You’re doing what? Students’ experiences of advice from a New Zealand university

This case study explores student perceptions and experiences of advising at a New Zealand university. It considers the implications arising from the students’ responses and also investigates the influence of students’ demographic characteristics on perceptions of advice. Both first‐ (n = 191) and final‐ (n = 171) year cohorts of students were surveyed to determine why they chose particular courses, what advice they received and how aware they were of various support services. Although students were happy overall with the advice received, many had little or no expectations of the type of advice they should be receiving. The main sources of advice were the University enrolment pack, family and University School’s Liaison Officers. Academic advisers were less well used as a source of advice, even during later years of study. Advisers need to be educated about particular advising issues related to first‐generation students, part‐time students and international students. Many students had a career path in mind so it is important to provide holistic developmental academic advice that includes future career options.     

Academic Attitudes,Expectations, and Achievement

Scholars Who Teach: The Art of College Teaching: Edited by Steven M. Cahn: Nelson-Hall, Chicago, 1978, Cloth $14.95, Paper $7.95, 246 pages. Reviewed by Marilyn L. Schaefer.

Support for Teaching at Major Universities: Edited by Stanford C. Ericksen with John A. Cook.: Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, Fall, 1979. $3.00. Reviewed by Kurt F. Geisinger.     

A theoretical understanding of the literature on student voice in the science classroom

Background: Incorporating student voice into the science classroom has the potential to positively impact science teaching and learning. However, students are rarely consulted on school and classroom matters. This literature review examines the effects of including student voice in the science classroom.

Purpose: The purpose of this literature review was to explore the research on student voice in the science classroom. This review includes research from a variety of science education sources and was gathered and analyzed using a systematic literature review process.

Design and methods: I examined articles from a variety of educational journals. I used three key terms as my primary search terms: student voice, student perceptions, and student perspectives. The primary search terms were used in conjunction with qualifiers that included science education, science curriculum, student emergent curriculum, student centered curriculum, and science. In order to be included in the literature review, articles needed to be published in peer-reviewed, academic journals, contain clearly defined methods (including quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), include research conducted in K through 12 classrooms, include the term ‘student voice’, and focus specifically on science. I included articles from a variety of science classrooms including general middle school science, science-specific after-school programs, secondary science classrooms in a variety of countries, and physics, biology, and aerospace classrooms. No restrictions were placed on the country in which the research was conducted or on the date of the research.

Conclusions: The results of the literature review process uncovered several themes within the literature on student voice. Student voice research is situated within two main theoretical perspectives, critical theory and social constructivism, which I used as the main themes to structure my findings. I also identified subcategories under each main theme to further structure the results. Under critical theory, I identified three subcategories: determining classroom topics, developing science agency, and forming identities. Under social constructivism, I discovered four subcategories: forming identities, incorporating prior knowledge and experience, communicating interest in topics and classroom activities, and improving student–teacher relationship. The research supports that allowing students a voice in the classroom can lead them to feel empowered, able to construct their own meaning and value in science, demonstrate increased engagement and achievement, and become more motivated. I conclude students should be allowed a voice in the science classroom and to continue to ignore these voices would be a disservice to students and educators alike.     

Teachers and students’ perception of competence-based education in the agricultural higher education system (Case of a student cooperative in Iran)

Purpose: This quantitative study sought to investigate the perceptions of teachers and students regarding competency-based education (CBE) principles at the College of Agriculture at Razi University.

Design: This research is a comparative analysis of two groups. The first group consists of undergraduate and graduate students majoring in agriculture who are members and non-members of student cooperatives (n?=?256). The second group consists of agricultural faculty members (n?=?59).

Findings: The results of this study show that students and teachers have different views with regard to the extent to which CBE principles are practiced in the College of Agriculture. Moreover, students with different learning patterns had different perceptions regarding the extent to which CBE is practiced, whereas teachers with different teaching patterns had the same perception of the application of CBE principles in the College of Agriculture.

Practical implications: This study has practical implications for agricultural higher education in general and colleges of agriculture in particular. Colleges of agriculture across Iran could encourage their students to establish and engage in student cooperatives so that the ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects of CBE are put into practice.

Theoretical implications: This study has theoretical implications for CBE principles. For example, student cooperatives can be utilized by faculty members as one of the main strategies for developing CBE in agricultural colleges.

Originality/value: This study is original in that it moves from theory to practice when considering CBE.     

Student leadership in small group science inquiry

Background: Science educators have sought to structure collaborative inquiry learning through the assignment of static group roles. This structural approach to student grouping oversimplifies the complexities of peer collaboration and overlooks the highly dynamic nature of group activity.

Purpose: This study addresses this issue of oversimplification of group dynamics by examining the social leadership structures that emerge in small student groups during science inquiry.

Sample: Two small student groups investigating the burning of a candle under a jar participated in this study.

Design and method: We used a mixed-method research approach that combined computational discourse analysis (computational quantification of social aspects of small group discussions) with microethnography (qualitative, in-depth examination of group discussions).

Results: While in one group social leadership was decentralized (i.e., students shared control over topics and tasks), the second group was dominated by a male student (centralized social leadership). Further, decentralized social leadership was found to be paralleled by higher levels of student cognitive engagement.

Conclusions: It is argued that computational discourse analysis can provide science educators with a powerful means of developing pedagogical models of collaborative science learning that take into account the emergent nature of group structures and highly fluid nature of student collaboration.     

Teachers’ differing perceptions of classroom disturbances

Background: Efficient classroom management and adequate discipline are major issues for teachers in schools worldwide, with the guiding of students’ behaviour as one of the primary challenges. Teachers’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour play central roles in the appropriate handling of classroom disturbances.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how practising teachers perceive classroom disturbances and to compare their views to those presented in the literature. By clarifying typical perceptions, this research is intended to give individual teachers tools to develop their insights by comparing their perceptions with those of other teachers.

Sample: The empirical material was collected by interviewing 14 home economics teachers in Finland. Home economics is a school subject that involves individual and group work as well as theoretical and practical work. In Finland, home economics is a compulsory subject for students aged 13–15 years, which are challenging ages in regard to classroom management.

Design and methods: The empirical research was completed via deep, qualitative theme interviews for data gathering and phenomenography for analysis.

Results: The analysis identified five dimensions in which interviewees expressed varying views of classroom disturbances: who or what disturbs, whose work is disturbed, why students disturb, who is responsible and how to prevent classroom disturbances. Based on the various perceptions within each dimension, the main perceptions for understanding classroom disturbances can be condensed into four categories: unavoidable nuisance, deficient resources, the matter of atmosphere and educational task.

Conclusions: Teachers who wish to develop their classroom management skills may use these findings as tools to compare their perceptions with those of other teachers. This knowledge may also be useful for developing teacher education.     

Safe spaces? A social-ecological perspective on student perceptions of safety in the environment of the school canteen

ABSTRACT

Background Research suggests that negative peer interactions that compromise student safety and wellbeing often occur in spaces at school that are not easily visible, not adequately monitored, overcrowded and/or relatively unstructured. In a large online survey conducted in Swedish schools by the anti-bullying organisation, Friends, a small proportion of students indicated that they felt unsafe in the school canteen and responded to a question about why they felt unsafe there. As the canteen is often reported to be a space where negative peer interactions, such as harassment, bullying and other forms of school violence, occur, but little is known about why negative peer interactions occur there, we were particularly interested in exploring why some students perceived their school canteen to be an unsafe space.

Purpose Taking a social-ecological perspective, our aim was to investigate why students reported feeling unsafe in the environment of the school canteen.

Method In order to investigate this question, we analysed 1,547 responses from students in Swedish schools in grades 3–6 (ages 9–12). The responses were from the anti-bullying organisation Friends’ online questionnaires from 2011 to 2016. In the responses, students who indicated that they felt unsafe in the school canteen explained why they felt this way. Data were analysed qualitatively, using a six-step thematic approach.

Findings The analysis identified four key themes: Space constraints, Time restrictions, The risk of social blunders and The negative actions of others. We discuss the findings in terms of the macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem and microsystem.

Conclusions In matters of student safety and wellbeing, we argue that it is not only important to consider the social context, but also how that context is interconnected with environmental and structural elements.     

Discrepancies Among Teachers' Priorities for and Knowledge of Freshwater Topics

Abstract

A Blueprint for Environmental Education , edited by Jane S. Shaw. Bozeman, MT: Political Economy Research Center. 1999. Paperback. ISBN 0-9668243-1-8.

Environmental Education and Biodiversity , edited by Arjen E. J. Wals. Wageningen, The Netherlands: National Reference Centre for Nature Management. 1999. Paperback. ISBN 90-75789-03-3.

The Environmental Impact Statement Process and Environmental Law , by Emmett B. Moore. Columbus, OH: Battelle Press. 2000. Paperback. 162 pages. $19.95. ISBN 1-57477-092-6.

Caring for Plunet Earth, Volume 1: The Great Lakes, CD-ROM , Grand Rapids, MI: Center for Environmental Study. 1998. $39.00. Formatted for Macintosh, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1

Edgar Beaver's Destiny: An Environmental Fable , by Joseph Petulla. Available through Xlibris Corporation (www.Xlibris.com). 2000. Paperback. 124 pages. $16.00. ISBN 0-7388-2471-2.

A Plague of Frogs: The Horrifying True Story , by William Souder. New York: Hyperion. 2000. Hardback. Illustrated. 299 pages. $23.95. ISBN 0-7868-6360-9.

Environmental Education and Communication for a Sustainable World: Handbook for International Practitioners , edited by Brian A. Day and Martha C. Monroe. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development. 2000. Paperback. 138 pages. ISBN 0-89492-108-8.     

Twelve Years of English in Six Weeks

Abstract

Is This a College? City on a Hill: Testing the American Dream at City College By James Traub Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 371 pages, 1994, $25. Reviewed by Martha E. Kendall.     

Block-based versus text-based programming environments on novice student learning outcomes: a meta-analysis study

ABSTRACT

Background and Context: The use of block-based programming environments is purported to be a good way to gently introduce novice computer programmers to computer programming. A small, but growing body of research examines the differences between block-based and text-based programming environments.

Objective: Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the overall effect of block-based versus text-based programming environments on both cognitive and affective student learning outcomes.

Method: Five academic databases were searched to identify literature meeting our inclusion criteria and resulted in 13 publications with 52 effect size comparisons on both cognitive and affective outcomes.

Findings: We found small effect size (g = 0.245; p = .137; with a 95% confidence interval of ?0.078 to 0.567) in favor of block-based programming environments on cognitive outcomes, and a trivial effect size (g = 0.195, p = .429; with a 95% confidence interval of ?0.289 to 0.678) on affective outcomes. Both effect size calculations were statistically insignificant using random effects models. The effect sizes were examined for moderating effects by education level, learning environment, and study duration. Some evidence of publication bias was detected in these data.

Implications: More research is needed to examine the utility and efficacy of block-based programming environments for novice programmers. Future studies should account for hybrid programming environments using novel research methods.     

The Role of Doctoral Advisors: A Look at Advising from the Advisor’s Perspective

The doctoral advisor is said to be one of the most important persons—if not the single most critical person—with whom doctoral students will develop a relationship during their doctoral degree programs (Baird 1995). However, we have limited knowledge regarding how doctoral advisors see their roles and responsibilities as advisors. Therefore, through in-depth interviews, we explored the perceptions of 25 exemplary doctoral advisors, who have graduated a large number of doctoral students, about their roles and responsibilities as advisors. We conclude this article with implications for doctoral education.

The professional student program for educational resilience: Enhancing momentary engagement in classwork

Abstract

The Professional Student Program for Educational Resilience (PROSPER) was designed to increase students’ ability to stay momentarily engaged in classwork, thus promoting educational resilience. Participants (N?=?277, 51% male, 74% Irish) from two low-income schools in Dublin, Ireland (School A n?=?158; School B n?=?119), were assessed using the intervention’s theory of change: (1) change in knowledge of how to stay engaged in classwork, (2) subsequent change in momentary engagement in classwork, and (3) subsequent longer-term change in dispositions for engagement (i.e., tendency to enjoy learning). Qualitative results demonstrated that PROSPER facilitated students’ knowledge, momentary engagement, and teachers’ involvement with students. Quantitative analyses uncovered changes in knowledge and momentary engagement for both the higher and lower ability tracks in School A. The results give refined information on how this universal-school based program increased students’ momentary engagement and supported their educational resilience.     

Writing at university: are we on the same page? / Escribir en la universidad: ¿nos entendemos?

Abstract

This study seeks to analyse the characteristics and functions that students and faculty attribute to written genres in Spanish universities, to what extent these representations are shared by both groups, and how they contribute to the construction of disciplinary knowledge in Spanish higher education. Accordingly, we classified students’ and teachers’ responses into 12 genre families grouped into five functions: Disciplinary Knowledge (DK), Critical Analysis (AC), Personal Reflection (PR), Research (R) and Professional Practice (PP). In terms of functions, demonstration of disciplinary knowledge appeared as the most frequently mentioned goal for both groups, whereas the genres targeted at research were the least frequent ones, along with the genres used for personal reflection. The most common genre family for both groups was Explanation, which was linked to demonstration of knowledge acquired in the discipline.     

Listening to students about the Umbrella Movement of Hong Kong

Abstract

This article gives voice to student activists who participated in the 2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy Occupy movement, also known as the Umbrella Movement. It provides an alternative perspective from which to view those events. We want to examine how the activism impacted students’ understanding of their involvement and identity. We argue that it is necessary to interpret the experiences and voices of the leaders of the movement in light of other Asian student movements. We start by establishing parallels with various student movements across Asia over the last century: the May Fourth student movement (1919); the Beijing student movement preceding the Tiananmen incident (1989); the Sunflower Movement of Taiwan (March 2014) and its rejection of the very notion of ‘Cross-Strait’; and the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement. We argue that civil disobedience by Hong Kong students existed before the street barricades of the Umbrella Movement, and already constituted a public, in a Deweyan sense. We further argue that the Umbrella Movement brought about a deep change in the self-image of Hong Kong students, and other education stakeholders’ political culture, and that its impact was felt beyond local boundaries.     

Understanding value in the student experience through student–staff partnerships

ABSTRACT

Questions such as ‘what is value in the student experience?’ and ‘how do we measure or assess value in higher education?’ remain an under-researched area. However, in the context of marketisation and competitive forces in higher education, there is a need to unpack what is value in the student experience. In this article, a conceptualisation of value that can be applied in higher education (known as value-in-use) is introduced and applied to a specific and increasingly important aspect of the student experience – student–staff partnerships. Qualitative survey data (n?=?97) and interviews (n?=?35) from ten cases of various manifestations of student–staff partnerships in the Australasian context is presented and assessed in relation to value. The findings highlight that student–staff partnerships may enhance value in the student experience and that value-in-use may be an appropriate lens through which to continue to explore how value is created and measured in the student experience.     

An exploration of undergraduate students’ views on the effectiveness of academic and pastoral support

Background: Academic and pastoral support is fundamental to the achievement of a high-quality student learning experience.

Aim: This study reports on full-time undergraduate students’ views on the effectiveness of academic and pastoral support in one higher education institution. The intent of the study was to explore how academic and pastoral support is provided and gain an appreciation of the value placed on each method of support used.

Method: 935 students from a range of subject disciplines responded to a Bristol-on-Line Survey questionnaire.

Findings: Analysis of quantitative data revealed that a wide range of support strategies are used and valued by students.

Conclusions: Of significance was the emphasis placed on peer support and the skills required by staff providing support. Implications for policy and practice to enhance the student learning experience are discussed.     

Improved Appreciation of Mathematics Through an IBL Liberal Arts Mathematics Course

Abstract

The author has taught an inquiry-based liberal arts mathematics class using the text “The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking” by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird a total of 20 times since Spring 2001. The students in this class have almost all been in non-technical majors and many started the semester with negative or ambivalent attitudes toward mathematics based on their prior experiences. The author has gathered responses from students in this class that illustrate significant changes in their attitudes towards mathematics during the course. In particular, the responses gathered at the end of the semester are often eloquent about understanding the great ideas of mathematics that students confronted in this course and about seeing many more and varied connections between mathematics and the “real world” than they had previously realized existed.     

The Development and Validation of the Student Evaluation of Online Teaching Effectiveness

Abstract

Sponsored by a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology(PT3) grant, we participated in various activities designed to help us learn to infuse technology in our teacher education courses. The purpose of this paper is to describe the specific impact of the PT3 project activities on our change process-including the formation, evolution, and efforts of our curriculum design team-and to share the activities and products that we developed through participation in the grant activities.     

Student voice in an age of ‘security’?

ABSTRACT

As student voice has become popularised as a school reform strategy, it has been critiqued as another instrumental strategy that schools may use to govern students’ speech, bodies and subjectivities. What necessitates further analysis is the relation between student voice and regulatory modes of governance entwined with geopolitical attention to security in and beyond disciplinary institutions. In this article, ethnographic accounts from students at a comprehensive coeducational public secondary school where student voice was adopted as a school reform strategy are read with and through a policy context concerned with security (in particular, the Australian Government’s Schools Security Programme and the Living Safe Together policy strategy), and Foucault’s problematisations of ‘security’ in lectures published in Security, Territory, Population. It is argued that student voice is entwined with contemporary security policies and practices; securing the material borders of the school is inextricable from limits placed on the discursive articulation of feeling in and beyond school gates.     

Student perceptions of effective lecturers: the need to recognise the role of ethnicity and choice of discipline

ABSTRACT

University student perceptions of effective teaching have been explored in previous studies, however, research is lacking regarding how perceptions of teaching efficacy vary by ethnicity and programme of study. In this study, student perceptions of effective teaching are explored between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and non-STEM major students of four ethnic groups: Europeans, Asians, Māori, and Pasifika. The study sample comprised 2073 students from a New Zealand university who completed a survey in 2016. Firstly, the findings indicated that non-STEM major students were more likely to report culturally knowledgeable as an important characteristic compared to STEM major students. Secondly, the distribution referring to content knowledgeable, creative, culturally knowledgeable, and passionate as characteristics of effective teaching was different between the four ethnic groups. In detail, Europeans and Māori were more likely to refer to content knowledgeable than Pasifika students, while Pasifika students were more likely to refer to culturally knowledgeable compared to Europeans. Furthermore, the highest percentage of referring to creative as a characteristic of effective teaching was for Asians, and the highest percentage of referring to passionate was for Māori students. The findings imply that lecturers should be well informed about these differences to be able to improve the quality of their teaching and student learning.