Andrea R Carr
University of Tasmania, Heath Science, Faculty Member
AIM The aim of this integrative review is to explore how formative online multiple-choice tests used in nurse education promote self-regulated learning and report on pedagogies that support their design. BACKGROUND Online multiple-choice... more
AIM The aim of this integrative review is to explore how formative online multiple-choice tests used in nurse education promote self-regulated learning and report on pedagogies that support their design. BACKGROUND Online multiple-choice tests are widely used as learning and formative assessment tools in a range of educational contexts. However, little is known about how these tools are used to promote patterns of learner self-regulation. It is important that nurses and nursing students develop the capability to self-regulate learning to be effective lifelong learners and navigate complex and unfamiliar practice environments. DESIGN A five-stage approach guided this integrative review: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation. METHOD A systematic search of ERIC, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, Scopus, PubMed, Embase and CINAHL was conducted in February 2021. Seventeen peer-reviewed papers were identified that discussed formative online multiple-choice tests in nurse education. Purposive sampling and ancestry searching identified an additional paper. Articles were analysed and sorted into themes of outcomes (presented as components of self-regulated learning theory) and pedagogy. RESULTS Formative online multiple-choice tests are used with good effect in nurse education as measured by knowledge gain and exam performance, increased confidence and learner satisfaction. There was no literature that explored metacognitive outcomes and minimal literature considered behavioural outcomes. Pedagogy supporting the implementation of multiple-choice tests was lacking in most articles. CONCLUSIONS Formative online multiple-choice tests are widely used with good effect in nurse education. However, opportunities for further research on how these tools can encourage metacognition and self-regulatory behaviours is warranted.
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The Higher Education Standards (HES) Framework prescribes the minimum requirements for provision of higher education in Australia. Standard 5.3 in particular functions as a driver for continuous evaluation informing ongoing curriculum... more
The Higher Education Standards (HES) Framework prescribes the minimum requirements for provision of higher education in Australia. Standard 5.3 in particular functions as a driver for continuous evaluation informing ongoing curriculum transformation. This paper presents a conceptual approach and framework for embedding evaluation into course curricula. The Curriculum Evaluation and Research (CER) framework establishes a scholarly regime for routine collection of natural, grade and demographic data that is available for research purposes and quality assuring curricula against the threshold standards in the HES Framework. Additionally, the paper outlines a number of practical resources for use by teaching teams to address sector, institutional and academic expectations of renewal and transformation of curricula through evidencebased curriculum design and teaching practice. This paper reports the initial phases of developing and implementing the CER framework and enabling resources. The CER framework is a design-based approach to curriculum evaluation and research that can simplify data collection and analysis, by ensuring alignment of educational research questions with questions asked by external accreditation agents and questions asked by teachers of their units and the courses in which they teach. It has demonstrated capacity to ensure that scholarship informs and underpins course design, and routine evaluation assures the ongoing development of learning activities and assessment (HES Framework 3.1.2, 3.2.3). The CER framework provides a sustainable and effective approach to engage teachers in a collaborative endeavour of ongoing curriculum evaluation; evidencebased curriculum transformation and embedding educational research into teaching practice as a scholarly approach, ensuring regulatory requirements are met.
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The Curriculum Evaluation Research (CER) Framework was developed as a response to increasing scrutiny and expectations of the higher education sector, including legislated standards for curriculum and professional teachers that explicitly... more
The Curriculum Evaluation Research (CER) Framework was developed as a response to increasing scrutiny and expectations of the higher education sector, including legislated standards for curriculum and professional teachers that explicitly require a systematic and comprehensive approach to evaluating curriculum. The CER Framework is designed to facilitate a scholarly environment to drive and assure the quality of a curriculum and the capabilities of its teaching team. It stems from a synthesis of teacher as action researcher (TAAR), quality improvement (QI), quality assurance (QA), and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) applied to the curriculum as it is designed, taught, and revised. In this chapter, the implementation of the CER Framework to the University College is reviewed and evaluated. The University College is an organisational unit comprises approximately 600 students and 80 staff. This chapter includes a reflection on the barriers and enablers of implementing the CER Framework.
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COVID-19 has significantly impacted teaching and learning in higher education, leading institutions to embrace Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) in response to school and university closure. A systematic review research methodology was used... more
COVID-19 has significantly impacted teaching and learning in higher education, leading institutions to embrace Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) in response to school and university closure. A systematic review research methodology was used to identify, analyse and synthesise literature on professional development in higher education published between 2010 and 2020. Following an inductive thematic analysis, the authors identified four themes that represent the literature: learning approaches, delivery modes, design features and institutional support. Based on the emerging themes and the analysis of the selection of studies, a framework for professional development is proposed to prepare teachers in higher education for ERT. The use of the framework is recommended to guide higher education institutions in best assisting their academic staff during an ERT context.
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<p>Instruction main effect at P300 amplitude to the “increase” instructional set.</p
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<p>Mean Scores for Arousal, Valence, Emotional Intensity (EI), and Utilised Effort for Instructions for Men and Women (Standard Deviations in Parentheses).</p
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<p>Topographies of the Sex main effects at N100 and N200 amplitude, the Instruction main effect at P300 amplitude, and the Instruction×Site×Sex interaction for mean LPP amplitude to the ‘increase” instructional set (blue negative,... more
<p>Topographies of the Sex main effects at N100 and N200 amplitude, the Instruction main effect at P300 amplitude, and the Instruction×Site×Sex interaction for mean LPP amplitude to the ‘increase” instructional set (blue negative, red positive).</p
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<p>Instruction×Site×Sex interaction for mean LPP amplitude to the “increase” instructional set.</p
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<p>Mean Scores for Age, Depressed Mood, Anxiety, Stress, and Reappraisal and Suppression Emotion Regulation Strategies for Men and Women (Standard Deviations in Parentheses).</p
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<p>The Site×Sex interaction for mean N100 amplitude to the “decrease” instructional set.</p
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<p>Sex main effects at N100 and N200 amplitude to the “increase” instructional set.</p
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<p>Grand mean average waveforms, including amplitude (µV) from midline regions for the “increase” and “decrease” instructional set for men and women.</p
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Immersive learning environments require effective facilitators to enable student learning. In current literature on immersive learning, there is limited insight on the role that teacher behaviors have on fostering learning. Despite this,... more
Immersive learning environments require effective facilitators to enable student learning. In current literature on immersive learning, there is limited insight on the role that teacher behaviors have on fostering learning. Despite this, there is considerable literature on the role of the teacher as a leader in contemporary classrooms. This chapter focuses on the authentic leader behaviors in teachers and how this may affect student success. While student learning can be viewed from many perspectives, this chapter focuses on three perspectives: affective, cognitive, and pedagogical. The literature enables the establishment of the belief that teachers who embody authentic leader behaviors are likely to be more successful in facilitating student learning within an immersive learning environment. Implications and future research opportunities are also highlighted as a result of the theory generation in this chapter.
Dementia prevalence and the demand for dementia care are increasing. Informal caregiving accounts for a large proportion of dementia care, but can come at high cost for caregivers. Informal dementia caregivers are at higher risk for... more
Dementia prevalence and the demand for dementia care are increasing. Informal caregiving accounts for a large proportion of dementia care, but can come at high cost for caregivers. Informal dementia caregivers are at higher risk for mental health problems than the general population. This study examines whether perceived change in leisure activities is one working mechanism linking stress and burden experience in dementia caregiving to lower mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and reduced satisfaction with life), and whether there are group-based leisure activities that can buffer this detrimental effect. A total of 346 informal Australian dementia caregivers (88.15% female, age 18-82 years) participated in an online study. Mediation and moderation analyses using multiple regression demonstrated that perceived changes in leisure activities linked caregiving stress and burden to lower mental health, and that membership in groups engaging in affiliation or social activities attenuates negative effects of caregiving. Informal dementia caregivers benefit from satisfying leisure activities. In particular, engaging in social activities and self-help groups buffered the negative impact of caregiving.
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This article presents a method to evaluate undergraduate and postgraduate course teaching efficiency systematically, alongside measuring effectiveness of curriculum content and delivery. We argue that efficiency is aligned to cost and... more
This article presents a method to evaluate undergraduate and postgraduate course teaching efficiency systematically, alongside measuring effectiveness of curriculum content and delivery. We argue that efficiency is aligned to cost and revenue while effectiveness is a quality-related construct. These potentially antagonistic elements ? cost, revenue and quality ? must be kept in balance if courses are to be attractive to students (high quality) and financially viable. Curriculum data collection and analysis spanned micro (unit), meso (course) and macro (faculty) level. Revenue data consisted of annual teaching student enrolment numbers by unit of study, aggregated to course level. Cost data included academic and administrative staff costs, and student professional experience placement expenditure. A teaching revenue to cost of delivery ratio metric and course quality score metric were developed to enable comparisons of units and course performance. Over time, these metrics, when utilised together, could be used to determine the impact of quality improvement interventions on teaching cost and revenue and vice versa. We argue that this approach supports strategic planning and actions to improve both efficiency and effectiveness of units and courses, without negatively affecting quality.
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A cognitive model of social anxiety predicts that an early attentional bias leads to greater cognitive processing of social threat signals, whereas the vigilance-avoidance model predicts there will be subsequent reduction in cognitive... more
A cognitive model of social anxiety predicts that an early attentional bias leads to greater cognitive processing of social threat signals, whereas the vigilance-avoidance model predicts there will be subsequent reduction in cognitive processing. This study tests these models by examining neural responses to social threat stimuli using Event-related potentials (ERP). 19 women with high trait social anxiety and 19 women with low trait social anxiety viewed emotional expressions (angry, disgusted, happy and neutral) in a passive viewing task whilst ERP responses were recorded. The HSA group revealed greater automatic attention, or hypervigilance, to all facial expressions, as indexed by greater N1 amplitude compared to the LSA group. They also showed greater sustained attention and elaborative processing of all facial expressions, indexed by significantly increased P2 and P3 amplitudes compared to the LSA group. These results support cognitive models of social anxiety, but are not con...
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Event-related potential (ERP) studies have revealed an early attentional bias in processing unpleasant emotional images in women. Recent neuroimaging data suggests there are significant differences in cortical emotional processing... more
Event-related potential (ERP) studies have revealed an early attentional bias in processing unpleasant emotional images in women. Recent neuroimaging data suggests there are significant differences in cortical emotional processing according to menstrual phase. This study examined the impact of menstrual phase on visual emotional processing in women compared to men. ERPs were recorded from 28 early follicular women, 29 midluteal women, and 27 men while they completed a passive viewing task of neutral and low- and high- arousing pleasant and unpleasant images. There was a significant effect of menstrual phase in early visual processing, as midluteal women displayed significantly greater P1 amplitude at occipital regions to all visual images compared to men. Both midluteal and early follicular women displayed larger N1 amplitudes than men (although this only reached significance for the midluteal group) to the visual images. No sex or menstrual phase differences were apparent in later N2, P3, or LPP. A condition effect demonstrated greater P3 and LPP amplitude to highly-arousing unpleasant images relative to all other stimuli conditions. These results indicate that women have greater early automatic visual processing compared to men, and suggests that this effect is particularly strong in women in the midluteal phase at the earliest stage of visual attention processing. Our findings highlight the importance of considering menstrual phase when examining sex differences in the cortical processing of visual stimuli.
Research Interests: Visual perception, Attention, Electroencephalography, Adolescent, Emotions, and 15 moreBrain Mapping, Brain, Evoked Potentials, Progesterone, Humans, Female, Young Adult, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Saliva, Adult, Estradiol, Follicular phase, photic stimulation, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research on undergraduate students’ perceptions of palliative care for people with dementia is scant. Most of this research has focused on the views of undergraduate students from nursing, medicine and pharmacy disciplines with a general... more
Research on undergraduate students’ perceptions of palliative care for people with dementia is scant. Most of this research has focused on the views of undergraduate students from nursing, medicine and pharmacy disciplines with a general focus on end-of-life care for older adults, and rarely focus explicitly on palliation in dementia care. The aim of this study was to gain further understanding of the perspectives of undergraduate students on their experiences and meaning of palliative care, who were enrolled in a new degree called the Bachelor of Dementia Care at the University of Tasmania. A qualitative study was conducted in an online tertiary environment. Thirty second year undergraduate students enrolled in a unit called Principles of Palliation in Dementia Care were recruited. All students were invited to contribute to an online discussion board where they were asked to describe in writing what palliative care meant to them, and their previous experiences with palliative care....
ABSTRACT The Associate Degree in Dementia Care is a course offered by the University of Tasmania, developed in consultation with the Australian aged care industry to support the professional development of its workforce. Aged care workers... more
ABSTRACT The Associate Degree in Dementia Care is a course offered by the University of Tasmania, developed in consultation with the Australian aged care industry to support the professional development of its workforce. Aged care workers do not typically possess higher education qualifications and the initial cohort of 180 students, consisted predominantly of mature age, non-traditional students normally classified as ‘high risk’ of failing to meet the demands of a university level degree. The challenge in designing a course targeting this workforce was to create a learning place in which students could succeed and, in turn, become change agents in the field of dementia care. This paper describes the rationale and method of course design and implementation, reports the demographics and retention data for the first student cohort, and shares barriers to retention and progression. The course development approach aligned curriculum design (content and delivery) with staff recruitment and provision for student support. The interventions designed into the course, including a dedicated student support officer, highly scaffolded foundation units and blended learning delivery mode. Early outcomes evidence attrition rates comparable with the first year of undergraduate studies and lower than for other pre-degree courses. The authors argue the curricular approach underpinning the broader course design provides a model for other pre-degree courses where enrolled students are at increased progression risk due to entry-level capabilities and personal background and where there is strong industry engagement in selection and support of students.
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Several ERP correlates of response-monitoring have been investigated over the past two decades, with a number of competing theories emerging. Models of early negative components focus on explanations involving a comparative process... more
Several ERP correlates of response-monitoring have been investigated over the past two decades, with a number of competing theories emerging. Models of early negative components focus on explanations involving a comparative process between error and ...
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This study investigated gender differences in two key processes involved in anxiety, arousal and attentional bias towards threat. Arousal was assessed using salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a biomarker of noradrenergic arousal and attention... more
This study investigated gender differences in two key processes involved in anxiety, arousal and attentional bias towards threat. Arousal was assessed using salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a biomarker of noradrenergic arousal and attention bias using a dot-probe task. Twenty-nine women and 27 men completed the dot-probe task and provided saliva samples before and after a stress induction [cold pressor stress (CPS) test]. Women displayed a significant increase in arousal (sAA) following the stressor compared to men, who displayed a significant reduction in arousal. Reaction time data revealed a significant avoidance of threat in women at baseline, but a significant change to an attention bias towards threat following the stressor. Men did not significantly respond to the stressor in terms of attentional bias. These findings suggest that women are more reactive to a stressor than men, and display an initial avoidance response to threat, but an attentional bias towards threat following s...
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The University of Tasmania established a project in 2009 to investigate the particular needs of casual teaching staff, identify strategies to improve access to information, and facilitate a consistent approach to employment, induction,... more
The University of Tasmania established a project in 2009 to investigate the particular needs of casual teaching staff, identify strategies to improve access to information, and facilitate a consistent approach to employment, induction, development and recognition. The project was managed by the university learning and teaching centre, and co-ordinated by a Reference Group. A preliminary survey in 2010 explored casual teaching staff information and resource needs and a mapping exercise was undertaken to establish institutional practices. The findings of the preliminary 2010 survey and mapping exercise prompted the development of an institution-wide Casual Teaching Staff Policy. The preliminary 2010 survey was subsequently updated and a second survey administered in 2012 to obtain additional baseline data against which to evaluate the casual teaching staff project and implementation of the Casual Teaching Staff Policy. This paper presents the results of the 2012 survey designed with this dual focus in mind. The 2012 survey items were explicitly aligned to the Sessional Staff Standards Framework arising from the Benchmarking Leadership and Advancement of Standards for Sessional Teaching (BLASST) project. The 2012 survey results were mapped to the Sessional Staff Standards Framework guiding principles (Quality Learning and Teaching, Sessional Staff Support and Sustainability), standards (Good Practice, Minimum Standard, Unsustainable), and criteria spanning different institutional levels (Institutional Level, Faculty Level, Department Level, Individual Level). Together the quantitative and qualitative survey data results provide a rich depiction of the world of casual teaching staff at the University of Tasmania. On the one hand the results evidence examples of well-supported, fully engaged casual teaching staff; on the other hand, a distressing picture emerges for many such staff. The findings are presented with discussion regarding the requisite ensuing steps in this ongoing initiative to improve the employment, induction, development and recognition experiences of University of Tasmania casual teaching staff.
HERDSA Conference. July 2-5, 2018.
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Casualisation of the academic labour market represents a sector-wide response to student enrolment and budget uncertainties. Staffing represents the largest cost item for Australian universities, as indicated by the Tertiary Education... more
Casualisation of the academic labour market represents a sector-wide response to student enrolment and budget uncertainties. Staffing represents the largest cost item for Australian universities, as indicated by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 2016 report, Key financial metrics on Australia's higher education sector - December 2016. Increasing proportions of teaching staff employed at universities on casual or sessional contracts constitutes what Gary Hall coined as the ‘uberification’ of higher education teaching characterised by engagement as needed; little or no job security; little or no professional development.
Casual teachers make up a significant proportion of the academic workforce in universities worldwide. Training and support for these staff has implications for quality of learning and student experience. Organisational support, professional development, recognition and reward that is inclusive of casual teaching staff enables all staff to undertake their roles effectively and also facilitates retention of good teachers.
This showcase aligns with the conference theme by contrasting the value to the sector of casual teachers in creating high quality graduates against their apparent lack of value as evidenced by paucity of professional and career support that many institutions provide them. The Higher Education Standards Framework (2015) indicates provision of professional development for all teaching staff, suggesting that a (re)valuing of our casual teachers is appropriate.
This showcase presents and describes the themes identified from a 2016 survey based on national research into sessional (casual) staff standards and aligned with the Benchmarking Leadership and Advancement of Standards for Sessional Teaching (BLASST) project’s sessional staff standards framework. The discussion includes comparison with the results from the equivalent 2012 survey and focuses on the evidence that the shift to uberification is well-established and having a profound effect on academic identity for the majority of academics. Casual academic teaching staff are disadvantaged in several respects in comparison to academic staff employed on continuing and fixed term contracts. The Bradley Report found that income insecurity, unpaid work in addition to formal workload, and isolation is a common experience for sessional (casual) academics. Higher Education literature and data from the survey, and survey data, consistently indicate that casual teaching staff are invisible in the higher education workplace with limited access to resources, including professional development. In addition, women are disproportionately likely to have insecure and inhibited career pathways, largely employed in lower level academic positions.
A mixed methods approach: quantitative survey data juxtaposed with thematic analysis of qualitative data from survey respondents’ open-ended answers and follow-up focus group comments; investigates the experiences and opinions of casual teaching staff at an Australian university. The BLASST Framework guiding principles (Support, Quality Learning and Teaching, Sustainability) provided the meta-themes to frame the data analysis.
While no significant change in the prospects for casual teachers at the university appeared during this study, findings will aid institutions seeking to guide initiatives to enhance contributions of casual staff to quality learning and teaching and support professional development opportunities for academics.
Casual teachers make up a significant proportion of the academic workforce in universities worldwide. Training and support for these staff has implications for quality of learning and student experience. Organisational support, professional development, recognition and reward that is inclusive of casual teaching staff enables all staff to undertake their roles effectively and also facilitates retention of good teachers.
This showcase aligns with the conference theme by contrasting the value to the sector of casual teachers in creating high quality graduates against their apparent lack of value as evidenced by paucity of professional and career support that many institutions provide them. The Higher Education Standards Framework (2015) indicates provision of professional development for all teaching staff, suggesting that a (re)valuing of our casual teachers is appropriate.
This showcase presents and describes the themes identified from a 2016 survey based on national research into sessional (casual) staff standards and aligned with the Benchmarking Leadership and Advancement of Standards for Sessional Teaching (BLASST) project’s sessional staff standards framework. The discussion includes comparison with the results from the equivalent 2012 survey and focuses on the evidence that the shift to uberification is well-established and having a profound effect on academic identity for the majority of academics. Casual academic teaching staff are disadvantaged in several respects in comparison to academic staff employed on continuing and fixed term contracts. The Bradley Report found that income insecurity, unpaid work in addition to formal workload, and isolation is a common experience for sessional (casual) academics. Higher Education literature and data from the survey, and survey data, consistently indicate that casual teaching staff are invisible in the higher education workplace with limited access to resources, including professional development. In addition, women are disproportionately likely to have insecure and inhibited career pathways, largely employed in lower level academic positions.
A mixed methods approach: quantitative survey data juxtaposed with thematic analysis of qualitative data from survey respondents’ open-ended answers and follow-up focus group comments; investigates the experiences and opinions of casual teaching staff at an Australian university. The BLASST Framework guiding principles (Support, Quality Learning and Teaching, Sustainability) provided the meta-themes to frame the data analysis.
While no significant change in the prospects for casual teachers at the university appeared during this study, findings will aid institutions seeking to guide initiatives to enhance contributions of casual staff to quality learning and teaching and support professional development opportunities for academics.