POD Network News: Newsletter August 1988

Publications Available And with regard to publications Where are they now? Where would they like to be now? Conferences of Interest Calls for Papers And now to brighten your da

Who Is Entitled to Do SoTL?

Excerpt: The title of this essay derives from an earlier essay by Lee Shulman (2011) in which he asks this very question along with many others about the future of SoTL. His question was prompted by a challenge that he received from someone in the area of science education research to the effect that SoTL was inviting non-experts to attempt what is a very complex and rigorous task after very little training. When I read that essay, my reaction was “Yes, that’s right! I’ve had that same question myself. How can we expect a discipline-based expert to develop expertise virtually overnight in order to ‘do’ SoTL?” So my essay is based on my own experience trying to do that very thing and my resulting attempt to answer that challenge

Guest Column: Applying Research on Learning: It\u27s Never That Simple - by Dr. Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas

https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/weeklyreader/1069/thumbnail.jp

Acceptance of waste for disposal in the potential United States repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

This paper addresses the process for the acceptance of waste into the waste management system (WMS) with a focus on the detailed requirements identified from the Waste Acceptance System Requirements Document. Also described is the recent dialogue between OCRWM and the Office of Environmental Management to resolve issues, including the appropriate interpretation and application of regulatory and system requirements to DOE-owned spent fuel. Some information is provided on the design of the repository system to aid the reader in understanding how waste that is accepted into the WMS is received and emplaced in the repository

Hunting for answers: Linking lectures with the real world using a mobile treasure hunt app

Plants underpin our society providing food, fuel, medicines, clean air and water, positive mental health, and are central to biodiversity conservation. Despite this importance and an increasing need for people with plant-identification skills, many societies are becoming increasingly ignorant to the species with which they interact. To benefit both our undergraduates and the society they will enter, we applied mobile technology to improve plant identification and appreciation , while providing opportunities to practice transferable team work and verbal communication skills. Encouraging 'plant vision' will improve conservation efforts while increasing personal connections with green spaces, leading to mental health improvements for society. Summary • Despite the importance of plants to human civilization, many societies are becoming increasingly ignorant to the plants that inhabit their surrounding environment. A phenomenon known as 'plant blindness'. To address plant blindness in undergraduate students we designed an outdoor activity using a mobile phone app. Our aims were to identify the level of 'plant blindness' in our students; investigate engagement with the app and activity ; determine if we can raise awareness of links between lecture content and real world scenarios; and assess the student experience as a result of the activity in large classes. • The app chosen was ActionBound. Students were asked to find and photograph local examples of four plant families, along with identifying physiological benefits of features covered in lectures. Two different first year classes were exposed to this activity-Plant Science and Life on Earth. • The Plant Science students (60% success rate for three families; 55 students) were less plant blind than Life on Earth students (less than 44% success rate in any of the four families; 200 students). Students engaged well with the activity with all groups submitting sensible attempts at the responses. Most students reported that the activity increased links to lecture material and all but one student reported positive experiences. • Our students found the treasure hunt learning environment is a fun way to engage with the plant topics covered in lectures. In future iterations, we will more explicitly explain the links to potential careers and will address some of the logistical challenges faced in this first cohort. K E Y W O R D S collaborative learning, fun learning, inclusivity, large classes, mobile learning, plant blindness, situational learning, treasure hun

Factors Associated with Faculty Use of Student Data for Instructional Improvement

Much is being said in education about the value of adopting data-based or analytics approaches to instructional improvement. One important group of stakeholders in this effort is the faculty. “In many cases, the key constituency group is faculty, whose powerful voice and genuine participation often determine the success or failure of educational innovations, especially those that involve pedagogical and academic change” (Furco & Moely, 2012, pg. 129). This paper reports the results of an exploration of factors that influence faculty to consider or reject using analysis of student data to improve instruction based on social cognitive theory. Self-efficacy, value of the outcome, and feasibility of using a student data-based reflection process were found to be related to the actual use of components of the reflection process by faculty

Motivation, Confidence, and Control; Unraveling Active Learning for Nutrition and Food Undergraduates

Nutrition and food students at Sheffield Hallam University completed an “active learning” assessment as part of a final year module, Applied Nutrition 2. The purpose of the “active learning” assessment was to encourage and enhance learner autonomy. The assessment consisted of 5 main stages: a briefing, thought shower, oral business proposal presentation, a feedback stage, and Nutrition Fair. To assess learner autonomy, levels of motivation, confidence, and control were quantitatively and qualitatively monitored throughout the learning journey. The results showed that levels of confidence, motivation, and control increased following each stage and significantly across the learning journey. However, there were significant gender differences in terms of achievement of marks and in levels of motivation at various stages. On average, females achieved higher marks in certain assessments and they demonstrated higher levels of motivation after the initial briefing. Further, significant differences were also reported between different degree routes in terms of achievement of marks and levels of confidence, motivation, and control. “Active learning” has been shown to foster improved levels of confidence, motivation, and control in a cohort of nutrition and food students, contributing to overall learner autonomy. Graduates able to demonstrate such qualities will undoubtedly be welcomed by employers in the relevant sectors

Scenario-based eLearning to promote active learning in large cohorts: students’ perspective

This work presents results from an investigation on the students' perspective of the use of scenario‐based (SBL) e‐learning and their performance in a first‐year core chemical engineering module in a Scottish university. SBL is a pedagogy that promotes active learning by bringing to the classroom practical and industrial experience. When combined with online delivery, SBL can be used to increase students' engagement in large cohorts. The scenario developed and used in this work was delivered via the Scenario‐Based Learning Interactive tool. A survey was used to capture students' insights on the activity and the use of the software. These data were then analyzed in combination with students' exam performance. Two cohorts with around 100 students each participated in this study over 2 years (with 91% response rate in the evaluation questionnaire). They indicate that students fully engaged with this form of learning as it links module content with real industrial applications. There is, however, a significant difference between female and male students in terms of the enjoyment they derived from the computer‐based activity with male students preferring the activity over tutorials with opposite results for females. There is no relationship between the perceived level of difficulty of the scenario and the exam performance in either cohort. The majority of students identified that they developed their problem‐solving and analytical skills through doing the scenario activity. In general, the students found the software difficult to use which suggests the need to explore other tools for the delivery of scenario‐based activities

Engineering Education Research

This chapter describes several aspects of engineering education research with an emphasis on how they might relate to computing education research. We briefly summarize the history of engineering education as a scholarly field, and we describe the current structures that support engineering education research: academic departments, scholarly journals, annual conferences, and professional societies. We identify the theories that often inform engineering education research studies, including theories of cognition, motivation, and identity. We explain how quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods have been used. We summarize the results of an illustrative selection of empirical studies across a broad range of topics, including instructional methods, student development, faculty teaching practices, diversity, and assessment. Finally, we outline some similarities and differences between computing education research and engineering education research. Engineering education research has a longer history of research in professional development and assessment but an arguably shorter history in pre-college education and less international integration than computing education research