The flipped classroom emphasises active student-centred learning activities and application of id... more The flipped classroom emphasises active student-centred learning activities and application of ideas during class time by assigning take-home task for the student to complete prior to coming to class. This approach has been evidenced to support important learning of content and collaborative inquiry skills required of 21st century learners. However, more evidenced-based examples/models are needed to demystify the process of flipping the classroom for educators to more effectively support student learning. Our presentation is grounded in the case study of an undergraduate engineering course characterised by high student enrollments and a strong lab component. Incremental cycles of flipping the course supported the refinement of the course design, course materials, pedagogy and assessment
This chapter (as with the next, Chap. 4) reports on the findings from a two-year funded empirical... more This chapter (as with the next, Chap. 4) reports on the findings from a two-year funded empirical study (2013–2014) exploring how tertiary students in media studies and engineering develop the understandings and skills needed to use software as forms of software literacy. Two case studies were developed. The case studied experiences of media studies students’ software literacy development is the focus of this chapter. Two cohorts of media studies undergraduate students were tracked, at different stages of study and using mixed methods, in their learning of discipline-specific software, Final Cut Pro, and the Adobe Creative Suite. The findings illustrate the ways student software literacy develop in a specific tertiary context. The findings will be revisited in Chap. 5 and discussed to include implications for the wider field of software teaching and learning.
This chapter outlines the role and significance of software in contemporary society. Drawing from... more This chapter outlines the role and significance of software in contemporary society. Drawing from the new field of Software Studies, it sets outs key concepts relevant to the study of software, including affordances, agency, human-machine assemblages, and performance to explain the ways users co-create with software. It proposes the notion of software literacy as a framework to help readers unpack the ways the affordances of software can (re)shape the ways we think and act. These ideas are then grounded in an examination of an educational research project into the ways in which students become more literate about the nature and implications of software which they encounter as part of their tertiary studies.
This chapter reports the comparative analysis of the two case studies on media studies software (... more This chapter reports the comparative analysis of the two case studies on media studies software (see Chap. 3) and engineering software (see Chap. 4). Common themes emerged across the cases such as students’ tendency to draw from informal learning strategies to supplement formal learning approaches, the diversity of student background and software abilities, and students’ general assumption that a tier 2 software proficiency level (see Chap. 1) would be adequate entry into a professional pathway. However, the cases differed in terms of the nature of the nuanced learning goals and aspirations of each discipline which impacted on the way course curricular, teaching, learning and assessment strategies were structured. These findings have implications for teaching and learning where software plays a central role in understanding and accomplishing disciplinary ideas and practices in tertiary and workplace contexts.
"The successful implementation of electronically networked (e-networked) tools to support an... more "The successful implementation of electronically networked (e-networked) tools to support an inquiry-learning approach in secondary science classrooms is dependent on a range of factors spread between teachers, schools, and students. The teacher must have a clear understanding of the nature of inquiry, the school must provide effective technological infrastructure and sympathetic curriculum parameters, and the students need to be carefully scaffolded to the point of engaging with the inquiry process. Within this study, e-networks supported students to exercise agency, collaborate, and co-construct knowledge using a wide range of resources for meaning making and expression of ideas. These outcomes were, however, contingent on the interplay of teacher understanding of the nature of science inquiry and school provision of an effective technological infrastructure and support for flexible curriculum design."
This chapter outlines a broad genealogy of two areas within software culture: Digital Non-Linear ... more This chapter outlines a broad genealogy of two areas within software culture: Digital Non-Linear Editing (DNLE) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Emerging from distinct institutional environments, their respective historical developments and the implications these have generated within their professional domains provide a broader context for the software at the centre of this educational research project (see Chaps. 3 and 4). Each of these histories demonstrate how decisive the institutional and industrial contexts of their creation were in inscribing the affordances, interfaces and conceptual frameworks coded into these software.
One goal of the Classroom InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 was to... more One goal of the Classroom InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 was to enhance classroom interactions as part of teacher assessment for learning. Research and development for assessment for learning has tended to focus on the role of talk and the role of written feedback. Less attention has been paid to the other modes that people use in everyday communication such as the role of gesture, drawing, visual images, and action. Students, more now than ever before, live in a multimodal world: websites, mobile technologies and even books and magazines are sites of “complex hybrids and fusions of visual and verbal meaning making resources” (Lemke, 2004, p. 42). Research evidence is accumulating as to the key role for diagrams, pictures, and other nonlinguistic representations in illuminating curriculum content, and supporting the achievement of diverse learners (Alton-Lee, 2003). Classroom studies in science and technology education are only just beginning to explore how teachers and students use multiple modes to develop and express ideas and skills. In science education, for example, Kress, Jewitt, Ogborn, and Tsatsarelius (2001) provide a detailed account of how a science teacher used gestures, drawings, science diagrams, a three-dimensional model, and images to demonstrate to students the circulation of blood. In this article we provide evidence from the InSiTE study that effective teacher–student interaction utilises multiple modes to express ideas and enhance student learning
Teachers are responsible for supporting their students’ learning in the moment, over the course o... more Teachers are responsible for supporting their students’ learning in the moment, over the course of a unit, and throughout a school year. They also have a longer-term responsibility to develop students’ skills and dispositions as lifelong learners. These responsibilities extend to fostering students’ long-term interest in particular learning areas. Primary teachers face a number of challenges in promoting connections and a sense of continuity and coherence for students. This is especially difficult for subjects such as science and technology where primary students typically study science and technology topics only two or three times a year and then over a period of days. Connections and coherence are a fundamental aspect of learning experiences, which build cumulatively; students learn when they build on what they know and have experienced. However, students often experience school as a series of disconnected episodes (Rudduck, Harris, & Wallace, 1994) and may therefore fail to realise the linkages between lessons, tasks, and ideas. Teachers can help students to make connections. Teacher planning of nested and linked tasks in a manner that could support continuity and connection is described in a companion article in this issue of set (pp. 38-41). The teachers in the InSiTE study (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008) used a number of strategies to help students make connections and develop a sense of continuity. Some of these are illustrated in this article
How might a teacher set about teaching five-year olds how to design successfully? What could a te... more How might a teacher set about teaching five-year olds how to design successfully? What could a teacher do when their students are unable to resolve construction problems? How do teachers teach technological concepts in a subject that is very practical? The InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 aimed to investigate these kinds of questions; that is, those related to teachers teaching technology education in primary schools. Over three years we explored teacher knowledge, its sources and development, and the ways it was used by primary teachers so that their students had worthwhile learning experiences in both technology and science education. In this article we discuss the implications for teaching of a subject-specific planning framework
Two Years 7/8 teachers planned, implemented and reflected on teaching a unit about erosion and la... more Two Years 7/8 teachers planned, implemented and reflected on teaching a unit about erosion and landforms with the support of ICT tools. They used videos, photos, animations and digital microscopes—as well as Internet resources, such as Google Earth and other maps—to help the students work and think like an earth scientist.
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 2010
This paper illustrates how important changes can occur in science learning and teaching if teache... more This paper illustrates how important changes can occur in science learning and teaching if teachers take the trouble to understand and respect the cultural worlds of Indigenous students, and incorporate something of this understanding within their teaching practice. Ten teachers participated in a specially-designed one-year university postgraduate course, which encouraged them to incorporate into their classroom learning two Māori pedagogical principles, akoand whakawhanaungatanga. Akois a responsive and reciprocal process, through which both teaching and learning roles are shared. Whakawhanaungatangais the process of constructing relationships in the classroom between people, between students' cultural knowledge and domain knowledge. This paper draws on co-constructed narratives from four of the teachers, two Māori and two Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent). The teachers built trusting and respectful relationships with their Māori students by facilitating connections b...
All forms of learning are increasingly embedded within, informed by and inevitably shaped by soft... more All forms of learning are increasingly embedded within, informed by and inevitably shaped by software. This assumption is the basis of a two-year funded project exploring the significance of ‘software literacies’ in tertiary teaching and learning. We define software literacy as involving the expertise in understanding, applying, problem solving and critiquing software in pursuit of particular learning and professional goals. Two diverse disciplines, engineering and media studies, are being case studied. Phase 1 of the project focused on how lecturers and students become aware and develop software literacy associated with MS PowerPoint; a software students would have had some experience with. Phase 2 extends these understandings to examine software literacy in relation to discipline-specific teaching and use of software such as Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro (Media Studies), and SolidWorks (Engineering). This paper will scope the Phase 1 findings and introduce initial findings from P...
The successful implementation of an e-networked and information and communication technology (ICT... more The successful implementation of an e-networked and information and communication technology (ICT) supported science inquiry learning approach in secondary classrooms is dependent on a range of factors within the milieu of teacher, school and students. The teacher must have a clear understanding of the nature of inquiry, the school must provide effective technological infrastructure and sympathetic curriculum parameters, and the students need to be carefully scaffolded to the point of engaging with the inquiry process. This article is based on the findings from a two year Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project - Networked Inquiry Learning in Secondary Science classrooms (NILSS) - which involved collaboration with six junior secondary science teachers in three New Zealand schools to support and investigate their planning and implementation of inquiry learning projects. Within the study e-networks supported students to exercise agency, collaborate and co-construct knowledge...
In New Zealand and internationally claims are being made about the potential for information and ... more In New Zealand and internationally claims are being made about the potential for information and communication technologies (ICTs) to transform teaching and learning. However, the theoretical underpinnings explaining the complex interplay between the content, pedagogy and technology a teacher needs to consider must be expanded. This article explicates theoretical and practical ideas related to teachers’ application of their ICT technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) in science. The article unpacks the social and technological dimensions of teachers’ use of TPACK when they use digital videos to scaffold learning. It showcases the intricate interplay between teachers’ knowledge about content, digital video technology, and students’ learning needs based on a qualitative study of two science teachers and their students in a New Zealand primary school.
Motivation, Leadership and Curriculum design, 2015
ABSTRACT Research into science classroom teaching has experienced a renewed interest in pedagogie... more ABSTRACT Research into science classroom teaching has experienced a renewed interest in pedagogies that embrace the idea of students conducting their own inquiries. Inquiry learning where students explore ill-defined problems, investigate ideas that are not yet known to them (Feldman et al., 2000) and where they have opportunities to communicate with more knowledgeable others are said to support student authority, agency and identity in science (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007; Lee, Linn, Varma, & Liu, 2010; Roth et al., 2008). Inquiry learning in science is about students developing competencies where they draw on science knowledge and use scientific processing skills (Abd-El-Khalik, et al. 2004). Inquiry is often described as a cycle of investigation including that students ask questions, exploring possible solutions, come up with and consider new findings and experiences, and consider what the meaning and implications of new-found knowledge are, to then ask new questions (Bruce & Bishop, 2002). Such pedagogies have also been described as transforming the way in which students look for information or collect and analyse data in a manner that moves beyond a focus on knowledge acquisition to one that enables learners to acquire skills for global competence. Gilbert (2012) argues that this “means having people with a new and different orientation to knowledge, people who know enough to do things with knowledge, and who can work with others to do things with it” (p. 8).She argues that if we think it is important to engage young people in science, foster attitudes and dispositions needed for future science thinking and encourage young people to consider becoming future innovators and scientists, then doing what we do now is not enough. Skills such as thinking to critically access and evaluate information that changes constantly, problem solving and actively collaborating and communicating with others are recognised as supporting future oriented learning and teaching in science (Bolstad & Gilbert 2012; Bolstad & Buntting 2013). Access to information in different formats and modes seems an important aspect to developing such competencies. Not surprisingly, science education researchers have taken an interest in how digital technologies change the way that people com- municate and learn and also transform ways in which we design for learning. In- quiry learning in science for the twenty-first century is likely to require and benefit from increasing use of electronically networked (e-networked) ICTs in the colla- tion, analysis and representation of data, in order to better engage students (Roth et al. 2008). ICT can play a key part in supporting an inquiry approach to teaching and learning science by enabling students to develop and expand their skills of ob- servation and research into questions of interest to them, and by assisting students to collaborate to create knowledge, use it to answer their questions and then com- municate their findings in multimodal ways. Teachers’ use of e-networked ICTs has been promoted as a way to motivate students and facilitate the development of collaborative and independent inquiry skills. Appropriate and meaningful integration of e-networked tools into a class’s learning activities has been found to support richer and deeper forms of interac- tion, dialogue and sharing of ideas among students and between teachers and stu- dents (McLoughlin & Lee 2007). Studies have demonstrated the merits of using networked ICTs to collect and collate, analyse and make sense of, as well as com- municate and represent information (Roth et al. 2008), and highlighted that they offer opportunities that can stimulate critical student thinking (Feldman et al. 2000). In this chapter, we define e-networked ICT in science classrooms as commu- nication technology tools that are Internet and/or mobile based and allow users to network and collaborate on their science inquiry projects. Such collaboration may occur within a class or across classes or even across schools or geographical locations. Users, therefore can gather, access, share or disseminate and communi- cate information with other known or unknown users (Feldman et al. 2000). Many schools now provide networked environments, for example through Internet-based Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as Moodle which they use to deliver e-learning programmes, through class websites that provide for blogs, or e-mail whereby teachers and students are able to share information and communicate in a virtual space.
The flipped classroom emphasises active student-centred learning activities and application of id... more The flipped classroom emphasises active student-centred learning activities and application of ideas during class time by assigning take-home task for the student to complete prior to coming to class. This approach has been evidenced to support important learning of content and collaborative inquiry skills required of 21st century learners. However, more evidenced-based examples/models are needed to demystify the process of flipping the classroom for educators to more effectively support student learning. Our presentation is grounded in the case study of an undergraduate engineering course characterised by high student enrollments and a strong lab component. Incremental cycles of flipping the course supported the refinement of the course design, course materials, pedagogy and assessment
This chapter (as with the next, Chap. 4) reports on the findings from a two-year funded empirical... more This chapter (as with the next, Chap. 4) reports on the findings from a two-year funded empirical study (2013–2014) exploring how tertiary students in media studies and engineering develop the understandings and skills needed to use software as forms of software literacy. Two case studies were developed. The case studied experiences of media studies students’ software literacy development is the focus of this chapter. Two cohorts of media studies undergraduate students were tracked, at different stages of study and using mixed methods, in their learning of discipline-specific software, Final Cut Pro, and the Adobe Creative Suite. The findings illustrate the ways student software literacy develop in a specific tertiary context. The findings will be revisited in Chap. 5 and discussed to include implications for the wider field of software teaching and learning.
This chapter outlines the role and significance of software in contemporary society. Drawing from... more This chapter outlines the role and significance of software in contemporary society. Drawing from the new field of Software Studies, it sets outs key concepts relevant to the study of software, including affordances, agency, human-machine assemblages, and performance to explain the ways users co-create with software. It proposes the notion of software literacy as a framework to help readers unpack the ways the affordances of software can (re)shape the ways we think and act. These ideas are then grounded in an examination of an educational research project into the ways in which students become more literate about the nature and implications of software which they encounter as part of their tertiary studies.
This chapter reports the comparative analysis of the two case studies on media studies software (... more This chapter reports the comparative analysis of the two case studies on media studies software (see Chap. 3) and engineering software (see Chap. 4). Common themes emerged across the cases such as students’ tendency to draw from informal learning strategies to supplement formal learning approaches, the diversity of student background and software abilities, and students’ general assumption that a tier 2 software proficiency level (see Chap. 1) would be adequate entry into a professional pathway. However, the cases differed in terms of the nature of the nuanced learning goals and aspirations of each discipline which impacted on the way course curricular, teaching, learning and assessment strategies were structured. These findings have implications for teaching and learning where software plays a central role in understanding and accomplishing disciplinary ideas and practices in tertiary and workplace contexts.
"The successful implementation of electronically networked (e-networked) tools to support an... more "The successful implementation of electronically networked (e-networked) tools to support an inquiry-learning approach in secondary science classrooms is dependent on a range of factors spread between teachers, schools, and students. The teacher must have a clear understanding of the nature of inquiry, the school must provide effective technological infrastructure and sympathetic curriculum parameters, and the students need to be carefully scaffolded to the point of engaging with the inquiry process. Within this study, e-networks supported students to exercise agency, collaborate, and co-construct knowledge using a wide range of resources for meaning making and expression of ideas. These outcomes were, however, contingent on the interplay of teacher understanding of the nature of science inquiry and school provision of an effective technological infrastructure and support for flexible curriculum design."
This chapter outlines a broad genealogy of two areas within software culture: Digital Non-Linear ... more This chapter outlines a broad genealogy of two areas within software culture: Digital Non-Linear Editing (DNLE) and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Emerging from distinct institutional environments, their respective historical developments and the implications these have generated within their professional domains provide a broader context for the software at the centre of this educational research project (see Chaps. 3 and 4). Each of these histories demonstrate how decisive the institutional and industrial contexts of their creation were in inscribing the affordances, interfaces and conceptual frameworks coded into these software.
One goal of the Classroom InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 was to... more One goal of the Classroom InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 was to enhance classroom interactions as part of teacher assessment for learning. Research and development for assessment for learning has tended to focus on the role of talk and the role of written feedback. Less attention has been paid to the other modes that people use in everyday communication such as the role of gesture, drawing, visual images, and action. Students, more now than ever before, live in a multimodal world: websites, mobile technologies and even books and magazines are sites of “complex hybrids and fusions of visual and verbal meaning making resources” (Lemke, 2004, p. 42). Research evidence is accumulating as to the key role for diagrams, pictures, and other nonlinguistic representations in illuminating curriculum content, and supporting the achievement of diverse learners (Alton-Lee, 2003). Classroom studies in science and technology education are only just beginning to explore how teachers and students use multiple modes to develop and express ideas and skills. In science education, for example, Kress, Jewitt, Ogborn, and Tsatsarelius (2001) provide a detailed account of how a science teacher used gestures, drawings, science diagrams, a three-dimensional model, and images to demonstrate to students the circulation of blood. In this article we provide evidence from the InSiTE study that effective teacher–student interaction utilises multiple modes to express ideas and enhance student learning
Teachers are responsible for supporting their students’ learning in the moment, over the course o... more Teachers are responsible for supporting their students’ learning in the moment, over the course of a unit, and throughout a school year. They also have a longer-term responsibility to develop students’ skills and dispositions as lifelong learners. These responsibilities extend to fostering students’ long-term interest in particular learning areas. Primary teachers face a number of challenges in promoting connections and a sense of continuity and coherence for students. This is especially difficult for subjects such as science and technology where primary students typically study science and technology topics only two or three times a year and then over a period of days. Connections and coherence are a fundamental aspect of learning experiences, which build cumulatively; students learn when they build on what they know and have experienced. However, students often experience school as a series of disconnected episodes (Rudduck, Harris, & Wallace, 1994) and may therefore fail to realise the linkages between lessons, tasks, and ideas. Teachers can help students to make connections. Teacher planning of nested and linked tasks in a manner that could support continuity and connection is described in a companion article in this issue of set (pp. 38-41). The teachers in the InSiTE study (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008) used a number of strategies to help students make connections and develop a sense of continuity. Some of these are illustrated in this article
How might a teacher set about teaching five-year olds how to design successfully? What could a te... more How might a teacher set about teaching five-year olds how to design successfully? What could a teacher do when their students are unable to resolve construction problems? How do teachers teach technological concepts in a subject that is very practical? The InSiTE project (Cowie, Moreland, Jones, & Otrel-Cass, 2008)1 aimed to investigate these kinds of questions; that is, those related to teachers teaching technology education in primary schools. Over three years we explored teacher knowledge, its sources and development, and the ways it was used by primary teachers so that their students had worthwhile learning experiences in both technology and science education. In this article we discuss the implications for teaching of a subject-specific planning framework
Two Years 7/8 teachers planned, implemented and reflected on teaching a unit about erosion and la... more Two Years 7/8 teachers planned, implemented and reflected on teaching a unit about erosion and landforms with the support of ICT tools. They used videos, photos, animations and digital microscopes—as well as Internet resources, such as Google Earth and other maps—to help the students work and think like an earth scientist.
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 2010
This paper illustrates how important changes can occur in science learning and teaching if teache... more This paper illustrates how important changes can occur in science learning and teaching if teachers take the trouble to understand and respect the cultural worlds of Indigenous students, and incorporate something of this understanding within their teaching practice. Ten teachers participated in a specially-designed one-year university postgraduate course, which encouraged them to incorporate into their classroom learning two Māori pedagogical principles, akoand whakawhanaungatanga. Akois a responsive and reciprocal process, through which both teaching and learning roles are shared. Whakawhanaungatangais the process of constructing relationships in the classroom between people, between students' cultural knowledge and domain knowledge. This paper draws on co-constructed narratives from four of the teachers, two Māori and two Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent). The teachers built trusting and respectful relationships with their Māori students by facilitating connections b...
All forms of learning are increasingly embedded within, informed by and inevitably shaped by soft... more All forms of learning are increasingly embedded within, informed by and inevitably shaped by software. This assumption is the basis of a two-year funded project exploring the significance of ‘software literacies’ in tertiary teaching and learning. We define software literacy as involving the expertise in understanding, applying, problem solving and critiquing software in pursuit of particular learning and professional goals. Two diverse disciplines, engineering and media studies, are being case studied. Phase 1 of the project focused on how lecturers and students become aware and develop software literacy associated with MS PowerPoint; a software students would have had some experience with. Phase 2 extends these understandings to examine software literacy in relation to discipline-specific teaching and use of software such as Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro (Media Studies), and SolidWorks (Engineering). This paper will scope the Phase 1 findings and introduce initial findings from P...
The successful implementation of an e-networked and information and communication technology (ICT... more The successful implementation of an e-networked and information and communication technology (ICT) supported science inquiry learning approach in secondary classrooms is dependent on a range of factors within the milieu of teacher, school and students. The teacher must have a clear understanding of the nature of inquiry, the school must provide effective technological infrastructure and sympathetic curriculum parameters, and the students need to be carefully scaffolded to the point of engaging with the inquiry process. This article is based on the findings from a two year Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project - Networked Inquiry Learning in Secondary Science classrooms (NILSS) - which involved collaboration with six junior secondary science teachers in three New Zealand schools to support and investigate their planning and implementation of inquiry learning projects. Within the study e-networks supported students to exercise agency, collaborate and co-construct knowledge...
In New Zealand and internationally claims are being made about the potential for information and ... more In New Zealand and internationally claims are being made about the potential for information and communication technologies (ICTs) to transform teaching and learning. However, the theoretical underpinnings explaining the complex interplay between the content, pedagogy and technology a teacher needs to consider must be expanded. This article explicates theoretical and practical ideas related to teachers’ application of their ICT technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) in science. The article unpacks the social and technological dimensions of teachers’ use of TPACK when they use digital videos to scaffold learning. It showcases the intricate interplay between teachers’ knowledge about content, digital video technology, and students’ learning needs based on a qualitative study of two science teachers and their students in a New Zealand primary school.
Motivation, Leadership and Curriculum design, 2015
ABSTRACT Research into science classroom teaching has experienced a renewed interest in pedagogie... more ABSTRACT Research into science classroom teaching has experienced a renewed interest in pedagogies that embrace the idea of students conducting their own inquiries. Inquiry learning where students explore ill-defined problems, investigate ideas that are not yet known to them (Feldman et al., 2000) and where they have opportunities to communicate with more knowledgeable others are said to support student authority, agency and identity in science (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007; Lee, Linn, Varma, & Liu, 2010; Roth et al., 2008). Inquiry learning in science is about students developing competencies where they draw on science knowledge and use scientific processing skills (Abd-El-Khalik, et al. 2004). Inquiry is often described as a cycle of investigation including that students ask questions, exploring possible solutions, come up with and consider new findings and experiences, and consider what the meaning and implications of new-found knowledge are, to then ask new questions (Bruce & Bishop, 2002). Such pedagogies have also been described as transforming the way in which students look for information or collect and analyse data in a manner that moves beyond a focus on knowledge acquisition to one that enables learners to acquire skills for global competence. Gilbert (2012) argues that this “means having people with a new and different orientation to knowledge, people who know enough to do things with knowledge, and who can work with others to do things with it” (p. 8).She argues that if we think it is important to engage young people in science, foster attitudes and dispositions needed for future science thinking and encourage young people to consider becoming future innovators and scientists, then doing what we do now is not enough. Skills such as thinking to critically access and evaluate information that changes constantly, problem solving and actively collaborating and communicating with others are recognised as supporting future oriented learning and teaching in science (Bolstad & Gilbert 2012; Bolstad & Buntting 2013). Access to information in different formats and modes seems an important aspect to developing such competencies. Not surprisingly, science education researchers have taken an interest in how digital technologies change the way that people com- municate and learn and also transform ways in which we design for learning. In- quiry learning in science for the twenty-first century is likely to require and benefit from increasing use of electronically networked (e-networked) ICTs in the colla- tion, analysis and representation of data, in order to better engage students (Roth et al. 2008). ICT can play a key part in supporting an inquiry approach to teaching and learning science by enabling students to develop and expand their skills of ob- servation and research into questions of interest to them, and by assisting students to collaborate to create knowledge, use it to answer their questions and then com- municate their findings in multimodal ways. Teachers’ use of e-networked ICTs has been promoted as a way to motivate students and facilitate the development of collaborative and independent inquiry skills. Appropriate and meaningful integration of e-networked tools into a class’s learning activities has been found to support richer and deeper forms of interac- tion, dialogue and sharing of ideas among students and between teachers and stu- dents (McLoughlin & Lee 2007). Studies have demonstrated the merits of using networked ICTs to collect and collate, analyse and make sense of, as well as com- municate and represent information (Roth et al. 2008), and highlighted that they offer opportunities that can stimulate critical student thinking (Feldman et al. 2000). In this chapter, we define e-networked ICT in science classrooms as commu- nication technology tools that are Internet and/or mobile based and allow users to network and collaborate on their science inquiry projects. Such collaboration may occur within a class or across classes or even across schools or geographical locations. Users, therefore can gather, access, share or disseminate and communi- cate information with other known or unknown users (Feldman et al. 2000). Many schools now provide networked environments, for example through Internet-based Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as Moodle which they use to deliver e-learning programmes, through class websites that provide for blogs, or e-mail whereby teachers and students are able to share information and communicate in a virtual space.
Proceedings of the 29th Australasian Association of Engineering Education Conference 2018, 2018
Problem-based learning (PBL) helps engineering graduates develop the competencies needed in order... more Problem-based learning (PBL) helps engineering graduates develop the competencies needed in order to engage effectively with complex and uncertain workplace demands. PBL's effectiveness, however, also depends on students having the ability to manage themselves and to work collaboratively. As these professional competencies are not typically the focus of undergraduate engineering programmes, students tend to complete problem-based project work through their own initiatives without the skills relevant to project completion. On the other hand, project management competencies are commonly explicated and core in business and management disciplines. PURPOSE This paper reports on our project which addresses the research question: What is the impact of utilising a management-educated demonstrator to work with engineering students on their learning and development of project management competencies? APPROACH Our project intervention required students in a fourth-year advanced engineering problem-based course to regularly report their planning and project progress to a graduate management tutor (demonstrator manager). A third of the course marks was awarded by the tutor who provided business-informed coaching as feedback during each report planning session. Multiple forms of data were collected-pre-and post-course surveys, student focus group interviews, lecturer and tutor interviews and student formative and summative grades. RESULTS The findings highlighted that: (1) Students did gain a better understanding of key aspects of project management; (2) Students were generally supportive of the technique, but wanted more "introduction", exposing their naivete where grading on management was concerned; (3) The approach could foster more Engineering-Management collaboration at a university; (4) The approach supports the accreditation goal of developing engineering graduates' professional competencies related to management skills. CONCLUSIONS Given the multiple and complex challenges facing 21st-century society, engineering employers are increasingly seeking graduates who are both technical experts in their field and able to work with experts from other fields, including business and management. Our project contributes understandings on how interdisciplinary initiatives can develop such professional competencies that are important for engineering graduate work-readiness. KEYWORDS Interdisciplinary study, project management, problem-based learning
Proceedings of the New Zealand Association of Research in Education (NZARE2017), 2017
University-industry partnerships are vital if universities are to prepare work-ready graduates. H... more University-industry partnerships are vital if universities are to prepare work-ready graduates. However, there is limited research to understand how to maximise student learning through such linkages as a way to enhance graduates’ competencies especially in the New Zealand context. This paper examines the essential competencies sought by New Zealand employers in science and engineering and ways to strengthen university-industry partnership to enhance graduates’ development of these competencies and their readiness for the workplace.
Using a mixed-method approach, we conducted an online survey with a sample of 1159 science and engineering employers who receive work placement students from one New Zealand university. Responses were received from 244 participants (19.3% return rate) and follow-up focus group interviews were conducted with 17 employers from different organisations. The survey asked employers to rank 26 graduate competencies (as identified from the literature) in terms of how they considered these to be important across three aspects: important today, important in 10 years’ time, and, the competency level of recent graduates they have encountered. The quantitative data was analysed using the SPSS software while the qualitative data was thematically analysed using the NVivo software based on the meaning underlying the transcribed interviews. The survey data identified essential competencies while the focus group interviews offered insights regarding employer views on ways for reducing the gap and strengthening the partnership between university and industry.
The preliminary results indicated that employers see all competencies as important and hold competencies such as teamwork, communication skills, problem solving and continuous learning as particularly important for today and in 10 years’ time. Employers highlight that the university-industry linkage needs to be strengthened through strategies such as: • encouraging students’ voluntary participation in industries, • inviting guest lecturers from the industries, and, • enabling students to work on real-world projects relevant to the industry. These, in turn, would allow students to be more immersed in relevant workplace contexts and help them build a collegial network with employers during their university education.
Based on the findings, we propose a framework to illustrate the collaborative and multidimensional nature of the ways partnership between university-industry can play out. We see the framework as having value in informing practice and policy in developing more cohesive and collaborative partnership in the preparation of future graduates. The proposed framework could be used to inform engineering and science curriculum design with a focus on preparing more ‘work-ready’ graduates for the 21st century.
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Papers by Bronwen Cowie
PURPOSE This paper reports on our project which addresses the research question: What is the impact of utilising a management-educated demonstrator to work with engineering students on their learning and development of project management competencies? APPROACH Our project intervention required students in a fourth-year advanced engineering problem-based course to regularly report their planning and project progress to a graduate management tutor (demonstrator manager). A third of the course marks was awarded by the tutor who provided business-informed coaching as feedback during each report planning session. Multiple forms of data were collected-pre-and post-course surveys, student focus group interviews, lecturer and tutor interviews and student formative and summative grades.
RESULTS The findings highlighted that: (1) Students did gain a better understanding of key aspects of project management; (2) Students were generally supportive of the technique, but wanted more "introduction", exposing their naivete where grading on management was concerned; (3) The approach could foster more Engineering-Management collaboration at a university; (4) The approach supports the accreditation goal of developing engineering graduates' professional competencies related to management skills.
CONCLUSIONS Given the multiple and complex challenges facing 21st-century society, engineering employers are increasingly seeking graduates who are both technical experts in their field and able to work with experts from other fields, including business and management. Our project contributes understandings on how interdisciplinary initiatives can develop such professional competencies that are important for engineering graduate work-readiness. KEYWORDS Interdisciplinary study, project management, problem-based learning
Using a mixed-method approach, we conducted an online survey with a sample of 1159 science and engineering employers who receive work placement students from one New Zealand university. Responses were received from 244 participants (19.3% return rate) and follow-up focus group interviews were conducted with 17 employers from different organisations. The survey asked employers to rank 26 graduate competencies (as identified from the literature) in terms of how they considered these to be important across three aspects: important today, important in 10 years’ time, and, the competency level of recent graduates they have encountered. The quantitative data was analysed using the SPSS software while the qualitative data was thematically analysed using the NVivo software based on the meaning underlying the transcribed interviews. The survey data identified essential competencies while the focus group interviews offered insights regarding employer views on ways for reducing the gap and strengthening the partnership between university and industry.
The preliminary results indicated that employers see all competencies as important and hold competencies such as teamwork, communication skills, problem solving and continuous learning as particularly important for today and in 10 years’ time. Employers highlight that the university-industry linkage needs to be strengthened through strategies such as:
• encouraging students’ voluntary participation in industries,
• inviting guest lecturers from the industries, and,
• enabling students to work on real-world projects relevant to the industry.
These, in turn, would allow students to be more immersed in relevant workplace contexts and help them build a collegial network with employers during their university education.
Based on the findings, we propose a framework to illustrate the collaborative and multidimensional nature of the ways partnership between university-industry can play out. We see the framework as having value in informing practice and policy in developing more cohesive and collaborative partnership in the preparation of future graduates. The proposed framework could be used to inform engineering and science curriculum design with a focus on preparing more ‘work-ready’ graduates for the 21st century.