Education Commons^™

Investigation Of Partnership And Engagement Methods To Increase Research Capability At Edith Cowan University, Darren Gibson

Research outputs 2011

There is an increasing interest within all areas of research to collaborate, with networks and partnerships being used to develop research ideas and enhance research outcomes. A Collaboration Research Network (CRN) is one such method that can enhance a research system. Correspondingly Edith Cowan University (ECU) has established CRN activities in four areas of national importance; health, education, ICT and environment with a view to enhancing the University’s research output. However, CRN dynamics and mechanisms are complex and having a CRN per se does not guarantee enhanced research outcomes. This study will use both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate …

Managing Eresearch Data Within A Collaborative Research Network, Darren Gibson, Julia Gross

Research outputs 2011

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is one of twelve Australian universities striving to create world-class research capacity and capability through investment in the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) project. The CRN project at ECU aims to accelerate the growth of research activity in four key areas: Health, Education, ICT, and Environment. These areas align to both the Australian Government’s National Research Priorities and ECU’s strategic research plan. Managing eResearch data is essential, especially within a CRN to ensure the maximum benefit is achieved from the investigations. Currently, there is no set model to follow. Normally an institution will establish its own policy …

Testing A Model Of Undergraduate Competence In Employability Skills And Its Implications For Stakeholders, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2012

Despite the development of employability skills being firmly entrenched in higher education’s strategic agenda worldwide; recent graduates’ standards in certain skills are not meeting industry expectations. This paper presents and tests a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills. It highlights those factors which impact on competence in employability skills and identify ways in which stakeholders can adjust curricula and pedagogy to enhance graduate skill outcomes. Data was gathered from an online survey of 1008 business undergraduates who self-rated their competence against a framework of employability skills typically considered essential in graduates. The data was analysed using multiple regression techniques. …

Lessons For Teachers: What Lower Secondary School Students Tell Us About Learning A Musical Instrument, Geoffrey Lowe

Research outputs 2012

In this study I set out to investigate why many students drop out from elective instrument programmes, particularly in lower secondary school. I examined the values and beliefs a sample of students in their first year in secondary school attach to learning an instrument, and the impact of the instrument lesson upon these values and beliefs. Forty-eight year 8 students (aged 12-13) from the Perth metropolitan area participated in eight focus groups. The study found that, while participants had strong cognitive and affective reasons for learning, their competence beliefs were fragile, due in part to the dislocation associated with the …

Business Undergraduates' Perceptions Of Their Capabilities In Employability Skills : Implications For Industry And Higher Education, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2012

In response to the continuing disparity between industry expectations and higher education provision, this study examines the self-assessed capabilities of 1,024 business undergraduates in employability skills typically considered important by industry in developed economies. The findings indicate relative perceived strengths in 'social responsibility and accountability', 'developing professionalism' and 'working effectively with others', and weaknesses in 'critical thinking', 'developing initiative and enterprise' and 'self-awareness'. Although these findings align with those of recent employer-based studies, undergraduates rate themselves considerably higher than their industry counterparts. The implications of this overconfidence in personal ability, commonly associated with so-called Generation Y graduates, for persistent graduate …

Evidence For Practice: Whole-School Strategies To Enhance Students' Social Skills And Reduce Bullying In Schools, Donna Cross (Ed.)

Research outputs 2012

While bullying behaviour is widespread and harmful in schools, research conducted at the Child Health Promotion Research Centre (CHPRC) at Edith Cowan University and elsewhere11 - 31 suggests bullying behaviour can be reduced. The CHPRC research team's ongoing empirical research, conducted since 1999, has focused primarily on what schools can do to effectively prevent and reduce bullying behaviour.

One of the most effective means to reduce bullying among young people is to enhance their social and emotional understandings and competencies, in developmentally appropriate ways throughout their schooling, using a whole-school approach. Friendly Schools Plus addresses the social and emotional learning …

Assessing Practical Laboratory Skills In Undergraduate Molecular Biology Courses, Lynne Hunt, Annette Koenders, Vidar Gynnild

Research outputs 2011

This study explored a new strategy of assessing laboratory skills in a molecular biology course to improve: student effort in preparation for and participation in laboratory work; valid evaluation of learning outcomes; and students’ employment prospects through provision of evidence of their skills. Previously, assessment was based on written laboratory reports and examinations, not on the demonstration of practical skills per se. This action research project involved altering the assessment design so that a greater proportion of the marks was allocated to active participation and learning in the laboratory, partially replacing a single examination with direct observation of student participation …

Integrating The Academic Experience: An Inter-Disciplinary Approach To The Authentic Marketing Research Experience, Gary J. Marchioro, Maria M. Ryan, Timothy J. Perkins

Research outputs 2011

This paper describes the evolution of an innovative inter–disciplinary approach to teaching and learning in a University Faculty of Business. Further, it reviews the implementation of a series of unique, integrated and authentic assessments involving units based in the marketing, urban planning and business communication disciplines. The project has used the production of Revitalization Plans for the University‘s campuses as the basis for integrating student teaching and learning. It has championed an approach which moves away from the traditional ‗silo‘ methods of academic assessment to integrated, contextualised learning which develops both generic and discipline-specific skills such as client/consultation roles, business …

A Comparative Study Of The Views Of Planning Students And Professionals About Planning Education In Western Australia, Garry Middle, Timothy J. Perkins, Jenny George

Research outputs 2011

This paper reports the finding of a study into the relevance of Planning Education in Western Australia (WA). Phase one involved surveying students Planning at both Curtin and Edith Cowan Universities and WA Planning professionals. Participants were asked to rate the importance of the various 'streams' of planning education, their passion for planning, and to identify what were the key attributes of an 'excellent' planner. The survey was followed up with qualitative research involving focus groups of selected students to explore in depth the similarities and differences between the views of students and professionals and the issues raised by the …

Online Metacognitive Tool Development: Final Development, Joseph Luca, Mark Mcmahon

Research outputs pre 2011

The authors of this paper have been developing an online metacognitive tool over the past four years through a process of iterative design and development stages using Design-Based research. Based on feedback from students, tutors and peers, the application has now been finally developed and is available for public download. The application helps students working in teams reflect on their learning strategies through a process of planning, monitoring and evaluation, and allows students to reflect on their performance.

Introducing A New Technology To Enhance Community Sustainability: An Investigation Of The Possibilities Of Sun Spots, S Tantisureeporn, L J. Armstrong

EDU-COM International Conference

The introduction of the Sun SPOT, Small Programmable Object Technology, developed by Sun Microsystems has been depicted as providing a revolutionary change in cyber physical interaction. Based on Sun Java Micro Edition (ME), this sensor technology has the potential to be used across a number of discipline areas to interface with systems, the environment and biological domains. This paper will outline the potential of Sun SPOTs to enhance community sustainability. An action based research project was carried out to investigate the potential uses of these technologies and develop a prototype system as a proof of concept. The research will compare …

Identification Of Learning Barriers Affecting English Reading Comprehension Instruction, As Perceived By Esl Undergraduates In Thailand, Chayapon Chomchaiya, Katie Dunworth

EDU-COM International Conference

Facility in English language reading comprehension is essential for learners of English as a second language, since English is the international language of written (as well as spoken) communication for business, science and technology. In Thailand, as acknowledged in the literature, learners of English as a second language often experience considerable difficulties with reading. There are many reasons for this, but, given the importance of reading to the development of language proficiency, it is of great importance to identify ways in which student learning can be enhanced. This paper reports on a project that sought to obtain specific information from …

Item Banking With Rasch Measurement: An Example For Primary Mathematics In Thailand, Chaowprapha Chuesathuchon, Russell F. Waugh

EDU-COM International Conference

This study was conducted in Thailand to create a Mathematics item bank and a Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) for the students to ‗interrogate‘ the bank. First, 290 multiple-choice test items on mathematical equations were created for an item bank. They consisted of nine aspects: (1) identifying an equation; (2) identifying the true equation; (3) identifying equations with an unknown; (4) finding the value of an unknown that satisfies the equation; (5) identifying a method to solve an equation; (6) finding the solutions to equations; (7) finding a solution to an equation related to a given condition; (8) selecting an equation …

A Strategic Planning Of Thailand Vocational Education Management, Malai Gerawatanakaset

EDU-COM International Conference

Purpose – To identify the relevant factors that have significant influences on the vocational education system of Thailand and to propose an approach for future development and/or improvement of the system‘s strategic plan. Design/methodology/approach – To identify and study the major factors that have significant influences on the development of strategic plan, three rounds of surveys using Delphi Technique on 17 individuals comprising students, teachers, administrators, and professionals and 9 well-known experts in the field of vocational education of Thailand were conducted. The approach for strategic plan development was obtained by conducting a group discussion for the 9 experts using …

Teacher‟S Autonomy Support And Esl Classroom Engagement: The Road Less Traveled, Rajaletchumi Thaliah, Rosna Awang Hashim

EDU-COM International Conference

This study investigated the construct of Teacher Autonomy Support Scale (TASS) in the context of ESL classroom in Malaysia and how it influenced student‘s classroom engagement. The sample comprised 378 students from 14 day schools in a rural area. An empirical study (N=378) was conducted to explore aspects of reliability and validity of the TASS. Confirmatory Factor Analysis via AMOS (7.0) showed evidence of convergent validity of the newly developed scale. A covariance structural analysis shows that teacher‘s autonomy support is a significant predictor for cognitive and behavioural engagement for students in ESL classroom.

Students Ranking, Based On Their Abilities On Objective Type Test: Comparison Of Ctt And Irt, Amir Zaman, Atiq-Ur-Rehman Kashmiri, Mamoon Mubarak, Arshad Ali

EDU-COM International Conference

The focus of this paper is to investigate the idea of differential ability for students ranking on a multiple choice test in the subject of physics at secondary level. The weakness of Classical Test Theory (CTT) in measuring the ability with continuity and consequently its ranking ability of students on the basis of ability has been highlighted in this paper. In CTT, a student attempting a difficult question and an easy question get equal credit which is not the case in Item Response Theory (IRT). Moreover in CTT two students with equal raw score have the same ranking while in …

Mutual Adaptation Of International Students And Academics For The Sustainable Development Of International Education, Tran Ly Thi

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that explores how international students from China and Vietnam in different disciplines in Australian higher education interpret and adapt to disciplinary requirements and how academics respond to the diverse needs of international students. The study employed a trans-disciplinary framework for interpreting students‘ and lecturers' practices within institutional structures. This framework has been developed by infusing a modified version of Lillis‘ (2001) heuristic for exploring students‘ meaning making with positioning theory (Harré & van Langenhove, 1999). A prominent finding of the study indicates the emergence of three main forms of adaptation, committed …

The Relationship Between Critical Thinking And Language Proficiency Of Malaysian Undergraduates, Rosyati Abdul Rashid, Rosna Awang Hashim

EDU-COM International Conference

In the present information era, university students are expected to be able to think critically so that they will be able to keep up with the changes brought about by new technological innovations and have better chances of employability. Since language is an important tool for acquiring knowledge at the tertiary level, it is therefore important to gain insight into the nature of the critical thinking ability of undergraduates and its possible link to their language proficiency. This study examined the critical thinking ability of Malaysian undergraduates and its relationship to language proficiency. The Bahasa Malaysia version of the Cornell …

We've Thrown Away The Pens, But Are They Learning? Using Blogs In Higher Education, Katrina Strampel, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

In today’s university classrooms, “the time of restricting students products and learning opportunities to ink on paper are past” (Siegle, 2007). Blogs are only one of many computer-mediated technologies starting to dominate blended and wholly online courses. Most people assume that using these technologies, because it is what the students want, will translate into increased learning opportunities. As the literature continuously asserts, however, learning, and especially reflection, does not just happen (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985). It seems imperative, therefore, that extra measures are taken when any technology is being implemented in a university classroom to ensure high levels of …

Reducing The Effects Of Bullying Among Aboriginal Children Living In Rural Western Australia: Annual Report, Child Health Promotion Research Unit, Edith Cowan University

Research outputs pre 2011

It is unknown how Aboriginal children and adults conceptualize childhood bullying and what school/community intervention programs are appropriate. The Solid Kids, Solid Schools project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop culturally informed and determined understandings of bullying among Aboriginal children. These understandings can then be used to formatively develop a sustainable school and community-based bullying prevention and reduction program with strategies identified by Aboriginal people for use in schools in the Yamaji region or Midwest, Murchison Education District of Western Australia.

According to the funding proposal a Steering Committee was established to provide project …

Impact Of Extra-Curricular Activities On Adolescents' Connectedness And Cigarette Smoking: Final Report, Margaret Hall, Greg Hamilton, Therese Shaw, Donna Cross, Tommy Cordin, Leanne Lester, Stacey Waters

Research outputs pre 2011

In Australia, cigarette smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death and yet in the past 10 years, despite efforts that have been made in the classroom and through the media, there have been limited reductions in adolescent smoking. The Extra-curricular Project builds on the work of two other projects conducted by researchers from the Child Health Promotion Research Centre (CHPRC). The Smoking Cessation for Youth Project (SCYP), conducted by the Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research, led to the identification of connectedness as a key mediator of cigarette smoking. The role of extra-curricular activities in mediating school …

Engaging Diversity Through Brain Hemispheric Orientation (Bho) Among College Students: Some Implications On Their Mathematics Performance., Flerida C. Alvaro

EDU-COM International Conference

This study primarily sought empirical results to be used for a more complicated future research undertaking. This study categorized the students of the College of Teacher Education according to their left, right, or confluent brain hemispheric orientation through a preference scale. Also, these college students were classified with respect to their low, average, or high level of Mathematics performance basing from the grades in Mathematics subjects. Diversity in college students‘ gender, age, and ethnicity were analysed for their effect on the brain hemispheric orientation as well as their effect on their level of Mathematics performance. Likewise, this study investigated the …

Asian Students’ Perceptions Of Group Work And Group Assignments In A New Zealand Tertiary Institution, Jacqui Campbell, Mingsheng Li

EDU-COM International Conference

Globalisation, cultural diversity, and structural reconfiguration in organisations of all types, have led to academics in New Zealand tertiary institutions embracing changes in their course delivery approaches. One of these changes is the emphasis on collaborative learning, featuring group work and group assignments. This study examines Asian students‘ perceptions of the much-promulgated collaborative learning concepts in the form of group work and group assignments. The research was conducted in 2005 in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Twenty-two Asian students participated in one-hour individual semi-structured interviews. The study found that Asian students valued highly the significance of classroom group discussions where …

Teaching English As A Foreign Language To Grade 6 Students In Thailand: Cooperative Learning Versus Thai Communicative Method, Sutaporn Chayaratheee, Russell F. Waugh

EDU-COM International Conference

This study compared a cooperative learning method of teaching English to Prathom (grade) 6 secondary students in Thailand and a communicative method. Rasch-generated linear scales were created to measure reading comprehension (based on 28 items with 300 students) and attitude and behaviour to learning EFL (based on 24 items with 300 students). The data for both scales had a good fit to a Rasch measurement model, good separation of measures compared to the errors, good targeting, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically, so that valid inferences could be drawn. Ninety students from three secondary schools in Ratchaburi, …

An Ontology Based Approach To The Integration Of Heterogeneous Information Systems Supporting Integrated Provincial Administration In Khon Kaen, Thailand, Malee Kabmala, Lampang Manmart, Chaiyaporn Chirathamjaree

EDU-COM International Conference

Information systems are a necessity to the administration of organizations. In a recent reform to the Thai administration, the governor of each province is entrusted with the full responsibility for the strategic planning and execution of the Integrated Provincial Administration (IPA). This presents a big challenge and many difficult problems for a potentially fast growing, both economically and demographically, province, such as Khon Kaen. To provide the administrator of the province with reliable and up to date information, the Provincial Operation Centre (POC) has been set up and assigned the task of collecting all required information from disparate information systems, …

Effects Of Teaching In English At Swedish Universities, Ingrid Johansson, Bosse Jonsson

EDU-COM International Conference

English plays an increasingly important role at Swedish universities but not much is known about its effects on the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, a large research project which is collaborative and interdisciplinary, crossing language studies in humanities with education, is being planned. One of several aims of the project is to study the consequences of teaching in English on learning and study achievements. A few pre-studies have been carried out in order to develop more detailed research questions. Two of the pre-studies will be presented in this paper. In one of them, ten university teachers with Swedish as …

Augmenting Postgraduate Student Problem-Solving Ability By The Use Of Critical Thinking Exercises, M N. Johnstone

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper describes the results of a research programme whose focus was critical thinking and explores how information technology (IT) postgraduate students model problems. Some results from the programme show that IT students appear to improve their problem-solving ability by undertaking structured critical thinking exercises. An AC Nielsen survey commissioned by DETYA in 2000 sought to gauge employer satisfaction with graduates using a variety of methods including questionnaires, focus groups and in-depth interviews. A key finding was that ‗the skills employers consider to be most important in graduates are creativity and flair, enthusiasm and the capacity for independent and critical …

The Professional Expectations And Experiences Of Australian Postgraduate Research Students In Engineering Fields, Karen Adams, Anthony Zander, Gerald Mullins

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the beliefs and expectations about their professional socialisation of postgraduate research students, at Masters and PhD level, in two Engineering schools in an Australian university. This study is part of a larger research project exploring the views of Engineering postgraduate research candidates, engineering academics, recently employed postgraduate qualified engineers and employers of postgraduate research trained engineers.

Empowering International And Culturally Diverse Honours And Project Students Through Mentoring Activities, L J. Armstrong, S Singh

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper reports on an initiative to develop a successful school based student mentoring program in the context of a Computer Science based school which has a high proportion of international and culturally diverse student population. A review of literature was made of three areas of research related to mentoring and peer support. This provided evidence for the role of mentoring and peer support in empowering student learning, with particular emphasis on how mentoring can provide both social and academic support; on the role of mentoring in different contexts; within the Computer Science field and within an international and culturally …

The Development Of The Collaborative Intelligent Computer-Assisted Instruction Model Using Computer Network (Cicai Model), W Arreerard, S Sanrach, M Tiantong

EDU-COM International Conference

The purpose of this research was to construct the CICAI model, to develop the lessons based on the CICAI model, to compare the achievement of students who learned with the developed lessons to students who had a regular class and to survey the satisfaction of students with the developed lessons, and 5) assess a thinking-skill process after learning with the developed lessons. The research instruments used were five rating-scale questionnaire and achievement test. The sample subjects were ten experts and sixty students. The research statistics used were mean, standard deviation and t-test. Results of the research were as follows: According …