Manual on application of molecular tools in aquaculture and inland fisheries management. Part I : conceptual basis of population genetic approaches

The aim of this manual is to provide a comprehensive practical tool for the generation and analysis of genetic data for subsequent application in aquatic resources management in relation to genetic stock identification in inland fisheries and aquaculture. The material only covers general background on genetics in relation to aquaculture and fisheries resource management, the techniques and relevant methods of data analysis that are commonly used to address questions relating to genetic resource characterisation and population genetic analyses. No attempt is made to include applications of genetic improvement techniques e.g. selective breeding or producing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The manual includes two ‘stand-alone’ parts, of which this is the first volume: Part 1 – Conceptual basis of population genetic approaches: will provide a basic foundation on genetics in general, and concepts of population genetics. Issues on the choices of molecular markers and project design are also discussed. Part 2 – Laboratory protocols, data management and analysis: will provide step-by-step protocols of the most commonly used molecular genetic techniques utilised in population genetics and systematic studies. In addition, a brief discussion and explanation of how these data are managed and analysed is also included. This manual is expected to enable NACA member country personnel to be trained to undertake molecular genetic studies in their own institutions, and as such is aimed at middle and higher level technical grades. The manual can also provide useful teaching material for specialised advanced level university courses in the region and postgraduate students. The manual has gone through two development/improvement stages. The initial material was tested at a regional workshop and at the second stage feedback from participants was used to improve the contents.

A phenomenological study of the lived experiences of registered nurses seconded to perform clinical teaching

This phenomenological study explores the clinical teaching experiences of registered nurses seconded from a large metropolitan hospital. The study is based on a conceptual framework encompassing the notion of role, learning and teaching.

Student-generated submicro diagrams : a useful tool for teaching and learning chemical equations and stoichiometry

This paper reports on a pedagogical approach to the teaching of chemical equations introduced to first year university students with little previous chemical knowledge. During the instruction period students had to interpret and construct diagrams of reactions at the submicro level, and relate them to chemical equations at the symbolic level with the aim of improving their conceptual understanding of chemical equations and stoichiometry. Students received instruction in symbol conventions, practice through graded tutorial tasks, and feedback on their efforts over the semester. Analysis of the student responses to formative test and summative exam items over consecutive years indicates that there was a consistent improvement in the abilities of the various cohorts to answer stoichiometry questions correctly. The responses provide evidence for diagrams of the submicro level being used as tools for reasoning in solving chemical problems, to recognise misconceptions of chemical formulae and to recognise the value of using various multiple representations of chemical reactions connecting the submicro and symbolic levels of representation. The student-generated submicro diagrams serve as a visualisation tool for teaching and learning abstract concepts in solving stoichiometric problems. We argue that the use of diagrams of the submicro level provides a more complete picture of the reaction, rather than a net summary of a chemical equation, leading to a deeper conceptual understanding.

Teaching and learning about force with a representational focus : pedagogy and teacher change

A large body of research in the conceptual change tradition has shown the difficulty of learning fundamental science concepts, yet conceptual change schemes have failed to convincingly demonstrate improvements in supporting significant student learning. Recent work in cognitive science has challenged this purely conceptual view of learning, emphasising the role of language, and the importance of personal and contextual aspects of understanding science. The research described in this paper is designed around the notion that learning involves the recognition and development of students’ representational resources. In particular, we argue that conceptual difficulties with the concept of force are fundamentally representational in nature. This paper describes a classroom sequence in force that focuses on representations and their negotiation, and reports on the effectiveness of this perspective in guiding teaching, and in providing insight into student learning. Classroom sequences involving three teachers were videotaped using a combined focus on the teacher and groups of students. Video analysis software was used to capture the variety of representations used, and sequences of representational negotiation. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted with teachers and students. The paper reports on the nature of the pedagogies developed as part of this representational focus, its effectiveness in supporting student learning, and on the pedagogical and epistemological challenges negotiated by teachers in implementing this approach.

Integrating e-simulations in teaching business information systems

Students’ early exposure to the fundamentals of business and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), creation of a professional skill base, as well as, the gaining of practical experience in applying such knowledge and skills, are the determinants of success in their study and development as Information Systems (IS) professionals. This chapter argues that e-simulations, or computer-based and online simulations, can be effectively used to engage learners in interactive learning activities and provide them with real world practical experience in the safety of an educational setting. A research project is subsequently described. A suite of e-simulations were developed and deployed across two institutions to support teaching and learning of Information Systems. Using staff discussions and online surveys, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the staff and students. The collected data were then analysed to evaluate and guide a sequence of curriculum and technology changes with a view to arriving at an optimum support model for students and teachers using the e-simulations. The findings of the study emphasise the usefulness of e-simulations to accommodate the learning styles of generation Y students, to stimulate their interest and creative thinking, and in meeting industry expectations of IS graduates’ ability to fulfil professional roles. Based on these insights, in its concluding remarks, the chapter outlines a conceptual framework for the inclusion of e-simulations in Information Systems curriculum development and teaching delivery.

Teaching the scientific method in the curriculum

 In chemistry education, students not only learn chemical knowledge and skills, but about the culture of chemistry – how scientists think about, and practise, chemistry. Students often learn that science is practised according to the “scientific method”, which is a model of scientific discovery, expounded by science historians and philosophers. The idealised “scientific method” has a number of steps: the collection of information about a phenomenon; the development of a hypothesis to explain those observations; an experiment to test a prediction that arises from the hypothesis, perhaps including more observations and collection of more information; improvement of the hypothesis; and so on.

The problem is that students (and even some science professionals) often do not understand the philosophy behind the scientific method and paradoxically, the scientific method does not seem to apply to most careers in science. The true nature of science is that concepts have been developed though variants of the “scientific method”, and that a process of testing the predictive value of these concepts has lead to advances in that conceptual knowledge. Hence the “scientific method” applies to the development of scientific ideas, not necessarily to the work of all scientists. It is not whether we personally use the scientific method in our day-today work, but how we use, apply, think about and communicate scientific knowledge and skills that makes us chemists.

Teaching ethics in organisational behaviour : a Humean viewpoint

Problem Statement: Concepts of ethics have rarely been easy to teach in the organizational behaviour curriculum. The philosophical bases of ethics are often abstract and prone to multiple interpretations and dilemmas. The changing global environment of organisations adds complexity to the interacting values that people bring into the workplace. To redress the situation, this articlerepresents the stance of David Hume on human morality and proposes an original nexus of his concepts for application in the teaching and learning of ethics in the field of organizational behaviour.

Method: Based on the literature, we develop a conceptual model from a thread drawn between Hume’s influence on the Scottish Enlightenment and accordingly the current complex business environment which was fostered in part by the economic models espoused by his Enlightenment associates. The concepts are presented as a matrix and relevant examples are explained in this context.

Results: Pointing out the challenge of the global rifts in organisational morality, we relate the fable of the traveller from Hume’s writings and make the point that the Humean nexus, now distilled from the elaborate reasoning of Hume, provides educators and managers alike with a helpful centre of gravity around which to develop analyses of decisions and actions in order to gain moral perspective that transcends time and place.

Conclusions: Business ethics lessons have sometimes been abstract and emotive in organisational Behavior education but the empirical concepts of Hume in this new form have the potential to be useful and agreeable for many.

Growth of pre-service teachers’ knowledge and teaching ideas about decimals and fractions : The case of Vivi

This paper discussed and analysed the growth of one pre-service teachers’ knowledge about decimals and fractions during a teaching experiment. Evidence of her progress is based on responses to written test and interview questions. This case shows with probing questions and appropriate teaching ideas, it is possible for a pre-service teacher with initially weak and fragmented knowledge about decimals and fractions to develop a meaningful knowledge about decimals and fractions. The stronger conceptual base provided by use of a concrete representation of decimals enabled Vivi to move away from reliance on memorised facts and rules and towards conceptually based explanations of ideas.

Classroom teacher effectiveness research: a conceptual critique

Teacher effectiveness research now informs the rationale of much Australian education policy aimed at redressing student under-achievement. The approach draws a ‘straight line’ between teacher practice and student outcomes, ‘controlling’ for and ultimately dismissive of other possible influences. The paper calls into question this conception of teaching–learning relations, particularly the extent to which teaching practice can be reasonably quantified and improvements in students’ academic achievement can be solely attributed to and/or sole responsibility placed on the pedagogic strategies employed by teachers. Drawing on the theoretical resources of Foucault and Bourdieu, the paper argues further that teacher effectiveness research is flawed in both means and ends. It concludes that in its ranking of student and teacher performance, such research actually works against the purposes of education; specifically, authentic teaching and learning.

Challenging the traditional sequence of teaching introductory calculus

Despite considerable research with students of calculus, rate, and hence derivative, remain difficult concepts to teach and learn. The demonstrated lack of conceptual understanding of introductory calculus limits its usefulness in related areas. Since rate is such a troublesome concept, this study piloted reversing the usual presentation of introductory calculus to begin with area and integration, rather than rate and derivative. Two classes of first-year university students taking introductory calculus were selected to pilot the effect of changing the sequence; one class was a control group and the other class followed the reversed sequence. Advances in technology, especially computer algebra systems (CASs) may facilitate new ways of studying mathematics. In this study, handheld CASs were used to support students’ thinking as they grappled with the concepts of introductory calculus. The use of CASs enabled consideration of symbolic patterns and numerical integration leading to a deeper conceptual understanding of integration. The easy access to the multiple representations of functions provided by CASs facilitated an exploration of rate where each representation highlighted different aspects of rate resulting in deeper conceptual understanding of differentiation.

Material world: learning and teaching chemistry

 In the Australian National Curriculum, the science understanding of overarching ideas of matter and energy covers science topics in the conceptual area of chemistry, such as the properties, forms and uses of different materials, the states of matter (solid, liquid and gas), and energy, such as forces, movement and electricity. This chapter focusses on explaining the abstract science ideas related to matter and energy through the use of appropriate vocabulary, examining ways of organising knowledge and linking scientific models and theories to observations and experiences. The particle model of matter is used to explain common observations, demonstrating the value of scientific inquiry and the role of models and representations in scientific thinking. A directed inquiry teaching approach in which there is a focus on the use of representations is recommended for these abstract topics. Representations are a vital component of communicating the abstract ideas of matter and energy. The use of the pedagogical approach in which students construct and evaluate representations of scientific ideas is used in the negotiation and development of their understandings.

Constructive alignment in the built environment: enhancing teaching in line with graduate outcomes

The paper examines the manner in which to review an undergraduate degree in construction management using a top-down approach known as “Constructive Alignment”. The research addresses not only the perceived teaching problems, but it also discusses the methods used to rejuvenate the course in a manner that aligns with the graduate outcomes. However, it was also clear that teaching staff were not especially aware of the need to address the course learning outcomes. This highlighted the need for teaching staff to be involved in a process of constructive alignment to embed the course learning outcomes within their subjects, while also addressing the teaching issues involved with assessment. This process provided an opportunity to determine the incremental skill and knowledge development, both within the subjects, as well as between subjects across the course. The paper concludes with the production of a conceptual framework, which can be used to assist with the alignment of professional standards, course outcomes and graduate attributes into a discipline-specific degree program.

Strategic leadership and its contribution to improvements in teaching and learning in Higher Education

This paper aims to provide a strong conceptual underpinning for our project, ‘Strategic Leadership for Institutional Teaching and Learning Centres: Developing a Model for the 21st century’. The project intends to:

Using video to promote pre-service teachers’ thinking about their transition to teaching

This paper reports on research investigating the use of video representations of first-year teachers’ experiences in undergraduate teacher education workshops that focus on the transition to teaching. The use of the video is a responsive act that draws on the notion of looking back, where graduates in their first year of teaching ‘speak to’ current students. Scenes from video footage of the theatre-based research performance The First Time shaped workshop activities and discussions in the unit. Themes ranged from pedagogical to practical, covering topics such as teacher identity discourses; epiphanic and revelatory moments of transition to becoming a teacher; and preparing for job applications and interviews. Data from the researcher’s journal, Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) comments, and semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students upon completion of the workshops are framed within a phenomenographic paradigm. The aim in phenomenography is to describe variations of conception that people have of a particular phenomenon (Sin, 2010), in this case the video as a tool to promote critical thinking about the transition to teaching. The researcher explored her own, and participants’ experiences, and identified a range of conceptual meanings of the phenomenon. These were classified into categories according to their similarities and differences concerning the effectiveness of this specific video in assisting undergraduates in their transition to teaching. Early results reveal some similarities and many variations among participants as to the effectiveness of the video as a tool. Their conceptions of the phenomenon are individual and relational, and as such are quite varied. Emergent varied themes include: ‘I know what it is that I need to learn’; ‘Is this theory or practice?’; and ‘I don’t do drama’. Emergent similarities include: ‘Preparing for the unexpected’.

A (re)significação conceptual nas práticas colaborativas com professores do Ensino Fundamental

The work objectified to apprehend the degree of the teachers' concept concerning the territory concept and to intervene with situations of critical reflections to accompany and to analyze the process of conceptual elaboration. It contemplates on the (new)meaning of knowledge and (new)elaboration of the concept in study done inside a pedagogic intervention. The Municipal School Dr. Julio Senna - Ceará-Mirim/RN and six (6) teacher-collaborators that taught in the 3rd and 4th grades of the fundamental teaching, constitutes the empiric field of the research. Its theoretical-methodological contributions are built in the studies of Vigotski (2000a, 2000b and 2001) on the formation process and development of concepts; in the methodology colaborate (Ibiapina (2004), Bartomé (1986), Kemmis and Mctaggart (1988), Arnal, Del Ricon and Latorre (1992), Pepper and Ghedin (2002), among others) and in the critical-reflexive conception of the Geography (Soares Júnior (2000 and 1994), Silva (1998), Raffestin (1993), Santos (1994), Felipe (1998), among others). The accomplishment of the work presupposed starting from the reflections on the following subjects: which the teachers' understanding in the school space concerning the territory concept? How does happen the process of conceptual construction territory for the teachers? The analysis of the teachers' previous knowledge on the concept in study, evidenced that its apprehensions on the attributes of the referred concept went mentioned the to light of the perceptible dimension of the real-concrete relationships of the reality linked to the degree of the spontaneous concepts and followed by the ideas of the traditional, humanistic and cultural geographical conceptions (positivism and phenomenology), restricting the territory meaning the notion of State-Nation and place of the men's dwelling. In the intervention process, it was verified to real possibility of the acquisition of indispensable scientific concepts to the process of (new)meaning conceptual of geographical knowledge through the continuous practice of the educational formation, when it was evidenced that the teacher-collaborators acquired high degrees of attributions of the significance of the territory concept to the they elaborate generalizations by means of analyses and syntheses of the concept-attribute (essential and multiples) of the reference conceptual in study