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Best practice in clinical simulation education − are we there yet? A cross-sectional survey of simulation in Australian and New Zealand pre-registration nursing education

- Bogossian, Fiona, Cooper, Simon J., Kelly, Michelle, Levett-Jones, Tracy, McKenna, Lisa, Slark, Julia, Seaton, Philippa

  • Authors: Bogossian, Fiona , Cooper, Simon J. , Kelly, Michelle , Levett-Jones, Tracy , McKenna, Lisa , Slark, Julia , Seaton, Philippa
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Collegian Vol. 25, no. 3 (2018), p. 327-334
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  • Description: Background: Simulation is potentially a means of increasing clinical education capacity. Significant investments have been made in simulation but the extent to which this has improved uptake, quality and diversity of simulation use is unclear. Aim: To describe the current use of simulation in tertiary nursing education programs leading to nurse registration Australia and New Zealand, and determine whether investments in simulation have improved uptake, quality and diversity of simulation experiences. Methods: A cross sectional electronic survey distributed to lead nursing academics in programs leading to nurse registration in Australia and New Zealand. Findings: 51.6% of institutions responded and reported wide variation in allocation of program hours to clinical and simulation learning. Simulation was embedded in curricula and positively valued as an adjunct or substitute for clinical placement. While simulation environments were adequate, staff time, training and resource development were barriers to increasing the quality, amount and range of simulation experiences. Quality assurance and robust evaluation were weak. Discussion: Simulation program hours are inconsistently reported and underutilized in terms of potential contribution to clinical learning. Benefits of capital investment in simulation physical resources have been realised, but barriers persist for increasing high quality simulation in nursing programs. Conclusion: Transitioning components of clinical education from the clinical to tertiary sectors has resource implications. Establishment of sustainable, high quality simulation experiences requires staff training, shared resources, best practice and robust evaluation of simulation experiences in nursing curricula. © 2017 Australian College of Nursing Ltd

Do simulation studies measure up? A simulation study quality review

- Cant, Robyn, Levett-Jones, Tracy, James, Ainsley

  • Authors: Cant, Robyn , Levett-Jones, Tracy , James, Ainsley
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Clinical Simulation in Nursing Vol. 21, no. (2018), p. 23-39
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  • Description: Simulation-based education has become a ubiquitous teaching approach in nursing. However, ensuring the quality of simulation research is critical. We reviewed the methodological quality of 26 quantitative studies published in Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 2017. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument and Simulation Research Evaluation Rubric showed that nearly all studies were of moderate to high quality (rated ≥50%). Correlation coefficients showed that interrater agreement was high overall (≥0.94). In conclusion, this was a valid approach for examining simulation study quality. Although most included studies were of high quality, some elements of study reporting can be improved upon.

Early childhood education and care in Aotearoa/New Zealand: History and features

- Tyler-Merrick, Gaye, Phillips, Joanna, McLachlan, Claire, McLaughlin, Tara, Aspden, Karyn, Cherrington, Sue

  • Authors: Tyler-Merrick, Gaye , Phillips, Joanna , McLachlan, Claire , McLaughlin, Tara , Aspden, Karyn , Cherrington, Sue
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Care: Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century Chapter 12 p. 127-142
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  • Description: Since the 1990s, New Zealand/Aotearoa has been a leader in providing quality early childhood education (ECE) for children/tamariki and their families/whānau. ECE represents a diverse set of services for children under the age of five. A unique feature of the New Zealand system is the integration of education and care for young children, under the Ministry of Education. Services are licensed as teacher-, whānau- or parent-led, and may be located in centre, community or home settings. A diversity of philosophical approaches to ECE are evident, including services specifically focused on promoting Māori and Pasifika languages and cultures. Recent trends towards increased private, including corporate, ownership and reductions in services offering half-day programmes are also evident. The system is nationally regulated and is monitored and publicly reported by the Education Review Office. The early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki: He Whariki Matauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996), is holistic, culturally responsive and inclusive of all children and their families. However, there has been no formal evaluation of this curriculum, but recent critique of this document in relation to how equipped teachers and centres are to implement this holistic, competence-based curriculum has been undertaken. Very recently, the Ministry of Education called for an update of Te Whāriki. This chapter will critique the ‘old’ and ‘new’ curriculum in light of the framework, curriculum goals and the cultural gains and restraints the curriculum places on New Zealand parents, teachers and children. Implications for practice and for future research will be explored.
  • Description: Since the 1990s, New Zealand/Aotearoa has been a leader in providing quality early childhood education (ECE) for children/tamariki and their families/wh

Education and social class : How did we get to this and what needs to change?

- Simmons, Robin, Smyth, John

  • Authors: Simmons, Robin , Smyth, John
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Education and Working-Class Youth: Reshaping the Politics of Inclusion Chapter 10 p. 233-259
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  • Description: This chapter locates the classed nature of education within a critical socio-historical framework, and considers how questions of social class are played out not only in the classroom but also at the institutional and the systemic level. Historical and contemporary debates about the nature and purpose of education are used to challenge the status quo, and present an agenda for change. The chapter argues that re-engaging with social class as a key organising concept is necessary in order to understand the nature of contemporary schooling in western neoliberal societies such as the UK, and to re-imagine young people’s relationship with education. This, it is argued, is necessary to re-engage working-class youth in ways that are not only meaningful but also socially and economically just.

Electrical power engineering education down under : Australia and New Zealand are adding energy to their University Curricula

- Nair, Nirmal, Martin, Daniel, Saha, Tapan, Islam, Syed, Watson, Neville

  • Authors: Nair, Nirmal , Martin, Daniel , Saha, Tapan , Islam, Syed , Watson, Neville
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Power and Energy Magazine Vol. 16, no. 5 (2018), p. 64-73
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  • Description: On 4 August 1888, Reefton became the first town in New Zealand to have its own public electricity supply powered by hydrogeneration. In Australia, the first supply of electricity to the public at large was in two small country towns in New South Wales. Tamworth, with a population of 3,000, switched on arc and incandescent street lighting on 9 November 1888. In April 1889, the smaller town of Young switched on its incandescent street lighting and shortly thereafter went on to connect shops, offices, and homes within reach of its lines. However, the history of electricity supply in Australia traces back earlier, with Brisbane as one of the first cities in Australia to use electricity commercially, in 1882. Thus, electricity utilization down under coincided with the history of its emergence among the countries of the Northern Hemisphere.

Mobilising a lens of inclusivity within initial teacher education. Teacher education in and for uncertain times.

- Goriss-Hunter, Anitra, Burke, Jenene

  • Authors: Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Burke, Jenene
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: Australian Teacher Education Association and Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand Conference, 4-6 July 2018, Melbourne.
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  • Description: In uncertain contemporary times, Initial Teacher Education (ITE) educators are under considerable pressure from political, social and institutional sources to ensure that PSTs are “classroom ready”; fully equipped to prepare diverse student cohorts to lead fulfilling post-school lives in an increasingly complex and changing world. To achieve this goal, current research and policy is increasingly focusing on foregrounding inclusive teaching practice. A great deal of education literature focuses on notions of diversity and inclusion with regard to student education in schools (Blackmore, 2009, Campbell & Whitty, 2002, Nieto, 1999, Smyth & McInerney, 2007, and Smyth & McInerney, 2009). Much has also been written about the difficulties inherent in educating PSTs regarding the complexities of inclusive teaching (Blackmore, 2009, Shor, 1992, Sleeter, 2001, Smyth & McInerney, 2007, and 2018 ATEA & TEFANZ Conference: Teacher Education in and for Uncertain Times Smyth & McInerney, 2009). In addition, leading education organizations and accrediting institutions, such as the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) promote inclusion as a mandated teaching approach. While inclusion is the approach mandated in Australia for catering for diversity, the authors argue that current notions of inclusive teaching are still haunted by ghosts of integration and other non-inclusive practices in approaches that hierarchical, additive and focused on deficit thinking. In this model, students are diagnosed as having a particular condition, disorder, impairment, or other difference, which is prioritized as their chief learning characteristic. The rich complexity of a learner’s strengths, preferences, challenges and goals is then narrowed down to one major ingredient – the impairment or difference – which becomes the focus of strategies and practices recommended as appropriate for that particular condition. In this presentation, the authors ask the thorny question, how do we teach PSTs to identify the complexity of learner needs and to make pedagogic decisions to enable learning to occur for all students? The presentation contributes a way forward through the authors’ examination of a range of pedagogies used in class to facilitate PSTs’ investigation of approaches and practices that encourage teaching for inclusion. In order to facilitate PSTs’ learning concerning inclusive teaching, the authors focus on creating opportunities to enable students to work with a diverse range of learners “selecting strategies on the basis of what is to be learnt rather than what is wrong with the learner” (Florian, 2008, p. 2004). As an exploration of pedagogic decisions and teaching approaches, the paper outlines a case study that makes use of a self-study methodology as well as discourse analysis. This research mode “includes elements of ongoing inquiry, respects personal experience, and emphasizes the role of knowledge construction. The collaborative component of self-study acknowledges the important role of the social construction of knowledge (Lassonde, Galman & Kosnik, 2009, p. 10). The inclusivity of a self-study approach and its multi-faceted nature encourages reflection, collaboration and on-going dialogue between educators and PSTs providing insights into teaching practices. From observations and reflective examination of their teaching practices and course development, the authors identify and analyse the pedagogies that are being used to achieve the aims of promoting teaching for inclusion in ITE courses. In addition to a self-study methodology, discourse analysis is used to examine formal literature and policy discussing diversity and inclusion."

“Undoing” Gender: how the School of Science, Engineering and Information Technology SEIT Women’s group works across university and community lines to promote inclusive STEM

- Goriss-Hunter, Anitra, Echter, Adele, Firmin, Sally, Oseni, Taiwa

  • Authors: Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Echter, Adele , Firmin, Sally , Oseni, Taiwa
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Studies in Adult Education Vol. 24, no. 3 (2018), p. 3-9
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  • Description: Research on gender and education in industrialised and developing countries suggests that schools and universities are sites of ‘doing’ rather than ‘undoing’ gender. Deutsch (2007) contends that ‘doing gender’ refers to social interactions that reproduce conventional and limiting notions of gender construction and that ‘undoing gender’ refers to social interactions that reduce gender difference and open up other possibilities. In this paper we consider how educational institutions can be strategic sites of influence in undoing gender and we investigate some ways that gender is ‘undone’ through the example of the work of the Science, Engineering and Information Technology Women’s Group (SEITWG) located in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Federation University Australia. For this purpose, a self-study methodology understood as a professional reflection was used. The paper explores how the informal coalition of SEITWG works as ‘wilful subjects’, on the one hand, coming up against some of the ‘brick walls’ of dominant discourse that attempt to limit women’s participation in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine). On the other hand, SEITWG attempts to move beyond the restrictions of conventional gender narratives to encourage more women to participate in STEMM by foregrounding the presence of women already active in the area; mentoring women students and staff; supporting a range of their colleagues’ endeavours to research and teach for inclusion; embedding gender analysis into the curriculum; and promoting workplace cultural change.

'Moral panic" internet use and risk perspectives in educational organisations

- Hope, Andrew

  • Authors: Hope, Andrew
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Risk, Education and culture Chapter 5 p.63-77
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  • Description: Media coverage of Internet risks in wider society has been labelled as exaggerated, sensationalistic, and inciting 'moral panic'. In considering 'moral panic' and risk perspectives in educational organisations, several issues need to be addressed. These are the nature of risk perspectives, the validity of 'moral panic' as an analytical concept and the impact of 'moral panic' upon risk perspectives. Before focusing upon the concept of 'moral panic', the writings of Ulrich Beck draw upon to consider the nature of risk perceptions in late modernity, and explore their connection to the mass media. Media coverage of risks arising from chat-line use has been singularly focused on the activities of paedophiles, portraying both children and youths as simply being in danger. Staffs were concerned about risks posed by the activities of paedophiles in chat rooms as well as the adult nature of some of the language use.

Communication techniques for improved acceptance and adherence with therapeutic footwear

- Van Netten, Jaap, Francis, Anthony, Morphet, Ashley, Fortington, Lauren, Postema, Klass, Williams, Anita

  • Authors: Van Netten, Jaap , Francis, Anthony , Morphet, Ashley , Fortington, Lauren , Postema, Klass , Williams, Anita
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Prosthetics and Orthotics International Vol. 41, no. 2 (2017), p. 201-204
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  • Description: Background and aim: Clients’ acceptance and adherence with orthoses can be influenced by a clinician’s communication skills. In this clinical note, we describe two communication techniques, in the context of therapeutic footwear. Technique: Person-centred communication involves engaging with and listening to the attitudes of the client towards their condition, as well as discussing acceptance and expectations, in a structured consultation. Building a relationship is crucial and requires clients to feel heard and understood. An important influence on the acceptance and adherence is that a client makes a conscious decision to receive their device. This active receipt can be facilitated through shared decision making, wherein clinicians give clear, relevant and meaningful examples, based on clinical evidence, and ensure this is understood. Discussion: Two communication techniques for clinicians providing therapeutic footwear are described. These can be adapted for use with provision of other assistive technologies to improve client acceptance and adherence. Clinical relevance: Small changes in how clinicians communicate to their clients in daily practice can have a big influence on the subsequent acceptance and adherence with therapeutic footwear and indeed other prescribed assistive technologies. © 2016, © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2016.

Conceptualising literacy in the early childhood setting

- McLachlan, Claire, Arrow, Alison

  • Authors: McLachlan, Claire , Arrow, Alison
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Literacy in the early years: reflections on international research and practice Chapter 1 p. 1-19
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  • Description: This chapter will provide a brief introduction to literacy research with children in the early years (birth to 8 years) and will identify some of the pressing issues and concerns in research on early literacy. The theoretical framework which underpins many of the studies is explored, identifying that much research into early literacy has employed socio-pyscho-linguistic, social practice and cultural historical explanations of how children learn. The unifying theme of early multi literacies is explored. An overview of the chapters in the book is provided, along with comment on how each chapter contributes to the growing body of early childhood literacy research.

Development of teachers’ knowledge and skills in implementing a physical education curriculum: A New Zealand early childhood intervention study

- McLachlan, Claire, Smith, Jessica, McLaughlin, Tara, Ali, Ajmol, Conlon, Cathryn, Mugridge, Owen, Foster, Sophie

  • Authors: McLachlan, Claire , Smith, Jessica , McLaughlin, Tara , Ali, Ajmol , Conlon, Cathryn , Mugridge, Owen , Foster, Sophie
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International journal of early childhood Vol. 49, no. 2 (2017), p. 211-228
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  • Description: In order to support children’s physical health and well-being in early childhood education programmes, it is important to understand how teacher practices concerned with physical activity and nutrition can be addressed effectively. Current evidence suggests that young children’s opportunities for physical activity in early childhood are increasingly limited. This study assessed how teachers’ knowledge and skills changed as the result of the implementation of a 10-week physical activity intervention programme (Jumping Beans) and participation in a related professional development programme. Participating teachers in four centres were interviewed before and after the intervention. Overall, qualitative and quantitative data from teacher interview data were highly positive, as a result of their participation. However, further research about how teachers’ skills can be enhanced to intentionally teach with confidence in curriculum domains related to physical health and physical literacy needs to be considered.

Interprofessional simulation of birth in a non-maternity setting for pre-professional students

- McLelland, Gayle, Perera, Chantal, Morphet, Julia, McKenna, Lisa, Hall, Helen, Williams, Brett, Cant, Robyn, Stow, Jill

  • Authors: McLelland, Gayle , Perera, Chantal , Morphet, Julia , McKenna, Lisa , Hall, Helen , Williams, Brett , Cant, Robyn , Stow, Jill
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Nurse Education Today Vol. 58, no. (2017), p. 25-31
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  • Description: Background Simulation-based learning is an approach recommended for teaching undergraduate health professionals. There is a scarcity of research around interprofessional simulation training for pre-professional students in obstetric emergencies that occur prior to arrival at the maternity ward. Objectives The primary aims of the study were to examine whether an interprofessional team-based simulated birth scenario would improve undergraduate paramedic, nursing, and midwifery students' self-efficacy scores and clinical knowledge when managing birth in an unplanned location. The secondary aim was to assess students' satisfaction with the newly developed interprofessional simulation. Design Quasi-experimental descriptive study with repeated measures. Setting Simulated hospital emergency department. Participants Final year undergraduate paramedic, nursing, and midwifery students. Methods Interprofessional teams of five students managed a simulated unplanned vaginal birth, followed by debriefing. Students completed a satisfaction with simulation survey. Serial surveys of clinical knowledge and self-efficacy were conducted at three time points. Results Twenty-four students participated in one of five simulation scenarios. Overall, students' self-efficacy and confidence in ability to achieve a successful birth outcome was significantly improved at one month (p < 0.001) with a magnitude of increase (effect) of 40% (r = 0.71) and remained so after a further three months. Clinical knowledge was significantly increased in only one of three student groups: nursing (p = 0.04; r = 0.311). Students' satisfaction with the simulation experience was high (M = 4.65 / 5). Conclusions Results from this study indicate that an interprofessional simulation of a birth in an unplanned setting can improve undergraduate paramedic, nursing and midwifery students' confidence working in an interprofessional team. There was a significant improvement in clinical knowledge of the nursing students (who had least content about managing birth in their program). All students were highly satisfied with the interprofessional simulation experience simulation. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Literacy in the early years: reflections on international research and practice

- McLachlan, Claire, Arrow, Alison

  • Authors: McLachlan, Claire , Arrow, Alison
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Book
  • Relation: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development
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  • Description: This edited collection provides an in-depth exploration of different aspects of contemporary early childhood literacy research and the implications for educational practice. Each chapter details how the research was conducted and any issues that researchers encountered in collecting data with very young children, as well as what the research findings mean for educational practice. It includes photographs of effective literacy practice, detailed explanations of research methods so the studies can be replicated or expanded upon, and key features for promoting effective literacy practice in early childhood settings. This book is an essential read for everyone who is interested in exploring the complexities and challenges of researching literacy acquisition in the youngest children.

Push or pull? Unpacking the social compensation hypothesis of Internet use in an educational context

- Grieve, Rachel, Kemp, Nenagh, Norris, Kimberley, Padgett, Christine

  • Authors: Grieve, Rachel , Kemp, Nenagh , Norris, Kimberley , Padgett, Christine
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Computers and education Vol. 109, no. (2017), p. 1-10
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  • Description: Individual differences such as social anxiety and extraversion have been shown to influence education outcomes. However, there has been limited investigation of the relationship between individual differences and attitudes towards online and offline learning. This study aimed to investigate for the first time how social anxiety and extraversion influence student attitudes to online and offline learning, specifically in relation to tertiary level practical activities. Based on the social compensation hypothesis, it was predicted that students with higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of social anxiety would report more favourable attitudes to face-to-face learning activities. It was further predicted that less extraverted and more socially anxious students would have more favourable attitudes to online learning activities. Undergraduate students (N = 322, 67% female) completed the HEXACO-60 personality inventory, the Mini Social Phobia Inventory, and measures of attitudes towards online and offline activities. Two hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted. The first revealed that neither extraversion nor social anxiety contributed significantly to preference for online practical activities. The second regression revealed that greater emotionality, greater extraversion, greater conscientiousness, and lower levels of social anxiety were associated with more favourable attitudes towards face-to-face practical activities. In contrast to predictions, extraversion and social anxiety did not significantly contribute to attitudes to online learning activities. However, in line with predictions, greater extraversion and lower levels of social anxiety were associated with more favourable attitudes towards face-to-face practical activities. These findings indicate that online learning activities have limited compensatory effects for students who experience social discomfort, and that the social compensation hypothesis may apply within an educational framework, but in unexpected ways. •Applies the social compensation hypothesis of Internet use as a theoretical paradigm.•Examines role of social anxiety (SA) and extraversion in online and offline learning.•Extraversion and SA not associated with attitudes to online activities.•Extraversion and low SA positively predict face-to-face activity attitudes.•Online learning has limited compensatory effects for socially anxious students.

The impact of a Web-based educational program on the recognition and management of deteriorating patients

- Liaw, Sok, Chng, Devon, Wong, Lai, Ho, Jasmine, Mordiffi, Siti, Cooper, Simon J., Chua, Wei, Ang, Emily

  • Authors: Liaw, Sok , Chng, Devon , Wong, Lai , Ho, Jasmine , Mordiffi, Siti , Cooper, Simon J. , Chua, Wei , Ang, Emily
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Clinical Nursing Vol. 26, no. 23-24 (2017), p. 4848-4856
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  • Description: Aims and objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based educational program to enhance enrolled nurses’ knowledge and skills in the recognition and management of deteriorating patients. Background: Ward nurses of different skill levels play a pivotal role in detecting and responding to deteriorating patients. A skill mix of registered nurses, enrolled nurses, licensed practical nurses or healthcare assistants is often employed for the provision of nursing care in acute settings. Non-registered nurses frequently perform bedside care and are in the best position to detect deteriorating patients and initiate immediate actions, including commanding the attention of registered nurses. Education is needed to improve the knowledge and skills of these nurses. Design: A randomised controlled trial with a pretest–post-test design. Methods: The sample included enrolled nurses from an acute care tertiary hospital. Following a baseline evaluation, the experimental group received a Web-based educational intervention. Pre–post assessment of skills and knowledge was performed with a simulated scenario and a knowledge questionnaire. Sixty-four nurses completed the entire study. Results: Following the intervention, participants from the experimental group were significantly more likely than those in the control group to monitor the patient's respiratory and pulse rates. In addition, they had significantly higher post-test mean scores for knowledge and skills in assessing and managing clinical deterioration and reporting deterioration. Conclusion: The Web-based educational intervention significantly improved enrolled nurses’ knowledge and skills in the recognition and management of a deteriorating patient in a simulated setting. Relevance to clinical practice: Ease of access to the Web-based platform contributed to the feasibility and acceptability of this study, which has the potential to positively impact patient safety. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

‘If there’s no sustainability our future will get wrecked’: Exploring children’s perspectives of sustainability

- Green, Monica

  • Authors: Green, Monica
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Childhood Vol. 24, no. 2 (2017), p. 151-167
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  • Description: Education for Sustainability is an internationally recognised field of learning that is currently mandated as a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian curriculum. Empirical research into children’s views about sustainability, and how they develop sustainability knowledge, however, remains limited. This article focuses on research that investigated children’s perspectives of sustainability in Victoria, Australia. The children were recruited through the Sustainable School Expo where they delivered keynote presentations about their school’s respective Education for Sustainability initiatives. Data were generated from interviews with 16 children aged from 9 to 13 years and included a set of self-created and designed sustainability artefacts. The article contends that children have strongly conceptualised ideas about sustainability that are developed through interactions with material entities (human/more than human) in diverse environments. A key finding suggests that children become vital stakeholders in Education for Sustainability through experiential, investigative, sensorial and place-oriented ways of learning, which informs how they build sustainability knowledge.

Activating teaching dispositions in carefully constructed contexts : Examining the impact of classroom intensives

- McGraw, Amanda, McDonough, Sharon, Wines, Chris, O’Loughlan, Courtney

  • Authors: McGraw, Amanda , McDonough, Sharon , Wines, Chris , O’Loughlan, Courtney
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Teacher Education : Innovation, Intervention and Impact Chapter 12 p. 193-209
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  • Description: The current policy stance in Australia which seeks to produce ‘classroom ready’ teachers requires that pre-service teachers (PSTs) be assessed against national professional standards that articulate minimum skills and knowledge required of beginning teachers. There is no mention within these standards of affective qualities (e.g. humour, passion, inspiration) or thinking dispositions (e.g. curiosity, reflection, creativity) that enable good teaching and professional learning and which capture the complexity that is inherent within good teaching. This study focuses on the research of a team of teacher educators in a regional Australian university who believe that a focus on dispositions is central to effective teacher education. They have embedded a ‘Dispositions for Teaching Framework’ within a Master of Teaching (Secondary) program to allow PSTs’ various thinking dispositions to be activated within carefully constructed professional learning contexts. The context in this study was a Classroom Intensive experience at a P-12 School in regional Victoria where PSTs participated in structured classroom observations over a two day period. The key research questions were: Did the Classroom Intensive experience activate the dispositions in the PSTs? Were some dispositions activated more than others? How could evidence be collected of these dispositions in action? A variety of research methods enabled a complex data-set to be collected. It was identified that the Classroom Intensive experience provided a rich professional learning context which activated all five of the thinking dispositions in the framework, and that these dispositions are not discrete but interconnect and rely upon each other. © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016.

An analysis of nursing students’ decision-making in teams during simulations of acute patient deterioration

- Bucknall, Tracey, Forbes, Helen, Phillips, Nicole, Hewitt, Nicky, Cooper, Simon J., Bogossian, Fiona, FIRST2ACT Investigators

  • Authors: Bucknall, Tracey , Forbes, Helen , Phillips, Nicole , Hewitt, Nicky , Cooper, Simon J. , Bogossian, Fiona , FIRST2ACT Investigators
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 72, no. 10 (2016), p. 2482-2494
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  • Description: Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the decision-making of nursing students during team based simulations on patient deterioration to determine the sources of information, the types of decisions made and the influences underpinning their decisions. Background: Missed, misinterpreted or mismanaged physiological signs of deterioration in hospitalized patients lead to costly serious adverse events. Not surprisingly, an increased focus on clinical education and graduate nurse work readiness has resulted. Design: A descriptive exploratory design. Methods: Clinical simulation laboratories in three Australian universities were used to run team based simulations with a patient actor. A convenience sample of 97 final-year nursing students completed simulations, with three students forming a team. Four teams from each university were randomly selected for detailed analysis. Cued recall during video review of team based simulation exercises to elicit descriptions of individual and team based decision-making and reflections on performance were audio-recorded post simulation (2012) and transcribed. Results: Students recalled 11 types of decisions, including: information seeking; patient assessment; diagnostic; intervention/treatment; evaluation; escalation; prediction; planning; collaboration; communication and reflective. Patient distress, uncertainty and a lack of knowledge were frequently recalled influences on decisions. Conclusions: Incomplete information, premature diagnosis and a failure to consider alternatives when caring for patients is likely to lead to poor quality decisions. All health professionals have a responsibility in recognizing and responding to clinical deterioration within their scope of practice. A typology of nursing students’ decision-making in teams, in this context, highlights the importance of individual knowledge, leadership and communication. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

An Approach to improving teaching in higher education: A case study informed by the neo-positivist research paradigm

- Devlin, Marcia

  • Authors: Devlin, Marcia
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Methods and Paradigms in Education Research Chapter 5 p.68-87
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  • Description: This chapter outlines a case study of the application of the neo-positivist paradigm in the higher education research field. A small scale evaluative study of an attempt to improve teaching and learning provides the case study. The neo-positivist paradigm involves the objective investigation of an aspect of reality, providing provisional, contemporary understanding of patterns and entities. The ways in which this paradigm informed the research desgin, methodology, and the interpretation of results in a small-scale evaulative study are discussed. The study represents an attempt to conduct a rigorous empirical research project that incorporated random allocation to intervention and control groups; pre- and post-intervention measures of teaching and learning and the use of psychometrically sound measurement tools and qualitative data. The ways in which the ontology. axiology and epistemology of the neo-positivist paradigm impacted on the study and its findings are outlined.

Australia

- Golding, Barry, Kimberley, Helen

  • Authors: Golding, Barry , Kimberley, Helen
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: International perspectives on older adult education Chapter 3 p. 25-34
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  • Description: In the later years of life in Australia, after commitment to paid work or family responsibilities declines as life’s primary motivating factors, learning occupies a different life space and purpose from learning in previous life stages. While learning to cope with the expected and unexpected events in later life is known from research elsewhere to be increasingly important (Cooper et al. 2010; Schuller and Watson 2009), the opportunities and places in Australia to learn formally and informally have been decreasing (Golding and Foley 2011). Our chapter argues that spaces for and purposes of older adult learning are less reflected upon, both by older adults themselves, by the wider Australian society and particularly by policy makers and governments in Australia. The prevailing discourse is more about costs of caring than opportunities during ageing. "From chapter"