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Vol. 7 No. 2 (2010)

Published: 1 September 2010

Articles

  • Editorial 7.2

    Dr Meg O'Reilly

    Welcome to Volume 7, Issue 2 of JUTLP. It is wonderful to see the journal continuing from strength to strength, and with this Special Issue devoted to the theme of “Achieving Teaching-Research Connections in Undergraduate Programs”, there was an enormous response from authors in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Although we have stretched the issue to encompass more articles than usual, there were simply too many well-conceived initiatives to include them all in this issue. Watch out for extra articles on this theme in future issues.

    Read article: Editorial 7.2 540 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Trends in Achieving Teaching-Research Connections – From global perspectives to an institutional strategy

    Elizabeth Santhanam

    Research into, and discussions on, the relationships between teaching and research activities in universities and other tertiary education institutions have been gathering momentum for a number of decades in many parts of the world. The foci of these researches and discussions have varied greatly. At one end of the spectrum are the publications which were the result of large-scale projects, generally commissioned by a national body or an institution; these projects often had a broad focus. At the other end are the products of pursuits by an individual with a personal interest in the field, exploring a specific aspect of practice. This paper initially explores some key publications based on commissioned projects in the US, UK and Australia in order to gain a ‘big picture’ view of the teaching-research (TR) connection, then looks at TR relevant discussions emanating from the work of prominent scholars, and finally provides an insight into strategic initiatives for promoting TR connections at an institutional level. The paper provides evidence for the widening of discussion base for TR connections, while narrowing the discussion focus to student engagement, in different parts of the world.

    Read article: Trends in Achieving Teaching-Research Connections – From global perspectives to an institutional strategy 921 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • The Artistic practice-Research-Teaching (ART) Nexus: Translating the Information Flow

    Dawn Bennett, David Wright, Diana M. Blom

    This paper reports findings from interviews with fourteen Australian artist academics, who discuss the complex relationships between their Arts practice, their Research and their Teaching. We refer to this as the ART nexus because of the strong flow of information reported between these three activities. However, this information flow is not achieved without conflict. Conflict arises over the balance of time available and different mindsets required for differing activities, and there can be hesitation about analysing intuitive creative thought. The findings reveal ways in which information is ‘translated’ for different audiences including undergraduate and postgraduate students, who are both recipients of and contributors to the nexus. The article problematises the ART nexus in an attempt to offer greater insight into the ways in which individual artist academics teach through their arts practice and their research, within a university system that struggles to accommodate this breadth of endeavour.

    Read article: The Artistic practice-Research-Teaching (ART) Nexus: Translating the Information Flow 2,402 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Beyond ‘Listening’ to the Student Voice: The Undergraduate Researcher’s Contribution to the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

    Lee Partridge, Sally Sandover

    This paper introduces a novel focus of undergraduate research of which there have been few similar reports. Examples of staff-student research partnerships in teaching and learning are starting to appear in the literature but pedagogic research conducted entirely by undergraduate students is exceptional. The Undergraduate Learning and Teaching Research Internship Scheme (ULTRIS) was conceived at The University of Western Australia (UWA) to introduce undergraduate students to authentic research outside their chosen discipline. By focusing their research on a teaching and learning issue of identified priority for the University, students were able to make significant contributions to the understanding of the problem and provide insights to inform future changes in policy and practice. Beyond the benefits to the institution and the individual students, the model of undergraduate research described in this paper heralds an opportunity for research into teaching and learning to gain acceptance and interest amongst a new and previously uninvolved cohort of investigators.

    Read article: Beyond ‘Listening’ to the Student Voice: The Undergraduate Researcher’s Contribution to the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning 1,269 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • The Teaching/Research Nexus And Internationalisation: An Action Research Project In Radiation Physics

    Susanna Guatelli, Catherine Layton, Dean Cutajar, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

    This paper attempts to unpack the teaching and learning experiences of academics and students when a new way of teaching radiation physics was introduced. In an attempt to articulate the University of Wollongong’s commitment to the enhancement of the teaching/research nexus and to the development of learning communities, staff of the School of Physics in the Faculty of Engineering at University of Wollongong (UOW) implemented an action research project teaching scientific computing methodologies used in radiation physics to a combined laboratory class of postgraduates and undergraduates. The design of the practical laboratory classes took account of the expected heterogeneous computing skills and different knowledge of radiation physics of undergraduate and postgraduate students. Based on an earlier study, it was presumed that postgraduate students would be in a good position to support undergraduates. We illustrate how broad-based conceptions of the value of learning communities and their role in fostering the teaching/research nexus may be challenged by an internationalised student body. In this case, the previous patterns of undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments, which the pilot study had canvassed, did not hold true; almost all of the postgraduate students were international students, only recently arrived in Australia. This, along with other factors, meant that learning outcomes and students’ responses to the innovation were not what were expected. We suggest a path forward, both for the specific subject in which the innovation occurred, and for other similar attempts to bring together academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students in a nascent learning community, in the light of ongoing trends towards internationalisation.

    Read article: The Teaching/Research Nexus And Internationalisation: An Action Research Project In Radiation Physics 1,966 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Developing Transferable Research Skills in First Year Agricultural Economics Students

    Tony Koppi, Elizabeth Nolan, Damien Field

    A problem-based learning approach was adopted for a unit of study in first year agricultural economics at the University of Sydney with the aim of starting development of students’ research skills earlier than usual. The novel teaching approach employed a structured and guided problem activity in the first semester and progressed to a more authentic problem activity in the second semester where the students worked in online peer groups to identify their own problem within a specified challenging area (market failure), carry out research and discuss findings prior to submitting an individual essay on their chosen topic. A structured learning journal with 10 questions was used in the second semester where the students recorded their reflections on a range of aspects of the learning process. None of the questions specifically asked about research yet 72% of the students mentioned it at least once. These learning journals were analysed for unsolicited comments about learning and research to gauge what the students themselves believed they had learned about research and how it can be transferred to other disciplines and future employment. The final essays were independently analysed by using eight research performance criteria to estimate the degree of research skills displayed by the students. Most of the students performed well in six of the research criteria indicating that development of research skills can be initiated in the first year of a degree program.

    Read article: Developing Transferable Research Skills in First Year Agricultural Economics Students 1,517 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Multi-level Linking of Teaching and Extra-curricular Activity with Professional Planning Research: The Case of the Lincoln Planning Review

    Hamish G Rennie

    The experience in developing a student-led academic journal, the Lincoln Planning Review, to provide experiential learning that links undergraduates in a small professional planning programme directly to research publication is described. A combination of circumstances, including an impending review of the programme by the external professional body, provided the impetus for the project. From the outset, the intention was to directly link students across the learning cohorts with research while meeting a number of other objectives. Reflecting on the experience highlights the value of the journal as a framework to build confidence, critical thinking and research skills through developing a learning community that practices collaborative peer learning.

    Read article: Multi-level Linking of Teaching and Extra-curricular Activity with Professional Planning Research: The Case of the Lincoln Planning Review 773 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Why I Wanted More: Inspirational Experiences of the Teaching–Research Nexus for Engineering Undergraduates

    Cally Guerin, Damith Ranasinghe

    What is it about the teaching-research nexus that inspires engineering undergraduates to want more and become researchers themselves? In this study, we sought to discover more about the influences on current PhD students’ choices to embark on higher degrees by research in various fields in engineering in an Australian research-intensive university. An online survey and follow-up focus group discussion revealed that these students are driven primarily by a genuine interest in research itself, rather than other factors such as career advancement (although this too, plays a role). While this is not particularly surprising, what did become apparent was the specific undergraduate experiences that most strongly influenced their decision to undertake research degrees, including enjoying doing project-based work, being exposed to lecturers who were passionate about their own research, and working on a vacation research scholarship. Further analysis reveals that the weighting of various influences changes according to whether the students are local Australian graduates or international PhD candidates.

    Read article: Why I Wanted More: Inspirational Experiences of the Teaching–Research Nexus for Engineering Undergraduates 886 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

  • Activating the Teaching-Research Nexus in Smaller Universities: Case Studies Highlighting Diversity of Practice

    William E Boyd, Meg O'Reilly, Danny Bucher, Kath Fisher, Anja Morton, Peter Lynton Harrison, Elaine Nuske, Rebecca Coyle, Karyn Rendall

    The teaching-research nexus (TRN) has become an important process in the modern University, providing both identity to university scholarship and a device for the integration of academics’ work. Over the last decade many reports have identified the need to both establish institution-wide processes to embed and support TRN, and assist in academic professional development in adopting TRN. This case study reports one such institutional project, focussing on one element of the staff development program, a TRN panel discussion by academics who have engaged TRN. The discussion was structured around the five TRN dimensions of: Learning through research; Research-led teaching; Researching teaching; Teaching informed research; Learning how to do research. By reflecting on their personal experiences, the presenters provided example and discussion of the diversity of options within TRN. In evaluating this event, we consider the diversity of subtlety of TRN. There are clearly advantages for students and staff alike, and TRN allows the curriculum to have a significant authenticity. In terms of teaching, research becomes a core learning tool and foundation of the curriculum. TRN then becomes the catalyst for merging boundaries between teachers and learners, lecturers and researchers: TRN becomes a truly two-way relationship.

    Read article: Activating the Teaching-Research Nexus in Smaller Universities: Case Studies Highlighting Diversity of Practice 1,325 views. Recorded article-page views through the previous day; not unique readers or PDF downloads.

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