Category: Higher Education

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Targeting assessment for developing adult lifelong learners: assessing the ability to commit

Author: Ya-Hui Su, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  In this article, I propose that neither traditional assessment nor alternative, competence-based assessment is adequate to meet the challenges of uncertain change. Existentialist assessment that focuses on developing learners’ commitment, rather than their competence, may be more decisive in empowering learners who are facing adversity. Existentialist assessment shifts the focus from impersonality, achievement, and universalism to the inclusion of the adult learner’s commitment to making meaningful connections between learning and his or her existence (being). These committed meanings are willed and produced by the learner, not only to bring to an end a disturbing situation and uncertainty but also to develop a sense of significance and sustainability when facing uncertainty and processes of change. To ascertain a learner’s ability to commit, self-assessment, with its first-person perspective, must be taken into account. Implications include the alignment of assessment with pedagogy that facilitates the adult learner’s commitment to connecting his or her existence with the world.

Keywords: adult lifelong learning, assessment; commitment, existentialist, lifelong learning, lifelong learner

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Putting transformative learning theory into practice

Authors: Michael Christie, Michael Carey, Ann Robertson and Peter Grainger, University of the Sunshine Coast (USC)

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  This paper elaborates on a number of key criticisms of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory as well as providing arguments that validate it. Our paper exemplifies how Mezirow’s theory can help adult educators and prospective school teachers understand that social structures and belief systems can influence student learning, that
learners make meaning of their experiences in various ways which influence the sort of value systems they develop and that disorienting dilemmas often challenge the validity of one’s values and the assumptions that underpin them. It exemplifies how Mezirow’s theory can be put into practice in Adult and Higher Education via three case studies undertaken by the authors in different places, at different times and with different sets of learners. These include mature aged women returning to study, PhDs at a Swedish Engineering University, and domestic and international students studying at an Australian regional university. The case studies make use of a values survey, interviews and subsequent focus groups. Data from the survey and interviews are analysed and used to argue that transformative learning (Mezirow, 1991) can be practiced, to good effect, in university staff development and teacher education courses.

Keywords: Transformative learning; Adult and Higher Education; Academic development.

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Educational biographies in Germany: From secondary school general education to lifelong learning?

Author: Harry Friebel, University of Hamburg

Summary:  This article addresses the change in the transitional process from secondary school general education to gainful employment within the framework of societal modernisation processes in Germany.
We analyse the relationship between the options for and restrictions upon individual educational mobility under the conditions imposed by the various socially institutionalised educational segments, which comprise a structure of opportunity.
The database for our study consists in the longitudinal findings of the “Hamburg Biography and Life Course Panel” (HBLP) from 1980 to 2007, which examined the processes of vocational education mobility for a sample of the Hamburg graduating class of 1979.
How do these people manage their educational strategies? What do they experience in terms of vocational education and continuing education within the institutional structure of opportunity? Do the career paths differ after gender?

Keywords: Vocational training, Educational Biography, Vocational training mobility, Continuing education, Vocational education policy, Germany

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Identifying tertiary bridging students at risk of failure in the first semester of undergraduate study

Authors: Robert Whannell and Patricia Whannell, University of New England

Summary:  This study presents the findings of the second phase of a project examining the attrition and progression of two cohorts of students in a tertiary bridging program at a regional university in Australia. The first phase of the study (Whannell, 2013) based on data collected up to week 5 of the bridging program identified age, academic achievement on the initial assessment tasks, the level of peer support and the number of absences from scheduled classes as being the factors which predicted attrition from the bridging program. This phase of the study examined a sample of 92 students who subsequently completed a custom questionnaire in week 12 of the tertiary bridging program and then continued into the first semester of undergraduate study. Participants at risk of failure in the first semester of undergraduate study were characterised by being younger in age, demonstrating a high incidence of absence from scheduled classes and low levels of academic achievement in the final assessment tasks in the bridging program and reporting lower quality relationships with academic staff. The need to initiate interventions to target at-risk students prior to commencement of their undergraduate study is discussed.

Keywords: tertiary bridging program, attrition, educational transition.

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Expectations and reality: What you want is not always what you get

Authors: Arlene Garces-Ozanne and Trudy Sullivan, University of Otago

Summary:  A total of 196 first year Principles of Economics I students participated in a study examining how students’ expectations about their course and grades are related to the grades they actually receive. We empirically test whether there is a significant difference between the students’ grade expectations and the actual grades they receive, and examine what factors contribute to this difference. In particular, we examine how much students’ expectations about their grades are conditioned by specific student characteristics, as well as by their attitude/behaviour over the semester. We hypothesise that students, like many from Generation Y, often make confident but also false predictions about their ability, but as reality sets in, they modify their behaviour accordingly and set more reasonable, realistic expectations to achieve their desired goals. We find that they are indeed over-optimistic, but there appears to be a gap between their optimism and actual performance.

Keywords: Gen Y, undergraduate students, expectations, optimism, behaviour, grades

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Diversity and achievement: Is success in higher education a transformative experience?

Authors: Robyn Benson, Margaret Heagney, Lesley Hewitt, Glenda Crosling and Anita Devos; Monash University

Summary:  This paper reports on a longitudinal project examining how a group of students from diverse backgrounds succeeded in higher education. The project explored participants’ pathways into higher education, how they managed their studies, and their reflections at course completion. In this paper, the concept of perspective transformation is used to consider the extent to which their success in higher education was a transformative experience. Data from the project’s first stage identified the role of perspective transformation in influencing participants’ pathways to higher education, while here we focus on the impact of their university study on perspective transformation, comparing evidence of transformative experiences during study with those that led to enrolment. Analysis of participants’ reflections at course completion indicated that higher education success was a transformative experience for most of them and that perspective transformation affected more participants during study than before it. Participants identified several aspects of the course that contributed to the changes experienced in their perspectives. We consider some implications for university staff, which may help others involved with students from diverse backgrounds.

Keywords: Higher education, perspective transformation, transformative learning, student diversity, student success

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Improving the quality of student experience in large lectures using quick polls

Authors: Angelito Calma, Beverley Webster, Stefan Petry and Jenny Pesina; University of Melbourne

Summary:  A quick polling initiative was tested in finance classes using multiple choice questions to determine whether it can improve student interaction and engagement in a large class. Students (n = 446) responded using either a smartphone app (53%) or by using pen and paper (47%). Immediate feedback was provided to students using charts that were generated from the responses of those who used the app. The sample included 41% males, 59% females, 76% undergraduates and 24% graduate students. Student perceptions of the usefulness of quick polling in relation to their engagement in and preparation for the classes and their understanding of the subject content were evaluated using a questionnaire. Results indicate that females perceived they were more prepared for and engaged in class than males. Graduate students felt they were more engaged in classes, prepared for classes, and that their understanding of the subject improved than undergraduate students. There were limited differences between those who used the app and those who used pen and paper.

Keywords: student engagement, audience response system, personal response system, large class, mobile learning, quick poll

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The use of peer assessment in a regional Australian university tertiary bridging course

Authors: Kelly Chambers, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Robert Whannell, University of New England, NSW; Patricia Whannell, University of New England, NSW

Summary:  This paper presents the findings from research on peer assessment practice that was specifically focussed on improving the experience in a tertiary bridging course. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of this assessment approach on student social relationships and the overall assessment experience. The study also examined whether peer assessment provided a valid and reliable method of assessment at the tertiary bridging level and whether students were equipped to be able to engage with this form of assessment. Data were collected from 107 students enrolled in a tertiary bridging program at a regional university in Australia using a custom designed questionnaire. Four subscales, Task Experience, Feedback, Peer Relationships and Process Understanding, were identified and analysed. The initial results suggest this model of assessment did add value for students in the positive attitude toward the task and the feedback they received from their peers. The participants did not report a preference for peer assessment over other traditional forms. Improvements in the quality of peer relationships were also not identified. It was concluded that, while there are benefits provided by peer assessment in improving the students’ understanding of the process of assessment, there were limited benefits in its use in relation to improving the overall student experience. 

Keywords: tertiary bridging education, peer assessment, peer relationships

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Willing and enabled: The academic outcomes of a tertiary enabling program in regional Australia

Authors: Lisa Andrewartha and Andrew Harvey, LaTrobe University

Summary:  This paper examines the achievement levels of students undertaking the Tertiary Enabling Program (TEP) at La Trobe University. The TEP is an alternative pathway program that traverses multiple institutions, campuses, and disciplinary areas, and is designed to prepare a diverse student cohort for tertiary study. The Program integrates several sources of support, including tutorials, mentoring, and counselling. We found high overall achievement levels, indicating success in teaching and supporting students with variant needs. Nevertheless, there was substantial variation in achievement between subjects, campuses, and student groups. Variable achievement is likely to reflect differing levels of prior educational attainment and preparedness among students. However, results also highlight the complexity in managing a Program across multiple sites, subjects, and institutions. We suggest further comparative research into curriculum and teaching practice of enabling programs nationwide to enable more effective benchmarking and expansion of these pathways.

Keywords: under-represented students, widening participation, enabling program, tertiary preparation, alternate pathway

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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What’s politics got to do with it? ‘Power’ as a ‘threshold’ concept for undergraduate business students

Author: Paul D. Williams, Griffith University

Summary:  Politics courses embedded in business and commerce degree programs have soared in number in recent years. Yet how business students, often compulsorily enrolled in politics courses, learn key politics concepts is an under-researched area. The purpose of this article is to determine where the teaching and learning of political science and business intersects. This research reviews the place of the “threshold concept” in student learning, with particular reference to “power” as a political concept. This article advances three arguments: that the study of political institutions involves a series of “threshold” concepts that students must pass over before moving onto a higher plane of understanding; that the teaching of political institutions should span the three key areas of knowledge, attitudes and skills; and that a real understanding of political institutions allows students to regard business figures, in pursuing self-interest, as “political” actors like any other.  

Keywords: Politics, power, business, threshold concept

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 54_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.