Digital Commons Network^™

Two Studies Of The Empirical Basis Of Two Learning Resource-Oriented Motivational Strategies For Gifted Educators, Anamaria Vladut, Wilma Vialle, Albert Ziegler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Two learning resource-oriented motivational strategies for gifted educators are introduced: a homeostatic orientation that aims for balance and an allostatic orientation that aims at growth. In order to establish the empirical basis of these motivational strategies, two studies were conducted with samples of students from a specialized post-secondary business school who were enrolled in grades 11–13. Study 1 focused on the empirical basis of the homeostatic orientation. It was shown that the availability of learning resources is associated with two forms of balance within an actiotope: robustness and resilience. Furthermore, it could be shown that the effects of exogenous learning …

The Predominant Learning Approaches Of Medical Students, Sonali P. Chonkar, Tam C. Ha, Sarah Chu, Ada X. Ng, Melissa Lim, Tat X. Ee, Mor J. Ng, Kok H. Tan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background By identifying medical students’ learning approaches and the factors that influence students’ learning approaches, medical schools and health care institutions are better equipped to intervene and optimize their learning experience. The aims of our study is to determine the predominant learning approach amongst medical students on a clinical posting in a hospital in Singapore and to examine the demographic factors that affect their learning approach. Methods The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaire was administered to 250 medical students from various medical schools on clinical attachment to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) department of KK Women’s …

Fostering Effective Early Learning (Feel) Study: Final Report, Iram Siraj, Edward Melhuish, Steven J. Howard, Cathrine Marguerite Neilsen-Hewett, Denise Kingston, Marc De Rosnay, Elisabeth Duursma, Xiaoqi Feng, Betty Luu

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The 2018 Fostering Effective Early Learning (FEEL) study focuses on the importance of quality, and how to strengthen it in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Extensive research demonstrates that the benefits of ECEC for children are increased when the service provider and educators are highly skilled and participate in professional development (PD), and the service is of high quality. Upskilling the workforce, including in-service professional development, is considered to be a key to improving quality, and can produce substantial and practical improvements for staff and children alike. Building on the existing body of international research, the findings of …

Vocal Control Of Sound Synthesis Personalized By Unsupervised Machine Listening And Learning, Stefano Fasciani, Lonce Wyse

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

In this article we describe a user-driven adaptive method to control the sonic response of digital musical instruments using information extracted from the timbre of the human voice. The mapping between heterogeneous attributes of the input and output timbres is determined from data collected through machine-listening techniques and then processed by unsupervised machine-learning algorithms. This approach is based on a minimum-loss mapping that hides any synthesizer-specific parameters and that maps the vocal interaction directly to perceptual characteristics of the generated sound. The mapping adapts to the dynamics detected in the voice and maximizes the timbral space covered by the sound …

Mlaas: A Cloud-Based System For Delivering Adapative Micro Learning In Mobile Mooc Learning, Geng Sun, Tingru Cui, Jianming Yong, Jun Shen, Shiping Chen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

A Self-Organized Learning Model For Anomalies Detection: Application To Elderly People, Nicolas R. Verstaevel, Jean-Pierre George, Carole Bernon, Marie-Pierre Gleizes

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

In a context of a rapidly growing population of elderly people, this paper introduces a novel method for behavioural anomaly detection relying on a self-organized learning process. This method first models the Circadian Activity Rhythm of a set of sensors and compares it to a nominal profile to determine variations in patients' activities. The anomalies are detected by a multi-agent system as a linear relation of those variations, weighted by influence parameters. The problem of adaptation to a particular patient then becomes the problem of learning the adequate influence parameters. Those influence parameters are self-adjusted, using feedback provided at any …

Ethnography In Work Integrated Learning Research, Bonnie Amelia Dean, Christopher S. Sykes, Jan Turbill

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

This paper introduces and discusses ethnography as a methodological approach to investigate phenomena at the place of practice in WIL. The commensurability of ethnography for examining WIL 'in situ' is presented in order to delve deeper into WIL phenomena on placement through greater temporal and physical proximity. Part of the reason we haven't been able to fully understand student learning on placement, for example, is because of a lack of awareness and uptake of methodologies that employ direct observation in WIL spaces. Ethnography could open the door to investigating a range of research areas previously obscured or inaccessible by methodologies …

Analyzing The Predictive Capacity Of Various Machine Learning Algorithms, Soly Mathew Biju

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

The purpose of this study is to deploy and evaluate the performance of the new age machine learning algorithms and their applicability in business environment. Three unique set of datasheets were used to evaluate the true performance of top 4 machine learning algorithms -i.e. Generalized Linear Models (GLM), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbor (KNN) and Random Forests. The findings of this study revealed that although these algorithms take different way of solving classification and regression problems, they develop quite robust models by understanding and learning the hidden patterns in the datasets. The findings of this study can be usedby …

Towards Sustainable Technology-Enhanced Innovation In Higher Education: Advancing Learning Design By Understanding And Supporting Teacher Design Practice, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Shirley Agostinho

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Improving teacher design promises to be a scalable, sustainable approach to building capacity amongst a workforce faced with complex and evolving drivers of change in higher education worldwide. While design has long been recognised as a routine part of teaching, there has been renewed interest in supporting and understanding the design work that teachers do to foster innovation, particularly in technology-enhanced learning, at institutional scale by influencing teachers' practices. Re-framing teaching as design usefully emphasises the creative problem-solving needed to balance pedagogical, logistical and technical considerations within specific educational contexts, tailored to learners' needs. There is potential for this re-framing …

Identifying The Characteristics Of Support Australian University Teachers Use In Their Design Work: Implications For The Learning Design Field, Shirley Agostinho, Lori Lockyer, Sue Bennett

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Quality teaching is a strategic objective for universities; thus, there is an expectation that university teachers design high quality learning experience for their students. The field of learning design has developed over the past 15 years as a way to support teachers in their design work. There has been significant research and development work that has focused on creating support tools to help teachers plan, develop and deliver learning experiences. However, little is known about what supports teachers access and use when they design and overall how teachers undertake their design work. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative …

What Is The Impact Of Professional Learning On Physical Activity Interventions Among Preschool Children? A Systematic Review, Michele Peden, Anthony D. Okely, Michelle J. Eady, Rachel A. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate professional learning models (length, mode, content) offered as part of objectively measured physical childcare-based interventions. A systematic review of eight electronic databases was conducted to June 2017. Only English, peer-reviewed studies that evaluated childcare-based physical activity interventions, incorporated professional learning and reported objectively measured physical activity were included. Study designs included randomized controlled trails, cluster randomized trials, experimental or pilot studies. The search identified 11 studies. Ten studies objectively measured physical activity using accelerometers; five studies used both accelerometer and direct observation tools and one study measured physical activity using direct …

Employability In A Global Context: Evolving Policy And Practice In Employability, Work Integrated Learning, And Career Development Learning, Martin Smith, Kenton Bell, Dawn Bennett, Alan Mcalpine

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research project was activated to explore trends emerging in the intersecting domains of employability, work-integrated learning, and career development learning. In late 2015, researchers, academics, and career practitioners from Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada gathered to attend an Employability Masterclass at the University of Wollongong. Attendees explored questions around employability in vocationally specific and non-vocationally specific degrees. The language and conversations highlighted the influence of global contexts on strategies and practices in transnational settings-specifically, how employability is defined and supported across the breadth of university activity.

Establishing A Framework For Learning To Teach English Pronunciation In An Australian Tesol Program, Michael S. Burri, Amanda Ann Baker, Honglin Chen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A substantial number of studies have been conducted in various second language teacher education settings. Yet, evidence about the effectiveness of teacher preparation continues to be debated and research findings about the efficacy of preparing language teachers are still somewhat inconclusive. As a further complication, even though pronunciation has regained some of its prominence in second language teaching, only minimal understanding exists about the preparation of pronunciation instructors in teacher education. The aim of this paper is to address this gap and to advance our understanding of teacher learning by first combining the findings from four research-based articles on learning …

Work-Integrated Learning Design For Undergraduate Business Degrees: Stakeholders' Perspectives, Laura L. Rook, Lisa Mcmanus

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Work-integrated Learning (WIL), where the theory and practice of work are integrated through various activities in the curricula, provides several benefits to stakeholders if designed and implemented correctly. This study explored the views of undergraduate students and academics in relation to the potential implementation of a Work-integrated Learning program in the undergraduate degrees of a business school at a regional university through the lens of stakeholder theory. A total of 50 students and 24 academics participated in the study. The findings suggest students and academics hold different views to the effectiveness of on-campus and off-campus WIL activities, structure of a …

Meet Them Where They Are: Bringing The Learning Co-Op Into The Digital Space, Kristy Newton, Courtney A. Shalavin

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

The University of Wollongong (UOW) Learning Co-Op developed an online portal to complement its physical services, providing support for the development of students’ academic, information, and digital literacies. A user-centred design process was used to identify student needs and create meaningful, relevant content. The project employed student partners to ensure the inclusion of a strong student voice, and integrated a peer-led design strategy where the student partners identified and advocated for the needs of other students. The project utilised a collaborative approach to the creation of resources and service models, working with UOW students and staff from multiple professional units.

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 …

A Multidisciplinary Learning Experience Contributing To Mental Health Rehabilitation, Lorna Moxham, Christopher F. Patterson, Ellie K. Taylor, Dana J. Perlman, Susan Sumskis, Renee M. Brighton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Purpose People who access health services often have a range of needs that require the involvement of members from a multidisciplinary team. Teaching future health professionals about the importance of a multidisciplinary approach can be challenging. The aim of this paper is to describe a project called Recovery Camp that enhanced multidisciplinary health education through experiential and immersive engagement with people experiencing mental illness.

Method Future health professionals and people with a lived experience of mental illness took part in Recovery Camp - an innovative five-day therapeutic recreation initiative in the Australian bush. Results are presented in a case study …

Vdes J2325-5229 A Z = 2.7 Gravitationally Lensed Quasar Discovered Using Morphology-Independent Supervised Machine Learning, Fernanda Ostrovski, Richard G. Mcmahon, Andrew J. Connolly, Cameron A. Lemon, Matthew W. Auger, Manda Banerji, Johnathan M. Hung, Sergey E. Koposov, Christopher E. Lidman

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

We present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationally lensed quasar with a source redshift z_s = 2.74 and image separation of 2.9 arcsec lensed by a foreground z_l = 0.40 elliptical galaxy. Since optical observations of gravitationally lensed quasars show the lens system as a superposition of multiple point sources and a foreground lensing galaxy, we have developed a morphology-independent multi-wavelength approach to the photometric selection of lensed quasar candidates based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) supervised machine learning. Using this technique and gi multicolour photometric observations from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), near-IR JK photometry …

A Comparison Study For Supervised Machine Learning Models In Cancer Classification, Huaming Chen, Hong Zhao, Lei Wang, Jiangning Song, Jun Shen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

Model United Nations And Deep Learning: Theoretical And Professional Learning, Susan Engel, Josh Pallas, Sarah Lambert

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This article demonstrates that the purposeful subject design, incorporating a Model United Nations (MUN), facilitated deep learning and professional skills attainment in the field of International Relations. Deep learning was promoted in subject design by linking learning objectives to Anderson and Krathwohl's (2001) four levels of knowledge or cognition: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. Students demonstrated improvement in all four areas; however, this article focuses on outcomes in the conceptual and metacognitive realms as these were where students showed the most growth. In the conceptual realm, the subject aimed to increase students' capacity to apply international relations theories. Students tended …

Lifelong Machine Learning With Adaptive Multi-Agent Systems, Nicolas R. Verstaevel, Jeremy Boes, Julien Nigon, Dorian D'Amico, Marie-Pierre Gleizes

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

Sensors and actuators are progressively invading our everyday life as well as industrial processes. They form complex and pervasive systems usually called "ambient systems" or "cyber-physical systems". These systems are supposed to efficiently perform various and dynamic tasks in an ever-changing environment. They need to be able to learn and to self-adapt throughout their life, because designers cannot specify a priori all the interactions and situations they will face. These are strong requirements that push the need for lifelong machine learning, where devices can learn models and behaviours during their whole lifetime and are able to transfer them to perform …

Sbar: A Conceptual Framework To Support Learning Path Adaptation In Mobile Learning, Alva Hendi Muhammad, Jun Shen, Ghassan Beydoun, Dongming Xu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

Ontological Learner Profile Identification For Cold Start Problem In Micro Learning Resources Delivery, Geng Sun, Tingru Cui, Jun Shen, Dongming Xu, Ghassan Beydoun, Shiping Chen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

A Framework Of Mlaas For Facilitating Adaptive Micro Learning Through Open Education Resources In Mobile Environment, Geng Sun, Tingru Cui, Wanwu Guo, Shiping Chen, Jun Shen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

Retention In Enhanced Team Based Learning Course: Retain Or Refrain?, Janil Puthucheary, Sok H. Goh, Tam C. Ha, Doyle G. Graham, Sandy Cook

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Students’ ability to retain content in medical school has always been a concern. At Duke-NUS Medical School, we modified our Team-Based Learning (TBL) classes known as TeamLEAD, a learning strategy for first year basic science content, to include an open/closed-book option in the readiness assurance phase to engage teams in deeper discussion. We hypothesize that the open-book option allows students to engage in deeper learning in their teams, which leads to an improvement in retention ability for each individual student at the end of their first year basic science curriculum.

Methods: A total of 115 MCQs used throughout first year …

Joint Development Of Teacher Cognition And Identity Through Learning To Teach L2 Pronunciation, Michael S. Burri, Honglin Chen, Amanda Ann Baker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The constructs of teacher cognition and teacher identity have recently gained considerable attention in second language teacher education research for their crucial roles in understanding teacher learning. While a number of current studies have examined the contributions of both constructs, the connections between cognition and identity are yet to be fully conceptualized. This article addresses this gap by drawing on the notion of identification to examine the identity construction and cognition development of 15 student teachers in the context of a postgraduate course on pronunciation pedagogy. Questionnaires, focus group interviews, observations, and semi-structured interviews were triangulated to obtain an in-depth …

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 Effects Of Presentation Formats On Understanding Financial Accounting: An Experimental Study, Seedwell T.M. Sithole

Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal

Most financial accounting presentations consist of graphs and tables with subtle variations in the way that the associated text is presented. While alternative presentations of tables versus graphs have been widely researched, the impact of text proximity to a graph or table has received little attention. This study experimentally examines the effects of two instructional design formats on student’s understanding of financial accounting. Graphical presentation effectiveness was operationalised as accuracy and mental effort in answering questions of different levels of complexity. Using financial accounting instructional material presented either as a graph and separate text or text embedded in the graph, …

Interactive Dynamic Learning Environment (Idle), Belinda Kathlyn Gibbons, Karlheinz Kautz, Mario Fernando, Trevor A. Spedding

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The global business community requires graduates with skills and capabilities to cope with real-world interdisciplinary problems. Two key issues frequently noted are the silo disciplinary focus and the lack of exposure to responsible decision-making (RDM). IDLE (Interactive Dynamic Learning Environment) is a web-based computer simulated enterprise delivered through a systems approach broadening students' understanding of the interrelationship between corporations, society and the environment. Engagement in IDLE develops students' understanding and application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability through the identification of business interdependencies. In IDLE, integrating systems dynamics with agile dynamic system development methods enabled the intricate multifaceted relationships …

Using Concept Maps And Goal-Setting To Support The Development Of Self-Regulated Learning In A Problem-Based Learning Curriculum, Lisa K. Thomas, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

Problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education focuses on preparing independent learners for continuing, self-directed, professional development beyond the classroom. Skills in self-regulated learning (SRL) are important for success in PBL and ongoing professional practice. However, the development of SRL skills is often left to chance. This study presents the investigated outcomes for students when support for the development of SRL was embedded in a PBL medical curriculum. This investigation involved design, delivery and testing of SRL support, embedded into the first phase of a four-year, graduate-entry MBBS degree. The intervention included concept mapping and goal-setting activities through iterative processes of …