Exeter encountered a range of academic opinions on OER, and followed many as they rode the peaks and troughs of opportunities and challenges that this kind of work entails. This paper discusses the potential motivators for academics in providing OER material, as an understanding of these is helpful when introducing the subject to new contributors, and when informing planning decisions - both procedural and financial - so that key incentives are protected. We will also look at the reasons for some academic scepticism surrounding OER and how these views can be - if not tempered - then at least understood with a view to informing future policy.The enthusiastic advocacy that some academics possess in relation to OER is borne of their vision of its use. It is important to ensure that the high priority objective of obtaining academic support does not overlook instances where there is tension between this vision, and what can be achieved with available resources. We will discuss the key information that OER managers need in order to mitigate this scenario. OER projects do not work in isolation from internal competition and it has been essential to be sensitive to the conflicting pressures that academics have to contend with in their work profile. We will discuss the value of establishing where an OER project sits within an institution&rsquo;s educational and research strategies, and its financial framework, the questions to ask and the signs to spot to obtain this information, and how managers can use this knowledge to make decisions, avoid pitfalls and garner support.&nbsp; This will involve addressing academic initiatives and reward schemes, including a discussion of how IPR and copyright can not only present challenges but also play an important role in motivating and demonstrating academic engagement. This paper draws upon formal and informal engagement with a range of stakeholders who have been involved in the project, including the many colleagues who attended several staff development sessions

Can Infrared Spectroscopy Be Used to Measure Change in Potassium Nitrate Concentration as a Proxy for Soil Particle Movement?

Displacement of soil particles caused by erosion influences soil condition and fertility. To date, the cesium 137 isotope (137Cs) technique is most commonly used for soil particle tracing. However when large areas are considered, the expensive soil sampling and analysis present an obstacle. Infrared spectral measurements would provide a solution, however the small concentrations of the isotope do not influence the spectral signal sufficiently. Potassium (K) has similar electrical, chemical and physical properties as Cs. Our hypothesis is that it can be used as possible replacement in soil particle tracing. Soils differing in texture were sampled for the study. Laboratory soil chemical analyses and spectral sensitivity analyses were carried out to identify the wavelength range related to K concentration. Different concentrations of K fertilizer were added to soils with varying texture properties in order to establish spectral characteristics of the absorption feature associated with the element. Changes in position of absorption feature center were observed at wavelengths between 2,450 and 2,470 nm, depending on the amount of fertilizer applied. Other absorption feature parameters (absorption band depth, width and area) were also found to change with K concentration with coefficient of determination between 0.85 and 0.99. Tracing soil particles using K fertilizer and infrared spectral response is considered suitable for soils with sandy and sandy silt texture. It is a new approach that can potentially grow to a technique for rapid monitoring of soil particle movement over large areas

A review of the impacts of degradation threats on soil properties in the UK

National governments are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of their soil resources and are shaping strategies accordingly. Implicit in any such strategy is that degradation threats and their potential effect on important soil properties and functions are defined and understood. In this paper, we aimed to review the principal degradation threats on important soil properties in the UK, seeking quantitative data where possible. Soil erosion results in the removal of important topsoil and, with it, nutrients, C and porosity. A decline in soil organic matter principally affects soil biological and microbiological properties, but also impacts on soil physical properties because of the link with soil structure. Soil contamination affects soil chemical properties, affecting nutrient availability and degrading microbial properties, whilst soil compaction degrades the soil pore network. Soil sealing removes the link between the soil and most of the ‘spheres’, significantly affecting hydrological and microbial functions, and soils on re-developed brownfield sites are typically degraded in most soil properties. Having synthesized the literature on the impact on soil properties, we discuss potential subsequent impacts on the important soil functions, including food and fibre production, storage of water and C, support for biodiversity, and protection of cultural and archaeological heritage. Looking forward, we suggest a twin approach of field-based monitoring supported by controlled laboratory experimentation to improve our mechanistic understanding of soils. This would enable us to better predict future impacts of degradation processes, including climate change, on soil properties and functions so that we may manage soil resources sustainably

Progress in Tourism Management: from the geography of tourism to geographies of tourism - A review

This Progress in Tourism Management paper seeks to review the development of geographical contributions to the study of tourism over the last decade. Given the limited number of surveys of geography published in academic journals since the 1970s, it is particularly timely to question and debate where the subject has evolved to, the current debates and issues facing those who work within the subject and where the subject will evolve in the next five years. The paper is structured around a number of distinct themes to emerge from the research activity of geographers, which is deliberately selective in its coverage due to the constraints of space, but focuses on: explaining spatialities; tourism planning and places; development and its discontents; tourism as an 'applied' area of research, and future prospects