Partnership approach to topic selection of first year university assessments in sustainability
Engaging engineering and agriculture students to sustainability principles has changed from a marginal issue to mainstream with time. Current professionals in engineering, agricultural and environmental sciences require a clear understanding of the principles of sustainability; supported by accredited bodies such as Engineering Australia. At this regional university these students are required to complete two units of study in sustainability of rural environment, the first of which will be discussed in this paper, which outlines the unique Australian environment. To understand the concept of sustainability, students need to see the relevance in their lives and chosen career. Therefore care needs to be taken in the choice of topics for assessments such as 1500 word essay; and in this article how these topics are chosen will be discussed. This article will outline the process of topic selection that follows a partnership approach between a lecturer, first year advisor and librarian. Placing such importance, on the sustainability of Australia in first year of such a diverse group of students shows innovation in the higher education sector. These degrees that fall within the School of Environment and Rural Science whose aim it is to save the planet, feed the world.
Screencasts - are they the panacea for dealing with students' diverse mathematical skills?
Background: In this study the implementation of screencasts (video of computer screen with voiceover) as a strategy to address the diversity in mathematical backgrounds of students undertaking a third year surveying unit in both on campus and in distance modes, was investigated. This cohort of students did not have strong mathematical backgrounds, either at high school or university level, a reflection of a national sector wide trend. Barrington (2009) reported between 1995 and 2007 the number of students in Australia studying the highest levels of mathematics in Year 12, Intermediate and Advanced mathematics, declined by 22% and 27%, respectively. Correspondingly, there was an increase of 30% in students studying Elementary mathematics, and this situation is often compounded by a lack of retention of mathematical concepts between high school and university (Jennings, 2009). Purpose: Identify the mathematical background of students enrolled in a third year surveying unit, then determine if screencasts are easy to use, help students understand mathematical concepts and are helpful for revision. Design/Method: To overcome the difficulty of teaching students with different levels of mathematical background screencasts were embedded into this unit from 2009. To determine the background mathematical level of the cohort and the effectiveness of this teaching strategy, each year students were asked to voluntarily participate in a questionnaire from 2009 to 2011, which included qualitative and four part Likert scale (strongly agree-disagree) questions. Results: Of the 53 students completing the questionnaire over three years, it was apparent the cohort included students with diverse educational background, as 25% had not completed the Higher School Certificate (or equivalent); 32% had studied mathematics at Year 12 Elementary level or School Certificate level; and 25% had studied mathematics at advanced Year 12 level. Screencasts were well received with 84% user rate; and of these students, 95% found screencasts easy to use, 98% found they made the steps in the calculation easy to follow and 93% found they were beneficial when studying for the quizzes and exam in the unit. Conclusions: Use of screencast in information literacy and computing has been previously investigated in the literature but it is poorly researched in mathematical concepts. In this case students found these resources easy to use and very helpful in assisting their understanding of mathematical concepts, especially for distance students.