High performance sport coaching: Institutes of sport as sites for learning

There has been a marked increase in the number of government-funded, high performance institutes and academies of sport within Australia. Given that these organisations employ significant numbers of full-time performance sport coaches, they may be accurately characterised as workplaces. Performance sport coaches have underscored the importance of experience in developing their coaching skill. However, despite wide acceptance of the view that learning occurs everywhere but to different extents and with different efficiency, and the acknowledgement of current national coach education programs as insufficient, no sport coaching research has focused specifically on sport workplaces as sites for learning. This paper will review the current nature of coach development with a view to examining the interaction between what the workplace (institute/academy) affords the individual and the personal agency of the individual (high performance sports coaches).

Shadowing experiences and the extension of communities of practice: A case study of women education managers

Recent developments in workplace learning have focused on relational and social network views of learning that introduce practitioners to the norms, values and assumptions of the workplace as well as the learning processes through which knowledge is acquired. This article reports on a qualitative study of a mentoring programme designed to assist women education managers gain promotion by broadening their networks and stimulating insights into the senior management positions for which they were being prepared. The findings are that members reflexively assess and reassess goals and values to demystify knowledge and resolved cognitive dissonance in these processes. Moreover, this article shows that women participants learn from the networks, and that the networks learn from the participant in a reciprocal and informal way. The article concludes that organizational learning programmes must focus on enabling such networks to flourish.

A reflexive course for Masters students to understand and plan their own continuing professional development

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is seen as a vital part of a professional engineer’s career, by professional engineering institutions as well as individual engineers. Factors such as ever-changing workforce requirements and rapid technological change have resulted in engineers no longer being able to rely just on the skills they learnt at university or can pick up on the job; they must undergo a structured professional development with clear objectives to develop further professional knowledge, values and skills. This paper presents a course developed for students undertaking a Master of Engineering or Master of Project Management at the University of Queensland. This course was specifically designed to help students plan their continuing professional development, while developing professional skills such as communication, ethical reasoning, critical judgement and the need for sustainable development. The course utilised a work integrated learning pedagogy applied within a formal learning environment, and followed the competency based chartered membership program of Engineers Australia, the peak professional body of engineers in Australia. The course was developed and analysed using an action learning approach. The main research question was “Can extra teaching and learning activities be developed that will simulate workplace learning?” The students continually assessed and reflected upon their current competencies, skills and abilities, and planed for the future attainment of specific competencies which they identified as important to their future careers. Various evaluation methods, including surveys before and after the course, were used to evaluate the action learning intervention. It was found that the assessment developed for the course was one of the most important factors, not only in driving student learning, as is widely accepted, but also in changing the students’ understandings and acceptance of the need for continuous professional development. The students also felt that the knowledge, values and skills they developed would be beneficial for their future careers, as they were developed within the context of their own professional development, rather than to just get through the course. © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

Integrating technology in the workplace for people with spinal cord injury

Computer technology can overcome mobility and functional limitations resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) and enable re-employment. This study aimed to identify barriers and supports to effective technology use at work from the unique perspectives of technology users themselves. A qualitative research design was used to explore the perspectives of 11 technology users with SCI. In-depth, open-ended interviews and observations were conducted at each person’s workplace. Five major themes emerged: identifying the best or right technology; acquiring the technology; customizing and learning to use the technology; supporting the technology; and empowerment. Understanding these consumer perspectives enables professionals to empower people with SCI to optimize their work potential.

Consumer-identified barriers and strategies for optimizing technology use in the workplace

Purpose. This article explores the experiences of 26 assistive technology (AT) users having a range of physical impairments as they optimized their use of technology in the workplace. Method. A qualitative research design was employed using in-depth, open-ended interviews and observations of AT users in the workplace. Results. Participants identified many factors that limited their use of technology such as discomfort and pain, limited knowledge of the technology's features, and the complexity of the technology. The amount of time required for training, limited work time available for mastery, cost of training and limitations of the training provided, resulted in an over-reliance on trial and error and informal support networks and a sense of isolation. AT users enhanced their use of technology by addressing the ergonomics of the workstation and customizing the technology to address individual needs and strategies. Other key strategies included tailored training and learning support as well as opportunities to practice using the technology and explore its features away from work demands. Conclusions. This research identified structures important for effective AT use in the workplace which need to be put in place to ensure that AT users are able to master and optimize their use of technology.

To learn from one's mistakes: The role of impulsivity in positive workplace behaviours

Recentiy a neuropsychological model of learning has been proposed Qackson, 2002) which argues that Responsibility provides a cognitive re-expression of Impulsivit)' in the prediction of functional and dysfunctional behaviour. Jackson argues that primitive, instinctive impulses lead to antisocial behaviours and socio-cognitive regulators such as Responsibility leads to the re-expression of Impulsivity in terms of pro-social behaviours. Study 1 tests and supports the measurement properties of the assessment methodology associated with the model. Study 2 provides evidence in favour of the instinctive basis of Impulsivity and the conscious basis of Responsibility, which reinforces the underlying neuropsychological basis of the model. Study 3 uses structural equation modelling to determine if Responsibility mediates Impulsivity in the prediction of a latent variable representing work performance, work commitment and team performance, but does not mediate Impulsivit}' in the prediction of a latent variable representing sexual proclivity, workplace deviancy, gambling and beer consumption. Results provide strong support for Jackson's model and suggest that Impulsivity and Responsibility are fundamental to both functional and dysfunctional learning

Learning for fun: The unique contribution of educational leisure experiences

What do visitors want or expect from an educational leisure activity such as a visit to a museum, zoo, aquarium or other such experience? Is it to learn something or to experience learning? This paper uses the term 'learning for fun' to refer to the phenomenon in which visitors engage in a learning experience because they value and enjoy the process of learning itself. Five propositions regarding the nature of learning for fun are discussed, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from visitors to a range of educational leisure activities. The commonalities between learning for fun and other theoretical constructs such as 'experience,' 'flow', 'intrinsic motivation', and 'curiosity' are explored. It is concluded that learning for fun is a unique and distinctive offering of educational leisure experiences, with implications for future research and experience design.

Parameter setting and statistical learning

Three main models of parameter setting have been proposed: the Variational model proposed by Yang (2002; 2004), the Structured Acquisition model endorsed by Baker (2001; 2005), and the Very Early Parameter Setting (VEPS) model advanced by Wexler (1998). The VEPS model contends that parameters are set early. The Variational model supposes that children employ statistical learning mechanisms to decide among competing parameter values, so this model anticipates delays in parameter setting when critical input is sparse, and gradual setting of parameters. On the Structured Acquisition model, delays occur because parameters form a hierarchy, with higher-level parameters set before lower-level parameters. Assuming that children freely choose the initial value, children sometimes will miss-set parameters. However when that happens, the input is expected to trigger a precipitous rise in one parameter value and a corresponding decline in the other value. We will point to the kind of child language data that is needed in order to adjudicate among these competing models.

Mummy! Ball! Fish!: Why English-learning children produce nouns earlier than verbs

When English-learning children begin using words the majority of their early utterances (around 80%) are nouns. Compared to nouns, there is a paucity of verbs or non-verb relational words, such as 'up' meaning 'pick me up'. The primary explanations to account for these differences in use either argue in support of a 'cognitive account', which claims that verbs entail more cognitive complexity than nouns, or they provide evidence challenging this account. In this paper I propose an additional explanation for children's noun/verb asymmetry. Presenting a 'multi-modal account' of word-learning based on children's gesture and word combinations, I show that at the one-word stage English-learning children use gestures to express verb-like elements which leaves their words free to express noun-like elements.

Fundamental Skills in Physics: Embedded Learning

Student attitudes towards a subject affect their learning. For students in physics service courses, relevance is emphasised by vocational applications. A similar strategy is being used for students who aspire to continued study of physics, in an introduction to fundamental skills in experimental physics – the concepts, computational tools and practical skills involved in appropriately obtaining and interpreting measurement data. An educational module is being developed that aims to enhance the student experience by embedding learning of these skills in the practicing physicist’s activity of doing an experiment (gravity estimation using a rolling pendulum). The group concentrates on particular skills prompted by challenges such as: • How can we get an answer to our question? • How good is our answer? • How can it be improved? This explicitly provides students the opportunity to consider and construct their own ideas. It gives them time to discuss, digest and practise without undue stress, thereby assisting them to internalise core skills. Design of the learning activity is approached in an iterative manner, via theoretical and practical considerations, with input from a range of teaching staff, and subject to trials of prototypes.

Demotivation: Understanding Resistance to English Language Learning - The Case of Vietnamese Students

Demotivation in English language learning was investigated, using Vietnam as a case study, with three main foci: (i) the reasons (i.e., the demotives) underlying demotivation; (ii) the degree of influence of different demotives; and (iii) students’ experiences in overcoming demotivation. Using stimulated recall essays from 100 university students of their foreign language learning experiences, the findings indicated that demotivation was a significant issue for EFL learning, and a framework for discussing the different sources of demotives was developed. While some categories of demotives occurred more frequent than others, no category appeared to be more or less difficult to overcome. Rather, students’ awareness of the role of English language and their determination to succeed were critical factors in overcoming demotivation.

Extending teaching and learning initiatives in the cross-disciplinary field of biotechnology

Our AUTC Biotechnology study (Phases 1 and 2) identified a range of areas that could benefit from a common approach by universities nationally. A national network of biotechnology educators needs to be solidified through more regular communication, biennial meetings, and development of methods for sharing effective teaching practices and industry placement strategies, for example. Our aims in this proposed study are to: a. Revisit the state of undergraduate biotechnology degree programs nationally to determine their rate of change in content, growth or shrinkage in student numbers (as the biotech industry has had its ups and downs in recent years), and sustainability within their institutions in light of career movements of key personnel, tightening budgets, and governmental funding priorities. b. Explore the feasibility of a range of initiatives to benefit university biotechnology education to determine factors such as how practical each one is, how much buy-in could be gained from potentially participating universities and industry counterparts, and how sustainable such efforts are. One of many such initiatives arising in our AUTC Biotech study was a national register of industry placements for final-year students. c. During scoping and feasibility study, to involve our colleagues who are teaching in biotechnology – and contributing disciplines. Their involvement is meant to yield not only meaningful insight into how to strengthen biotechnology teaching and learning but also to generate ‘buy-in’ on any initiatives that result from this effort.

Triple objective team mentoring: achieving learning objectives with chemical engineering students

A sophisticated style of mentoring has been found to be essential to support engineering student teams undertaking technically demanding, real-world problems as part of a Project-Centred Curriculum (PCC) at The University of Queensland. The term ‘triple-objective’ mentoring was coined to define mentoring that addresses not only the student’s technical goal achievement but also their time and team management. This is achieved through a number of formal mentor meetings that are informed by a confidential instrument which requires students to individually reflect on team processes prior to the meeting, and a checklist of technical requirements against which the interim student team progress and achievements are assessed. Triple-objective mentoring requires significant time input and coordination by the academic but has been shown to ensure effective student team work and learning undiminished by team dysfunction. Student feedback shows they value the process and agree that the tools developed to support the process are effective in developing and assessing team work and skills with average scores mostly above 3 on a four point scale.