High fidelity simulation; challenges encountered in developing and implementing student learning experiences, staff education and researching approaches to learning

High fidelity simulation as a teaching and learning approach is being embraced by many schools of nursing. Our school embarked on integrating high fidelity (HF) simulation into the undergraduate clinical education program in 2011. Low and medium fidelity simulation has been used for many years, but this did not simplify the integration of HF simulation. Alongside considerations of how and where HF simulation would be integrated, issues arose with: student consent and participation for observed activities; data management of video files; staff development, and conceptualising how methods for student learning could be researched. Simulation for undergraduate student nurses commenced as a formative learning activity, undertaken in groups of eight, where four students undertake the ‘doing’ role and four are structured observers, who then take a formal role in the simulation debrief. Challenges for integrating simulation into student learning included conceptualising and developing scenarios to trigger students’ decision making and application of skills, knowledge and attitudes explicit to solving clinical ‘problems’. Developing and planning scenarios for students to ‘try out’ skills and make decisions for problem solving lay beyond choosing pre-existing scenarios inbuilt with the software. The supplied scenarios were not concept based but rather knowledge, skills and technology (of the manikin) focussed. Challenges lay in using the technology for the purpose of building conceptual mastery rather than using technology simply because it was available. As we integrated use of HF simulation into the final year of the program, focus was on building skills, knowledge and attitudes that went beyond technical skill, and provided an opportunity to bridge the gap with theory-based knowledge that students often found difficult to link to clinical reality. We wished to provide opportunities to develop experiential knowledge based on application and clinical reasoning processes in team environments where problems are encountered, and to solve them, the nurse must show leadership and direction. Other challenges included students consenting for simulations to be videotaped and ethical considerations of this. For example if one student in a group of eight did not consent, did this mean they missed the opportunity to undertake simulation, or that others in the group may be disadvantaged by being unable to review their performance. This has implications for freely given consent but also for equity of access to learning opportunities for students who wished to be taped and those who did not. Alongside this issue were the details behind data management, storage and access. Developing staff with varying levels of computer skills to use software and undertake a different approach to being the ‘teacher’ required innovation where we took an experiential approach. Considering explicit learning approaches to be trialled for learning was not a difficult proposition, but considering how to enact this as research with issues of blinding, timetabling of blinded groups, and reducing bias for testing results of different learning approaches along with gaining ethical approval was problematic. This presentation presents examples of these challenges and how we overcame them.

Nurses driving change to improve access to education and quality in lcinical teaching : A partnership between Australia and Viet Nam

In Viet Nam, standards of nursing care fail to meet international competency standards. This increases risks to patient safety (eg. hospital acquired infection), consequently the Ministry of Health identified the need to strengthen nurse education in Viet Nam. This paper presents experiences of a piloted clinical teaching model developed in Ha Noi, to strengthen nurse led institutional capacity for in-service education and clinical teaching. Historically 90% of nursing education was conducted by physicians and professional development in hospitals for nurses was limited. There was minimal communication between hospitals and nursing schools about expectations of students and assessment and quality of the learning experience. As a result when students came to the clinical sites, no-one understood how to plan their learning objectives and utilise teaching and learning approaches appropriate to their level. Therefore student learning outcomes were variable. They focussed on procedures and techniques and “learning how to do” rather than learning how to plan, implement and evaluate patient care. This project is part of a multi-component capacity building program designed to improve nurse education in Viet Nam. The project was funded jointly by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Australian Agency for International Development. Its aim was to develop a collaborative clinically-based model of teaching to create an environment that encourages evidence-based, student-centred clinical learning. Accordingly, strategies introduced promoted clinical teaching of competency based nursing practice utilising the regionally endorsed nurse core competency standards. Thirty nurse teachers from Viet Duc University Hospital and Hanoi Medical College participated in the program. These nurses and nurse teachers undertook face to face education in three workshops, and completed three assessment items. Assessment was applied, where participants integrated the concepts learned in each workshop and completed assessment tasks related to planning, implementing and evaluating teaching in the clinical area. Twenty of these participants were then selected to undertake a two week study tour in Brisbane, Australia where the clinical teaching model was refined and an action plan developed to integrate into both organisations with possible implementation across Viet Nam. Participants on this study tour also experienced clinical teaching and learning at QUT by attending classes held at the university, and were able to visit selected hospitals to experience clinical teaching in these settings as well. Effectiveness of the project was measured throughout the implementation phase and in follow up visits to the clinical site. To date changes have been noted on an individual and organisational level. There is also significant planning underway to incorporate the clinical teaching model developed across the organisation and how this may be implemented in other regions. Two participants have also been involved in disseminating aspects of this approach to clinical teaching in Ho Chi Minh, with further plans for more in-depth dissemination to occur throughout the country.

Investigating higher education and secondary school web-based learning environments using the WEBLEI

Classroom learning environments are rapidly changing as new digital technologies become more education-friendly. What are students’ perceptions of their technology-rich learning environments? This question is critical as it may have an impact on the effectiveness of the new technologies in classrooms. There are numerous reliable and valid learning environment instruments which have been used to ascertain students’ perceptions of their learning environments. This chapter focuses on one of these instruments, the Web-based Learning Environment Instrument (WEBLEI) (Chang & Fisher, 2003). Since its initial development, this instrument has been used to study a range of learning environments and this chapter presents the findings of two example case-studies that involve such environments.

Education and training of medical physicists in south East Asia: Accomplishments and challenges

John Cameron has made significant contributions to the field of Medical Physics. His contributions encompassed research and development, technical developments and education. He had a particular interest in the education of medical physicists in developing countries. Structured clinical training is also an essential component of the professional development of a medical physicist. This paper considers aspects of the clinical training and education of medical physicists in South-East Asia and the challenges facing the profession in the region if it is to keep pace with the rapid increase in the amount and technical complexity of medical physics infrastructure in the region.

The legacy of Ian Hunter's work on literature education and the history of reading practices : some preliminary remarks

Ian Hunter's early work on the history of literature education and the emergence of English as school subject issued a bold challenge to traditional accounts that have in the main focused on English either as knowledge of a particular field or as ideology. The alternative proposal put forward by Hunter and supported by detailed historical analysis is that English exists as a series of historically contingent techniques and practices for shaping the self-managing capacities of children. The challenge for the field is to advance this historical work and to examine possible implications for English teaching.

Bridging the gap between tertiary education and work : situated learning in accountancy

In professions such as teaching, health sciences (medicine, nursing), and built environment, significant work-based learning through practica is an essential element before graduation. However, there is no such requirement in professional accounting education. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory qualitative case study of the implementation of a Workplace Learning Experience Program in Accountancy at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia. The interview-based study documents the responses of university students and graduates to this program. The study demonstrates that a 100 hour work placement in Accountancy can enhance student learning. It highlights the potential value of the application of sociocultural theories of learning, especially the concept of situated learning involving legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). This research adds to a small body of empirical accounting education literature relating to the benefits of work placements prior to graduation. The effectiveness of this short, for credit, unpaid program should encourage other universities to implement a similar work placement program as a form of pre-graduation learning in professional accounting education.

A wound management education and training needs analysis of health consumers and the relevant health workforce and stocktake of available education and training activities and resources

The goals of this project were to determine the education and training needs of health consumers and the relevant health workforce and to identify and map the available education and training activities and resources. The methods used to collect the data included online surveys and one on one interviews of relevant patients and their carers. The project manager actively sought to engage with the key wound management leaders and advanced clinicians to gain their support and views on the priority education and training issues. The response to all data collection methods was pleasing with almost five hundred responses to the general wound workforce online survey. The data supported the need for more wound management education and training and identified some particular topics of need, such as utilising wound investigations and understanding wound products, pharmaceuticals and devices. The occupational groups with the highest need appear to be those working in primary health care, such as practice nurses and GPs, and those working in residential aged care facilities. The education and training stocktake identified a wide range of activities currently available, the majority being provided in a face to face format. The next stage of the project will be to form some clear and achievable priority action areas based on the available data. An online directory of wound management education and training activities and resources will be developed and further development will be undertaken on a knowledge and skills framework for the wound management workforce. Additionally, transfer of learning factors in the general practice environment will be assessed and strategies will be developed to improve the pre-entry or undergraduate wound management training within relevant higher education programs.

Distance education and the application of academagogy : a case study

The education sector has dramatically changed in the past half decade. In a time of globalisation of education and tightening budgets, various paradigm shifts and challenges have rapidly changed learning and teaching. These include: meeting student expectation for more engaging, more interactive learning experiences, the increased focus to deliver content online, and the complexities of fast-changing technologies. Rising to these challenges and responding to them is a complex and multi-faceted task. This paper discusses educational theories and issues and explores current educational practices in the context of teaching undergraduate students via distance education in the university context. A case study applies a framework drawn from engineering education using the learner-centric concept of academagogy. Results showed that academagogy actively empowers students to build effective learning, and engages facilitators in meaningful teaching and delivery methods.

Mandate for remote sensing education and the remote sensing core curriculum

Consensus was developed by the remote sensing community during the 1980s and early 1990s regarding the need for an organized approach to teaching remote sensing fundamentals for collegiate institutions. Growth of the remote sensing industry might be seriously hampered without concerted efforts to bolster the capacity to teach state-of-the-practice remote sensing theory and practice to the next generation of professionals. A concerted effort of educators, researchers, government, and industry began in 1992 to meet these demands leading to the creation of the Remote Sensing Core Curriculum. The RSCC is currently sustained by cooperative efforts of the ASPRS, ICRSE, NASA, NCGIA, and others in the remote sensing community. Growth of the RSCC into the K-12 community resulted from its Internet teaching foundation that enables comprehensive and response reference links to the whole of the education community.

Arts education and iPads in the early years

This chapter takes as a working premise that digital culture is embedded in the every-day life experiences of most children living in post-industrial societies, both in home and, increasingly, in educational contexts. We outline how our research project investigated strategies for developing learning in the arts for young children by using the iPad as a creative device, rather than one on which they consume content in the form of games, on demand television and streaming video. We ask critical questions around creative ecologies and creative production; these grow from our observations on how young children and their families engaged with iPads through activities such as combining painting with digital photography. Analysis of work samples produced by children during the project enables interrogation of the ways in which young children can participate in arts practices and learning when digital media production is available. The chapter is structured around three themes of practice for iPad-based arts and creative education in preschool settings.

Seeing it differently: physical education, teacher education and the possibilities of personal construct theory

The celebrated work of Lortie (1975) alerted teacher educators to the extended period of 'apprenticeship' that student teachers have been through before they arrive at teacher education programmes. The subjective implicit theories (Marland, 1992) developed by prospective teachers are shaped by their lifeworld experiences at school and in the case of physical education teachers, their experiences in sport. The biography of physical education teacher education (PETE) students tends to be characterised by ecto-mesomorphic individuals who have been socialised by the rigours of highly competitive sport (Gore, 1990; Macdonald, 1992; Rossi, 1996). We can add to this, the requirements of teacher preparation in physical education which for the most part are dominated by the traditions and rhetoric of the 'natural' bio-physical sciences; largely a legacy of Henry's (1964) work on physical education as an academic discipline, as well as that of Abernathy and Waltz the same year (Abernathy & Waltz, 1964). In the United Kingdom, Curl (1973) further advanced the argument in an attempt to justify human movement as an independent field of study with its own corpus of knowledge. It is little wonder then, that the dominant pedagogical discourse in physical education is, as Tinning (1991) discusses, one of performance pedagogy (see also Hendry, 1986 for an earlier discussion). The knowledge required to support such a discourse could be described as 'official' (Apple, 1993) and it assumes such status by virtue of the power appropriated by and bestowed upon the scientific community in PETE (Macdonald & Tinning, 1995; Sparkes, 1989, 1993). However, there are social reifiers too, and these tend to relate to the social construction of the body (Kirk, 1993; Kirk & Spiller, 1994; Gilroy, 1994) and what Tinning (1985) has termed the Cult of Slenderness. Furthermore the 'slender image' has become a signifier of 'good health'. This is inextricably linked to what might be considered as a health triplex—'exercise = fitness = health' (see Kirk & Colquhoun, 1989; Tinning & Kirk, 1991) which in Australia, underpins curriculum packages such as Daily Physical Education which teachers (often including physical education primary...

Beyond social justice agendas: Indigenous knowledges in pre-service teacher education and practice in Australia

The space and positioning of Indigenous knowledges (IK) within Australian curricula and pedagogy are often contentious, informed by the broader Australian socio-cultural, political and economic landscape. Against changing educational policy, historically based on the myth of terra nullius, we discuss the shifting priorities for embedding Indigenous knowledges in educational practice in university and school curricula and pedagogy. In this chapter, we argue that personal and professional commitment to social justice is an important starting point for embedding Indigenous knowledges in the Australian school curricula and pedagogy. Developing teacher knowledge around embedding IK is required to enable teachers’ preparedness to navigate a contested historical/colonising space in curriculum decision-making, teaching and learning. We draw one mpirical data from a recent research project on supporting pre-service teachers as future curriculum leaders; the project was funded by the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT). This project aimed to support future curriculum leaders to develop their knowledge of embedding IK at one Australian university. We propose supporting the embedding of IK in situ with pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers on practicum in real, sustained and affirming ways that shifts the recognition of IK from personal commitment to social justice in education, to one that values Indigenous knowledges as content to educate (Connell, 1993). We argue that sustained engagement with and appreciation of IKhas the potential to decolonise Australian curricula, shift policy directions and enhance race relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians .