Student Success

Volume 10 Issue 2 2019

2019-09-23T06:15:33+10:00

We were pleased to hold the 2019 Students, Transitions, Achievement, Retention and Success (STARS) Conference in Melbourne, Australia as a celebration of the fifth anniversary of one of Australasia’s most welcoming and collegial academic communities of practice. This year’s Conference confirmed that STARS is now firmly established as a collaborative and inclusive annual event for tertiary educators and leaders. Delegates —a mix of professional, academic and administrative practitioners and leaders—attended and participated in a range of presentations and activities which included, refereed papers, Good Practice Reports and Emerging Initiatives, along with Poster presentations and the STARS Network meetings.

Online learning in Australian higher education: Opportunities, challenges and transformations

2019-09-23T06:15:30+10:00

Higher education is being rapidly transformed by the growth in online learning, with an increasing number of universities worldwide offering degree programs in online, distance modes of study. Australian education has a long history of 'distance education', primarily offered by regional universities. With the digital communication advances of the 21st century, traditional 'correspondence' study has transformed into online learning, with many more universities, both metropolitan and regional, offering undergraduate degree programs that can be completed entirely online. While this can provide a significant opportunity for further widening of participation in higher education, Australian and international research indicates that much needs to be done to improve the higher attrition rates currently associated with online learning. This paper draws on the findings of three separate yet related Australian research projects, to compare student and staff perspectives on ways to improve outcomes in online learning.

Using an alternate reality game to facilitate student engagement during orientation

2019-09-23T06:15:28+10:00

An alternate reality game was designed to facilitate transition and engagement amongst students commencing a tertiary preparation program at a regional university in Australia. The design of the game was informed by a student engagement framework which proposes four psychosocial constructs which mediate engagement at the intersection between student and institutional influences: self-efficacy, belonging, well-being, and emotion. The 108 participants completed a survey which measured these constructs prior to the commencement of the game. Game players (n = 13) were surveyed again immediately after the game. The results of statistical analysis indicated that game players reported a greater sense of well-being and more positive emotions than the group surveyed before the game.

The benefits of good tutor-student relationships in the first year

2019-09-23T06:15:25+10:00

Teacher-student relationships (TSR) are an important influence on the student experience at university. Existing research, predominantly with lecturers, highlights that these relationships have academic and affective dimensions. Studies demonstrate good TSR increase student motivation, engagement, and learning. The current study adds a student voice to this topic, focussing on their views of tutoring staff, who undertake much of the face-to-face teaching in universities. The qualitative study followed 19 students through their first year at an Australian university. The students identified four characteristics of a ‘good’ tutor: helpful, caring, likeable, and hands-on. Students talked about multiple benefits of having a good tutor including increased help-seeking, studying harder, more interest in class, and improved well-being and belonging. The importance of the tutor role is underestimated and institutions would do well to better support these valuable staff.

International students’ transition to university: Connection and disconnection in online group work interactions

2019-09-23T06:15:22+10:00

An Australian higher education experience often includes group work as an important social learning opportunity. For international students, taking part in a group assignment can positively influence learning and adjustment to the new cultural and educational context through social interaction. However, students are increasingly choosing to use digital technologies to participate in group assignments, which may impact on opportunities available to make social connections with peers. This study investigated the experiences of 26 international students as they transitioned to study at an Australian university about their use of social media for group assignments and their resulting perceptions of connection to classmates. Analysis of the results suggests that students who engaged in collaborative rather than cooperative interactions via social media were more likely to perceive a connection to their classmates. This has implications for educators to include classroom modelling of digitally-mediated collaborative interactions to benefit students’ participation in group assignments, which can improve the transition experience through social connection.

Engaging the disengaged: Exploring the use of course-specific learning analytics and nudging to enhance online student engagement

2019-09-23T06:15:20+10:00

Universities increasingly implement online delivery to strengthen students’ access and flexibility. However, they often do so with limited understanding of the impact of online pedagogy on student engagement. To explore these issues, a research project was conducted investigating the use of course-specific learning analytics to ‘nudge’ students into engaging more actively in their courses. Drawing on perspectives emanating from communication and critical theories, the research involved a staged intervention strategy conducted across three courses (n=892) focussing on a range of timely, strategic communication interventions. Research findings revealed benefits for students who felt supported by explicit expectation management and the strategic use of early nudging to enhance their prioritisation of key course-specific resources. Academics benefited by making use of nudging templates/principles to increase student engagement in their courses. The course-specific context meant that academics and students explicitly shared ways of working in the one place where learners ultimately succeed – the course.

Developing and enacting student governance and leadership training in higher education

2019-09-23T06:15:18+10:00

Despite increased attention placed both in and outside Australia on student participation in university governance, there remains a gap in practices and programs that help support students to contribute across various governance groups, councils, and representative roles. This practice report explores two aspects of developing student partnership in governance at a research-intensive university in Australia. We will showcase a set of rationales co-created between students and staff on why partnership should be a critical aspect of higher education policy and governance. Secondly, we will provide an overview of a specialised training program that aims to provide students with foundational working knowledge of university governance practice, policies and language to bolster engagement within their roles. We will further discuss anticipated impacts and advance research and future practice in this area by highlighting key areas that require further exploration to further student engagement in governance structures.

The Deakin 'Students Helping Students' and 'Students as Partners' collection: A contemporary take on the classic cut

2019-09-23T06:15:16+10:00

Fashion metaphors are used to explore the relationship between Deakin’s ‘Students Helping Students’ strategy and its emerging ‘Students as Partners’ initiative. As the curtain is raised, the current ‘tertiary trend’ of Students as Partners is seen through a global lens. The Deakin Students Helping Students and Students as Partners collection is then paraded across the runway, at once unveiling savvy design and high-quality workmanship. A key feature of both Deakin’s Students Helping Students and Students as Partners models is that they are expressions of a community of practice approach and of social learning theory, with some variations in texture and palette. This ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ show concludes that while both looks are based on a timeless, ‘classic cut’ approach to education that engages both students and staff, each trend adds colour, interest and appeal. Fashions in education are sometimes fleeting, sometimes fun, and they are sure to invigorate, refresh and challenge.

How can a 'Sense of Belonging' inform your teaching strategy? Reflections from a core Business unit

2019-09-23T06:15:15+10:00

This paper reflects on how a ‘sense of belonging’ is cultivated for both the teaching team and the students in a large, core first year Business unit. In the Innovative Business Practice (IBP) unit students develop their personal brand and professional identity through strength-based science, and also pitch creative solutions to social problems. This cross-disciplinary unit is taught using an activity-based approach. The team of tutors are being trained as facilitators which creates a sense of belonging and community within the teaching team. A blended delivery approach utilising Crowdicity, idea management software, facilitates networked learning, and helps students develop their digital skills as well as interact with one another, the teaching team and industry experts.

Regional study hubs: Increasing student engagement to support regional students facing high first-year attrition risk factors

2019-09-23T06:15:36+10:00

The Country Universities Centre (CUC) network of regional study hubs are an emerging tool for supporting regional students to achieve success in higher education. The CUC cohort of students, and regional students more generally, face several risk factors for first-year attrition including: external mode of study, over 25 years of age, part-time study load, alternative pathways to admission, and medium to low SES. In addition, work-life balance, financial considerations, and access to technology all create barriers to study for these students. The CUC facilities and staff provide academic, administrative and pastoral support to students, as well as creating a learning community to facilitate student-to-student interactions. The positive effect of the CUC support is shown by means of a survey and student case-studies.

Student responses to a tough early assessment: A useful “kick up the bum”?

2019-09-23T06:15:14+10:00

First year is a delicate time for students. Many have little idea what to expect of university, and their sense of identity as tertiary students is fragile. A diagnostic assessment early in first semester may reassure students that they have chosen the right path. However, some academics, particularly in engineering, argue that this early assessment should be very demanding – so tough, in fact, that some students fail - in order to alert students to the hard work required to pass the course. This study uses a mixed methods design (weekly surveys and in-depth interviews) to explore the effects of a purposefully tough early assessment on first year engineering students at an Australian university. We find that, across the cohort, the high failure rate was not associated with a significant slump or spike in motivation. Although some students were initially dismayed by their results, most went on to address their study with resilience, and appreciated the “kick up the bum”, as they described it.

‘Get Ready’: Improving the transition experience of a diverse first-year cohort through building student agency

2019-09-23T06:15:13+10:00

A great deal has been achieved in recent years in understanding how universities can best support the transition to higher education of an increasingly diverse student body (Kift, 2015). Numerous studies have identified transition program elements that correlate with improved success and retention for commencing students. Lizzio’s ‘five senses’ model (2006) rationalises these diverse features into a framework consisting of five affective domains that need to be developed in students to ensure successful transition. To assess how well a program based on the Lizzio model supports transition in practice, we evaluate our Get Ready transition program, developed for a large-enrolment first year Human Physiology subject with a highly diverse student cohort. We conclude that embedding the development of Lizzio’s five senses in a performative way is the key to building students’ agency and nurturing their identity as thriving members of a new academic community.