Chaos or complex systems? Identifying factors influencing the success of international and NESB graduate research students in Engineering and Information Technology Fields

The paper explores the results an on-going research project to identify factors influencing the success of international and non-English speaking background (NESB) gradúate students in the fields of Engineering and IT at three Australian universities: the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the University of Western Australia (UWA), and Curtin University (CU). While the larger study explores the influence of factors from both sides of the supervision equation (e.g., students and supervisors), this paper focusses primarily on the results of an online survey involving 227 international and/or NESB graduate students in the areas of Engineering and IT at the three universities. The study reveals cross-cultural differences in perceptions of student and supervisor roles, as well as differences in the understanding of the requirements of graduate study within the Australian Higher Education context. We argue that in order to assist international and NESB research students to overcome such culturally embedded challenges, it is important to develop a model which recognizes the complex interactions of factors from both sides of the supervision relationship, in order to understand this cohort‟s unique pedagogical needs and develop intercultural sensitivity within postgraduate research supervision.

Doorway to research : Issues in the development of an interactive website for international graduate students

This paper describes results of a study evaluating the content, functionality and design features of an innovative online website called the Doorway to Research (http://rsc.acid.net.au/Main.aspx) , which was developed to support international graduate students studying at universities in Australia. First, the key features of the website are described. Second, the result of a pilot study involving 12 students and faculty members who tested key aspects of the design, content and functionality of the website and provided written and oral feedback base on task-based questions and focus group discussions are explored. Finally, recommendations for future development are presented. Results of the study indicate general student satisfaction with the website and its design, content and functionality, with specific areas identified for further development.

Bridging the gap : developing an innovative online resource for international graduate students

This paper describes the development of an innovative online website for international graduate students studying at universities in Australia. In 2008, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia identified as a key goal the development of its profile as a research intensive university. One of the performance indicators in realising this goal was to increase the proportion of international graduate students from 20% to 50% over a five-year period. To support these students, the University Research Students Centre (RSC) decided to develop an innovative interactive website called the ‘Doorway to Research’ to help prepare students for their arrival in Australia, by providing access to information and support between the period of their acceptance to their graduate programs and their arrival into the country.

Collaboration and competition on a Wiki : the praxis of online social learning to improve academic writing and research in under-graduate students

The number of internet users in Australia has been steadily increasing, with over 10.9 million people currently subscribed to an internet provider (ABS, 2011). Over the past year, the most avid users of the Internet were 15 – 24 year olds, with approximately 95% accessing the internet on a regular basis (ABS, Social Trends, 2011). While the internet, in particularly Web 2.0, has been described as fundamental to higher education students, social and leisure internet tools are also increasingly being used by these students to generate and maintain their social and professional networks and interactions (Duffy & Bruns, 2006). Rapid technological advancements have enabled greater and faster access to information for learning and education (Hemmi et al, 2009; Glassman & Kang, 2011). As such, we sought to integrate interactive, online social media into the assessment profile of a Public Health undergraduate cohort at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The aim of this exercise was to engage undergraduate students to both develop and showcase their research on a range of complex, contemporary health issues within the online forum of Wikispaces for review and critique by their peers. We applied Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) to analyse the interactive processes from which students developed deeper and more sustained learning, and via which their overall academic writing standards were enriched. This paper outlines the assessment task, and the students’ feedback on their learning outcomes in relation to the Attentional, Retentional, Motor Reproduction, and Motivational Processes outlined by Bandura in SLT. We conceptualise the findings in a theoretical model, and discuss the implications for this approach within the broader tertiary environment.

The supervision tango : perceptions of supervisors of international graduate students in Engineering and IT

This paper, which was part of a larger study, reports on a survey that explored the perceptions of 69 graduate supervisors regarding issues in supervision from three higher education institutions in Australia. Factors that contribute to student success in higher education research degrees are many and diverse, including a complex dance of student factors, supervisor factors, and their supervisory context factors, and those informed by cultural and language differences. Therefore, a complex system approach using Bayesian network modelling was used to explore how student and/or supervisor factors influence the success of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) graduate students in Engineering and IT. Findings suggest that key factors include the experience of supervisors in terms of experience with the Australian higher education system, personal cross-cultural experience.

Is there a difference between supervising international and domestic graduate students in Engineering and IT?

This paper explores a key issue identified in two studies of factors influencing the success of international and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) higher degree research graduate students. The studies include “A model for research supervision of international students in engineering and information technology disciplines” (MRS), which focused on identifying factors that influence successful supervision of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and international higher degree research (HDR or graduate) students in Engineering and IT disciplines in three Australian universities, and “Culture, language and the whole graduate experience: Exploring best practices in international graduate supervision” (BPS), which focussed on exploring perceptions regarding best practices in graduate supervision by diverse stakeholders across Australia. Findings suggest most supervisors do not differentiate between international (or CALD) graduate students and non-CALD(domestic) students in terms of factors influence success in graduate studies.

Exploring the events that engage graduate students in transformative learning /

This research explored the events that engaged graduate students in transformative learning within a graduate program in education. This context was chosen because one objective of a graduate program is to facilitate critical thinking and transformative learning. The question ofhow adult learners perceive and experience learning steered the direction ofthis study. However, the purpose ofthis research was to study critical incidents that led to profound cognitive and affective changes as perceived by the graduate students. Specifically, the questions to be answered were what critical incidents happened to graduate students while in the Master ofEducation program, how were the incidents experienced, and what transformation resulted? The research design evolved over the course of a year and was highly influenced by previous empirical studies and criticisms oftransformative learning theory. The overall design was qualitative and phenomenological. A critical and interpretive approach was made to empirical data collected through a critical incident questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Inductive analysis allowed theory to be built from the data by making comparisons. New questions emerged and attention was given to social context, the passage oftime, and sequence ofevents in order to give meaning and translation ofthe participants' experiences and to build the interpretive narratives. Deductive analysis was also used on the data and a blending ofthe two forms of analysis; this resulted in the development ofa foundational model for transformative learning to be built.The data revealed critical incidents outside ofthe graduate school program that occurred in childhood or adult life prior to graduate school. Since context of individuals' lives had been an important critique of past transformative learning models and studies, this research expanded the original boundaries of this study beyond graduate school to incorporate incidents that occurred outside of graduate school. Critical incidents were categorized into time-related, people-related, and circumstancerelated themes. It was clear that participants were influenced and molded by the stage oftheir life, personal experiences, familial and cultural conditioning, and even historic events. The model developed in this document fiom an overview ofthe fmdings identifies a four-stage process of life difficulty, disintegration, reintegration, and completion that all participants' followed. The blended analysis was revealed from the description ofhow the incidents were experienced by the participants. The final categories were what were the feelings, what was happening, and what was the enviromnent? The resulting transformation was initially only going to consider cognitive and affective changes, however, it was apparent that contextual changes also occurred for all participants, so this category was also included. The model was described with the construction metaphor of a building "foimdation" to illustrate the variety of conditions that are necessary for transformative learning to occur. Since this was an exploratory study, no prior models or processes were used in data analysis, however, it appeared that the model developed from this study incorporated existing models and provided a more encompassing life picture oftransformative learning.

Exploring female graduate students' multifaceted and intersecting roles and identities in a complex educational milieu /

This qualitative phenomenological investigation explored six female Master of Education students' critical understandings of their identity and role negotiations, and their perceptions of environmental conditions that facilitated or impeded their identity explorations and negotiations within the institution. The interweaving of Feminist and Women's Development theories enabled the data to be examined under different, yet complementary, lenses. The data collection strategies included: four to five in-depth semistructured interviews, three take-home activities (involving identity mapping, object and metaphor identification, and strategy development), and the compilation of extensive interview notes as well as researcher reflections. The combination of a constant comparative method and a voice-centered method were used in tandem to analyze the data. Together they uncovered five emergent themes: (a) intricate understandings of key terms; (b) life-long learning and transformative pathways; (c) gender issues; (d) challenges, tensions, and possibilities; as well as (e) personal, professional, and educational implications. The findings underscored the possibility for both a singular static identity and dynamic multifaceted identities to exist in tandem, and the emergence of natural or logical identity intersections, as well as disjointed or colliding identity intersections. Ultimately, it is the continuous negotiation of internal and external spheres that contributes to the complexity and multidimensionality of graduate students' identities.

What Matters? : the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness at the graduate school level, to identify how graduate students perceive effective and ineffective teachers, and specifically to discover the main dimensions of teacher effectiveness that graduate students perceive as most significant. This topic was investigated because, although the teacher has been deemed as a crucial component in the teaching process, there is no common agreement on the definition and measure of teacher effectiveness. Graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness have not been given much attention. The research design was based on a ground theory approach. It utilized qualitative data through interviews, field notes, andjournals. The findings ofthis study revealed that teacher effectiveness is markedly influential to graduate students. There is no universally consented definition or measure of teacher effectiveness due to the multidimensionality of teaching and learning. Nevertheless, several major dimensions ofteacher effectiveness were discovered and highlighted in this study. Such dimensions include good command of subject matter, presentation skills, challenging and motivating students, rapport with students, learning environment, course demands, as well as assessment and feedback. It was hoped that the study would move towards developing a theory that contributes to the knowledge base of graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness. It was anticipated that the results would provide first-hand information for the instructor to improve teaching; for the administrator to promote the effective educational experiences and student achievements. It was intended that the findings would lay a theoretical and empirical groundwork for future research.

Course/instructor evaluation : perspectives of part-time graduate students

This study explored 6 part-time graduate students' perspectives on course/instructor evaluation. The purpose was to explore whether a link exists between the evaluation for course and instructors as contained in the Faculty of Education courselinstructor evaluation form and the needs of part-time students enrolled in that program. The literature review provided contextual information concerning the 3 main subject areas based upon which the research questions were designed: learner needs in the context of part-time graduate students, courselinstructor eval~ation, and the potential lack of congruency between the 2. Using a semistructured interview process, participants identified criteria important or relevant to the evaluation process and incongruent with the course/instructor evaluation form. A qualitative research methodology using a grounded theory approach contributed to the theory on the nature of course evaluation instruments in a graduate program and addressed the notion of where power was situated within the evaluation process. Findings suggested that the concepts of relevance and the instructor's role that participants identified as important in their graduate learning experience were congruent with what they considered important components of the course/instructor evaluation form. Participants noted a lack of congruency between their expectations of a quality graduate learning experience and the format, content, intent, and timing of the evaluation process. The study confirmed that students did want a voice in the evaluation of their learning experience at both the course and program levels.

The Experience of (In)Accessibility at University: What Disabled Graduate Students Reveal

Although the number of disabled students entering graduate school has increased in recent years, research pertaining to graduate students with disabilities remains underdeveloped. The purpose of this generic qualitative study is to better understand the experiences of (in)accessibility from the perspectives of three graduate students who self-identify as disabled or as having a disability(s) at one mid-sized university in Southern Ontario. The theoretical orientation was shaped by a social model of disability. The study was focused around the following major research question: What have been the experiences of (in)accessibility for three graduate students who self-identify as disabled or as having a disability(s) at one mid-sized university in Southern Ontario? Subquestions were organized around subcategories, such as (a) experiences related to accessibility, (b) experiences related to inaccessibility, and (c) insights related to future recommendations to enhance accessibility. The study found that (in)accessibility at university was related to (a) specific places on campus, (b) specific people on campus, and (c) the culture of awareness. A variety of educational initiatives were recommended to foster accessible practices and to develop a more accepting and disability-friendly culture on campus. Based on these findings, the Trickledown Effect Model was proposed as a means for promoting accessibility at university.

Space physics for graduate students: an activities-based approach

The geospace environment is controlled largely by events on the Sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which generate significant geomagnetic and upper atmospheric disturbances. The study of this Sun-Earth system, which has become known as space weather, has both intrinsic scientific interest and practical applications. Adverse conditions in space can damage satellites and disrupt communications, navigation, and electric power grids, as well as endanger astronauts. The Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM), a Science and Technology Center (STC) funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (see http://www.bu.edu/cism/), is developing a suite of integrated physics-based computer models that describe the space environment from the Sun to the Earth for use in both research and operations [Hughes and Hudson, 2004, p. 1241]. To further this mission, advanced education and training programs sponsored by CISM encourage students to view space weather as a system that encompasses the Sun, the solar wind, the magnetosphere, and the ionosphere/thermosphere. This holds especially true for participants in the CISM space weather summer school [Simpson, 2004].

Graduate students lend their voices : reflections on the 10th seminar in health and environmental education research

Graduate students were invited by their faculty advisors to attend the 10
th Seminar in Health and Environmental Education Research. Afterward, they were encouraged to comment on their experiences, involvement, and positioning. Two main authors developed survey questions and retrieved, analyzed, and synthesized the responses of four other graduate students. The overall experience of attending an invitational research seminar evoked various ideas about graduate students’ present and future roles in research communities.