Early childhood teachers' pedagogical practice : what they know, think and do with young children experiencing parental separation and divorce

This grounded theory study examined the practices of twenty-one Australian early childhood teachers who work with children experiencing parental separation and divorce. Findings showed that teachers constructed personalised support for these children. Teachers’ pedagogical decision-making processes had five phases: constructing their knowledge, applying their knowledge, applying decision-making schema, taking action, and monitoring action and evaluating. This study contributes new understandings about teachers’ work with young children experiencing parental separation and divorce, and extends existing theoretical frameworks related to the provision of support. It adds to scholarship by applying grounded theory methodology in a new context. Recommendations are made for school policies and procedures within and across schools and school systems.

Towards university lectures' conceptions of student learning

A range of studies conducted since the late 1970s have sought to describe students' conceptions of learning, and more recently, teachers' conceptions of teaching. These studies, using what has come to be known as the phenomenographic approach, have identified conceptions of teaching, and conceptions of learning which have had a significant impact on the teaching-learning culture of higher education institutions in many parts of the world. The study reported here contributes to our understanding of student learning, describing it from the viewpoint of lectures from a range of disciplines. From the viewpoint of these lectures student learning was seen variously as: acquiring knowledge through the use of study skills; the absorption of new knowledge and being able to explain and apply it; the development of thinking skills and the ability to reason; developing the competencies of beginning professionals; changing personal attitudes, beliefs or behaviours in responding to different phenomena; and a participative pedagogic experience. The relationship between these conceptions and previously identified conceptions of teaching and learning is discussed.

Research students' early experiences of the dissertation literature review

The phenomenon of a dissertation literature review is explored from a "second-order" perspective. Written responses from 41 neophyte research scholars from various disciplines in an Australian university were gathered in response to two questions: "What do you mean when you use the words "literature review"?" and "What is the meaning of a literature review for your research?" A phenomenographic analysis identified six conceptions, or ways of experiencing, literature reviews: literature review as a list, literature review as a search, literature review as a survey, literature review as a vehicle for learning, literature review as a research facilitator, and literature review as a report. The conceptions represent differing relations between student researchers and the literature. The range of conceptions suggests that the supervisors of postgraduates and other teachers interested in the literature review process need to accept literature reviews as a problem area for students and develop strategies to help them.

Improving the quality of fourth year civil engineering research projects through bibliographic instruction

Faculty and reference librarians at the Queensland University of Technology have collaborated in an attempt to improve the quality of literature reviews in civil engineering final -year research projects. This article describes the instructional program devised and the level of faculty support for the librarians' contribution, and presents survey results revealing how students could most benefit from BI and how the classroom collaboration affected student project work. The authors offer some observations about the possible impact of 81 in general, and on engineers in particular, which may provide a focus for future research.

Something’s coming, something good: Identifying TPACK competence in pre-service teachers’ analyses of learning objects

There is a song at the beginning of the musical, West Side Story, where the character Tony sings that “something’s coming, something good.” The song is an anthem of optimism, brimming with promise. This paper is about the long-held promise of information and communication technology (ICT) to transform teaching and learning, to modernise the learning environment of the classroom, and to create a new digital pedagogy. But much of our experience to date in the schooling sector tells more of resistance and reaction than revolution, of more of the same but with a computer in the corner and of ICT activities as unwelcome time-fillers/time-wasters. Recently, a group of pre-service teachers in a postgraduate primary education degree in an Australian university were introduced to learning objects in an ICT immersion program. Their analyses and related responses, as recorded in online journals, have here been interpreted in terms of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge). Against contemporary observation, these students generally displayed high levels of competence and highly positive dispositions of students to the integration of ICT in their future classrooms. In short, they displayed the same optimism and confidence as the fictional “Tony” in believing that something good was coming.

Rethinking the literacy capabilities of pre-service primary teachers in testing times

As a group of committed literacy teacher educators from five universities across three Australian states, the authors bring professional critique to the problematic issue of what counts in current and possible future measures of pre-service teachers’ literacy capacity. In times when normalising models of literacy assessment ignore innovative developments in technologies, we provide an example of what is happening at the ‘chalk-face’ of literacy teacher education. This paper describes a study that demonstrates how responsible alignment of teacher accreditation requirements with a scholarly impetus to incorporate digital literacies to prepare pre-service teachers will help address changing educational needs and practices (AITSL 2012; Gillen & Barton 2010; Hattie 2003; Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood 2011; Klein 2006; Masny & Cole 2012; OECD 2011).

Biomechanical aspects of seating comfort in vehicle seating package engineering

In this paper, problems are described which are related to the ergonomic assessment of vehicle package design in vehicle systems engineering. The traditional approach, using questionnaire techniques for a subjective assessment of comfort related to package design, is compared to a biomechanical approach. An example is given for ingress design. The biomechanical approach is based upon objective postural data. The experimental setup for the study is described and methods used for the biomechanical analysis are explained. Because the biomechanic assessment requires not only a complex experimental setup but also time consuming data processing, a systematic reduction and preparation of biomechanic data for classification with an Artificial Neural Network significantly improves the economy of the biomechanical method.

Integrating early childhood teachers into long day care : building respectful relationships

Amongst the current reforms in early childhood in Australia is the requirement for four year university degree-qualified teachers to be employed to provide a kindergarten program for four-year-old children in the year prior to school entry. The possibility for long day care to provide a funded kindergarten program, with an early childhood teacher (ECT) presents a change for the field. With this change come challenges, though also opportunities to think in new and different ways about what long day care and working in long day care might look like.

(De)Constructing ADHD : Critical Guidance for Teachers and Teacher Educators

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has achieved celebrity status in many Western countries, yet despite considerable effort to prove its existence as a “real” disorder, ADHD still suffers from a crisis of legitimacy. Nonetheless, diagnosis and prescription of medication has grown at a phenomenal rate since the late 1980s, particularly in Western culture. Numerous accounts exist explaining how the ADHD diagnosis functions as a convenient administrative loophole, providing schools with a medical explanation for school failure, medication to sedate the “problem” into submission, or the means to eject children from mainstream classrooms. This book provides a more holistic interpretation of how to respond to children who might otherwise be diagnosed with and medicated for “ADHD”—a diagnosis which, whether scientifically valid or not, is unhelpful within the confine of the school. Training teachers to recognise and identify “ADHD symptoms” or to understand the functions of restricted pharmaceuticals will only serve to increase the number of children diagnosed and the sale of psychoactive medications. Research has shown that such activities will not help those children learn, nor will it empower their classroom teachers to take responsibility for teaching such children well. This book seeks to provide school practitioners with knowledge that is useful within the educational context to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for children who might otherwise receive a diagnosis of ADHD.

Transforming perceptions and responses to student difference : the journey of seven beginning teachers

Drawing on critical social theory and transformative learning, this study investigates the sociocultural factors that enable a move away from the deficit model of learning. The multicase study examines beginning teachers’ perceptions of learning and teaching for students experiencing learning difficulties. The fluid conception of identity occupied by beginning teachers was explored as the participants challenged structural ideologies and their personal belief systems. The study argues that personal factors such as, engaging in critical reflection and beliefs, and school factors such as job security and school context influence how beginning teachers respond to diverse learners and position themselves as agentive.

Science and engineering for whole of life : integrating education, research and public engagement in a collaborative environment

Policy makers increasingly recognise that an educated workforce with a high proportion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates is a pre-requisite to a knowledge-based, innovative economy. Over the past ten years, the proportion of first university degrees awarded in Australia in STEM fields is below the global average and continues to decrease from 22.2% in 2002 to 18.8% in 2010 [1]. These trends are mirrored by declines between 20% and 30% in the proportions of high school students enrolled in science or maths. These trends are not unique to Australia but their impact is of concern throughout the policy-making community. To redress these demographic trends, QUT embarked upon a long-term investment strategy to integrate education and research into the physical and virtual infrastructure of the campus, recognising that expectations of students change as rapidly as technology and learning practices change. To implement this strategy, physical infrastructure refurbishment/re-building is accompanied by upgraded technologies not only for learning but also for research. QUT’s vision for its city-based campuses is to create vibrant and attractive places to learn and research and to link strongly to the wider surrounding community. Over a five year period, physical infrastructure at the Gardens Point campus was substantially reconfigured in two key stages: (a) a >$50m refurbishment of heritage-listed buildings to encompass public, retail and social spaces, learning and teaching “test beds” and research laboratories and (b) destruction of five buildings to be replaced by a $230m, >40,000m2 Science and Engineering Centre designed to accommodate retail, recreation, services, education and research in an integrated, coordinated precinct. This landmark project is characterised by (i) self-evident, collaborative spaces for learning, research and social engagement, (ii) sustainable building practices and sustainable ongoing operation and; (iii) dynamic and mobile re-configuration of spaces or staffing to meet demand. Innovative spaces allow for transformative, cohort-driven learning and the collaborative use of space to prosecute joint class projects. Research laboratories are aggregated, centralised and “on display” to the public, students and staff. A major visualisation space – the largest multi-touch, multi-user facility constructed to date – is a centrepiece feature that focuses on demonstrating scientific and engineering principles or science oriented scenes at large scale (e.g. the Great Barrier Reef). Content on this visualisation facility is integrated with the regional school curricula and supports an in-house schools program for student and teacher engagement. Researchers are accommodated in a combined open-plan and office floor-space (80% open plan) to encourage interdisciplinary engagement and cross-fertilisation of skills, ideas and projects. This combination of spaces re-invigorates the on-campus experience, extends educational engagement across all ages and rapidly enhances research collaboration.

Perspectives in multiphasic osteochondral tissue engineering

Critical-sized osteochondral defects are clinically challenging, with limited treatment options available. By engineering osteochondral grafts using a patient's own cells and osteochondral scaffolds designed to facilitate cartilage and bone regeneration, osteochondral defects may be treated with less complications and better long-term clinical outcomes. Scaffolds can influence the development and structure of the engineered tissue, and there is an increased awareness that osteochondral tissue engineering concepts need to take the in vivo complexities into account in order to increase the likelihood of successful osteochondral tissue repair. The developing trend in osteochondral tissue engineering is the utilization of multiphasic scaffolds to recapitulate the multiphasic nature of the native tissue. Cartilage and bone have different structural, mechanical, and biochemical microenvironments. By designing osteochondral scaffolds with tissue-specific architecture, it may be possible to enhance osteochondral repair within shorter timeframe. While there are promising in vivo outcomes using multiphasic approaches, functional regeneration of osteochondral constructs still remains a challenge. In this review, we provide an overview of in vivo osteochondral repair studies that have taken place in the past three years, and define areas which needs improvement in future studies

Mechanical and biological characterization of a porous poly-L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone scaffold for tissue engineering

This article presents a method for making highly porous biodegradable scaffold that may ultimately be used for tissue engineering. Poly(L-lactic-co-1-caprolactone) acid (70:30) (PLCL) scaffold was produced using the solvent casting/leaching out method, which entails dissolving the polymer and adding a porogen that is then leached out by immersing the scaffold in distillated water. Tensile tests were performed for three types of scaffolds, namely pre-wetted, dried, and UV-irradiated scaffolds and their mechanical properties were measured. The prewetted PLCL scaffold possessed a modulus of elasticity 0.92+0.09 MPa, a tensile strength of 0.12+0.03 MPa and an ultimate strain of 23+5.3%. No significant differences in the modulus elasticity, tensile strength, nor ultimate strain were found between the pre-wetted, dried, and UV irradiated scaffolds. The PLCL scaffold was seeded by human fibroblasts in order to evaluate its biocompatibility by Alamar bluew assays. After 10 days of culture, the scaffolds showed good biocompatibility and allowed cell proliferation. However, the fibroblasts stayed essentially at the surface. This study shows the possibility to use the PLCL scaffold in dynamic mechanical conditions for tissue engineering

Aligned poly(L-lactic-co-ε-caprolactone) electrospun microfibers and knitted structure: a novel composite scaffold for ligament tissue engineering

We developed a novel technique involving knitting and electrospinning to fabricate a composite scaffold for ligament tissue engineering. Knitted structures were coated with poly(L-lactic-co-e-caprolactone) (PLCL) and then placed onto a rotating cylinder and a PLCL solution was electrospun onto the structure. Highly aligned 2-μm-diameter microfibers covered the space between the stitches and adhered to the knitted scaffolds. The stress–strain tensile curves exhibited an initial toe region similar to the tensile behavior of ligaments. Composite scaffolds had an elastic modulus (150 ± 14 MPa) similar to the modulus of human ligaments. Biological evaluation showed that cells proliferated on the composite scaffolds and they spontaneously orientated along the direction of microfiber alignment. The microfiber architecture also induced a high level of extracellular matrix secretion, which was characterized by immunostaining. We found that cells produced collagen type I and type III, two main components found in ligaments. After 14 days of culture, collagen type III started to form a fibrous network. We fabricated a composite scaffold having the mechanical properties of the knitted structure and the morphological properties of the aligned microfibers. It is difficult to seed a highly macroporous structure with cells, however the technique we developed enabled an easy cell seeding due to presence of the microfiber layer. Therefore, these scaffolds presented attractive properties for a future use in bioreactors for ligament tissue engineering.