Exploration of a first year university multimedia module on field geology

As part of the teaching programme within a first year university unit on the earth’s physical systems, a ‘virtual reality’ field trip has been developed to support field studies relating to geological materials and landscape history. This module aims to increase student understanding of the use of geological features in the evaluation of geological / landscape history. The module has various applications in the curriculum. For students attending a weekend excursion, the module is available as an adjunct to actual field studies and can be used by students as either a digital pre-lab or as an excursion review tutorial. For students not attending a weekend excursion (i.e. off campus students), it is used as a digital ‘virtual reality’ substitute for field site inspection. The module has simple linked interactive and dynamic image base digital media that provide a framework in which the geology and landscape history of excursion sites can be explored. This module is delivered as a website via CD, but can also be integrated with the 'online interface' for this unit via a QuickTime reference movie loaded inside a relevant 'Deakin (University) Studies Online’ web page. The latter strategy enables assimilation of large multimedia files into online teaching formats

Review of first-year engineering and technology units based on student unit evaluations

There is recognition that the first-year of university study is a critical phase in the preparation, motivation and retention of science, mathematics,  engineering and technology (SMET) students. First-year provides the foundation/generic skills upon which students will base their undergraduate studies and professional practice; first-year is where many poorly prepared/at risk students will drop out and contribute to the poor student retention rate observed in the SMET disciplines; and first-year is when students may lose the motivation to pursue their chosen career direction if they find the studies at the commencement of their undergraduate program appear to bear no relationship to their intended career. In 2003, the Learning Resources Advisory Group of the Deakin University School of Engineering and Technology was requested to undertake a review of first-year units in the School’s programs. The information contained in anonymous unit evaluation questionnaires from the years 2000-2002 was used as the basis for analysing student perceptions of first-year units. In unit evaluations, students reported a wide range of issues that impacted negatively on their perception of the content and conduct of first-year units. It was noted that units service taught by other Schools form a significant element of the first-year of all of the Engineering and Technology undergraduate programs – typically 25 to 50 percent of the content. The significant influence of these units on the perceptions of the first-year of the School’s commencing students means that the School should exercise some control over the content and delivery of these units.

A comparison of the satisfaction of first year members with renewing members : differences in antecedents and outcomes

In membership organisations it is common for a large number of first year members not to renew. The research reported here looks at members of a professional sporting organisation and compares the responses to a satisfaction survey of first year members with those of longer-term members. The results show that although the level of overall satisfaction was no different between first year and longer-term members, their overall satisfaction was influenced by different aspects of the package. Specifically, communications from the club, on-field performance during the year and the perceived level of personal involvement with the club were the aspects of the membership service that had a distinguishing influence on overall satisfaction. These findings imply that the experience of new members is different from that of existing members, and that there is sense in managers distinguishing between first year and other members when developing marketing tactics aimed at increasing renewals.

Southern drift: the learning styles of first and third year students of the built environment

This paper focuses on learning processes across the design curriculum of Deakin University School of Architecture and Building (Australia) through the recognition of the four learning styles - 'accommodating', 'diverging', 'assimilating' and 'converging' - that are defined in the Experiential Learning theory of Kolb. The research has been conducted to evaluate the effects of
learning style preferences on the performance of built environment students from diverse backgrounds and cultures in projects across a range of learning situations. The results of the research are being used to inform andragogical refinements that will be tested in design studio and technology lecture units studied by students of Architecture and Construction Management. The paper will focus on the results of a cross-curriculum learning style survey. The sUivey was conducted as part of a Strategic
Teaching and Learning Grant funded project currently running at Deakin as a reflexive research program aimed at resolving the learning difficulties of students collaborating in multi~disciplinary and multi~cultural team assignments. By addressing the issues of multidisciplinarity, cultural inclusiveness and the internationalisation of higher education, the research program aims ultimately at the education of graduates who are able to bring leadership to multidisciplinary design collaborations co-operating across international boundaries towards a global sustainable future.

Practicality of a technological tool for the teaching of the first year psychology students

The current paper discusses the applicability of an online manual for the teaching of first year psychology laboratory programs and compares it with conventional teaching methods. For the first time, in 2001, the manual for the first year program was made available via a website. This method was in contrast to the text manual that was utilised previously. When the text manual was used, students needed to bring it each week to class. However, with the online manual, students were required to be cognisant of several aspects of the week's laboratory agenda prior to attending the class and did not have immediate access to the manual in class. This was quite uncustomary to both students and staff members and therefore necessitated a great amount of time to be spent reviewing the contents of the week's work before attending class. It also caused inconvenience both in terms of students not having ready access to necessary information, and staff having to photocopy bulk information as and when required. What was discovered at the end of the semester was that a technological tool, because of its ability to provide easy access, may not be applicable to teach all subjects, particularly not the psychology lab program, and hence a thorough evaluation of the practicality of the device is required prior to adoption.

Family, school, peer and individual influences on early adolescent alcohol use: first-year impact of the Resilient Families programme

Introduction and Aims:  This study aimed to examine: (a) the influence of family factors relative to school, peer and individual influences on the development of adolescent alcohol use during the first year of secondary school; and (b) the feasibility of preventing adolescent alcohol use by modifying family factors. Design and Methods:  Twenty-four schools in Melbourne, Australia were randomly assigned to either the 'Resilient Families' intervention or a control condition. A baseline cohort of 2315 grade 7 students (mean age 12.3 years) were followed-up one year later (n = 2128 for longitudinal analyses). A sub-set of parents (n = 1166) also returned baseline surveys. Results: The prevalence of lifetime alcohol use in year 7 was 33% and rose to 47% by year 8. Student-reported predictors of year 8 alcohol use included baseline alcohol [Odds Ratio (OR) 3.64] and tobacco use (2.68), and school friend's alcohol (1.41) and tobacco use (1.64). After adjusting for other influences, student-reported family factors were not maintained as significant predictors of year 8 alcohol use. Parent-report predictors of student-reported alcohol use included allowing alcohol use in the home (2.55), parental alcohol use (1.88) and child hyperactivity (1.85). Protective factors included attendance at brief parent education (0.60) and parent involvement in school education (0.65). Discussion and Conclusions: The intervention appeared to benefit education-related outcomes, but no overall effect in reducing student alcohol use was found in year 8. Intervention effects on alcohol misuse may become significant in later secondary school once the entire program has been implemented. Considerable alcohol use was detected in early secondary school,   suggesting that interventions to reduce alcohol use may be usefully implemented prior to this period.

Southern drift : the learning styles of first and third-year students of the built environment

This paper investigates learning processes across a built environment design curriculum through the recognition of the four learning styles defined in the experiential learning theory of Kolb, i.e., 'accommodating', 'diverging', 'assimilating' and 'converging.' The paper focuses on the results of a cross-curriculum learning style survey. The results of the survey appear to explain why many prior studies of the personality characteristics, learning and cognitive styles of practitioners and of design students at different stages of their education appear conflicting. The hypothesis tested to resolve these inconsistencies asked whether design-learning styles are fixed or change as students' progress through their studies. The survey provides evidence of a statistically significant relationship between learning styles and year of study. The evidence suggests a southern drift (the term refers to the spatial interrelationship of styles in the two-dimensional Kolb Learning Style Index [LSI] cycle) towards the abstract conceptualisation mode of the learning process as students near the completion of their studies. This fluidity in learning style remains a hypothesis until further research is able to study one cohort for the entirety of a degree program. The paper argues that the possibility of learning style fluidity needs determining if learning style theory is to provide a workable model for informing the teaching of architecture.

Out of pocket costs to stroke patients during the first year after stroke - results from the North East Melbourne stroke incidence study

Non-reimbursed ‘out of pocket’ costs to stroke patients have not been included in existing cost of illness studies. We aimed to determine the nature and magnitude of ‘out of pocket’ costs to stroke patients during the first year after stroke. ‘Out of pocket’ costs during the first year after stroke were documented for 165 persons registered in a community-based stroke incidence study during 1996/1997. Virtually all cases reported some ‘out of pocket’ costs. The average cost over 12 months was A$1110. The highest cost items were home modifications, aids and equipment. The most commonly incurred expense was for prescription medications. Total ‘out of pocket’ costs incurred by first-ever stroke patients in Australia in 1997 were estimated to be A$29 million or 5% of the total cost of stroke. The majority of ‘out of pocket’ costs relate to post-acute care aimed at minimising disability and handicap rather than to ‘acute’ healthcare.

Australian law students' perceptions of their values: interim results in the first year--2001--of a three--year empirical assessment

This study attempts to answer an essential social policy question: what values are characteristic of the mass of Australian lawyers' in their last year of law school and their early careers, and how do these values develop or degrade over time? This question is important because of the concern felt in the community as to the activities of lawyers. In recent years the Australian legal profession has sustained more scrutiny by governments, regulators and consumer movements than in any previous period of our history. The perception that practitioners' competencies and ethics are deficient and materially linked both to reduced standards of performance and to higher levels of public complaints, has received attention from academics, law societies, parliamentary committees and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Peer mentoring the first time around : Is it all a matter of negotiation?

In 2002, the senior executive at Deakin University sought applications from staff for academic professional development funding. This was intended to support programs related to the Deakin First Year Initiative, a university-wide coordinated approach to transition. The Faculty of Health & Behavioural Sciences was successful in gaining a grant for the design, implementation and evaluation of a peer mentoring pilot program, which has been introduced this year for students undertaking the Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Sciences). This generic undergraduate program draws from and complements the specialist fields of study on offer in the Faculty. It is very flexible, within given parameters, allowing students to combine study according to their interests, abilities and career aspirations. In this session, we will explore the challenges faced so far by the program managers in devising a program that will successfully cater for approximately 50 first year students undertaking diverse majors across the Faculty.

Understanding the learning approaches of first-year accounting students

This study evolves from the broader educational research that indicates the characteristics of the student and the perceptions of the teaching/learning environment influence the quality of student learning. The model of learning developed in the paper is based on Biggs' (1987a) model of student learning together with the congruence model of vocational interests and work environments proposed by Holland (1985,1992). The model of learning was tested using a sample of 826 first year accounting students using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The findings provide substantive information about the learning approaches of students with vocational interests congruent with the task demands of a first year accounting course. Additionally, there is strong support for the association between student perceptions of the teaching/learning environment and approaches to learning. In particular the re specified model of student learning identifies the relationship between student perceptions of the appropriateness of workload and the adoption of a surface approach to learning.