Tertiary Courses Research Articles

Effects of online language testing on final examination

Many tertiary language courses have some online components as part of their blended learning initiatives. These online activities could be part of assessments, and online quizzes/tests can be used as preparation for the demanding final written examination. This study attempts to shed some light on the effects of online tests on final examination performance. Results obtained from beginners’ Japanese language students at a tertiary institute were examined by conducting three-way comparisons amongst the average scores and average number of attempts of the online tests, and the final examination score in order to ascertain the relationship between the number of attempts of online tests and the online test scores and the final examination scores. The results indicated that the number of attempts of quizzes cannot be used as an indicator of possible good final examination score, although the contents of quizzes and the final examination were closely related. In addition, although the online quizzes were created as preparation for the final examination, even the quiz average score cannot be the direct indicator for a successful final examination score.

YouTube English video lectures as a basis of CLIL classes for students of mathematics

The nowadays educational system has to adapt to the ever-changing society demands to provide it with graduates possessing high level of general knowledge, analytical thinking and creativity as well as specialized competences. With strict time limits set for academic courses, an apparent way to a more compact material presentation and practicing lies in the transdisciplinary approach. As far as a foreign language at a technical university is concerned, it can be effectively studied within an integrated course, combined with one of the core subjects in the form of CLIL classes, which would be beneficial for both disciplines. This paper presents the results of experimental teaching English to students of applied mathematics based on authentic YouTube video lectures in mathematics, demonstrating the rich potential of CLIL format for tertiary courses.

An Investigation of Secondary School STEM Subjects as Predictors of Academic Performance in Tertiary Level Health Sciences Programs

Tertiary institutions are experiencing an increased number of enrolments, with students varying in their demographics, previous education, and academic achievement. This relative increase in undergraduate enrolments in Australia has not translated to an increase in student retention or graduate numbers. This prompts the need to explore predictors of academic performance for tertiary students to identify those most at risk of underperforming. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between secondary school subject completion and undergraduate grade point average (GPA). A cohort of 709 secondary school students entering undergraduate health science courses between 2012 and 2015 at an Australian university were investigated. Completion of Mathematics 3C3D, Physics, Chemistry and Physical Education Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) subjects were significantly associated with GPA. In a subset of 458 students, longitudinal analysis revealed completion of secondary school Mathematics 3C3D was a significant predictor of academic performance over the duration of the tertiary health science courses. The results suggest that completion of advanced secondary school mathematics, but not physical sciences, is predictive of student achievement. This outcome further supports the need for improved uptake and completion of advanced mathematics in secondary school.

The Use of Discourse Markers in Academic Writing by In-Service Primary School Teachers of English

Abstract This paper presents and discusses a computer-assisted study that seeks to investigate the use of discourse markers (“DMs”) in academic writing in English as a Foreign Language (“EFL”) by a group of in-service primary school teachers (“participants”). The aim of the study is to establish whether or not there would be differences in the use of DMs in the corpus of academic writing in EFL in literature and linguistics written by the participants, who concurrently with teaching EFL at a range of primary schools are enrolled in an in-service tertiary course in English. The corpus of the study consists of the participants’ i) reflective essays in English linguistics and children’s literature in English, respectively, and ii) analytic explanatory essays in English linguistics and children’s literature, respectively. The corpus of the participants’ essays was analysed quantitatively in order to identify the frequency of DMs per 1,000 words. The results of the quantitative data analysis indicated that the participants’ use of DMs seemed to be, primarily, determined by i) genre conventions of academic writing in English associated with reflective essays and analytic explanatory essays and ii) the participants’ individual preferences. These findings are further presented and discussed in the paper.

Clinical course of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis with HIV infection and tertiary syphilis: a case report

Purpose. To update the literature data with the clinical features of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), HIV and tertiary syphilis co-infection course based on an example from own clinical experience. Materials and methods . A case report of XDR-TB with HIV and tertiary syphilis co-infection course was described based on our own clinical experience. Results. The presented clinical case confirms the partial literature data as we did not find such a combined course of XDR-TB with HIV infection and tertiary syphilis in the literature available. So, XDR-TB developed in the patient due to late diagnosed and untreated HIV infection. Neurosyphilis praecox developed secondary to Lues latens ignorata. Early diagnosis of tertiary syphilis was problematic owing to considerable similarity of XDR-TB and HIV infection clinical manifestations. The CD4+ T-lymphocyte count was 16 cells (with a viral load of 3483783 RNA copies/ml) indicating a pronounced immune system inhibition in the patient, causing progressive multiple organ failure, HIV-associated diseases (nephropathy, encephalopathy, cardiomyopathy) and visceral tertiary syphilis (the kidney and brain). Despite multimodality therapy (antimycobacterial, antiretroviral, symptomatic and pathogenetic therapy, treatment of syphilis), the patient died after 4 months of inpatient treatment. The immediate causes of death were wasting syndrome, mycobacteriosis, HIV infection-associated diseases manifested as mycobacterial infection and multiple diseases. Conclusions . Taking into account the considerable similarity of clinical and histological manifestations of tuberculosis and syphilis, as well as frequent HIV-associated tuberculosis (especially CRTB), it is recommended not to neglect the continuous use of a serological panel in patients with HIV and tuberculosis co-infection with the view to timely syphilis detecting. General practitioners are encouraged to work with patients towards the timely HIV testing. Also, it should be kept in mind that timely diagnosed diseases could be treated early, that will help save lives of our patients.

Moving beyond methodising theory in preparing for the profession

ABSTRACT For those preparing for outdoor education and related professions, formal theory has an important role to play in terms of informing professional practice and understandings of teaching-learning dynamics. Despite this, surprisingly little is understood about how pre-service outdoor educators (POEs) view and engage with it in their preparation courses. Drawing on findings of a case study in an Australian outdoor education teacher education (OETE) course, this article explores POE theory engagement focussing on a problematic tendency to methodise formal theory, that is, to treat theories as formula for action. The authors argue that this tendency is concerning because it ignores the complexity and problematic nature of both theory–practice relationships and outdoor education pedagogy. The discussion highlights contributing factors and implications for OETE, especially with respect to enabling aspiring outdoor educators in tertiary courses to move beyond methodising theory as they enter the outdoor profession.

Digital Escape Game

The Escape Room phenomena began in Japan in 2007. The premise of an Escape Room is that ‘players’ are locked inside a room and, in order to escape, they must solve a range of puzzles, riddles, and open mechanisms and locks inside a given timeframe. While the educational affordances of an escape room have been and continue to be explored (see for example Brown, Darby & Coronel, 2019) the grandeur and physical complexities required to set up an escape room mean than it is not a sustainable option for the average classroom teacher or smaller tertiary courses.
 The Escape Game, however, is played on a smaller scale with portable (often mostly printable) resources with players aiming to either break into something (a toolbox for example) by solving riddles, puzzles and opening locks within a given timeframe. The logistical ease of set up and iterability mean that the escape game format is becoming increasingly popular across all sectors of education—from young primary school learners to tertiary tauira (see for example Yachin, & Barak, 2019). 
 A successful example of the escape game movement in education is Breakout EDU (see for example Detwiler, Jacobson, & O’Brien, 2018). In addition to being a platform that provides resources to create your own and use other educator-made physical breakout games, Breakout EDU also provide members with a digital escape game creator and online repository. It was the Breakout EDU digital game format that was used as the mediating artefact in this case study. 
 A digital escape game, Mathematical Medley, was created for educators undertaking a postgraduate mathematics education course. The game was embedded into the course’s learning management system and activated at a certain time point for tauira to complete in groups or individually (as they chose). The purpose of the study was to explore how a digital escape game might promote the learning of mathematical content (subject knowledge); and how a digital escape game might enable the use and development of key competencies and mathematical processes. An overview of the escape game, purpose, findings and implications of using the mediating artefact will be shared during the presentation of this case study.

Graduate perspectives of a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) speech language pathology curriculum

ABSTRACT Background: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) can have a positive effect on the development of clinical skills in speech-language pathology (SLP) students, however clinical placements remain the mainstay for teaching students these skills. To date no study has compared graduate SLP perspectives on PBL and clinical placements. Aims: The current study addresses the following research questions: (1) What are graduate SLPs’ attitudes and perceptions about learning in a PBL curriculum? and (2) How do graduate SLPs compare the perceived roles of PBL and clinical placements in preparing them for the workplace? Methods and Procedures: In this study 47 recently employed SLPs completed a survey investigating attitudes and perceptions of learning in a PBL curriculum and comparing the perceived roles of PBL and clinical placements in preparing them for practice. Outcomes and Results: Most participants were in favour of having a PBL curriculum compared to the more traditional, subject-based approach and did not feel their knowledge had been compromised. They reported that both PBL and clinical placement are important, and largely comparable, in developing clinical skills. However, an overall trend was observed whereby the less recent graduates rated the influence of PBL on clinical skills less strongly than more recent graduates. Conclusions and Implications: These results provide further evidence that students in tertiary health courses typically favour a PBL curriculum. The findings also offer preliminary support for delivering a PBL curriculum that runs in parallel to the clinical placement program as a means of value-adding to these students’ work readiness.

Aspects of Moral Character, Civic Purpose, Social Identity in relevance to the Psychological Well-being of Adolescents in Sri Lanka

Moral character is defined as the complex constellation of psychological characteristics that motivate and enable persons to function as moral agents competently. Character is composed of various character strengths, and these are trainable personal characteristics. Purpose is the long-term, progressive intention to accomplish specific aims that are meaningful to self and the broader world. Character strengths and purpose in adolescence is associated with academic achievement and long-term mental and physical well-being. Identity crisis in adolescence is associated with moral character formation, developing a purpose and psychological well-being. Sri Lanka leads human development indices (HDI) in the region. Retention in secondary schooling is high, but higher education enrolment is less than 20% and below the average for lower-middle income countries. Therefore, more than 80% of adolescents exit the educational system without entering a standard tertiary education course. After leaving school, they do not have opportunities in a structured environment to promote desirable character strengths. Despite laws against child cruelty, corporal punishment and psychological aggression are highly prevalent in Sri Lankan schools. There is sound research evidence that this method is counterproductive to long-term mental well-being and character development. Psychiatry is, at times, criticised for only focusing on psychopathology and not on overall positive mental health. Child and adolescent mental health expertise are limited in the country, and psychiatrists need to look beyond diagnostic categories to facilitate and support the character development of young Sri Lankans. Considering this context, there is a need for school-based, culturally relevant character development programmes for Sri Lankan adolescents. These programmes need to be developed recognising moral, ethical, social and cultural values, employing multi-sectoral collaboration. There has been a rising interest world over on character development in adolescents and its relevance to the mental well-being and future workforce of a country. Even though there have been several publications from the West, we could not access any publications on adolescent character development’s relevance to psychological well-being from Sri Lanka. This article discusses recent and relevant literature on character development in adolescence and the potential application of this evidence to the well-being of Sri Lankan adolescents.

‘I wouldn’t have been culturally safe’: health science students’ experiences of transformative learning within Indigenous Studies

ABSTRACTDespite a significant body of literature espousing the transformative impacts of Australian Indigenous Studies curriculum upon students, there remains a limited body of work related to how these students experience and learn within this complex environment. This is particularly notable for research aligned with Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. Reporting on a qualitative study, this paper offers a perspective into students’ transformative experiences within a tertiary first-year Indigenous Studies health course. Thirteen non-Indigenous students were interviewed about their learning experiences within this context. Explicitly framed by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory, thematic analysis findings suggest students consistently experience precursor steps to transformative learning including disorienting dilemmas, self-examination with guilt or shame, critical reflection on assumptions, exploration of new roles, and trying on new roles. The manifestation of these steps highlights the ways in which students experience learning in this space, and a range of elements influencing this – from students’ own positioning and approaches to learning, to the nature of the curricular and pedagogical approaches. This study offers nuanced insight into the complexity of students’ transformative learning experiences, suggesting students hold a range of contradictory perspectives at any one time. If curricular models are to be effective for the broader student body, we propose that (1) the complex intersection of students’ identity development, need for group belonging, learning approach, limitations in existing knowledge and capacity for complex thought requires further consideration in this context, and (2) greater institutional investment is necessary in both the development of educators in this space, and educational opportunities beyond first-year, lest we risk reinforcing extant beliefs and paradigms held by non-Indigenous Australians about Indigenous Australians, and a continuation of the health disparities these curricular offerings are designed to alleviate.

Exploring mathematics teacher leaders’ attributions and actions in influencing senior secondary students’ mathematics subject enrolments

School leaders employ various school-based actions to influence students’ subject enrolments at senior secondary levels (Years 11 and 12), which in turn affect students’ entrance into tertiary courses and career choices. In the context of reported declines in the proportion of students opting to study higher-level mathematics, this qualitative study sought insights into seven Australian mathematics teacher leaders’ decision-making processes and actions in their particular school contexts. It aimed to relate their actions to particular attributions for enrolment declines and their goals for students’ learning and achievement. The leaders’ attributions included students’ lack of ability, changes in university courses’ pre-requisites, students’ lack of effort or persistence, and negative attitudes towards mathematics. The leaders described a variety of school-based actions; some school leaders had actually chosen opposing actions but expressed similar reasons for implementing them, and vice versa. Tensions among external pragmatic constraints, the actions of other school staff, and the teacher leaders’ own goals for student learning in mathematics framed the findings of this study.

A Health Check of Avondale's Distance Education Program: Where Have we Been? Where are we Going Next?

Avondale College of Higher Education has been offering tertiary courses for over 120 years. In the past two decades, this institution has extended its programs to include distance courses for students who opt to study online or are not able to attend on-campus courses at Avondale’s Lake Macquarie and Sydney campuses. While all of the institutions courses are evaluated on a regular basis, no formal evaluation had ever been undertaken of the distance education program as a whole. During 2017, a mixed methods research project was conducted to gather evaluative data from recent and current distance students using questionnaires and focus groups. The results of the study provide insight into the extent to which the distance education program at the College provides a space in which learning relationships can develop in online communities. Also, suggestions for future improvement and further research recommendations are provided. Findings of this study may be of interest to educators and administrators who incorporate online components in their curricula.

Progressive peer evaluation: Important but absent in EFL speaking classes

Comprehensive teaching-learning about speaking evaluation, especially peer evaluation, is conspicuous by its absence in English Foreign Language (EFL) Speaking classes at all secondary and tertiary levels in Indonesia, especially in Aceh, This comparative research study looks at the various aspects used for evaluation and especially looks at peer evaluation in EFL speaking classes in Aceh. The paper describes twenty three (23) components recommended for evaluation of speaking communications: the seen, the spoken and the script (content) components. The results showed that teachers of EFL speaking are not using and are not even taught such detailed evaluation systems. Moreover the syllabi for speaking English at upper secondary level are severely lacking as are those used in tertiary courses. Educators need to learn from the Toastmasters International systems for evaluation and for making evaluation speeches, in particular the need to prioritise praise in evaluation with only a pointer or two on how to improve the next speech. This paper includes a simplified format for peer evaluations that students can easily be taught to use and also stresses the need for praise, not punishment, for successful evaluation. Teachers of Speaking English EFL, who practice the recommendations from this paper, should get much better results from their students.

Woordeboekdidaktiek in ’n omvattende woordeboekkultuur

Dictionary didactics within a comprehensive dictionary culture. This article argues that the curricula of language and linguistics departments should include a component on lexicography. It is indicated that within a comprehensive dictionary culture, users need to be familiar with a variety of dictionary types and need to be able to execute a successful retrieval of information from the data on offer in dictionaries. A comprehensive dictionary culture has both general language and specialised dictionaries in its scope. Users need to be made aware of these dictionary types. Lexicographic training can be directed at three groups, namely dictionary users (who need to become familiar with dictionary using skills), future lexicographers (who need to master those aspects of meta-lexicography needed for the compilation of dictionaries) and future trainers of lexicography (who need a sound theoretical basis). The contents of a tertiary course in lexicography could commence with a broad context of the development of both the lexicographic practice and the theory of lexicography. A second focus could be on the contents, the different lexicographic tools, as well as the medium – printed or online format. Proposals are made for issues that could be discussed, regarding the treatment of meaning in monolingual and translation equivalents in bilingual dictionaries.

Academic self-efficacy in a twenty-first-century Australian university: strategies for first-generation students

ABSTRACTA major consideration for educators and curriculum developers is finding ways to maximise outcomes for all students. Increased diversity within student cohorts as a result of the Federal Government’s Bradley Review has seen a greater percentage of first-generation students enrolled in tertiary education courses than ever before. Accepting prior evidence for the positive relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic outcomes, this study has sought to evaluate academic self-efficacy using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory for students (N = 1806) from an Australian university boasting high rates of first-generation student enrolment. Furthermore, the effects of bridging program participation were examined within the first-generation cohort. Students completed an online cross-sectional survey and a qualitative methodology was employed. Data were analysed using SPSS® software and Hayes Process Tool©. As hypothesised, and consistent with the literature, all four sources of academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between generational status and academic self-efficacy. Also, consistent with the literature and hypothesis, first-generation students reported lower levels of academic self-efficacy than counterparts with familial tertiary education backgrounds. Inconsistent with the literature, however, students within the first-generation cohort (N = 1134) who had participated in bridging programs reported lower academic self-efficacy than those who had not. Overall, the mediation model supported previous research and added an incremental knowledge of academic self-efficacy when applied to first-generation students. The anomaly between previous literature and the reported academic self-efficacy of first-generation bridging program participants has warranted further investigation and is the topic of a current evaluation by the authors.

Issues impacting on enrolled nurse education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: a discussion

Background: Achieving increased participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia’s health workforce, particularly nursing, is federal government policy imperative. However, the uptake of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into nursing has stalled and their attrition from tertiary nursing courses is considerably higher than for other students. Aim: To alert the profession to issues impacting enrolled nursing education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Design: Discussion paper. Results: Studies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students mainly focus on tertiary education for registered nurses whereas vocational education and training (VET) for enrolled nurses is usually overlooked. It is generally assumed that the issues influencing the recruitment, attrition, and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education universities and other institutions similarly impact enrolled nursing students in the VET sector. Conclusion: Research that contributes robust evidence-based knowledge specifically on strategies addressing issues in enrolled nursing education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their employment uptake is required.

Back to Basics, Again and Again and Again: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Effects Problem-based Tutorial Sessions Have on Student Learning Outcomes

Engineering tertiary courses that reflect professional activity mandate the successful application of theorems and concepts in order to solve technical problems. This graduate skill is typically assessed during student problem-solving activities. Furthermore, both collaborative learning and the interactive study method known as self-explanation have been identified, by researchers, as techniques that enhance student learning. In the reported longitudinal study, students shared their solutions to problem-solving exercises with a version of self-explanation in a collaborative environment. The research investigated the effects of the intervention on student outcomes as reflected in their assessment results. In 2013, the weekly tutorial content, for a first-year electronics course, was reworked with a focus on problem-solving activities. During these sessions the students were engaged by asking them to share electronically, or via a document camera, their prepared solutions to problems that should have been attempted prior to attending. The data collected included the scores these students obtained for each of the assessable components for the course in semester one 2013, 2014, 2016 and semester two in 2016. This data were analyzed by comparing results with those of the 2012 cohort. Week-by-week tutorial attendances showed similar trending in all semesters. The mean total mark, mean exam mark and the mean laboratory mark consistently maintained improvement over those of 2012; while the mean tutorial participation mark and the mean assignment mark were consistently worse (except for the 2014 cohort) than the corresponding ones for 2012.

Comparative Effectiveness Between Game-Enhanced and Pencil-and-Paper English Vocabulary Learning Approaches

Numerous studies were devoted to use of games in vocabulary learning in English as a foreign language (EFL) tertiary courses, which reported significant improvements of vocabulary learning when using computer games. This study used a mixed-design research method comparing the effectiveness in EFL vocabulary acquisition. Data was collected from randomly selected participants who were randomly assigned to the interactivity-prone computer game (Group 1), the less interactive-prone computer game (Group 2) and the pencil-and-paper (Group 3) assisted EFL vocabulary learning approaches. The first group learned EFL vocabulary through interactivity-prone computer game Hujiang Fun Vocabulary, the second group learned EFL vocabulary assisted with less interactive computer game Baicizhan, and the third group learned EFL vocabulary via the traditional pencil-and-paper approach. It was concluded that (1) The interactivity-prone computer game was more effective than the less interactivity-prone computer game in EFL vocabulary learning; (2) The computer game-assisted EFL vocabulary learning was significantly more effective than the traditional pencil-and-paper approach; (3) Males outperformed females in computer game-assisted EFL vocabulary learning. It was suggested that future research focuses on both design features of educational computer games and cross-disciplinary research into computer game assisted EFL vocabulary acquisition.

Opportunities for training for nutritional professionals in nutritional genomics: What is out there?

To identify and profile training courses available to dietitians and nutritionists in the area of nutritional genomics. Genetic technology is progressing quickly, leading to increased public interest and requests from the public for personalised nutrition advice based on genetic background. Tertiary courses often lack specific curriculum in nutritional genomics, preventing graduates from discussing confidently with their clients the relationships between genetics, nutrition and health. This has increased the demand for professional development in this field. The search strategy was intended to replicate real-life practice. Google and snowball searches were conducted using terms related to education and nutritional genomics. Results included online or face-to-face courses in any country providing content on nutritional genomics. One-off courses and those courses no longer accessible were excluded. A descriptive analysis of characteristics of courses was undertaken, reporting on mode of delivery, cost, duration, content, qualification awarded, target audience and affiliations. In total, 37 courses varying in duration, content and cost were identified: 4 postgraduate university degrees, 5 university course units, 4 recurring face-to-face workshops, 15 online short courses, 8 pre-recorded presentations and 1 service offering regular live webinars. Affiliations with food and pharmaceutical industry (e.g. genetic testing companies), professional organisations and research/education institutes were observed. Training courses identified were predominantly delivered online, enabling nutrition professionals worldwide to upskill in nutritional genomics and personalised nutrition. Additional courses exist. Those seeking training should scrutinise and compare cost, duration, mode, content and affiliations of course providers to ensure learning needs are met.

A longitudinal investigation of the science teaching efficacy beliefs and science experiences of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers

ABSTRACTThis paper assesses the relationship between participation in two tertiary science courses and the science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEBs) of one cohort of preservice elementary teachers over a four-year period. Two Type II case studies were conducted within the courses. Data were collected through 26 administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B and semi structured interviews. Results showed that participation in the subjects covaried with increases in the participants’ STEBs. These increases in STEBs remained durable for two years. Implications for these findings are discussed within the paper.