Students` perceptions of workshop based introductory macro-economics tutorials: a survey

The declining popularity of Economics courses, evident in the last decade, has fuelled a debate on the nature of Economics units and the way in which they are taught in tertiary institutions. The effectiveness of traditional teaching methods has been questioned as lecturers search for alternative ways of presenting material and engaging students. In recent times, workshop-based/cooperative tutorials have become more popular in promoting deeper learning. This paper assesses the application of such an approach at a large tertiary institution. It evaluates student perceptions of this tutorial method in an Introductory Macroeconomics first-year unit. An anonymous questionnaire was used. Whilst the sample size is small (n = 56), the results are important in that this is the first such study in Macroeconomics. Students found workshop-based tutorials useful, preferred them over lecture style tutorials, and found that they fostered inclusivity. The importance of tutorials per se, is reiterated. Students state that tutorials are an important adjunct to lectures. This study also looks at students' study habits: finding that on average they spend less than one hour per week studying Economics and most prepare only occasionally for tutorials. The sample studied indicates that there are notable differences in the perceptions of tutorials and teaching methods between the genders and between local and international students. This may impact on the way in which tutorials are conducted effectively.

Beyond the workshop : doing multiliteracies with adolescents

Engaging students’ lifeworlds and the concerns of their communities in globalised, semiotic and information societies is imperative with the complexity of multimodal communication (Lemke 2006) in the ‘new media age’ (Kress 2003). As youth continue to demonstrate their multiliteracies proficiency with new literacies emerging from Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs), education - particularly curriculum and instruction - remains largely focused around monomodal, print-only literacy practices, often ignoring their multiple voices. In New Times (Hall 1996), there has been much rhetoric about the role of education in equipping students for the future. Multiliteracies pedagogy allows individual teachers to reconceptualise pedagogy and curriculum thereby addressing adolescents’ complex and demanding literacy needs (New London Group 1996). This paper presents new and emerging virtual contexts and environments for adolescent literacy instruction highlighting one teacher’s curricular interruptions where Multiliteracies pedagogies replaced the progressive monomodal reading and writing workshop. In conclusion, new perspectives on research related to the education of teachers in the education in post-typographic societies of the 21st century.

Equity-focused health impact assessment framework

Background to the Development of the Equity-Focused HIA Framework
The equity focused health impact assessment (EFHIA) framework arises out of a two year research project funded for the most part by the Australian Government’s Public Health Education Research Program (PHERP) Innovations Grants (Round 2) scheme. This project had as its primary objective the development of a framework for health inequalities impact assessment, subsequently renamed equity focused health impact assessment. A partnership between the University of Newcastle, Deakin University and the University of New South Wales (the Project Management Steering Committee) received the funding and the Australasian Collaboration for Health Equity Impact Assessment (ACHEIA) was formed to undertake appropriate background research and to develop, pilot test, modify and disseminate the framework. The work commenced in September 2002 and concluded in October 2004. Part of the funding included a capacity building workshop in August 2004. ACT Health and the Division of Medicine at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, also provided financial support for the project. The August 2004 Workshop was supported by NSW Health. All participants and organisations involved in the project gave extensive in-kind support.
The aims of the workshop were to bring together an international collaboration of multidisciplinary investigators, public health experts, and key senior health managers working in national, state and local settings, to inform the further development of the framework and to provide training in its application. The initial goals of the project were to work collaboratively to develop a strategic framework to assess the health inequalities of public health-related policies, plans, strategies, decisions, programs and services. The EFHIA framework as presented at the August workshop was developed through:
1. an extensive review of the relevant literature
2. formal and informal consultation with members of ACHEIA (the international
reference group), members of the Project Management Steering Committee and
other relevant experts; and
3. testing of the draft EFHIA framework with the 5 case study partners – who applied the draft framework in a range of health settings (see
Acknowledgements).
The result of this work has been the development of an equity focused health impact assessment framework that can be used to determine the unanticipated and systemic health inequities that may exist within the decision making processes or activities of a range of organisations and sectors. The EFHIA framework provides one approach that can be used to assist decision makers to put equity and health on their agenda in a more obvious and systematic way. The framework represents a ‘moment in time’ rather than a definitive statement or ‘toolkit’ on the best way to proceed. Further practice, refinement and adjustment will be needed over many years to consolidate both HIA and EFHIA. As well as this guide to the framework, additional outputs from the project team include:
- A literature review
- A position paper
- A report on the five case studies
- An evaluation report.
With the consent of the Australian Government, a monograph will be made available to workshop participants at the end of October which contains the framework and the appropriate background papers.

Workshop synopses : Pathways for public health education

The Commonwealth introduced the Public Health Education and Research Program (PHERP) initiative to support capacity building within the public health workforce, primarily through investment in Master of Public Health programs. Following the 2005 review of PHERP, a national 'Quality Agenda' was proposed to establish minimum standards in public health competencies of graduates; and Master of Public Health (MPH) graduates in particular. This 'agenda' has triggered renewed discussion on public health workforce needs, public health graduate competencies, and the capacity of the tertiary education sector to deliver these.

The Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions (ANAPHI) has worked with the Department of Health and Ageing on the 'Quality Agenda'. In 2008, ANAPHI convened a working group to further open up discussion among academic institutions on the public health education context to the Quality Agenda. The group held a lunchtime workshop at the 2008 Population Health Congress in Brisbane, as one of a themed pair of sessions entitled 'Public Health Professionals - Shaping our Future'. A further aim of the workshop was to identify key themes to shape the next ANAPHI Teaching and Learning Forum (September 23rd to 24th 2008, Canberra, www.anaphi.org.au).