Work-based HE pathways for the electrical power engineering industry

Aston University has been working closely with key companies from within the electricity industry for several years, initially in the development and delivery of an employer-led foundation degree programme in electrical power engineering, and more recently, in the development of a progression pathway for foundation degree graduates to achieve a Bachelors-level qualification. The Electrical Power Engineering foundation degree was developed in close consultation with the industry such that the programme is essentially owned by the sector. Programme delivery has required significant shifts away from traditional HE teaching patterns whilst maintaining the quality requirement and without compromise of the academic degree standard. Block teaching (2-week slots), partnership delivery, off-site student support and work-based learning have all presented challenges as we have sought to maximise the student learning experience and to ensure that the graduates are fit-for purpose and "hit the ground running" within a defined career structure for sponsoring companies. This paper will outline the skills challenges facing the sector; describe programme developments and delivery challenges; before articulating some observations and conclusions around programme effectiveness, impact of foundation degree graduates in the workplace and the significance of the close working relationship with key sponsoring companies. Copyright © 2012, September.

Teaching University-Level Mathematics Using Mathematica

This paper considers the use of the computer algebra system Mathematica for teaching university-level mathematics subjects. Outlined are basic Mathematica concepts, connected with different mathematics areas: algebra, linear algebra, geometry, calculus and analysis, complex functions, numerical analysis and scientific computing, probability and statistics. The course “Information technologies in mathematics”, which involves the use of Mathematica, is also presented - discussed are the syllabus, aims, approaches and outcomes.

Stochastic Arithmetic Theory and Experiments

Stochastic arithmetic has been developed as a model for exact computing with imprecise data. Stochastic arithmetic provides confidence intervals for the numerical results and can be implemented in any existing numerical software by redefining types of the variables and overloading the operators on them. Here some properties of stochastic arithmetic are further investigated and applied to the computation of inner products and the solution to linear systems. Several numerical experiments are performed showing the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Teacher use of personal narratives in the Japanese university english language classroom

While storytelling in conversation has been extensively investigated, much less is known about storytelling in the English language classroom, particularly teachers telling their personal experience stories, termed teacher personal narratives in this study. Teacher personal narratives, a combination of the ancient art of human storytelling and the current practices of teaching, offer an innovative approach to language teaching and learning. This thesis examines teacher personal narrative use in Japanese university English language classrooms and is of relevance to both practicing classroom teachers and teacher educators because it explores the role, significance, and effectiveness of personal stories told by teachers. The pedagogical implications which the findings may have for language teaching and learning as well as for teacher education programs are also discussed. Four research questions were posed: 1. What are the characteristics of teacher personal narratives? 2. When, how, and why do language teachers use personal narratives in the classroom? 3. What is the reaction of learners to teacher personal narratives? 4. How do teacher personal narratives provide opportunities for student learning? A mixed methods approach using the tradition of multiple case studies provided an in-depth exploration of the personal narratives of four teachers. Data collection consisted of classroom observations and audio recordings, teacher and student semi-structured interviews, student diaries, and Japan-wide teacher questionnaires. Ninety-seven teacher personal narratives were analyzed for their structural and linguistic features. The findings showed that the narrative elements of orientation, complication, and evaluation are almost always present in these stories, and that discourse and tense markers may aid in student noticing of the input which can lead to eventual student output. The data also demonstrated that reasons for telling narratives mainly fall into two categories: affectiveoriented and pedagogical-oriented purposes. This study has shown that there are significant differences between conversational storytelling and educational storytelling.

Engineering education research - the UK perspective at a time of change

Engineering education in the United Kingdom is at the point of embarking upon an interesting journey into uncharted waters. At no point in the past have there been so many drivers for change and so many opportunities for the development of engineering pedagogy. This paper will look at how Engineering Education Research (EER) has developed within the UK and what differentiates it from the many small scale practitioner interventions, perhaps without a clear research question or with little evaluation, which are presented at numerous staff development sessions, workshops and conferences. From this position some examples of current projects will be described, outcomes of funding opportunities will be summarised and the benefits of collaboration with other disciplines illustrated. In this study, I will account for how the design of task structure according to variation theory, as well as the probe-ware technology, make the laws of force and motion visible and learnable and, especially, in the lab studied make Newton's third law visible and learnable. I will also, as a comparison, include data from a mechanics lab that use the same probe-ware technology and deal with the same topics in mechanics, but uses a differently designed task structure. I will argue that the lower achievements on the FMCE-test in this latter case can be attributed to these differences in task structure in the lab instructions. According to my analysis, the necessary pattern of variation is not included in the design. I will also present a microanalysis of 15 hours collected from engineering students' activities in a lab about impulse and collisions based on video recordings of student's activities in a lab about impulse and collisions. The important object of learning in this lab is the development of an understanding of Newton's third law. The approach analysing students interaction using video data is inspired by ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, i.e. I will focus on students practical, contingent and embodied inquiry in the setting of the lab. I argue that my result corroborates variation theory and show this theory can be used as a 'tool' for designing labs as well as for analysing labs and lab instructions. Thus my results have implications outside the domain of this study and have implications for understanding critical features for student learning in labs. Engineering higher education is well used to change. As technology develops the abilities expected by employers of graduates expand, yet our understanding of how to make informed decisions about learning and teaching strategies does not without a conscious effort to do so. With the numerous demands of academic life, we often fail to acknowledge our incomplete understanding of how our students learn within our discipline. The journey facing engineering education in the UK is being driven by two classes of driver. Firstly there are those which we have been working to expand our understanding of, such as retention and employability, and secondly the new challenges such as substantial changes to funding systems allied with an increase in student expectations. Only through continued research can priorities be identified, addressed and a coherent and strong voice for informed change be heard within the wider engineering education community. This new position makes it even more important that through EER we acquire the knowledge and understanding needed to make informed decisions regarding approaches to teaching, curriculum design and measures to promote effective student learning. This then raises the question 'how does EER function within a diverse academic community?' Within an existing community of academics interested in taking meaningful steps towards understanding the ongoing challenges of engineering education a Special Interest Group (SIG) has formed in the UK. The formation of this group has itself been part of the rapidly changing environment through its facilitation by the Higher Education Academy's Engineering Subject Centre, an entity which through the Academy's current restructuring will no longer exist as a discrete Centre dedicated to supporting engineering academics. The aims of this group, the activities it is currently undertaking and how it expects to network and collaborate with the global EER community will be reported in this paper. This will include explanation of how the group has identified barriers to the progress of EER and how it is seeking, through a series of activities, to facilitate recognition and growth of EER both within the UK and with our valued international colleagues.

Cognitive-behavioural phenotype in a group of girls from 1.2 to 12 years old with the Incontinentia Pigmenti syndrome:recommendations for clinical management

Incontinentia Pigmenti (IP, OMIM#308300) is a rare X-linked genomic disorder (about 1,400 cases) that affects the neuroectodermal tissue and Central Nervous System (CNS). The objective of this study was to describe the cognitive-behavioural profile in children in order to plan a clinical intervention to improve their quality of life. A total of 14 girls (age range: from 1 year and 2 months to 12 years and 10 months) with IP and the IKBKG/NEMO gene deletion were submitted to a cognitive assessment including intelligence scales, language and visuo-spatial competence tests, learning ability tests, and a behavioural assessment. Five girls had severe to mild intellectual deficiencies and the remaining nine had a normal neurodevelopment. Four girls were of school age and two of these showed no intellectual disability, but had specific disabilities in calculation and arithmetic reasoning. This is the first description of the cognitive-behavioural profile in relation to developmental age. We stress the importance of an early assessment of learning abilities in individuals with IP without intellectual deficiencies to prevent the onset of any such deficit.

A Dynamic Input-Output Model with Renewable Resources

The paper studies a generalisation of the dynamic Leontief input-output model. The standard dynamic Leontief model will be extended with the balance equation of renewable resources. The renewable stocks will increase regenerating and decrease exploiting primary natural resources. In this study the controllability of this extended model is examined by taking the consumption as the control parameter. Assuming balanced growth for both consumption and production, we investigate the exhaustion of renewable resources in dependence on the balanced growth rate and on the rate of natural regeneration. In doing so, classic results from control theory and on eigenvalue problems in linear algebra are applied.

A Dynamic Input-Output Model with Renewable Resources

The paper studies a generalisation of the dynamic Leontief input-output model. The standard dynamic Leontief model will be extended with the balance equation of renewable resources. The renewable stocks will increase regenerating and decrease exploiting primary natural resources. In this study the controllability of this extended model is examined by taking the consumption as the control parameter. Assuming balanced growth for both consumption and production, we investigate the exhaustion of renewable resources in dependence on the balanced growth rate and on the rate of natural regeneration. In doing so, classic results from control theory and on eigenvalue problems in linear algebra are applied.

Algebraic duality theorems for infinite LP problems

In this paper we consider a primal-dual infinite linear programming problem-pair, i.e. LPs on infinite dimensional spaces with infinitely many constraints. We present two duality theorems for the problem-pair: a weak and a strong duality theorem. We do not assume any topology on the vector spaces, therefore our results are algebraic duality theorems. As an application, we consider transferable utility cooperative games with arbitrarily many players.

The effectiveness of an intelligent tutoring system on the attitude and achievement of developmental mathematics students in a community college

This study examined the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring system instruction, grounded in John Anderson's ACT theory of cognition, on the achievement and attitude of developmental mathematics students in the community college setting. The quasi-experimental research used a pretest-posttest control group design. The dependent variables were problem solving achievement, overall achievement, and attitude towards mathematics. The independent variable was instructional method.^ Four intact classes and two instructors participated in the study for one semester. Two classes (n = 35) served as experimental groups; they received six lessons with real-world problems using intelligent tutoring system instruction. The other two classes (n = 24) served as control groups; they received six lessons with real-world problems using traditional instruction including graphing calculator support. It was hypothesized that students taught problem solving using the intelligent tutoring system would achieve more on the dependent variables than students taught without the intelligent tutoring system.^ Posttest mean scores for one teacher produced a significant difference in overall achievement for the experimental group. The same teacher had higher means, not significantly, for the experimental group in problem solving achievement. The study did not indicate a significant difference in attitude mean scores.^ It was concluded that using an intelligent tutoring system in problem solving instruction may impact student's overall mathematics achievement and problem solving achievement. Other factors must be considered, such as the teacher's classroom experience, the teacher's experience with the intelligent tutoring system, trained technical support, and trained student support; as well as student learning styles, motivation, and overall mathematics ability. ^

The impact of eliminating extraneous sound and light on students' achievement: An empirical study

The impact of eliminating extraneous sound and light on students’ achievement was investigated under four conditions: Light and Sound controlled, Sound Only controlled, Light Only controlled and neither Light nor Sound controlled. Group, age and gender were the control variables. Four randomly selected groups of high school freshmen students with different backgrounds were the participants in this study. Academic achievement was the dependent variable measured on a pretest, a posttest and a post-posttest, each separated by an interval of 15 days. ANOVA was used to test the various hypotheses related to the impact of eliminating sound and light on student learning. Independent sample T tests on the effect of gender indicated a significant effect while age was non- significant. Follow up analysis indicated that sound and light are not potential sources of extraneous load when tested individually. However, the combined effect of sound and light seems to be a potential source of extrinsic load. The findings revealed that the performance of the Sound and Light controlled group was greater during the posttest and post-posttest. The overall performance of boys was greater than that of girls. Results indicated a significant interaction effect between group and gender on treatment subjects. However gender alone was non-significant. Performance of group by age had no significant interaction and age alone was non-significant in the posttest and post-posttest. Based on the results obtained sound and light combined seemed to be the potential sources of extraneous load in this type of learning environment. This finding supports previous research on the effect of sound and light on learning. The findings of this study show that extraneous sound and light have an impact on learning. These findings can be used to design better learning environments. Such environments can be achieved with different electric lighting and sound systems that provide optimal color rendering, low glare, low flicker, low noise and reverberation. These environments will help people avoid unwanted distraction, drowsiness, and photosensitive behavior.

Extending the Boundaries of Hospitality Education

To date, hospitality management educators have struggled to modify generic software or adapt vendor-designed industry systems as a means of bringing hospitality information systems to the classroom. Specially- designed computer-based courseware can enhance learning while extending the boundaries of the traditional hospitality classroom. The author discusses the relevance of this software to the hospitality curriculum.

The effectiveness of an intelligent tutoring system on the attitude and achievement of developmental mathematics students in a community college

This study examined the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring system instruction, grounded in John Anderson's ACT theory of cognition, on the achievement and attitude of developmental mathematics students in the community college setting. The quasi-experimental research used a pretest-posttest control group design. The dependent variables were problem solving achievement, overall achievement, and attitude towards mathematics. The independent variable was instructional method. Four intact classes and two instructors participated in the study for one semester. Two classes (n = 35) served as experimental groups; they received six lessons with real-world problems using intelligent tutoring system instruction. The other two classes (n = 24) served as control groups; they received six lessons with real-world problems using traditional instruction including graphing calculator support. It was hypothesized that students taught problem solving using the intelligent tutoring system would achieve more on the dependent variables than students taught without the intelligent tutoring system. Posttest mean scores for one teacher produced a significant difference in overall achievement for the experimental group. The same teacher had higher means, not significantly, for the experimental group in problem solving achievement. The study did not indicate a significant difference in attitude mean scores. It was concluded that using an intelligent tutoring system in problem solving instruction may impact student's overall mathematics achievement and problem solving achievement. Other factors must be considered, such as the teacher's classroom experience, the teacher's experience with the intelligent tutoring system, trained technical support, and trained student support; as well as student learning styles, motivation, and overall mathematics ability.

Tamed and Compatible Symplectic Forms on Four-Dimensional Almost Complex Lie Algebras

We are able to give a complete description of four-dimensional Lie algebras g which satisfy the tame-compatible question of Donaldson for all almost complex structures J on g are completely described. As a consequence, examples are given of (non-unimodular) four-dimensional Lie algebras with almost complex structures which are tamed but not compatible with symplectic forms.? Note that Donaldson asked his question for compact four-manifolds. In that context, the problem is still open, but it is believed that any tamed almost complex structure is in fact compatible with a symplectic form. In this presentation, I will define the basic objects involved and will give some insights on the proof. The key for the proof is translating the problem into a Linear Algebra setting. This is a joint work with Dr. Draghici.

As compreensões do construtivismo de Ernst Von Glasersfeld e John Fossa: intermediando um diálogo em busca de novas significações

The present thesis, orientated by a letter sent by Ernst von Glasersfeld to John Fossa, is the product of a theoretical investigation of radical constructivism. In this letter, von Glasersfeld made three observations about Fossa’s understanding of radical constructivism. However, we limited our study to the second of these considerations since it de als with some of the core issues of constructivism. Consequently, we investigated what issues are raised by von Glasersfeld’s observation and whether these issues are relevant to a better understanding of constructivism and its implications for the mathema tics classroom . In order to realize the investigation, it was necessary to characterize von Glasersfeld’s epistemological approach to constructivism, to identify which questions about radical constructivism are raised by von Glasersfeld’s observation, to i nvestigate whether these issues are relevant to a better understanding of constructivism and to analyze the implications of these issues for the mathematics classroom. Upon making a hermeneutic study of radical constructivism, we found that what is central to it is its radicalism, in the sense that it breaks with tradition by its absence of an ontology. Thus, we defend the thesis that the absence of an ontology, although it has advantages for radical constructivism, incurs serious problems not only for the theory itself, but also for its implications for the mathematics classroom. The advantages that we were able to identify include a change from the usual philosophical paths to a very different rational view of the world, an overcoming of a naive way of thi nking, an understanding of the subject as active in the construction of his/her experiential reality, an interpretation of cognition as an instrument of adaptation, a new concept of knowledge and a vision of knowledge as fallible (or provisional). The prob lems are associated with the impossibility of radical constructivism to explain adequately why the reality that we build up is regular, stable, non - arbitrary and publicly shared. With regard to the educational implications of radical constructivism, the ab sence of an ontology brings to the mathematics classroom not only certain relevant aspects (or favorable points) that make teaching a process of researching student learning, empowering the student to learn and changing the classroom design, but also certa in weaknesses or limitations. These weaknesses or limitations of constructivism in the classroom are due to its conception of knowledge as being essentially subjective. This requires it to work with one - on - one situations and, likewise, makes the success of teaching dependent on the teacher’s individual skills. Perhaps the most important weakness or limitation, in this sense, is that it makes teaching orientated by constructivist principles unable to reach the goal of the formation of a community. We conclud e that issues raised by von Glasersfeld’s observation are absolutely relevant to the context of a better understanding of radical constructivism and its implications for education, especially for Mathematics Education.