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Australian mathematics and science students have low participation in WIL, posing implications for student employability. To better understand this problem, an examination of the industry-placement and coursework-incorporated WIL offered across the Faculty of Science at a large research-intensive university was undertaken. The aim of the study was to provide an evidenced discussion of the types and amounts of WIL that different disciplines offer their students. A matrix was used to measure the inclusion of WIL activities in 265 courses (units of study) across all undergraduate programs in a Faculty of Science. The results, which show comparisons between disciplines, year levels, and class sizes, indicate that a high proportion of courses incorporate WIL, but that some disciplines are significantly more likely to incorporate WIL than others. This study provides important insights into how science students in different disciplines and in different levels of their degree are prepared for the workplace. In considering how to address graduate employability through integrating WIL in university STEM coursework, this study provides evidence-based justification to initiate reflection about pedagogy.

The employability of science graduates if of key concern. Employers report that STEM graduates lack appropriate employability skills and work experience, and science graduates take longer to find full-time work than graduates from many other programs. Undergraduate research experience (URE) is an important pedagogy that involves student immersion in a professional research environment--as such it provides an opportunity for science students to develop their understanding of the world of work, and of their own developing employability. In this study, we examine students' reflections on their URE learnings and their resultant perceived employability. We ask whether students understand the value of the URE as an employability development vehicle and consider what can be done to improve the employability learnings from the URE. The results show that students articulate multiple learnings from their UREs, but they struggle to translate these learnings into an employability or non-research-work context. We conclude that UREs are important opportunities to learn about work in science, but that URE students would benefit from URE curriculum components that foreground the way UREs can help develop students' employability. The insights from this study can help inform and refine future URE programs to improve their efficacy as vehicles to benefit graduate employability.

Teaching and learning research in higher education, often referred to as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), is still relatively novel in many academic contexts compared to the mainstay of disciplinary research. One indication of this is the challenges those who engage in SoTL report in terms of how this work is valued or considered credible amongst disciplinary colleagues and in the face of institutional policies and practices. This paper moves beyond the literature that describes these specific challenges to investigate how 23 experienced SoTL researchers from five different countries understood the notion of credibility in relationship to their SoTL research and how they went about developing credibility for their work. Semistructured interviews were facilitated and analyzed using inductive analysis. Findings indicate that notions of credibility encompassed putting SoTL research into action and building capacity and community around research findings, as well as gaining external validation through traditional indicators such as publishing. SoTL researchers reported a variety of strategies and approaches they were using, both formal and informal, to develop credibility for their work. The direct focus of this paper on "credibility" of SoTL work as perceived by experienced SoTL researchers, and how they go about developing credibility, is a distinct contribution to the discussions about the valuing of SoTL work.

Recent focus on graduate employability has exposed the inadequacies of work preparation for science students, who need an employability toolkit to navigate the modern work landscape. An established mechanism to develop students' employment awareness is Work Integrated Learning (WIL), but Australian mathematics and science students participate in fewer WIL activities than students in other disciplines. In this article, we present a conceptual discussion around the design of a non-traditional Bachelor of Science WIL program that transcends commonly held perceptions of WIL as primarily discipline-orientated and placement-based. This design dramatically expands the possibilities for WIL in science programs, enabling WIL participation for students unable to engage in a traditional science work placement. The program draws on and legitimises students' experiences in diverse non-science, part-time workplaces and extra-curricular activities; we term this 'transgressional learning'. Students engage in reflective and active learning opportunities designed to help them explore and articulate their skill sets in a manner that speaks to multiple future work settings. By drawing on students' extant work experiences, the program explicitly supports students to foreground and expand on broad skill sets acquired in extra-curricular settings. This article suggests a new conceptual approach and a path forward for large-scale WIL delivery in generalist science degrees. It draws on the reflections of the project team and student participants to outline the goals and design ethos of the program and reflect on the legitimacy of this transgressional program as a science WIL offering.

Contract cheating presents an existential threat to university assessment integrity and, therefore, to the reputations of universities and their graduates. We report on two workshops, with academic development participants who collaboratively addressed assessment identity verification through problem identification and solution creation. As facilitators, we iteratively reflected on the workshop processes to design and refine subsequent offerings. The corresponding research sought to increase sectoral collaboration and evidence student authorship in assessment. This work provides one approach to developing practice-driven resources and insights for academic developers to encourage others to collaboratively address complex problems that are difficult to resolve, like contract cheating.

The recent focus on graduate employability has exposed the inadequacies of work preparation for science students, who need an employability toolkit to navigate the complex modern work landscape. We implemented a novel peer mentoring activity that focused on work-capability development for Bachelor of Science undergraduate students. The student experience was evaluated using structured written reflections, student self-assessment, and interviews. Students were most likely to be challenged by the processes of articulating strengths and weaknesses and mentoring another student. Students' self-reported learning gains were coded against a framework for career management skills -- several were strongly evidenced. We found that the short-term mentor/mentee experience described here can pose students with a level of challenge, and that participation in this activity leads to changes in their self-awareness and development of their career management skills.

KIF3A, a component of the kinesin-2 motor, is necessary for the progression of diverse tumor types. This is partly due to its role in regulating ciliogenesis and cell responsiveness to sonic hedgehog (SHH). Notably, primary cilia have been detected in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor biopsies and derived cell lines. Here, we asked whether disrupting KIF3A in GBM cells affected ciliogenesis, in vitro growth and responsiveness to SHH, or tumorigenic behavior in vivo. We used a lentiviral vector to create three patient-derived GBM cell lines expressing a dominant negative, motorless form of Kif3a (dnKif3a). In all unmodified lines, we found that most GBM cells were capable of producing ciliated progeny and that dnKif3a expression in these cells ablated ciliogenesis. Interestingly, unmodified and dnKif3a-expressing cell lines displayed differential sensitivities and pathway activation to SHH and variable tumor-associated survival following mouse xenografts. In one cell line, SHH-induced cell proliferation was prevented in vitro by either expressing dnKif3a or inhibiting SMO signaling using cyclopamine, and the survival times of mice implanted with dnKif3a-expressing cells were increased. In a second line, expression of dnKif3a increased the cells' baseline proliferation while, surprisingly, sensitizing them to SHH-induced cell death. The survival times of mice implanted with these dnKif3a-expressing cells were decreased. Finally, expression of dnKif3a in a third cell line had no effect on cell proliferation, SHH sensitivity, or mouse survival times. These findings indicate that KIF3A is essential for GBM cell ciliogenesis, but its role in modulating GBM cell behavior is highly variable.

Academic integrity is important to universities and students must abide by codes of academic conduct around assessment. Students are, however, subject to multiple pressures around assessment, some of which can push them to cheat. Modern contract cheating websites are the fronts for sophisticated, commercial operations that offer individually written assessment items for a fee; to combat their use we need a better understanding of the tools they use to persuade students to become customers. In this study we examined the persuasive features of 11 highly-visible contract cheating websites and mapped these features to a previously used persuasiveness framework. We find that contract-cheating websites use a variety of credibility, interactive and informative features designed to persuade students to use their services. In addition, the sites offer low-cost, customisable products available in very short timeframes. We suggest ways in which educators can encourage academic integrity by talking with their students about how the websites promulgate their 'just turn to us' message.

Course-integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) involve large numbers of students in real research. We describe a late-year microbiology CURE in which students use yeast to address a research question around beer brewing or synthesizing biofuel; the interdisciplinary student-designed project incorporates genetics, bioinformatics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and microbiology. Students perceived significant learning gains around multiple technical and "becoming a scientist" aspects of the project. The project is demanding for both the students and the academic implementers. We examine the rich landscape of support and interaction that this CURE both encourages and requires while also considering how we can support the exercise better and more sustainably. The findings from this study provide a picture of a CURE implementation that has begun to reach the limits of both the students' and the academics' capacities to complete it.

Systems biology is frequently taught with an emphasis on mathematical modeling approaches. This focus effectively excludes most biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology students, who are not mathematics majors. The mathematical focus can also present a misleading picture of systems biology, which is a multi-disciplinary pursuit requiring collaboration between biochemists, bioinformaticians, and mathematicians. This article describes an authentic large-scale undergraduate research experience (ALURE) in systems biology that incorporates proteomics, bacterial genomics, and bioinformatics in the one exercise. This project is designed to engage students who have a basic grounding in protein chemistry and metabolism and no mathematical modeling skills. The pedagogy around the research experience is designed to help students attack complex datasets and use their emergent metabolic knowledge to make meaning from large amounts of raw data. On completing the ALURE, participants reported a significant increase in their confidence around analyzing large datasets, while the majority of the cohort reported good or great gains in a variety of skills including "analysing data for patterns" and "conducting database or internet searches." An environmental scan shows that this ALURE is the only undergraduate-level system-biology research project offered on a large-scale in Australia; this speaks to the perceived difficulty of implementing such an opportunity for students. We argue however, that based on the student feedback, allowing undergraduate students to complete a systems-biology project is both feasible and desirable, even if the students are not maths and computing majors.

Evidence shows that science graduates often do not have the communication skills they need to meet workplace standards and expectations. One common mode of science communication is the poster. In a review of the literature we show that poster design is historically problematic, and that the guidance provided to students as they create posters for assessment is frequently inconsistent. To address this inconsistency we provide some guiding design principles for posters that are grounded in communication theory and the fundamentals of rhetoric. We also present three nondiscipline-specific example posters with accompanying notes that explain why the posters are examples of poor, average, and excellent poster design. The subject matter for the posters is a fabricated set of experiments on a topic that could not actually be the subject of research. Instructors may use these resources with their students, secure in the knowledge that they do not and will never represent an answer set to an extant assessment item.

The recent push for more authentic teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics indicates a shared agreement that undergraduates require greater exposure to professional practices. There is considerable variation, however, in how "authentic" science education is defined. In this paper we present our definition of authenticity as it applies to an "authentic" large-scale undergraduate research experience (ALURE); we also look to the literature and the student voice for alternate perceptions around this concept. A metareview of science education literature confirmed the inconsistency in definitions and application of the notion of authentic science education. An exploration of how authenticity was explained in 604 reflections from ALURE and traditional laboratory students revealed contrasting and surprising notions and experiences of authenticity. We consider the student experience in terms of alignment with 1) the intent of our designed curriculum and 2) the literature definitions of authentic science education. These findings contribute to the conversation surrounding authenticity in science education. They suggest two things: 1) educational experiences can have significant authenticity for the participants, even when there is no purposeful design for authentic practice, and 2) the continuing discussion of and design for authenticity in UREs may be redundant.

This book review discusses "Blake's Job: Adventures in Becoming," which explores the connection between William Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job and the author's therapeutic work with addicts. The book argues that addicts represent the Western modernity's exploitative relationship with the world, viewing reality as dead objects due to a lack of psychic connection. However, the treatment of addicts offers a way for all individuals to change their orientation towards the environment and evolve a new kind of self that is spiritually alive. The book also emphasizes the importance of imagination and the participation in the whole system rather than exploitation. It suggests that depth psychology and literature can save each other by considering both the individual and the collective. Overall, the book offers insights into the current crises and provides hope for a better future. [Extracted from the article]

The Science Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLOs) are a consensus set of academic standards for Australian university Science education. They were developed by Prof. Brian Yates and Prof. Sue Jones, supported by Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, during 2010-2011. The co-authors of this paper are key figures in Australian Science education, and in this manuscript, we have used a reflective semi-structured interview approach to describe the process of developing the Science TLOs and consider their subsequent effect on tertiary science education in Australia. This manuscript documents Sue and Brian's impact on science curriculum through the lenses of leadership, community and practice. We have a twofold aim: first to draw lessons for harnessing consensus in scientific communities on the value and purpose of a tertiary science education, and second to celebrate the success of these influential and impactful leaders in our community. We demonstrate how work to develop the TLOs has transformed tertiary science education in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]