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

Providing timely support to students in educational virtual worlds

Empirical thesis.Bibliography: pages 52-55.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review -- Chapter 3. Methodology -- Chapter 4. Results -- Chapter 5. Discussion -- Chapter 6. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Educational virtual worlds (EVWs) are immersive educational tools that have the potential to engage students using interactive virtual avatars in the simulated multi-media environments. As with any learning approach, EVWs should have the capacity to adapt according to individual student needs and differences such as their personality characteristics, engagement levels, navigational behaviour, and emotional level. Based on such factors, the EVWs should be capable of providing tailored support and feedback when required. This experimental study conducted with 144 undergraduate students investigates the relationship between individual learner factors, including personality, cognitive and affective engagement, and the value of providing either tailored, generic or no hints on academic performance in an EVW. Results suggest that extravert and agreeable personality traits are positively linked to academic performance and affective and cognitive engagement levels. Contrary to our hypothesis, participants who were provided with hints did not perform better than the control group in performance. Further studies are needed to gain deeper insights to design appropriate support strategies within EVW.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (61 pages) diagrams, table

Film on the march!: visual documents of war and the cinematic war genre

Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 50-57.Chapter One. Declaration of war -- Chapter Two. Recreating the real -- Chapter Three. The internet archive -- Chapter Four. Film on the march! -- Chapter Five. After action report -- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Online sources.This research uncovers the artistic influence that visual war documents have on the cinematic war genre by analysing key archival documents, war genre films, and scholarly texts. The practice of emulating visual war documents in genre films to craft realistic depictions of war has become a key convention in the cinematic war genre throughout the twentieth century. In recent years the proliferation of visual war documents available through the internet has contributed to widespread familiarity with war images, particularly newer types of visual war documents such as helmet camera footage. These visual war documents are unique to the conflicts of the twenty first century and offer the potential to further the boundaries of the cinematic war genre. However, the emulation of newer visual documents in contemporary war cinema is noticeably lacking, with filmmakers instead continuing to emulate the characteristics of older war documents. By analysing key archival documents and war genre films this research project defines, critiques, and proposes future possibilities for the cinematic war genre. This research also implements creative practice research and offers a short film which tests the arguments of this thesis and experiments with the war genre form. The purpose of this research project is to extend scholarly, artistic, and audience awareness of the influence of visual war documents on the cinematic war genre.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (v, 57 pages) black and white illustrations

Designing a feedback framework to reconnect students with learning in a game-based learning environment

Feedback has great potential to benefit students’ learning and skill development. Feedback designed in an effective manner can help improve a student’s current performance by supporting their sense of curiosity and motivation and fostering a deeper engagement in the learning. Game-Based Learning (GBL) environments present an appropriate platform to implement feedback to facilitate progress monitoring and enhance curiosity and motivation. Through carefully designed feedback with the support of psychological theories in such environments, learners can become more immersed and interested in their learning. This allows for creating an environment where a learner feels more connected and empowered in their learning journey. This paper proposes a feedback framework with an understanding of the purpose and varieties of feedback mechanisms that can be presented to the learners at different levels within a digital learning environment through a statistics game to stimulate curiosity and motivation and help achieve the learning goals