UA Open Access Publishing Fund / Background: The transition from medical student to first-year intern can be challenging. The stress of increased responsibilities, the gap between performance expectations and varying levels of clinical skills, and the need to adapt to a new institutional space and culture can make this transition overwhelming. Orientation programs intend to help new residents prepare for their new training environment. Objective: To ease our interns’ transition, we piloted a novel clinical primer course. We believe this course will provide an introduction to basic clinical knowledge and procedures, without affecting time allotted for mandatory orientation activities, and will help the interns feel better prepared for their clinical duties. Methods: First-year Emergency Medicine residents were invited to participate in this primer course, called the Introductory Clinician Development Series (or “intern boot camp”), providing optional lecture and procedural skills instruction prior to their participation in the mandatory orientation curriculum and assumption of clinical responsibilities. Participating residents completed postcourse surveys asking for feedback on the experience. Results: Survey responses indicated that the intern boot camp helped first-year residents feel more prepared for their clinical shifts in the Emergency Department. Conclusion: An optional clinical introductory series can allow for maintenance of mandatory orientation activities and clinical shifts while easing the transition from medical student to clinician.

Large classes are becoming inevitable at large research Universities. The sociology department at Virginia Tech University routinely offers a course with approximately 600 students. Each year approximately a sixth of those students fail the first exam. To increase the performance of at-risk students a mentoring program was created, but many did not participate. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that contribute to at-risk students choosing not to take advantage of the academic mentoring program offered in their class. A survey was received from sixty-eight students who failed the first exam, in which only thirty-seven students participated in the tutorial program. The analysis will focus on eight domains and nineteen hypotheses that might be associated with help seeking. The domains are: classroom behavior; students' self-perception; classroom practices and institutional policies; general perceptions of help seeking; history with mentors; time commitment; college demographics; and respondent demographics. Some of the major findings suggest that students' self perception; time commitment; and college demographics are related to help seeking. Findings related to the classroom practices suggest that some students do feel that the different options (withdrawal rule, dropping the course, and dropping the lowest exam grade) led to their non-enrollment in the mentoring program. / Master of Science

Considering the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, the responsibility to take leadership lies with many actors; one of them being universities. The course in “Climate Change Leadership – Power, Politics and Culture” at CEMUS/Uppsala University explores the issue from a participatory perspective where students play a significant role in exploring what climate change leadership means throughout one semester. By using an educational design research approach this paper contributes to the further development of the course by giving a definition for climate change leadership as a theoretical outcome, and suggesting improvements for the course development as a practical outcome. To do so a theoretical analysis of leadership and change theories has been undertaken, as well as an analysis of data collected by current and former students, and course coordinators that have worked with the course before. The given definition and suggestions for the course will be subject to critical scrutiny in the upcoming spring semester and are subject to change depending on their efficacy in contributing to leadership capabilities in students.

Since mathematical tasks are central to the teaching of mathematics, it is crucial to extend our knowledge of the characteristic features of tasks that are conducive to student development of problem-solving and reasoning abilities as well as conceptual understanding.   The aim of the dissertation is to investigate how different types of mathematical tasks affect student learning and choice of learning strategies. This is done through a twofold approach: 1) to test the hypothesis that tasks affording students the opportunity and responsibility for constructing knowledge are more effective learning tools than tasks for which the solution is presented, and 2) to analyse the educational message embedded in the teacher’s formulation of the mathematical tasks on the Internet.   The main conclusion is that the type of task students engage with is important for their learning of new things. The participants who were engaged in creating their own solutions were less successful during practice but performed better on the tests in comparison with the participants who were involved in solving the tasks with a given method. The results of the sub-studies indicate that in a learning situation consisting of repeated practice of a solution method, the results are closely related to the students’ cognitive ability. The investigation shows that tasks inviting the opportunity to be solved through creative reasoning, to a certain extent serve a compensatory function in relation to students’ cognitive resources. This means that the participants need not put in so much effort in the test situation if they have practiced creative reasoning.   One conclusion to be drawn from the study of the educational message in Internet documents, when it comes to teachers’ formulation of tasks, is that there are many teachers who design tasks that encourage young students’ creative reasoning. However, the educational message in the documents shows that the teachers demand relatively little of the students in the majority of the tasks. The result indicates that there is some uncertainty about how to formulate and use tasks to support the older student’s mathematical development. The way the tasks are formulated indicates a lack of discursive tools to clarify the intended educational situation. Thus, the qualities in the tasks are hidden resources. / Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att undersöka hur olika typer av matematikuppgifter påverkar elevers möjligheter till lärande och val av lärandestrategi. Resultaten visar att i en lärandesituation som består av upprepad träning av en lösningsmetod är elevernas resultat starkt beroende av deras kognitiva förmåga. Uppgifter som ger eleverna möjligheter att lösa dem med kreativa resonemang verkar i viss mån kompensatoriskt i förhållande till elevers kognitiva resurser. Testdeltagare som tränat via kreativa resonemang har en lägre kognitiv belastning. Studien av lärarkonstruerade uppgifter på internet visar exempel på uppgifter som upplevs som användbara i undervisningen. Uppgiftskonstruktörerna tenderar att ställa förhållandevis låga krav på eleverna i merparten av uppgifterna. Resultatet tyder även på en osäkerhet inför hur uppgifter skall kommuniceras för att stötta elevers matematiska utveckling. De kvalitéer som finns i uppgifterna kommer därför i skymundan. Matematikuppgifter är centrala i matematikundervisningen. Det är därför viktigt att öka kunskapen om matematikuppgifter och hur dessa kan bidra till elevers möjligheter att utveckla sin matematiska kompetens. Väl utformade matematikuppgifter kan bidra till att minska elevers utantillärande.

Arbetet är en form av educational design research med fokus på problemlösningsuppgifter i matematikundervisningen med utgångspunkt i det sociala samspelet. Studien utgår från en tidigare genomförd litteraturstudie där aspekter som är centrala för elevernas utveckling av problemlösningsförmågan lyftes fram. Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra hur två av dessa aspekter, gruppstorlek och laborativt material, påverkar elevers arbete med och lösningar av problemlösningsuppgifter inom ämnet matematik. Empirin som studiens resultat bygger på består av nio genomförda lektioner som observerats på tre olika skolor. Lektionerna utgår från designprinciper som är framtagna genom den sociokulturella teorin samt den tidigare genomförda litteraturstudien. Resultatet visar att gruppstorlek har störst påverkan på elevernas möjligheter att arbeta med och lösa problemlösningsuppgifter. Laborativt material är användbart om eleverna vet hur de ska använda det men om de inte ser nyttan med materialet missgynnas eleverna och likaså deras möjligheter att tillägna sig matematiska kunskaper.

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

The professional practice of educational design normally involves collaborating with a subject matter expert on a one-to-one basis and is only occasionally undertaken in teams. This thesis argues that a team-based approach to educational design is powerful and particularly so when transdisciplinary collaborations are facilitated. Transdisciplinary educational design is the process of standing outside one’s discipline to collaborate with colleagues from the technical sphere, the library and other disciplines. The common ground shared by the transdisciplinary teams in this research was student assessment.The core data collection for this research was completed between July 2002 and June 2005. Using an overarching action research methodology, three cycles of data collection were completed by action learning sets. Suitable members of the sets were identified through a series of online staff development workshops that were designed and facilitated by the researcher. Two supplementary data collection activities were also undertaken. The first of these was a Web survey that broadly mapped design practices for online assessment in four Australian regional universities. Three rounds of telephone interviews then followed up on survey responses. The second supplementary data collection was undertaken between the second and third action learning cycles to contextualise the online assessment design activities at Southern Cross University within the broader framework provided by the other three regional universities in the original sample. It included focus groups with educational designers and face-to-face interviews with three academics at each of these universities. The entire series of data collection activities was reflectively managed to heighten its effectiveness. This management included screening of suitable participants, negotiation of manageable session times and duration, and establishment of ground rules for attendance and interactions, as well as drawing out a commitment to observe silences as creative spaces in the design process.In keeping with the action research paradigm, an extensive examination of the literature not only provides a background for the research questions but also continues to be threaded throughout the thesis as data collection cycles directed further literature review. The thesis narrative is given an original form through the use of a gardening metaphor that serves to highlight the rewarding, delicate and transitional nature of this kind of educational design. Such transitional aspects of educational design allow for innovation and creativity not evident in the systems-based approaches to designing instruction. This research also supports current initiatives in Australian higher education concerning the first year experience, embedding graduate attributes in the curriculum, and blending on-campus and off-campus learners into one class. The transdisciplinary approach to educational design explored through this research responds effectively to the varied issues in designing online assessment and developing innovative approaches by academic staff

O uso da tecnologia e a globalização são fatores que moldaram a geração de estudantes do século XXI, levando-os a serem mais integrados socialmente e estimulando-os a tomarem decisões de forma colaborativa. Tais características têm sido apontadas em prospecções e debates sobre os espaços de aprendizagem do futuro em diversos países, levando ao surgimento de questões relacionadas às mudanças educacionais e materiais a serem realizadas para acompanhar esta geração. Apesar disso, o espaço de ensino e aprendizagem das escolas de hoje ainda é baseado em modelos tradicionais de ensino. Escolas tradicionais foram concebidas a partir de pedagogias focadas na transmissão verticalizada do conteúdo, enquanto pedagogias emergentes empregam a investigação, experimentação, colaboração e atividades multidisciplinares nos processos de aprendizagem. Países europeus têm investido no redesenho de espaços de escolas tradicionais para apoiar abordagens pedagógicas inovadoras. No Brasil, o discurso pedagógico defendido pelas diretrizes educacionais preconiza que o conhecimento deve ser construído pela ação do aluno e pela interação social. Paradoxalmente, as salas de aula das escolas brasileiras, mesmo as escolas construídas para atender abordagens inovadoras, não estimulam a interação entre os alunos. Nas escolas brasileiras, o pátio escolar parece constituir o único espaço que potencializa a atitude autônoma e espontânea dos estudantes. O principal óbice para esta utilização parece se concentrar na falta de controle pedagógico dada a ausência de barreiras físicas e dimensões do pátio. Este estudo sugere que, através de intervenções físicas de baixo custo, o pátio escolar pode ser utilizado para a transmissão de conteúdos curriculares do ensino fundamental, propiciando a interatividade e comunicação entre os alunos sem perda de controle pedagógico. Para demonstrar este potencial, realizou-se um experimento com alunos de 13 e 14 anos, envolvendo a utilização de objetos manipuláveis vinculados a conteúdos curriculares. O experimento consistiu na transformação do playground do pátio de uma escola de ensino fundamental em contexto de aprendizagem a partir da construção de duas intervenções, nas quais brinquedos do playground foram utilizados como componentes. A utilização dos objetos e do espaço do pátio pelos alunos foi registrada através da observação das relações estabelecidas entre professores e alunos no espaço do pátio; das formas de distribuição e agrupamento espontâneo e das atitudes autônomas e interativas entre os alunos. Os dados coletados foram analisados em diagramas representando a ocupação do pátio durante os experimentos e comparados à ocupação de uma sala de aula padrão para o mesmo número de alunos, um grupo de 35 estudantes. Verificou-se que os alunos concentraram-se mais próximos à intervenção do que seria possível na sala de aula. Foi criada uma hierarquia implícita na relação entre professor e alunos em que, no pátio, o posicionamento do professor não se diferenciou espacialmente do posicionamento dos alunos, dando ao professor liberdade para trocar constantemente de posição e interagir com os alunos. Foi possível concluir que os experimentos polarizaram a distribuição dos alunos no espaço do pátio, que não houve perda do controle pedagógico e que a concentração dos alunos ao redor das intervenções não dependeu da delimitação espacial geralmente obtida através de paredes da sala de aula convencional. / The use of technology and the globalization have shaped twenty-first century students. Hence, this generation tends to be more socially integrated and also makes decisions collaboratively. These characteristics have been identified in surveys and debates about the future of learning spaces in several countries, leading to the emergence of issues related to educational and material changes to be made in order to support this generation. Nevertheless, teaching and learning spaces in schools today is still based on traditional models of education. Traditional schools were designed for pedagogies that are focused on vertical transmission of knowledge. On the other hand, emerging pedagogies employ research, experimentation, collaboration and multidisciplinary activities in the learning process. European countries have invested in redesigning traditional schools spaces to support innovative teaching approaches. In Brazil, educational guidelines recommend that knowledge should be built by the action of the student and by social interaction. Paradoxically, classrooms in Brazilian schools, even schools built to meet innovative approaches, do not stimulate interaction between students. In Brazilian schools, the school courtyard seems to be the only space that enhances the autonomous and spontaneous attitude of students. The main obstacle to its use seems to focus on the lack of pedagogical control in the absence of physical barriers and by the courtyard dimensions. Thus, this study suggests that the schoolyard could be used for the transmission of knowledge of elementary school disciplines through low cost physical intervention, providing then, interactivity and communication among students without loss of pedagogical control. In order to demonstrate this capability, an experiment was carried out with students from 13 to 14 years, involving the use of manipulable objects linked to curricular content. The experiment consisted in transforming the playground courtyard of an elementary school in a context of learning. By building two interventions, in which, playground equipment were used as components, the use of objects and the yard space by students, was observed. Besides, we observed the relation among teachers and students in the courtyard space; also forms of distribution and spontaneous grouping, and the autonomous and interactive attitudes among students. The collected data was analyzed in diagrams representing the courtyard occupation during the experiments and then that data was compared to the occupation of a standard classroom for the same number of students, a group of 35 students. It was found in the experiment that students concentrated closer to the area of interest than would be possible in the classroom. An implicit hierarchy was established in the relationship between teacher and students in which, in the courtyard, the position of the teacher did not differ spatially in student placement, giving freedom for teachers to constantly change positions and interact with students. It was concluded that the experiments polarized distribution of students in the courtyard space with no loss of pedagogical control and the concentration of students around the interventions did not depend on spatial delimitation usually made by the walls of conventional classroom.

O uso da tecnologia e a globalização são fatores que moldaram a geração de estudantes do século XXI, levando-os a serem mais integrados socialmente e estimulando-os a tomarem decisões de forma colaborativa. Tais características têm sido apontadas em prospecções e debates sobre os espaços de aprendizagem do futuro em diversos países, levando ao surgimento de questões relacionadas às mudanças educacionais e materiais a serem realizadas para acompanhar esta geração. Apesar disso, o espaço de ensino e aprendizagem das escolas de hoje ainda é baseado em modelos tradicionais de ensino. Escolas tradicionais foram concebidas a partir de pedagogias focadas na transmissão verticalizada do conteúdo, enquanto pedagogias emergentes empregam a investigação, experimentação, colaboração e atividades multidisciplinares nos processos de aprendizagem. Países europeus têm investido no redesenho de espaços de escolas tradicionais para apoiar abordagens pedagógicas inovadoras. No Brasil, o discurso pedagógico defendido pelas diretrizes educacionais preconiza que o conhecimento deve ser construído pela ação do aluno e pela interação social. Paradoxalmente, as salas de aula das escolas brasileiras, mesmo as escolas construídas para atender abordagens inovadoras, não estimulam a interação entre os alunos. Nas escolas brasileiras, o pátio escolar parece constituir o único espaço que potencializa a atitude autônoma e espontânea dos estudantes. O principal óbice para esta utilização parece se concentrar na falta de controle pedagógico dada a ausência de barreiras físicas e dimensões do pátio. Este estudo sugere que, através de intervenções físicas de baixo custo, o pátio escolar pode ser utilizado para a transmissão de conteúdos curriculares do ensino fundamental, propiciando a interatividade e comunicação entre os alunos sem perda de controle pedagógico. Para demonstrar este potencial, realizou-se um experimento com alunos de 13 e 14 anos, envolvendo a utilização de objetos manipuláveis vinculados a conteúdos curriculares. O experimento consistiu na transformação do playground do pátio de uma escola de ensino fundamental em contexto de aprendizagem a partir da construção de duas intervenções, nas quais brinquedos do playground foram utilizados como componentes. A utilização dos objetos e do espaço do pátio pelos alunos foi registrada através da observação das relações estabelecidas entre professores e alunos no espaço do pátio; das formas de distribuição e agrupamento espontâneo e das atitudes autônomas e interativas entre os alunos. Os dados coletados foram analisados em diagramas representando a ocupação do pátio durante os experimentos e comparados à ocupação de uma sala de aula padrão para o mesmo número de alunos, um grupo de 35 estudantes. Verificou-se que os alunos concentraram-se mais próximos à intervenção do que seria possível na sala de aula. Foi criada uma hierarquia implícita na relação entre professor e alunos em que, no pátio, o posicionamento do professor não se diferenciou espacialmente do posicionamento dos alunos, dando ao professor liberdade para trocar constantemente de posição e interagir com os alunos. Foi possível concluir que os experimentos polarizaram a distribuição dos alunos no espaço do pátio, que não houve perda do controle pedagógico e que a concentração dos alunos ao redor das intervenções não dependeu da delimitação espacial geralmente obtida através de paredes da sala de aula convencional. / The use of technology and the globalization have shaped twenty-first century students. Hence, this generation tends to be more socially integrated and also makes decisions collaboratively. These characteristics have been identified in surveys and debates about the future of learning spaces in several countries, leading to the emergence of issues related to educational and material changes to be made in order to support this generation. Nevertheless, teaching and learning spaces in schools today is still based on traditional models of education. Traditional schools were designed for pedagogies that are focused on vertical transmission of knowledge. On the other hand, emerging pedagogies employ research, experimentation, collaboration and multidisciplinary activities in the learning process. European countries have invested in redesigning traditional schools spaces to support innovative teaching approaches. In Brazil, educational guidelines recommend that knowledge should be built by the action of the student and by social interaction. Paradoxically, classrooms in Brazilian schools, even schools built to meet innovative approaches, do not stimulate interaction between students. In Brazilian schools, the school courtyard seems to be the only space that enhances the autonomous and spontaneous attitude of students. The main obstacle to its use seems to focus on the lack of pedagogical control in the absence of physical barriers and by the courtyard dimensions. Thus, this study suggests that the schoolyard could be used for the transmission of knowledge of elementary school disciplines through low cost physical intervention, providing then, interactivity and communication among students without loss of pedagogical control. In order to demonstrate this capability, an experiment was carried out with students from 13 to 14 years, involving the use of manipulable objects linked to curricular content. The experiment consisted in transforming the playground courtyard of an elementary school in a context of learning. By building two interventions, in which, playground equipment were used as components, the use of objects and the yard space by students, was observed. Besides, we observed the relation among teachers and students in the courtyard space; also forms of distribution and spontaneous grouping, and the autonomous and interactive attitudes among students. The collected data was analyzed in diagrams representing the courtyard occupation during the experiments and then that data was compared to the occupation of a standard classroom for the same number of students, a group of 35 students. It was found in the experiment that students concentrated closer to the area of interest than would be possible in the classroom. An implicit hierarchy was established in the relationship between teacher and students in which, in the courtyard, the position of the teacher did not differ spatially in student placement, giving freedom for teachers to constantly change positions and interact with students. It was concluded that the experiments polarized distribution of students in the courtyard space with no loss of pedagogical control and the concentration of students around the interventions did not depend on spatial delimitation usually made by the walls of conventional classroom.