Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
While technology affords creation of digital collections, and promises access to all, the reality... more While technology affords creation of digital collections, and promises access to all, the reality is that many cultural data collections exist in a precarious ecosystem, where erratic funding, fragmented support, and disconnected expertise threaten their continued existence. As a significant branch of the broader information ecosystem, cultural data collections range in size and scope, from national institutions to bespoke local collections supported by individuals. This exploratory, qualitative study engaged cultural data experts in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom to map the broad cultural data ecosystem and to identify opportunities for healthier growth. The development and maintenance of cultural data collections requires integration across the spheres of expertise of creators, curators, subject matter experts, information science, and computing and technology. The foundational structural elements of the ecosystem include funding, policies, access to existing data, comm...
Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher Education, 2016
This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergr... more This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergraduate mathematics in Australian universities and the subsequent emergence of a community of practice. The network was intentionally established to build and support the leadership capacity of mathematicians who coordinate first-year mathematics subjects. To achieve this, events were held that focused on sharing knowledge, experiences, high quality resources and establishing supportive connections with colleagues. In the course of these activities, it became apparent that a fledgling community of practice existed with the development of a strong sense of identity and recognition of common challenges across institutional boundaries. The community leadership evolved over time, taking on roles from facilitation to advocacy on behalf of the network’s members, forming a group identity and sense of purpose. This case study illustrates the potential for a discipline-based, cross-institutional community of practice to support individuals in their development as change agents and to provide a platform from which national issues in higher education can be tackled.
The academics involved in teaching, coordinating and managing first year mathematics programs pla... more The academics involved in teaching, coordinating and managing first year mathematics programs play an important role in facilitating students’ transition from school to university. Typically, they possess attributes that give them an affinity for first year students’ needs and aspirations, and the ability to facilitate their learning. They have a significantly different role from their colleagues due to the particular demands created by the management of large numbers of students with diverse backgrounds. In this talk we will describe the preliminary findings of the current Office of Learning and Teaching funded project, First Year in Maths (FYiMaths), which seeks to articulate the role and value of the academics involved in teaching and managing first year mathematics programs and to develop their leadership via a supportive network . Interviews and workshops already conducted have highlighted the key challenges facing first year mathematics coordinators. Common threads identified ...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mathematics departments experience many challenges in teaching increasingly l... more BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mathematics departments experience many challenges in teaching increasingly large cohorts of first-year students, who have more diverse academic backgrounds and lower levels of mathematical preparation than ever before. The situation is further complicated by the fact that many students are not particularly motivated to study mathematics, but are required to do so as part of their business, science, education, health sciences or engineering degrees. Institutions have responded by introducing a range of measures including establishment of teaching-focused academic roles, developing new approaches to teaching and in expanding mathematics support resources and services. However significant challenges still remain. In recognition of the complexity and size of first-year mathematics programs, a number of institutions have appointed academics to First Year Coordinator roles. These academics have a wide range of duties which can include the management and training of se...
Many universities in Australia no longer have prerequisite mathematics subjects for entry to degr... more Many universities in Australia no longer have prerequisite mathematics subjects for entry to degrees in science, mathematics, engineering and technology, opting for an 'assumed knowledge' entry requirement. There is growing concern in universities across the country that students entering science, engineering and technology degrees do not have the required mathematical background. In response, most universities now offer to commencing students, a variety of mathematics subjects at various levels, a range of support programs or have reviewed their teaching approaches and curriculum to accommodate the diversity of student backgrounds. The impact on universities is significant in terms of the cost of extra service provision, but is most commonly felt by frontline academic staff struggling to teach large classes of first-year students who don't have the required assumed knowledge. While these academics are making significant efforts to adapt their teaching, course content an...
Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the ch... more Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the changing needs of academic staff and students and respond to the wider availability of unmediated digital information (Jaguszewski & Williams, 2013). Many university libraries are responding by pursuing new methods of client engagement by providing more targeted and personalised library services (Tiffen & England, 2011). This paper presents findings from a small study of the information seeking approaches of 13 academics teaching mathematics in a range of Australian universities. It finds that while academics have direct access to more information than ever before, they are also time poor, face many challenges as teachers and are under increasing pressure to change their approaches to teaching. Findings suggest that communities of practice could be effective in supporting access to information about teaching. Librarians have the opportunity to foster such communities and to support the inf...
Background Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the jo... more Background Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, such as diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, most academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014). There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education who disseminate their research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This second gro...
In preparing for post-COVID-19 environment, this study sets out to explore the key barriers and c... more In preparing for post-COVID-19 environment, this study sets out to explore the key barriers and challenges facing university staff and external stakeholders in sustaining engagement, and proposes ways to improve university external engagement. A total of 25 in-depth interviews were conducted during the pandemic disruptions with university staff across disciplines, levels and portfolios at the University of Melbourne, aiming to explore the different meanings, purposes, barriers and future outlooks on the ways in which universities engage with our society.
Simple Privacy provides a system for Australian organisations to create privacy policies for the ... more Simple Privacy provides a system for Australian organisations to create privacy policies for the personal information they collect online. The privacy policies it creates are legally compliant and easy to understand. We developed this system because small Australian organisations seemed to find privacy policies too complicated to manage with the resources they have available.This paper describes the framework behind Simple Privacy and discusses the choices that we made during development. These choices balance the requirements of the privacy legislation and the needs of both organisations and customers.
This final report to the Office for Learning and Teaching on the FYiMaths project outlines the ap... more This final report to the Office for Learning and Teaching on the FYiMaths project outlines the approach, findings and achievements of the project. This project investigated all aspects of the role of First Year Mathematics Coordinator, identifying existing barriers and challenges to their ability to effect change in the learning and teaching of mathematics across the higher education sector. The First Year Mathematics Coordinators’ (FYiMaths) Network was established to support innovation in learning and teaching in mathematics and to strengthen the leadership capacity of academics in these roles. The project team collected data from in-depth interviews with academics coordinating first year mathematics programs and subjects, and feedback from participants who attended the events organised by the project team.
DISSEMINATING SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: USING GRASS ROOTS NETWORKING TO SHARE RESEARC... more DISSEMINATING SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: USING GRASS ROOTS NETWORKING TO SHARE RESEARCH AND INFLUENCE TEACHING PRACTICE
Joann Cattlin, Deborah King
Presenting Author: Joann Cattlin (joann.cattlin@unimelb.edu.au ) aSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
KEYWORDS: mathematics, scholarship of teaching and learning, communities of practice
BACKGROUND Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, including diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, many academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014).
There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education that disseminates its research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This latter group is more likely to be interested in practical information and advice relating to implementation of teaching innovations, which are not generally presented in formal academic sources (Southwell, Gannaway, Orrell, Chalmers, & Abraham, 2010).
PURPOSE The First Year in Maths project (FYiMaths) identified many challenges for those teaching first-year mathematics, including limited access to information about teaching practices in mathematics at other universities and limited engagement with current research in SOTL. This motivated further investigation to identify mathematician’s information needs, their preferred methods of information seeking and how these factors relate to the way information about learning and teaching is disseminated.
METHODOLOGY This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 13 mathematicians and statisticians teaching in undergraduate programs in Australian universities. Using a phenomenological approach to analysis, the interviews were coded to identify the main themes in relation to information seeking and teaching practice.
CONCLUSIONS The study found that mathematicians needed discipline specific, practical and evidence-based information and advice about teaching, but that there were a number of barriers to them finding relevant information. Time pressures and past difficulties in locating useful information meant they did not actively search traditional academic journals, the internet or libraries. The main sources of information were trusted colleagues, local presentations and seminars on teaching initiatives, mentors and institutional working groups. These information seeking methods were largely passive, involving referral of information from trusted sources and accidental discovery. Their natural information-seeking behavior reflected a strong interest in networking and accessing shared discipline knowledge. This study indicates that there is potential for grass roots discipline networks and communities of practice for improving access to information to support the development of scholarly teaching. The findings indicate that dissemination of research and teaching innovations should involve a program of targeted presentations, engagement with discipline networks and development of connections with targeted academic faculties and schools to successfully engage with peers.
REFERENCES
Cretchley, P. (2009). Are Australian universities promoting learning and teaching activity effectively? An assessment of the effects on science and engineering academics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(7), 865-875.
Probert, B. (2014). Why scholarship matters in higher education. Discussion paper 2. Sydney: Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
Southwell, D., Gannaway, D., Orrell, J., Chalmers, D., & Abraham, C. (2010). Strategies for effective dissemination of the outcomes of teaching and learning projects. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(1), 55-67.
Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Curtin University, Sept 30th to Oct 1st, 2015, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6.
Over the last two decades, many Australian universities have relaxed their selection requirements... more Over the last two decades, many Australian universities have relaxed their selection requirements for mathematics-dependent degrees, shifting from hard prerequisites to assumed knowledge standards which provide students with an indication of the prior learning that is expected. This has been regarded by some as a positive move, since students who may be returning to study, or who are changing career paths but do not have particular prerequisite study, now have more flexible pathways. However, there is mounting evidence to indicate that there are also significant negative impacts associated with assumed knowledge approaches, with large numbers of students enrolling in degrees without the stated assumed knowledge. For students, there are negative impacts on pass rates and retention rates and limitations to pathways within particular degrees. For institutions, the necessity to offer additional mathematics subjects at a lower level than normal and more support services for under-prepared students impacts on workloads and resources. In this paper, we discuss early research from the First Year in Maths project, which begins to shed light on the realities of a system that may in fact be too flexible.
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology
While technology affords creation of digital collections, and promises access to all, the reality... more While technology affords creation of digital collections, and promises access to all, the reality is that many cultural data collections exist in a precarious ecosystem, where erratic funding, fragmented support, and disconnected expertise threaten their continued existence. As a significant branch of the broader information ecosystem, cultural data collections range in size and scope, from national institutions to bespoke local collections supported by individuals. This exploratory, qualitative study engaged cultural data experts in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom to map the broad cultural data ecosystem and to identify opportunities for healthier growth. The development and maintenance of cultural data collections requires integration across the spheres of expertise of creators, curators, subject matter experts, information science, and computing and technology. The foundational structural elements of the ecosystem include funding, policies, access to existing data, comm...
Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher Education, 2016
This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergr... more This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergraduate mathematics in Australian universities and the subsequent emergence of a community of practice. The network was intentionally established to build and support the leadership capacity of mathematicians who coordinate first-year mathematics subjects. To achieve this, events were held that focused on sharing knowledge, experiences, high quality resources and establishing supportive connections with colleagues. In the course of these activities, it became apparent that a fledgling community of practice existed with the development of a strong sense of identity and recognition of common challenges across institutional boundaries. The community leadership evolved over time, taking on roles from facilitation to advocacy on behalf of the network’s members, forming a group identity and sense of purpose. This case study illustrates the potential for a discipline-based, cross-institutional community of practice to support individuals in their development as change agents and to provide a platform from which national issues in higher education can be tackled.
The academics involved in teaching, coordinating and managing first year mathematics programs pla... more The academics involved in teaching, coordinating and managing first year mathematics programs play an important role in facilitating students’ transition from school to university. Typically, they possess attributes that give them an affinity for first year students’ needs and aspirations, and the ability to facilitate their learning. They have a significantly different role from their colleagues due to the particular demands created by the management of large numbers of students with diverse backgrounds. In this talk we will describe the preliminary findings of the current Office of Learning and Teaching funded project, First Year in Maths (FYiMaths), which seeks to articulate the role and value of the academics involved in teaching and managing first year mathematics programs and to develop their leadership via a supportive network . Interviews and workshops already conducted have highlighted the key challenges facing first year mathematics coordinators. Common threads identified ...
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mathematics departments experience many challenges in teaching increasingly l... more BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mathematics departments experience many challenges in teaching increasingly large cohorts of first-year students, who have more diverse academic backgrounds and lower levels of mathematical preparation than ever before. The situation is further complicated by the fact that many students are not particularly motivated to study mathematics, but are required to do so as part of their business, science, education, health sciences or engineering degrees. Institutions have responded by introducing a range of measures including establishment of teaching-focused academic roles, developing new approaches to teaching and in expanding mathematics support resources and services. However significant challenges still remain. In recognition of the complexity and size of first-year mathematics programs, a number of institutions have appointed academics to First Year Coordinator roles. These academics have a wide range of duties which can include the management and training of se...
Many universities in Australia no longer have prerequisite mathematics subjects for entry to degr... more Many universities in Australia no longer have prerequisite mathematics subjects for entry to degrees in science, mathematics, engineering and technology, opting for an 'assumed knowledge' entry requirement. There is growing concern in universities across the country that students entering science, engineering and technology degrees do not have the required mathematical background. In response, most universities now offer to commencing students, a variety of mathematics subjects at various levels, a range of support programs or have reviewed their teaching approaches and curriculum to accommodate the diversity of student backgrounds. The impact on universities is significant in terms of the cost of extra service provision, but is most commonly felt by frontline academic staff struggling to teach large classes of first-year students who don't have the required assumed knowledge. While these academics are making significant efforts to adapt their teaching, course content an...
Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the ch... more Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the changing needs of academic staff and students and respond to the wider availability of unmediated digital information (Jaguszewski & Williams, 2013). Many university libraries are responding by pursuing new methods of client engagement by providing more targeted and personalised library services (Tiffen & England, 2011). This paper presents findings from a small study of the information seeking approaches of 13 academics teaching mathematics in a range of Australian universities. It finds that while academics have direct access to more information than ever before, they are also time poor, face many challenges as teachers and are under increasing pressure to change their approaches to teaching. Findings suggest that communities of practice could be effective in supporting access to information about teaching. Librarians have the opportunity to foster such communities and to support the inf...
Background Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the jo... more Background Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, such as diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, most academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014). There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education who disseminate their research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This second gro...
In preparing for post-COVID-19 environment, this study sets out to explore the key barriers and c... more In preparing for post-COVID-19 environment, this study sets out to explore the key barriers and challenges facing university staff and external stakeholders in sustaining engagement, and proposes ways to improve university external engagement. A total of 25 in-depth interviews were conducted during the pandemic disruptions with university staff across disciplines, levels and portfolios at the University of Melbourne, aiming to explore the different meanings, purposes, barriers and future outlooks on the ways in which universities engage with our society.
Simple Privacy provides a system for Australian organisations to create privacy policies for the ... more Simple Privacy provides a system for Australian organisations to create privacy policies for the personal information they collect online. The privacy policies it creates are legally compliant and easy to understand. We developed this system because small Australian organisations seemed to find privacy policies too complicated to manage with the resources they have available.This paper describes the framework behind Simple Privacy and discusses the choices that we made during development. These choices balance the requirements of the privacy legislation and the needs of both organisations and customers.
This final report to the Office for Learning and Teaching on the FYiMaths project outlines the ap... more This final report to the Office for Learning and Teaching on the FYiMaths project outlines the approach, findings and achievements of the project. This project investigated all aspects of the role of First Year Mathematics Coordinator, identifying existing barriers and challenges to their ability to effect change in the learning and teaching of mathematics across the higher education sector. The First Year Mathematics Coordinators’ (FYiMaths) Network was established to support innovation in learning and teaching in mathematics and to strengthen the leadership capacity of academics in these roles. The project team collected data from in-depth interviews with academics coordinating first year mathematics programs and subjects, and feedback from participants who attended the events organised by the project team.
DISSEMINATING SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: USING GRASS ROOTS NETWORKING TO SHARE RESEARC... more DISSEMINATING SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING: USING GRASS ROOTS NETWORKING TO SHARE RESEARCH AND INFLUENCE TEACHING PRACTICE
Joann Cattlin, Deborah King
Presenting Author: Joann Cattlin (joann.cattlin@unimelb.edu.au ) aSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
KEYWORDS: mathematics, scholarship of teaching and learning, communities of practice
BACKGROUND Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, including diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, many academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014).
There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education that disseminates its research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This latter group is more likely to be interested in practical information and advice relating to implementation of teaching innovations, which are not generally presented in formal academic sources (Southwell, Gannaway, Orrell, Chalmers, & Abraham, 2010).
PURPOSE The First Year in Maths project (FYiMaths) identified many challenges for those teaching first-year mathematics, including limited access to information about teaching practices in mathematics at other universities and limited engagement with current research in SOTL. This motivated further investigation to identify mathematician’s information needs, their preferred methods of information seeking and how these factors relate to the way information about learning and teaching is disseminated.
METHODOLOGY This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 13 mathematicians and statisticians teaching in undergraduate programs in Australian universities. Using a phenomenological approach to analysis, the interviews were coded to identify the main themes in relation to information seeking and teaching practice.
CONCLUSIONS The study found that mathematicians needed discipline specific, practical and evidence-based information and advice about teaching, but that there were a number of barriers to them finding relevant information. Time pressures and past difficulties in locating useful information meant they did not actively search traditional academic journals, the internet or libraries. The main sources of information were trusted colleagues, local presentations and seminars on teaching initiatives, mentors and institutional working groups. These information seeking methods were largely passive, involving referral of information from trusted sources and accidental discovery. Their natural information-seeking behavior reflected a strong interest in networking and accessing shared discipline knowledge. This study indicates that there is potential for grass roots discipline networks and communities of practice for improving access to information to support the development of scholarly teaching. The findings indicate that dissemination of research and teaching innovations should involve a program of targeted presentations, engagement with discipline networks and development of connections with targeted academic faculties and schools to successfully engage with peers.
REFERENCES
Cretchley, P. (2009). Are Australian universities promoting learning and teaching activity effectively? An assessment of the effects on science and engineering academics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(7), 865-875.
Probert, B. (2014). Why scholarship matters in higher education. Discussion paper 2. Sydney: Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
Southwell, D., Gannaway, D., Orrell, J., Chalmers, D., & Abraham, C. (2010). Strategies for effective dissemination of the outcomes of teaching and learning projects. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(1), 55-67.
Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Curtin University, Sept 30th to Oct 1st, 2015, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6.
Over the last two decades, many Australian universities have relaxed their selection requirements... more Over the last two decades, many Australian universities have relaxed their selection requirements for mathematics-dependent degrees, shifting from hard prerequisites to assumed knowledge standards which provide students with an indication of the prior learning that is expected. This has been regarded by some as a positive move, since students who may be returning to study, or who are changing career paths but do not have particular prerequisite study, now have more flexible pathways. However, there is mounting evidence to indicate that there are also significant negative impacts associated with assumed knowledge approaches, with large numbers of students enrolling in degrees without the stated assumed knowledge. For students, there are negative impacts on pass rates and retention rates and limitations to pathways within particular degrees. For institutions, the necessity to offer additional mathematics subjects at a lower level than normal and more support services for under-prepared students impacts on workloads and resources. In this paper, we discuss early research from the First Year in Maths project, which begins to shed light on the realities of a system that may in fact be too flexible.
This report summarises insights from a study tour of eight universities in Canada and the United ... more This report summarises insights from a study tour of eight universities in Canada and the United States of America in June 2019 which focused on how institutions support research engagement. In informal meetings with 65 researchers from a range of disciplines and professional staff we discussed how and why universities supported researchers to engage with stakeholders and partners in their research, as well as the broader community, industry and government.
It was clear that while engagement was a fundamental part of many researcher's methodology and institutional missions, it required coordinated, targeted and timely support to not only be effective, but to build organisational capacity and reputation for generating research that makes a difference.
Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the ch... more Academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the changing needs of academic staff and students and respond to the wider availability of unmediated digital information (Jaguszewski & Williams, 2013). Many university libraries are responding by pursuing new methods of client engagement by providing more targeted and personalised library services (Tiffen & England, 2011). This paper presents findings from a small study of the information seeking approaches of 13 academics teaching mathematics in a range of Australian universities. It finds that while academics have direct access to more information than ever before, they are also time poor, face many challenges as teachers and are under increasing pressure to change their approaches to teaching. Findings suggest that communities of practice could be effective in supporting access to information about teaching. Librarians have the opportunity to foster such communities and to support the information gathering and sharing of the communities of practice.
Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Dreamers and Schemers
This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergr... more This case study details the development of a national network for mathematicians teaching undergraduate mathematics in Australian universities and the subsequent emergence of a community of practice. The network was intentionally established to build and support leadership capacity in mathematicians who coordinate first-year mathematics subjects. To achieve this, events were held which focused on the sharing of knowledge, experiences and high quality resources and supportive connections with colleagues were established. In the course of these activities it became apparent that a fledgling community of practice existed with the development of a strong sense of identity and recognition of common challenges across institutional boundaries. The community leadership evolved over time taking on roles from facilitation to advocacy on behalf of the network’s members, forming a group identity and sense of purpose. This case study illustrates the potential for a discipline-based, cross-institutional community of practice to support individuals in their development as change agents and to provide a platform from which national issues in higher education can be tackled.
While research collaborations between academics and industry/government and non-profit organisati... more While research collaborations between academics and industry/government and non-profit organisations is known to be an effective way of translating new knowledge into practice, there is limited understanding of how this is achieved at the project level. This paper provides a detailed case study of project (PM) strategies used in a research partnership and presents a model to guide development of PM in research partnerships. The research used a single study case study approach, involving semi-structured interviews and a focus group, which was situated in the existing literature on research partnerships and research project management. The findings are that the key PM strategies that support effective partnership projects are clear governance, stakeholder management and communication strategies to enable partner engagement. This paper contributes new insights to inform post-award support services for partnership projects.
The aim of this research was to understand how mathematicians sought information to assist them i... more The aim of this research was to understand how mathematicians sought information to assist them in developing their teaching practices, what resources they used and how this related to the way information about learning and teaching was disseminated. The research used qualitative data from interviews with thirteen mathematicians teaching in Australian universities. The findings indicate that mathematicians want to know how other mathematicians teach mathematics, largely develop their teaching practice 'on the job' and need practical and robust information relevant to teaching mathematics to address problems or develop new approaches to teaching. Mathematicians are time poor and access information on teaching mainly through colleagues, attending presentations and accidental discovery. Communities of practice exist within some mathematics departments and universities, providing significant support to new and existing staff in developing teaching practices. The dissemination of learning and teaching research in mathematics could be improved by universities supporting communities of practice, discipline specific learning and teaching events and repositories of good practice and evidence based research.
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Joann Cattlin, Deborah King
Presenting Author: Joann Cattlin (joann.cattlin@unimelb.edu.au )
aSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
KEYWORDS: mathematics, scholarship of teaching and learning, communities of practice
BACKGROUND
Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, including diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, many academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014).
There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education that disseminates its research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This latter group is more likely to be interested in practical information and advice relating to implementation of teaching innovations, which are not generally presented in formal academic sources (Southwell, Gannaway, Orrell, Chalmers, & Abraham, 2010).
PURPOSE
The First Year in Maths project (FYiMaths) identified many challenges for those teaching first-year mathematics, including limited access to information about teaching practices in mathematics at other universities and limited engagement with current research in SOTL. This motivated further investigation to identify mathematician’s information needs, their preferred methods of information seeking and how these factors relate to the way information about learning and teaching is disseminated.
METHODOLOGY
This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 13 mathematicians and statisticians teaching in undergraduate programs in Australian universities. Using a phenomenological approach to analysis, the interviews were coded to identify the main themes in relation to information seeking and teaching practice.
CONCLUSIONS
The study found that mathematicians needed discipline specific, practical and evidence-based information and advice about teaching, but that there were a number of barriers to them finding relevant information. Time pressures and past difficulties in locating useful information meant they did not actively search traditional academic journals, the internet or libraries. The main sources of information were trusted colleagues, local presentations and seminars on teaching initiatives, mentors and institutional working groups. These information seeking methods were largely passive, involving referral of information from trusted sources and accidental discovery. Their natural information-seeking behavior reflected a strong interest in networking and accessing shared discipline knowledge. This study indicates that there is potential for grass roots discipline networks and communities of practice for improving access to information to support the development of scholarly teaching. The findings indicate that dissemination of research and teaching innovations should involve a program of targeted presentations, engagement with discipline networks and development of connections with targeted academic faculties and schools to successfully engage with peers.
REFERENCES
Cretchley, P. (2009). Are Australian universities promoting learning and teaching activity effectively? An assessment of the effects on science and engineering academics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(7), 865-875.
Probert, B. (2014). Why scholarship matters in higher education. Discussion paper 2. Sydney: Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
Southwell, D., Gannaway, D., Orrell, J., Chalmers, D., & Abraham, C. (2010). Strategies for effective dissemination of the outcomes of teaching and learning projects. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(1), 55-67.
Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Curtin University, Sept 30th to Oct 1st, 2015, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6.
Joann Cattlin, Deborah King
Presenting Author: Joann Cattlin (joann.cattlin@unimelb.edu.au )
aSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
KEYWORDS: mathematics, scholarship of teaching and learning, communities of practice
BACKGROUND
Most mathematicians develop their teaching practice through a combination of on the job experience and guidance from colleagues. However this preparation may not be sufficient to equip them to face the many challenges of teaching undergraduate mathematics, including diverse first-year cohorts, incorporation of new teaching technologies and student disengagement. However due to research priorities and high workloads, many academics do not have the time or capacity to actively seek out information or assistance in developing their approach to teaching (Cretchley, 2009; Probert, 2014).
There is an active research community in undergraduate mathematics education that disseminates its research findings and teaching innovations through workshops, conferences, articles and websites. However the impact of these activities can be limited to those already engaged in scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) and may not reach the wider audience of teaching academics. This latter group is more likely to be interested in practical information and advice relating to implementation of teaching innovations, which are not generally presented in formal academic sources (Southwell, Gannaway, Orrell, Chalmers, & Abraham, 2010).
PURPOSE
The First Year in Maths project (FYiMaths) identified many challenges for those teaching first-year mathematics, including limited access to information about teaching practices in mathematics at other universities and limited engagement with current research in SOTL. This motivated further investigation to identify mathematician’s information needs, their preferred methods of information seeking and how these factors relate to the way information about learning and teaching is disseminated.
METHODOLOGY
This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 13 mathematicians and statisticians teaching in undergraduate programs in Australian universities. Using a phenomenological approach to analysis, the interviews were coded to identify the main themes in relation to information seeking and teaching practice.
CONCLUSIONS
The study found that mathematicians needed discipline specific, practical and evidence-based information and advice about teaching, but that there were a number of barriers to them finding relevant information. Time pressures and past difficulties in locating useful information meant they did not actively search traditional academic journals, the internet or libraries. The main sources of information were trusted colleagues, local presentations and seminars on teaching initiatives, mentors and institutional working groups. These information seeking methods were largely passive, involving referral of information from trusted sources and accidental discovery. Their natural information-seeking behavior reflected a strong interest in networking and accessing shared discipline knowledge. This study indicates that there is potential for grass roots discipline networks and communities of practice for improving access to information to support the development of scholarly teaching. The findings indicate that dissemination of research and teaching innovations should involve a program of targeted presentations, engagement with discipline networks and development of connections with targeted academic faculties and schools to successfully engage with peers.
REFERENCES
Cretchley, P. (2009). Are Australian universities promoting learning and teaching activity effectively? An assessment of the effects on science and engineering academics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(7), 865-875.
Probert, B. (2014). Why scholarship matters in higher education. Discussion paper 2. Sydney: Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
Southwell, D., Gannaway, D., Orrell, J., Chalmers, D., & Abraham, C. (2010). Strategies for effective dissemination of the outcomes of teaching and learning projects. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(1), 55-67.
Proceedings of the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Curtin University, Sept 30th to Oct 1st, 2015, page X, ISBN Number 978-0-9871834-4-6.
It was clear that while engagement was a fundamental part of many researcher's methodology and institutional missions, it required coordinated, targeted and timely support to not only be effective, but to build organisational capacity and reputation for generating research that makes a difference.