‘Structural transformation’ as a threshold concept in university teaching

Kinchin, Ian M.; Miller, Norma

doi:10.1080/14703297.2012.677655

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Faculty who are ready to do better things could incorporate retrieval practice into their course to increase across-semester knowledge retention (Lyle, Bego, Hopkins, Hieb, & Ralston, 2020). Finally proficient or expert educators could move to a learner-centred perspective that appreciates how students construct their knowledge of the discipline (Kinchin & Miller, 2012) (Devitt, Kerin, & O'Sullivan, 2014).…”

Section: Focus On Learning Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

LENS: A Model for Engineering Faculty Development

Nelson

Brennan

2022

9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES 2021) and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Confere

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Engineering educators could benefit from a faculty development model that meets them where they are, in both their discipline and their journey as educators. It is often difficult to get academics to talk about their teaching as it relates to educational research, and research shows that those in engineering programs, even with a pandemic-imposed accommodation to delivery, participate in fewer educational development opportunities than their colleagues in other disciplines. This reluctance to develop as educators may help explain why student and faculty surveys of student engagement rank engineering educators lowest in the categories of effective teaching practices and providing a supportive learning environment. PURPOSE OR GOALThis work presents the LENS (Learning Environments Nurture Success) model of engineering faculty development. The six "lenses" represented in the LENS model align with the evidence-based characteristics of an effective learning environment for engineering students: (1) academic rigour, (2) focus on learning, (3) instructional support, (4) quality of teaching, (5) student-faculty relationships, and (6) student engagement. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODSThe LENS model is based on a conceptual framework that draws on five key areas: (1) student success in engineering programs, (2) change and innovation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teaching, (3) threshold concepts associated with post-secondary teaching, (4) an educator's journey from novice to expert teacher, and (5) the findings of myriad studies in research-based instructional strategies (RBIS), discipline-based education research (DBER) in STEM programs, and engineering education research (EER). Each of these research areas shares a social constructivist viewpoint with a vision of students who are engaged, successful, and value their learning. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES Following a literature review, each lens is defined, identifies commonly used instructional strategies, and suggests evidence-based strategies that can be implemented to enhance one's teaching practice. The breakdown provides level-appropriate recommendations for faculty at three stages of development: first-order change for those wanting to do things better, second-order change for those choosing to do better things, and third-order or epistemic change for those primed to make a transformational shift in their teaching. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARYThe LENS model contributes to the body of scholarly work associated with engineering faculty development by (1) offering a practical framework that supports educational development and planning for all forms of delivery (face-to-face, remote, blended, or hybrid) that can be used independently, in consultation with an Educational Developer, or in collaboration with colleagues, (2) threading educator-related threshold concepts associated with learning, pedagogy, and assessment through each of the six lenses, and (3) linking interdisciplinary research focused on facilitating the success of en...

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Section: Focus On Learning Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

LENS: A Model for Engineering Faculty Development

Nelson

Brennan

2022

9th Research in Engineering Education Symposium (REES 2021) and 32nd Australasian Association for Engineering Education Confere

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“…Observing biological organs in situ creates a natural setting for studying such questions, and allows students to figure out many such answers by the simple task of observation. We propose that the benefits of dissection as a study method can also translate to learning-by-doing activities like physical model manipulation, which is particularly relevant for learning biochemistry concepts [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building mental models by dissecting physical models

Srivastava

2015

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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When students build physical models from prefabricated components to learn about model systems, there is an implicit trade-off between the physical degrees of freedom in building the model and the intensity of instructor supervision needed. Models that are too flexible, permitting multiple possible constructions require greater supervision to ensure focused learning; models that are too constrained require less supervision, but can be constructed mechanically, with little to no conceptual engagement. We propose "model-dissection" as an alternative to "model-building," whereby instructors could make efficient use of supervisory resources, while simultaneously promoting focused learning. We report empirical results from a study conducted with biology undergraduate students, where we demonstrate that asking them to "dissect" out specific conceptual structures from an already built 3D physical model leads to a significant improvement in performance than asking them to build the 3D model from simpler components. Using questionnaires to measure understanding both before and after model-based interventions for two cohorts of students, we find that both the "builders" and the "dissectors" improve in the post-test, but it is the latter group who show statistically significant improvement. These results, in addition to the intrinsic time-efficiency of "model dissection," suggest that it could be a valuable pedagogical tool.

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“…However, Kinchin and Miller (2012) report that many university teachers still have not adapted educational methods in line with student-centered education. Kinchin and Miller (2012) claim that a new way of thinking about education is needed, and that the process of adapting this new way of thinking is a threshold concept for the teachers' possibility to change their concrete educational activities.…”

Section: Threshold Concepts -Some Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lindberg-Sand and Sonesson (2008) report on an increase of such courses in Europe, sometimes based on a strong national agenda, e.g. in Sweden and the UK, where academics are obliged to attend at least one pedagogical course (Lindberg-Sand and Sonesson, 2008;Kinchin and Miller, 2012).…”

Section: How Pck Can Be Acquiredmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Oskarsson¹

2014

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Logistics is regarded as an area of high importance in business, contributing to profitability and competitiveness. Logistics is crucial also from a societal perspective, since logistical activities count for a big proportion of a country's GNP, and since effective logistics systems can help reducing some of the environmental problems we face today. Higher education has an important role to play in order to provide business and society with well-educated logistics personnel. Since not much research is published within higher education in logistics, the purpose of this thesis was defined as:To contribute to the knowledge on teaching and learning logistics in higher education.More specifically, two research questions were set up: RQ1:What knowledge and skills are important for students to learn during higher education in logistics? RQ2:How can students' learning of these skills and knowledge be facilitated?A comprehensive literature review serves as a basis for the study. The literature on logistics education gives limited guidance concerning what is to be learned during higher education in logistics, as well as how to facilitate learning within logistics. These findings indicate that the logistics teaching faculty do not base their course designs and teaching practices on solid knowledge on what and how to teach.Although a major finding of my work is that more research is needed, some more concrete propositions can be made. In order to reach some kind of answers to the research questions, a selection of pedagogical theories was applied on logistics education with help from illustrating examples, partly found in literature, and partly from specific studies performed as part of this thesis.Concerning the first research question, I propose a tentative model, illustrating how different logistics knowledge and skills can be positioned against each other. A division is made between subject-specific and generic knowledge and skills, and two core generic skills within logistics are proposed: Total cost analysis and Structured investigation method.From pedagogical literature, the concept of thresholds was introduced. A threshold refers to something that is troublesome for students to overcome, but once passed leads to a new way of understanding. The identification of the thresholds associated with acquiring important knowledge and skills, is therefore important for teachers. Some thresholds concerning logistics education are discussed in the thesis. For the two core generic skills proposed above, it is suggested that 'case-specific adaptation of total cost models' is a threshold for total cost analysis, and 'investigation planning' is suggested as a threshold for structured investigation method.The question of how something can be learned is dependent on what is to be learned. Since there is a lack of clear answers concerning the what, the second research question (focusing the how) is difficult to answer in a concrete manner. On a general level, some findings were found though.Logistics is a discipline where educ...

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‘Structural transformation’ as a threshold concept in university teaching

Cited by 15 publications

References 34 publications

LENS: A Model for Engineering Faculty Development

LENS: A Model for Engineering Faculty Development

Building mental models by dissecting physical models

Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

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