Pedagogical issues involved in using IT in teaching Student issues Current knowledge about students in transition and their approach to learning Changes in universities to address student needs Are there new teaching pedagogies? Flexible delivery - hope for the future?

Student Issues Changing profile of student body Increase in numbers in science courses Need for greater degree of pastoral care Students need to work (for money) whilst full- time enrolled University teaching needs to accommodate student issues - in particular to address the transition from school to university

Current knowledge and understanding of first year experience Transition is a complex process involving both academic and social issues Diverse background of students with respect to academic ability and generic skill base Student perceptions of a future after science Students need to be shown how to manage their time and their learning Value of collaborative activities

Are there changes in universities to address these needs? First Year Experience Forum, Sydney 2000 A range of activities Summary of concerns Recommendations to Deans Emergence of new teaching pedagogies Flexible delivery On-line learning/assessment

New teaching pedagogies Acknowledge different learning styles Develop programs to enable access any- time and any-place Need to encourage active learning Develop content within a relevant context Allow for repeated self-assessment

Flexible delivery - hope for the future? What is flexible? Requirements for students Careful scaffolding of course and facilitation by teacher Appropriate learner support systems Application of technologies where appropriate Access to information on courses and services, appropriate learning resources, and flexible assessment processes

Science Education Research Subject-oriented education research groups Some important general findings Misconceptions research Diagnostic tools for misconceptions Targeted teaching techniques

Subject-oriented education research groups Education research is often ignored by university teachers The process of university teaching cannot be divorced from the content World-wide trend to do research into teaching inside science departments Most advanced in physics, but also happening in chemistry and biology

Some important general research findings Traditional lectures are not very effective in promoting student understanding Student learning takes place when students work in groups, and discuss the material Deep or shallow learning depends on students’ attitude to the subject Learning can be lessened if the amount of material (cognitive load) is too great

Misconceptions research Many students hold “Aristotelian” concepts of nature — example, motion implies force These concepts are deeply held, difficult to change and often internally contradictory Much work done to identify and catalogue most common misconceptions Important work now being done on student misconceptions in different cultures

Diagnostic tools for misconceptions Such tools are possible as there are only a small number of common misconceptions Researchers in physics have developed “concept inventories” Usually multiple choice questions with the right answer hidden in tempting distracters These have been tried on many classes of students, and reported in the literature

Targeted teaching techniques One important finding: traditional lectures leave many misconceptions unchanged Special teaching techniques are developed Many involve making students confront incorrect beliefs and then change them Example: POE (predict, observe, explain) Successful ones involve Active Engagement

Cooperative Learning Biology 1, University of Western Sydney A site which encourages collaborative learning and individual challenge. See: Fraser, S., and Deane, E. “A community of Learning — the UWS Science Virtual Resource Centre ” Proc. Tools for Flexible Learning Workshop.

Cooperative workshop tutorials A tutorial system which uses a cooperative learning scheme to teach large first year classes in physics. See: Sharma, M.D., Millar, R. and Seth, S., “Workshop Tutorials: accommodating student-centred learning in large first year university physics courses”, Int. J. Sci. Educ, 1999, 21 (8), 839–853

Virtual Learning Environments Biology 1, University of Sydney An electronic space that allows students to meet for social and academic purposes, to “attend” classes (catch up on lectures), to chat to one another and to interact with the learning resources.

Study Road Maps Murdoch On-Line (Faculty of Engineering, Murdoch University, Western Australia) A device for allowing students to plan their paths through all the options in a gives course and monitor their own progress. emo/index.html