The Challenge of Visualising Science : Some Research Findings

S: POSTERS Dr Carmel Coady and Dr Leanne Rylands, University of Western SydneyThe Use of Reflective Journals in a First Year Mathematics Unit For many years society at large has proudly commented that ‘maths was my worst subject at school’. This statementwas then usually followed by some explanation of why this was so, for example, ‘numbers scare me’ or ‘I just freezewhen doing a test’. Anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more students are entering university with this mind setand this attitude may be part of the reason why fewer students are attempting the higher levels of mathematics at school.In 2008 our institution decided to introduce a new unit that was specifically designed to help students develop strategiesto try to lessen the effects of maths anxiety and test phobia. This report details the introduction of a reflective journal asformed part of the assessment in a mathematics unit. Students were required to make journal entries every two weeks.These entries required students to reflect on their current exam preparation practices and to put strategies in place to lessen the effects of maths anxiety. Preliminary findings indicate that although students found this exercise helpful, itdid not necessarily improve their mathematics marks. . However, even if the student’s feelings towards mathematics improve, we will have gained. A positive attitude towards mathematics, by those who love it and are successful at it, aswell as by those who struggle with mathematics, can only be of benefit. UniServe Science Annual Conference 2008Abstracts: Poster presentations 13Crampton, A., Ragusa A.T. & Vanniasinkam T., School of Biomedical Science, Charles SturtUniversity Microbial Vodcastingsupplementing laboratory time with vodcasts of key microbial skills First-year microbiology practical classes can be chaotic environments with more than 30 inexperienced laboratory users in close proximity to microbial cultures and flames from bunsen burners. Whilst Charles Sturt University prides itselfon giving its first year students extensive hands-on experience, time constraints and class size often make it difficult toensure that each student receives adequate individual attention as required for the development of competency in keymicrobiological skills. To address these issues we have provided an introductory microbiology class of 277 studentswith short (39 seconds-3minutes) videos (vodcasts) demonstrating key microbiological skills. The subject serves 8courses; Clinical Science, Forensic Biotechnology, Health Science (nutrition and dietetics), Medical Science, Pharmacy,Science and Animal Science. Further, 29 of the 277 students were distance education students who completed thepractical component of the course during a four-day residential school. This paper describes the process of developingand delivering the vodcasts as well as an evaluation of their suitability as identified by their consumers, the students.The vodcasts were designed to ensure that each student had access to a demonstration of key microbiological skills asperformed by a highly skilled microbiologist. The topics covered by the seven vodcasts were 16 streak plating, how touse a bunsen, aseptic handling, aseptic transfer, aseptic transfer from slopes, making a smear and gram staining. The vodcasts were filmed using a standard digital camera with file sizes ranging from 0.9 MB to 8 MB, hosted on a CSUserver and accessed through a local version of Sakai called Interact. Towards the end of the semester a simple surveywas administered to all students to gauge their use of the vodcast and their perceptions of how the vodcasts assistedwith the development of skills,and their understanding of key concepts.