Student success : the identification and support of first year university students at risk of attrition

The engagement behaviour of 1,524 student-enrolments (“students”) in five first year units was monitored and 608 (39.9%) were classified as “at risk” using the criterion of not submitting or failing their first assignment. Of these, 327 (53.8%) were successfully contacted (i.e., spoken to by phone) and provided with advice and/or referral to learning and personal support services while the remaining 281 (46.2%) could not be contacted. Nine hundred and sixteen students (60.1%) were classified as “not at risk.” Overall, the at risk group who were contacted achieved significantly higher end-of-semester final grades than, and persisted (completed the unit) at more than twice the rate of, the at risk group who were not contacted. There were variations among the units which were explained by the timing of the first assignment, specific teaching-learning processes and the structure of the curriculum. Implications for curriculum design and supporting first year students within a personal, social and academic framework are discussed.

Infrastructure project planning decision making : challenges for decision support system applications

Most infrastructure projects share the same characteristics in term of management aspects and shortcomings. Human factor is believed to be the major drawbacks due to the nature of unstructured problems which can further contribute to management conflicts. This growing complexity in infrastructure projects has shift the paradigm of policy makers to adopt Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a driving force. For this reason, it is vital to fully maximise and utilise the recent technologies to accelerate management process particularly in planning phase. Therefore, a lot of tools have been developed to assist decision making in construction project management. The variety of uncertainties and alternatives in decision making can be entertained by using useful tool such as Decision Support System (DSS). However, the recent trend shows that most DSS in this area only concentrated in model development and left few fundamentals of computing. Thus, most of them were found complicated and less efficient to support decision making within project team members. Due to the current incapability of many software aspects, it is desirable for DSS to provide more simplicity, better collaborative platform, efficient data manipulation and reflection to user needs. By considering these factors, the paper illustrates four challenges for future DSS development i.e. requirement engineering, communication framework, data management and interoperability, and software usability

Building information modelling project decision support framework

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy.

A University Support Model for eResearch

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is faced with a rapidly growing research agenda built upon a strategic research capacity-building program. This presentation will outline the results of a project that has recently investigated QUT’s research support requirements and which has developed a model for the support of eResearch across the university. QUT’s research building strategy has produced growth at the faculty level and within its research institutes. This increased research activity is pushing the need for university-wide eResearch platforms capable of providing infrastructure and support in areas such as collaboration, data, networking, authentication and authorisation, workflows and the grid. One of the driving forces behind the investigation is data-centric nature of modern research. It is now critical that researchers have access to supported infrastructure that allows the collection, analysis, aggregation and sharing of large data volumes for exploration and mining in order to gain new insights and to generate new knowledge. However, recent surveys into current research data management practices by the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR) and by QUT itself, has revealed serious shortcomings in areas such as research data management, especially its long term maintenance for reuse and authoritative evidence of research findings. While these internal university pressures are building, at the same time there are external pressures that are magnifying them. For example, recent compliance guidelines from bodies such as the ARC, and NHMRC and Universities Australia indicate that institutions need to provide facilities for the safe and secure storage of research data along with a surrounding set of policies, on its retention, ownership and accessibility. The newly formed Australian National Data Service (ANDS) is developing strategies and guidelines for research data management and research institutions are a central focus, responsible for managing and storing institutional data on platforms that can be federated nationally and internationally for wider use. For some time QUT has recognised the importance of eResearch and has been active in a number of related areas: ePrints to digitally publish research papers, grid computing portals and workflows, institutional-wide provisioning and authentication systems, and legal protocols for copyright management. QUT also has two widely recognised centres focused on fundamental research into eResearch itself: The OAK LAW project (Open Access to Knowledge) which focuses upon legal issues relating eResearch and the Microsoft QUT eResearch Centre whose goal is to accelerate scientific research discovery, through new smart software. In order to better harness all of these resources and improve research outcomes, the university recently established a project to investigate how it might better organise the support of eResearch. This presentation will outline the project outcomes, which include a flexible and sustainable eResearch support service model addressing short and longer term research needs, identification of resource requirements required to establish and sustain the service, and the development of research data management policies and implementation plans.

Teamwork resources to support students and teachers at QUT

The educational advantage of students working cooperatively in teams has been acknowledged in the higher education sector as being profitable in the world of work and other post-university experiences.

A holistic approach to the support and engagement of first year students : a retention strategy

Institutions should enact holistic approaches that address students’ personal, social and academic engagement in the early weeks of first year to facilitate retention (Nelson, Kift & Clarke, 2008). This holistic approach is central to the FYE program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which was established to maximise learning engagement and hence positively influence the retention of commencing students. The program aims to • engage students in their learning through an intentionally designed and enacted curriculum (Kift, 2008) • facilitate timely access to life and learning support • promote a sense of belonging to the discipline, cohort and profession. The FYE program’s aims are achieved by strategic alliances between academic and professional staff across the institution.

Mandates: An Australian example at the Queensland University of Technology

This presentation describes a situation where an open access mandate was developed and implemented at an institutional level, in this case, an Australian University. Some conclusions are drawn about its effect over a five year period of implementation.

A holistic approach to the support and engagement of first year students : a retention strategy.

Institutions should enact holistic approaches that address students’ personal, social and academic engagement in the early weeks of first year to facilitate retention (Nelson, Kift & Clarke, 2008). This holistic approach is central to the FYE program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which was established to maximise learning engagement and hence positively influence the retention of commencing students.

Seeing is understanding : the effect of visualisation in understanding programming concepts

How and why visualisations support learning was the subject of this qualitative instrumental collective case study. Five computer programming languages (PHP, Visual Basic, Alice, GameMaker, and RoboLab) supporting differing degrees of visualisation were used as cases to explore the effectiveness of software visualisation to develop fundamental computer programming concepts (sequence, iteration, selection, and modularity). Cognitive theories of visual and auditory processing, cognitive load, and mental models provided a framework in which student cognitive development was tracked and measured by thirty-one 15-17 year old students drawn from a Queensland metropolitan secondary private girls’ school, as active participants in the research. Seventeen findings in three sections increase our understanding of the effects of visualisation on the learning process. The study extended the use of mental model theory to track the learning process, and demonstrated application of student research based metacognitive analysis on individual and peer cognitive development as a means to support research and as an approach to teaching. The findings also forward an explanation for failures in previous software visualisation studies, in particular the study has demonstrated that for the cases examined, where complex concepts are being developed, the mixing of auditory (or text) and visual elements can result in excessive cognitive load and impede learning. This finding provides a framework for selecting the most appropriate instructional programming language based on the cognitive complexity of the concepts under study.

Aligning policy with practice: an evaluation of vocational education and training in the library and information services sector

Vocational education and training for the library and information services (LIS) sector in Australia offers students the career pathway to become library technicians. Library technicians play a valuable role in drawing on sound practical knowledge and skills to support the delivery of library and information services that meet client needs. Over the past forty years, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has monitored the quality of library technician courses. Since 2005, ALIA has run national professional development days for library technician educators with the goal of establishing an alternative model for course recognition focusing on the process of peer review to benchmark good practice and stimulate continuous improvement in library technician education. This initial developmental work has culminated in 2009 with site visits to all library technician courses in Australia. The paper presents a whole-of-industry case study to critically review the work undertaken to date.

Levelling expectations across different years in an undergraduate degree to support work-related learning : evidence for a multi-pronged approach.

One of the ways in which university departments and faculties can enhance the quality of learning and assessment is to develop a ‘well thought out criterion‐referenced assessment system’ (Biggs, 2003, p. 271). In designing undergraduate degrees (courses) this entails making decisions about the levelling of expectations across different years through devising objectives and their corresponding criteria and standards: a process of alignment analogous to what happens in unit (subject) design. These decisions about levelling have important repercussions in terms of supporting students’ work‐related learning, especially in relation to their ability to cope with the increasing cognitive and skill demands made on them as they progress through their studies. They also affect the accountability of teacher judgments of students’ responses to assessment tasks, achievement of unit objectives and, ultimately, whether students are awarded their degrees and are sufficiently prepared for the world of work. Research reveals that this decision‐making process is rarely underpinned by an explicit educational rationale (Morgan et al, 2002). The decision to implement criterion referenced assessment in an undergraduate microbiology degree was the impetus for developing such a rationale because of the implications for alignment, and therefore ‘levelling’ of expectations across different years of the degree. This paper provides supporting evidence for a multi‐pronged approach to levelling, through backward mapping of two revised units (foundation and exit year). This approach adheres to the principles of alignment while combining a work‐related approach (via industry input) with the blended disciplinary and learner‐centred approaches proposed by Morgan et al. (2002). It is suggested that this multi‐pronged approach has the potential for making expectations, especially work‐related ones across different year levels of degrees, more explicit to students and future employers.

Harnessing assessment and feedback in the first year to support learning success, engagement and retention

It has been argued that intentional first year curriculum design has a critical role to play in enhancing first year student engagement, success and retention (Kift, 2008). A fundamental first year curriculum objective should be to assist students to make the successful transition to assessment in higher education. Scott (2006) has identified that ‘relevant, consistent and integrated assessment … [with] prompt and constructive feedback’ are particularly relevant to student retention generally; while Nicol (2007) suggests that ‘lack of clarity regarding expectations in the first year, low levels of teacher feedback and poor motivation’ are key issues in the first year. At the very minimum, if we expect first year students to become independent and self-managing learners, they need to be supported in their early development and acquisition of tertiary assessment literacies (Orrell, 2005). Critical to this attainment is the necessity to alleviate early anxieties around assessment information, instructions, guidance, and performance. This includes, for example:  inducting students thoroughly into the academic languages and assessment genres they will encounter as the vehicles for evidencing learning success; and  making expectations about the quality of this evidence clear. Most importantly, students should receive regular formative feedback of their work early in their program of study to aid their learning and to provide information to both students and teachers on progress and achievement. Leveraging research conducted under an ALTC Senior Fellowship that has sought to articulate a research-based 'transition pedagogy' (Kift & Nelson, 2005) – a guiding philosophy for intentional first year curriculum design and support that carefully scaffolds and mediates the first year learning experience for contemporary heterogeneous cohorts – this paper will discuss theoretical and practical strategies and examples that should be of assistance in implementing good assessment and feedback practices across a range of disciplines in the first year.

Synchronous learner support for music sequencing software

In the field of music technology there is a distinct focus on networking between spatially disparate locales to improve teaching and learning through real-time communication. This article proposes a new delivery model for learner support based on a review of technical and learning services, pilot research using remote desktops to teach music-sequencing software, and recent education research regarding professional development. A 24/7 delivery model using remote desktops, mobile devices and shared calendars offers a flexible real-time addition to the learner support services already on offer. Treating every user of the service as a potential expert, the model aims to deliver universal support situated in a personalized context, which will serve the technical and education requirements of teachers and learners.