Revisiting the impact of formative assessment opportunities in student learning

This project developed as a result of some inconclusive data from an investigation of whether a relationship existed between the use of formative assessment opportunities and performance, as measured by final grade. We were expecting to show our colleagues and students that use of formative assessment resources had the potential to improve performance of first year students. This first study, undertaken in semester 1 2002, indicated that there was no apparent relationship between the two, even though the students reported how useful they found the formative assessment resources. This led us to ask if there was a transition effect such that students were not yet working in an independent way and making full use of the resources, and/or whether in order to see an effect we needed to persuade non-users of the resources to become users, before investigating if use can be correlated with improvement in performance. With the 2002-3 NextEd ASCILITE Research Grant we set out to repeat our project and to look at use and usefulness of resources in both first and second semester, to encourage non-users to become users and to investigate the relationship between use and performance. Now our story has a different ending.

Revisiting associations between student performance outcomes and formative assessment opportunities: is there any impact on student learning?

This project developed as a result of some inconclusive data from an investigation of whether a relationship existed between the use of formative assessment opportunities and performance, as measured by final grade. We were expecting to show our colleagues and students that use of formative assessment resources had the potential to improve performance. This first study, done in semester 1 2002, indicated that there was no apparent relationship even though the students reported how useful they found the resources. This led us to ask if there was a transition effect
such that students were not yet working in an independent way and making full use of the resources, and/or whether in order to see an effect we needed to persuade non-users of the resources to become users before investigating if use can be correlated with improvement in performance. With the 2002-3 NextEd ASCILITE Research Grant we set out to repeat our project and to look at use and usefulness of resources in both first and second semester, to encourage non-users to become users and to investigate use with performance. Now our story has a different ending.

Meat consumption among 18-month-old children participating in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study

Objective: To document meat consumption among 18-month-old children, for use in refining population dietary assessment methods and dietary guidance for young children.

Design: A secondary analysis of data collected in 1998-2000 from the 18 months follow up of the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study: an intervention trial of omega-3 oil supplementation and house-dust mite reduction, from birth to five years.

Subjects and setting: Pregnant women whose unborn children had an atopic family history were recruited from antenatal clinics of six hospitals in western Sydney. Carers of 429 18-month-old children (80% response) satisfactorily completed three-day weighed food records.

Main outcome measures: Mean and median intakes per day and portion sizes of various meats and meat products.

Statistical analyses: T-tests for comparing gender differences; Pearson correlation and one-way analysis of variance for relationships between meat and nutrient intake.

Results: During the recording period 94% of the children ate meat. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets^TM, beef mince, and beef sausages were the most frequently consumed meats. Median portion sizes ranged from 20-50 g, and were considerably smaller than 'usual' portions specified on food frequency questionnaires in common use. Higher meat diets in this age group were not associated with higher intakes of iron or zinc per MJ.

Conclusion: The marginally low intakes of iron and zinc in this age group could be improved by greater use of cuts of red meat appropriately prepared for toddlers.

Consumption of 'extra' foods (energy-dense, nutrient poor) among children aged 16-24 months from western Sydney, Australia

Objective: This study evaluates the contribution of energy-dense, nutrient-poor ‘extra’ foods to the diets of 16–24-month-old children from western Sydney, Australia.

Design:   An analysis of cross-sectional data collected on participants in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS), a randomised trial investigating the primary prevention of asthma from birth to 5 years. We collected 3-day weighed food records, calculated nutrient intakes, classified recorded foods into major food groups, and further classified foods as either ‘core’ or ‘extras’ according to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

Setting:  Pregnant women, whose unborn child was at risk of developing asthma because of a family history, were recruited from all six hospitals in western Sydney, Australia. Data for this study were collected in clinic visits and at participants’ homes at the 18-month assessment.

Participants: Four hundred and twenty-nine children participating in the CAPS study; 80% of the total cohort.

Results:  The mean consumption of ‘extra’ foods was xs223C150 g day− 1 and contributed 25–30% of the total energy, fat, carbohydrate and sodium to the diets of the study children. ‘Extra’ foods also contributed around 20% of fibre, 10% of protein and zinc, and about 5% of calcium. Children in the highest quintile of ‘extra’ foods intake had a slightly higher but not significantly different intake of energy from those in the lowest quintile. However, significant differences were evident for the percentage of energy provided by carbohydrate and sugars (higher) and protein and saturated fat (lower). The intake of most micronutrients was also significantly lower among children in the highest quintile of consumption. The intake of ‘extra’ foods was inversely associated with the intake of core foods.

Conclusions:  The high percentage of energy contributed by ‘extra’ foods and their negative association with nutrient density emphasise the need for dietary guidance for parents of children aged 1–2 years. These preliminary data on commonly consumed ‘extra’ foods and portion sizes may inform age-specific dietary assessment methods.

Staff and student views of the usefulness of information technology materials within an integrated curriculum: are these educational resources effective in promoting student learning?

This paper reports on a study on the perceived effectiveness of educational resources within the context of a single course in a first-year biology program at the University of Sydney (Australia). The overall study examined the dynamic state of perceptions towards these resources by the major stakeholders involved with the course (students, teaching staff, and technical staff). A major focus of the research was the extent to which the students used the computer-based resources made available to them, and staff and students' perceptions of the usefulness of these resources in supporting their learning. Specifically, results are discussed related to student use of computers and the Internet, use of biology online materials in the virtual learning environment, use and perceptions of communication technologies, and use and perceptions of computer-based online resources. Data were collected from the students using surveys and focus groups and from staff using surveys and interviews within an action-research paradigm. While the majority of students found the resources to be of use in supporting learning, some did not find them useful, and some did not use them at all. In comparison, the staff had higher expectations of both usage and usefulness. The level of student use was not a function of access to computers or the Internet, so the findings suggest that the provision of online resources will not necessarily generate value-added learning.

Improving science uptake in coastal zone management : principles for science engagement and their application in south-eastern Tasmania

Sustainable management of the coastal zone represents a considerable challenge to Australian society. This challenge is rooted in the complexity of the biophysical and sociocultural characteristics of coastal areas, including uncertainty about system characteristics and processes, and the diversity of stakeholders, their interests, values and perspectives, and the jurisdictions involved in coastal governance and management. Given this complexity of coastal zone management, scientific and other forms of knowledge can affect decision-making and human action in diverse ways, which will often depend on the ability of scientists to engage effectively with relevant stakeholders.

Launch of Tracy Ryan's Hoard

This is a review of an important eco-feminist poetry collection delivered as a launch talk celebrating poetry as a form of eco-feminist activism.

Soil carbon stocks in wetlands of New Zealand and impact of land conversion since European settlement

Freshwater wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services, one of which is climate regulation. They are known to contain large pools of carbon (C) that can be affected by land-use change. In New Zealand, only 10 % of the original freshwater wetlands remain due to conversion into agriculture. This study presents the first national estimation of C stocks in freshwater wetlands based on the compilation of soil carbon data from 126 sites across the country. We estimated C stocks for two soil sample types (mineral and organic) in different classes of wetlands (fen, bog, swamp, marsh, pakihi and ephemeral), and extrapolated C stocks to national level using GIS. Bogs had high C content and low bulk densities, while ephemeral wetlands were the reverse. A regression between bulk density and C content showed a high influence of the soil type. Average C densities (average ± standard error) were 1,348 ± 184 t C ha⁻¹ at full peat depth (average of 3.9 m) and 102 ± 5 t C ha⁻¹ (0.3 m depth) for organic soils, and 121 ± 24 t C ha⁻¹ (0.3 m depth) for mineral soils. At national level, C stocks were estimated at 11 ± 1 Mt (0.3 m depth) and 144 ± 17 Mt (full peat depth) in organic soils, and 23 ± 1 Mt (0.3 m depth) in mineral soils. Since European settlement, 146,000 ha of organic soils have been converted to agriculture, which could release between 0.5 and 2 Mt CO2 year⁻¹, equivalent to 1–6 % of New Zealand’s total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Abrupt late Pleistocene ecological and climate change on Tahiti (French Polynesia)

Aim: To reconstruct ecological changes from the fossil record of a unique wetland on the tropical oceanic island of Tahiti, between 44.5 and 38 cal. kyr bp. Location: Vaifanaura'amo'ora, Tamanu Plateau, Punaru'u Valley, Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia (17°38'S, 149°32'50″E). Methods: Fossil pollen, spores, seeds, diatoms and invertebrates were examined from a 3.7 m core consisting of Pleistocene-aged algal sediment overlain by late Holocene peat. Results: Between 44.5 and 41.5 cal. kyr bp, Ficus trees, sub-shrubs including Sigesbeckia orientalis L., the C4 grass species Paspalum vaginatum Sw., and extinct Pritchardia palms dominated the Vaifanaura'amo'ora wetland. This vegetation association is no longer present in the tropical oceanic Pacific islands. After 41.5 cal. kyr bp, the climate rapidly became drier and cooler with grasses, sedges and ferns dominating the vegetation. Algal sediment accumulation ceased after 38 cal. kyr bp due to prolonged dry climate conditions recorded across the Pacific Ocean. Sediment accumulation recommenced in the late Holocene. Main conclusions: The ecological responses identified from Tahiti provide evidence counter to the prevailing view that the tropical oceans buffered the ecological effects of abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period.