Introducing Engineering Education in the Middle School

This paper first describes a new three-year, longitudinal project that is implementing engineering education in three middle schools in Australia (grade levels 7-9). This important domain is untapped in Australia. Hence, as a starting point, we conducted a context analysis to help situate engineering education in a school system. We report on this analysis with respect to findings from one of two literature-based surveys that gathered middle-school student responses in mathematics (n=172) and science (n=166) towards understanding their dispositions for engineering education. ANOVA indicated gender differences for 3 out of 23 items in both mathematics and science. In addition, the majority of students agreed or strongly agreed with 17 of the 23 survey items, however, there were some differences between mathematics and science. We conclude the paper with some recommendations for establishing engineering education in schools, including the development of partnerships among engineering and education faculties, school systems, and industry to develop contemporary engineering resources to support school-level mathematics, science, and technology.

Assessment by interview and portfolio in a Graduate School Program

Assessment plays an integral role in teaching and learning in Higher Education and teachers have a strong interest in debates and commentaries on assessment as and for learning. In a one-year graduate entry teacher preparation program, the temptation is to emphasize assessment in an attempt to ensure students “cover” everything as part of a robust preparation for the profession. The risk is that, for students, assessment drives curriculum, and time spent in the completion of assignments is no guarantee of either effective learning or authentic preparation for teaching. Interviews as assessment provide an opportunity for a learning experience as well as an authentic task, since students will shortly be interviewing for employment in a “real world” situation. This paper reports on a project experimenting with interview panels as authentic assessment with pre-service early childhood teachers. At the end of their first semester of study, students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Education program at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia were required to participate in a panel interview where they were graded by a panel made up of three faculty staff and one undergraduate student enrolled in the four-year Bachelor of Education program. Students and panel members completed a questionnaire on their experience after the interview. Results indicated that both students and staff valued the experience and felt it was authentic. Results are discussed in terms of how the assessment interview and portfolio presentation supports graduating students in their preparation for employment interviews, and how this authentic assessment task has benefits for both students and teaching staff.

Analysing preservice teachers' potential for implementing engineering education in the middle school

Engineering is pivotal to any country's development. Yet there are insufficient engineers to take up available positions in many countries, including Australia (Engineers Australia, 2008). Engineering education is limited in Australia at the primary, middle and high school levels. One of the starting points for addressing this shortfall lies in preservice teacher education. This study explores second-year preservice teachers' potential to teach engineering in middle school, following their engagement with engineering concepts in their science curriculum unit and their teaching of engineering activities to Year 7 students. Using a literature-based pretest-posttest survey, items were categorised into four constructs (ie. personal professional attributes, student motivation, pedagogical knowledge and fused curricula). Results indicated that the preservice teachers' responses had not changed for instilling positive attitudes (88%) and accepting advice from colleagues (94%). However, there was statistical significance with 9 of the 25 survey items (p<0.05) after the preservice teachers' involvement in engineering activities. Fusing engineering education with other subjects, such as mathematics and science, is an essential first step in promoting preservice teachers' potential to implement engineering education in the middle school.

A 5 year review of information requests to QISU

The Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) has been collecting and analysing injury data in Queensland since 1988. QISU data is collected from participating emergency departments (EDs) in urban, rural and remote areas of Queensland. Using this data, QISU produces several injury bulletins per year on selected topics, providing a picture of Queensland injury, and setting this in the context of relevant local, national and international research and policy. These bulletins are used by numerous government and non-government groups to inform injury prevention and practice throughout the state. QISU bulletins are also used by local and state media to inform the general public of injury risk and prevention strategies. In addition to producing the bulletins, QISU regularly responds to requests for information from a variety of sources. These requests often require additional analysis of QISU data to tailor the response to the needs of the end user. This edition of the bulletin reviews 5 years of information requests to QISU.

Introduction of a short writing task to measure and develop academic literacy in first year health undergraduates

This paper describes an initiative in the Faculty of Health at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, where a short writing task was introduced to first year undergraduates in four courses including Public Health, Nursing, Social Work and Human Services, and Human Movement Studies. Over 1,000 students were involved in the trial. The task was assessed using an adaptation of the MASUS Procedure (Measuring the Academic Skills of University Students) (Webb & Bonanno, 1994). Feedback to the students including MASUS scores then enabled students to be directed to developmental workshops targeting their academic literacy needs. Students who achieved below the benchmark score were required to attend academic writing workshops in order to obtain the same summative 10% that was obtained by those who had achieved above the benchmark score. The trial was very informative, in terms of determining task appropriateness and timing, student feedback, student use of support, and student perceptions of the task and follow-up workshops. What we learned from the trial will be presented with a view to further refinement of this initiative.

Intentional first year curriculum design as a means of facilitating student engagement: some exemplars

The importance of student engagement to higher education quality, making deep learning outcomes possible for students, and achieving student retention, is increasingly being understood. The issue of student engagement in the first year of tertiary study is of particular significance. This paper takes the position that the first year curriculum, and the pedagogical principles that inform its design, are critical influencers of student engagement in the first year learning environment. We use an analysis of case studies prepared for Kift’s ALTC Senior Fellowship to demonstrate ways in which student engagement in the first year of tertiary study can be successfully supported through intentional curriculum design that motivates students to learn, provides a positive learning climate, and encourages students to be active in their learning.

Histology challenge : an interactive program for 1st year students

Our students come from diverse backgrounds. They need flexibility in their learning, and opportunities to review aspects of curriculum they are less confident with. An online teaching and learning programme called the Histology Challenge has been developed to supplement learning experiences offered in several first year anatomy and anatomy & physiology units at QUT. The programme is designed to be integrated with the existing Blackboard sites. The Histology Challenge emphasises the foundation concept that a complex system, such as the human body, can be better understood by examining its simpler components. The tutorial allows students to examine the cells and tissues which ultimately determine structural and functional properties of body organs. The program is interactive, asking students to make decisions and choices, demonstrating an integrated understanding of systemic and cellular aspects. It provides users with the ability to progress at their own pace and to test their understanding and knowledge. For the developer the learning activity can be easily controlled and modified via the use of text files. There are several key elements of this programme, designed to promote specific aspects of student learning. Minimum text is used, instead there is a strong emphasis on instructive artwork and original, high quality histology images presented within a framework that reinforces learning and promotes problem solving skills.

Cherbourg State School in historical context.

Cherbourg State School is some 300 kilometres northwest of Brisbane. It is situated in an Aboriginal community at Cherbourg with approximately 250 students, all of whom are Indigenous Australian children. Cherbourg State School aims to generate good academic outcomes for its students from kindergarten to Year 7 and nurture a strong and positive sense of what it means to be Aboriginal in today's society. In a context where the community continues to grapple with many social issues born of the historical processes of dispossession and disempowerment, Cherbourg State School is determined that its children can and will learn to become 'Strong and Smart'. It is a journey that has been charted by Chris Sarra, the school's first Aboriginal principal, in his paper Young and Black and Deadly: Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Indigenous Students, which describes how pride and expectations were engendered in the school over a four-year period from 1998. In this article the author discusses the historical context of the school and its impact on the Indigenous people of Cherbourg. The aim is to consider the historical, political, social and cultural context around the creation of Cherbourg State School. The author critically examines the historical records of the role of the State Government and the white settlers in the setting up and creation of the Aboriginal Reserve and later the primary school. Throughout the author addresses an absence � a voice missing from history � the voice of the Aboriginal people. This exercise in collective memory was designed to provide an opportunity for those who have seldom been given the opportunity to tell their story. Instead of the official view of Cherbourg School it provides a narrative which restores the victims of history to a place of dignity and indeed humanity.

Year 8, 9 and 10 students’ understanding and access of percent knowledge

This paper reports on Years 8, 9 and 10 students’ knowledge of percent problem types, use of diagrams, and type of solution strategy. Non- and semi-proficient students displayed the expected inflexible formula approach to solution but proficient students used a flexible mixture of estimation, number sense and trial and error instead of expected schema based methods.

Exploring young children's web searching and technoliteracy

Purpose – This paper aims to report findings from an exploratory study investigating the web interactions and technoliteracy of children in the early childhood years. Previous research has studied aspects of older children’s technoliteracy and web searching; however, few studies have analyzed web search data from children younger than six years of age. Design/methodology/approach – The study explored the Google web searching and technoliteracy of young children who are enrolled in a “preparatory classroom” or kindergarten (the year before young children begin compulsory schooling in Queensland, Australia). Young children were video- and audio-taped while conducting Google web searches in the classroom. The data were qualitatively analysed to understand the young children’s web search behaviour. Findings – The findings show that young children engage in complex web searches, including keyword searching and browsing, query formulation and reformulation, relevance judgments, successive searches, information multitasking and collaborative behaviours. The study results provide significant initial insights into young children’s web searching and technoliteracy. Practical implications – The use of web search engines by young children is an important research area with implications for educators and web technologies developers. Originality/value – This is the first study of young children’s interaction with a web search engine.

A problem-posing intervention in the development of problem-solving competence of underachieving, middle-year students

This study reported on the issues surrounding the acquisition of problem-solving competence of middle-year students who had been ascertained as above average in intelligence, but underachieving in problem-solving competence. In particular, it looked at the possible links between problem-posing skills development and improvements in problem-solving competence. A cohort of Year 7 students at a private, non-denominational, co-educational school was chosen as participants for the study, as they undertook a series of problem-posing sessions each week throughout a school term. The lessons were facilitated by the researcher in the students’ school setting. Two criteria were chosen to identify participants for this study. Firstly, each participant scored above the 60th percentile in the standardized Middle Years Ability Test (MYAT) (Australian Council for Educational Research, 2005) and secondly, the participants all scored below the cohort average for Criterion B (Problem-solving Criterion) in their school mathematics tests during the first semester of Year 7. Two mutually exclusive groups of participants were investigated with one constituting the Comparison Group and the other constituting the Intervention Group. The Comparison Group was chosen from a Year 7 cohort for whom no problem-posing intervention had occurred, while the Intervention Group was chosen from the Year 7 cohort of the following year. This second group received the problem-posing intervention in the form of a teaching experiment. That is, the Comparison Group were only pre-tested and post-tested, while the Intervention Group was involved in the teaching experiment and received the pre-testing and post-testing at the same time of the year, but in the following year, when the Comparison Group have moved on to the secondary part of the school. The groups were chosen from consecutive Year 7 cohorts to avoid cross-contamination of the data. A constructionist framework was adopted for this study that allowed the researcher to gain an “authentic understanding” of the changes that occurred in the development of problem-solving competence of the participants in the context of a classroom setting (Richardson, 1999). Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a combination of methods including researcher observation and journal writing, video taping, student workbooks, informal student interviews, student surveys, and pre-testing and post-testing. This combination of methods was required to increase the validity of the study’s findings through triangulation of the data. The study findings showed that participation in problem-posing activities can facilitate the re-engagement of disengaged, middle-year mathematics students. In addition, participation in these activities can result in improved problem-solving competence and associated developmental learning changes. Some of the changes that were evident as a result of this study included improvements in self-regulation, increased integration of prior knowledge with new knowledge and increased and contextualised socialisation.

Sustainability of a multimodal intervention to promote lifestyle factors associated with the prevention of cardiovascular disease in midlife Australian women : a 5-year follow-up

We evaluated sustainability of an intervention to reduce women’s cardiovascular risk factors, determined the influence of self-efficacy, and described women’s current health. We used a mixed method approach that utilized forced choice and open-ended questionnaire items about health status, habits, and self-efficacy. Sixty women, average age 61, returned questionnaires. Women in the original intervention group continued health behaviors intended to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) at a higher rate than the control group, supporting the feasibility of a targeted intervention built around women’s individual goals. The role of self-efficacy in behavior change is unclear. The original intervention group reported higher self-reported health.

Enhancing transition : an enhanced model of clinical placement for final year nursing students

Specialised support for student nurses making the transition to graduate nurse can be crucial to successful and smooth adjustment, and can create a path to positive and stable career experiences. This paper describes an enhanced model of final year nursing student placements which was trialled in 2006 at the Queensland University of Technology. The model involved collaboration with two major urban health services and resources were developed to support effective transition experiences. Ninety-two students, including 29 trial participants and 63 non-trial participants were assessed on preparedness for professional practice, before and after the trial semester. Results indicated an increase in preparedness across the entire sample, but students participating in the trial did not differ significantly in overall preparedness change from those who did not participate. Higher baseline preparedness in the trial group highlighted the possibility that proactive students who choose enrichment experiences tend to be likelier to gain benefit from such options than those who do not. Qualitative findings from focus groups conducted with 12 transition group students highlighted that one of the main beneficial aspects of the experience for students was the sense of belonging to a team that understood their learning needs and could work constructively with them.

Associations among body size dissatisfaction, perceived dietary control, and diet history in African American and European American women

European American (EA) women report greater body dissatisfaction and less dietary control than do African American (AA) women. This study investigated whether ethnic differences in dieting history contributed to differences in body dissatisfaction and dietary control, or to differential changes that may occur during weight loss and regain. Eighty-nine EA and AA women underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure body composition and completed questionnaires to assess body dissatisfaction and dietary control before, after, and one year following, a controlled weight-loss intervention. While EA women reported a more extensive dieting history than AA women, this difference did not contribute to ethnic differences in body dissatisfaction and perceived dietary control. During weight loss, body satisfaction improved more for AA women, and during weight regain, dietary self-efficacy worsened to a greater degree for EA women. Ethnic differences in dieting history did not contribute significantly to these differential changes. Although ethnic differences in body image and dietary control are evident prior to weight loss, and some change differentially by ethnic group during weight loss and regain, differences in dieting history do not contribute significantly to ethnic differences in body image and dietary control.