Honours in Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2012

Honours in Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2012

Dr John WillisonDiscipline of Higher Education

School of Education

Interviews with students completing honours year

• ‘[a]mong the terms used by the students when describing their Honours year were guilt, fear, enjoyment, panic, frustration, pride, doubt, anxiety, nervousness, excitement and passion’ (Allen, 2011, p. 426-7).

‘Right now I’m still overwhelmed. A tingling sensation throughout my whole body.’

‘Lightning never strikes twice in the same place’ (in the same storm)

• Was Dom and the magpie right to park near or/perch in the tree?

• Using your knowledge of electricity, biological systems (bodies and trees) and non-biological systems (cars and electronic systems), and any source of information, list reasons why this adage may be true and reasons why this adage may be wrong.

• 3 minutes: decide if adage is more likely correct or incorrect

Reasons why this adage may be true

Reasons why this adage may be wrong

Group with the most reasons reads them out.

What skills did you use to do that?

RSD Facets Audience’s AnalysisA. Embark &

determine need

B. Find & Generate

C. Evaluate

D. Perform necessary processes

E. Organise selves

F. Communicate

Degree of Independence in Research

References• Allan, C. (2011). Exploring the experience of ten Australian

Honours students. Higher Education Research and Development 30 (4), pp. 421-433.

• Willison, J.W. & O’Regan, K. (2006).Research Skill Development framework. Available at www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/rsd

• Willison, J.W. & O’Regan, K. (2007). Commonly known, commonly not known, totally unknown: A framework for students becoming researchers. Higher Education Research and Development 26 (4), pp. 493- 509.

Slide 18

“I know that research is important, not only from an educational perspective, but if I’m in a work situation... it’s just basically understanding what I want to achieve in my role with my customer... and how I actually go about breaking that down into manageable easy steps. So, yes, it’s got a practical application in my world in what I do. -Monash Business Ethics Student Summer 07-08 Cohort, interviewed in April 2009.

89% of students indicated the research skills they developed would be useful in employment

Why develop students’ research skills?

Research Skills Developed in Single-courses

• I don’t think I’ve ever had so much emphasis placed on credible sourcing before. Like we would just use a random website, really, and not think about who had actually put that up there. This subject really helped me think like that, even at my own workplace...

Skills typically developed, from academics and students perspective were:

• Question posing• Finding relevant information• Evaluating information 20

Key RequirementsStructure

Explicit

Incremental

Coherent

A common frame

‘… given the growth of ever more detailed marking schemes for assessments, does feedback become something which is too specific to a single episode of assessment rather than generalisable to the learning experience as a whole’ (Adcroft, 2011 p. 417).

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An Activity to Explicate Research Skill

Should I click on ‘Complete Formular’ to get my tax return?

Each pair/trio has 2 minutes to list as many indicators of credibility as possible• positive indicators- reasons to believe• negative indicators- reasons to not believe

Group with the highest number of indicators reads them out.

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All facets are utilised in:

literature/published data research laboratory research clinical research field research combined forms discipline-based & interdisciplinary research

Six Facets of Research

The facets of researchIn researching, students:embark & clarify Embark on research and clarify need for knowledge/ understanding

find & generate Find & generate needed information using appropriate methodology evaluate & reflectEvaluate information & data and reflect on the research process

organise & manageorganise information collected/generated and manage research processes

analyse & synthesise synthesise and analyse new knowledge

communicate & applyCommunicate processes, understandings and applications of the research, mindful of ethical, social and cultural issues. (Willison & O’Regan, 2006)

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Affective Domain

Facet A: Students embark, & clarify the knowledge that is needed

Curious‘I am neither especially clever nor especially

gifted. I am only very, very curious.’Albert Einstein

‘It inspires something in you that makes you want to find out’First Year Human Biology Student

Decidedly curious…

… being in query

Determined to get there in the end…

Being determined puts the ‘re’ in research

Discerning the valuable amongst the valueless

Affective Domain (continued)

Facet D: students organise & manage information collected/generated and research processes

• Harmonising • Resonating with the data, making hidden

patterns obvious‘Out of clutter, find simplicity.’ Albert Einstein• Working harmoniously with people, processes

Harmonising

On song with inputsIn tune with peopleHound dog harmonising

Creative

vConstructive

September 2008

September 2011

A definition of Researching

Applying increasing rigor and discernment to a search for

knowledge and understanding