title: Students' perceptions of travel through the liminal space: Lessons for teaching

authors: Harlow, Ann

abstract: This paper presents findings from a study in which educational researchers followed the progress of analogue electronics students over their first two years at university.
In this study, the lecturer's main motivation was to examine how a teaching-focus on threshold concepts might help students grasp troublesome ideas and if those students who grasped the threshold concepts achieved higher scores in the end-of-course examination. The lecturer identified two concepts in the first-year course which students repeatedly found hard to grasp. He focused his teaching on these concepts in the first year, and revisited them, albeit indirectly, throughout the second-year course.
Over the two years, the lecturer utilised a variety of teaching strategies to facilitate students' learning of the troublesome concepts. In order to evaluate the effects of these strategies on student learning, an educational researcher, in collaboration with the lecturer, explored students' perceptions about where they 'got stuck' and what helped them understand the selected threshold concepts. Data from student surveys, individual interviews, and focus groups contributed to insights about their experience of transition through the liminal space. The lecturer and researcher reflected on and analysed the lecturer's teaching strategies using video-stimulated reflective dialogue.
Findings revealed that many students did not fully grasp the two identified threshold concepts in their first year, however, repeated experiences with threshold concepts through varied teaching strategies, and a diversity of learning contexts contributed to students' understanding. In the second year, the continuing students felt that they took the threshold concepts for granted and had ceased to regard them as troublesome. They reported that grasping these threshold concepts was necessary to progress in analogue electronics. Findings of this study indicate that travel through the liminal space can be supported by an explicit and sustained focus on threshold concepts.

text: Students' perceptions of travel through the liminal space: Lessons for teaching This paper presents findings from a study in which educational researchers followed the progress of analogue electronics students over their first two years at university.
In this study, the lecturer's main motivation was to examine how a teaching-focus on threshold concepts might help students grasp troublesome ideas and if those students who grasped the threshold concepts achieved higher scores in the end-of-course examination. The lecturer identified two concepts in the first-year course which students repeatedly found hard to grasp. He focused his teaching on these concepts in the first year, and revisited them, albeit indirectly, throughout the second-year course.
Over the two years, the lecturer utilised a variety of teaching strategies to facilitate students' learning of the troublesome concepts. In order to evaluate the effects of these strategies on student learning, an educational researcher, in collaboration with the lecturer, explored students' perceptions about where they 'got stuck' and what helped them understand the selected threshold concepts. Data from student surveys, individual interviews, and focus groups contributed to insights about their experience of transition through the liminal space. The lecturer and researcher reflected on and analysed the lecturer's teaching strategies using video-stimulated reflective dialogue.
Findings revealed that many students did not fully grasp the two identified threshold concepts in their first year, however, repeated experiences with threshold concepts through varied teaching strategies, and a diversity of learning contexts contributed to students' understanding. In the second year, the continuing students felt that they took the threshold concepts for granted and had ceased to regard them as troublesome. They reported that grasping these threshold concepts was necessary to progress in analogue electronics. Findings of this study indicate that travel through the liminal space can be supported by an explicit and sustained focus on threshold concepts.

year: 2014

title: Identifying invertebrate invasions using morphological and molecular analyses: North American Daphnia ‘pulex’ in New Zealand fresh waters

authors: Duggan, Ian C.

subjects: Biological invasions

abstract: We used a DNA barcoding approach to identify specimens of the Daphnia pulex complex occurring in New Zealand lakes, documenting the establishment of non-indigenous North American Daphnia 'pulex'. Morphological delineation of species in this complex is problematic due to a lack of good morphological traits to distinguish the species, as there is a relatively high degree of morphological stasis within the group through evolutionary time. Accordingly, genetic analyses were used to determine the specific identity and likely geographic origin of this species. Morphologically, individuals most closely resembled Daphnia pulicaria or Daphnia pulex sensu lato, which cannot be separated morphologically. Furthermore, each of these taxa comprises separate species in North America and Europe, despite carrying the same names. We identified individuals using a 658 bp nucleotide portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) as North American Daphnia 'pulex', being distinct from European Daphnia pulex sensu stricto and D. pulicaria from Europe or North America. Cellulose allozyme electrophoresis was used to confirm that individuals were not hybrids with D. pulicaria. North American Daphnia 'pulex' in New Zealand were first recorded in New Zealand from South Island lakes that are popular for overseas recreational fishers, indicating a possible source of introduction for this species (e.g. on/in fishing gear). Our study provides an additional example of how genetic techniques can be used for the accurate identification of non-indigenous taxa, particularly when morphological species determination is not possible. The growth of global databases such as GenBank and Barcode of Life Datasystems (BOLD) will further enhance this identification capacity.

text: Identifying invertebrate invasions using morphological and molecular analyses: North American Daphnia ‘pulex’ in New Zealand fresh waters We used a DNA barcoding approach to identify specimens of the Daphnia pulex complex occurring in New Zealand lakes, documenting the establishment of non-indigenous North American Daphnia 'pulex'. Morphological delineation of species in this complex is problematic due to a lack of good morphological traits to distinguish the species, as there is a relatively high degree of morphological stasis within the group through evolutionary time. Accordingly, genetic analyses were used to determine the specific identity and likely geographic origin of this species. Morphologically, individuals most closely resembled Daphnia pulicaria or Daphnia pulex sensu lato, which cannot be separated morphologically. Furthermore, each of these taxa comprises separate species in North America and Europe, despite carrying the same names. We identified individuals using a 658 bp nucleotide portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) as North American Daphnia 'pulex', being distinct from European Daphnia pulex sensu stricto and D. pulicaria from Europe or North America. Cellulose allozyme electrophoresis was used to confirm that individuals were not hybrids with D. pulicaria. North American Daphnia 'pulex' in New Zealand were first recorded in New Zealand from South Island lakes that are popular for overseas recreational fishers, indicating a possible source of introduction for this species (e.g. on/in fishing gear). Our study provides an additional example of how genetic techniques can be used for the accurate identification of non-indigenous taxa, particularly when morphological species determination is not possible. The growth of global databases such as GenBank and Barcode of Life Datasystems (BOLD) will further enhance this identification capacity.

year: 2012

title: Holding a mirror to society? Sociodemographic diversity within clinical psychology training programmes across Aotearoa.

authors: Scarf, Damian

subjects: Education, Medical

abstract: It has recently been demonstrated by Crampton et al that there has been a marked increase in the sociodemographic diversity of the University of Otago’s health professional programmes between 2010 and 2016.1 This change is evidenced by the fact that a historic 76 health professional Māori graduates crossed the Dunedin Town Hall stage in December 2018. A key driver of this change was the University of Otago’s Division of Health Sciences Mirror on Society selection policy. Here, by documenting the sociodemographic diversity of an equally important professional programme, clinical psychology, we highlight the need for similar selection policies to be implemented Aotearoa/New Zealand wide.

text: Holding a mirror to society? Sociodemographic diversity within clinical psychology training programmes across Aotearoa. It has recently been demonstrated by Crampton et al that there has been a marked increase in the sociodemographic diversity of the University of Otago’s health professional programmes between 2010 and 2016.1 This change is evidenced by the fact that a historic 76 health professional Māori graduates crossed the Dunedin Town Hall stage in December 2018. A key driver of this change was the University of Otago’s Division of Health Sciences Mirror on Society selection policy. Here, by documenting the sociodemographic diversity of an equally important professional programme, clinical psychology, we highlight the need for similar selection policies to be implemented Aotearoa/New Zealand wide.

year: 2019