An authentic approach to facilitating transfer of teacher's pedagogical knowledge

The pedagogical knowledge learned by pre-service teachers often fails to transfer to teaching practice. Instead, new teachers revert to instructional strategies they observed as children. This chapter describes design research conducted over four years, where pre-service teachers were immersed in an authentic learning environment using multimedia to learn mathematics assessment strategies. The first study was conducted with pre-service teachers in the second year of their degree, and then the second study followed up with the same people in their second year as practising teachers. The first study revealed several constraints for the participants on professional practice, including limited time and the influence of the supervising teacher. Later, as practising teachers, they faced cultural and practical constraints within the school environment that prevented them from fully operationalising the pedagogical principles they learned as pre-service teachers

Assessment in mathematics: A multimedia resource for preservice teachers

It is commonly accepted that teachers teach the way they were taught and that innovation is difficult to achieve. In this project, the theoretical framework of situated cognition or situated learning has been used to design an interactive multimedia resource that allows preservice teachers to become aware of different assessment strategies in mathematics education, and how to apply them. The resource enables users to encounter the authentic use of a range of assessment strategies and to view their interpretations from multiple perspectives which include the teacher's decision-making processes, the child's thinking, expert opinion and written documentation

Effective use of the internet: Keeping professionals working in rural Australia

Disparities between rural and metropolitan areas in the provision of essential services to Australian citizens, in health, education, employment and technology, have the potential to undermine national cohesion. Professionals working in rural and remote areas of Australia often feel isolated and unsupported, and little research attention has been given to determining effective ways to retain their professional services in rural Australia. The innovative use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to deliver online support, professional development and resources could help to remove a sense of professional isolation, and have a positive effect on professionals’ morale, reduce attrition, and decrease government costs in the provision of services. Retaining able and experienced professionals in rural areas should help provide long term benefits to the rural economy. This study considers the extent and nature of professional isolation in rural and remote regions of Australia (specifically Queensland and Western Australia) and examines professionals’ use of the internet to support their professional development needs. It draws upon survey and interview data from 10 professions, and makes conclusions and recommendations based on the views and experiences of over 1200 respondents. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Australian Government

Design principles for mobile learning

The New technologies, new pedagogies project used a designbased research approach in the creation and evaluation of pedagogies and their use in a range of higher education classes. This chapter describes the findings of the project as a whole, and presents principles to inform the design of innovative learning environments employing mobile technologies in higher education learning environments

Authentic conditions for authentic assessment: aligning task and assessment

Despite major discussion and consideration of authentic assessment through the 1990s, little progress appears to have been made towards its widespread adoption in higher education. Universities often serve to limit the use of authentic approaches in learning tasks and assessment, through restrictive policies. In this paper, we briefly review the literature and summarise the characteristic elements of authentic assessment, and argue that task, assessment and university policies must be aligned for truly effective use of authentic assessment to occur in higher education

Phase modulating the Urbana radar

The design and operation of a switched phase modulation system for the Urbana Radar System are discussed. The system is implemented and demonstrated using a simple procedure. The radar system and circuits are described and analyzed

Effects of Elevated Prenatal Progesterone on Postnatal Emotional Reactivity in Bobwhite Quail (Colinus Virginianus) Neonates

Non-genetic maternal influences on prenatal development have a significant effect on the development of early life behavior. This study assessed the behavioral effect of elevated prenatal progesterone on postnatal emotional reactivity, or underlying fear and stress, in embryos of Northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Test groups of progesterone treated eggs, vehicle treated, and no injection were exposed to three measures of emotional reactivity at 48 and 96 hours after hatch: an open field, an emergence test, and a tonic immobility test. Heightened levels of emotional reactivity in the tonic immobility emergence tasks, and decreased levels of emotional reactivity in the open field suggest that elevated prenatal progesterone modifies post natal emotional reactivity up to 96 hours of age

Authentic learning in interactive multimedia environments

The instructional technology community is in the midst of a philosophical shift from a behaviourist to a constructivist framework, a move that may begin to address the growing rift between formal school learning and real-life learning. One theory of learning which has the capacity to promote authentic learning is that of situated learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate the way students learn from an interactive multimedia package and learning environment based on a situated learning model. To do this, it was necessary to identify the critical characteristics of a situated learning model based on the extensive literature on the subject. An interactive multimedia learning environment for university level students was then designed according to these characteristics of a situated learning model. The learning environment comprised an interactive multimedia program on assessment in mathematics, together with recommended implementation conditions in the classroom. Specifically, the research sought to investigate the way preservice teachers used interactive multimedia based on a situated learning model, how they responded to the critical elements of the situated learning environment, what types of higher-order thinking they used as they worked with the program, and whether learning transferred to their professional teaching practice in schools. The research took the form of an interpretive, qualitative study. The major methods of data collection were videotaping of preservice teachers using the interactive multimedia program, observation, and interviews with both the preservice teachers and their supervising teachers in schools. Data was analysed using techniques of qualitative analysis recommended by Eisner (1991) and Miles and Huberman (1994). Findings suggest that the use of the situated learning model was a successful alternative to the system models frequently used for the development of interactive multimedia, and one that enabled students to freely navigate a complex resource. When implemented with all the characteristics defined in the model, it appeared to provide an effective framework for the design of an environment for the acquisition of advanced know ledge. Students used a substantial amount of higher-order thinking, relatively little social and lower order talk, and a moderate amount of procedural talk as they worked with the assessment program. While on their professional practice in schools, the students used a variety of assessment techniques to assess children\u27s learning, and they were able to speak knowledgably and confidently about the issue of assessment, supporting the view that they had incorporated their learning deeply into their cognitive structures. According to the beliefs of the students themselves, the multimedia program appeared to influence the types of strategies they employed and their thinking about assessment as they taught mathematics and other classes during their professional practice. The major implication of the research is that new learning theory can inform the instructional design of interactive multimedia. For implementation in contexts of advanced knowledge acquisition, an instructional design model based on situated learning is an effective substitute for the traditional instructional systems model. Further implications are that excessive intervention by the developer in providing interaction between the program and the learner is not necessary, and that multimedia materials are best designed and implemented socially, not as independent instruction for individual learners. At the conclusion of the thesis, extensive recommendations for further research, both systemic and analytic, are provided

A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF MUSTANG HORSE THERAPY

This thesis provides military commands, leaders, and medical professionals an in-depth description of a present-day mustang horse therapy program tailored to service members. Little is known of the efficacy of mustang therapy for military members nor is there an established baseline description of what mustang therapy for service members entails. By describing the design and objectives of the American Mustang School in Aberdeen, North Carolina, military commands, leaders, and medical professionals are informed of an innovative means to invest in its greatest commodity: its people. This thesis also discusses possible avenues of future research for mustang therapy.Major, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

An EPR investigation of the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in SrCl2-La/2 plus/

Second-order solutions of Hamiltonian functions for EPR study of Jahn-Teller effect in SrCl2-La/2 plus