Jan Gube Seyum Getenet Adnan Satariyan Yaar Muhammad Does
alignment of research interests matter? Exploring doctoral students
perception of supervisors expertise FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Presentation delivered at Students Matter Forum, Hobart TAS,
Australia, 1 September 2014
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The changing demographics of UTAS HDR students Influx of
doctoral students + existing disciplinary base of the Faculty =
Increasingly challenging to find a right match between supervisors
and students? (University of Tasmania, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
10%
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Research focus 1.From students point of view, how significant
is a supervisory teams discipline expertise on students doctoral
research? 2.What support do students draw on from their supervisors
who have expertise on their area for their doctoral research?
3.What support do students draw on from their supervisors who have
little expertise on their area for their doctoral research? We are
not measuring or evaluating the expertise of supervisors
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The study Research questionsMethods 1.From students point of
view, how significant is a supervisory teams discipline expertise
on students doctoral research? Survey (descriptive statistics) A
26-item online survey was sent to 87 Faculty of Education doctoral
(PhD & EdD) students Response rate: 28% (as of 23 Aug 2014)
2.What support do students draw on from their supervisors who have
expertise on their area for their doctoral research? Individual
interviews 9 participants completed so far About 30 minutes in
average 3.What support do students draw on from their supervisors
who have little expertise on their area for their doctoral
research?
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Survey key findings A significant number of participants (N =
12 (48%)), however, do not believe their supervisory team has a
similar level of expertise in the area they are researching A large
number (N = 17 (71%)) of participants have co- supervisors who have
similar expertise what they researching than their primary
supervisors Having supervisors with similar expertise on the topic
they are researching is generally (N = 19 (79%)) important for
their overall supervision experience
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Contd A large number (N = 19 (79.1%)) of participants feel more
comfortable in approaching their supervisors when they have
expertise in students area of research Most of them (N = 18 (75%))
agreed or strongly agreed that academic expertise/knowledge is an
important consideration when nominating supervisory team Most
participants (N = 16 (66.3%)) either disagreed or undecided to
comment on the negative impact of having misalignment of
supervisors expertise what they are researching on the quality of
feedback on their written work
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Interview findings in a gist Support from expert supervisors
Research direction Content-specific feedback Support from non-
expert supervisors Methodology Proof-reading / editing Emotional
support Other forms of support that contribute to their candidature
Personal relationship Previous collaboration with supervisors
Supervisory team combination Approach to supervision
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Support from supervisors With discipline expertiseWith no
discipline expertise Methodology I have more engagement with my
first supervisor its the aspect of the study in terms of
methodology, in terms of putting it together to be able to flow and
connect (Steve) Proof-reading / editing Emotional support Research
direction My primary supervisor is an expert in my area. And how I
have asked for specific guidance really has been to help me
navigate my way into the literature in my field of studies (Susan)
Content-specific feedback Hell come back with hundreds of comments
theyre comments about things like I may have forgotten something
(Linda)
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Is it all about discipline expertise? Personal relationship
Previous collaboration with supervisors Supervision approach
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Does alignment of research interests matter? YES - Most
students value the importance of having discipline-expert
supervisors and recognise the advantages they can bring to students
work NO It is difficult to determine at this point whether having
non-discipline expert supervisors can negatively affect students
doctoral experience NO There are other personal factors to be
considered when choosing a supervisor
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Recommendations For potential RHD students Before submitting an
application, research your potential supervisors (e.g. do they
publish a lot in your research topic?) Consider other factors in
addition to discipline expertise For the Faculty / Supervisors If
students are persistently struggling to find field- specific
guidance, then it is worth directing them to an appropriate
research advisor (externally where possible)
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Acknowledgements A special thanks to Dr Sara Booth, Dr Shannon
Klekociuk and Ms Sunny Jang for their tireless support, and our PhD
peers who have gracefully participated in our project. Contact Jan
Gube [email protected]@utas.edu.au Seyum Tekeher
[email protected]@utas.edu.au Adnan Satariyan
[email protected]@utas.edu.au Yaar
Muhammad [email protected]@utas.edu.au Thank
you!
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Using Peer Storytelling to improve understanding of future
research methods studies for first year psychology students
Presented by Cyndia Hilliger Part of the Student As change Agents
program
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* Many students have a fear of studying statistics (Williams,
2013; Onwuegbuzie, 1997) * Worry can cause adverse effects on
student academic performance including academic procrastination and
lack of motivation (Williams, 2013) * Pre-course attitude has been
shown to be related to anxiety (Chiesni & Primi,2013)
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* Strategies to improve student attitudes towards studying
statistics focussed on tutor/lecturers/ amendments to course
content (Perepiczka, Chandler & Becerra, 2011; Dykeman, 2011) *
Students have a stronger identification with peer experience than
the experience of tutors or teachers (Topping & Ehly, 2009) *
Being able to observe other students experiences and attempts at
mastery allows students a chance to reflect on their own capacities
and strategies for success (Topping & Ehly, 2009)
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* To improve students experiences of studying 2 nd year
research methods, by providing first year students with peer
insights of what to expect in future research methods studies *
This is a two stage process: * Examine the experiences of students
who have undertaken research methods study at UTAS * Collate these
experiences to form an online repository of stories/hints &
tips for students to access
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* Student survey sent to students who have completed 2 nd year
research methods (KHA201). We asked students for: * Key
demographics * Their Top tips for success * Their stories
describing their experiences * We had 15% response rate, 99
responses from 678 surveys issued * We have done some basic data
and thematic analysis on responses
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* 3 key top tips messages * Collaboration with others (15%)
.sit next to the smart people, you will know who they are after the
first class they can give you immediate clarificationso you dont go
completely off trackand buy the smart people chocolate that way
everybody wins..(Annette) * Study strategies(29%) The harder you
work early, the easier everything becomes later, once you get the
core concepts everything will pretty much fall into place.
(Anonymous) * Emotional Strategies (30%) Do not buy into the
stressful hype that classmates and tutors express.(Anonymous)
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* Of the 26 stories shared by the survey respondents, the
overwhelming themes were about overcoming the anticipated and
experienced difficulties of studying research methods and
triumphing at the end. * Stories offered : * Advice on the journey
* Encouragement * Accounts of personal triumphs
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* I havent studied maths since year 10.you can imagine I was
not looking forward to Research Methods and Designbit by bit I was
able to grasp the content. I didnt do great in research methods 2
(overall credit)..but I committed to getting on top of the tricky
concepts...although I often felt completely out of my depth, I did
slowly develop more confidence.Im rather shocked, but it turns out
I received a high distinction for that unit (KHA350). For someone
who is a complete mathsphobe, I am really blown away. (Lucy)
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* Id heard the rumours.people in talked in whispers about
research methods because everyone was too scared of the subjectIm
not going to lie, research methods wasnt my favourite subjectI can
remember thinking,I cant do this...it all felt too overwhelming.
But for some reason, I kept going.the whole subject just clicks by
week 11,12 or 13My major tip is that its going to be okay. Stick at
it. Yeah its hard, be ready to work for it. Hey, you might even
enjoy it! (Jill)
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* What RM teaches you is tenacity. I came through with a great
grade and I know I earned it, and I know that I can do anything I
want as a result!(R) * When I started RM I felt overwhelmed and out
of my depththe content [was]challengingit also felt very rewarding
when things clickedamazingly after all my doubts I achieved a final
score of 89 - the highest score I have ever gotten.(Kate) * Maths
was not my strong point.I was literally petrified to start RM,..
because I thought I would surely failI soon realised I didnt have
to be good at maths; I just had to apply myself. (Annie)
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* Finish curation of stories and upload to MyLo * Students
encouraged to check in with this resource to read the content *
Potential to keep building and adding to the stories to help inform
students more clearly as to what studying research methods is
really about * As a result, see students reframe their expectations
of studying research methods from being difficult to be being
challenging
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Exploring the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in
medical education at University of Tasmania Georgina Taylor A
Students as Change Agents project
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Textbook pricing and student costs Internationally, textbook
prices are rising and students have difficulty affording this.
(SPARC, 2014; PIRGs, 2014) Two thirds of Australian students are
worried about their finances. (Bexley et al 2013)
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Open Educational Resources (OER) "Open Educational Resources
are teaching, learning or research materials that are in the public
domain or released with an intellectual property license that
allows for free use, adaptation, and distribution. (UNESCO
2002).
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FOAM/FOAMed FOAM stands for Free Open Access Meducation Medical
education for anyone, anywhere, anytime. (Life in the Fast Lane)
This movement began in emergency medicine, and is dedicated to free
and dynamic medical education.
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The research project Survey was designed to assess student and
staff understanding, use and opinions of OER. The target
population: 559 students in the MBBS course at UTAS Up to 143 staff
teaching into this course
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Demographics Responses from 31 students and 12 staff so far.
Staff were widely distributed, teaching into a variety of years in
the course. 88% of students were in years 3-5 of the course, with
increased clinical teaching.
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Use of OER Websites were far more used in both learning and
teaching than any other OER resource. Students listed specific
resources: 11 students mentioned Life in the Fast Lane 5 referred
to Wikipedia Others included websites, youtube and quizzes 15% of
students and 27% of staff had contributed to developing OER.
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Opinions of OER Students have been encouraged to use OER in the
past primarily because they are: Students had been prevented from
using OER in the past primarily due to: Usefulness and quality were
the highest scoring factors that would promote future OER use for
both students and staff. Free Easy to acccess Up to date Difficulty
finding resources Unsure of reliability
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Next steps The survey is continuing to gather responses
throughout second semester to increase the response rate. A report
will be prepared for the SERRU unit. Dissemination of the findings
to relevant staff at UTAS will seek to positively influence
teaching and learning.
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Dr Derek Choi-Lundberg Dr Shannon Klekociuk Sun Jang
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Students experience of Bachelor of Nursing (Fast Track): Is it
a 2-year sprint or a 4-year marathon? Fatima Anjum
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Preview of Todays Talk Project Background Project Aims Research
Methodology Sampling Data Collection Data Analysis Results
Conclusion (recommendations)
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Background Fast track courses mean students can save money on
fees, accommodation and other costs (Husson & Kennedy,
2003:51-61), while also getting a head start on entering employment
(Mandelson, 2010). BUT, a number of students enrolled in fast-track
courses experience delays in the completion of their programs, and
the factors contributing to these delays are NOT clear.
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Aims To identify factors causing delays of course completion
for 2-Year Fast-Track Nursing students To provide suggestions that
enable nursing students to progress through the fast-track program
on time
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Methodology Sampling 111 responses (over 18 % of 611
participants) Data collection Online survey sent to students
enrolled in the 2- year fast track nursing program at UTAS Data
analysis Frequency and thematic analysis on responses
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Results 31 % participants are currently experiencing delays in
completing their courses Family commitments 53% Academic load 53%
Course structure/schedule 26% Others (work commitments, physical
and mental health) 24%
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Results (contd) 50% participant have attempted to avoid delays
in course completion Accessed university support 34% Employment
adjustments 18% Course re-structure/new pathway 18% Sought support
from family 2%
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Results (contd) Family support Academic skills Personal
attributes Good time management UTAS support Living/working
situation that accommodates study 69% participants have avoided
delays in course completion.
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Recommendations For UTAS provide information about the demands
and commitments of the course (e.g., sharing experiences of
graduates, more guidance for prospective students, and offering a
3-year program in the Sydney campus) For Students Ensure that you
(students) have adequate family/social support and flexible
lifestyle to accommodate the demands of the course A final report
of this study will be provided to the Student Experience
Committee.