Models of Learning Support in Victorian Universities: Issues and Implications

In recent years changes in policy, the spate of amalgamations of tertiary institutions, changes in secondary education and the move in institutions toward intemationalisation, have led to a diversification of student populations in Australian universities. One response to these changes has been the expansion of the provision of student learning support within universities. This study examined the models of such support in Victorian universities. The location of support units, sources of funding, communication between different units at the same institution and staff conditions were identified as core issues in how learning support is delivered. A suggested model for delivery of learning support is proposed.     

The Use of Flexible Learning Resources for Geographically Distributed Rural Students

The focus of this paper is to describe and explain the evolution of teaching resources and tuition on the Rural Development Studies undergraduate degree programme at the UHI Millennium Institute. This degree was selected for development in a flexible style of delivery due to the curriculum contents and its delivery to a very scattered student population over a wide rural area. The degree has a multi-disciplinary approach with a variety of tuition styles, assessment mechanisms, and student support that have been tutored in both face-to-face and remote delivery, and this illustrates well the changing nature of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in student-tutor interaction. Increasing emphasis is on the simplicity of the application of new technologies to facilitate interactivity between students and tutors but, most importantly, on improving the optimum mixture of the different teaching media used. The emphasis is on consistency and quality in distributed learning to encourage the sustainable delivery of formal education in rural and remote areas where it is not normally readily available. Current course research is investigating the sense of online community identity exhibited by groups of students on different levels, different study modules, and using different blends of resources for tutor-student-student communication.     

Access to academic curriculum in Australian secondary schools: a case study of a highly marketised education system

This study examines how access to academic curriculum differs between secondary schools in Australia, a country whose education system is marked by high levels of choice, privatisation and competition. Equitable access to academic curriculum is important for both individual students and their families as well as the larger society. Previous research has shown that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to study academic curriculum than their more advantaged peers. Less is known, however, about the extent to which this pattern is related to differential provision of curriculum between schools. We found that low socio-economic schools offer students less access to the core academic curriculum subjects that are important for university entry. We also found that the breadth and depth of courses offered is related to school sector (private or public) and socio-economic context. Previous research has shown that choice and competition are inequitable because they frequently increase school social segregation and ‘cream-skimming’. Our findings show another inequitable consequence, namely that choice and competition limit access to high-status academic curriculum in working-class communities.     

Adults’ Learning about Science in Free‐choice Settings

This paper synthesizes findings from three studies to answer a general question: What do casual, adult visitors learn about science from their science‐related experiences in free‐choice settings? Specifically we asked whether there are changes in how people think about science in their daily lives, the nature and use of scientific knowledge, and its communication by scientists. The three studies involved samples of visitors to an interactive science centre, visitors to a traditional natural history museum, and attendees at a series of public lectures, each given by an expert scientist in human genetics. Pretest and post‐test data collected by parallel questionnaires indicated that, despite the different nature of their experience in the three different settings, participants became more positive about the value of science and the work done by scientists and their ability to communicate with the public. At all venues, however, participants became less scientific in their thinking about the nature of scientific knowledge, becoming more likely to believe it to be infallible. The consistency of these findings was surprising, and participants’ changed views about the nature of scientific knowledge were unexpected. Possible explanations for theses outcomes were suggested in terms of participants’ reasons for attending the venue, the nature of their engagement, and the non‐controversial ways in which the exhibitions and lectures were structured. The findings suggest that the educational role of free‐choice settings should be considered carefully, particularly with regard to the representation of science.     

‘Becoming and being writers’: the experiences of doctoral students in writing groups

The use of writing groups to support students undertaking post-graduate research within universities has begun to receive attention from academic supervisors and doctoral researchers. Very little has been written by doctoral students themselves on the benefits of working within such writing groups. In this article, the experiences of working within a doctoral writing group at an Australian University are presented, primarily from the perspective of students. The authors identify two main benefits they have experienced through participating in a writing group using a ‘multi-voiced’ approach. First, they discuss the kind of learning that they achieved through working in a writing group. They do this with reference to key principles of peer learning and of peer review. Second, they focus on the ways the group worked as a community of discursive social practice. An overarching message for them in participating in the group and now writing this article is the shift in their thinking and experience of writing from seeing writing as an essentially private and implicit process to writing becoming a matter of public and shared work. These two notions are bound by the concept of identity building, drawing from the literature on communities of practice.     

Speaking Out: Science Anxiety

A positive school climate is important in maintaining an effective educational environment characterized by excellence, productivity, and cooperation. Because of its impact on successful educational experiences, administrators should attempt to assess climate rather than rely on feelings or intuition to estimate it. Individualized surveys offer a flexible method of addressing specific school needs and concerns.

At first glance, the thought of individualizing a climate survey may appear to be an overwhelming task; however, with planning and effort, it can be accomplished. A systematic process outlining a method for individualizing a climate survey includes (a) planning, (b) preparation, (c) survey development, (d) administration, (e) analysis of results, and (f) dissemination.

A tailored climate survey can be used by administrators to assess the current climate, evaluate programs designed to enhance the climate, and periodically monitor a climate for signs of change. Although time and effort are required to individualize a survey, results directly applicable to the school can help administrators achieve and maintain a positive school climate.