title: Connection: how can a teacher help students stay connected?

authors: Williamson, Myra Elsie Jane Bell

subjects: Connection

abstract: This session will discuss the things I tried during 2020 to keep my students connected with each other, with the paper, and with me as their teacher during the transition to online learning and their sudden loss of physical connection on campus. I found that connection is the most important thing to learning - it is more important than transmitting material/information. If students do not feel connected they will not only stop engaging with the material, but their mental health will also suffer, then no learning will be able to take place. Lecturers can do some simple things to help students feel connected. I will use Xorro with my audience (assuming that they have their own device with them) to get them involved from the beginning of the session and to invite them to contribute their thoughts.

text: Connection: how can a teacher help students stay connected? This session will discuss the things I tried during 2020 to keep my students connected with each other, with the paper, and with me as their teacher during the transition to online learning and their sudden loss of physical connection on campus. I found that connection is the most important thing to learning - it is more important than transmitting material/information. If students do not feel connected they will not only stop engaging with the material, but their mental health will also suffer, then no learning will be able to take place. Lecturers can do some simple things to help students feel connected. I will use Xorro with my audience (assuming that they have their own device with them) to get them involved from the beginning of the session and to invite them to contribute their thoughts.

year: 2020

title: 3D-printed robotic gripper fingers with lattice structures for kiwifruit harvesting

authors: Dhanotra, Karan

abstract: With the growing demand for agricultural automation due to labour shortages and rising costs,
the robotics industry must develop effective and sustainable solutions. Soft robotics has
emerged as a transformative approach, offering flexibility and safety for handling delicate
objects. Advancements in 3D printing technology further enable innovative gripper designs
tailored for specific applications. This research focuses on developing 3D-printed soft robotic
gripper fingers for kiwifruit harvesting, aiming to overcome challenges such as fruit damage,
slippage, and inefficiencies in automated processes.
The study investigates enhancing the coefficient of friction through textured surfaces and
optimising bulk stiffness using lattice structures with varying wall thicknesses to maximise
contact area and grip stability. Using 3D printing, multiple testing samples were designed with
various textured surfaces and advanced lattice configurations, including gyroid, honeycomb,
and Schwarz primitive structures, to improve grasping performance while optimising stiffness.
Experimental results revealed that textured surfaces increased the coefficient of friction by 8–
10%, while gyroid infill patterns nearly doubled the contact surface area compared to rigid
designs, significantly improving grip stability and reducing pressure on the fruit. Rubber was
identified as the most effective material for soft gripper fingers, offering a high coefficient of
friction, flexibility, and the ability to conform to the irregular shapes of kiwifruit. Conversely,
silicone and nylon were less effective, with silicone providing inadequate friction and nylon
exhibiting rigidity that risked fruit damage. Among the tested lattice structures, gyroid patterns
demonstrated superior mechanical properties, outperforming other designs that exhibited
failure modes, such as buckling under compressive loads.
Overall, this research highlights the potential of 3D-printed soft robotic gripper fingers in
horticultural automation by integrating advanced materials, textures, and lattice structures to
improve performance. The findings provide critical insights into design principles for
developing durable, adaptable, and effective grippers for delicate agricultural applications.
While the results are promising, further research is required to address challenges such as
scalability, extensive field testing, and seamless integration with automated harvesting
systems.

text: 3D-printed robotic gripper fingers with lattice structures for kiwifruit harvesting With the growing demand for agricultural automation due to labour shortages and rising costs,
the robotics industry must develop effective and sustainable solutions. Soft robotics has
emerged as a transformative approach, offering flexibility and safety for handling delicate
objects. Advancements in 3D printing technology further enable innovative gripper designs
tailored for specific applications. This research focuses on developing 3D-printed soft robotic
gripper fingers for kiwifruit harvesting, aiming to overcome challenges such as fruit damage,
slippage, and inefficiencies in automated processes.
The study investigates enhancing the coefficient of friction through textured surfaces and
optimising bulk stiffness using lattice structures with varying wall thicknesses to maximise
contact area and grip stability. Using 3D printing, multiple testing samples were designed with
various textured surfaces and advanced lattice configurations, including gyroid, honeycomb,
and Schwarz primitive structures, to improve grasping performance while optimising stiffness.
Experimental results revealed that textured surfaces increased the coefficient of friction by 8–
10%, while gyroid infill patterns nearly doubled the contact surface area compared to rigid
designs, significantly improving grip stability and reducing pressure on the fruit. Rubber was
identified as the most effective material for soft gripper fingers, offering a high coefficient of
friction, flexibility, and the ability to conform to the irregular shapes of kiwifruit. Conversely,
silicone and nylon were less effective, with silicone providing inadequate friction and nylon
exhibiting rigidity that risked fruit damage. Among the tested lattice structures, gyroid patterns
demonstrated superior mechanical properties, outperforming other designs that exhibited
failure modes, such as buckling under compressive loads.
Overall, this research highlights the potential of 3D-printed soft robotic gripper fingers in
horticultural automation by integrating advanced materials, textures, and lattice structures to
improve performance. The findings provide critical insights into design principles for
developing durable, adaptable, and effective grippers for delicate agricultural applications.
While the results are promising, further research is required to address challenges such as
scalability, extensive field testing, and seamless integration with automated harvesting
systems.

year: 2024

title: “It’s becoming part of their knowing”: a study of bicultural development in an early childhood teacher education setting in Aotearoa/New Zealand

authors: Ritchie, Jenny

abstract: This study is an exploration of the implementation of bicultural development within a university-based early childhood teacher education programme in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which can be considered to be a bicultural country (Walker, 1987, p. 221). Bicultural development is a process in line with obligations contained within the Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, which are reflected within the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Revised Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices (Ministry of Education, 1996a) and the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996b). The study adopts a critical, transformative theoretical paradigm, and employed an eclectic and emergent qualitative methodological approach, that reflected aspects from ethnographic, narrative and grounded theory methodologies. Interviews with university lecturers, early childhood care and education teachers, and professional development facilitators within the early childhood field; observations within early childhood care and education centres; audio taping of university class discussions; samples of university student assignments; and a written survey of graduates of the university teacher education programme provide the sources of data for the study. Central to the methodological process is a commitment to ethical care for participants, which involves attentive accountability to the interpretations that they place on the material that they contribute to the study and to the overall theorising of the significance of the findings. 

Key research questions of the study were to define ‘bicultural development’ in the context of early childhood care and education in this country; to identify key components of the bicultural development implementation process employed within the university teacher early childhood education programme; to distinguish some useful ‘indicators’ of bicultural development within early childhood centres; and to consider the implications for the teacher education programme in terms of preparing graduates to facilitate bicultural development within their future work in early childhood education. 

A significant finding of the study was the identification of a range of strategies for implementing bicultural development in early childhood education teacher education and care and education settings. The key strategies include Tiriti-based partnership models of teaching whereby Māori and Pākehā work alongside each other, enabling the paralleling of Māori and Western perspectives within both university teacher education and early childhood care and education programmes. It was considered essential that universities employ Māori lecturers to enable Māori content within the teacher education programme to be adequately provisioned. Since there are few Māori educators employed in mainstream early childhood services, it was suggested that teachers might seek to employ a “whanaungatanga” approach. This involves the early childhood centre staff creating a climate and environment in which Māori families/whānau are comfortable to participate fully in programme planning, implementation, and evaluation, which will enable all children attending to access Māori perspectives alongside the Western curriculum content. This approach is consistent with Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which guaranteed to Māori their tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination. 

An implication for management and staff of early childhood teacher education programmes in Aotearoa/New Zealand is the need to equip graduates with the knowledge bases and commitment that will enable them to implement bicultural development, ideally through adopting, a whanaungatanga approach. This involves facilitating teacher education students to move beyond the dysconscious racism (King, 1994) that is deeply embedded in mainstream Pākehā culture in this country, to the position where they are able to adopt a critical, transformative stance that is humble, respectful and responsive to cultural difference. This stance includes valuing the inclusion of te reo me ōna tikanga throughout early childhood programmes, in a partnership initiated by teachers, but one in which whānau Māori are then able to take the lead in determining the nature and application of Māori content.

text: “It’s becoming part of their knowing”: a study of bicultural development in an early childhood teacher education setting in Aotearoa/New Zealand This study is an exploration of the implementation of bicultural development within a university-based early childhood teacher education programme in Aotearoa/New Zealand, which can be considered to be a bicultural country (Walker, 1987, p. 221). Bicultural development is a process in line with obligations contained within the Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, which are reflected within the New Zealand Ministry of Education’s Revised Statement of Desirable Objectives and Practices (Ministry of Education, 1996a) and the early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996b). The study adopts a critical, transformative theoretical paradigm, and employed an eclectic and emergent qualitative methodological approach, that reflected aspects from ethnographic, narrative and grounded theory methodologies. Interviews with university lecturers, early childhood care and education teachers, and professional development facilitators within the early childhood field; observations within early childhood care and education centres; audio taping of university class discussions; samples of university student assignments; and a written survey of graduates of the university teacher education programme provide the sources of data for the study. Central to the methodological process is a commitment to ethical care for participants, which involves attentive accountability to the interpretations that they place on the material that they contribute to the study and to the overall theorising of the significance of the findings. 

Key research questions of the study were to define ‘bicultural development’ in the context of early childhood care and education in this country; to identify key components of the bicultural development implementation process employed within the university teacher early childhood education programme; to distinguish some useful ‘indicators’ of bicultural development within early childhood centres; and to consider the implications for the teacher education programme in terms of preparing graduates to facilitate bicultural development within their future work in early childhood education. 

A significant finding of the study was the identification of a range of strategies for implementing bicultural development in early childhood education teacher education and care and education settings. The key strategies include Tiriti-based partnership models of teaching whereby Māori and Pākehā work alongside each other, enabling the paralleling of Māori and Western perspectives within both university teacher education and early childhood care and education programmes. It was considered essential that universities employ Māori lecturers to enable Māori content within the teacher education programme to be adequately provisioned. Since there are few Māori educators employed in mainstream early childhood services, it was suggested that teachers might seek to employ a “whanaungatanga” approach. This involves the early childhood centre staff creating a climate and environment in which Māori families/whānau are comfortable to participate fully in programme planning, implementation, and evaluation, which will enable all children attending to access Māori perspectives alongside the Western curriculum content. This approach is consistent with Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which guaranteed to Māori their tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination. 

An implication for management and staff of early childhood teacher education programmes in Aotearoa/New Zealand is the need to equip graduates with the knowledge bases and commitment that will enable them to implement bicultural development, ideally through adopting, a whanaungatanga approach. This involves facilitating teacher education students to move beyond the dysconscious racism (King, 1994) that is deeply embedded in mainstream Pākehā culture in this country, to the position where they are able to adopt a critical, transformative stance that is humble, respectful and responsive to cultural difference. This stance includes valuing the inclusion of te reo me ōna tikanga throughout early childhood programmes, in a partnership initiated by teachers, but one in which whānau Māori are then able to take the lead in determining the nature and application of Māori content.

year: 2002