Current Research.
Teaching Communities in the School of Information Technology.
The School of Information Technology has a number of large intake undergraduate subjects (which are also used in some post-graduate programs). These are taught by a small number of full time academic staff supplemented by a large number of sessionally employed staff - many of whom are students studying later years of the same degree.
The Teaching Community structure is a system for continuous improvement in teaching which has been progressively refined in ongoing action research by the Centre for LATTES.
This project brings the entire teaching group within a number of subjects into individual Subject Teaching Communities. All members attend an introductory workshop dealing with small group teaching situations, and attend ongoing reflective meetings which have teaching support. Interview data is continuously collected from tutors. It is an ongoing project, with no set finish date.
Sessional staff are more and more prevalent in tertiary teaching. They are seen as a cheaper and more flexible alternative for small group teaching requirements, and even for lecturing in subjects. There are a range of associated problems with such use. This project investigates the most effective and efficient support mechanisms to improve the value of sessional teaching.
School to university transition.
Students moving from the secondary system to universities experience a wide range of difficulties: academically, socially, financially, and emotionally. Both as stand-alone projects, and as part of a long standing thread of research within other projects, the particular issues experienced by first year students at the university are continually researched, and strategies to assist them trialled.
Indian student transition to Swinburne.
Swinburne has a very large intake of Indian students to its IT degrees. Anecdotal accounts suggest that there are a diverse set of transition problems that hinder their academic progress, and limit enjoyment of their experience. Systematic data collection and collation will guide interventions to assist their transition to Swinburne.
Student attitudes to questionable work practices.
Problems with plagiarism, particularly in subjects involving programming, have led to an investigation by Monash and Swinburne Universities of student attitudes to assessment, and the ethics of gaining assistance in a range of forms. Consolidated data across two universities will help guide a tightening of assessment practices.
Past Research
Swinburne first year engineering project
A four year project to develop Teaching Communities in the first year engineering program, in order to improve the learning situation for the students. Particular emphasis was placed on promoting Learning Communities in the student body through changes to teaching and assessment procedures. At this time the Centre for LATTES was known as CLEaS (Centre for Learning in Engineering and Science).
The project was supported by a Large Organisational Grant from CUTSD for the period 1998-99.
Rural and Isolated Students at Swinburne
The transition from school to university is a general area of research, but the particular problems faced by students from rural or isolated environments has been a particular worry. Rural students are under represented in tertiary education, with a decreasing presence.
With funding support from the Equity office a study was made of first year students attending Swinburne who have come from rural areas.
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