Project Looks At Science Component in Degrees

Wintec Project Looks At Science Component in Degree Programmes

A Wintec based research project which aims to identify ways to improve student achievement in science and applied programmes is progressing well as it moves into its second year.

The 'Addressing Obstacles to Success' research project is designed to change the practice of science education in the Midwifery and Nursing undergraduate degree programmes, with particular attention to Maori. It follows on from a Wintec scoping study in 2005 which revealed that many students felt overloaded by the volume of scientific information required in the midwifery and nursing curricula. "In particular, we want students to make the connection between science theory and actual practice much earlier in the learning process - rather than when they're in the work environment," says project co-ordinator Kelly Gibson-van Marrewijk.

In 2006 14 focus group interviews were held with midwifery and nursing educators, new graduate midwives and nurses in three sites around the North Island. The research team will look at developing, piloting and evaluating an intervention in science modules taught in applied health programmes.

Based on the rich contexts and feedback identified by focus groups participants the research team is implementing three intervention topics in 2007. Within these topics the science curriculum has been adjusted in an attempt to make the links between science and practice more explicit, so that students might see greater relevance for their learning, make richer links to prior experience and more explicitly link the science to their chosen careers. These intervention topics are currently being evaluated and analysed.

The $180,000 project is funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative fund and is an interdisciplinary and collaborative project between staff at Wintec and research partners at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.

ENDS

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