Description:
This paper argues that philosophy matters more than platforms - and even learning object design - in effective online education. Much of the literature concerning quality, experiential learning and associated pedagogical issues for online learning falls short of examining the fundamental role of educational philosophy. While questions of platform and design are also relevant, they represent second order considerations in the overall scheme of effective learning. It seems likely that this gap helps to explain why meaningful online and e-learning pedagogies have not flourished or matured alongside the growth of online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Description:
This paper argues that philosophy matters more than platforms - and even learning object design - in effective online education. Much of the literature concerning quality, experiential learning and associated pedagogical issues for online learning falls short of examining the fundamental role of educational philosophy. While questions of platform and design are also relevant, they represent second order considerations in the overall scheme of effective learning. It seems likely that this gap helps to explain why meaningful online and e-learning pedagogies have not flourished or matured alongside the growth of online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Description:
"The thesis argues that reading and spelling are interdependent and complex processes, and that "good" readers. but "poor" spellers, read in ways which do not assist in their developing spelling repertoires: their reading behaviours contribute to overall text meanings wihout contributing to individual word knowledge. As well, their writing behaviours do not allow for this knowledge to be used, practised, or displayed."
Description:
The cover picture is the front of the program of the 2008 of the Story of Buninyong. It encapsulates the program that Buninyong Primary School has developed in its engagement with a larger and more complex history of the school and its positions in the physical and historical landscaper than European versions of Australian history allow. In this report, I have explored some of that complexity. "From introduction"
Description:
The article discusses the possible knowledge that can be learned by British adult educators from the men's sheds movement. It provides a definition and history of the men's sheds movement and offers examples for it. It cites the information that can be gained by adult education providers from the movement including the significance of gender and benefits of workshop-type settings for men learners. It mentions the effectivity of informal learning for men when it is social and situated.
Description:
This paper proposes some possibilities for thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept, inspired by posthuman theory. The idea of thinking with a landscape is enacted in the Australian Alps (AA), concentrating on the contentious environmental dilemma involving introduced horses and their management in this bio-geographical location. The topic of horses is of pedagogical relevance for place-responsive outdoor environmental educators as both a location-specific problem and an example of a troubling issue. The paper has two objectives for employing posthuman thinking. Firstly, it experiments with the alternative methodological possibilities that posthuman theory affords for outdoor environmental education, including new ways of conducting educational research. Secondly, it explores how thinking with a landscape as a pedagogical concept may help open ways of considering the dilemma that horses pose. The pedagogical concept is enacted through some empirical events which sketch human-horse encounters from the AA. These sketches depict some of the pedagogical conversations and discursive pathways that encounters can provoke. Such encounters and conversations are ways of constructing knowledge of the landscape, covering multiple species, perspectives and discursive opportunities. For these reasons, this paper may be of relevance for outdoor environmental educators, those interested in the AA or posthuman theorists. [Author abstract]
Description:
In Australia, when a person wants to work in the outdoor education or recreation field, they can follow a number of different pathways to gain the required knowledge, skills and experience. Typically, this involves the completion of a formal program with either a training organisation or a university, depending on the qualification sought. Programs delivered by training organisations typically use a national training package to define the specific competencies (knowledge and skills) and the curriculum and outcomes of these programs are clearly defined, and qualifications are usually transferable around the country. Outdoor education programs delivered by universities in Australia, however, have no such clarity. This paper describes a research study that used the Delphi research method to consult with academics working in university outdoor education programs across Australia. The research set out to establish a set of threshold concepts that articulate what a student who completes at least a major in outdoor education knows and is able to do. Over two rounds of consultation the six authors of this paper formed the Delphi facilitation team, which solicited input and feedback from an expert panel. Nineteen different university academics participated in the research and produced seven threshold concepts, which are shared in this paper to encourage discussion and invite feedback from a wider range of stakeholders. More research is required to ascertain the efficacy of these threshold concepts in describing what graduates of university outdoor education programs know and can do. [Author abstract]
Description:
In this chapter Grant Meredith, the discipline leader of Information Technology for the Global Professional School at Federation University (Australia) outlines his journey as a person who stutters from his rural Australian upbringing through to being an Information Technology academic. This passage to academia is a reflection on an unconventional odyssey that has meandered from blue collar careers to a university education and beyond. The author discusses what it means to him to have vocal difference and how it may have influenced his research path. Along the way he questions his identity as a person who stutters and find his own “community” to engage within.
Description:
Academic mobility is considered a standard requirement for the development and progression of an academic research career. However, this career mobility is at odds with the drive to recruit and retain professionally-qualified workers in regional Australia, to ensure future generations of regional Australians have capacity to access higher education in their home region. To date, little work has been completed regarding the retention of active research staff in regional Australia. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to determine the viability of using author affiliation data as listed on publications to track an institutional cohort of authors by their affiliation; also, to determine if data analysed using this method revealed any insights regarding the retention of academic staff. Whilst using author affiliation data was found to be viable, it required extensive data manipulation and cleansing. Once analysed, the data revealed intriguing insights into the retention and movement of active academic researchers. Implications for regional higher education will be discussed.
Description:
Objective: To assess the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis in two island populations of Vanuatu using the Pap smear as the screening technique. Study design: Women were randomly selected from specific sites on the islands of Efate (urban setting) and Ambae (rural setting). Pap smears were collected, screened and reported. Setting: The first collection site was the Women's Health/Antenatal Care Clinic at Vila Central Hospital in Port Vila, the capital city located on the island of Efate, and the second collection site was a rural village on a sparsely populated inhabited northern island, Ambae. Participants: A total of 905 Ni-Vanuatu women participants: Efate (n = 562) 62%, and Ambae (n = 343) 38%. The mean age was 35.8 years: Efate 32.6 years, and Ambae 40.8 years. Main outcome measure: The presence or absence of T. vaginalis in these Pap smears was documented during the study's cervical screening process. Results: The overall prevalence of T. vaginalis within the study participants was 25.3%. Almost half of the infected sample group were in the age group of 30-39 years (43.8%). The prevalence of T. vaginalis in Efate was 14.7%, compared with 43.4% in Ambae. Conclusion: The prevalence of T. vaginalis in Vanuatu women is significantly higher compared with developed countries. Women in rural settings are less likely to have access to sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment programs, thus contributing to high infection rates compared with women in urban settings. Cultural and educational differences in the rural setting might also contribute to higher sexually transmitted disease rates among these women.
Description:
Objectives This paper reports the quantitative findings of the first phase of a larger program of ongoing research: Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trends (FIRST2ACTTM). It specifically aims to identify the characteristics that may predict primary outcome measures of clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness in the management of deteriorating patients. Design Mixed-method multi-centre study. Setting High fidelity simulated acute clinical environment in three Australian universities. Participants A convenience sample of 97 final year nursing students enrolled in an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing or combined Bachelor of Nursing degree were included in the study. Method In groups of three, participants proceeded through three phases: (i) pre-briefing and completion of a multi-choice question test, (ii) three video-recorded simulated clinical scenarios where actors substituted real patients with deteriorating conditions, and (iii) post-scenario debriefing. Clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness were evaluated, using a validated standard checklist (OSCE), Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) score sheet and Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT). A Modified Angoff technique was used to establish cut points for clinical performance. Results Student teams engaged in 97 simulation experiences across the three scenarios and achieved a level of clinical performance consistent with the experts' identified pass level point in only 9 (1%) of the simulation experiences. Knowledge was significantly associated with overall teamwork (p = .034), overall situation awareness (p = .05) and clinical performance in two of the three scenarios (p = .032 cardiac and p = .006 shock). Situation awareness scores of scenario team leaders were low overall, with an average total score of 41%. Conclusions Final year undergraduate nursing students may have difficulty recognising and responding appropriately to patient deterioration. Improving pre-requisite knowledge, rehearsal of first response and team management strategies need to be a key component of undergraduate nursing students' education and ought to specifically address clinical performance, teamwork and situation awareness.
Description:
In recent years, arguments have signalled the value of STEM education for building discipline knowledge and an array of capabilities, skills and dispositions, aligned with the needs of young people functioning productively and ethically in dynamic, complex and challenging future work, social and political environments. This combination has been termed STEM literacy and positioned as a desired outcome from STEM education programs. However, knowledge is limited on ways this can be developed in K-12 schools. This article introduces a framework that conceptualises the integrated nature of the characteristics of STEM education. It identifies and maps key characteristics of STEM education, recognising different entry points, curriculum designs and pedagogical strategies for school programs. The framework provides practical guidance for planning and implementing STEM education in schools.
Description:
Purpose: Participation in physical activity (PA) is reported to decline in adolescence, particularly for girls. However, we do not know if this decline in PA is consistent across modes and settings or whether there are transfers of participation between modes and settings. Nor do we understand the changes in specific types of PA or the interaction between types of participation and different modes/settings. This study investigated contexts of PA participation for female adolescents at two life transition points. Method: A survey of 489 Year 7 and 243 Year 11 adolescent girls was conducted, incorporating a measure of overall PA level and participation rates in seven modes/settings and in specific types of sport and PA. Results: Less than half of the respondents met or exceeded the recommended level of moderate or vigorous PA-60 min or more-on the previous day, and there was no statistically significant difference in the proportions in Years 7 and 11 (39.5% vs. 45.9%; p > .05). However, older adolescents shifted their participation away from organized, competitive modes and settings toward nonorganized and noncompetitive modes and settings and individual types of PA. Conclusions: An understanding of the changes in PA modes and settings identified here can inform the planning of policies and implementation of programs for the promotion of PA by adolescent girls.
Description:
Purpose: Participation in physical activity (PA) is reported to decline in adolescence, particularly for girls. However, we do not know if this decline in PA is consistent across modes and settings or whether there are transfers of participation between modes and settings. Nor do we understand the changes in specific types of PA or the interaction between types of participation and different modes/settings. This study investigated contexts of PA participation for female adolescents at two life transition points. Method: A survey of 489 Year 7 and 243 Year 11 adolescent girls was conducted, incorporating a measure of overall PA level and participation rates in seven modes/settings and in specific types of sport and PA. Results: Less than half of the respondents met or exceeded the recommended level of moderate or vigorous PA-60 min or more-on the previous day, and there was no statistically significant difference in the proportions in Years 7 and 11 (39.5% vs. 45.9%; p > .05). However, older adolescents shifted their participation away from organized, competitive modes and settings toward nonorganized and noncompetitive modes and settings and individual types of PA. Conclusions: An understanding of the changes in PA modes and settings identified here can inform the planning of policies and implementation of programs for the promotion of PA by adolescent girls.
Description:
In Australia, anti-discrimination legislation and government policies have been introduced which aim to facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities in employment and education. However in the area of nursing, attitudinal barriers persist that effectively hinder the full participation of people with disabilities in nurse education programs. These attitudinal barriers prevail despite such legislative and policy changes, and run counter to changing community views about disability. Normative assumptions about the ideal attributes of nurses appear to influence these attitudes, especially in the area of admission of students with disabilities to nurse education programs per se, and to their participation in the practicum component of nurse education programs. This paper reports on research conducted in Victoria, Australia, by nurse academics and equity practitioners at three Victorian universities, into the barriers facing such students. The research examined the views of undergraduate student nurses, their lecturers and their clinical educators, nurse clinicians, and university disability practitioners about the participation of people with disabilities in nurse education programs. The research also sought to document their responses to a framework, developed through the research that aims to facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities in undergraduate nursing programs. It did this against a pluralistic and technological milieu that in the researchers' view requires a more diverse mix within the nursing profession.
Description:
Aim To explore the prevalence of unmet demand for training by mature age Australians and to identify the main barriers to accessing training. Methods A total of 3007 Australians aged 45-74 years were surveyed using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. The sample frame was randomly selected and stratified based on the capital city and the rest of the state, and data were weighted to be nationally representative. Results Over one-third (37%) of respondents who had worked in the past five years reported wanting to attend some form of training but were unable to; these were most likely women and those aged 45-54 year. Commonly cited reasons for not being able to attend training included not being able to fit it in with work commitments, affordability and employer reluctance. Conclusion Reduction of these barriers to workplace training can improve mature age people's ability to remain engaged in the workforce.