11 research outputs found
Studentsâ navigation of the uncharted territories of academic writing
Many students enter tertiary education unfamiliar with the ânorms and conventionsâ of
their disciplines. Research into academic literacies has shown that in order to succeed
in their studies, students are expected to conform to these norms and conventions,
which are often unrecognized or seen as âcommon senseâ by lecturers. Students have
to develop their own âmapâ of their programmeâs expectations in order to make sense
of the seemingly mysterious practices they are expected to take on. This study, undertaken
at a University of Technology in South Africa, details studentsâ perceptions of
their writing difficulties and their attempts to navigate their way through various writing
tasks. The findings reveal that students experience a range of difficulties and that the
students often feel unsupported in their travails with academic writing.Department of HE and Training approved lis
âItâs quite weird to write ⌠you feel like a nut jobâ: the practical and emotional consequences of writing personal reflections for assessment in psychology
Setting the tone for reflective writing â should the first person, populated approach that currently dominates be ethically questioned? An active voice is recommended to enhance âpowerâ and emotional investment in reflection, but often presents practical difficulties for students conditioned in âscientificâ depopulated ways. Beyond the practical, being instructed to employ a personal tone could exacerbate the emotional risks involved for vulnerable students. Ethical questioning is an area of reflection and teaching that has been largely neglected. The current paper responds to this gap, discursively considering the impact of requiring students to reflect using the first person and how this could intersect with emotionality components, located within the experiences of MSc Forensic Psychology students. Six students that had recently undertaken a reflective practice assignment volunteered to take part in a semi-structured interview about their experiences. For some students the themes of personal pronoun use and emotionality intersected, whereby at deeper levels of analysis the emotional impact was compounded by first person usage. Assessing the risk of enhanced vulnerability to psychological discomfort, implementing practical strategies to mediate this and the support procedures followed when requiring students to reflect are reviewed
Student understandings of evidence-based management : ways of doing and being
This paper advances the literature on Evidence Based Management (EBMgt) by exploring how students understand EBMgt. We conduct a qualitative inductive study of undergraduate students who were introduced to EBMgt and applied evidence-based processes as part of an introductory management course. Our findings identify four qualitatively different student understandings of EBMgt: (1) EBMgt as an unrealistic way of doing management; (2) EBMgt as a way of doing management in particular situations; (3) EBMgt as a generally useful way of doing management; and (4) EBMgt as an ideal way of being a manager. We find that variations in student understanding are based upon perceptions of the utility of evidence-based processes, the stance taken towards scientific evidence as a form of knowledge, and the focus of reflection about the practice of EBMgt. By opening up insight into the how undergraduate students understand and make sense of EBMgt as ways of doing and being, we contribute to the theoretical literature on EBMgt and to the practice of EBMgt teaching and learning and offer new paths for future research.PostprintPeer reviewe
Incorporating participatory action research and social media as a research tool whilst Gen-Y studies abroad
Gen-Y students undertaking study abroad are electronically literate âdigital natives.â However, their modes of social communication may be inadequate to support indelible learning. Many international exchange programmes have not kept pace with digital opportunities to reinforce intercultural learning whilst students are abroad. This chapter reports on qualitative findings from an Australian project that developed reflection-based curriculum for improving study abroad outcomes. In particular, we discuss participatory action research that used blogs and photo elicitation to augment reflection, intercultural skills, and professionalization. We conclude that social media and visual literacy, with carefully guided facilitation, produce a virtual âthird spaceâ where students reflect on cultural differences and strengthen their metacognitive skills for lifelong learning