Posters
Poster sessions present preliminary results of works in progress or projects that lend themselves to visual displays and representations. These sessions allow for engagement in informal discussions about the work with interested delegates.
An Investigation into Supervision Techniques to Support Introverted CSD Students
Poster/Exhibit Session Pam Reese
Communication Disorders graduate student clinicians at a public university in the southern United States were enrolled in a language and literacy course and clinic assisted with providing services to children who were struggling readers. Two students self-identified themselves as shy. Ethnographic investigation of supervision strategies revealed specific stratagems used by supervisors to support their success.
Urban Reclamation through Farming: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Approach
Poster/Exhibit Session Jennifer Nahlik, Amy Crouch, Robert Mc Elroy
Imagine a desert, not of sand, but of concrete. Now imagine, that within that desert there is a maze that twists and turns 30 stories high, but never ends. That maze signifies the quest for affordable, nutritional food in many urban environments. Urban environments that struggle for access to healthy food options, are typically lower income areas, and primarily are comprised of minority populations. Their communities are on a quest become for both social justice and food justice. With all of these barriers working against them, there needs to be a way out of the maze. Our proposal is to build upon the idea of urban farming by bringing it to the middle schools in these cities. By utilizing an interdisciplinary curriculum based on a ready-made farm system, students in sixth to eighth grade will be actively engaged in how to operate a small farm. Through this curriculum we would not only create innovative learning but also a self-sustaining, continuous food resource which could help feed the children themselves, be sold for a profit, or donated to local charities to help feed the hungry in the neighborhood. Thereby, we can combat food injustice and bring life to the urban desert, while opening the minds of learners up to the possibilities that come from new, inspired, and creative learning opportunities. Our work showcases the steps of creating the farm and business in each of the key areas of the curriculum: language arts, science, math, geography, and business.
Native American-based Mathematics Materials for Undergraduate Courses
Poster/Exhibit Session Charles Funkhouser
This session will summarize the results of an National Science Foundation Project which has developed sets of classroom-ready paper and technology-based materials for integration into undergraduate mathematics courses. These materials are based in the cultures of indigenous North American Tribes, but could serve as a model for other mathematics and STEM materials based in other indigenous cultures. All materials will be available to participants for further dissemination and modification.
Digital Support for Library Research: Reaching Students On and Off-Campus with LibGuides
Poster/Exhibit Session Jacalyn Bryan
Student learning today is ubiquitous, taking place face-to-face or online in a diverse number of settings How can librarians and faculty provide resources for learning and research at the point of need, especially for students at a distance? One solution is to make use of a LibGuide, a software application that provides a digital way to collect and share resources (e.g., databases, videos, tutorials, and handouts) for a subject area, topic, or assignment using Web 2.0 technologies. Course-specific or assignment-specific LibGuides appear to be the most effective use of this technology. At (university name), master syllabi are employed so that there is consistency in content and assignments across a variety of delivery systems. This poster will demonstrate how a LibGuide that initially provided resources for a psychology assignment on campus was later utilized by students at satellite centers and in online programs through our Learning Management System. It will also describe the expansion of resources that have been added to the LibGuide over time including an instructional video and interactive tutorials. In 2017-2018 this LibGuide received 9580 hits, compared to 6198 in 2016 -2017. Additional LibGuides targeting specific course assignments in the master syllabi have been and will continue to be developed.
Student Success through an Innovative Student Support Centre
Poster/Exhibit Session Greg Doyle, Lunelle Pienaar, Busayo Ige
Student success in higher education today is dependent on diversified academic support created by institutions, informed by students’ needs. Among learners it assumes uniformity regarding their preparedness to academia; family support and self-motivation. In South Africa, there is also the legacy of apartheid, which resulted in disparities in education. We wanted to know how responsive current student support programmes are to present-day students. We consider the academic support offered in the Faculty of Health Sciences. We describe the administration of a needs assessment survey that aimed to establish students’ needs and perspectives about support. Firstly, we unpack the feedback received from the survey instrument. The results indicate students were satisfied with the lecture and computer rooms and laboratory spaces. However, they were more dissatisfied to the availability of independent learning spaces to practice presentations, peers to support learning and multilingual peer assistance. Supported by the institution a SSC could contribute towards the advancement of student success because it promotes an environment that is conducive to learning. The SSC aligns with student-centeredness and addresses distinct learning needs, interests, diversity of students. However, challenges exist recognizing the time it needs to develop a fully operational student support center, finding space for such a project, funding and buy in from staff and students. Through an SSC we hope assist our students in their educational preparedness. Students success is multifaceted, and a combination of interventions may be most beneficial.
Effect of STEAM Strategy on Students' Project Competence and Leaning Motivation
Poster/Exhibit Session Chun-Yen Tsai, Chien_Liang Lin
This study proposed a STEAM model to improve students’ project competence and leaning motivation. STEAM fields are science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. In current study, we try to propose a STEAM model in the pedagogic perspective which is Scaffolding, Tutoring, Engaging, Argumentation, and Modeling. The participants consisted of 123 students at a high school in southern Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study. The students in the experimental groups used the STEAM model to learn to finish the science project while the students in comparison group learned through the traditional science course over one year. Instruments included the KIPSSE instrument (Lin, 2018) and the SMTSL questionnaire (Tuan et al., 2005). The results indicated that the students in experimental group outperformed their counterparts in terms of project competence and leaning motivation. The implication is that the appropriate application of STEAM strategy is necessary while improving students' learning in the STEAM fields.
Graphomotor Skills of Preschool Children
Poster/Exhibit Session Jana Marie Havigerová
Poster presents interim results of original research graphomotor skills of preschool children. N = 76 children participated in the research for this sub-study. Children's skills are compared in various graphic manifestations: spirals, loops, hitchs, kinks, couplings. The aim is to create a tool for assessment of children with graphomotoric difficulties and a high risk of dysgraphia.
Digital Literacy: A Learning Outcome of Socially Significant Volunteer Training Programs
Poster/Exhibit Session Nicole Pinson
Trained volunteers help organizations provide essential programs in the community. Volunteers receive training on core curriculum or skills, in exchange for sharing what they know with the community. Increasingly, volunteer coordinators teach volunteers how to use computers and web-based resources in their volunteer role. A secondary outcome of volunteer training is digital literacy. Digital literacy is defined as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills" (American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy, p. 2). Digital literacy helps volunteers utilize technology to learn new things, assess and interpret valid information, increase efficacy, and share information with others. The purpose of this presentation is to provide volunteer coordinators, faculty, and community groups with examples of how to quantify volunteers’ digital literacy using research-based resources available from journals, reports, and studies. Participants will learn how to utilize this research to explain and report digital literacy outcomes. Digital literacy skills learned in volunteer training may transfer to daily life such as home, social situations, and work. Digital literacy skills benefit volunteers and the community through increased civic engagement, effective organizational leadership, and learning that can make a difference in society.
Creating a Sense of Togetherness through Humour and Laughter in Early Childhood Education
Poster/Exhibit Session Farhana Wan Yunus
Research on the roles of daycares shows many benefits for children’s social competence. In the Malaysian context, where the number of childcare settings is growing rapidly, early childhood education research remains limited within the field of understanding the complexity of young children’s social competence. This study opens up this under-researched field in Malaysia through three qualitative case studies. Each case study involved video-recorded observations of the children’s interactions with peers. The aim of the study was to examine how children create a sense of togetherness and exercise social competence among themselves at their daycare centres. The observations of children’s peer interactions revealed complex negotiations by the children who were actively creating a sense of togetherness at their daycare centres through humour and laughter. In the process of these interactions, children exercised the skills of becoming socially competent participants in their centre. Considering my data from the perspective of Loizou’s (2005) the Theory of the Absurd, I was able to classify instances of humour and laughter around two very similar themes – incongruous use of objects; and making funny sounds. My findings provide a picture of how these humorous acts not only created amusement and joy in children but also constructed a sense of togetherness. Additionally, the children were able to exercise their social competence through these humorous events. This has implications for understanding the roles of daycare to children’s peer interactions and social competence as well as how caregivers can enhance children’s learning to make a social difference.
Smartphones in the Classroom as an Auxiliary Tool in the Learning of Experimental Physics
Poster/Exhibit Session Emerson Luiz Lapolli
Currently Smartfones are a multi-purpose instrument with a plethora of applications that are used in various work fields. It is already a popular portable device that is present in all economic classes. Smartphones are pocket-sized computers, and have a huge variety of functions. These can replace equipment, or, replace the use of didactic laboratories. The cell phone is an attractive and thought-provoking element for high school students, and can be used to conduct experiments and demonstrations of phenomena. I present a diversity of applications allied to applications in low cost home experiments. The main objective is to make future teaching professionals use these applications in their classes in order to make physics more investigative. Consequently, this will make the student use this device in their daily life, making it possible to combine theory and practice
What is the Optimal Grain Size When Learning with Study-retrieval Practice?: Interpolated versus Postponed Retrieval Practice
Poster/Exhibit Session Alice Latimier
Doing retrieval practice during the learning phase contributes to better long term retention: this is the testing effect (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Recently, several studies investigated the optimal placement of the learning questions relative to the readings. Results suggested that interspersed testing throughout the readings led to better memory than postponed testing during the learning phase. However, they did not find a difference between the two placements at a retention test (Weinstein et al. 2016, Wissman and Rawson 2015, Uner and Roediger, 2017). Our study aimed at comparing the effect of different grain sizes of learning periods on memory retention; determining the grain size that yields the strongest testing effect at different retention intervals. Our experiment was run on a digital learning platform (Didask). We used a mixed factorial design that included 2 between-subject Learning Conditions (quiz-reading, reading-reading) and 3 between-subject Grain Sizes (small, medium, large) for the acquisition phase. During the training phase at day 1, participants had to study according to the learning conditions to which they were assigned. Seven days and 27 days later, they had to do a final test. We replicated the testing effect at long term intervals. We did not find that overall performance was different between the 3 grain sizes of learning periods. However, the significant interaction suggested that the large grain size gave the best testing effect. When learning with retrieval practice, it seems that the placement of the retrieval practice episodes does not matter.
Social Entrepreneurship: Creating an Inspiring and Compelling Vision of the Future
Poster/Exhibit Session Paula Holanchock
What is your vision for changing the world? How can we facilitate our students to become students of culture, who recognize and respond to social and cultural diversities? By becoming students of culture, students can contextualize differences and gain a more in-depth understanding of social injustices and become change agents. My students, in Social Entrepreneurship, create a strategic action plan for change to solve social problems by choosing one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (i.e., no poverty, gender equality, inclusive education, and zero hunger) and create an innovative product or service that meets the needs of the community. Through lectures, watching documentaries, current events, assigned readings, and in-class discussions and debates students explore and reflect on social problems. My students then create strategic action plans for change to solve various social problems or to contribute something new that will transform lives. Their plans begin with the creation of an inspiring and compelling vision for the future. By becoming students of culture and contextualizing social problems, my students have created socially innovative ideas such as an app that connects a population of children, in Mexico City, who fall into a lower socio-economic class and do not have access to quality education, with privileged students who want to share their knowledge with those less fortunate. Another group created a plan for a food truck that would deliver fresh, affordable, organic produce to disadvantaged communities and provide education on healthy eating and nutrition.
Metacognitive Calibration and Student Performance in Adaptive Learning
Poster/Exhibit Session Lin Zhao
Prior research suggests that average students performed significantly better in one-on-one learning situation than in a conventional classroom, because the instructor can personalize the course to fit student needs based on their strengths and weakness. To achieve similar outcomes, we have adopted an adaptive learning system which adjusts the course contents and testing questions based on student performance and engagement level. As the literature has found that metacognitive calibration can predict actual learning performance accurately, we collected metacognition and performance data from over 600 college students in the introductory information systems courses. The preliminary findings show that students who receive passing vs. non-passing grades are affected differently by metacognitive calibration in adaptive learning assignments. The results imply that the instructors should shift their focus on “what are students learning” to “how are they learning,” especially for underprepared students. Other than teaching the course contents, the instructors should explicitly teach students how to become more metacognitive even though adaptive learning is adopted.
Afforested Land by Schools in Navarre as a Tool for Participatory Research and Environmental Education: Open-air Interventions to Secondary Education and Citizen Science
Poster/Exhibit Session Iñigo Virto
NIE, the association of ikastolas (primary and secondary schools using Basque as a vehicular language for education) has designed and manages, since 2008, a network of seven afforested forests in the region of Navarre, aiming to compensate the CO2 emissions associated of their annual fund-raising festival (Nafarroa Oinez). As these forests are created and kept by the network of schools, they offer a perfect framework for both the assessment of different ecosystem services provided by forests, and for developing different educational projects and tools for environmental education. In one of these forests, a study on the evolution of soil properties and plant biodiversity conducted by professional researchers allowed for the development of an educational proposal for involving teachers and students at the school in charge of the forest. The proposal was prepared by pedagogues, educators, scientists and managers, and focused on two major topics in Secondary Education: soil conservation, and ecosystem succession. This was done by integrating scientific knowledge generated in this study in the teaching program of this topics at the 3rd (soil) and 4th (ecosystems) level of Secondary Education. In particular, a proposal based in cooperative learning, including a puzzle classroom activity and open-air work embedded in a wider program aiming to assess the scientific competences of students, was successfully developed five years after the implementation of this school-managed forest. In addition, a platform of Citizen Science was designed for the network of Oinez Basoa forests aiming to integrate other members of the educative community in their use.
Employability Skills for Corporate Employers and Technological University Graduates Students
Poster/Exhibit Session Su Chang Chen, Jen Chia Chang, Hsi Chi Hsiao, Dyi-Cheng Chen
The purpose of this study is to explore the different opinions on employ-ability skills between corporate employers and technological university graduates students. In order to meet the research purpose, this study uses online questionnaires. The questionnaires are two kinds that are a corporate employer and technological university graduates students. This study revising the scale of employ-ability skills developed by Brennan(2001) to measure technological university graduates students employ-ability skills. After one month of data collection, a total of 127 valid corporate employer questionnaires and 150 graduate questionnaires were collected. The results show that in the ability related to specific skills and knowledge level, the corporate employers and graduates have different opinions on simple foreign language conversation skills, company field-specific theoretical knowledge; planning, coordination, and organizing; relevant industry skills related to the company. In general ability level, the corporate employers and graduates have different views on problem-solving ability; analytical competencies; reflective thinking, assessing one’s own work; working under pressure; accuracy, attention to detail; working independently; ability to work in a team. In behavioral/attitude traits level, the corporate employers and graduates have different opinions on initiative; the power of concentration; getting personally involved; loyalty, integrity; critical thinking; tolerance, appreciation of different points of view; taking responsibilities, decisions. Corporate employers generally believe that graduates are adequate on the ability related to specific skills and knowledge level but inadequate in general ability level and behavior behavioral/attitude traits level. Therefore, this study suggests that schools should develop curricula that are more suitable for industrial practice.
Evaluating Teachers across Canada and Kenya Acquiring Competence with Online Literacy Programs for Children
Poster/Exhibit Session Constanza Banda, Eileen Wood, Alexandra Gottardo
Given the prevalence of computer software in educational settings, it is important to establish the efficacy of software for teachers in the classroom. One software program, ABRACADABRA (ABRA), has been demonstrated to be effective in the development of literacy skills in young children (e.g. Wolgemuth, et al., 2014). Although this program has positive impacts, limited research is available to determine the cross-cultural relevance of this software. The present study evaluated the impact of teaching experience and literacy knowledge in pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions regarding this technology among two Canadian and one Kenyan sample. A total of 64 female teachers (Mage= 38.26, SDage =11.22) completed a pre-test survey and then participated in a training workshop for the ABRA software. Workshops were followed by a post-test survey. Outcomes indicated that participants’ knowledge of literacy did not significantly vary across locations; however, their confidence in teaching four areas (reading fluency, writing, comprehension, and alphabetic) of literacy did vary as a function of location, with Kenyan teachers yielding the highest teaching confidence. Interestingly, across all locations, the participant’s confidence in teaching early literacy increased following the workshop. No differences were found across participants regarding comfort using and teaching with technology. Endorsement of the software was high with approximately 92% of the participants indicating that they would be likely to use ABRA going forward. Qualitative analyses confirmed some well-established barriers and successes for these teaching workshops. Points for discussion consider the relevance of workshop training and its impact on the implementation of this software.
Identifying the Impact of Using Augmented and Online Reality in Educational Contexts: A Literature Review
Poster/Exhibit Session Oli Howson, Marco Gilardi
In recent years immersive Online Reality (iVR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have grown in popularity and their potential for technology-enhanced learning has been explored by researchers and practitioners. However, a clear picture of the effectiveness of these technologies as teaching tools has not yet been drawn and it is not yet clear what benefits and drawbacks these new technologies bring to the classroom. We present in this work a structured meta-review of the literature on the impact and applications of AR/iVR technologies in educational contexts. The review has been restricted to published articles that investigate applications of AR/iVR technologies in a child, adult, and work-based education that have been published after 2012, the year after which AR/iVR technologies have started to become widely available on the market. This investigation also aims to understand whether AR/iVR-based education is being built towards specific learning objectives. 2,592 potential articles were filtered down through abstract and title review to 123 articles which were categorised as vocational/work-based – adult (54%), academic/university (24%) and child education (23%) This work reports on interim findings of the review covering the ages 5-18 which is the age range of UK compulsory child education. Interim findings suggest AR/iVR is more widespread in vocational education contexts than in academic education, their use in Academia is not yet pervasive, mainly restricted to research investigations rather than being normal practice. The use of AR/iVR technologies in education has a positive impact on engagement, motivation, comprehension, and retention when compared to traditional educational methods.
Correlation of Certainty-based Marking Scores with Student Performance on Assessments
Poster/Exhibit Session Romeo jr Batacan
The rationale for the use of certainty-based marking (CBM) on online (formative) and written (summative) assessments is to promote awareness and self-assessment while revising. The use of CBM in health care training is invaluable encouraging reflection on reasoning prior to making clinical-based decisions. However, with respect to its benefits on student learning, there is limited literature on this area. The aim of this study is to investigate the utility of CBM in enhancing student performance in online and written assessments. A retrospective analysis of the degree of correlation between practice quizzes average CBM scores and online quizzes scores and written exam scores was conducted. First-year students (n=253) at CQUniversity Australia enrolled in Introductory Anatomy and Physiology Term 2 2018 who completed all the practice quizzes and assessments were included in the study. Average CBM scores in the practice quizzes, online quizzes scores and written exam scores were collected in Moodle and correlation between these scores were analysed using Spearman’s rank-order correlation. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients indicated a strong, positive association between average CBM scores and online quizzes scores (rs = 0.685, p < .01), and a strong, positive association between average CBM scores and final written exam scores (rs = 0.616, p < .01). There is a strong positive relationship between average CBM marks and students’ performance on assessments. Students who answered more practice questions correctly with confidence perform better on their assessments.
The Changing Face of Teaching and Learning: Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on Assessment and Student Learning
Poster/Exhibit Session Naaz Fatima Kirmani
The presentation focusses on the changing educational paradigms in a technologically driven world, the future of jobs, existing gaps in the present educational system and the role of new technologies (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning)to meet these challenges. It addresses the issues related to classroom assessment with an aim to emphasize on self assessment strategies to empower the new generation and transform the role of learners in the 21st century classroom. It further presents the ways in which new technologies can be utilised to redesign and reinvent assessment platforms that are informed by meaningful learning outcomes, focussed on individual abilities and supporting more personalised learning environments. The presentation explores the pivotal role that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can play in supporting, measuring and redesigning learning environments.
