Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Relationships Between The Feedback Practices Of Lecturers And Students In The Context Of Assessment And Learning Within A Postgraduate Business School, Mark David Middleton

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

It is commonly agreed that feedback is a key component of higher education and critical for learning. Despite decades of research problems with feedback are still reported. Lecturers and students describe issues with feedback such as, timing, quality, usefulness, use of, effectiveness, and recipience. There are also differences between lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of feedback as well as among students and lecturers. The last two decades of research have repositioned feedback from something provided to students, to an ongoing dialogic process, with a focus on the development of feedback literacy. Whilst there is a growing body of research focusing on …

Schizotypy, Stress And Cognition, Emma Elizabeth Walter

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Schizotypy is a personality trait present in the general population which represents the psychosis continuum. Schizotypy is a potential vulnerability for transition towards frank illness. The same risk factors which are known to exacerbate symptoms in schizophrenia are suggested to also operate at non-clinical levels such as in those with schizotypy. Not all those who express schizotypy will devolve into illness, and at present there is a gap in the understanding of factors which may differentiate individuals who will decompensate and those will remain highly schizotypal but will not experience clinical psychosis. We thus sought to investigate factors involved in …

Providing Working Memory Support To Anxious Students Using Cognitive Load Theory Compliant Instructions, Deborah Chadwick

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Learning mathematics has been identified as a significant source of anxiety for many students. This anxiety places a burden on working memory, which is additional to the cognitive load associated with the learning task. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has informed empirically derived design principles for instructional materials that provide optimal learning support through consideration of human cognitive architecture. Worked examples are one instructional technique proposed by CLT to reduce load on working memory and support learner engagement. The assumption in this study, in the domain of mathematics, is that task complexity and the burden on working memory while completing mathematics …

Effects Of Integrating Movements Into The Learning Task On Preschool Children’S Cognition And Learning, Myrto F. Mavilidi

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

The purpose of the theoretical and empirical work described in this Doctoral thesis was to add to the knowledge base of intervention programs that integrate movement into learning activities among preschool-aged children. This interdisciplinary research aimed to investigate the short-term effects of integrating movement into learning activities on children’s cognitive functions and the long-term effects of integrating movement on their cognitive development, and physical and mental health.

The Role Of Student Evaluations In Improving The Engineering Teaching Laboratory, Sasha Nikolic

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Higher education in Australia is being transformed to focus more on student experience, but within the academic community debate continues as to the suitability and reliability of allowing student opinion to dictate quality systems. Research to date has been inconclusive in providing evidence to justify either side of the debate. Similarly, the focus on understanding if and how student opinion can define and improve quality in the engineering teaching laboratory is limited. This is important within engineering, because as a practicing profession the teaching laboratory is generally regarded as playing an important role in preparing graduates for their future careers. …

Competencies For Future Newsrooms In Australia: A Mid-Career Learning Strategy For Journalists, Padmanabhan Iyer

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

This study addresses a practical need in Australian print newsrooms, which are being transformed from single platform to multi-platform news delivery centres. Convergence, or the co-existence of many technological platforms – such as print, online, mobile and tablet news publishing – in the same newsroom or publication environment, necessitates the development of newsroom capabilities at the individual and team levels. The concept of competency – which encompasses attributes, knowledge areas and skills – is useful in assessing the requirements for performance under changing circumstances.

This study notes the use of a competency-based framework for monitoring and developing performance in other …

A Study Of Students' Perceptions And Attitudes Toward The Use Of Sms To Support Learning And Teaching At The Kuwait University, Budour Almisad

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

The aim of this study was to examine relations between Kuwaiti students’ perceptions of ease of use, usefulness and attitudes towards the use of Short Message Service (SMS) to support learning and teaching. In developing countries, students may not have access to information and communication technologies such as computers and highspeed internet connections, and the use of digital technologies in learning may be limited. However, mobile phones are a popular and inexpensive technology that most university students can access. Research has suggested that SMS is a mobile phone service that has advantages as an educational tool. Kuwait, as a developing …

Using An Instructional Video Game To Support Geography Outcomes, Motivate Learning And Support Critical Thinking Of Students In Stage Two Primary Classroom, Wafa Mubyrik Aljohani

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

Research suggests that young people are motivated to play popular video games that involve learning (Eglesz, Fekete, Kiss & Izsó 2005). Educational video games with sound pedagogical principles have been shown to motivate and enhance learning more than traditional education methods (e.g. Blunt 2007; Michael & Chen 2005). However, research generally has not provided an understanding of the design principles incorporated into effective games, taking into account the variables of age, educational goals, specific learning outcomes and subject matter.

This research aims to identify how an instructional video game based on best practice design principles supports students to achieve the …

A New Perspective On Thinking, Memory And Learning In Gifted Adults With Asperger Syndrome: Five Phenomenological Case Studies, Nola Grace Norris

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016

In response to the call for first-hand accounts of individuals experiencing autism, this study addresses the need for qualitative investigation of the thinking and learning of gifted adults with Asperger syndrome (AS). The findings represent a broad phenomenological ‘map of the landscape’ of the experience of the participants and take the form of: (a) five case study reports; and, (b) a conceptual framework for understanding thinking and learning in autism, which was developed from the research literature. The need for such a framework is particularly relevant for professional development of teachers of students with AS in mainstream schools, however, the …