Scholarly peer review aimed at enhancing the first-year student learning experience

This paper presents an overview of a Peer Review Instrument developed as part of a larger project concerned with design of first-year curriculum. The instrument provides a mechanism for reviewing curriculum according to the criteria specified by the course outline or selected by the individual academic. The instrument is a useful tool to review the criteria according to emerging priorities of the particular university, and within the framework for enhancing the first-year experience.

Evidence based practice : an introduction and application for radiation therapy practice

Radiation therapists, as professionals, need to maintain personal knowledge and inform organisational best practice according to latest international research. Evidence based practice is well established in health care and has a defined methodological process for locating, appraising and applying the best available evidence to clinical practice. Conducting a comprehensive search of published research to find the best evidence requires the appropriate skills and resources, including time. Radiation therapists in clinical practice may be limited in one or more of these areas. Systematic reviews and evidence based clinical practice guidelines provide systematically developed recommendations for clinical practice and further research. Radiation therapists can retrieve this higher level evidence even with limited access to resources. This paper provides some practical tips for applying evidence based practice in radiation therapy.

Consistency in the application of a reflective tool designed to facilitate scholarly review and development of curricula

This paper addresses the need for an objective and accessible system that assists academics in the quality review of their teaching and curricula. This is achieved via the Quality Review Instrument (QRI), which was trialled in a postgraduate research proposal course. The QRI provides a scaffold that can guide academics in the development and redevelopment of their courses, and facilitates reflection in and on the teaching process by teacher, peers and learners. At the same time, the QRI provides a robust and objective approach to evaluation of teaching for quality assurance. The comprehensive approach to review of teaching described in this paper facilitates a process that leads to the reshaping of academic and institutional practice in ways that can support and enhance the quality of teaching, learning and the student experience. The review template was constructed by the instructor and reviews of the course were completed by the instructor and two independent reviewers. Students completed the Student Evaluation of Teaching instrument (SET) and the Course Evaluation Instrument (CEI). Responses from the SET and the CEI were compared with the results of the QRI. The results demonstrated that the QRI has a high degree of reliability, even when used by reviewers with different backgrounds and different levels of experience. The instructor also rated the course in a very similar way to the two independent reviewers. The strong relationship between the student responses and the reviewers lends validity to the QRI.

Informing academic practice about how podcasts are used by diverse groups of students

Audio recording of lectures (hereafter referred to as podcasts) has become common practice in many universities. The ease with which academics can podcast their teaching has resulted in extensive use of podcasting in universities. The speed with which this has happened has given little time for reflection on the value of podcasting of lectures for student learning, and the ways in which students use podcasts. Many studies have been undertaken on podcasting of lectures used in individual courses (Tynan & Colbran, 2006; Abt & Barry, 2007). In this study we examine the use of podcasting by students in a large faculty of a university. This enables comparisons between students studying in different modes (full time and part time), in different programs and with different educational and language backgrounds. Thus the aim of this study was to determine why and how students are using podcasts, the perception of students of the usefulness of podcasts, and factors which impact upon student use.