title: A resource for understanding and evaluating outcomes of undergraduate field experiences

authors: Shortlidge, Erin E.

abstract: Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) are a prominent element of science education across many disciplines; however, empirical data regarding the outcomes are often limited. UFEs are unique in that they typically take place in a field setting, are often interdisciplinary, and include diverse students. UFEs range from courses, to field trips, to residential research experiences, and thereby have the potential to yield a plethora of outcomes for undergraduate participants. The UFE community has expressed interest in better understanding how to assess the outcomes of UFEs. In response, we developed a guide for practitioners to use when assessing their UFE that promotes an evidence-based, systematic, iterative approach. This essay guides practitioners through the steps of: identifying intended UFE outcomes, considering contextual factors, determining an assessment approach, and using the information gained to inform next steps. We provide a table of common learning outcomes with aligned assessment tools, and vignettes to illustrate using the assessment guide. We aim to support comprehensive, informed assessment of UFEs, thus leading to more inclusive and reflective UFE design, and ultimately improved student outcomes. We urge practitioners to move toward evidence-based advocacy for continued support of UFEs.

text: A resource for understanding and evaluating outcomes of undergraduate field experiences Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) are a prominent element of science education across many disciplines; however, empirical data regarding the outcomes are often limited. UFEs are unique in that they typically take place in a field setting, are often interdisciplinary, and include diverse students. UFEs range from courses, to field trips, to residential research experiences, and thereby have the potential to yield a plethora of outcomes for undergraduate participants. The UFE community has expressed interest in better understanding how to assess the outcomes of UFEs. In response, we developed a guide for practitioners to use when assessing their UFE that promotes an evidence-based, systematic, iterative approach. This essay guides practitioners through the steps of: identifying intended UFE outcomes, considering contextual factors, determining an assessment approach, and using the information gained to inform next steps. We provide a table of common learning outcomes with aligned assessment tools, and vignettes to illustrate using the assessment guide. We aim to support comprehensive, informed assessment of UFEs, thus leading to more inclusive and reflective UFE design, and ultimately improved student outcomes. We urge practitioners to move toward evidence-based advocacy for continued support of UFEs.

year: 2021

title: Instrument or object? The New Zealand piano on display

authors: Moffat, Kirstine

abstract: The piano is rather a unique display item in the museum or the historic house. Firstly, whether an upright or a grand, the piano is an imposing, substantial object that occupies significant space within a setting and immediately demands attention because of its proportions. This object has a history, a story to tell that, where the provenance of the piano is known, provides a direct, tangible link with the past. Secondly, the piano is an aesthetic object, finely crafted and giving pleasure to the eye through the grain of the wood, the sheen of the polish, the black and white chessboard of the keyboard, the intricacy of the carved legs or marquetry inlay, the elegance of its shape and design. Finally, it is a musical instrument designed to produce sound and thus has the potential to delight the ear as well as the eye. Indeed, sight and sound are not the only senses to be satisfied by the instrument. The musty perfume of old wood and the sharp tang of lacquer entice the nose, while the satin wood and cool ivory keys please the fingers. It is through touch, the interplay between the body and the instrument, with hands on the keys and feet on the pedals, that a piano is given voice

text: Instrument or object? The New Zealand piano on display The piano is rather a unique display item in the museum or the historic house. Firstly, whether an upright or a grand, the piano is an imposing, substantial object that occupies significant space within a setting and immediately demands attention because of its proportions. This object has a history, a story to tell that, where the provenance of the piano is known, provides a direct, tangible link with the past. Secondly, the piano is an aesthetic object, finely crafted and giving pleasure to the eye through the grain of the wood, the sheen of the polish, the black and white chessboard of the keyboard, the intricacy of the carved legs or marquetry inlay, the elegance of its shape and design. Finally, it is a musical instrument designed to produce sound and thus has the potential to delight the ear as well as the eye. Indeed, sight and sound are not the only senses to be satisfied by the instrument. The musty perfume of old wood and the sharp tang of lacquer entice the nose, while the satin wood and cool ivory keys please the fingers. It is through touch, the interplay between the body and the instrument, with hands on the keys and feet on the pedals, that a piano is given voice

year: 2011

title: Imaging and Imagining the Waikato: A Spatial History c.1800-c.1914

authors: Dench, Simon Jeffery

subjects: colonisation

abstract: This thesis reframes the history of the Waikato from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries through a spatial history approach using a visual archive. I argue that Pākehā images of the Waikato were both contemporary records and instruments of colonisation in the region, and that the discursive power of these images is undiminished. In this thesis I focus on spatial occasions represented by maps and photographs in order to reframe the history of colonisation in the Waikato.
First, I move visual sources of historical evidence, specifically maps and photographs, from the periphery to the centre of the frame. An exploration of
the historical context of the selected maps and photographs serves as the narrative framework for the thesis in a strategy that replaces the more usual method of choosing images to illustrate a text that has already been written. This theoretical and methodological framework for what I consider to be a richer and more satisfying use of visual evidence in history is a key feature of this thesis. Second, I employ a colonisation lens to emphasise the negative consequences of colonisation for the indigenous people and landscapes, as well as the diverse and far from unproblematic experiences of the colonists themselves. This thesis positions three phases of Pākehā colonisation: Reconnaissance, Invasion and Occupation. These overtly militaristic labels apply to real military actions as well as to less obvious but longer-lasting and wider-spread discursive strategies of incursion and control.
While this thesis emphasises the negative impacts of colonisation, this is a history from the colonisers’ point of view. The images that form the focus of the thesis were created by Pākehā in the service of Pākehā intentions, actions and identities. But, rather than serving to justify or excuse colonisation as an end that justified the means, I undermine the inevitability inherent in the traditional settlement narrative. I do this by highlighting the ambiguities and contradictions of the colonisers’ intentions and experiences through a close and contextualised reading of the images they made to record and represent themselves. In the process, I refute the legitimacy and validity of Pākehā claims to control Waikato spaces.

text: Imaging and Imagining the Waikato: A Spatial History c.1800-c.1914 This thesis reframes the history of the Waikato from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries through a spatial history approach using a visual archive. I argue that Pākehā images of the Waikato were both contemporary records and instruments of colonisation in the region, and that the discursive power of these images is undiminished. In this thesis I focus on spatial occasions represented by maps and photographs in order to reframe the history of colonisation in the Waikato.
First, I move visual sources of historical evidence, specifically maps and photographs, from the periphery to the centre of the frame. An exploration of
the historical context of the selected maps and photographs serves as the narrative framework for the thesis in a strategy that replaces the more usual method of choosing images to illustrate a text that has already been written. This theoretical and methodological framework for what I consider to be a richer and more satisfying use of visual evidence in history is a key feature of this thesis. Second, I employ a colonisation lens to emphasise the negative consequences of colonisation for the indigenous people and landscapes, as well as the diverse and far from unproblematic experiences of the colonists themselves. This thesis positions three phases of Pākehā colonisation: Reconnaissance, Invasion and Occupation. These overtly militaristic labels apply to real military actions as well as to less obvious but longer-lasting and wider-spread discursive strategies of incursion and control.
While this thesis emphasises the negative impacts of colonisation, this is a history from the colonisers’ point of view. The images that form the focus of the thesis were created by Pākehā in the service of Pākehā intentions, actions and identities. But, rather than serving to justify or excuse colonisation as an end that justified the means, I undermine the inevitability inherent in the traditional settlement narrative. I do this by highlighting the ambiguities and contradictions of the colonisers’ intentions and experiences through a close and contextualised reading of the images they made to record and represent themselves. In the process, I refute the legitimacy and validity of Pākehā claims to control Waikato spaces.

year: 2018