Development and application of specific online videos to engage and improve understanding of laboratory classes

Anthea L. Fudge Presenting Author: Anthea L. Fudge ([email protected]) UniSA College, The University of South Australia, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia KEYWORDS: videos, student engagement, laboratory classes BACKGROUND: The increased use of digital media in higher education provides opportunities for students to further their engagement with complex tasks. Students often have difficulty understanding or learning the complex and detailed procedures associated with laboratory sessions. Science laboratory classes offer students hand-on sessions to develop technical skills and abilities and relate the theory to practice. It is also important that correct procedures are followed to ensure both safety and successful completion of the task. Laboratory sessions generally begin with step-by-step instructions that provide the background to the experiment and images associated with the upcoming procedures. However, feedback from students has shown that these instructions are not always utilised effectively, particularly by external students who were only seeing static images of the laboratory session in print or in conjunction with online material. AIM: Engaging non-traditional first year students and external students with science by laboratory practical videos directly relating to the laboratories the students will use and the sessions they will complete. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION: An initial suite of seven short (between 5-16 minutes) high quality videos related to laboratory safety and chemistry experiments were designed, edited and produced. These videos were used by students before the practical sessions commenced and then as often as required after when students were writing up their experiment or for further reflection on the success of their session. Students viewed the videos via the course website either by directly streaming the videos or downloading to watch at a later time. Videos produced: • General laboratory safety • Pipetting • Micropipettes • Titration (2 parts) • Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) • Column chromatography DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Evaluation data of the initial trials of the completed videos with the 2015 student cohort were undertaken to assess how students utilised these resources and if they felt that it had helped their learning. RESULTS: The initial trials of the video content with the 2015 students cohort has received very positive feedback with students highlighting that these video resources helped to improve their understanding of the laboratory procedures as well as improving their confidence in performing the tasks. The external students emphasized that it helped improve their engagement with the material as it provided a more ‘real-life’ learning experience. It is anticipated that further videos will be developed for other practical classes in physics and biology to provide increased engagement and understanding. Now that the process of preparing the video concept, script writing, shooting and editing has been developed it will be utilised by other academics to develop further course materials. The videos provide a valuable resource for current and future students that can be utilised multiple times both prior to and after laboratory sessions to reinforce students learning of complex tasks. Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Curtin University, Sept 30th to Oct 1st, 2015, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6

Science courses for non-traditional students: development of digital literacies to promote learning, engagement and encourage continued studies in science at undergraduate level

SCIENCE COURSES FOR NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS: DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL LITERACIES TO PROMOTE LEARNING, ENGAGEMENT AND ENCOURAGE CONTINUED STUDIES IN SCIENCE AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL Dr. Anthea Fudgea Presenting Author: Dr. Anthea Fudge ([email protected]) aUniSA College, UniSA, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia KEYWORDS: digital literacies, online databases, enabling STEM education Background A foundation studies science course is an important first step for education of non-traditional students who do not enter Universities by traditional pathways (e.g. ATAR entrance score). A science course; Science for Tertiary Learning as part of a wider program to enable students to undertake entry into an undergraduate degree provides an opportunity for these students to become a STEM graduate. It is noticed with changes to the national secondary curriculum that a pathway into scientific studies is daunting for students without the required ATAR, but the ability to continue to prepare students for STEM studies at tertiary level must ensure that programs provide scientific knowledge, in addition to a wider context of developing ever important digital literacies in this online world. Aims To better prepare students without strong science foundations from secondary level to improve their digital literacies to be able to engage appropriately with scientific research. In addition, students were encouraged to progress further digital literacy skills by initially researching a short PPT presentation of an element of the periodic table using online information and then later develop greater detailed understanding with development of a formal written scientific report. A scientific report assessment using appropriate online journal articles and search strategies using library databases was employed. Description of intervention Over a period of reflective practice from various feedback measures interventions were made with embedding digital literacies into the course, not as an add-on to scientific knowledge but as part of being a problem solver and supporting digital literacies. Initially, a short researched PPT about an element of the periodic table started students in the process of researching online for useful scientific information. Later, using a scientific report assessment piece students were taught how to employ better search strategies using the online library scientific database such as ‘Science Direct,’ ‘PubMed’ and ‘Google Scholar’ and to better evaluate academic resources and to encourage better digital literacies to further improve basic ICT skills. Online search strategies and critical analysis techniques of resources were identified and provided in class to develop digital literacies. Design and methods At the conclusion of each semester over five years feedback was assessed and changes made and analysed. Feedback was collected both formally via course evaluation and informally with periodic unidentified feedback sheets in tutorial sessions. Results Over a five year iteration of the course various inclusions such as; specific research and online library studies were employed in consultation with academic librarians. Students were able to navigate online journal articles via various scientific databases available to them via the Universities library resources and locate them with appropriate search strategies. Allowing non-traditional students to interact early with the science specific discipline databases as students’ progress to undergraduate level scientific studies they are able to better engage with online resources and felt that they were comfortable researching various scientific topics and could engage with complex research problems presented. Conclusions Students had increased confidence in navigating online databases and developed better online search strategies. As students’ progress through to undergraduate level science bachelors their knowledge of scientific information in discipline areas had begun and allowed for a smoother transition. By improving the understanding that students are digital natives (Prensky 2001) but are not always able to analyse scientific information and understand scientific data presented; that the understanding of appropriate systems, databases and analysis of online scientific information is are crucial skills to obtain. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, The University of Queensland, Sept 28th to 30th, 2016, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6

Education focussed academics of the 21st Century and beyond

BACKGROUND Education focussed academic roles still remain a mystery in the tertiary system with few positions offered nationally; the definition, expectation and workload of these roles remains an evolving landscape. The role of education focused academics is both complex and challenging but critical for higher education (HE) to meet university initiatives such as increasing student numbers, providing authentic learning experiences, retaining students, and to meet employer expectations for STEM graduates. OUTCOMES This presentation will look through the lens of two mid-career education focused academics from different institutions, comparing their roles, challenges and successes in the 21st century ecosystem. An insight into their innovative teaching practices to engage students in the classroom will be highlighted including education research that has been recognised both nationally and internationally. Beyond the classroom, both academics have a passion for education and have sought opportunities to obtain formal qualifications in HE. They are also leaders in education within their institutions; supporting academics in their scholarship of learning and teaching through workshops, facilitating communities of practice, and curriculum development of learning and teaching modules for continuing professional development in HE. CONCLUSIONS Upon reflection, both academics credit their success to the importance of mentors and collaborations with peers. There is power in sharing ideas, receiving feedback and dividing workloads to collectively make an impact in the field of education research

Narrowing the Feedback Gap : Examining Student Engagement with Personalized and Actionable Feedback Messages

Funding The authors declared no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this articlePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Analysis and amelioration of smoke taint in wine

The occurrence of smoke taint in wine is of worldwide concern for grape growers, winemakers and the wine industry. An improved understanding of the impact of bushfire smoke on grapes and wine is important to enable industry to overcome this challenge. Smoke taint occurs when vineyards are exposed to smoke from bushfires or prescribed bums and can result in wine which exhibits undesirable smoky and ashy aromas and flavours. The prior research summarised in Chapter 1 addresses many of the early knowledge gaps concerning the impact of smoke on grape and wine quality such as: the composition of smoke taint, including identification of several of the volatile compounds involved, and the complex sensory properties imparted to wine that cause the detrimental effects to wine quality. However, these studies do not offer industry many practical solutions to mitigate the incidence or severity of smoke taint. This research reported in Chapter 2 describes several methods for ameliorating smoke taint in wine; i.e. the efficacy of (i) reverse osmosis (RO) and solid phase adsorption, and (ii) commercial fining agents, as treatments for smoke tainted wine. The ability of these methods to reduce the perception of smoke-related sensory attributes and concentrations of smoke-derived volatile phenols are described in two papers, which form the basis for this chapter on the amelioration of smoke taint in wine. The studies reported in Chapter 3 describe the use of spectroscopy as a rapid analytical method for screening wines for smoke taint. The capability of spectroscopic techniques, in combination with chemometrics, to be used for the classification and discrimination of wine are also introduced. The need for rapid detection of smoke taint in grapes and wines was identified as a priority for industry following the demand for analysis of grapes and wine after a fire event. Winemakers operate under considerable time and resource constraints during vintage, thus rapid determinations of fruit quality, including the assessment of smoke exposure by fruit, are required. A predictive method employing mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy was developed by scanning control and smoke-affected wines, and applying multivariate data analysis techniques to the resulting data, to generate a calibration model for the classification of smoke tainted wines. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) was also investigated as a novel method for characterising smoke taint in wines. Again, two papers are presented as the basis for a chapter concerning the spectroscopic analysis of smoke taint in wine.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2015