Changing Student Attitudes and Behaviours to Academic Integrity through Reflection with a Conversational Agent

Facilitated by technology, breaches of academic integrity take many different forms such as using the information as it is, collusion, fabricating information, and contract cheating. To counteract, universities offer academic integrity modules, policies, and procedures for students to follow on their websites. However, academic misconduct is still rampant. With advancements in technology, higher education institutions have an opportunity to promote ethical principles in innovative ways. In this paper, we present a work-in-progress collaborative project that proposes use of an artificially intelligent pedagogical conversational agent. The approach seeks to augment existing ways of educating students about academic integrity concepts by seeking to change their underlying motivations and beliefs about academic integrity and the consequences of misconduct through reflective review and discussion of the reasons why, consequences of and alternatives to committing academic misconduct

The 13th Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Ngā mihi aroha ki ngā tangata katoa and warm greetings to you all. Welcome to Herenga Delta 2021, the Thirteenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics. It has been ten years since the Volcanic Delta Conference in Rotorua, and we are excited to have the Delta community return to Aotearoa New Zealand, if not in person, then by virtual means. Although the limits imposed by the pandemic mean that most of this year’s 2021 participants are unable to set foot in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, this has certainly not stopped interest in this event. Participants have been invited to draw on the concept of herenga, in Te Reo Māori usually a mooring place where people from afar come to share their knowledge and experiences. Although many of the participants are still some distance away, the submissions that have been sent in will continue to stimulate discussion on mathematics and statistics undergraduate education in the Delta tradition. The conference invited papers, abstracts and posters, working within the initial themes of Values and Variables. The range of submissions is diverse, and will provide participants with many opportunities to engage, discuss, and network with colleagues across the Delta community. The publications for this thirteenth Delta Conference include publications in the International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, iJMEST, (available at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tmes20/collections/Herenga-Delta-2021), the Conference Proceedings, and the Programme (which has created some interesting challenges around time-zones), by the Local Organizing Committee. Papers in the iJMEST issue and the Proceedings were peer reviewed by at least two reviewers per paper. Of the ten submissions to the Proceedings, three were accepted. We are pleased to now be at the business end of the conference and hope that this event will carry on the special atmosphere of the many Deltas which have preceded this one. We hope that you will enjoy this conference, the virtual and social experiences that accompany it, and take the opportunity to contribute to further enhancing mathematics and statistics undergraduate education. Ngā manaakitanga, Phil Kane (The University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau) on behalf of the Local Organising Committ

Discussion: How Can Technology be Used to Teach Statistical Practice?

This discussion will summarize the two papers presented (Stern et al 2012; Baglin et al 2012) in 2012 IASE Roundtable Conference – “Technology in Statistics Education: Virtualities and Realities” – in Cebu, Philippines and the following discussions that took place after the presentations. In the last section a list of recommendations on learning and teaching and research will be provided

Discussion : how can technology be used to teach statistical practice?

This discussion will summarize the two papers presented (Stern et al 2012; Baglin et al 2012) in 2012 IASE Roundtable Conference – “Technology in Statistics Education: Virtualities and Realities” – in Cebu, Philippines and the following discussions that took place after the presentations. In the last section a list of recommendations on learning and teaching and research will be provided.4 page(s

Turkish ASSIST : measuring university students’ approaches to learning statistics

Evidence-based decision making has become one of the most valuable tools for any profession with the ease of accessing vast amounts of data due to developments in computing and data storage facilities. This is especially important for future generations in management positions. Undoubtedly statistics play an important role in enabling managers to base their decisions on valid available evidence, but if students do not acquire the skills to understand and evaluate them during courses in statistics, their ability to utilise this evidence may be limited. In this study we investigated the learning approaches of students in statistics who are studying towards a management science or management engineering degree in six Turkish universities using Turkish Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (TASSIST) which is translated from English to Turkish. This paper presents an exploratory factor analysis for the validation of Turkish ASSIST.6 page(s

A Structural Model to Explain Influences of Organisational Communication on the Organisational Commitment of Primary School Staff

Organisational commitment is a job attitude frequently linked to employee morale, motivation and behaviour. High organisational commitment has been associated with increased effort and productivity, while low commitment has been associated with low productivity, absenteeism and turnover. There is evidence to suggest aspects of organisational communication are important in this regard. This article reports the results of a study that investigated the relationships between a comprehensive set of aspects of organisational communication and general organisational commitment, while also identifying those that had the most important effects on organisational commitment. Participants were 1575 staff members from government and non-government primary schools across all states and territories of Australia. Data were gathered using a survey comprising the Organisational Communication in Primary Schools Questionnaire and a five-item general organisational commitment scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify and validate constructs for measurement. Structural equation modelling was used to identify important relationships. Of the ten aspects of organisational communication identified, five had significant effects on general organisational commitment. The most important of these concerned openness between principals and staff, supportive communication among colleagues (positive effects) and communication overload (negative effects). Implications for school leadership and school culture are discussed along with directions for further research

Measuring university students’ approaches to learning statistics : a cross-cultural and multilingual version of the ASSIST

University students often encounter difficulties in statistics courses that hinder their progress in the attainment of their degree. In identifying variables that may constitute barriers faced by students, it is important to investigate the approach that students adopt in learning statistics. Focusing on issue of measurement, the present paper aimed to develop a brief version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), one of the well-known measures of a student's approach to learning. The final goal was to obtain a cross-cultural and multilingual version of the ASSIST to investigate learning approaches in multinational research. Results indicated that the abbreviated Spanish, Italian and English versions of the ASSIST showed good psychometric properties and the three-factor structure of the original version (Deep, Surface and Strategic approaches) was confirmed.6 page(s

Measuring university students' approaches to learning statistics : an invariance study

The aim of the current study was to provide evidence that an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was invariant across different languages and educational contexts in measuring university students' learning approaches to statistics. Data were collected on samples of university students attending undergraduate introductory statistics courses in five countries (Argentina, Italy, Australia, Turkey, and Vietnam). Using factor analysis, we confirmed the three-factor (Deep, Surface, and Strategic approach) model holds across the five samples, and we provided evidence of configural and measurement invariance. The current version of the ASSIST for statistics learners is a suitable scale for researchers and teachers working in the field of statistics education and represents promising tool for multinational studies on approaches to learning statistics.13 page(s

Histomorphological and torque removal comparison of 6 mm orthodontic miniscrews with and without surface treatment in New Zealand rabbits

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the difference of removal torque values (RTV) and the bone-to-implant contact (BIC) between the sand-blasted, large grit, and acid-etched (SLA) surface-treated and the machined surface (MA) miniscrews. Material and methods: Miniscrews used in this study were 6mm long with a diameter of 1.5mm. A total of 23 SLA miniscrews and 24 MA miniscrews were placed into the distal femoral condyle of 24 New Zealand rabbits. Removal torque test and the BIC was histologically evaluated at 0 and 8 weeks. Results: There was no statistical difference between the RTV in the MA group versus the SLA group at both 0 and 8 weeks. Comparing 0-8 weeks, there was no significant difference in RTV of the SLA group (P = 0.48), however the change in the MA group was statistically significant (P = 0.006). Histological observation showed a significant decrease in BIC comparing 0 and 8 weeks for the MA group. The BIC ratio at 8 weeks was statistically significantly higher in the SLA group compared to the MA group. Conclusion: SLA surface preparation does not increase the RTV of miniscrews. Further investigations under loading and a large sample size are required.6 page(s