Targeted, timely, learning support for international students: One Australian university’s approach

This paper documents the approach taken by an Australian University to enhance student study skills, development of academic language, and writing skills. The Curtin Business School (CBS) has the only fully faculty-based student learning support centre at Curtin University in Western Australia. Called the CBS Communication Skills Centre (CSC) it has seven academic staff charged with enhancing learning outcomes, intercultural communication and study proficiency for a diverse student cohort having a large proportion of international students. Described here is the CSC approach to using a suite of targeted services and collaborative practices in multiple academic disciplines to assist transnational learning. Challenges faced by international students using learning support services, and by staff designing and delivering those services in an Australian University form part of this discussion

Cash or condition ? evidence from a cash transfer experiment

Conditional Cash Transfer programs are"...the world's favorite new anti-poverty device,"(The Economist, July 29 2010) yet little is known about the specific role of the conditions in driving their success. In this paper, we evaluate a unique cash transfer experiment targeted at adolescent girls in Malawi that featured both a conditional (CCT) and an unconditional (UCT) treatment arm. We find that while there was a modest improvement in school enrollment in the UCT arm in comparison to the control group, this increase is only 43 percent as large as the CCT arm. The CCT arm also outperformed the UCT arm in tests of English reading comprehension. The schooling condition, however, proved costly for important non-schooling outcomes: teenage pregnancy and marriage rates were substantially higher in the CCT than the UCT arm. Our findings suggest that a CCT program for early adolescents that transitions into a UCT for older teenagers would minimize this trade-off by improving schooling outcomes while avoiding the adverse impacts of conditionality on teenage pregnancy and marriage.Education For All,Population Policies,Primary Education,Tertiary Education,Teaching and Learning

The regressive demands of demand-driven development

Despite their explicit focus on reaching the poor, many community driven development (CDD) projects have been found to be only mildly pro-poor in their funding allocations. This paper presents evidence of an explanation that has been overlooked in the CDD literature to date: the requirement that beneficiaries must apply for projects in order to receive support. The authors first examine data on the universe of project applications and funding under Tanzania's flagship CDD program, Tanzania's Social Action Fund, and then use a census of 100 program villages to examine the determinants of both program awareness and program participation at the household level. The data paint a consistent picture at both levels: wealth, access to information, and political capital are important correlates of the ability to navigate the application process successfully. The centrally dictated features of this decentralized program appear to be the most effective mechanisms in directing funds to the poor. The results suggest that unless demand-driven projects can develop ways of soliciting engagement from a broader cross-section of the population, they are unlikely to achieve truly progressive targeting.Rural Poverty Reduction,Housing&Human Habitats,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Services&Transfers to Poor,Regional Economic Development

Cognitive apprenticeship in a building design office

This thesis presents a research study that investigated student learning in a mentor supported design office situation, using a cognitive apprenticeship learning approach that utilised authentic design project tusks. In this study, 29 final year Technical And Further Education (TAFE) building design students undertook authentic building design projects with expert building designers, who acted as mentors, in commercial design office situations. The mentors guided student learning by using a cognitive apprenticeship approach to learning, implemented with authentic design projects designed to replicate the everyday culture of practice activities typical of commercial design office operations. This study follows the progress of these students as they worked in collaboration with their mentors in the design and presentation of design solutions developed for the projects. Data about the students\u27 learning experiences in this setting were collected and analysed to determine their learning outcomes, the kinds of knowledge acquired and the means through which knowledge was transferred in the study situation. A holistic interpretivistic approach was used to collect data in three phases. The first of these was a pilot-study with the other two phases providing the main data gathering parts of the study. Much of the focus of the third phase of this study was on verifying findings emergent from analysis of data collected in the first two phases, as well as seeking greater understanding of the study phenomena. Throughout each of the three phases, data were collected from multiple sources, which included interviews, direct observations, personal journals and drawings. Analysis of the data showed that using cognitive apprenticeship learning methods organised around mentor supported authentic projects implemented in authentic commercial design office situations provided successful transfer of declarative, tacit and procedural knowledge from the mentor to the students. This thesis concludes with recommendations for the classroom application of cognitive apprenticeship learning methods, as used by the expert building designers who participated in this research

The short-term impacts of a schooling conditional cash transfer program on the sexual behavior of young women

Recent evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer programs for schooling are effective in raising school enrollment and attendance. However, there is also reason to believe that such programs can affect other outcomes, such as the sexual behavior of their young beneficiaries. Zomba Cash Transfer Program is a randomized, ongoing conditional cash transfer intervention targeting young women in Malawi that provides incentives (in the form of school fees and cash transfers) to current schoolgirls and recent dropouts to stay in or return to school. An average offer of US$10/month conditional on satisfactory school attendance – plus direct payment of secondary school fees – led to significant declines in early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and self-reported sexual activity among program beneficiaries after just one year of program implementation. For program beneficiaries who were out of school at baseline, the probability of getting married and becoming pregnant declined by more than 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively. In addition, the incidence of the onset of sexual activity was 38 percent lower among all program beneficiaries than the control group. Overall, these results suggest that conditional cash transfer programs not only serve as useful tools for improving school attendance, but may also reduce sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and early marriage.Population Policies,Adolescent Health,Education For All,Primary Education,Disease Control&Prevention

An Evolving Teaching Methodology: An Integrated Approach To Teaching Multi-Disciplinary Classes

This paper discusses an approach to teaching and learning in multi-disciplinary university settings using case study based scenarios presented using films as a key teaching methodology. The production of four films (The Video store, Perception Airlines, Tranquil Whispers, and Middleton) over an eight year period was an iterative process through which the use of film-based case study scenarios was refined as a teaching tool to integrate student learning across multiple disciplines in a business school.  Each of the four films was designed to enhance first year university students’ understanding of theories and practices used in a range of discipline areas that underpin the operations of a commercial business undertaking. The final film mainly discussed here depicts a central case study scenario, entitled ‘Middleton’ featuring a cast of teaching and academic staff from the Curtin Business School (CBS) in Perth, Western Australia and Curtin Sarawak, Malaysia(Curtin University of Technology). It was produced as a core teaching approach for exploring themes as part of the delivery of several first year units within the CBS, delivered over twelve campuses in Western Australia and South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka). Students in their first year of a commerce degree study compulsory business units that are disparate in their content and delivery. This diversity can cause some students to have difficulty with defining meaningful cohesiveness between units in their first year of study. ‘Middleton’ sought to integrate the first year subjects into a film depicting a central case study of an international business operation

Removing the walls and textbook from the classroom: A case study of one creative entrepreneurship class of multinational students in South Korea

Introducing creative elements into the syllabus and pedagogy of an Entrepreneurship class in a business school can be a risky endeavour for an educator and students alike. Populating the class with students from traditionally risk-averse cultures provides opportunities for everyone involved. Identifying the core behavioural issues for students in this learning experience brought creativity and entrepreneurship together in the academic environment. Emergent was a joint learning workshop using Skype, involving a book author, a multilingual multicultural class in South Korea and a culturally homogenous class in Indonesia. Along the way, the walls of the classroom were removed and the covers from the book disappeared. At the end of the journey, a new paradigm had emerged, driven and defined by the students that want to be the Entrepreneurs of their own worlds. This is the story of one creative entrepreneurship class of multinational students in South Korea

Structuring informal orientation of branch campus university academics – creating tools and opportunities to link semi-formal induction to ad hoc peer guidance

This paper presents a case study of how the international department of a business school in one Australian university organised staff induction to ensure academic quality assurance for Transnational Education (TNE) students in business courses. Discussed also are some of the organisational challenges brought about by distance, culture, language, pedagogic differences and practices encountered at various locations. Strategies emergent from a new staff induction program implemented by Curtin Business School (CBSi) international office informed the continuous improvement of the induction processes and quality assurance matters aligned to these. Of particular importance to the staff induction program discussed here are the approach to workloads and role clarity. Matters of quality assurance and equivalence of the learning experience for TNE students are also explored from the perspective of having operational practices that are universally understood and seamlessly applied across multiple campuses. The organisational learning from the program additionally led to the development of a readily updateable induction resource artefact (USB based) that was relevant to all locations, including the main campus. This staff-use artefact includes of a suite of text and video based resources detailing course materials, approved practices, protocols, and contact links. It is designed to act as the first point of enquiry for staff seeking further information or assistance with all aspects of their teaching and learning in CBSi transnational education courses.At the commencement of each teaching period, all staff teaching in CBSi courses are now issued with a copy of the USB, or for those already with a copy, have this updated via the web to reflect changes in unit coordinators or other important personnel contacts, course changes, or regulatory information. The USB format for this resource was chosen to ensure staff not having ideal internet access could still access the materials via personal computers

Morphology of alimentary and reproductive tracts of the rodent bot fly, Cuterebra tenebrosa (Diptera: Cuterebridae)

The internal reproductive and alimentary structures of <i>Cuterebra tenebrosa</i> Coquillett were studied and compared to other calypterate flies. Well defined mouth parts are present. Paired lingual salivary glands extend horizontally almost to the abdomen: however, labial salivary glands were not found. The alimentary canal is complete in female flies, whereas males lack a crop. Females have three spherical spermathecae opening in to the upper portion of the genital chamber. Male reproductive structures are similar to those in other flies. Tracheal air sacs fill one-third to one-half of the abdomen

Pedagogical innovation: Facilitating knowledge development in a multi-layered, blended-learning environment

This paper documents how a course originally designed to be delivered via traditional face-to-face methods and an additional distance-learning stream was redesigned to integrate both streams in a blended learning ‘classroom without walls’ virtual spaces environment. Discussed here are the formative feedback teaching elements and assessment methods utilised in the reshaped course, along with particular learning issues for transnational students. Addressed also for this new course model are the methods for moderating teaching and assessment practices to ensure fairness, equity, and compliance to university regulations. Tertiary learning and teaching is evolving through the use of innovative pedagogical practices utilizing social media, communication and information sharing technologies and virtual learning spaces. The use of online and blended learning approaches means that any student can be regarded as transnational in the sense they can learn in the culture and space of their choosing, at customized times to suit their lifestyle or availability. To support this choice, new courses must be constructed around learning flexibility in technology based virtual spaces; that is, classrooms without walls. In such settings, student centred learning can be facilitated through the use of technologies for engaging students in activities that have relevance to them, and encourage retention. Whatever the form of delivery, learning must involve reliable and equitable assessments to ensure that all students in virtual or classroom settings receive equal levels of formative feedback contextualised to the culture of learning found in their various international settings. This paper proposes that to cater for a mix of student learning styles, physical settings, and online technologies, a new multilayered approach to learning, called here ‘blended-blended’ learning can create success