Analysis of the learning context, perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to learning accounting: a longitudinal study

This study investigates student approaches to learning over the 3 years of an undergraduate degree course in accounting. The objective of the study was, first, to identify changes in learning approaches over the course duration. Second, the study examined whether any changes in learning approaches were consistent with changes in the context of learning as well as students' perceptions of the teaching/learning environment. The results show that students made greater use of sophisticated learning approaches over time linked to their more favourable perceptions of the teaching/learning environment as they progressed in their course. However, there were no significant changes in learning approach attributable to the learning context. Implications for accounting educators drawn from the findings are discussed.

Ensuring quality during monitoring of the learning environment of government primary schools achieved through EUI-PDP for teachers and head teachers

A positive change in the learning environment in schools is visible through ongoing professional development of teachers and administrators. Monitoring the professional development program and providing support to teachers and administrators to transfer their learnings into the school environment ensures some measures of quality. Quality issues led to the launching of the Professional Development Program (PDP) for Primary School Teachers (PSTs) of Sindh by the United Educational Initiative (UEI), a consortium of five Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations, working under the supervision of Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA). Implementation of the UEI-PDP in four districts of Sindh, is ensured by a team of professionals in each district. Recognising that capacity building of district education employees would improve the educational system in the country, 130 Master Trainers were selected, on merit, from the District Education Office for the training of 17,000 teachers and 3000 Head teachers/administrators over a period of two years. This paper developed the design of a Monitoring Process for a Professional Development Program for Primary School Teachers and Administrators. Data was collected through Pre/Post observations, Interviews, Questionnaires and Reports. Such tools make it possible for the monitoring teams to observe, to inquire further, and, along with the Managers, Master Trainers and School Support Team, seek to explain the progress of the program and take corrective action where indicated. Both formative evaluations as well as summative  evaluation techniques are utilized for evaluating the program. The monitoring process that assisted in formative evaluations is described. In order to assist in summative evaluation, data collected through the monitoring process was further developed to categorize the schools where teachers and head teachers are trained. It is hoped that the categorization of the schools may lead to further improvements in those schools which fall in the group for need improvement. It may also initiate further research as to reasons behind why some schools are in the good category and why others fall in the average category.

Constructing wikis as a platform for online collaboration in an e-learning environment

Previous studies conclude that finding a collaborative tool to suit the e-Iearning environment adequately is quite a task. Consequently, research has been conducted for this very purpose, to trial the use of wikis as a platform to support collaboration in a way that students will embrace and adopt for regular use. The wiki is easily accessible, requires no software and allows its contributors to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. However there are wiki related challenges that have yet to be researched in the online e-Iearning environment. Possible intrusions, no opinion control, user hostility, and unintentional deletions or editing all require further investigation. This paper will further research the wiki environment in the tertiary e-Iearning setting, as well as consider wiki moderation, member authentication, and interest sustainability to support this community focused collaborative tool. Relevant results from the current case study are explored whilst delivering meaningful data, thus providing an insight into how wikis are an appropriate platform to incorporate in the online collaborative environment.

Security in the online e-learning environment

This paper addresses the role of security in the collaborative e-learning environment, and in particular, the social aspects of security and the importance of identity. It represents a case study, completed in Nov 2004, which was conducted to test the sense of security that students experienced whilst using the wiki platform as a means of online collaboration in the tertiary education environment. Wikis, fully editable Web sites, are easily accessible, require no software and allow its contributors (in this case students) to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. A comparison between two wiki studies will be made whereby one group employed user login and the other maintained anonymity throughout the course of the study. The results consider the democratic participation and evolution of the work requirements over time, which in fact ascertains the nonvalidity of administrative identification.

Employing wikis for online collaboration in the e-learning environment: case study

This paper examines the various ways in which students reflect on their very recent experiences in collaborating in an online e-learning environment. Wikis, fully editable Websites, are easily accessible, require no software and allow its contributors, in these case students, to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. Wikis are everywhere, but, unfortunately, the online literature has not yet begun to focus enough on wikis (Mattison 2003). Whereas students are used to the WebCT based university Elearning environment, Deakin Studies Online (DSO), this case study, completed in Nov 2004, was conducted to test the wiki platform as a means of online collaboration in the tertiary education environment. A full analysis of the results is presented, as are recommendations for improving the platform in an effort to employ wikis and utilize them to their full and absolute potential.

Reason for hope : primary students' mathematics learning environment

This paper reports the results of a student survey of perceptions of classroom learning environment conducted as part of a major investigation into effective pedagogical practices in mathematics and science. All primary school project participants were surveyed, The 36 Likert-type items were subjected to a Partial Credit Model analysis, and response categories subjected to statistical requirements. The results are presented graphically, their meanings examined, and the implications of the findings for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Teaching practices for effective cooperative learning in an online learning environment (OLE)

As a teaching practice the application of cooperative learning in tertiary education can present unique challenges for both the practitioner and her students. Mastering this teaching approach requires careful planning, design and implementation for effective deployment in a face-to-face setting. In this setting the success of the cooperative learning approach has been demonstrated. The complexity is significantly increased by additional variables such as the selection and application of technological teaching tools and the change in nature of existing variables including awareness of students' social and communication skills when applying this practice in an Online Learning Environment (OLE). In addition student acceptance of this e-learning approach to learning also needs to be carefully considered. The practitioner must be aware of these factors and have suitable methods in place to support collaboration and interaction between student groups to ensure the ultimate goal with regard to students' learning is achieved. This paper considers how cooperative learning can be combined effectively with these variables and factors of an OLE, and begins with the presentation of a conceptual framework to represent this relationship as a constructive teaching practice. It is anticipated that the conceptual framework would be applied by other practitioners to facilitate cooperative teaching within their OLE. To demonstrate the validity of the framework a case scenario is provided using an Information Technology (IT) undergraduate unit named 'IT Practice'. This is a wholly online unit where extensive participation by the students within small groups is a core requirement. The paper demonstrates the themes of designing curriculum and assessment, as well as flexible teaching strategies for learner diversity but primarily concentrates on managing an effective OLE; that is managing small groups in an online teaching environment.

Staff and student views of the usefulness of information technology materials within an integrated curriculum: are these educational resources effective in promoting student learning?

This paper reports on a study on the perceived effectiveness of educational resources within the context of a single course in a first-year biology program at the University of Sydney (Australia). The overall study examined the dynamic state of perceptions towards these resources by the major stakeholders involved with the course (students, teaching staff, and technical staff). A major focus of the research was the extent to which the students used the computer-based resources made available to them, and staff and students' perceptions of the usefulness of these resources in supporting their learning. Specifically, results are discussed related to student use of computers and the Internet, use of biology online materials in the virtual learning environment, use and perceptions of communication technologies, and use and perceptions of computer-based online resources. Data were collected from the students using surveys and focus groups and from staff using surveys and interviews within an action-research paradigm. While the majority of students found the resources to be of use in supporting learning, some did not find them useful, and some did not use them at all. In comparison, the staff had higher expectations of both usage and usefulness. The level of student use was not a function of access to computers or the Internet, so the findings suggest that the provision of online resources will not necessarily generate value-added learning.

Shaping a more inclusive learning environment

This Project began as a Higher Education Equity Program Funding Application in March 1999, titled 'Electronic Provision of Information Resources to Students who have a Print Disability.'
Since 1999, mainstreaming of the project objectives has enhanced the access to higher education at Deakin University by students who have a print disability. Our objectives were and are:
• to integrate the provision of information resources to students who have a print disability with procedures already in place for providing information resources to other students
• to provide teaching materials electronically to empower independent learning
• to make information resources on reading lists more accessible to university students who have a print disability
• to establish a mechanism to obtain materials electronically from publishers
A growing number of people who have a print disability use computer technology to access electronic information. This paper will describe the policies, workflows, and procedures that have been implemented at Deakin University, specifically within the Learning Services area, to shape a more inclusive learning environment.

Converged learning environment to support all learners

Universities face an uncertain future unless they significantly alter their teaching and learning approaches and become more client focused. They need to reach more and more students who do not fit the standard residential degree. This has meant that lecturers have had to facilitate learning for on-campus students on local and overseas campuses as well as for off-campus students based locally and globally. Given the context, flexibility has been recognised as a key idea making it imperative to explore innovative models for flexibility that bring together and accommodate and support all learner groups.

This paper describes a project to support students of an undergraduate Business Law unit via the development of such a converged learning environment. It attempts to draw together the different communities of students (on-campus and off-campus based locally and overseas) enrolled in that unit. In order to assist others interested in supporting flexible learning in a similar way, the paper shares details of formative evaluation and planned summative evaluation, together with reflections on lessons learned by the teaching academic and educational designer during its development process.

Computer-simulated environment for training : challenge of efficacy evaluation

Computer-assisted instruction has been around for decades. There has been much speculation about the benefits of computer-mediated learning. Numerous applications have been developed in different domains incorporated with emerging technologies. In recently years, advanced technologies, such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), have received much attention in their potential of creating interactive learning experience for the users. However, related literature and empirical studies indicated that learning effects in computer-simulated environments or Virtual Environments (VEs) are not systematically tested. Furthermore, the performance and learning in computer-simulated learning environment need to be evaluated through more rigorous methods. This paper suggests that 1) the efficacy of VEs is subject to a close examination, not only in terms of how VE-based training systems are easy of use, but also in terms of how effective learning is; 2) evaluation of learning in computer simulated learning environments is required to be reconsidered in terms of theoretical basis and evaluation methodologies that are relevant to the measurement of training effectiveness in computer-simulated virtual learning environment. This paper explains on how learning can be assessed in VEs through the lens of training evaluation.

The influence of learning environment on student conceptions of learning

Responding to the increasing numbers of students who now study across more than one of the traditional sectors of education and training, this research explored quantitative differences in conceptions of learning between students who had entered university study on the basis of a VET qualification, and those who had entered on a basis of previous university studies. Using the Conceptions of Learning Inventory the research also used gender as an independent variable. While some differences were shown between the previously-VET and previously-university students and some differences between genders these differences were characterised by low to moderate effect sizes only. The authors conclude that the quantitative differences are not particularly important, but that qualitative research may indicate differences in kind between the conceptions of learning of the two groups.

Learning environment stimulation in the real world

This paper analyses some of the unique circumstances which confronted a member of the lecturing staff in the Real Estate Valuation course at the Gatton campus of the University of Queensland during the late 1990's. Due to the rapidly changing educational needs of valuation students, and requirements of the respective accreditation bodies, the location of the course in Gatton (a rural town) was recognised as being remote from a major city and although relocating the course was inevitable, this could not happen overnight. From Semester 1, 2000 after several years of planning, the degree course relocates to the Department of Geographical Sciences and Planning, St Lucia. This paper discusses some of the challenges confronted and the strategies employed to simulate a city environment in the bush whilst waiting for the move.

Staff and student perceptions of an online learning environment : difference and development

Academic staff play a fundamental role in the use of online learning by students. Yet, compared to studies reporting student perspectives on online learning, studies investigating the perspectives of academic staff are much more limited. Perhaps the least common investigations are those that compare the perceptions of academic staff and students using the same online learning environment (OLE). Much research indicates, at least initially, academic staff most value OLE systems as a mechanism for efficient delivery of learning materials to students. Following the mainstreaming of an OLE at Deakin University in 2004, the data from a large, repeated, representative and quantitative survey were analysed to investigate comparative staff and student evaluations of an OLE, and to explore the evidence for development in the use of an OLE by academic staff. Generally, students were found to give higher importance and satisfaction ratings to elements of the OLE than staff. Students were also more likely than staff to agree that the OLE enhanced their learning. A comparison of the mean ratings recorded for staff in 2004 and 2005 showed that both importance and satisfaction ratings of elements of the OLE were almost universally higher after a year of use of the OLE.