title: Flipped teaching and flexible learning in an undergraduate engineering course

authors: Khoo, Elaine G.L.

abstract: In a flipped class, lecture materials are assigned as take-home tasks for students to complete prior to attending face-to-face classes. The class time is thus freed up for the application of the learned ideas through active in-class inquiry, collaboration, and to address student questions and misconceptions. These activities can help students master threshold concepts (TCs) and develop the skills required of 21st century graduates.
In a two-year TLRI funded project we investigated how a flipped classroom approach can impact student learning of technical knowledge (i.e., TCs) and nontechnical competencies (e.g., teamwork). The project examined:
1. the effects of the flipped classroom on students’ learning of threshold concepts (TCs),
2. the affordances of the flipped classroom model of teaching in a first-year compulsory electronics engineering course, and,
3. the long term impact of the flipped class on the development of engineering students’ workplace competencies.
This research took place in a New Zealand university in an introductory engineering undergraduate course with enrolments of typically 150 students. In the past the course lecturers had been refining the course through a focus on TCs and the introduction of online tutorials. Since findings from these efforts have been promising in supporting teaching and learning, the lecturers sought to extend their course redesign to encompass a flipped classroom intervention. Using a design-based method, five cycles of the flipped classroom were implemented where each cycle was enhanced in terms of the course design, materials, and assessment, based on the results of the previous cycle. Two lecturers and students enrolled in the course during each cycle/semester of the flipped class participated in the research. Data were collected from lecturer interviews, student surveys, video analytics, student assessments, class observations and a focus group interview.
Key findings revealed that students’ learning of TCs was enhanced and that they valued the flipped course components such as the lecturer-created videos, in-class problem-solving exercises and continuous assessment in helping them learn. The course lecturers noted higher levels of student engagement during in-class times compared to previous years.
We will report on the overview of:
1. the design of the flipped classroom for the purposes of the course, enhancements made in each cycle and the impact these had on teaching and learning;
2. student learning and achievement as a result of the intervention, and;
3. implications for practice and policy for practitioners interested in implementing the flipped class approach in their context.

text: Flipped teaching and flexible learning in an undergraduate engineering course In a flipped class, lecture materials are assigned as take-home tasks for students to complete prior to attending face-to-face classes. The class time is thus freed up for the application of the learned ideas through active in-class inquiry, collaboration, and to address student questions and misconceptions. These activities can help students master threshold concepts (TCs) and develop the skills required of 21st century graduates.
In a two-year TLRI funded project we investigated how a flipped classroom approach can impact student learning of technical knowledge (i.e., TCs) and nontechnical competencies (e.g., teamwork). The project examined:
1. the effects of the flipped classroom on students’ learning of threshold concepts (TCs),
2. the affordances of the flipped classroom model of teaching in a first-year compulsory electronics engineering course, and,
3. the long term impact of the flipped class on the development of engineering students’ workplace competencies.
This research took place in a New Zealand university in an introductory engineering undergraduate course with enrolments of typically 150 students. In the past the course lecturers had been refining the course through a focus on TCs and the introduction of online tutorials. Since findings from these efforts have been promising in supporting teaching and learning, the lecturers sought to extend their course redesign to encompass a flipped classroom intervention. Using a design-based method, five cycles of the flipped classroom were implemented where each cycle was enhanced in terms of the course design, materials, and assessment, based on the results of the previous cycle. Two lecturers and students enrolled in the course during each cycle/semester of the flipped class participated in the research. Data were collected from lecturer interviews, student surveys, video analytics, student assessments, class observations and a focus group interview.
Key findings revealed that students’ learning of TCs was enhanced and that they valued the flipped course components such as the lecturer-created videos, in-class problem-solving exercises and continuous assessment in helping them learn. The course lecturers noted higher levels of student engagement during in-class times compared to previous years.
We will report on the overview of:
1. the design of the flipped classroom for the purposes of the course, enhancements made in each cycle and the impact these had on teaching and learning;
2. student learning and achievement as a result of the intervention, and;
3. implications for practice and policy for practitioners interested in implementing the flipped class approach in their context.

year: 2017

title: Axioms for function semigroups with agreement quasi-order

authors: Stokes, Tim E.

subjects: function semigroup

abstract: The agreement quasi-order on pairs of (partial) transformations on a set X is defined as follows: (f, g) ≼ (h, k) if whenever f, g are defined and agree, so do h, k. We axiomatize function semigroups and monoids equipped with this quasi-order, thereby providing a generalisation of first projection quasi-ordered ∩-semigroups of functions. As an application, axiomatizations are obtained for groups and inverse semigroups of injective functions equipped with the quasi-order of fix-set inclusion. All axiomatizations are finite.

text: Axioms for function semigroups with agreement quasi-order The agreement quasi-order on pairs of (partial) transformations on a set X is defined as follows: (f, g) ≼ (h, k) if whenever f, g are defined and agree, so do h, k. We axiomatize function semigroups and monoids equipped with this quasi-order, thereby providing a generalisation of first projection quasi-ordered ∩-semigroups of functions. As an application, axiomatizations are obtained for groups and inverse semigroups of injective functions equipped with the quasi-order of fix-set inclusion. All axiomatizations are finite.

year: 2011

title: Identifying fisheries regions in New Zealand: Some conceptual difficulties

authors: Rennie, Hamish Gordon

subjects: Fisheries

abstract: The importance of fisheries to nations is reflected in the production and employment statistics of the country. It is also reflected in socio-cultural symbols (for instance songs, tales), and in socio-political hegemonies.  Just as these may vary from one nation to another, they may also vary from region to region within a nation.  Several nations speak openly in terms of 'fisheries regions' and there have been a number of attempts to identify such regions in the social science literature. An understanding of these regions is seen as step towards defining appropriate policies for the sustainable management of their resources.

In 1986, New Zealand established an innovative fishery management system based on individually transferable quota (ITQ), and subsequently removed the (never-implemented) region-based, fishery management planning structure from the statutes.  These changes might be indicative of a loss of geography, a flattening of the nation's "fishing topography", and might be expected to result in significant changes to the nature and location of fisheries regions.

This paper outlines the changes in the management structure of New Zealand's fisheries. We then attempt a preliminary analysis of fisheries regions in New Zealand as the basis for a "new regional" geography of New Zealand's fisheries. In the process we discuss various criteria for defining fishery regions and present our initial categorisation of New Zealand into those regions. The relationship between these regions and related institutional structures is then discussed. This raises a number of additional questions regarding the concept of a fisheries region, especially in the context of a resurgent indigenous (Maaori) culture, the emergence of new fishing peoples in New Zealand, and the respective size of recreational and commercial fishing sectors.

text: Identifying fisheries regions in New Zealand: Some conceptual difficulties The importance of fisheries to nations is reflected in the production and employment statistics of the country. It is also reflected in socio-cultural symbols (for instance songs, tales), and in socio-political hegemonies.  Just as these may vary from one nation to another, they may also vary from region to region within a nation.  Several nations speak openly in terms of 'fisheries regions' and there have been a number of attempts to identify such regions in the social science literature. An understanding of these regions is seen as step towards defining appropriate policies for the sustainable management of their resources.

In 1986, New Zealand established an innovative fishery management system based on individually transferable quota (ITQ), and subsequently removed the (never-implemented) region-based, fishery management planning structure from the statutes.  These changes might be indicative of a loss of geography, a flattening of the nation's "fishing topography", and might be expected to result in significant changes to the nature and location of fisheries regions.

This paper outlines the changes in the management structure of New Zealand's fisheries. We then attempt a preliminary analysis of fisheries regions in New Zealand as the basis for a "new regional" geography of New Zealand's fisheries. In the process we discuss various criteria for defining fishery regions and present our initial categorisation of New Zealand into those regions. The relationship between these regions and related institutional structures is then discussed. This raises a number of additional questions regarding the concept of a fisheries region, especially in the context of a resurgent indigenous (Maaori) culture, the emergence of new fishing peoples in New Zealand, and the respective size of recreational and commercial fishing sectors.

year: 1998-06-01