Facilitating reflective learning in higher education

Although writing groups have a long history in higher education, they have only recently been recognized as a support strategy for doctoral students, particularly those at the dissertation stage. From the perspective of student participants, we investigate motivations for participation in and perceived outcomes of voluntary semi-structured writing groups used to facilitate doctoral degree completion. Group participation resulted in the development of a vibrant intellectual community among students, recent doctoral recipients, and faculty. Commitment to degree completion and student and faculty scholarly productivity soared through the use of this simple but innovative pedagogical strategy.     

Communication skills training exploiting multimodal emotion recognition

The teaching of communication skills is a labour-intensive task because of the detailed feedback that should be given to learners during their prolonged practice. This study investigates to what extent our FILTWAM facial and vocal emotion recognition software can be used for improving a serious game (the Communication Advisor) that delivers a web-based training of communication skills. A test group of 25 participants played the game wherein they were requested to mimic specific facial and vocal emotions. Half of the assignments included direct feedback and the other half included no feedback. It was investigated whether feedback on the mimicked emotions would lead to better learning. The results suggest the facial performance growth was found to be positive, particularly significant in the feedback condition. The vocal performance growth was significant in both conditions. The results are a significant indication that the automated feedback from the software improves learners’ communication performances.     

Evaluating the quality of e-learning at the degree level in the student experience of blended learning

This paper reports on the development of a scale for determining the quality of the student e-learning experience at the degree level when the student learning context is predominately a campus-based experience. Rapid developments in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education require methods for evaluating the contribution of such tools to student learning, especially when they are complementing a face-to-face experience. We examine the psychometric functioning of a proposed e-learning scale in relation to a well-validated degree-level teaching evaluation instrument, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire. The e-learning scale has suitable reliability and validity in the present sample of undergraduate students for quality assurance activities around ICT.     

School funding formulae: designed to create a learning society?

The right to education depends upon a willingness to finance education fairly. Addressing the difference in educational achievement between learners of different backgrounds is a key aspect of fairness. Framed by contemporary neoliberal policies around marketisation and competitiveness, this paper examines fairness in the education finance policy (EFP) of three jurisdictions in England, Israel and Oklahoma. Using a comparative analysis of school funding formulae and an international survey on the perceptions of local policy actors, the de jure and the de facto EFPs are examined. Our findings reveal de jure policies attempting to address fairness through integrating different student background characteristics. However, variability is evident in the extent to which the de facto policies align with an aspiration for fairness. This is linked to the marketisation of education in each jurisdiction. We conclude that weightings of students’ background characteristics can only be one feature in policy interventions orientated towards bringing about social equity.     

Photovoice as a research method for higher education research

ABSTRACT

Higher education (HE) research often draws on a range of qualitative research approaches. However, some methods developed in other fields are underutilised in HE research, even though they could be of great use for answering particular kinds of research questions, or for involving students more actively in the research process. In this article, we draw on a study that piloted different methodological approaches to explore students’ conceptions of good teaching and effective learning at university. The participants in our study included 33 high achieving international, Māori, Pacific Island, and (other) local students enrolled in Humanities subjects. Our study used photovoice as a visual data collection approach in conjunction with more traditional methods of data collection: open-ended focus group questions and critical incident technique. In this article, we review the photovoice literature, which is mostly from outside HE. Then, we describe our study, discussing the students’ responses to photovoice, and the different kinds of data it elicited. We note that, while most students expressed appreciation of the photovoice approach, some also found it restrictive and challenging in some respects. We conclude, photovoice offers a useful methodological addition to HE research, while noting, as with all data collection approaches, researchers need to be mindful of its limitations.     

Mechanisms underlying reductions in stroke volume at rest and during exercise at high altitude

High-altitude exposure challenges the cardiovascular system to maintain oxygen delivery to the mitochondria under conditions of hypoxic stress. Following acclimatisation (3–5 days), stroke volume (SV) falls to below sea-level values but heart rate remains elevated, such that cardiac output is maintained compared to sea level. The decrease in SV has been a topic of research for over 40 years, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Impaired systolic contractile function secondary to reduced coronary arterial oxygen tension has been investigated as a potential cause for the decrease in SV. However, despite in vitro evidence of impaired cardiac contractile force in severe hypoxia, the majority of studies to date have reported enhanced in vivo ventricular systolic function at rest and during exercise in humans up to and above 5000?m. However, the elevated function observed at rest has recently been suggested to reduce the functional reserve available during exercise. While in vivo systolic function appears enhanced at high altitude, a decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) and altered filling patterns of both ventricles has been observed. The reduction in ventricular filling will undoubtedly affect SV, and four potential mechanisms have been proposed to explain the reduction in left ventricular filling. In this article, both historical and recent reports of systolic function at high altitude will be reviewed, and evidence supporting and refuting each of the four mechanisms underpinning reduced left ventricular filling will be discussed.