'Increasing student engagement and retention using social technologies: Facebook, e-portolios and other social networking services' by Laura A. Wankel and Patrick Blessinger : review

Review of 'Increasing student engagement and retention using social technologies: Facebook, e-portolios and other social networking services' by Laura A. Wankel and Patrick Blessinger. Emerald Group Publishing, 2012

Bedside Manners: Play and Workbook

[Excerpt] Our goal in the play was to create a balanced work. In Bedside Manners, the reader will find people who communicate poorly and those who communicate well. Although the play focuses primarily on physicians and nurses and the acute-care hospital setting, we have tried to expand the cast of characters to include others on the health care team and to include other settings. As the safety literature documents, poor communication between members of the health care team is not simply an individual problem—a question of a few bad apples spoiling the barrel—but is rather a system problem that stems from how health care has historically developed. Although it is beyond the scope of this commentary to describe that historical development, suffice it to say that the problems of contemporary health care team relationships have a long history and are shaped not only by economics but also by gender, culture, religion, ethnicity, and many other factors. Although our play is meant to stimulate discussion about health care teamwork and suggest ways that doctors, nurses, and others in health care can develop the skills necessary to create and sustain genuine interprofessional teams, it is primarily a work of theater. Its goal is to help those who work in health care approach a very hot topic in a way that is both interesting and even, dare I say it, fun. To accompany the play and make it more user-friendly, Scott Reeves, Lisa Hayes, and I have also written a workbook, which explains the various ways it can be performed, how to mount a performance, and how to lead a discussion or workshop after the play is over. We also explain how to use the play as part of an interprofessional curriculum. Although some in our audiences have scoffed at such a touchy feely or unconventional way to present a serious issue, our experience has convinced us that theater is a useful tool to enhance teamwork, patient safety, and also to create more satisfying workplace relationships. Theater has been with humankind since almost the beginning of our history precisely because it is such a powerful tool. It can be used by those in health care who spend their days working with sick, frightened, anxious people, people who are, by definition, not at their best. Under the best of circumstances, their work is beyond difficult. Good communication and teamwork not only produces good patient outcomes; it helps health care professionals care for one another

Designing Clothes: Culture and Organization in the Fashion Industry

Book review by Lisa Hayes. Manlow, Veronica. Designing Clothes: Culture and Organization in the Fashion Industry. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2007. ISBN 978141281055

Critical Thinking in Elementary Science Instruction Using Portfolios and Cooperative Learning

Elementary science education often does not reflect the processes used n professional science. Students are instructed in a recipe-oriented way to follow predetermine procedures in order to come to predetermined results. The embedding of critical thinking skills instruction into science curriculum makes it possible for science instruction to more closely resemble professional science. This curriculum development thesis utilizes critical thinking skills and instructional strategies as a basis for embedding critical thinking skills instruction into a series of lessons on the topic of sound. Each lesson includes objectives for science content and thinking skills, a motivational activity, use of portfolios for metacognition, and an activity to promote the transfer of the targeted thinking skills. Students work in cooperative learning groups to which they belong during the entire lesson series. A trial implementation of the lessons was conducted in a suburban, heterogeneous, self-contained, third grade classroom. It became clear that this method of teaching requires more student and teacher input and greater effort than traditional methods. The role of the teacher shifts from director to facilitator, and the students become much more involved in the direction their learning takes. Based on constant observation, the teacher must design activities and ask questions which motivate students to continually reshape and modify their thinking. Students demonstrated an improved ability to accept science as a work in progress, developed questioning skills, and learned to transfer knowledge to new situations. They also began to recognize discrepancies between past and present thinking. Yet some students held on to misconceptions and showed resistance to change in light of opposing evidence. One example of these misconceptions is the belief that sound always passes through transparent objects. This thesis not only provides sample lessons for other teachers, but also serves as a stepping stone for further investigation of students\u27 misconceptions about sound

Autoethnnography: A reflexive tool for event festival managers

ETHNOGRAPHIC EVENTS Lisa M Hayes and Jan C Robertson Dept. Sport & Leisure Studies, University of Waikato AUTOETHNOGRAPHY A REFLEXIVE TOOL FOR EVENT/FESTIVAL MANAGERS Practice and Advocacy: Doing Ethnography on the Ground Abstract: High‐quality production is the everyday expectation of people seeking leisure experiences through sporting events and/or (performance) festivals. People participate in events because "celebration can be experienced individually, but is realised more profoundly in significant social settings" deLisle (2009, p.6). However it is not only the event itself that contributes to the experience, it is a combination of the event and the ancillary services together that provide a 'seamless' consumer experience. There are a many strategies that can be employed to evaluate an event's successes and/or identify areas for enhancement, such as surveying participants during and post event. This paper explores an additional strategy, using auto‐ethnography as a reflexive tool, to assess an event's effectiveness in meeting consumer expectations. Two event managers attended WOMAD, Taranaki 2010, as participants, to experience the event and ancillary services provided, to identify the impacts ancillary services had on the overall WOMAD experience. This paper will take the form of a conversation between the two event managers critiquing 'space',accommodation, parking, access, catering, children's opportunities, facilities, signage and event personnel. An audio‐visual display will accompany this presentation highlighting some of the 'critical' factors that we, as participants, identified influenced our perceptions of the event's success. Watch the video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/CbfBsuCP36