'I wonder what you know...': Teachers designing requests for factual information

The early years are significant in optimising children’s educational, emotional and social outcomes and have become a major international policy priority. Within Australia, policy levers have prioritised early childhood education, with a focus on program quality, as it is associated with lifelong success. Longitudinal studies have found that high quality teacher-child interactions are an essential element of high quality programs, and teacher questioning is one aspect of teacher-child interactions that has been attributed to affecting the quality of education, linking open ended questioning to higher cognitive achievement. Teachers, however, overwhelmingly ask more closed than open questions. In the classroom, like everyday interaction, questions in interaction require answers. They are used to request, offer, repair, challenge, seek agreement (Curl & Drew, 2008; Enfield, Stivers, & Levinson, 2010; Hayano, 2013; Schegloff, 2007). Teachers use questions to set agendas and manage lessons (McHoul, 1978; Mehan, 1979; Sacks, 1995), and to gauge students’ knowledge and understanding (Lerner, 1995; McHoul, 1978; Mehan, 1979). Drawing on data from the Australian Research Council project Interacting with Knowledge: Interacting with people: Web searching in early childhood, this paper focuses on an extended sequence of talk between a teacher with two students aged between 3.5 and 5 years in a preschool classroom. The episode, drawn from a corpus of over 200 hours of video recorded data, captures how the teacher and children undertake an online search for images of lady beetles and hairy caterpillars on the Web. Ethnomethodological and conversation analysis approaches examine how the teacher asks questions, which call on the children to display their factual knowledge about the search topic. The fine grained analysis shows how teachers design their interactions to prompt children’s displays of factual knowledge, and how the design of factual questions affect a student’s response in terms of what and how they respond. In focussing on how the teacher designs factual questions and how children respond to these questions it shows that question design can close down a student’s reply; or elicit a range of answers, from one word to extended more detailed responses. Understanding how the design of teachers’ questions can influence students’ responses has pedagogic implications and may support educators to make intentional decisions regarding their own questioning techniques.

The history, content and evolution of The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education

The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education (Int J FYHE) began in 2010 with a specific FYHE focus and has published two issues per year with one issue linked to The International First Year in Higher Education Conference (FYHE Conference). This issue—Volume 6, Issue 1—is the last under this title. In 2015 the Journal will align to a new conference that has a broader focus on Students, Transitions, Achievement, Retention and Success (STARS). At this significant point and before we move on to the new journal, the journal team felt it was appropriate that the Feature in this final issue of the Int J FYHE should summarise the Journal’s activity over the years from 2010 to 2014.

Variable phenotype in 16p duplication within a family

Background More individuals are now being identified with very rare genetic syndromes. We present a family with an inherited duplication of 16p11.2 to 16q12.1 in ring formation. Three of the four children, (aged 15 months to 10 years), mother, uncle, and grandmother are affected. Our aim was to provide preliminary evidence of possible phenotypic patterns of learning and behaviour associated with this chromosome anomaly. Method Psychometric assessments were undertaken with all four children. The mother and uncle also agreed to participate in the study. Measures of development (Bayley or Mullen), intellectual ability (WISC-IV or WAIS-III), academic achievement (WIAT-II), adaptive behaviour (Vinelands), and other relevant aspects of functioning (e.g., Children’s Memory Scale) were administered. Results. The first-born child is the only one who is unaffected. Her intellectual ability was assessed as being within the superior range. The second child experienced early difficulties with speech and motor skills. Although his intelligence is average, he has learning difficulties and significant auditory memory problems. The third child’s speech and motor milestones were markedly delayed. He has a complex medical history that includes a vitamin B12 deficiency. On the Mullen Scales at age 4 his scores ranged from average to very low. The development of the youngest child (aged 15 months), who also had a B12 deficiency but was treated early, was assessed as being within typical limits. Conclusions There is considerable developmental variability among the three children with this inherited 16p duplication. We discuss the intriguing similarities and differences, considering common features that may reflect phenotypic patterns and speculating about possible explanations for the variable presentations.

Investigating a model of mentoring for effective teaching

This paper investigates a five-factor model of mentoring for effective teaching. A survey was administered to 218 student teachers after student teaching to provide insights into their mentoring experience. Results indicated the five factors, namely, personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modeling, and feedback, had Cronbach alpha scores of .93, .81, .95, .91, and .91, respectively with mean scale scores ranging from 4.20 to 4.60 (p< .001). Items associated with each factor were analyzed; the lowest percentage response was reviewing lesson plans (71%) and the highest percentage was modeling effective teaching practices (96%). Triangulated data from the survey results suggested that the practices implemented by the mentor teachers were perceived to have supported the student teachers’ development during student teaching. Implications of this study suggest that actively engaging mentor teachers who apply the principles outlined by the five factor areas will serve to ensure highly effective support for the development of student teachers.

Unlocking the learning potential of incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people; Mathematics outcomes for future success: a discussion paper

This presentation provides a beginning discussion about what the literature reports about incarcerated young people. Incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people typically have very low literacy and mathematics skills which precludes them from future education and or employment opportunities, thus continuing the cycle of disadvantage, exclusion and despair(Payne, 2007). Being locked out of learning, they are stuck in a cycle of underachievement, a scenario which contributes to unacceptably high levels of recidivism(ACER, 2014). Success at education is considered an important protective factor against delinquent behaviours such as offending, substance abuse and truancy. Youth education and training centres provide educational opportunities for the incarcerated Indigenous youth but achievement continues to be lower than expected, particularly in mathematics. This presentation provides an introductory literature review focusing on incarcerated young people and education. It is also the preliminary writing for a small pilot project currently being conducted in one Youth Education and Training Centre in Australia.

What’s the point of moderation? A discussion of the purposes achieved through contemporary moderation practices

An increasingly regulated higher education sector is renewing its attention to those activities referred to as ‘moderation’ in its efforts to ensure that judgements of student achievement are based on appropriate standards. Moderation practices conducted throughout the assessment process can result in purposes identified as equity, justification, accountability and community building. This paper draws on the limited studies of moderation and wider relevant research on judgement, standards and professional learning to test commonly used moderation practices against these identified purposes. The paper concludes with recommendations for maximising the potential of moderation practices to establish and maintain achievement standards.

Disability due to road traffic crashes and the management of road safety in developing countries

Injury as a result of road traffic crashes is one of the most significant public health problems in developing countries. It intersects with disability as a development issue because a substantial proportion of people injured in road traffic crashes experience disability, both short term and long term. While there have been significant steps towards better management of road safety globally, especially in developing countries, the implications for road safety policy and practice of disability due road traffic crashes is not fully appreciated. In particular, qualitative information on the lived experience people with a long term disability as a result of a road traffic crash can inform better road safety policy and practice, as demonstrated in a case study from Thailand. The benefits of better policies and practices are likely to accrue to a wide range of road users, and to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.

Wikis for women's health: Social constructivist analysis of the effectiveness of online collaborative spaces for reflective learning

Public Health undergraduate students studying the unit Women’s Health undertook a teaching and learning exercise which required them to learn to create and use a wiki website for reflective learning purposes. The Women’s Health wiki provided an online shared, collaborative, and creative space wherein the students’ perceptions of women's health issues could be discussed, reflected upon, and debated. We analysed the content developed on the Women’s Health wiki using a social constructivist theoretical framework and provided a theoretical model for how the wiki worked to aid reflective and critical thinking, as well as developing technological and communicative skills amongst students.

Personas of students accessing a peer-facilitated support for learning program

STIMulate is a support for learning program at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The program provides assistance in mathematics, science and information technology for undergraduate students. This paper develops personas - archetypal users - that represent the attitudes and motivations of students that utilise STIMulate (in particular, the IT stream). Seven different personas were developed based on interviews gathered from Peer Learning Facilitators (PLF) who are experienced students that have excelled in relevant subject areas. The personas were then validated by a PLF focus group. Developing the personas enabled us to better understand the characteristics and needs of the students using the STIMulate program, enabling a more critical analysis of the quality of the service provided.

A behavioural economics inquiry into inequality in education: Three empirical essays

This thesis investigates behavioural processes for inequality in education and solutions to mitigate such effects, applying conceptual and methodological insights from behavioural and experimental economics. It explores relative age differences in economic preferences of young individuals, the influence of stereotypes and positive discrimination on performance, and evaluates a program that offers strong encouragement for educational achievement of indigenous high school students.

Continuity and change in family engagement in home learning activities across the early years

This research utilised data from The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and explored continuity and change in parental engagement in home learning activities with young children. The findings indicated a decrease over time in parental engagement with children, from age to 2-3 years to 6-7 years. Rate of decrease impacted negatively on learning outcomes for language and literacy, and mathematical thinking, in the early years of school, when children were aged 6-7 years. Shared reading with children and interactions around everyday home activities and play, in which children and parents participate together, impact on children's later development.

Who are our repeating students? Profiling students persisting after failure

Research on attrition has focused on the economic significance of low graduation rates in terms of costs to students (fees that do not culminate in a credential) and impact on future income. For a student who fails a unit and repeats the unit multiple times, the financial impact is significant and lasting (Bexley, Daroesman, Arkoudis & James 2013). There are obvious advantages for the timely completion of a degree, both for the student and the institution. Advantages to students include fee minimisation, enhanced engagement opportunities, effectual pathway to employment and a sense of worth, morale and cohort-identity benefits. Work undertaken by the QUT Analytics Project in 2013 and 2014 explored student engagement patterns capturing a variety of data sources and specifically, the use of LMS amongst students in 804 undergraduate units in one semester. Units with high failure rates were given further attention and it was found that students who were repeating a unit were less likely to pass the unit than students attempting it for the first time. In this repeating cohort, academic and behavioural variables were consistently more significant in the modelling than were any demographic variables, indicating that a student’s performance at university is far more impacted by what they do once they arrive than it is by where they come from. The aim of this poster session is to examine the findings and commonalities of a number of case studies that articulated the engagement activities of repeating students (which included collating data from Individual Unit Reports, academic and peer advising programs and engagement with virtual learning resources). Understanding the profile of the repeating student cohort is therefore as important as considering the characteristics of successful students so that the institution might be better placed to target the repeating students and make proactive interventions as early as possible.

Engaging nursing students in a bioscience unit using a web-based response system, GoSoapBox

Nursing students used GoSoapBox, a web-based student response system to poll responses to multiple choice questions (MCQs) presented during bioscience lectures. Participation in GoSoapBox appears to have facilitated student engagement, interaction and learning. The majority of students surveyed appreciated the immediate feedback to the student responses and being able to participate anonymously. The use of this tool facilitated collaborative group and class discussion and clarification around any misconceptions or challenging concepts. Information collected using GoSoapBox provided the academic with feedback allowing for reflection, adjustment and improvement in framing of formative and summative MCQs.

Facebook: A basis for forming a peer learning community for nursing students in a bioscience unit

First year nursing students commonly find bioscience to be challenging. A Facebook community site was established to support and engage these students. The site was facilitated by virtual peer mentors and the unit coordinator. The high participation rate and the strong recommendation to future students indicated that the site successfully enabled student interaction and engagement with their learning. The students found it to be a readily accessible network and valued the useful resources and learning strategies provided by their peers. The sharing of both learning challenges and successful learning practices can help students build a sense of belonging and an understanding of academic practices and behaviours that can contribute to their learning success at university.

The peer leader capacity building model: A student learning journey

The benefits of peer leader experiences in building graduate skills and capabilities, is well documented and recognised in the higher education sector (Ender & Kay, 2001; Lindsey, Weiler, Zarich, Haddock, Krafchick, & Zimmerman, 2014; Shook & Keup, J., 2012). While benefits are acknowledged, responsibility for identifying, structuring and recording the learning experiences and learning outcomes is charged to the student. This poster describes a framework ‘The Peer Leader Capacity Building Model’ that purposefully structures the peer-leader’s learning journey providing: timely training, moments of critical reflection and goal setting. The model articulates the fundamental interplay of learning and peer leader service which forms the peer ‘learnership’. The journey begins with the ‘aspiration’ phase where students come to understand their leadership opportunities, progressing through ‘enabling’ and ‘mastering’ phases where students shape their learner-leader experience, and finally, to the ‘contributing graduate’ phase where students emerge as competent graduates able to confidently participate in their communities and workplaces. In shifting from a program centric approach that priorities the needs of the mentees, the Peer Leader Capacity Building Model focuses on the individual as a peer leader encouraging the student to shape their individual ‘learnscape’ through consciously navigating both their curricula and co-curricular learning experiences.