Digital Commons Network^™

The Experiences And Attitudes Of Student Tutors To Peer Tutoring In The Class Time Of The Gynecology And Infertility Course, Mitra Safari, Behrouz Yazdanpanah, Shahrzad Yazdanpanah, Shamila Yazdanpanah

Journal of Peer Learning

This study was conducted to examine experiences and attitudes of midwifery student tutors during scheduled class time. Sixty-one students from 2016 to 2019, who passed the gynecology and infertility course, participated in this study as student tutors and tutees. Students’ experiences were investigated with a five-point Likert-type rating scale questionnaire including 17 items in six domains. The average score, frequency, and percentage of positive and negative attitude were calculated in each domain. All participants were female with an average age of 26.3 years. Average student experiences were favorable, and their attitudes towards peer teaching were overwhelmingly positive in all domains. …

Social Value And Its Impact Through Widening Participation: A Review Of Four Programs Working With Primary, Secondary & Higher Education Students, Jioji Ravulo, Shannon Said, Jim Micsko, Gayl Purchase

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In 2017 the Office of Widening Participation conducted a program- wide analysis of the Social Return On Investment (SROI) to evaluate the impact of four Widening Participation programs at Western Sydney University (WSU). The programs evaluated were Fast Forward, Strive Towards Educational Participation and Success (STEPS), First Foot Forward, and Pasifika Achievement To Higher Education (PATHE). The overlapping aim amongst the four programs is to increase higher education participation rates, particularly for students coming from low socio-economic backgrounds. The SROI framework provided a holistic analysis by intertwining qualitative and quantitative data. The analysis showed that each program-albeit with differences-produced a …

The Invisible Line: Students As Partners Or Students As Colleagues?, Michelle J. Eady, Corinne Green

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

How Students Learn On Placement: Transitioning Placement Practices In Work-Integrated Learning, Bonnie Amelia Dean, Christopher S. Sykes

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

Examining learning in work-integrated learning (WIL) courses is complex. WIL traverses work and university spaces, which can be challenging for the way student learning is conceived, planned, supported, assessed and reported. This study strengthens our understanding of how students learn on placement by going directly to the source and observing learning unfold, in situ. Using an ethnographic methodology, this study adopts Schatzki’s (1996, 2010) practice-based lens to illuminate how students learn to embody and accomplish their assigned tasks on WIL placement. Findings suggest that students initially learn through performing an intermediary cluster of practices that enable them to orient, adapt …

‘Don’T Let Anyone Bring Me Down Again’: Applying ‘Possible Selves’ To Understanding Persistence Of Mature-Age First-In-Family Students, Janine Delahunty, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

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

This article applies the framework of possible selves to the motivation and persistence behaviours of one group of university students. We draw on possible selves to consider how particular goal-focused actions and life experiences may significantly shape movements towards imagined futures. Utilising a narrative approach from longitudinal data, this article considers the ways in which possible selves were articulated by five first-in-family students, all of whom were mature-aged women returning to formal learning. A series of vignettes enabled us to explore how students themselves conceived of this movement into university, and how hoped-for selves were considered and enacted (or not). …

Viewpoints: Should Teaching Students Who Fail A Literacy And Numeracy Test Be Barred From Teaching?, Lynn D. Sheridan, Nan Bahr

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Starting this month, teaching students who fail or haven't yet taken the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) will not be able to teach in Victorian schools. Previously, around one in 20 teachers who had failed the test or hadn't taken it yet received provisional registration. Prospective students who took the test late in 2018 received their results on January 11.

Experts By Experience Sharing Personal Knowledge To Enhance The Learning Of Undergraduate Nursing Students, Caroline Picton, Lorna Moxham, Christopher F. Patterson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

The term 'experts by experience' is used to describe people who possess personal knowledge of having a mental illness and their experience of using mental health services.

A Systematic Review Of The Effectiveness Of Empathy Education For Undergraduate Nursing Students, Tracy Levett-Jones, Robyn Cant, Samuel Lapkin

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

Objective

The objective of this systematic review was to identify, critically appraise and synthesize evidence for the effectiveness of empathy interventions in undergraduate nursing education.

Design

A systematic review of literature.

Data Sources

A three-stage systematic search of six electronic databases was conducted.

Review Methods

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guided the review. English language articles published between 2000 and 2018 were eligible. Methodological rigour was examined using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument. Changes in empathy were assessed using Cohen's effect size correlation (r) and reported as effective when the variance was …

The Long And Winding Road: Experiences Of Students Entering University Through Transition Programs, Theresa Millman, Jacinta M. Mcnamara

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article presents outcomes of two studies which focus on the lived experience of transition by students entering higher education in NSW (New South Wales), Australia, from two divergent pathways: Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and a university based enabling program. The studies intersect in two fundamental ways. First, the theoretical foundations (Mezirow's Transformational Learning Theory and Bourdieu's Social Capital Theory) which emphasise the role of habits of mind and the habitus respectively in an individual's life. Second, both studies have identified the primacy of the contribution of education to changing notions of self. The studies have found that successful …

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 …

Refugee Background Students Transitioning Into Higher Education: Navigating Complex Spaces, Skye Playsted

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review

Self-Directed Learning Readiness Of Students In Health Professional Preparation Programs: Informing Teaching And Learning Approaches, Craig Edward Slater

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Background Self-directed, lifelong learning has widely been considered important for health professionals in maintaining knowledge and skill currency. Professional accreditation standards often require health professional programs to develop these attitudes and abilities in pre-certification students, assuming that SDLR is ‘teachable’ rather than an individual ‘trait’. Programs have, therefore, sought to investigate students’ self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) to determine: (i) when students are ready to engage in self-directed learning; (ii) the effect of curricular efforts; and (iii) the utility of SDLR in predicting academic outcomes of interest. As such, there is a need for comprehensive investigation of SDLR to determine the …

Relationships Between Mental Toughness, Barriers To Exercise, And Exercise Behaviour In Undergraduate Students, Elizabeth Stamp, Lee Crust, Christian F. Swann, John Perry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The present study explored relationships between mental toughness (MT), barriers to exercise, and self-reported exercise behaviour in university students. Perceived barriers to exercise are important since previous work has identified barriers as strong predictors of exercise behaviour. MT was hypothesised to predict exercise barriers and self-reported exercise behaviour. Participants were 173 undergraduate students (45 men, 128 women) from 10 United Kingdom universities. Questionnaires were used to assess MT, exercise levels, and exercise barriers. Path analysis identified that MT predicted barriers to exercise, with higher MT associated with weaker perceived barriers. Regular exercisers were found to have significantly higher MT than …

Knowledge And Attitudes To Sexual Health And Sti Testing For Students At An Australian Regional University: A Cross-Sectional Study, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Tinashe Dune, Gina Dillon, Saifur Rahman, Rasheda Khanam, Laura Jenkins, Marnie Britton, Bernie Green, Christine Edwards, Annette Stevenson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Notifications for sexually transmitted diseases in young people in Australia are increasing. Young people are a priority population within the National Sexually Transmissible Infections Strategy, yet their knowledge of sexual health issues is limited. In the context of Health-Promoting Universities, we examined sexual health knowledge and access to care of both on and off-campus students at a regional university. In late 2012, 418 tertiary students aged 18-29 years completed an online baseline survey on their recent sexual behaviours and attitudes. In mid-2014, 956 students aged 18-31 years, of which 105 had completed the 2012 survey, completed the same or "endline" …

Educating Students To Play The Publication Game, Kathryn M. Weston

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

The rise and rise of predatory publishers (Beall, 2016) suggests the unwary in the research world are still being conned. Yet, for emerging researchers, this rogue behaviour is only one of the threats encountered when playing the 'publication game'

Navigating The Knowledge Sets Of Older Learners: Exploring The Concept Of Experiential Capital Amongst First-In-Family Mature Age Students, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper is based upon research with university students who were first in their family to come to university. The studies sought to explore how attending university impacted upon both the learners and their families, particularly the intergenerational implications of this attendance. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with older university students, this paper will focus on how this mature cohort articulated the ways in which they drew upon life and work experiences in their transition to university. The research indicates that these learners had access to additional capitals in the higher education environment including what has been termed as 'experiential …

Re-Examining "Redesign" In Critical Literacy Lessons With Grade 6 Students, Jessica Mantei, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In children's literary texts, ideologies aligning readers with discourses of certain communities often remain uncontested, potentially privileging those views and values over others. Critical literacy, therefore, is important so children can contest positions taken in literary texts and consider how their own texts in turn position others. This inquiry examined redesign as a pedagogical approach for developing critical literacy with 12 year old students as they deconstructed messages they identified in a short film and then reconstructed alternative viewpoints with new digital literary texts (redesigns). Findings revealed that the redesign cycle supported learners as they moved through a process of …

Navigating The Knowledge Sets Of Older Learners: Exploring The Capitals Of First-Infamily Mature Age Students, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper is based upon research with Australian students who were the first in their family to come to university. The studies sought to explore how attending university impacted upon both the learners and their families, particularly the intergenerational implications of this attendance. Drawing on indepth interviews conducted with older university students enrolled in a medium sized regional university, this paper will focus on how this mature cohort articulated the ways in which they drew upon life and work experiences during their transition to university. Applying the Community Cultural Framework (Yosso, 2005) this article proposes that these learners brought a …

Student Rules: Exploring Patterns Of Students' Computer-Efficacy And Engagement With Digital Technologies In Learning, Sarah Katherine Howard, Jun Ma, Jie Yang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Teachers' beliefs about students' engagement in and knowledge of digital technologies will affect technologically integrated learning designs. Over the past few decades, teachers have tended to feel that students were confident and engaged users of digital technologies, but there is a growing body of research challenging this assumption. Given this disparity, it is necessary to examine students' confidence and engagement using digital technologies to understand how differences may affect experiences in technologically integrated learning. However, the complexity of teaching and learning can make it difficult to isolate and study multiple factors and their effects. This paper proposes the use of …

Avoiding The Manufacture Of 'Sameness': First-In-Family Students, Cultural Capital And The Higher Education Environment, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Drawing upon Bourdieu's theories of social and cultural capital, a number of studies of the higher education environment have indicated that students who are first-in-family to come to university may lack the necessary capitals to enact success. To address this issue, university transition strategies often have the primary objective of 'filling students up' with legitimate forms of cultural capital required by the institution. However, this article argues that such an approach is fundamentally flawed, as students can be either framed as deficit or replete in capitals depending on how their particular background and capabilities are perceived. Drawing on interviews conducted …

Preparing To Cross The Research Proposal Threshold: A Case Study Of Two International Doctoral Students, Meeta Chatterjee, Wendy S. Nielsen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents a study of two international doctoral students' perspectives on preparing to formally present the thesis proposal, which we conceptualise as a threshold in the PhD journey. They participated in a thesis writing group (TWG) that aimed to support international doctoral students to develop aspects of their scholarship in the early stages of their candidature. The case students reported feeling 'stuck' before joining the TWG run by the authors. After the writing group experience, they reported that they had gained confidence and developed the skills and knowledge required to prepare for their proposal presentation. Their perspectives were gathered …

A Comparison Of Chinese And Australian University Students' Attitudes Towards Plagiarism, John Ehrich, Steven J. Howard, Congjun Mu, Sahar Bokosmaty

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Student plagiarism is a growing problem within Australian universities and abroad. Potentially exacerbating this situation, research indicates that students' attitudes toward plagiarism are typically more permissive and lenient than the policies of their tertiary institutions. There has been suggestion that this is especially so in Asian countries relative to Western countries; however, very little research has sought to empirically validate this suggestion. Moreover, existing research in this area has typically compared international and domestic students studying in Western countries. As yet, no studies have directly compared Chinese and Australian university students' attitudes toward plagiarism, as they exist within their native …

A Self-Determination Theory Perspective On The Motivation Of Pre-Registration Nursing Students, Anita Cregan, Dana J. Perlman, Lorna Moxham

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

Research of current and past literature has identified an increasing shortage of mental health nurses, currently employed, within the Australian healthcare system. Strikingly more alarming is the rising number of mental health consumers; both with a lived experience and those with a current mental illness. This diversity between mental health nurses and mental health consumers only serves to increase the stigma and discrimination whilst further defining the barrier consumers experience when accessing health care services. This paper investigates how an innovative clinical placement, based on personal recovery and grounded in tenets of Self-Determination Theory of human behaviour, can influence the …

‘Students That Just Hate School Wouldn’T Go’: Educationally Disengaged And Disadvantaged Young People’S Talk About University, Samantha Mcmahon, Valerie Harwood, Anna Hickey-Moody

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on widening university participation and brings a focus on the classed and embodied nature of young people’s imagination to existing discussions. We interviewed 250 young people living in disadvantaged communities across five Australian states who had experienced disengagement from compulsory primary and secondary schooling. We asked them about their education and their educational futures, specifically how they imagined universities and university participation. For these young people, universities were imagined as ‘big’, ‘massive’ alienating schools. The paper explores how the elements of schooling from which these young people disengaged became tangible barriers …

Opportunity Through Online Learning: Experiences Of First-In-Family Students In Online Open-Entry Higher Education, Cathy Stone, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Josephine May, Janine Delahunty, Zoe Partington

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Online learning has an important place in widening access and participation in higher education for diverse student cohorts. One cohort taking up online study in increasing numbers is that of mature-age, first-in-family students. First-in-family is defined as those who are the first in their immediate family, including parents, siblings, partners and children, to undertake university studies. This paper looks at the experience of 87 first-in-family students, for whom the opportunity to study open-entry, online undergraduate units through Open Universities Australia made it possible for them to embark on a university education. Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews and surveys were …

Challenges Experienced By Japanese Students With Oral Communication Skills In Australian Universities, Miho Yanagi, Amanda Ann Baker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Due to ever-increasing demands to acquire effective communicative abilities in the English language, increasing numbers of international students choose to study in Western tertiary institutions; however, they frequently encounter difficulties in performing satisfactorily in English. This study aims to identify specific challenges that Japanese students face with oral communication skills while studying in Australian universities. Results from questionnaire data collected from 33 undergraduate and postgraduate Japanese students in Australia and interview data from five TESOL postgraduate students indicate that Japanese students have greater difficulty with speaking than with listening and pronunciation. It also sheds additional insight into two areas of …

Supporting And Engaging Students Who Are The First In Their Families To Attend University: A Practise Paper, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Globally, first-in-family learners represent a significant proportion of the university student population, yet these high rates of participation are not necessarily matched by equally high success rates. Instead, internationally the research on this group indicates that these learners are at greater risk of departure from university when compared to their second and third generation peers, often as a result of limited exposure to academic culture and expectations. This article provides an overview of current research on first-in-family learners and also, offers some recommendations for supporting and engaging with this cohort within university settings.

Students' Perception On Use Of Technology In The Classroom At Higher Education Institutions In Philippines, Virginia Carbonilla Gorra, Shyam S. Bhati

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Issue of unintended consequences of use of technology in class room is important because unintended consequences can cause disruption in class room and negate the institutional policies regarding strategic direction and intervention in teaching and learning process. Current literature on the use of e-learning for teaching focuses on factors which increases the effectiveness of e-learning but there is very little research on unintended consequences of e-learning, particularly in regard to developing countries. The present research seeks to fill in this gap in the research. This research investigates the consequences of the use of technology during classroom activities in higher education …

Book Review: Fostering Self-Efficacy In Higher Education Students, Janine Delahunty

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

What is self-efficacy, why is it worthy of attention in higher education, how are selfefficacy beliefs linked to teaching and learning excellence and what is "excellence" anyway? These are some points of discussion found in the first few pages of Laura Ritchie's book, directing the reader towards strategies in later chapters that are drawn from real-life situations aimed at helping the practitioner recognise and apply principles for building strong self-efficacy beliefs in their students. The author argues that the impact of self-efficacy on learning is "fundamental to everything" (p. vii); she writes from her years of teaching and research in …

Teaching And Learning Preferences Of 'Generation Y' Occupational Therapy Students In Practice Education, Caroline Hills, Tracy Levett-Jones, Helen Warren-Forward, Samuel Lapkin

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

Background/Aims: Practice education is integral to health professional curricula. There is emerging evidence that student generational attributes may be impacting on practice education. Students born between 1982 and 2000, termed 'Generation Y', are said to have a different outlook on learning to those students from other generational groups. However, there is little research from student perspectives to investigate these claims. This study aimed to identify 'Generation Y' occupational therapy students' preferred teaching and learning approaches in practice education. Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive approach and purposive sampling, 22 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with third and fourth year 'Generation Y' occupational …