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Vol. 11 No. 1 (2014)

Published: 1 January 2014

Articles

  • Editorial 11.1

    Geraldine E. Lefoe

    This issue is the first for Volume 11 of Journal of University Teaching and Learning (JUTLP) in 2014 and my final as Senior Editor as I move into retirement and finally have time to pursue my passion for photography. I am very proud of what has been achieved by JUTLP as an open access journal and have been supported by a wonderful editorial team in order to achieve this outcome. There have been 174 articles published in the 24 issues with 116000 full text downloads since 2008 when we were able to start collecting this data. There are many people involved in ensuring each issue is published and I’d like to thank all the authors, reviewers, editors and support staff who make this possible. I have valued your support, assistance and patience over the years and know you will continue to support this journal as a valuable contribution to teaching and learning in higher education. I congratulate the new Senior Editor, Associate Professor Romy Lawson who will lead the editorial team to take JUTLP in new directions. I wish them well and know they will enjoy the engagement with authors from around the world as much as I have.

    Read article: Editorial 11.1

  • Enabling Music and Journalism Students To Respond Positively To Adversity In Work After Graduation: A Reconsideration Of Conventional Pedagogies

    Lotte Latukefu, Shawn Burns, Marcus O'Donnell, Andrew Whelan

    Elite classical music programs continue to focus teaching in Western Classical traditions where the emphasis is on technical virtuosity in instrumental or vocal performance. In this paper we discuss group activities and assessments used in two Creative Arts disciplines (Performance and Journalism), at an Australian regional university, as examples of subjects which provide ‘real world’ experience in order to promote resilience and tenacity in students. We incorporate narratives collected from students in performance and journalism to illustrate the value of recreating the complex division of labour of real world art practice, famously described by Becker (1982), as part of the musical learning experience. The paper concludes with reflections on how collaborative assessments/teaching activities can be developed to ensure the delivery of resilience and tenacity as a threshold learning outcome in a classical music course.

    Read article: Enabling Music and Journalism Students To Respond Positively To Adversity In Work After Graduation: A Reconsideration Of Conventional Pedagogies

  • Feeling good, but missing the mark. What happened to the assessment in peer assessment?

    Ragnhild Sandvoll

    This qualitative study explores aspects of formative peer assessment through looking at teachers’ and students’ perceptions and practices. The study takes place in a first semester course, where mastering peer assessment was a learning outcome and where formative peer assessment was designed into the course plan as a learning activity. Empirical material is derived from observing two seminar groups and from interviewing teachers and students. Findings indicated that whilst all interviewees expressed positive attitudes towards peer assessment, no one seemed to put much effort into doing it. Using Argyris’ theories of action as a theoretical framework, the study explores the relationship between realities of practice and espoused theories. Discussion focuses on the apparent paradox of positive expressed views and minimal effort. Additionally, the role of the teachers in managing peer assessment will be discussed, linked to the development of their teaching.

    Read article: Feeling good, but missing the mark. What happened to the assessment in peer assessment?

  • Toward the building of a cross-disciplinary doctoral research and writing culture

    E_Marcia Johnson

    Within the New Zealand university context, there has been a dramatic shift in the demographics of doctoral programs. Moving from an elitist educational environment to one that includes a variety of students from different cultures and educational and linguistic backgrounds has meant that “traditional” doctoral study, in which a student works largely alone under the supervision of just one or two more senior research scholars has become increasingly inadequate. This paper describes a qualitative research study of a cross-disciplinary, cohort-based doctoral writing initiative. Findings from the study have changed how doctoral support is conceptualised within our context and have led to the adoption of a student-focused “talk to think: think to write” peer learning environment.

    Read article: Toward the building of a cross-disciplinary doctoral research and writing culture

  • Supporting New Academics’ Use of Student Centred Strategies in Traditional University Teaching

    Sally E Plush, Benjamin A Kehrwald

    Despite the perceived advantages of student centred learning (SCL) in higher education, novice teaching academics’ attempts to implement such approaches may be thwarted by a lack of experience with teaching in general and with SCL in particular, difficulties locating suitable practical advice on SCL, and the demands of early career academic workloads. This article seeks to provide practical assistance to teaching academics seeking to implement SCL into traditional teaching environments. It synthesizes current literature to provide an overview of 3 broad SCL strategies: inquiry learning, concept checks and just-in-time teaching. Key considerations for implementing each of these strategies are identified and the authors discuss four observations about the implementation of SCL, in context.

    Read article: Supporting New Academics’ Use of Student Centred Strategies in Traditional University Teaching

  • Using Innovative Tools to Teach Computer Application to Business Students - A Hawthorne Effect or Successful Implementation Here to Stay

    Zeenath Reza Khan

    A year after the primary study that tested the impact of introducing blended learning and guided discovery to help teach computer application to business students, this paper looks into the continued success of using guided discovery and blended learning with learning management system in and out of classrooms to enhance student learning. Particularly, it looks at the successful adaptation and implementation of learning management system as an aid to learning and delivery of a computer application subject to a class that is majorly populated by business students with little or no IT background. This paper tests the continued success to establish whether the success recorded after the first implementation was sustainable or merely influenced by the Hawthorn effect of trialing an innovation. It concludes with final grade measure over a one-year period of implementation of the system, and student responses that strongly support the original approach used by the author.

    Read article: Using Innovative Tools to Teach Computer Application to Business Students - A Hawthorne Effect or Successful Implementation Here to Stay

  • Teacher Candidates’ Collaboration and Identity in Online Discussions

    Nadine Bryce

    In an online context, without facial, verbal or gestural cues, establishing identities through naming social positions appeared essential to effective written communication for graduate pre-service teacher candidates enrolled in a course on literacy education for elementary students. As they engaged in small group asynchronous discussions about course readings, candidates named their identities and deferred to course authors more often than they referenced group identities, or attempted to bond with one another. They engaged least frequently in disagreeing with one another, or challenging the authority of course texts, creating polite, cordial exchanges in most groups. Male candidates challenged their group members more often, suggesting differences in communication styles shaped their responses. Dialogue journaling shows promise in facilitating learner connection and building a sense of community by facilitating dialogue and decreasing psychological distance between participants who are geographically and temporally separated.

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  • Using Film to Elucidate Leadership Effectiveness Models: Reflection on Authentic Learning Experiences

    Diana Rajendran, Martin Andrew

    Abstract This paper examines how students in a third year management unit at a university of technology in Australia evaluate the usefulness of film as a tool for developing a deeper understanding of the theoretical leadership effectiveness model developed by Robbins (1997). The study reviews the range of studies describing the use of films in teaching leadership, playing into a perceivable gap in empirical studies demonstrating how students engage in applying the concepts of leadership. This study specifically considers whether films are effective interventions for achieving engagement in an assessment task aimed at identifying applications of theory to cases of leadership in action. As part of an action research cycle, thirty students (30) participated in three different focus groups. Transcriptions subsequently produced thick descriptions on which thematic analysis was conducted to extract key themes (Ryan & Bernard, 2003). The results suggest that films can communicate, embody and articulate the effectiveness of behaviours of leadership Robbins conveyed. The results also indicate that students value films as a medium for contextualising actions that demonstrate different leadership styles. It is perceived as a way of catering to diverse learning styles and as a way of building autonomy. We conclude that while films can be motivating and lend authenticity to assessment tasks, students need clear direction in making links between theoretical concepts and narrative filmic constructions of leaders and leadership behaviour. This leads to the next stage of our action research cycle.

    Read article: Using Film to Elucidate Leadership Effectiveness Models: Reflection on Authentic Learning Experiences