Opening up spaces for collegial, collaborative academic development practice within a strategic, centrally coordinated team-based support model

Academic development units do not always determine the orientation of their professional activity. This paper showcases an initiative to implement an institution-wide strategic, project and team-based, faculty support model in a regional, Australian university. The institution wished to broaden the impact of the academic development unit across five faculties and address growing staff need related to e-learning. Learning Innovation Teaching Enhancement(LITE) teams include academic developers, librarians, e-learning support and others. They work with faculty colleagues on learning and teaching projects, targeting improvement at the degree and discipline level. This study uses a participatory action research, mixed-methods approach to evaluate both the effectiveness of our centrally coordinated model, and our capacity to retain successful aspects of our previous practice, such as situatedness and collegiality. This stage of the evaluation locates our support model within existing academic development practice and assesses its alignment with good practice principles outlined in relevant literature. Based on a preliminary analysis of group reflection, faculty uptake, success of project outcomes and survey data I conclude that LITE team projects can be an effective model for academic development. This initial evaluation also suggests that individual team projects tend to open up more collegial academic development spaces under the following conditions: where there is faculty ownership of project aims; where there is a faculty leader within the project team; where there is horizontal interaction between faculty participants, and between faculty and support team participants; and, where the academic developer can leverage existing relationships and collegial networks to generate a more collegial environment

Tertiary students with a disability or chronic illness: stigma and study

This paper explores ways to support the learning of students with a disability or chronic illness based on preliminary findings of a University of Southern Queensland study, and supporting secondary literature. It argues that for such students the capacity for greater control and management of their ‘learning journey’ is as important as access to specialised disability support services. This is because reframing support of students with a disability or chronic illness in terms of ‘choice’ and ‘self-management’ allows them to maintain their identity as ‘able, effective students’. This approach is supported by secondary literature, which affirms that for students with an invisible disability or chronic illness there is often a reluctance to be so – labelled because of the associated stigma. Instead, students often manage their illness by making particular choices about their learning, including their mode of study, and which courses to enrol in. This tendency is echoed by preliminary findings from a University of Southern Queensland (USQ) study based on the learning experiences of students with a chronic illness. These and other findings point to the centrality of the student learning experience and have implications for learning and teaching design within both enabling, and broader university curricula. The paper finishes by examining specific curriculum design responses to the issue of student disability, including the development of learning communities and the potential for more inclusive assessment modes and practices

Embedding graduate skills into a first year, management course: theory, practice and reflection

This paper explores both the theory and practice of embedding graduate skills within Griffith Business School (GBS) Curricula. The authors reflect on their experience in running a pilot in Management Concepts: a first year course designated as a site for embedding particular skills, and use their experience in this context to illustrate and support their argument that teaching practice and evaluation are as important as research in developing a scholarly approach to graduate skills development. These issues are addressed by describing the development of the discipline-specific, embedded, and developmental approach within the Griffith Business School, and by providing an overview of the learning development program and its theoretical underpinnings. The discussion focuses on one of the skills developed for this course, namely, critical thinking. Firstly, the authors trace the development of their conception of critical thinking in this context. Secondly, they discuss their experience of embedding critical thinking in the course through appropriate teaching and assessment practices. Finally they show how reflective teaching practice has informed further revision of learning development in the course. The authors use this example of reflective practice to argue that teaching practice and evaluation are as important as higher education research in developing a scholarly approach to graduate skills development

Brechtianske strategier og Artaudske effekter i Vinge/Müllers Vildanden del 2 – Director s cut

Denne teatervitenskapelige studiens hovedanliggende er å reflektere rundt mulige årsaksforklaringer på effekten Vegard Vinge og Ida Müllers forestilling Vildanden del 2 – Director s cut (2010) hadde på meg som tilskuer. Dette gjøres hovedsakelig ved å utforske forholdet mellom forestillingens dramaturgi og min subjektive opplevelse. Jeg arbeider ut ifra en mistanke om at Vegard Vinge og Ida Müller nærmer seg en realisering av den effekten Antonin Artaud søkte for sitt teater, via de dramaturgiske strategiene Bertolt Brecht skisserte for det episke teateret. Originaltekstene til nevnte teaterideologer vies derfor naturligvis en betydelig plass i denne oppgaven, og jeg argumenterer, via Anne-Britt Gran, for at Vinge/Müller viderefører den diskursive arven etter Brecht og historiserer hans Verfremdungseffekt. Min påstand om at Vinge/Müller også historiserer Artauds teatervisjoner går via teoriene til Kjell Helgheim og Jon Refsdal Moe, men baserer seg hovedsakelig på Niels Lehmanns tankeeksperiment om dekonstruktiv dramaturgi, og jeg vil hevde at Vildanden del 2 – Director s cut, i Lehmanns ord er «( ) hvad et teater, der kommer efter Schechner – og det vil også sige efter Artaud – må dreje seg om»

Critical thinking in a first year management unit: the relationship between disciplinary learning, academic literacy and learning progression

While there appears to be broad acceptance that university graduates must have the capacity to think critically in an increasingly complex, information-rich world, there remains a gap between aspiration and teaching practice in many faculties. We examine this issue through our experience of designing assessment to develop critical thinking in a first year management unit. This case highlighted three important pedagogical considerations. First, there is the need to articulate a conceptualisation of critical thinking that is both discipline- and unit-specific. Second, there is a need to consider the crucial link between critical thinking and academic literacy. Third, there is a need to consider the relationship between the capacity for critical thinking, student learning progression and the development of disciplinary knowledge. These factors will all assist higher education teachers in meeting the challenge of designing developmentally appropriate assessment of critical thinking at each year level

Aleutian Mink Disease Virus in Free-Ranging Mink from Sweden

Aleutian mink disease (AMD) is a chronic viral disease in farmed mink and the virus (AMDV) has been found in many free-ranging mink (Neovison vison) populations in Europe and North America. In this study, AMDV DNA and AMDV antibodies were analysed in 144 free-ranging mink hunted in Sweden. Associations between being AMDV infected (defined as positive for both viral DNA and antibodies) and the weight of the spleen, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands and body condition were calculated and the sequences of ten AMDV isolates were analysed in order to characterize the genetic relationships. In total, 46.1% of the mink were positive for AMDV antibodies and 57.6% were positive for AMDV DNA. Twenty-two percent of the mink tested on both tests (n = 133) had dissimilar results. The risk of having AMDV antibodies or being positive for AMDV DNA clearly increased with age and the majority of the mink that were two years or older were infected. Few macroscopic changes were found upon necropsy. However, the relative weight of the spleen was sexually dimorphic and was found to be slightly, but significantly (p = 0.006), heavier in AMDV infected male mink than uninfected. No association between AMDV infection and body condition, weight of the kidneys, liver or adrenal glands were found. Several different strains of AMDV were found across the country. Two of the AMDV sequences from the very north of Sweden did not group with any of the previously described groups of strains. In summary, AMDV seems to be prevalent in wild mink in Sweden and may subtly influence the weight of the spleen

Style or substance: how Australian universities contextualise their graduate attributes for the curriculum quality space

Graduate attributes are now a fixture in higher education. They are perceived as statements of desirable graduate learning outcomes, yet this space is becoming increasingly crowded. In this study, we examine how universities contextualise their graduate attributes statements for the curriculum quality space. We analysed the way Australian universities represent the aims and function of their graduate attributes statements on publicly available web pages, in policies and in documents. Identified themes included the way graduate attributes were conceptualised and framed, their location, and how their integration with strategic internal documents and relevant external, sector quality standards was represented. Based on our findings, we make three recommendations. First, that universities critically examine their statements to ensure there is alignment with strategic institutional and sector aims and outcomes. Second, that they develop detailed policy implementation plans to contextualise and integrate them with key strategic, policy, and regulatory documents. Third, that universities develop a standards framework to articulate the relationship between their graduate attributes, other desired graduate learning outcomes, and relevant sector standards

Quality content teaching for multilingual students: An international examination of excellence in instructional practices in four countries

Observations of Pedagogical Excellence of Teaching Across Nations (OPETAN) is a mixed methods observation study of 31 content teachers, most nominated for their excellence in teaching multilingual students in Germany, Finland, the US, and England. The study relied on an observation rubric that operationalizes seven Enduring Principles of Learning grounded in critical sociocultural theory and pedagogy. Findings revealed excellent teachers emphasize complex thinking, language use, and modeling. Teacher use of small groups, contextualization, and equity-focused practices were areas of potential growth. International research holds promise for understanding and improving K-12 content teaching and teacher education for teachers of multilingual learners

Evaluation of the SH-SY5Y cell line as an in vitro model for potency testing of a neuropeptide-expressing AAV vector

Viral vectors have become important tools for basic research and clinical gene therapy over the past years. However, in vitro testing of vector-derived transgene function can be challenging when specific post-translational modifications are needed for biological activity. Similarly, neuropeptide precursors need to be processed to yield mature neuropeptides. SH-SY5Y is a human neuroblastoma cell line commonly used due to its ability to differentiate into specific neuronal subtypes. In this study, we evaluate the suitability of SH-SY5Y cells in a potency assay for neuropeptide-expressing adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. We looked at the impact of neuronal differentiation and compared single-stranded (ss) AAV and self-complementary (sc) AAV transduction at increasing MOIs, RNA transcription kinetics, as well as protein expression and mature neuropeptide production. SH-SY5Y cells proved highly transducible with AAV1 already at low MOIs in the undifferentiated state and even better after neuronal differentiation. Readouts were GFP or neuropeptide mRNA expression. Production of mature neuropeptides was poor in undifferentiated cells. By contrast, differentiated cells produced and sequestered mature neuropeptides into the medium in a MOI-dependent manner