Digital Commons Network^™

Designing A Learning Module Within A Dynamic Assessment Tool, Gayl O'Connor

Gayl O'Connor

This Work-in-progress report describes the conceptualization and design of a learning module within a dynamic assessment and learning research tool. The prototype module aims to provide learning opportunities and support as students aged 14 to 16 investigate the relationship between kinetic and potential energy, and the principle of conservation of energy. The six related tasks in the module will also provide opportunities for students to explore scenarios and develop science process (inquiry) skills, specifically the control of, and relationship between, experimental variables. In order to gain insight into the learning taking place, appropriate tasks were designed according to a blue-print …

On Being Gifted, But Sad And Misunderstood: Social, Emotional And Academic Outcomes Of Gifted Students In The Wollongong Youth Study. , Patrick Heaven, Joseph Ciarrochi, Wilhelmina Vialle

joseph Ciarrochi

No abstract provided.

Can Procrastination Be Effective? A Study Of White-Collar Employees And University Students, Richard Hicks, James Storey

Richard Hicks

No abstract provided.

Spatial Orientation And Sequencing Of Letters And Numbers By Young Children: A Rasch Measurement Analysis, Janet Richmond, R Waugh

Janet E Richmond PhD

This research follows on from research on the visual discrimination of letters in the alphabet as part of a larger study. Data on 37 items for Spatial Orientation for Letter Pairs and 42 items for Letter and Number Sequencing, where each item was scored in one of two categories (wrong scored zero and correct scored one), were Rasch analysed to create two linear scales . The student sample was N=324 pre-primary and primary students in Perth, Western Australia. Ten of the initial 37 items for Spatial Orientation for Letter Pairs were deleted due to item misfit statistics, leaving 27 items …

Youth In Australia - Policy, Administration And Politics, Terry Irving, David Maunders, Geoff Sherington

Terence H Irving, Dr (Terry)

This book describes and analyses the development of youth policy in Australia since the end of World War II. Three eras are distinguished in terms of how society constructed youth as a problem: as juvenile delinquency (to 1960); as a generation gap (to the mid-1970s); and most recently as a wasted resource (1975-1990). In each period chapters cover: the social and demographic context and images of young people; policy development; bureaucratic structures; and the politics of youth and youth policy.

Clinical Education Adapts To Changing Times, P. Jarzemsky, S. Kruger, Stephanie Gilbertson-White

Stephanie Gilbertson-White

No abstract provided.

Comorbidity Of Anxiety-Depression Among Australian University Students: Implications For Student Counsellors, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley

Vicki Bitsika

The incidence, factor structure and scale item differences in anxiety-depression comorbidity were investigated in a sample of Australian university students defined according to the presence of anxiety and/or depression. The incidence of anxiety-depression comorbidity was over 32%, about four times that for anxiety or depression alone. Participants with comorbidity had significantly higher Selfrating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) total and factor scores than those with anxiety or depression alone. The major differences between the comorbid and unitary disordered subgroups were for self-disintegration and autonomic arousal. Comorbidity of anxiety and depression is a more serious disorder than either …

Men As Students And Teachers Of Feminist Scholarship, Michael Flood

Michael G Flood

When men participate as students in Women¿s and Gender Studies (WGS) classrooms, they undergo feminist change. They adopt more progressive understandings of gender, show greater support for feminism, and increase their involvement in antisexist activism. Male students in WGS classrooms benefit to the same degree as female students, showing similar levels of change, although they start with poorer attitudes and thus the gap between them and their female peers persists. At the same time, male students¿ presence highlights critical challenges to feminist pedagogy: gendered patterns of interaction, resistance to feminist teaching, and limitations on women¿s critical reflections on personal experience. …

Medical Students On Long-Term Placements: A Financial Help Or Hindrance To Preceptors?, Judith Hudson, Kathryn Weston, Elizabeth Farmer

Elizabeth Farmer

Background: Medical student education is perceived as negatively impacting on clinical productivity and income. The current research aimed to test Worley and Kitto’s hypothetical model (2001) , which suggests for community-based longitudinal placements there is a ‘turning point’ after which time the student is beneficial to the practice. Our study triangulated quantitative income and expenditure data with preceptor perspectives derived from qualitative data. Summary of work: Preceptors provided gross practice income/expenditure. Preceptor interview data preand post- the year-long placement was analysed by two researchers who concurred on emergent themes. Summary of results: The percentage change on previous-year-average-daily-practice-income lent some support …

Comparison Of Selected Teaching Strategies Incorporating Simulation And Student Outcomes, Elizabeth Swanson, Anita Nicholson, Teresa Boese, Ellen Cram, Anita Stineman, Kimberly Tew

Elizabeth A. Swanson

No abstract provided.

Simply The Best: Teaching Gerontological Nursing Students To Teach Evidence-Based Practice. Creating Tip Sheets Can Help Achieve The Goal Of Implementing Ebp In Clinical Facilities, Deborah Schoenfelder

Deborah P. Schoenfelder

This article describes a teaching strategy used in an undergraduate gerontological nursing clinical course to familiarize students with evidence-based practice. Students are required to read and summarize an assigned evidence-based practice guideline published by The University of Iowa Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center. They then develop a "tip sheet," based on the assigned guideline, to disseminate to health care staff at their practicum sites, which is either a long-term care facility or a hospital-based skilled nursing facility. Nursing students' reactions to the assignment and nursing staff's responses to the tip sheets are discussed.

Screening For Social Anxiety Disorder In First Year University Students: A Pilot Study, Ian Wilson

Ian G Wilson

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterised by fear of negative evaluation.1 Sufferers become anxious when they perceive themselves as the centre of attention, finding it difficult to speak in public, attend social events and deal with authority figures. It is common, with an annual prevalence of 2.7% in Australia, but elsewhere in the western world it is higher (3–4%) and has a lifetime incidence of 7–13%. It has significant impact on education and employment, with lower levels of educational achievement and lower incomes.There are several screening tests for social anxiety disorder. The 24 question Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale is reliable, …

Distress Levels And Self-Reported Treatment Rates For Medicine, Law, Psychology And Mechanical Engineering Tertiary Students: A Cross-Sectional Study, Catherine Leahy, Ray Peterson, Ian Wilson, Jonathon Newbury, Anne Tonkin, Deborah Turnbull

Ian G Wilson

Objective: The aim of this research was to assess tertiary student distress levels with regards to (i) comparisons with normative population data, and (ii) the effects of discipline, year level, and student characteristics. Self-reported treatment rates and level of concern regarding perceived distress were also collected. Method: Students from all six years of an undergraduate medical course were compared with samples from Psychology, Law and Mechanical Engineering courses at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Students participated in one of three studies that were either webbased or paper-based. All studies included Kessler ’ s Measure of Psychological Distress (K10), and questions …

Learning Strategies Of First Year Nursing And Medical Students: A Comparative Study, Yenna Salamonson, Bronwyn Everett, Jane Koch, Ian Wilson, Patricia Davidson

Ian G Wilson

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE), where two or more professions learn with, from, and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care, has been proposed as a curriculum strategy to promote mutual understanding between professions, thus helping to prepare health professionals to work in challenging contemporary health systems. Although there is support for IPE initiatives within health professional education, differences in student motivation and learning strategies are likely to contribute to the success of these initiatives. Objective: To explore self-regulated learning strategies used by first year medical and nursing students, and to determine if these strategies were different …

'Part Of The Team': Professional Identity And Social Exclusivity In Medical Students, Roslyn Weaver, Kath Peters, Jane Koch, Ian Wilson

Ian G Wilson

OBJECTIVES Medical students must develop not only their professional identity but also inclusive social attitudes for effective medical practice in the future. This study explores the elements that contribute to medical students’ sense of professional identity and investigates the concept of social exclusivity and how this might relate to students’ development of their identity as medical professionals. METHODS The study is based on qualitative data gathered in telephone interviews with 13 medical students enrolled in Years 1 or 3 at an undergraduate medical school at a university in Australia. The questions were open-ended and asked students about their experiences in …

Changes In Learning Approaches In First Year Medical Students, Ian Wilson, Roslyn Weaver, Y Salamonson

Ian G Wilson

Learning approaches have a long history in medical education. Recent research suggests that learning approaches reflect the nature of the educational program. Problem-based learning has been said to promote deep learning; however, previous studies have questioned this assumption. This study explored whether there was a shift in learning approaches in an undergraduate medical course and whether students with employment outside of study or from a non-English-speaking background were more likely to demonstrate a reduction in deep learning across the first year of medicine.Methods: First-year medical students at a university in Australia were invited to complete a survey about their approaches …

Can Medical Students Identify Recreational Drugs By Name?, Paul Dargan, C Bishop, C.A.A Chahal, Alison Jones, David Wood

Alison L Jones

Background: Recreational drug toxicity is a common reason for presentation to the Emergency Department. Knowledge of recreational drug names is important to allow targeted assessment of patients presenting with recreational drug toxicity. Aims: To assess final year medical student knowledge of proper and street names for recreational drugs. Design: Questionnaire survey of final year medical students attending a revision lecture. Methods: There were two questionnaires used in this study. The first contained either proper names of recreational drugs or names sounding similar to recreational drugs or licensed pharmaceutical products; students were asked to identify which of these were recreational drugs. …

Becoming A Registered Nurse: The Nurse Extern Experience, K. Starr, Virginia Conley

Virginia M. Conley

Little is known about the perceptions of nursing students externing in newly developed hospital-based programs that focus on socialization and transition to the registered nurse (RN) role rather than on institutional recruitment and retention goals. This qualitative study explored student nurse externs' expectations, experiences, and benefits of participation in a student-focused externship program. Externs wanted to gain experience with skills and learn what it was like to be an RN. Goals were met or exceeded by becoming comfortable in the externship role, growing in skill performance and confidence, and becoming members of the healthcare team. The experience fostered growth from …

Evaluation Of Students In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Virginia Conley, A. Friesner, U. Krumme

Virginia M. Conley

No abstract provided.

Getting A Clue: Creating Student Detectives And Dragon Slayers In Your Library, Anna-Lise Smith, Lesli Baker

Annie Smith

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how Utah Valley University Library staff created two games to orient students to the library and library services.

Design/methodology/approach – Library staff developed and marketed the Get a Clue game, which used clues placed throughout the building at the beginning of the Fall semester to orient new students as they solved a mystery. During the Spring semester, the library staff introduced library services through LibraryCraft, an online game where students used library resources to slay a dragon.

Findings – In post-game surveys, students found the games entertaining and informative. The …

Eveleigh Railyards: Building Web-Based Databases For The Community And Students, Sandra Wills, Lucy Taksa

Sandra Wills

No abstract provided.

Individual And Organizational Resistance To Change: The Case Of Generation Y Undergraduate Students, Tamilla Curtis, Tom Griffin, Dawna Rhoades

Dr. Tamilla Curtis

No abstract provided.

"But I'M Not Really Bad": Using An Idiographic Versus A Nomothetic Approach To Understand The Reasons For Difficult Behaviour In Children, Vicki Bitsika

Vicki Bitsika

The number of students who are identified as experiencing behavioural difficulties in the mainstream school setting is growing. However, current efforts by teachers to address these behavioural difficulties are seriously limited because of lack of training in the procedures for assessing and working with difficult behaviour. This paper will argue that the apparent failure of traditional "behaviour modification" in producing positive changes in difficult behaviour lies in its prescriptive application of general strategies to specific student problems. This approach to behaviour change is ineffective because it is not based on an understanding of the reasons for difficult behaviour. The functional …

International Student Assessment For The New Millennium, Ray Adams

Prof Ray Adams

The author briefly describes the OECD initiated project, 'Program for International Student Assessment' (PISA), in which over 100,000 15 year old students from 4000 schools in 26 countries will participate. A major focus of the project is the assessment of wider knowledge, skills and competencies in literacy, mathematics and science areas.

Youth In Australia - Policy, Administration And Politics, Terry Irving, David Maunders, Geoff Sherington

Terry Irving

This book describes and analyses the development of youth policy in Australia since the end of World War II. Three eras are distinguished in terms of how society constructed youth as a problem: as juvenile delinquency (to 1960); as a generation gap (to the mid-1970s); and most recently as a wasted resource (1975-1990). In each period chapters cover: the social and demographic context and images of young people; policy development; bureaucratic structures; and the politics of youth and youth policy.