Computer conferencing: a contribution to self-directed learning

This article describes computer conferencing in its educational context, particularly as a tool for encouraging greater autonomy in the learner. Conferencing experiments at the Open University with a large undergraduate course (1000–2000 students) are described, and guidelines proposed: the conferencing system must be integral to the course and related directly to an assessment, the facility must be easy to use and the conference moderator needs special skills to manage the conference. Various problems can arise, such as the non-participant 'lurker' and the dominant personality. Ways in which conferencing can improve educational interaction are suggested. With an innovation as untested as conferencing, it is premature to expect definitive answers; rather this paper poses questions and identifies issues about the role of conferencing in education in the future.     

Video Conferencing: a Solution to the Multi-campus Large Classes Problem?

Whether due to amalgamation or export education strategies, many universities now face a problem of delivering subjects, programs and courses across more than one campus. There are significant costs to students, staff and faculty of this teaching and administrative duplication. Information and communication technologies offer potential to achieve economies of scale but the effects on other things like student learning are not so clear. The objective of this paper is to report the outcomes of a video conferencing trial in an undergraduate mass lecture context. The effects on students and staff, and support issues are highlighted through a formative and summative evaluation. Surveys, focus groups, interviews, video recordings, exam results and reflective diaries provided data for the evaluations. The results will be useful both for decision-makers considering a video conferencing solution to duplication, as well as for staff potentially involved in using the video conferencing in a mass lecture context.     

Shared time,shared problems? Exploring the dynamics of paired writing conferences

The teacher–student writing conference has long been recognized as being able to provide personalized instruction and contribute to learners’ writing development. However, teachers often find it time-consuming to conference with individual students on a regular basis. Conferencing with pairs of students, therefore, may become a more pragmatic option. While a promising approach, so far the practice of paired conferencing has received scant research attention. This exploratory case study investigated the dynamics of paired conferences held between 1 writing instructor and 23 Chinese-speaking undergraduates learning English as a foreign language, as well as students’ perceptions of paired conferencing. Data collected included 11 videotaped conferences, audiotaped interviews with the instructor and students, and a student questionnaire. Through a discourse analysis performed on the conference data, this study found that to justify and facilitate paired conferencing, the instructor employed strategies such as assigning pre-conference peer review, identifying shared problems, and involving the other tutee in problem solving. Results also indicated that peer interaction during the conference was limited, but the pre-conference peer review seemed to contribute to learners’ awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. Overall, this study showed that students held favorable opinions about paired conferencing although sharing teacher time and attention might still be a concern with some students.     

Academic Integrity in Electronic Universities of the New Millennium: a Practitioner's Perspective

Drawing upon its experience as a pioneer of open and distance learning in the management education field, the Open University Business School of the United Kingdom has now extended its system of student communication and support to include the use of computer‐mediated conferencing as a mass teaching tool. After outlining the method of supported open learning practiced by this Business School, the article describes the use of computer‐mediated conferencing in the graduate entry course to the MBA programme, a course that attracts some 1,500 managers each year from across Europe. The article then summarizes two years of student evaluation of their use of computer‐mediated conferencing as a learning support medium. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of student reactions to computer‐mediated conferencing for the future effective use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in management education.     

USING COMPUTER CONFERENCING IN TEACHING

For 3years, I have been teaching neuroscience courses by using computer conferencing to complement the traditional lectures. Typically, the conferencing involved local, on‐campus students, although one semester the class was combined from on‐campus and off‐campus students. For most of my 33‐year teaching career, I had used the teaching approach that most professors use, which is what educational theorists call “instructivist.” Critics call that “stand and deliver.” Lecturing is an efficient way to dispense organized information, but it does not ensure learning nor is it very effective in showing students how to learn on their own.

Instructivism can be enriched by complementing it with “constructivist” approaches. Constructivists argue that there is a direct relationship between the amount of learning that occurs and the extent to which the environment provides a rich source of engaging experiences in which students construct their own knowledge and understanding. I have found that such an environment is readily provided by computer conferencing.

In my teaching of neuroscience, I have used a network software system (FORUM) for small student groups to conduct a variety of constructivist learning activities. Within weekly deadlines, students worked in groups at their own pace and time of convenience. My impression of the advantages of such conferencing for constructivist activities include the promotion of socialization in “cyberspace,” providing an environment for team learning, the reduction of social problems in face‐to‐face instruction, increased teaching and learning efficiency, more comprehensive means for assessing student learning, and improved quality of student work.     

Initial teacher education online: factors influencing the nature of interaction in computer conferencing

SUMMARY This article examines the use of text conferencing by student teachers at the University of Ulster. An asynchronous facility was utilised through the Northern Ireland Network for Education (NINE) website in order to reduce student isolation while on teaching practice, and to provide a real context in which students could enhance their ICT skills. The key factors influencing the nature of conferencing were identified and explored, principally, the extent of student and tutor involvement, and the availability of a link to conferencing systems in schools. Conferencing was most valued by students for reducing the sense of isolation on teaching practice. The results show that conferencing serves purposes that not only include but exceed the initial aims, and that it has become a tangible asset to the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).     

Creating a connection: tackling student attrition through curriculum development

The issue of student attrition (where students leave a programme of study for any reason) is maintaining a high profile across the higher education sector and is a key concern for those delivering nurse education. Many authors have pointed out the cause for concern that student nurse attrition raises and its impact on the higher education institution (HEI), on the student body generally, on partners in practice, and on the student who leaves. The reasons that student nurses leave their programmes of study are similar to the reasons that other students leave (financial, personal, academic, lack of support, etc). For student nurses there are also issues with their experiences in practice. It is clear that with all student attrition, the reasons for leaving are complex in nature. It must be accepted that there are some issues that cannot be addressed by HEIs, but that ways to tackle attrition and to enhance student retention must be high on the agenda of any education provider. Individual programmes of study can utilise approaches to curriculum development that aim to enhance the student experience. The introduction of an enquiry‐based learning strand to the curriculum of one pre‐registration nursing programme aims to address some of the reasons for student attrition, namely: lack of support, poor academic performance, lack of study skills, disillusionment and low motivation, lack of confidence, and the theory‐practice gap resulting in stressful practice experiences. Enquiry‐based learning (EBL) is not seen as a panacea for student attrition, but it is seen as a positive way in which to enhance the student experience.     

Computer conferencing with access to a 'guest expert' in the professional development of special educational needs coordinators

This article describes and outlines the implications of a one‐year case study of students’ use of the computer conferencing facility of a postgraduate module for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) at a distance‐learning institution. This facility incorporates a virtual space for a ‘guest expert’. The aim of the study was to inform future development of courses at a time when computer conferencing was just becoming widespread in the university concerned. Quantitative data associated with the volume and patterns of individual participation in the computer conference were collected as well as interview material from students, tutors and the ‘guest expert’. Findings from the study indicate that computer conferencing has the potential to facilitate the professional development of teachers as reflective practitioners and researchers. However, they also point to a number of barriers to student participation that must be addressed. These include access issues related to time constraints, unfamiliarity with the medium, and lack of confidence in expressing personal views in a public arena. A major conclusion drawn from this study is that it may be appropriate to consider future developments which incorporate the assumption that, in computer conferences of large professional development courses, students are much more likely to participate through reading rather than making personal contributions to conference discussions. This opens the possibility of reconceptualising the role of the ‘guest expert’ as two or more discussants with relevant expertise dialoguing with each other while students follow a threaded discussion and/or make personal contributions.     

Using the DYSA Programme to Reduce Stress and Anxiety in First-year University Students

With recent increases in the number of students attending universities without a proportional increase in resources, it is likely that there has been a decrease in the quality of life students experience and an increase in the stress they feel. This is of course added to by tuition fees and the need to take out student loans. The writers review research into student stress and highlight the fact that many researchers have noted the need for stress-reduction courses, though this has been a recommendation that has not generally been taken up. A specific stress-reduction programme for school pupils and university students is described. This programme was tested with first-year undergraduates. The students involved all felt that the programme had been valuable. Apart from its clear relevance to the support of university students, this paper raises issues which are of importance to those working with sixth-form students.     

Computer-Mediated Communication Environments in Teacher Education: Computer Conferencing and the Supervision of Student Teachers

The use of computer conferencing environments with student teachers and their supervisors was implemented during teaching practice and evaluated for four teacher education programs. Computer conferencing can be contrasted with the more common supervision methods, such as face-to-face conferences between the student teacher and the cooperating teacher, or between a group of student teachers and their supervisor at the teacher education institute. In our evaluation, we focused on participants' opinions of computer conferencing and their participation, activities and educational outcomes. During their field experiences, student teachers used computer conferencing primarily to exchange emotional support when they recognised similar experiences among their peers. It was less used for reflecting on their teaching and exchanging pedagogical content knowledge, including instructional methods and designs, classroom management strategies, general and instructional theories, and aspects of the teaching profession. This finding led to the conclusion that more attention should be paid to the structure of student teachers' learning environment, because more coaching and instruction of student teachers in their systematic and reflective use of computer conferencing leads to more varied and extensive communication     

Using a Post‐Experience Questionnaire to Measure the Quality of Student Learning in a Computer Conferencing Environment

A class of second year (age group 19–20), university students used computer conferencing as an alternative to face‐to‐face seminars. A questionnaire based on Garrison's critical thinking model tested their conferencing versus face‐to‐face experiences. Factor analysis using SPSS produced five factors for face‐to‐face seminars and four factors for computer conferencing consistent with deep approaches to learning. One negative factor emerged for computer conferencing which indicated a problem with student use of the technology. The results show that computer conferencing can be a valuable learning environment on campus.     

A Psychology Fulbright Year in China

This article shares a series of personal observations and anecdotes about central issues in college mental health in China based on my Fulbright year there. There are many cultural and structural forces that both support and constrain the growth of the mental health field in China. This article addresses these forces in terms of their impact on college student psychotherapy and the broader mental health of Chinese college students.     

思想政治教育工作下加强高校学生社团建设的思考

高校学生社团是加强学生之间的沟通、提高大学生各方面素质的重要平台,对加强校园文化建设,促进大学生思想创新具有积极的作用。近年来,高校学生社团发展出现诸多负面问题,应当从学生社团自身建设出发,以高校思想政治教育工作为切入点,通过全面的教育渗透,促进学生社团的健康发展。     

Walanbaa warramildanha: The impact of authentic Aboriginal community and school engagement on teachers’ professional knowledge

The conundrum of Indigenous education in Australia is that there are multiple, highly contested and polarising narratives that vie to inform both public and policy debate about how to construct effective schooling of Aboriginal students. Two of these contested discourses, which are seen to drive much of this debate, highlight the complexity of concerns—one which is essentially aspirational in its intent but unperceptive to the realities of Aboriginal student achievement and a second data focused discourse that is managerial and evaluative in its focus to disclose policy and pedagogic failures on student outcomes. The first has posed the politically more palatable proposition that there has been a slow, sometimes faltering but inexorable improvement in Aboriginal education, while the second highlights a mounting body of qualitative data that document an overall failure by school systems to lift Aboriginal student education achievement. The author recognises the complex and historical nature of the multilayered ‘issues’ that sit at the heart of Aboriginal underachievement. He argues that one of those underpinning issues that has plagued Aboriginal education centres on the depth of the socio-cultural disconnect between Aboriginal students and their communities, and teachers. He also argues that, too often, teachers are appointed to schools with limited social, political and professional knowledge about the particular needs and aspirations of Aboriginal students such that it impacts on their capacity to establish authentic connections to students. The research on which this article is based sets out to provide an understanding of both the nature and dynamics of community and school engagement in sites with high proportions of Aboriginal students. The study aimed to investigate teachers’ capacity to develop authentic pedagogic practices that are responsive to the educational, cultural and aspirational needs of Aboriginal students. In particular, the research highlights how the relational dynamics between schools and Aboriginal people have been deeply affected by colonial histories of exclusion and systemic disadvantage, pervasive school discourses of marginalisation and in particular an ignorance about holistic needs of Aboriginal students at school and the resultant negative relational interactions between schools and Aboriginal families. This multisite ethnographic study was undertaken with Aboriginal community members, teachers and school principals in 2012 as doctoral research. It was conducted within a relational landscape characterised by an enduring socio-cultural dissonance between schools and their Aboriginal communities. The study focused on examples of authentic collaboration and purposeful interactions between Aboriginal communities and schools that were shown to support teachers in building deeper understanding that enhanced their cognisance of the wider needs of Aboriginal students. The findings in this article highlight that when authentic engagement between Aboriginal people and schools occurred, it appeared to positively impact the teachers’ professional knowledge and created a consequent interest within these communities to engage with their schools. The research further identified that in each site the Aboriginal participants articulated an interest in developing authentic school collaborations that would enhance student outcomes. These findings suggested that teachers need to honour, understand and actively reflect on community history, contexts and aspirations to develop the skills and knowledge to address the particular socio-cultural and educational needs of Aboriginal students.     

Investigating digital video applications in distance learning

The paper gives a brief overview of the use of digital video in distance education, the background to The Open University's Digital Video Applications (DiVA) Project, the contexts in which the Digital Video Library system is being used and some evaluation findings. Through DiVA, the university is investigating how it can use its video assets effectively, to support reuse of existing materials in course production. The project team is also evaluating student use of the system. The paper reports on an observation study which revealed several usability issues and stakeholders' opinions about potential uses of the DiVA system. This is followed by findings from an evaluation of student use of the system at a residential school and its use as part of an online learning activity undertaken by students accessing the system remotely. Evaluation findings to date indicate some quality and workload issues but they also show opportunities that come to light when using the DiVA system.     

The Implications of Cognitive Style for the Management of Student‐Supervisor Relationships

Abstract There has been little research into thesis supervision despite numerous testimonies asserting its critical importance in higher education. From the studies which have been carried out, it is evident that there are two main issues contributing to student dissatisfaction and low completion rates. One is the feeling of isolation expressed by students. The second, and most widely reported, is the nature of the relationship between supervisor and student. This paper describes an innovative programme of supervision which helps resolve the first of these issues. It also reports a preliminary study into the allocation of students to supervisors on the basis of the cognitive styles of both parties. Although, at this stage, there is no clear‐cut evidence to demonstrate the benefits of a ‘matching’ approach, it is suggested that a focus on the interaction between student and supervisor, using qualitative methods, rather than on the individuals themselves, may prove fruitful.     

Looking Far And Looking Near: Student Insights On History,Language, And Power

ABSTRACT

Three community college students participated in a collaborative student/professor research project to experiment with new ideas in teaching. Under the direction of the instructor, the students studied the South African riots in Soweto, 1976, and how issues of language and power were connected to this event. This investigative process began with video information to introduce students to the key issues, and was then followed by student research and discussion. The students, who were particularly motivated to understand the conflict by relating it to their own linguistic circumstances, worked individually and together to find articles and video sources to support their personal interests and ideas. By reflecting on their experiences and perceptions about language and communication, students were able to become engaged in an unfamiliar historical topic, discover relevant academic information, evaluate sources, and formulate insightful responses.     

Citing Discourses: Making Sense of Homophobia and Heteronormativity at Dynamic High School

In this article, I draw on poststructuralist work on "citationality" to elucidate an urban high school's student culture and intervention efforts with regard to LGBQ issues. I contend that the language, ideas and practices of LGBQ issues and awareness among students and staff "cite" or draw on broader (and often competing) discourses of normalcy, sexuality, and/or "good teaching." I discuss how the citational process makes it difficult to bring about change, as well as the possibilities for bringing about change. The significance of this article is the way it explicates the discourses used to articulate and describe LGBQ people, issues, and intervention efforts; and how these discourses may hinder efforts to create LGBQ support and awareness in schools.     

The middle years slump: addressing student-reported barriers to academic progress

First-year university student attrition has been widely explored. However, there is a gap in our understanding when it comes to later years. Why do students who successfully navigate the hurdles of transition into university become at risk of exclusion in the middle years of study because of poor academic progress? This qualitative project develops a student-centred understanding of the problem of attrition through academic failure. It investigates the reasons given by students wishing to avoid involuntary exclusion from their course. Specifically, we address why middle-year students say they fail when they wish to succeed by examining self-reports. We find six main self-reported themes in three categories. The problems faced by mid-degree undergraduates are broader and more complex than those encountered in the first year. Our findings contrast with previous work on first-year attrition, which found that negative expectations of their own ability to succeed were a major factor in students’ decisions to drop out, although our study is constructed differently in that we analyse people wishing to continue their studies. The results expand our understanding of student involuntary attrition in the middle years. The overarching major issues in the themes we identified were financial, family/personal issues and health problems. In particular, mental health issues were remarkably apparent. This has significant implications for future student support. We find that there are commonly multiple reasons underlying each student’s at-risk status and provide suggestions for managers of programs that help students succeed.