The influence of interactions with students for the development of new academics as teachers in higher education

The aim of the current investigation was to provide an insight into how new lecturers in higher education develop as teachers and to identify some of the main influences upon this development. A qualitative, longitudinal design with three semi-structured interviews over a 2-year period was employed with eleven new teachers from a range of higher education institutions and settings. The analysis used case studies, alongside a thematic analysis, to provide fine-grained and idiosyncratic insights into the teachers’ development. The principal finding from the current study was the identification that instances of interactions with students, acted as a core influence upon the new teachers’ development. These instances appeared to provide the teachers with richer and fuller feedback about their teaching. This feedback supported their reflection and influenced the way in which they thought about teaching. Based on these findings it is suggested that teacher development could be enhanced by focussing upon specific instances of interactions with students as these instances provide specific and tangible moments that allow individuals to reflect upon and discuss their conceptions of teaching

E-learning: you don't always get what you hope for

Despite substantial growth in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) throughout western societies, there is much evidence of technology-led innovations within Higher Education (HE) failing to achieve the anticipated transformations in learning and teaching. This paper reviews evidence from research and evaluation studies relating not only to e-learning, but also to wider HE practices. It argues that the use of ICT does not, in itself, result in improved educational outcomes and ways of working. It considers contextual factors that are of greater significance in determining how and why e-learning is used in HE. Students' engagement with e-learning relates to their expectations and conceptions of learning and to assessment demands. Academics need to re-assess their own beliefs and practices concerning teaching and assessment and their impact on the experience of learners. Both teachers and learners need to understand why e-learning activities are to be undertaken and the rewards expected to be derived

Learning Problems of Overseas Students: Two Sides of a Story

Research into the nature and extent of problems faced by over-seas students in Australia is based almost entirely on surveys of this population either by staff of support services or by or on behalf of policy making bodies. The nature of educational difficulties — 'language’ and 'study’ problems — is still relatively unknown, however it has been explored to some extent by study skills counsellors and teachers of English as a second language. Little is known about perception of these problems by academic staff. This paper describes learning problems of overseas students as seen by the academic staff at the University of Queensland and compares them with the perception of learning problems held by overseas students. Academic staff (145) representing 50 departments, and 136 overseas students representing 14 courses at postgraduate level and 10 courses at undergraduate level responded to questionnaires identifying educational problems and suggesting possible solutions. Copyrigh

The effects of linguistic factors on student performance on economics multiple choice questions

This paper proposes a framework to analyse performance on multiple choice questions with the focus on linguistic factors. Item Response Theory (IRT) is deployed to estimate ability and question difficulty levels. A logistic regression model is used to detect Differential Item Functioning questions. Probit models testify relationships between performance and linguistic factors controlling the effects of question construction and students’ background. Empirical results have important implications. The lexical density of stems affects performance. The use of non-Economics specialised vocabulary has differing impacts on the performance of students with different language backgrounds. The IRT-based ability and difficulty help explain performance variations

Towards university lectures' conceptions of student learning

A range of studies conducted since the late 1970s have sought to describe students' conceptions of learning, and more recently, teachers' conceptions of teaching. These studies, using what has come to be known as the phenomenographic approach, have identified conceptions of teaching, and conceptions of learning which have had a significant impact on the teaching-learning culture of higher education institutions in many parts of the world. The study reported here contributes to our understanding of student learning, describing it from the viewpoint of lectures from a range of disciplines. From the viewpoint of these lectures student learning was seen variously as: acquiring knowledge through the use of study skills; the absorption of new knowledge and being able to explain and apply it; the development of thinking skills and the ability to reason; developing the competencies of beginning professionals; changing personal attitudes, beliefs or behaviours in responding to different phenomena; and a participative pedagogic experience. The relationship between these conceptions and previously identified conceptions of teaching and learning is discussed