Efficiency in Minitab

This simple Minitab simulation exercise illustrates the concept of efficiency of estimators. Students compare the sampling distributions of the sample mean, median and mid-range from a normal distribution and from a uniform distribution. The striking differences observed give rise to much discussion.     

Measuring Self-Regulated Learning Processes through Tracking Patterns of Student Interaction with Achievement Activities

A micro-level approach to the study of relationships between component processes within self-regulated learning in young adolescent students is described. Using this approach, contingencies between self-regulatory processes can be identified and insight into factors that promote students’ use of self-regulatory strategies can be investigated. Evidence is presented showing how the influence of mastery achievement goals on specific task goals can be mediated by students’ state of interest. Further development of this approach requires consideration of the measurement issues associated with using single items to measure on-task states. Evidence for the reliability and validity of single-item measurement of states is considered in relation to areas of psychological inquiry that regularly use single-item measures and we conclude that further development of these types of measure has the potential to expand our understanding of self-regulated learning.     

The possibilities and limitations of applying ‘open data’ principles in schools

Large quantities of data are now being generated, collated and processed within schools through computerised systems and other digital technologies. In response to growing concerns over the efficiency and equity of how these data are used, the concept of ‘open data’ has emerged as a potential means of using digital technology to democratise data access and use within whole school communities. Drawing on participatory design research in two Australian secondary schools, this paper explores the possibilities of making existing school data openly available in digitised form for teachers, administrators and students to access, interpret and use. The results of these interventions – while only partially successful – provide valuable insights into the technical, informatic, organisational and social issues surrounding the use of data in schools. The paper concludes by considering the practical and theoretical limitations of attempting to democratise data engagement within school settings.     

Feeling feedback: students’ emotional responses to educator feedback

Assessment feedback allows students to obtain valuable information about how they can improve their future performance and learning strategies. However, research indicates that students are more likely to reject or ignore comments if they evoke negative emotional responses. Despite the importance of this issue, there is a lack of research exploring if certain types of students are more likely to experience negative emotional responses than others. This study builds on extant qualitative studies through a quantitative examination of two previously identified student variables: different citizenship backgrounds (domestic and international) and different grade expectations (higher or lower than expected). The participants were 4514 students from two Australian universities. Analysis of survey data revealed that, regardless of language experience, international students were more likely than domestic students to find feedback comments to be discouraging, upsetting and too critical. Students who received grades lower than they expected on a particular assessment task were more likely than students who received grades higher than they expected to feel sad, shameful and angry as a result of the feedback comments. This paper concludes with several recommendations, including the need to modify assessment feedback practices in order to be sensitive to different student cohorts.     

Defining the dynamic role of Australian academic skills advisors

ABSTRACT

In the Australian university context, Academic Language and Learning (ALL) entails advisors working with academics and students to enhance learning. It is a relatively new area, beginning around the mid-1980s, and ALL units developed within their respective institutions. Since early 2000s, there has been an increasing amount of literature discussing the work of these centres. Significantly though, academic support services remain on the periphery of higher education. This article seeks to define the dynamic role of academic skills advisors. In late 2016, we distributed a questionnaire to ALL unit managers at each of the 39 Australian universities, receiving 29 responses. Combining multiple-choice and open-ended questions, the survey investigated the location of the unit, the role of ALL advisors, the qualifications and experience asked for at recruitment, the training required, and pedagogy when working one-to-one with students. A consistent picture emerged in the responses. One key point is a growing demand for advisors with eLearning and eTeaching skills, indicative of broader changes in Australian universities. This article describes the unique set of professional and personal attributes that ALL advisors bring to the role. The survey results found that ALL advisors are responsive to change; broadly use constructivist approaches; have an extensive range of skills, experience and competencies; and are knowledgeable across a range of disciplines. Further investigation comparing the scope of work done in countries such as the UK, New Zealand and Canada could shape and define the changing role of ALL advisors in Australia.     

Psychophysiological and behavioral evidence for varying forms and functions of nonsocial behavior in preschoolers

Four-year-old children showing low levels of social behavior in a laboratory play session with unfamiliar peers were classified as reticent (unoccupied or onlooking behaviors) or solitary-passive (solitary constructive or exploratory play). Compared with a group of more social children, the children in both low-social groups were rated high on maternal reports of shyness and displayed a pattern of right frontal EEG asymmetry. However, only the reticent group was elevated on measures indicative of a fearful temperament, both concurrently and retrospectively. A subset of children in the solitary-passive group showed increasing levels of reticent behavior over the course of the visit, suggesting that for some children solitary-passive behaviors provide a means for coping with feelings of unease.     

Does higher education promote independent learning?

There is general consensus in the literature that the goal of education is to increase the students' capacity to learn, to provide them with analytic skills and to increase their ability to deal with new information and draw independent conclusions. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent to which higher education does promote these abilities which can be summarised as independent learning. Quantitative data from the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and qualitative data (semi-structured student interviews) from a tertiary institution in Hong Kong are compared with similar findings from institutions in other parts of the world. The relationship between demographic variables and the SPQ sub-scales appears to follow a pattern consistent with results from elsewhere. As students become older they are less likely to adopt a surface approach and more likely to adopt a deep one. However, there is a decrease in the use of a deep approach from first to third year of a course, suggesting that education at this tertiary institution does not promote independent learning. Possible explanations are derived from the literature and the student interviews. Implications for the structure of tertiary education in Hong Kong are discussed.