An Empirical Study of Business Student Engagement with Active Teaching Strategies: A Comparison of First Year and Senior Students

The quantitative evaluation of student engagement has been difficult to achieve. This study uses Kahu’s (2013) conceptual framework to investigate the effectiveness of active teaching strategies and how they influence Business students’ engagement in a blended learning environment. First, we quantify the influence of various in-class active teaching activities and out-of-class support tools upon student engagement. The link between engagement and student outcomes in terms of academic results and personal and professional skills development is then captured in our empirical modelling. Results are compared between first year and senior students to understand significant differences in their engagement and experience. Our findings suggest that first year students display a higher propensity to utilize in-class learning activities and out-of-class support tools. This in turn, establishes a strong link with their engagement patterns. However, there is a weaker link between first year student engagement and outcomes compared to senior students. Overall, this study reinforces the usefulness of Kahu’s framework to guide curricula developments that cater for learners’ different needs

An Empirical Study of Business Student Engagement with Active Teaching Strategies: A Comparison of First Year and Senior Students

The quantitative evaluation of student engagement has been difficult to achieve. This study uses Kahu’s (2013) conceptual framework to investigate the effectiveness of active teaching strategies and how they influence Business students’ engagement in a blended learning environment. First, we quantify the influence of various in-class active teaching activities and out-of-class support tools upon student engagement. The link between engagement and student outcomes in terms of academic results and personal and professional skills development is then captured in our empirical modelling. Results are compared between first year and senior students to understand significant differences in their engagement and experience. Our findings suggest that first year students display a higher propensity to utilize in-class learning activities and out-of-class support tools. This in turn, establishes a strong link with their engagement patterns. However, there is a weaker link between first year student engagement and outcomes compared to senior students. Overall, this study reinforces the usefulness of Kahu’s framework to guide curricula developments that cater for learners’ different needs

Cohesin Protects Genes against γH2AX Induced by DNA Double-Strand Breaks

Chromatin undergoes major remodeling around DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) to promote repair and DNA damage response (DDR) activation. We recently reported a high-resolution map of γH2AX around multiple breaks on the human genome, using a new cell-based DSB inducible system. In an attempt to further characterize the chromatin landscape induced around DSBs, we now report the profile of SMC3, a subunit of the cohesin complex, previously characterized as required for repair by homologous recombination. We found that recruitment of cohesin is moderate and restricted to the immediate vicinity of DSBs in human cells. In addition, we show that cohesin controls γH2AX distribution within domains. Indeed, as we reported previously for transcription, cohesin binding antagonizes γH2AX spreading. Remarkably, depletion of cohesin leads to an increase of γH2AX at cohesin-bound genes, associated with a decrease in their expression level after DSB induction. We propose that, in agreement with their function in chromosome architecture, cohesin could also help to isolate active genes from some chromatin remodelling and modifications such as the ones that occur when a DSB is detected on the genome

Providing language and academic skills support in a multi-media and distributed learning environment

[extract] This paper examines the role of the language and academic skills (LAS) lecturer in a multi-media and geographically distributed learning environment at the University of Wollongong. By this we mean providing language and academic skills support where subjects comprising various degree programs are taught simultaneously across a range of networked satellite campuses including, at times, the central campus: hence the idea of a ‘distributed learning environment’. Subject delivery to this network of campuses is variously achieved through the use of multi-media teaching and learning technologies such as videoconferencing, web-based resources, online discussion spaces, pod-cast lectures, and face-to-face tutorials. We argue that the language and academic skills support role, which has become evermore complex in the twenty-first century Australian university system, demands further review when enacted in the learning environment sketched above

Embedding Communication Skills for Future Financial Planners

Financial planners need to have solid knowledge of a range of financial concepts and be adeptcommunicators. Australian universities comprehensively ground students in the necessary contentknowledge for their future careers, however, scant attention is paid to the indispensable communication skillsthat students will need when they enter the professional arena. Students need to accumulate financialplanning knowledge but they also have to interact with clients and peers in a business where they willnegotiate a professional identity for themselves that will serve their specific expertise. It takes time to developthese skills and to assume a professional identity. The focus of our paper is how to engender this persona atthe same time as the students acquire their knowledge. We focus on strategies and activities that were used toembed professional communication skills within a financial planning subject in a regional university throughexperiential learning and authentic tasks