ANNUAL REPORT 2013

LEARNING CENTRE

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                             Annual  Report  2013    Learning Centre The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Telephone: +61 2 93513853 Facsimile: +61 2 93514865 E-mail: learning.centre@sydney.edu.au sydney.edu.au/lc

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Table  of  Contents  List of Figures and Tables 3

Executive Summary 4

Staff 11

Introduction 13

1.0 LC Goal 1: Support the Enhancement of Quality Learning and Teaching 13 1.1 Strategy 1: Central Program, Individual Learning Program and Projects 14 1.1.1 Central Workshop Program 15 1.1.2 Student demographics 15 1.1.3 Faculty Profile of Enrolments in Central Workshop Program 17 1.1.4 Independent Learning Program (ILP) 17 1.1.5 Central Program Projects 17 1.2 Strategy 2: Faculty Program and Projects 18 1.2.1 Faculty projects 19 1.3 Strategy 3: Elearning Program 20

2.0 LC Goal 2: Support the University’s diverse cohort of students 23 2.1 Strategy 4: Teaching and research supporting students from diverse backgrounds 23 2.1.1 Projects supporting students from diverse backgrounds 24

3.0 LC Goal 3: Support the research and evidence basis which informs teaching 30 and learning 3.1 Strategy 5: Staff research within the Learning Centre and with staff in Faculties 30 3.1.1 Research Projects 30 3.1.2 Higher degree research 33 3.2 Strategy 6: Publications, grants and awards 34 3.3 Strategy 7: Leadership in the profession and the University 35 3.3.1 Leadership within the Profession 35 3.3.2 Leadership within the University 37

4.0 Future Directions 38

5.0 Appendices 39

           

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List  of  Figures  and  Tables   Figure 1: Number of student enrolments in Central Program in 2013 by Faculty 17 Figure 2: 2013 Student Evaluations of Academic Reading/Writing Workshops, Central 48 Program, Camperdown Campus Figure 3: 2013 Student Evaluations of Postgraduate Research and Coursework Workshops, 49 Central Program, Camperdown Campus Figure 4: 2013 Student Evaluations of Honours Workshops, Central Program, 49 Camperdown Campus Figure 5: 2013 Student Evaluations of Exam Preparation/Study Skills Workshops, Central 50 Program, Camperdown Campus Figure 6: 2013 Student Evaluations of Oral Presentation Workshops, Central Program, 50 Camperdown Campus Table 1: Summary of Learning Centre Teaching 2012-2013 14 Table 2: 2013 Student Enrolments per variable in Central Workshop Program 16 compared with overall University enrolments Table 3: 2013 Number of student enrolments in LC Faculty Program per Faculty and 19 comparison with overall University enrolment per Faculty Table 4: Voluntary Generic Programs for both UG and PG Students 2013 39 Table 5: Summary of Teaching in LC Faculty Teaching Activities 2013 41 Table 6: 2013 Number of student enrolments in LC Faculty Program per Faculty 42 and comparison with overall University enrolment per Faculty Table 7: Summary of Teaching in LC Faculty Program 2013 43 Table 8: Summary of Orientation Activities with Students in 2013 45 Table 9: Summary of Teaching Activities outside Faculties 2013 46 Table 10: 2013 Qualitative comments from evaluations of a sample of LC Central 47 Program Workshops Table 11: 2013 Qualitative comments from evaluations of a sample of Faculty Workshops 47

   

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Executive  Summary  The Learning Centre (LC) is one of a number of central units of the Education portfolio under the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education). Together with the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL), and the Mathematics Learning Centre (MLC), the LC provides scholarly support and strategic leadership for the planning and implementation of teaching and learning initiatives across the university. As part of the Education portfolio, the goals of the Learning Centre support the achievement of the goals of the Strategic Plan of the University of Sydney 2011-2015, specifically: Learning Centre Goals University Strategic Plan Goal 1 Support the enhancement of quality learning and teaching

Support curriculum renewal Support research talent from undergraduate students to research leaders

Goal 2 Support the University’s diverse cohort of students

Promote Indigenous participation, engagement, education and research

Support promising students from a diversity of social and cultural backgrounds

Goal 3 Support the research and evidence basis which informs teaching and learning

Support curriculum renewal

In 2013, the Learning Centre (Camperdown/Darlington Campus) had 5.8 full-time equivalent academic staff on continuing positions, one full-time teaching-focused position and one full-time administrative staff member. The Learning Centre (Cumberland Campus) had 0.6 full-time equivalent general staff (Learning Skills Advisers) on a continuing position. Teaching was also provided by casual staff, made possible by funds from special project grants, and by funds from Faculty sources for specific initiatives.

The primary role of the Centre is to assist all enrolled students to develop and enhance their learning and academic literacy. The Centre achieves this through each of its four main programs:

• the Central Program of academic skills workshops and orientation lectures • the Faculty Program of learning and teaching development activities in collaboration with faculties

across the University • the eLearning Program of projects • the Individual Learning Program (ILP) of resources and consultations for individual students.

The teaching development, eLearning, and research projects (both internally and externally funded) inform each of the Centre’s programs and allow for a rich interchange among programs. Often these projects involve collaboration between the Centre and faculties, or other central units. The last two years of the Learning Centre’s work have seen an interesting shift from University and externally funded teaching improvement projects to those funded through the Higher Education

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Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP). Major projects undertaken in 2013 included leadership and participation in three Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) projects, and several HEPPP projects.

 

MAJOR  ACHIEVEMENTS    

Goal  1:  Support  the  Enhancement  of  Quality  Learning  and  Teaching  

Provision of learning support. Using a combination of Faculty Teaching Activities, Central Programs and a Teaching Program outside faculties, the Learning Centre provided language, communication and learning support for 7056 students in 2013. The Learning Centre’s on-line and self access resources recorded 38530 unique visits.

• A total of 1603 students from 16 faculties enrolled in the Central Workshop Program. As in past years, the greatest participation was from the faculties of Arts & Social Sciences and Business, followed by Science and Engineering & IT. This reflects the general patterns of enrolment per faculty for the University.

• A total of 2255 students received language and learning support through the faculty program operating in schools/departments from 14 Faculties of the University including the Koori Centre.

• The MASUS academic literacy diagnostic procedure and tutor training in the use of the procedure was implemented in Nursing & Midwifery, the Cadigal Program, Pharmacy, Engineering & IT, Education & Social Work and Architecture Design & Planning. 524 students (486 first year and 38 postgraduate students) were assessed. Follow-up sessions of academic literacy support were provided in all cases. The responsibility for carrying out the MASUS procedure has been handed over to faculty staff in some cases.

Further details of these projects and others can be found in Section 1.2.1 on p.18.

ELearning Program. The eLearning Program involves internal and external collaborations with academic staff in faculties and staff in central units on projects designed to enhance and support students’ eLearning. The following were key eLearning projects undertaken in 2013:

• OLT/ ALTC: An Online Writing Centre for Undergraduate Engineering Students: a One Stop Shop http://iwrite.sydney.edu.au

The final report to the OLT was submitted in May 2013 and published on the OLT website in October. It can be accessed at http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-library

• OLT grant: Driving curriculum and technological change to support writing in the engineering disciplines – LC consultancy.

• Online Academic Writing Modules. In 2013 the deployment of some elements to BB9 commenced and others will follow in 2014.

Support for curriculum renewal. The Learning Centre works with faculty staff across the university to support curriculum renewal. New 2013 initiatives included:

• The Learning Centre leadership of the cross institutional English Language Working party which produced the Academic Board approved document: Good Practice Guidelines for the Development of Students Academic and Professional Communication Skills at the University of Sydney.

• A new widening participation initiative with the Faculty of Education and Social Work which

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involved working collaboratively with faculty staff to review and renew the curriculum, develop learning resources, provide casual faculty teaching staff with support to deliver new learning materials, co-teach with faculty staff and evaluate the outcomes of the initiative.

• Faculty of Engineering and IT: Literacy diagnostic and support for Masters students in SSME 5991.

Support research talent from undergraduate students to research leaders. New initiatives included:

• Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences: Website and workshop to provide blended learning support for HDR students.

• Faculty of Health Sciences: Program for Honours students. • Faculty of Health Sciences: Writing a Literature Review in a Thesis by Publication for HDR students

designed in consultation with Faculty staff. • Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery: A series of workshops (6 hours) were designed for HDR students on

Writing for Publication and Writing a Literature Review. • SCA PHD series: A series of 2 hour thesis writing workshops.

Goal  2:  Supporting  the  University’s  Diverse  cohort  of  students  

Support promising students from a diversity of social and cultural backgrounds. The Learning Centre has a long history of supporting a diverse student cohort through a number of programs and initiatives. These formed a major proportion of the LC’s work in 2013 and included bridging programs, OLT and Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) funded projects, summarized below: For full details see Section 2.1 on p.22. The Centre’s core programs also cater for the needs of the University’s diverse student body. The Central Program offers workshops for students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), with a particular focus on the development of written and spoken communication skills.

• 66% of students in scheduled workshops in the Central Program were of non-English-speaking backgrounds, the majority of these being international students. NESB students remain an over-represented group when compared to university enrolments of such students (42%).

• Of the 1201 hours of workshops offered in the Central Program, 18% (225 hours) were restricted to NESB students.

The Faculty Program is developed collaboratively with discipline based staff and involves either embedding learning support into Units of Study and degree programs or offering programs as an adjunct to a Unit of Study. This program is primarily developed to meet the needs of all students, including international/NESB students and non-traditional students. It can also include the diagnostic assessment of students’ academic literacy, using the MASUS procedure.

The Centre’s innovative, award winning, e-Learning resources developed in collaboration with faculties and educational designers further address students’ academic literacy needs, particularly in the area of writing in the disciplines. They are of particular benefit to students from a diverse range of backgrounds.  2013 data indicates over 160,000 page views for these online learning resources. http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/resour.shtml

In addition to the already mentioned Good Practice Principles for the Development of Students Academic and Professional Communication Skills at the University of Sydney, other major achievements under Goal 2 in 2013 included:

Bridging Programs. Evaluations show the value of bridging programs for students from diverse backgrounds in developing the academic skills necessary for successful university study and in enabling students to develop social support networks. Programs offered in 2013:

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• The Cadigal Orientation and Academic Skills Program for Indigenous students. In 2013, the Centre developed a tool to assess prospective students’ suitability for entry into the university via the Cadigal and Pemulwuy pathways.

• The Academic Literacy and Learning Bridging Course for students experiencing some form of disadvantage and entering the University with ATARs below 85. In 2013 this course was extended

• The Bachelor of Social Work Bridging Program for students transitioning into the accelerated program from TAFE.

Externally and internally funded teaching and research projects.

• OLT Project: Degrees of proficiency: building a strategic approach to university students’ English language assessment and development. This was an inter-university, collaborative investigation into the development and effectiveness of institution-wide approaches to post-entry English language assessment (PELA) and language development strategies in the university sector. A website of resources assisting universities to develop effective and sustainable institutional approaches to PELA implementation and strategies to develop English language proficiency was officially launched at the AALL conference in Melbourne in December, 2013. http://www.degreesofproficiency.aall.org.au

• HEPPP funded widening participation project: Bridging Socio-cultural Incongruity in the Education Curriculum.  This funding assisted the LC to provide extensive curriculum support, resource development, and support for tutors to enable students to better address the critical reflective report requirements in a large core first year Education Unit of Study. The project was designed with sustainability in mind and involved working with tutors so that the program progressively becomes ‘business as usual’ for the Unit of Study. Evaluation results showed a statistically significant change in students’ pre and post intervention awareness of how to demonstrate critical analysis and reflection in the context of the discipline. Teaching staff evaluations further support these results. This project will continue in 2014.

• HEPPP funded project: Development and Delivery of Academic Literacy and Learning Bridging Program for Accelerated Entry Bachelor of Social Work students (TAFE pathway entry to Year 2 university). The course was designed for students transitioning into The Graduate Certificate in Human and Community Services (Interpersonal Trauma). Student evaluations of all aspects of the course rated the course as either ‘very helpful’ or ‘mostly helpful’.

• 2011 Widening Participation Grant: ‘What do we know about our students and how does it affect our teaching? The project trialed a new online scale ‘the Staff Awareness of Student Diversity Scale’ (SASDS) within the Business School and the Faculty of Science to measure university-wide academic staff awareness of student diversity. Preliminary data analysis of questionnaires has revealed that staff find this information very useful but are generally unsure how to use it to make changes in curriculum and teaching. Further analysis and publications are planned for 2014.

• HEPPP funded project: ‘Identification of learning support/ learning engagement for low SES students’. The main outcome of the study was that a coordinated communication strategy about learning support services is required. To this end, the LC has reviewed the information provided to students both on its website and in paper form to clarify what sort of services it offers, and for whom.

Goal  3:  Supporting  the  research  and  evidence  basis  which  informs  teaching  and  learning    

Most of the teaching development projects, eLearning projects and HEPPP funded projects listed above contained a research component. The main areas of research expertise in the Centre are in the areas of educational linguistics, pragmatics, educational psychology and socio-cognitive learning theories. The LC publication output for 2013 was: • 2 journal articles

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• 1 Grammar coursebook (3 books) • 5 unpublished conference and other professionally-oriented presentations In addition, 2013 research projects included:

• Feedback in the Sciences: what is wanted, what is given, and how it can be improved amongst a diverse student population. The LC completed the online handbook for markers in 2012. This will be launched in 2014 and displayed on Faculty, Learning Centre and department/school websites.

• Identifying HDR students’ perceptions: what kind of academic support do they need to be successful? A survey was administered to all HDR students participating in the LC research workshop program in November /December 2012. Survey data were analysed and an internal report written in 2013.

• Knowledge Practices of Critical Thinking in Applied Disciplines. This ongoing interdisciplinary project between the Department of Education and Social Policy Studies, Learning Centre and Department of Linguistics explores the organising principles constituting successful ‘critical thinking’ in applied disciplines by mapping the ‘semantic profiles’ of undergraduate student texts. Results of this ongoing project have been presented at:

1. the fortnightly LCT–SFL Roundtable (USYD) and 2. the biennial Association for Academic Language and Learning Conference.    

A book chapter (co-authored by the three project members) titled ‘The knowledge practices of ‘critical thinking’’ in Davies, M. and Barnett, R. (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan is in press.

A book chapter (authored by A/Prof Karl Maton), titled ‘Building powerful knowledge: The significance of semantic waves’, includes discussion of this research, and will appear in Rata, E. & Barrett, B. (Eds.), Knowledge and the Future of Curriculum: International studies in social realism. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Leadership in the Profession In 2013 LC staff provided leadership in the profession, and expert consultancy advice outside and within the University:

• Presidency of the Association for Academic Language and Learning (AALL) • Initiated the formation of an international consortium for academic language and learning developers

to support international research, practice, benchmarking, and projects in the field. Members from AALL (Australia), ATLAANZ (New Zealand), LSA (Canada), ALDinHE (UK) and BALEAP (UK).

• Organised NSW/ACT AALL Symposium Degrees of Proficiency: Building a strategic approach to university students' English language assessment and development, June 7, 2013. Attended by approximately 90 participants from every state and territory and funded by OLT.

• Contributed to a panel on applying for OLT grants as part of STL (Sciences and Technologies of Learning) Research Fest. November 7, 2013.

• Contributed as member of reference group for the OLT project Developing and resourcing academics to help students conduct and communicate undergraduate research on a large scale

• AALL funded cross-institutional project with Universities of Melbourne, LaTrobe and Wollongong to compose oral histories of early pioneers of the academic language and learning field in Australia.

• Invited panel member Five Years On: English Language Competence of International Students –A National Symposium.

Contributions as reviewers/editors to professional journals • English for Specific Purposes

• Higher Education Research and Development • Higher Education

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• Instructional Science

• Journal of Academic Language and Learning • Journal of Linguistics and the Human Sciences • Journal of Pragmatics

• TESOL in Context

• Membership of the Editorial Board: Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict

• Member of the Scientific Committee: (EPICS) Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics (English-Spanish)

Membership of professional associations • Language and Society Centre, Monash University • Association for Academic Language and Learning (AALL) • Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA) • Australian Association for Research in Education • Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) • Linguistic Politeness Research Group (LPRG) • European Association for the of Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) • European Writing Centers Association (EWCA) • Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary education (ASCILITE)

Leadership in the University

• The LC initiated the Curriculum Embedded Communication & Language Development Scholars' Network. See http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/cee/cec.htm

• The LC collaborated with ITL on the development of a proposal for supporting graduate research at the University of Sydney using a blended learning approach – accepted by the Academic Board.

• Presentation: Scaffolding learning for first year students: assessments and writing, as part of the Academic Literacy university-wide seminar on widening participation.

University working parties and committees: • Chair of the working party of International Student Program Committee (ISPC) which produced the

Good Practice Guidelines for the Development of Students' Academic and Professional Communication Skills

• Member of the Orientation Committee • Member of the First Year Experience Working Group • Science Learning and Teaching committee • E-learning Committee • SEG Education • Retention Working Party • HASSACA elearning cluster • HS eLearning cluster

Future  Directions  

In response to the continuing need for improving the student experience through the provision of high quality learning support, the following initiatives are being planned for 2014 and beyond:

• Dissemination of the outcomes of LC projects, particularly those emphasising blended learning. • Continuing collaboration on widening participation (social inclusion) projects, either LC initiated or in

partnership with faculties and other units.

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• Continuing collaboration with other units in the Teaching and Learning Group of the Education Portfolio on research and teaching initiatives.

• Continuing collaboration with faculties, schools and departments and the library on learning and teaching projects and research.

• Supporting faculties in developing and implementing a sustainable and coherent curriculum renewal strategies.

• Ongoing evaluation and revision of learning support resources to meet changing student needs, particularly those of students from socio-culturally diverse backgrounds and international and local NESB students.

• Continuing development of the Learning Centre’s website and online e-learning support programs. • Continuing participation in University wide and Faculty-based Committees and Working Parties

which focus on English language policies and learning and teaching issues. • Ongoing applications for funding for projects and/or research and applications for awards • Promotion and publication of the Centre’s research and scholarship at local, national and

international levels.    

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Staff  ACADEMIC STAFF

Dr Bronwyn James Head, Senior Lecturer BA (Syd), GDipEd (Syd), GDipTESOL (UTS), MEd (Deakin), PhD (UOW)

Dr Angela Ardington Senior Lecturer BA Hons Leeds, Dip TEFL Leeds, PGCE Sussex, MA Sussex, MPhil, PhD Wsyd

Helen Drury Senior Lecturer BSc Hons London, DipEd Manc, Cert TEFL Aston, MA (Applied Linguistics) Dr Arlene Harvey (0.6) Lecturer BA Hons, PhD(Syd) Dr Janet Jones Honorary Senior Lecturer BA DipEd NE, MA (Applied Linguistics), EdD (Syd)

Dr Marie McInnes (0.6) Learning Skills Adviser (Fractional) BA UNE, M.Litt UNE, MA Hons UNE, Dip Cont Educ UNE, RSA Cert TEFL Aust College of English, PhD, PhD

Peter O’Carroll Lecturer BA Hons WAust, GDipEd SAust, MEd (IT in Education and Training) (UOW)

Dr George Ridgway Lecturer BSc Hons Manchester, PGCertEd Reading, PhD London

Lorraine Ryan (0.6) Lecturer BA Macq, Ma LM Provence, MA Hons, DEA EHESS, Paris, Dip RSA UCLES, MA (Applied Linguistics) Macq

Eszter Szenes (0.6) Associate Lecturer MA, TESOL Cert. ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Karlo Jurasovic Senior Administrative Officer

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CASUAL TEACHING STAFF Glenice Aiken BA Sydney, MEd Dr Cheryl Bell BA, DipEd, MEd (Hons) PhD UTS Dr Ian Davis BA Hons Open Uni UK, MA Leiden Netherlands, PGCertEd London, PhD Dr Dorothy Economou BA, MA (Applied Linguistics), PhD Helga McNamara BEd, GradDipCounselling Inst Counselling, Cert TESOL UNSW Lucy MacNaught CELTA Cambridge/ UQ, BMus Melb, MA (Applied Linguistics) UTS Angela Snelgrove BA, Grad DipTESOL UTS MA Lang & Literacy UTS, Cert IV TAE Namali Tilakaratna BA Hons UNSW, MA AppLing Bernadette Williamson BA Hons, DipEd, DipTESL PNG, MA CASUAL ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Robert Magyar Administrative Assistant

 

   

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Introduction As part of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) portfolio, the goals of the Learning Centre reflect those of the Strategic Directions of the University of Sydney 2011-2015 and those of the Learning Centre Strategic Plan. The major goals of the Learning Centre are to:

Goal  1:  Support  the  enhancement  of  quality  learning  and  teaching  

Goal  2:  Support  the  University’s  diverse  cohort  of  students    

Goal  3:  Support  the  research  and  evidence  basis  which  informs  teaching  and  learning    The goals are achieved through seven strategies, which will be outlined in this report. The primary role of the Centre is to assist all enrolled students (including international students) to develop and enhance their learning and academic literacy. The LC achieves this through each of its four main programs:

• the Central Program of academic skills workshops and orientation lectures • the Faculty Program of learning and teaching development activities in collaboration with faculties

across the University • the eLearning Program of projects based in the Learning Centre and in Faculties • the Individual Learning Program (ILP) of resources and consultations for individual students

The teaching development, eLearning, and research projects (both internally and externally funded) that staff undertake inform each of the Centre’s programs allow for a rich interchange among programs. Often these projects are collaboration between the LC and faculties, or other central units. In completing these projects, the Centre has built up a large bank of learning modules which can be adapted and repackaged to suit the needs of different target groups both in the Central Program and at Faculty/School/Department levels.

Aspects of the Centre’s teaching and research relate to LC staff’s contribution to externally or internally funded teaching and eLearning development projects, such as those funded through the Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT), the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) and the University’s Widening Participation Grants Program. The last two years of the LC’s work have seen an interesting shift from University and externally funded teaching improvement projects to those funded through HEPPP, which aims to ensure that Australians from low SES backgrounds who have the ability to study at university get the opportunity to do so.

The LC operates across all campuses of the University with offices on the Camperdown and Cumberland campuses. In 2013, the Learning Centre (Camperdown/Darlington Campus) had 5.8 full-time equivalent academic staff on continuing positions, one full-time teaching-focused position and one full-time administrative staff member. The Learning Centre (Cumberland Campus) had 0.6 full-time equivalent general staff (Learning Skills Advisers) on continuing positions. Teaching is also provided by casual staff, which is made possible by funds from special project grants and by funds from Faculty sources for specific initiatives. As a central service-oriented unit, the Centre is expected to provide teaching to large numbers of students and student/staff ratios continue to be high.

This report details the work and achievements of the Learning Centre in 2013.

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1.0     LC  Goal  1:  Support  the  Enhancement  of  Quality  Learning       and  Teaching  

Teaching activities of the Learning Centre consist of:

• face-to-face teaching in the Centre, within Faculties and in other units of the University (Central Program, Independent Learning Program and Faculty Program)

• curriculum development to support student learning and eLearning in collaboration with Departments and Faculties across the University (ELearning Program).

Information on the teaching activities of the Learning Centre on the Camperdown/Darlington Campus and the Cumberland Campus is detailed in this section. Since 2005, learning skills advisers at Cumberland have been staff members of the Learning Centre and the activities of both campuses are reported on as a whole.

The Learning Centre works across three operational strategies to achieve Goal 1. These are:

Strategy  1:  Central  Program,  Individual  Learning  Program  and  Projects  

Strategy  2:  Faculty  Program  and  Projects  

Strategy  3:  ELearning  Program    

1.1  Strategy  1:  Central  Program,  Individual  Learning  Program  and  Projects   Table 1 below summarises the main teaching activities across the Centre’s Programs in 2013, compared with 2012.

Table 1: Summary of Learning Centre Teaching 2012–2013 2012 2013 Central Workshop Program Number of student enrolments Number of workshops offered Number of teaching hours

1557

276 1181

1603

290 1201

Independent Learning Program Number of students taught Number of teaching hours Average hours per student

249 426

1.71

216 306

0.71 Faculty Teaching Program* Number of students taught Number of teaching hours Number of faculties**

2743

231 15

2255

191 14

Teaching Program outside Faculties*** Number of students taught (est) Number of teaching hours

3406

60

2982

50 Total Students 7955 7056 * These figures include diagnostic assessments of students’ writing (MASUS). ** The LC also delivered workshops at the Koori Centre *** This figure includes Learning to Learn lectures in O-Week and Staying on Track sessions and is an estimate only.

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In 2013, the LC provided face-to-face teaching for a total of 7056 students. In the three main teaching programs, the Central Workshop Program, the Independent Learning Program (ILP) and the Faculty-based Program, teaching was provided for 4,074 students (2012: 4,549). A further 2,830 (est) students attended the Learning to Learn lectures during OWeek, approximately 40 students attended the Staying on Track sessions in Semesters 1 and 2, far fewer than in 2012, and 115 students attended sessions from units outside faculties. In addition, orientation activities were provided to over 1875 students in Faculties and other units such as the Koori Centre and Student Support Services (see Tables 8 and 9 in the Appendix).

A total of 290 workshops totalling 1201 hours (2012: 276, 1,181) were conducted within the Centre, many of these being repeat offerings of the more popular workshops (See Table 4 in the Appendix).

In 2013 there was a decrease in the number of students participating in the Independent Learning Program (ILP).

Each of the main teaching programs will be reported on in turn in relation to the key strategies of Goal 1:

• Central Workshop Program and student demographics (Strategy 1) • Independent Learning Program (ILP) (Strategy 1) • Faculty Program (Strategy 2) • ELearning Program (Strategy 3)

1.1.1  Central  Workshop  Program  In its Central Program, the Learning Centre has a wide range of workshops designed to meet the academic language and learning needs of diverse groups of students. At present there are over 70 different workshops in the Central Program for different target groups, ranging from 2 to 12 hours per workshop. The timetable runs from January to December, including semester and year breaks with 9 Blocks of workshops. It is designed to give maximum flexibility for students in the time and duration of the courses. Several were offered in the early evening (5-7pm) and some were offered on Saturdays for the benefit of students with busy timetables, for part-time students and for postgraduate research students who work during the day. Courses were also offered on an intensive basis during semester as well as non-semester periods.

Across both campuses, the curriculum is designed to offer students a staged and flexible program of learning support to suit their and one which reflects their developing needs. In recent years it has covered six key areas:

• Academic Reading and Writing • Learning and Studying at University • Spoken Communication • Workshops for English Language and Learning WELL (targeting NESB students) • Skills for Postgraduate Research Students (GRADFEST) • Skills for Masters Coursework and Honours Students

For details on workshop evaluation see Table 10 (qualitative comments) and Figures 2 to 6 (quantitative data) in the Appendix.

1.1.2  Student  demographics    Table 2 shows the profile of the students enrolled in the workshop program in terms of a number of variables, and the percentage of the total University enrolment for that variable.

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Table 2: 2013 Student enrolments per variable in Central Workshop Program compared with overall University enrolments

Variable LC Enrolments %

N = 1,603

Total University Enrolment %

N = 51,394

Female 70.5 57.0

Male 29.5 43.0

ESB 34.0 58.3

NESB 66.0 41.7*

International (% of total)

(% of all NESB)

43.1

94.2

20.6

Local 56.9

Undergraduate 36.4 64.6

Postgraduate (Research) 26.9 8.7

Postgraduate (Coursework & other PG 36.7 26.7

*This figure represents the proportion of students who speak a language other than English at their permanent residence.

The patterns of enrolment were generally similar to the past three years in most categories, with a high proportion of International and NESB students (For further details see Goal 2, p. 22). Female students still far outweigh male students in enrolment in the Central Workshop Program, although there was a small increase in male students in 2013. As in previous years, female students remain over-represented and males under-represented in the LC workshop program when compared with the percentage of the total university enrolment.

The proportion of postgraduate students (63.6%) enrolled in the Central Workshop Program in 2013 also far outweighed that of undergraduates (36.4%). Over the years, postgraduate students have been consistently over-represented in the LC’s Central Workshop Program, when compared to the total University enrolment (2013: 35.4%). This is most noticeable among research students in LC workshops (26.9%), who are significantly over-represented when compared to the total University enrolment of 8.7%.    

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1.1.3  Faculty  Profile  of  Enrolments  in  Central  Workshop  Program  Figure 1 shows the number of student enrolments in the Central Workshop Program by Faculty in 2013.

 

   

Figure 1: Number of student enrolments in Central Workshop Program in 2013 by Faculty

Students from 16 faculties enrolled in the Central Workshop Program. As in past years, the greatest participation was from the faculties of Arts & Social Sciences and Business, followed by Science and Engineering & IT. This reflects the general patterns of enrolment per faculty for the University.

1.1.4  Independent  Learning  Program  (ILP)  When appropriate, the LC also provides one-to-one teaching consultations with students requiring intense, targeted intervention. However, the number of students receiving this kind of assistance is limited due to the lack of staff resources for such teaching. Students made use of the ILP, in some cases to support their attendance in the workshop program, in others as an alternative to this. Students expressed the need for this form of assistance because of their inability to attend central workshops, largely due to over-crowded timetables and non-university commitments or because the workshops of their choice were full. The commonest areas in need of support through this program were writing skills (Essay and Thesis) oral presentations and grammar.

In 2013, the LC provided 306 hours in individual consultations for 216 students, an overall decrease of 13% in students and a 28% decrease in hours compared to 2012.

1.1.5  Central  Program  Projects  

Central  Program  Workshop  Development  Janet Jones completed work on the redesign of Functional Grammar for Academic Writing, which was published in 2013. The new publication is a set of learning resources consisting of a diagnostic task, Fact Sheets on grammar points, a students’ workbook with exercises and answers and a teachers’ workbook.

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The course uses a combination of traditional and functional grammatical terms and explanations. It is being sold locally and internationally to universities with an interest in teaching academic writing.

Eszter Szenes redesigned the three-hour course: Professional Report and Case Study Writing to focus only on Professional Report Writing. The course aims to assist undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students with professional reports, a type of assignment commonly used in so-called ‘applied’ disciplines such as marketing, business, accounting, social work, nursing or education. This workshop makes visible the language resources necessary to develop arguments and critical evaluation in order to (1) respond to a real-life scenario, (2) demonstrate critical analysis of a particular real-world problem, and (3) make recommendations to a course of action by an imagined client, business or government department. Case Study Writing will become a separate course due for completion in 2014.

1.2  Strategy  2:  Faculty  Program  and  Projects    

The number of hours of face-to-face teaching in faculty (191 hours) was lower than in 2012 (231), and there was a decrease in the number of students taught: 2255 (2012: 2,743) (for details see Table 6 in the Appendix). Demand for this kind of support depends to a large extent on the requirements of faculty staff and changes in the faculty will have a significant impact on the number of students the LC teaches in the Faculty Program from year to year.

The current figures indicate a continuing interest in this mode of delivering academic language and learning support. In recent years the LC has maintained its focus on learning support embedded into Units of Study and degree programs rather than offered as an adjunct to a Unit of Study. This type of teaching also typically requires considerable preparation time not reflected in the face-to-face teaching hours.

In addition to the face-to-face teaching in faculties there were activities such as the MASUS academic literacy diagnostic procedure and tutor training in the implementation of the procedure. The responsibility for carrying out the MASUS procedure has been handed over to faculty staff in some cases. In 2013 MASUS was implemented in Nursing & Midwifery, the Cadigal Program, Pharmacy, Engineering & IT, Education & Social Work and Architecture Design & Planning to 524 students (486 first year and 38 postgraduate students). The MASUS developed for the Cadigal Program included an innovative assessment of students’ capacities to understand auditory and visual information. Follow-up sessions of academic literacy support were provided in all cases. Details of Faculty-based work, including eLearning curriculum development and evaluation will be reported on further below.

Departments from 14 Faculties of the University including the Koori Centre were represented in the collaborative activities in 2013. Table 3 shows further details of the level of participation of faculties and students in LC’s Faculty Program, together with the percentage of total University enrolment for that faculty.

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Table 3: 2013 Number of student enrolments in LC Faculty Program per Faculty and comparison with overall University enrolment per Faculty

Number of students participating in LC Faculty Workshops

N = 2255

% LC enrolment Faculty Workshop

Program

% University total enrolment*

N = 50,658

Agriculture & Environment 0 0 1.3 Architecture 15 0.67 2.5 Arts and Social Sciences 35 1.6 18.3 Business School 49 2.2 13.0 Dentistry 0 0 1.0 Education and Social Work 713 31.6 6.3** Engineering 582 25.8 10.1** Health Sciences 36 1.6 8.8 Pharmacy 376 16.7 3.0** Science 19 0.8 13.4 Sydney College of the Arts 132 5.8 1.4** Sydney Conservatorium of Music 17 0.8 1.8 Sydney Law School 90 4.0 4.9 Sydney Medical School 31 1.4 7.7 Sydney Nursing School 23 1.0 3.0** Vet Science 137 6.1 2.5** * = Total University enrolments excluding Rural Management and Special Programs.

** = Over-representation in LC Faculty Program compared to University Enrolment per Faculty

The highest number of students who participated in the Faculty Program in 2013 was in Education & Social Work followed by Engineering & IT, and Pharmacy. Education & Social Work and Engineering & IT were significantly over-represented in the Faculty program compared with its overall University enrolment numbers. This reflects the long relationship the LC has had with these Faculties and the long-standing collaboration on teaching and learning projects.

Student evaluations were positive in all cases of Faculty-based work (see Table 11 in Appendix) and in general, the most positive evaluations were of programs where department staff were involved in all stages of the process and were seen to be fully endorsing the teaching. In some cases, department staff and LC staff shared the teaching of these sessions.

1.2.1  Faculty  projects  The collaboration with faculties on enhancing and supporting students’ learning within their discipline or Unit of Study continues to be one of most rewarding aspects of the Centre’s work.

Much of the teaching development and research that informs the Central Program workshops acts as the basis for discipline-specific teaching sessions on academic language and learning in the Faculty Program. This Faculty-based teaching and research, in turn, informs the Central Program development.

Some of the Faculty Program teaching activities, e.g. teaching and diagnostic assessment of academic literacy are embedded into students’ Units of Study or degree programs while other teaching is offered as an adjunct to a Unit of Study or degree program. In cases where the teaching or diagnostic assessment is embedded into a Unit of Study, the Faculty/School or Department reimburses the Centre for teaching and marking.

Other aspects of the Centre’s teaching and research relate to LC staff’s contribution to externally and internally funded teaching and eLearning development projects.

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Some of the highlights of the Faculty Program in 2013 are described here. These projects often contained a research component. In some faculties several projects were undertaken (e.g. Business, Education & Social Work, Engineering and IT and Health Sciences) while in others the teaching intervention was a one-off project. Other projects involved an equity component and will be reported below under Goal 2, section 2.1.1.

 (1)  New  Faculty  Teaching  and  Projects    Several new Faculty teaching and teaching related-projects were undertaken as follows:

• Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences: The aim of this project is to provide blended learning support for HDR students in Arts and Social Sciences. A website has been produced and the LC facilitated a workshop on project management which was run by Dr Ehssan Sakhaee from Civil Engineering.

• Faculty of Engineering and IT: Literacy diagnostic and support for Masters students in SSME 5991. A MASUS-based approach to teaching literacy was adopted for the first time with this group of students. Students were expected to write a report in which they could: locate, evaluate and cite relevant evidence-based material; critically analyse and draw conclusions from it; develop a persuasive argument based on those conclusions. Six sessions of embedded literacy support were provided.

• Faculty of Health Sciences (1): Program for Honours students. The LC program of three days was modifed to fit into two days. Workshops were: Overview of an Honours Thesis; Developing your Thesis Proposal; Managing the Honours Year; Introductions, Conclusions and Abstracts; The Literature Review. Because it was compulsory, some students were reluctant to participate. In consultation with the program co-ordinator, it was decided to restrict the program to one day next year but have follow-up sessions later in the year.

• Faculty of Health Sciences (2):    A new session on Writing a Literature Review in a Thesis by Publication for HDR students was designed in consultation with Faculty staff. The aim was to compare the several literature reviews in a thesis containing published work and to deal with any concerns the attendees may have. This is an under-researched area in HDR thesis writing support and the session was positively evaluated by students. Several attendees mentioned that they intended to restructure their work as a result of the workshop.

• Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery: A series of workshops (6 hours) were designed for HDR students on Writing for Publication and Writing a Literature Review. It was well evaluated by the 23 students who attended.

• SCA PHD series: A series of 2 hour workshops were planned to support HDR students in thesis writing at SCA. Topics were Overview of a Thesis, Academic Writing and Developing a Thesis Argument. To gather evidence for the series a LC staff member attended the SCA lecturer’s sessions on writing a literature review.

• Faculty of Science: Scoping meeting to plan a project to embed aspects of communication within the curriculum. The tentative focus is the development of students’ capacity to communicate science to different audiences and for different purposes possibly beginning with the chemistry first year curriculum.

1.3  Strategy  3:  ELearning  Program    

The LC has developed a large array of online learning resources to support students’ learning and academic literacy needs. The LC’s on-line and self access resources recorded 38,530 unique visits in 2013.

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This section outlines significant eLearning projects University-wide and within Faculties. Faculty-based projects also involve collaborations with academic staff in Faculty or with educational designers in technical support units with the overall goal of enhancing and supporting students’ eLearning.

 (1)  OLT/  ALTC  proposal  2010:  An  Online  Writing  Centre  for  Undergraduate  Engineering  Students:  a  One  Stop  Shop  http://iwrite.sydney.edu.au Project team: Learning Centre, University of Sydney: Helen Drury (Joint Project Leader) Janet Jones, George Ridgway (content design), Learning Centre, UNSW: Pam Mort (content design) School of Electrical and Information Engineering: Assoc Prof Rafael Calvo (Joint Project Leader) Marco Marcia Molina Ming Liu, Sazzad Hussain (web developers)

Funding: ALTC (OLT) $219,000

The project aimed to create a customised learning and teaching space, the Online Writing Centre (iWrite) to develop students’ writing in a systematic and coordinated way across engineering disciplines in the undergraduate years at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Description: The project has created a website, iWrite, which contains relevant learning materials and activities (e-tutorials), supported by e-learning tools to develop students’ writing. At the same time, iWrite allows lecturers to create learning communities in their units of study by promoting peer feedback and collaborative writing activities and by providing formative and summative feedback on students’ writing and linking this to iWrite learning materials for writing.

Progress/outcomes/planned extensions: The final report to the OLT was submitted in May 2013 and published on the OLT website in October. It can be accessed at http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-library

 (2) Driving  curriculum  and  technological  change  to  support  writing  in  the  engineering  disciplines  

Project team: School of Electrical and Information Engineering: Assoc Prof Rafael Calvo (Joint Project Leader) Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong Dr Sarah K. Howard (Joint Project Leader) Learning Centre, University of Sydney: Helen Drury (consultant) Learning Centre, UNSW: Pam Mort (consultant) Funding: OLT Grant: $219,000 (other funding: $127,000) Aims:

• Develop an integration model supporting the use of online writing tools to develop written communication skills in undergraduate engineering in line with University graduate attributes, the needs of employers and accrediting bodies.

• Create a framework guiding organizational leadership to support implementation of the integration model in undergraduate engineering.

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• Improve engineering academics knowledge of, and capacities to, integrate written tasks in undergraduate subjects.

• Improve undergraduate students’ written communication skills.

Description: In today’s workplace, it is essential that engineers possess strong written communication skills. Yet innovation and development in undergraduate engineering to include these skills continues to be an issue. The difficulty is, while some academics will engage in curriculum development many will be ‘reluctant’ and ‘resistant’ to change. This reluctance is often a result of perceived organizational, disciplinary and individual risks relating to the use of written tasks in learning and teaching. Through the use of online writing tools, specifically designed to support integration of written tasks in engineering subjects, along with appropriate leadership communication and integration in the faculty teaching culture, these perceived risks can be minimized and curriculum innovation increased.

Progress/outcomes/planned extensions: Surveys and interviews with a sample of engineering academics have been carried out and students have also been surveyed. Preliminary analysis of the data has been carried out. The iWrite administration area which allows lecturers to assign assignments, group students for peer review and give feedback to students on their writing has been upgraded. A Year 1 progress report has been submitted to the OLT. The project will continue in 2014.

 (3)  Online  Academic  Writing  Modules  

Project team: Learning Centre: Peter O’Carroll

Description: In 2011, the Learning Centre began the development of a series of online academic writing module to be delivered via an eCommunity site on the University’s Learning Management System (BB9), which will allow secure access to all students in the University. In 2012, the course outline of Complex Sentence Grammar was drafted and features of BB9 assessed; online versions of elements of Foundations of Grammar were developed. In 2013 the deployment of some elements to BB9 commenced and others will follow in 2014.

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2.0  LC  Goal  2:  Support  the  University’s  diverse  cohort  of  students    

This goal and the associated activities support and enhance the University’s commitment to social inclusion (Strategy 11 University Strategic Plan). The activities reported here formed a major proportion of the LC’s work in 2013. They included several important projects such as bridging programs and OLT and Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) funded projects.

A key achievement under this Goal was the finalisation of the document Good Practice Principles for the Development of Students Academic and Professional Communication Skills at the University of Sydney - for presentation to the International Student Programs Committee (ISPC).

2.1  Strategy  4:  Teaching  and  research  supporting  students  from  diverse  backgrounds  

The learning needs of students from diverse social backgrounds and under-represented groups (such as Indigenous students, students from rural or remote areas or those who are the first in their family to attend university) are in many ways the same as the learning needs of all students. In each of the LC’s programs this group of students is well catered for. (See also LC Goal 1, p.13).

The Learning Centre’s Central Program covers the needs of a diverse range of students and offers workshops for students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), with a particular focus on the development of written and spoken communication skills.

In 2013, 66% of students in scheduled workshops in the Central Program were of non-English-speaking backgrounds, the majority of these being international students. NESB students remain an over-represented group when compared to university enrolments of such students (42%).

Of the 1201 hours of workshops offered in the Central Program, 18% (225 hours) were restricted to students of non-English-speaking backgrounds through the WELL (Workshops in English Language and Learning), Oral Presentations for NESB students and Pronunciation workshops.

The proportion of international students in the LC’s Central Program was 43%, higher than in 2012, but it still accounts for a high number of the LC enrolments. They remain an overrepresented group in LC programs (20.6% of University student enrolments).

The LC’s Faculty Program is developed collaboratively with discipline based staff and involves either embedding learning support into Units of Study and degree programs or offering programs as an adjunct to a Unit of Study. This program is primarily developed to meet the needs of all students, including international/NESB students and non-traditional students. It can also include the diagnostic assessment of students’ academic literacy, using the MASUS procedure. For example, faculty-specific programs can include the use of this diagnostic procedure to a) identify students ‘at risk’, b) to provide follow-up support activities and c) to review and scaffold curricula to support student learning.

The LC has also developed a suite of innovative, award winning, e-Learning resources through collaboration with faculties and educational designers. The development of these resources has been supported by both internal and external competitive funding. The resources are designed to address students’ academic literacy needs, particularly in the area of writing in the disciplines and are of particular

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benefit to students from a diverse range of backgrounds.  2013 data indicates over 160,000 page views for these online learning resources.

http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/resour.shtml

In addition to these special programs for students from a diversity of backgrounds, Goal 2 was achieved through several funded teaching and research projects.

Bridging  Programs offered in 2013 were:

• The Cadigal Orientation and Academic Skills Program for Indigenous students. • The Academic Literacy and Learning Bridging Course for students experiencing some form of

disadvantage and entering the University with ATARs below 85. • The Bachelor of Social Work Bridging Program for students transitioning into the accelerated program

from TAFE.

Evaluations have shown the value of bridging programs in developing the academic skills necessary for successful university study and in enabling students to develop social support networks.

2.1.1  Projects  supporting  students  from  diverse  backgrounds  

 (1)  OLT  Project:  Degrees  of  proficiency:  building  a  strategic  approach  to  university  students’  English  language  assessment  and  development  

Project team: International School of Education, Curtin University of Technology: Assoc Professor Katie Dunworth (Project leader) Head, Learning Centre, University of Sydney: Helen Drury English language development project, RMIT: Cynthia Kralik Swinburne Professional Learning, Swinburne University of Technology: Dr Tim Moore English language proficiency, University of South Australia: Dr Neil Murray (Senior consultant) Curtin University of Technology: Denise Mulligan (Project manager)

Description: This project is an inter-university, collaborative investigation into the development and effectiveness of institution-wide approaches to post-entry English language assessment (PELA) and language development strategies in the university sector. Through document analysis, survey research and case study research, the project will produce and disseminate across the higher education sector a set of online resources that will assist universities to develop effective and sustainable institutional approaches to the implementation of post-entry language needs analysis and strategies to develop English language proficiency. The resources will (a) map existing institutional strategies and activities nationally; (b) identify and model institutional strategies and activities that constitute good practice; (c) provide case study data on these issues from four Australian universities; (d) develop measurable criteria for evaluating the success of institutional approaches on these issues; and (e) provide access to a community of practice that is able to offer support and assistance around the key issue of students’ English language development in higher education degrees.

Progress/outcomes/planned extensions: The project website was completed in 2013. Dissemination events and conference presentations were carried out by team members. The website was officially launched at the AALL conference in Melbourne in December, 2013. The website is available at http://www.degreesofproficiency.aall.org.au. A joint publication on the project has been submitted to the journal, Higher Education Policy and Management.

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Further publications are planned. Outstanding OLT funding has been handed over to AALL and the project team have approved expenditure for a final dissemination event in May 2014, for upkeep and updating of the website for 3 years and for ensuring that university learning centres provide links to the website on their own websites.

(2)  Higher  Education  Participation  and  Partnership  Program  (HEPPP)  and  Widening  Participation  funded  teaching  and  research  projects  in  2013  

(a)  Bridging  Socio-­‐  Cultural  incongruity  in  the  Education  curriculum  (BIEC) http://sydney.edu.au/social-inclusion/widening-participation/grants/2013-recipients.shtml

Project team: Marie Stevenson, MinKang Kim (Bachelor of Education & Social Work) Bronwyn James, Arlene Harvey, Eszter Szenes (Learning Centre) Funding: $20,000 University of Sydney Widening Participation Grant Description: A new initiative funded through widening participation, jointly involved staff from Education and Social Work and the Learning Centre and was undertaken within a core first year Education Unit of Study (EDUF 1019: 456 students). The Learning Centre worked collaboratively with faculty staff to review and renew the curriculum and assessment, develop learning resources, provide casual faculty teaching staff with support to deliver new learning materials, co-teach with faculty staff and evaluate the outcomes of the initiative In week 4, students marked a sample critical reflection assignment on-line. In week 5, students completed a series of activities in which they developed their knowledge and skills for writing a critical reflection. In week 9, students were guided to provide peer review on each others’ critical reflections before submission. In Week 10, students submitted their critical reflection reports. The Learning Centre staff provided a professional development workshop for faculty tutors who delivered the activities within class time. Learning Centre staff observed and co-taught in some of the tutorial sessions as a way of further refining the activities and resources. Progress/outcomes/planned extensions: Evaluation results showed a statistically significant change in students’ pre and post intervention awareness of how to demonstrate critical analysis and reflection in the context of the discipline. Teaching staff evaluations further support these results. Based on the 2013 evaluations it is planned that this project will continue with some changes in 2014.

   

(b)  HEPPP  funded  project:  Development  and  Delivery  of  Academic  Literacy  and  Learning  Bridging  Program  for  Accelerated  Entry  Bachelor  of  Social  Work  students  (TAFE  pathway  entry  to  Year  2  university)  entering  University  in  2013  

Project team: Learning Centre: Lorraine Ryan Social Work & Policy Studies, Faculty of Education and Social Work: Rosalie Pockett

Aim: To provide a program of learning support for students prior to them entering the BSW as part of the Accelerated Entry Program.

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Description: The course was for students transitioning into the accelerated program from TAFE into The Graduate Certificate in Human and Community Services (Interpersonal Trauma). It consisted of 14 hours of face-to-face teaching (4 x 3 hour classes) and 1x 2 hour class during orientation week. Approximately 26 students were invited to participate and 20 attended, an increase from 2012. Results/outcomes/planned extensions: Student evaluations of all aspects of the course rated the course as either ‘very helpful’ or ‘mostly helpful’. Qualitative student feedback was very positive, for example:

Gave me a better understanding about academic requirements – a mind shift for me Important information given and explained at different levels for everyone to understand I would love to come back just to learn more. This workshop is fantastic. … It is very helpful for me. … Now I feel more confident than before …

The course will be offered again in 2014.

(c)  2011  Widening  Participation  Grant:  ‘What  do  we  know  about  our  students  and  how  does  it  affect  our  teaching?    Project team: Discipline of Physiology: Meloni Muir Learning Centre: Helen Drury Business School: Kellie Morrison, Garth Tarr School of Psychology: Fiona White Aims: To investigate staff knowledge of student diversity and how that information impacts on their teaching practices Description: The project trialed a new online scale ‘the Staff Awareness of Student Diversity Scale’ (SASDS) within the Business School and the Faculty of Science to measure university-wide academic staff awareness of student diversity. The scale is in the form of a questionnaire which consists of Likert like rating items and open–ended questions. Business and Science staff completed the scale towards the beginning of semester one 2013 and then received summaries of student diversity data extracted from FlexSIS in the form of the Knowing your Student report. Towards the end of the semester, they completed an online questionnaire to assess what they have learned about their students, how this correlated with their expectations and the ways they have used the information.

Results/outcomes/planned extensions: Preliminary data analysis of questionnaires has revealed that staff find this information very useful but are generally unsure how to use it to make changes in curriculum and teaching. Further analysis and publications are planned for 2014.

 

(d)  HEPPP  funded  project:  ‘What  works  for  you  at  uni:  Student  experiences  of  disadvantage  and  the  factors  of  success’.  

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Project team: Learning Centre: Cassily Charles, Helen Drury Aims: This project aimed to:

• gather initial and follow up questionnaire data from students who come to the LC to seek help in their transition to university studies.

• identify the knowledge and university skills they consider crucial for success. • explore students’ own experiences of factors of disadvantage/challenge, and those factors which

favoured success. • provide vital information from students on what helps them to “find their way at uni” which will

help the university community to better meet the needs of the widening participation agenda.

Results/outcomes/planned extensions: Although data for this project were collected in 2011, analysis did not take place in 2012 due to the resignation of the main project team member, Cassily Charles. There was no progress on this project in 2013 due to lack of funding to support a staff member and research person to analyse and report these data.

(e)  HEPPP  funded  project:  ‘Identification  of  learning  support/  learning  engagement  for  low  SES  students’.   Project team: ITL: Cynthia Nelson Learning Centre: Helen Drury Writing Hub: Frances Di Lauro MLC: Jackie Nicholas Koori Centre: Janet Mooney Aims: To identify patterns of use and effective practice in some of the main learning support services provided to low SES students at the University, with the broader aim of using this information to better coordinate/integrate/communicate the learning support services provided to low SES students. Description: Four units offering learning support services were chosen for this initial project: the Learning Centre, the Maths Learning Centre, the Writing Hub and the Koori Centre. Student attendance data from first semester 2012 for three of these units (the Koori Centre data were not used) allowed the Planning and Information Office to identify, using their metrics, what percentage of the students using these various services could be considered ‘low SES’. University-low SES figures were also made available so that comparisons could be made. The Learning Centre had 9.7% of undergraduate, domestic students considered low SES, higher than the MLC and Writing Hub. Across the entire University, the percentage of low SES students was 7.6%. Thus, the percentage of low SES students using the Learning Centre was 2.1% higher than the percentage of low SES students at the University. (The percentage of low SES students using the Maths Learning Centre was 0.1% higher and percentage of low SES students using the Writing Hub was 4.1% lower).

Results/outcomes/planned extensions:

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The main outcome of the study is that a coordinated communication strategy about learning support services is required. To this end, the Learning Centre has reviewed the information provided to students both on its website and in paper form to clarify what sort of services it offers, and for whom.

(3)  Other  funded  social  inclusion  projects  

 (a)  Cadigal  Orientation  and  Academic  Skills  Workshop    

Project team: Learning Centre: casual and permanent staff (Indigenous student funding)

Aims:

• To provide a program of learning support to prepare indigenous students for the university learning environment

• To support indigenous students in developing their academic literacy and approaches to learning at university

Description: In 2013, the Learning Centre redeveloped the Cadigal academic skills assessment at the request of the DVCISS, and modified the previous Cadigal academic skills workshop program to take account of student feedback. The program consisted of 28 hours of face-to-face teaching (14 x 2 hour classes) over a 2-week period. It included a diagnostic reading to writing task (MASUS) designed to identify the specific needs of the students. Workshop materials and teaching approaches used the results of this diagnostic task to focus on developing students’ academic reading and writing, as well as their ability to listen and take notes in lectures, manage their studies effectively and present in seminar and tutorial situations. Approximately 15 students participated.

Results/outcomes/planned extensions: 94% of students found the program to be beneficial and stated that they had developed new skills. 100% of participants felt that the program had given them a greater understanding of the academic expectations at the University.

(b)  Learning  Centre  literacy  support  for  Graduate  Diploma  in  Human  and  Community  Services  students  

Project team: Learning Centre: Lorraine Ryan, Eszter Szenes Social Work and Policy Studies, Faculty of Education and Social Work: Lesley Laing, Denise Lynch, Joanne Clarke; Education Centre Against Violence: Catharina Webb, Raelene Boxwell, Lynn Mitchell. Funding source: The NSW Education Centre Against Violence

Aim: To initiate students into aspects of reading and writing successfully at university. Most had never attended university.

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Description: The 16 students were from an Aboriginal or multi-cultural background. The course consisted of 12 hours of workshops spread over 4 teaching blocks, designed to incrementally develop the students’ literacy and critical skills, as well as their confidence.

Results: The evaluations of the workshops were very positive, including comments like ‘Gave me a better understanding about academic requirements – a mind shift for me’, ‘Important information given and explained at different levels for everyone to understand’, and ‘I would love to come back just to learn more.’  

(c)  Development  and  Delivery  of  Academic  Literacy  and  Learning  Bridging  Program  for  low  SES  students  entering  University  in  2013  

Project team: Peter O'Carroll, Eszter Szenes

Aims: • To provide a program of learning support (both face-to-face and online) to prepare low SES

students for the university learning environment • To support students in developing their academic literacy and approaches to learning at university

Description: Approximately 250 students were invited to participate in the Bridging Program. These comprised students who had accepted an offer through the Broadway program, due to financial hardship, English language difficulty, refugee status or a disadvantaged school environment. In addition, E12 students (the Principals’ Recommendation Scheme) were invited based on Principals’ recommendations. Finally, invitations were sent out to Access scholarship applicants. Only those students in these categories who had achieved an ATAR below 85 were invited to join.

The program consisted of 15 hours of face-to-face teaching, spread over 4 days, supported by optional online activities. In addition, participants were encouraged to request one-on-one consultations with LC staff during the first weeks of semester, if needed. The course covered a range of academic skills including time management, question analysis, planning strategies, and critical reading and writing. Several modifications were made to the course offered in 2012 based on student feedback

Results/outcomes/planned extensions: A total of 36 students participated in the course. Student evaluations of all aspects of the course were very positive, with over 90% of the ratings in either the ‘very helpful’ or ‘helpful’ category. The course will be offered again in 2014.  

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3.0  LC  Goal  3:  Support  the  research  and  evidence  basis  which  informs  teaching  and  learning

The Learning Centre works across three operational strategies to achieve this goal. These are:

Strategy  5:  Staff  research  within  LC  and  with  staff  in  Faculties  

Strategy  6:  Publications,  grants  and  awards  

Strategy  7:  Leadership  in  the  profession  and  the  University    

3.1  Strategy  5:  Staff  research  within  the  Learning  Centre  and  with  staff  in  Faculties  

The research and scholarship of the Learning Centre typically derives from its teaching and its collaborative work with academic departments in faculties. The Centre draws upon and contributes to the advancement of research and development in the field, particularly in the areas of student learning, e-Learning, the understanding of the discourse and genres of different disciplines, and the development of the graduate attributes of spoken and written communication. The research is informed by different theoretical perspectives from:

• educational linguistics, e.g. Systemic Functional Semiotics and multimodality, academic literacies, genre theory, English for Academic Purposes

• pragmatics, e.g. language play, culturally situated politeness phenomena • educational psychology, e.g. motivation and approaches to learning • socio-cognitive learning theories, e.g. constructivism.

In 2013, the research activity of the LC comprised both new and ongoing projects. Research was related to collaborative research with staff in faculties or individuals’ research either in their own field of specialisation or towards a higher degree.

3.1.1  Research  Projects  Details of research projects are described below.

(1)  Feedback  in  the  Sciences:  what  is  wanted,  what  is  given,  and  how  it  can  be  improved  amongst  a  diverse  student  population  

Project Team: Learning Centre: Helen Drury, Lorraine Ryan Physiology: Dr Meloni M Muir, Dr Miriam Frommer Psychology: Dr Fiona White, Sadhana Raju Molecular Biology: Vanessa Gysbers Research Assistant: Andrew Howe

Funding: University of Sydney Large Teaching Improvement and Equipment Fund Grant

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Aims:

• To investigate differences in the reactions to feedback on their writing of students from different language/cultural backgrounds. The differences are in their experience of, preference for type of, use of, and evaluation of the usefulness of, feedback on their writing.

• To investigate markers’ approaches to giving feedback on student writing. • To highlight the implications of both for teaching in science.

Description: The Learning Centre completed the online handbook for markers in 2012. The handbook summarises project and marker workshop outcomes, as well as the literature on feedback in the area of solutions to the problems highlighted in the previous research activities of this project. The launch of the handbook as an online downloadable pdf planned for 2013 was delayed due to branding issues.

Results/outcomes/planned extensions: The handbook is now ready to be launched and displayed on Faculty, Learning Centre and department/school websites. This is now a matter of urgency.

(2)  Identifying  HDR  students’  perceptions:  what  kind  of  academic  support  do  they  need  to  be  successful?  

Project team: Helen Drury

Description: This project aims to identify the academic language and learning needs of HDR students based on their perceptions. This project has been developed to partly address the new requirements for HDR students to complete a Research Training Needs Analysis on a yearly basis during their candidature.

Progress/outcomes/planned extensions: A survey was administered to all HDR students participating in the LC research workshop program in November /December 2012. Survey data were analysed and an internal report written in 2013.

A third of those surveyed (n=79) were from Medicine followed by 20% from Arts and Social Sciences. Almost all students were research students, either PhD (60%) or masters research (16%), two thirds in their first year of candidature. Two thirds of respondents were female and a third male. English as an additional language (EAL) students comprised 58% of those surveyed. Participants were asked to rate their needs in different skill areas by selecting “need a lot”, “need a little”, or “don’t need”. The area that was identified by students as most needed was publishing research. This was followed by writing critically, writing up results, writing analytically, and writing the literature review. The area that was identified by students as least needed was managing the student-supervisor relationship, followed by managing group/team work. Overall, the areas that students reported needing the most assistance were writing (and publishing research), and the areas that students reported needing the least assistance was managing supervisor and peer relationships.

EAL students indicated that their need was significantly higher than students of an English speaking background in the areas of academic writing, clear coherent expression, and grammar and editing. International students indicated that their need was significantly higher than local students in the areas of clear coherent expression, writing analytically, writing persuasively, grammar and editing, and managing

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group / teamwork. These data will be used by the Learning Centre in planning courses for postgraduate research students.

 (3)  ‘Knowledge  Practices  of  Critical  Thinking  in  Applied  Disciplines’  (ongoing)  

Project team: Learning Centre: Eszter Szenes Department of Linguistics: Namali Tilakaratna Department of Sociology and Social Policy: A/Prof Karl Maton

Aims • to explore the knowledge practices of critical thinking and reflection in applied disciplines • to map the organising principles of undergraduate student texts in social work and business • to explore the linguistic resources through which skilful writers construe a sense of belonging in

their professional communities of practice • to contribute to academic literacy support programs designed by the Learning Centre

Description: The application of ‘real-life’ or authentic tasks to assess tertiary students’ critical thinking skills has been gaining popularity in recent years, especially in applied disciplines such as Social Work and Business. The concepts of ‘critical thinking’, ‘critical analysis’ and ‘critical reflection’ are among the desirable generic and graduate attributes of Australian university graduates and often defined as intended learning outcomes in the Education & Social Work Faculties and Business Schools. While these ideas are often associated with the skill of problem solving and the preparation of university students for future research-, theory- and evidence-based praxis, they often remain vague in both pedagogy and assessment practices.

This interdisciplinary research draws on two principal frameworks. Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, 2013, 2014), a widely used approach to studying knowledge practices (and one based at the University of Sydney), is drawn on to explore the organising principles constituting successful ‘critical thinking’ in applied disciplines by mapping the ‘semantic profiles’ of undergraduate student texts. Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1978, 1984; Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004) is then used to make visible the linguistic resources by which skilful writers in Social Work and Business achieve these knowledge practices. This research has potential pedagogical implications for academic literacy support programs in higher education aimed at (1) demystifying ‘critical thinking’ by identifying its constituent features in practical terms, and (2) preparing students for professional communication in their fields of study.

Progress/outcomes: • The results of this ongoing project have been presented at

1) the fortnightly LCT–SFL Roundtable (USYD) and 2) the biennial Association for Academic Language and Learning Conference.

• A book chapter (co-authored by the three project members) titled ‘The knowledge practices of ‘critical thinking’’ in Davies, M. and Barnett, R. (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Higher Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan is in press.

• A book chapter (authored by A/Prof Karl Maton), titled ‘Building powerful knowledge: The significance of semantic waves’, includes discussion of this research, and will appear in Rata, E. & Barrett, B. (Eds.), Knowledge and the Future of Curriculum: International studies in social realism. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

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3.1.2  Higher  degree  research  Helen Drury undertook research towards her PhD to investigate student or user-centred design of learning environments for academic writing. The flexible nature of online learning environments means that such environments must be relevant to students’ needs and goals to succeed. Therefore finding ways to involve students in the design process is crucial.

Lorraine Ryan submitted her PhD which investigates 'semantic staging' in the poetry of Dylan Thomas, using Systemic Functional Linguistic analysis. The research focuses on the relations between semantic progression and 'cohesive harmony', and the ways in which the latter is achieved, including through the resources of cohesion and appraisal.

Eszter Szenes continued her research towards a PhD, which is titled ‘The language of academic success in business: Towards embedding academic literacy support’. The research draws on Systemic Functional Linguistics and Legitimation Code Theory (1) to explore how logic is realised and how the rhetoric unfolds to construct persuasive arguments in successful student texts, (2) to analyse what kind of linguistic resources construct the ideal ‘business practitioner’, (3) to map the semantic profiles of student texts and (4) to understand the basis for legitimation of knowledge claims. Submission is planned for Semester 2, 2014.

George Ridgway completed two further units of study toward the Master of Applied Linguistics at the University of Sydney. The units comprised a major dissertation project entitled ‘An SFL-based model of feedback on research student writing: towards effective partnerships between student, supervisor and learning advisor’.

   

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3.2   Strategy  6:  Publications,  grants  and  awards   bold = author outside LC

Refereed  journal  articles   Ardington, A. (2013). Negotiating shared perspectives that move in and out of sociability: Play and aggression in technologically mediated communication Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict 1:2. 165-193. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

James, B. (2013). Researching student becoming in higher education. Higher Education Research and Development. Special issue : Alternative methodologies in higher education 32:1. 109-121.

Books  Jones, J. (2013) Functional Grammar for Academic Writing, The Learning Centre: University of Sydney.

Book  chapters  James, B. (in press, 2014). Writing and rewriting: Students’ negotiations with texts and ‘selves’, in Carter, S. & Laurs (Eds.), Generic Support for Doctoral Students: Practice and Pedagogy. London: Routledge. Co authored book chapter.

Szenes, E., Tilakaratna, N. & Maton, K. (in press, 2014). The knowledge practices of ‘critical thinking’, in Davies, M. & Barnett, R. (Eds.), Critical Thinking in Higher Education, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Unpublished  conference  presentations  Ardington, A. (2013). From institutional concerns to personal attacks: Negotiating shared perspectives in computer-mediated discourse, paper presented at IMPOLIN, Impoliteness and Interaction, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland, May 23-25, 2013.

Harvey, A., Jones, J. & Ridgway, G. (2013). MASUS implementation: Successes and Challenges, paper presented at the 11th Biennial Conference of the Association for Academic Language and Learning, RMIT University, 14-15 Nov, 2013.

James. B. (2013). Trading across semiotic systems: Exploring the issue of making meaning across writing and painting in higher degree research projects in the visual arts, paper presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing: Transformations at the Edge: Writing Research, Discourse, & Pedagogy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, June, 2013

Szenes, E., & Tilakaratna, N. (2013). Critical thinking and employment readiness: The role of semantic waves in preparing students for life after university, paper presented at the 11th Biennial Conference of the Association for Academic Language and Learning, RMIT University, Melbourne, Nov, 2013.

Percy, A., James, B., Beaumont, T., Al-Mahmood, R. (2013). Making Histories: Developing an Oral History of Academic Language and Learning in Australia, paper presented at the 11th Biennial Conference of the Association for Academic Language and Learning, RMIT University, Melbourne, Nov, 2013.

James, B. & Harper, R. (2013). AALL Heads/Managers of units meeting. Workshop facilitated at the 11th Biennial Conference of the Association for Academic Language and Learning, RMIT University, Melbourne, Nov, 2013.

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Other  presentations  Presentation in the field – fortnightly Legitimation Code Theory Roundtable (May 3, 2013): Eszter Szenes and Namali Tilakaratna: ‘I confess and hope for redemption’: Critical thinking as ‘self-reflexive praxis’ in Social Work and Business - an LCT and SFL analysis.

James, B. (2013) Invited panel member and presenter at the IEAA English Language symposium Five Years On: English language competence of international students.

James, B. (2013) Response to the Higher Education Standards Panel – call for comment papers 1 and 2 available at

http://www.hestandards.gov.au/engagement/call-comment-number-1 http://www.hestandards.gov.au/engagement/call-comment-number-2

External  Grants  2013  • OLT grant submitted: Designing and Supporting Curricula to Develop Communication Standards within

Professional Degree Programs • AALL grant received in collaboration with University of Wollongong, La Trobe University and

University of Melbourne: Making Histories: Oral accounts of Academic Language and Learning in Australian Higher Education

Internal  Grants  2013  The Centre continued to draw on internal funding for several HEPPP projects (outlined above in 2.1.1).

3.3     Strategy  7:  Leadership  in  the  profession  and  the  University    

This strategy was realised in a number of ways:

3.3.1    Leadership  within  the  Profession  • Presidency of the Association for Academic Language and Learning (AALL) • Initiated the formation of an international consortium for academic language and learning

developers to support international research, practice, benchmarking, and projects in the field. Members from AALL (Australia), ATLAANZ (New Zealand), LSA (Canada), ALDinHE (UK) and BALEAP (UK).

• ** Organised NSW/ACT AALL Symposium Degrees of Proficiency: Building a strategic approach to university students' English language assessment and development, June 7, 2013. Attended by approximately 90 participants from every state and territory and funded by OLT.

• Contributed to a panel on applying for OLT grants as part of STL (Sciences and Technologies of Learning) Research Fest. November 7, 2013

• Contributed as member of reference group for the OLT project Developing and resourcing academics to help students conduct and communicate undergraduate research on a large scale

** The symposium was an opportunity to inform participants of the outcomes of the project, an inter-university, collaborative investigation into the development and effectiveness of institution-wide approaches to post-entry English language assessment and language development in the university sector. The symposium invited presentations to address the eight principles put forward by the project team for developing an institutional strategy for post-entry student English language proficiency. These are: Leadership, Expertise, Consultation, Time, Unity, Resourcing, Educational Integrity and Sustainability.

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Eight different institutions presented their strategic approaches or planned approaches for building English language proficiency and a further four were represented in the panel discussion. The issues raised at the symposium reflect the complexity of this challenge and include:

• Role of pre-entry centres in preparing students for university study • Evaluation of post entry language assessment • Contextualised development of students’ language proficiency within units of study • Need to address the language and learning development of all students alongside their discipline

studies • Challenge of developing a comprehensive, coherent, cohesive, consistent and collaborative

institutional approach

Contributions  as  reviewers/editors  to  professional  journals  • English for Specific Purposes • Higher Education Research and Development • Higher Education

• Instructional Science

• Journal of Academic Language and Learning • Journal of Linguistics and the Human Sciences • Journal of Pragmatics

• TESOL in Context

• Membership of the Editorial Board: Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict • Member of the Scientific Committee: (EPICS) Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics (English-

Spanish)

Membership  of  professional  associations  • Language and Society Centre, Monash University • Association for Academic Language and Learning (AALL) • Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA) • Australian Association for Research in Education • Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) • Linguistic Politeness Research Group (LPRG) • European Association for the of Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) • European Writing Centers Association (EWCA) • Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary education (ASCILITE)

Visitors  received  within  the  profession  • Meeting with Associate Professor Nancy Lea Eik-Nes from the Norwegian University of Science

and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, Department of Language and Literature and to discuss the development of a resource centre in her department focused mainly on written communication.

• Professor Mary Hamilton, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University

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3.3.2    Leadership  within  the  University  • The LC initiated the Curriculum Embedded Communication & Language Development Scholars' Network.

This network was initiated to bring together staff across the university who are involved in mapping, developing and teaching curricula to support students to build their academic and professional communication and language capacities. A website has been developed and meetings planned for 2014. See http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/cee/cec.htm

• The LC collaborated with ITL on the development of a proposal for supporting graduate research at the University of Sydney using a blended learning approach. The document was accepted by the Academic Board.

• Academic Literacy university-wide seminar on widening participation. Dr Bronwyn James, the head of the LC, presented a seminar entitled: Scaffolding learning for first year students: assessments and writing. Widening participation in higher education offers us opportunities to rethink curricula to include a wider range of students. One aspect of this involves the role that communication and language competence plays in assessment. The seminar investigated the sometimes implicit communication and language competencies that are part of assessment tasks and the ways in which these competencies might be developed/scaffolded within the curriculum. Participants were asked to bring along their actual unit of study outlines/assessment tasks/criteria. More information and slides at http://sydney.edu.au/social-inclusion/what-we-do/at-the-university/wpsn-meeting-details/4-nov-2013.shtml

 

Contributions  to  Committees  and  Working  Parties  within  the  University  Learning Centre staff contributed to the following working parties and committees

• Chair and membership of working party of International Student Program Committee (ISPC) – which produced the document Good Practice Principles for the Development of Students' Academic and Professional Communication Skills amended later to Good Practice Guidelines for the Development of Students' Academic and Professional Communication Skills

• Member of the Orientation Committee • Member of the First Year Experience Working Group • Science Learning and Teaching committee • E-learning Committee • SEG Education • Retention Working Party • HASSACA eLearning Cluster • HS eLearning Cluster

Professional  Consultancies  (outside  the  University)  University of Sydney Foundation Program, Taylor’s College:

• exam ratification • coordination of University Experience Day lectures • oversight of TELP quality audit process

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4.0  Future  Directions    

This report has outlined the Learning Centre’s responses to demand for its services in 2013 in terms of its major goals and strategies and in alignment with the University’s Strategic Plan 2011-2015. 2012 saw the closer alignment of units in the Teaching and Learning Group within the Education portfolio (ITL, MLC) to provide a more coordinated approach to strategic leadership on teaching and learning initiatives across the university. Ongoing consultations about changes in the portfolio took place in 2013, with the focus on improving the student academic experience. Many of these changes will come into effect in 2014, with the co-location of portfolio units in Fisher Library.

In response to the continuing need for improving the student experience through the provision of high quality learning support, the following initiatives are being planned for 2014 and beyond:

• Dissemination of the outcomes of LC projects, particularly those emphasising blended learning.

• Continuing collaboration on widening participation (social inclusion) projects, either LC initiated or in partnership with faculties and other units.

• Continuing collaboration with other units in the Teaching and Learning Group of the Education Portfolio on research and teaching initiatives

• Continuing collaboration with faculties, schools and departments and the library on learning and teaching projects and research.

• Supporting faculties in developing and implementing a sustainable and coherent curriculum renewal strategies.

• Ongoing evaluation and revision of learning support resources to meet changing student needs, particularly those of students from socio-culturally diverse backgrounds and international and local NESB students.

• Continuing development of the Learning Centre’s website and online e-learning support programs.

• Continuing participation in University wide and Faculty-based Committees and Working Parties which focus on English language policies and learning and teaching issues.

• Ongoing applications for funding for projects and/or research and applications for awards

• Promotion and publication of the Centre’s research and scholarship at local, national and international levels.

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5.0   Appendices    

Table  4:  Voluntary  Generic  Programs  for  both  UG  and  PG  Students  2013  

Name of course and course description Level Times offered Total hours

ACADEMIC READING AND WRITING UG/PG

Analysing an Assignment Question 9 18 Analytical Writing 9 18 Clearer Writing (8 hours) 8 62 Clearer Writing (3 hours) 6 18 Critical Reading of a Research Article 5 15 Critical Thinking 4 12 Developing an Argument 5 15 Effective Reading and Notetaking 1 4 Essay Writing (12 hours) 9 108 Essay Writing (9 hours) 3 27 Foundations of Grammar 5 31 Functional Grammar for Academic Purposes 3 30 Introduction to Critical Reading 3 9 Introduction to Critical Reading NESB 3 10 Introduction to Critical Writing in Essays 5 15 Language Strategies for Referring to Evidence 5 10 Planning an Assignment 6 12 Professional Report Writing 5 13 Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarising Evidence 8 23 Reading for Effective Notetaking 3 9 Reading Strategies 4 11 Reflective Writing 2 4 Using Evidence in Essays 5 15 Writing a Critical Review (Advanced) 2 6 Writing a Critical Review (Introduction) 2 6 Writing a Critical Review on a Single Text or Object 11 33 Writing a Critical Review on a Topic Area 10 30 Writing in an Academic Style (6 hours) 7 42 Writing in an Academic Style ESB (2 hours) 7 14 Writing in an Academic Style ESB (3 hours) 1 3 Writing in an Academic Style NESB 2 15 Sub Total 158 638 STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY UG/PG Practice for Essay Exams 3 9 Practice for Multiple Choice Exams 3 9 Practice for Multiple Choice and Short Answer Exams 1 2 Practice for Short Answer Exams 3 9 Preparing for Exams 9 24 Procrastination and Managing Time 12 25 Sub Total 31 78 SPOKEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS UG/PG Clinical Communication 4 8 Discussion Skills and Working in Groups 4 12 Oral Presentation Postgraduate ESB 5 30 Oral Presentation Postgraduate NESB 8 56 Oral Presentation Undergraduate ESB 1 6 Oral Presentation Undergraduate NESB 3 22 Pronunciation Skills 3 40 Pronunciation Skills PG 1 12 Sub Total 29 186

  40  

 

 

 

 

 

     

SKILLS FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS PG An Introduction to Theses Containing Published Work 1 3 Managing Literature for Coursework 2 6 Managing Literature for Coursework Assignments 6 18 Overview of a Thesis 3 12 Preparing a Thesis Proposal 4 12 Preparing for Postgraduate Study - Coursework 2 4 Preparing for Postgraduate Study - Research 2 6 The Process of Getting a Journal Article Published 3 6 Working With Your Supervisor 2 6 Writing a Journal Article in the Sciences 2 6 Writing a Literature Review 9 54 Writing a Literature Review in a Thesis 1 6 Writing a Thesis Including Publications 1 3 Writing a Thesis Proposal 3 9 Writing Coursework Assignments 6 18 Writing Introductions, Conclusions and Abstracts 2 12 Writing up Research in the Humanities 2 6 Writing up Research in the Sciences 2 12 Writing up Research in the Social Sciences 2 6 Sub Total 55 205 WORKSHOPS FOR LANGUAGE AND LEARNING UG/PG Grammar Clinic for Editing and Proofreading 2 24 Grammar for Academic Writing 1 16 Vocabulary for Describing Data 2 24 Working in Groups 2 6 Sub Total 7 70 SKILLS FOR HONOURS STUDENTS UG Developing the Thesis Argument 2 5 Introductions, Conclusions and Abstracts 2 5 Managing the Final Stages of an Honours Year 1 2 Managing the Honours Year 1 2 Overview of an Honours Thesis 2 5 Writing an Honours Proposal 2 5 Sub Total 10 24 Overall Total 290 1201

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Table  5:  Summary  of  LC  Faculty  Teaching  Activities  2013    

Faculty Students Hours Architecture Design & Planning

15 4

Arts & Social Sciences

35 16

School of Business

49 3.5

Education & Social Work

713 58

Engineering & Information Technologies

582 30.5

Health Sciences Yooroang Garang

33 3

6 1

Law

90 10

Medicine (Northern Clinical School)

31 10

Nursing & Midwifery

23 6

Pharmacy

376 15

Sydney College of the Arts

132 13

Science

19 5

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

17 4

Vet Science

137 9

Total 2255 191

 

   

  42  

Table  6:  2013  Number  of  student  enrolments  in  LC  Faculty  Program  per  Faculty  and  comparison  with  overall  University  enrolment  per  Faculty    

Number of students participating in LC Faculty Workshops

N = 2255

% LC enrolment Faculty Workshop

Program

% University total enrolment*

N = 50,658

Agriculture & Environment 0 0 1.3 Architecture 15 0.67 2.5 Arts and Social Sciences 35 1.6 18.3 Business School 49 2.2 13.0 Dentistry 0 0 1.0 Education and Social Work 713 31.6 6.3** Engineering 582 25.8 10.1** Health Sciences 36 1.6 8.8 Pharmacy 376 16.7 3.0** Science 19 0.8 13.4 Sydney College of the Arts 132 5.8 1.4** Sydney Conservatorium of Music 17 0.8 1.8 Sydney Law School 90 4.0 4.9 Sydney Medical School 31 1.4 7.7 Sydney Nursing School 23 1.0 3.0** Vet Science 137 6.1 2.5** * = Total University enrolments excluding Rural Management and Special Programs.

** = Over-representation in LC Faculty Program compared to University Enrolment per Faculty

   

  43  

Table  7:  Summary  of  Teaching  in  LC  Faculty  Program  2013    

Faculty Program name Target group/UOS code

No students

No hours

LC staff Faculty  staff  

Architecture Design & Planning

Literacy Support HDR students 15 4 George Ridgway Bill  Martens    

Arts & Social Sciences

HDR Project Management

HDR students 35 16 Bronwyn James Ehssan  Sakhaee  

School of Business

a) Case Study Essay in Work & Organisational Studies b) Exam Preparation

Masters C/W WORK 5002

19 30

2 1.5

Helen Drury

Diane  van  den  Broek    Chris  Warhurst  

Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Writing Your Honours Thesis

Performance Honours students

17 4 Eszter Szenes, Lorraine Ryan

Helen  Mitchell  

Education & Social Work

a) Bridging Sociocultural Incongruity in the Education Curriculum b) Writing the Critical Review Report c) Widening Participation d) MASUS for Early Childhood Education e) Academic Support Grad Cert Human & Community Services f) Social Work Transition from TAFE Academic Support g) Special Education Retrainee Support

UG 1st year/ EDUF 1019 UG & PG/ EDEC1001 HCS SCWK6009 Accelerated Entry UG Master/ EDPD5001

456 25 25 165 6 17 19

10 2 2 9 12 14 9

Bronwyn James, Arlene Harvey, Eszter Szenes Bronwyn James Arlene Harvey Arlene Harvey Lorraine Ryan, Eszter Szenes Lorraine Ryan Lorraine Ryan, Eszter Szenes

Minkang  Kim,  Marie  Stevenson    Rosmawati  Chen  Annishka  Oshka    Alison  Elliot    Denise  Lynch,  Catarina  Webb    Lesley  Laing      David  Evans  

Engineering & Information Technologies

a) Research Induction Program b) Civil Engineering Lit Review c) Science Service Management Engineering d) Report Writing in Master in Project Management e) Essay Writing support f) Writing the Literature Review

HDR students Honours CIVENG4225 Masters SSME5991 Masters PMGT5872 U/G ENGG1803 HDR & Hons/School of Information Technologies INFO5993

120 240 30 18 150 24

6 3 18 1 0.5 2

George Ridgway George Ridgway George Ridgway George Ridgway Angela Ardington, Peter O’Carroll Bronwyn James

John  Patterson,  Javid  Atai  Luming  Shen    Andrea  Stern    Liaquat  Hossain,  Jessica  Mullins    Rod  Fiford    Javid  Taher,  Albert  Zomayer  

Health Sciences Yooroang Garang

a) Literature Review for Thesis by Publication b) Honours Program Thesis support c) Essay Writing

HDR students Hons Indigenous

8 25 3

1 5 1

Marie McInnes Marie McInness Marie McInnes

Natalie  Richardson  Mark  Halaki            

Law a) Law School Writing Seminar b) Law School Writing Seminar (Sem 1 & 2)

Masters CW PG International

40 50

2 8

Helen Drury Peter O’Carroll

Christine  Jones  

Medicine (Northern Clinical School)

Writing a Literature Review

HDR students 31 8 George Ridgway Caroline  Scott  

Nursing & Midwifery

Thesis Writing support HDR students 23 6 George Ridgway Jenny  Fraser,  

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Megan  Gestos  

 Pharmacy a) Academic Writing in

Pharmacy b) Advanced Oral Presentation Skills in a Clinical Setting c) Principles of Reading & Writing for Academic Purposes d) Writing a Report in Pharmacy e) Writing a Critical Review

PG PHAR6000 PG PHAR5506 UG PHAR1821 UG PHAR1821 UG PHAR1821

6 70 100 100 100

6 6 1 1 1

Angela Ardington

Wojciech  Chrzanowski  Alexander  Zavgorodniy    Lorraine  Smith  

Science a) Writing an Honours Proposal (x2)

UG Hons 19 5 Angela Ardington

Bill  Pritchard  

Sydney College of the Arts

a) PhD Seminar series b) Essay Writing support c) Essay Writing support d) Essay Writing Foundation f) Writing in an Academic Style, Developing a Thesis Argument, Overview of a Thesis

HDR students UG CATE 2001/3 UG CATE 2005 UG THAP1201 HDR students

12 0 50 60 10

2 1 2 2 6

Peter O’Carroll Angela Ardington Peter O’Carroll

Tom  Loveday  Ann  Elias  Danie  Mellor      Debra  Dawes  

Veterinary Science

a) Writing a Literature Review (x2) b) Writing a Conference Paper c) Writing a Manuscript

Hons AVBS4015 UG, PG AVBS4014 UG AVBS4014

71 26 40

6 2 1

Angela Ardington

Wendy  Muir  

Total 2255 191  

 

   

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Table  8:  Summary  of  Orientation  Activities  with  Students  in  2013  

 

                                                   

Unit Program Students Hours LC staff member Koori Centre

Cadigal Orientation

15

0.5

Helen Drury

International Office AusAid student orientation 50 2 Lorraine Ryan

Student Support Services

Orientation/International students

500 0.25 Helen Drury

Student Support Services (Broadway) Mature age and Part time students Disability Services

Orientation + Panel Orientation + Panel Orientation

70

100

14

2.5

1.5

0.75

Helen Drury Lorraine Ryan Helen Drury, Peter O’Carroll

Centre for English Teaching (CET)

Orientation 300

0.25

Peter O’Carroll

SUPRA Orientation HDR, Masters 11 2 Helen Drury, Arlene Harvey

Taylor’s College University Experience Day 400 2 Peter O’Carroll

Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

Orientation PG

30

0.5

Helen Drury

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Orientation PG 50 0.5 Angela Ardington

School of Business

Orientation Masters CW in Work & Organisational Studies

50 0.25 Helen Drury

Faculty of Engineering & IT

Orientation UG (Electrical Engineering) Orientation to LC & iWrite

100

50

0.5

0.25

Peter O’Carroll Helen Drury

Faculty of Health Sciences

Orientation PG (HDR) 15 1 Marie McInnes

Faculty of Law (Sem 1 & 2)

International Student Orientation

120 0.75 Peter O’Carroll

TOTAL 1875 15.5

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Table  9:  Summary  of  Teaching  Activities  outside  Faculties  2013  

Unit Program Students Hours LC staff member Orientation: Learning to Learn lectures *

Essay Writing Plagiarism & How to Avoid it Lectures and How to Use Them Developing Critical Thinking Successful Report Writing So Many Books So Little Time Collaborative Learning Strategies for Successful Learning What is this Thing called Uni? Oral Presentations Writing Reports in Social Sciences

850

250 300 300 300 300 60 80 80

260 50

3

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Peter O’Carroll, Eszter Szenes, George Ridgway Arlene Harvey Peter O’Carroll Helen Drury Helen Drury Arlene Harvey Angela Ardington Eszter Szenes Angela Ardington Angela Ardington Eszter Szenes

Koori Centre Cadigal Academic Skills Program

15 12 Arlene Harvey

Learning Centre Academic Literacy and Learning Bridging Program

40 15 Peter O’Carroll, Eszter Szenes

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Study Hall

30 3.25 Bronwyn James, Arlene Harvey, Helen Drury, Eszter Szenes

Sancta Sophia Leadership & Organization Skills

30 1.5 Helen Drury

Student Affairs Unit

Staying on Track Seminars (U/G + P/G) Camperdown Campus

37

2.5

Arlene Harvey Peter O’Carroll

Total 2902 50.25

 

* These figures are estimates only

   

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Table  10:  2013  Qualitative  comments  from  evaluations  of  a  sample  of  LC  Central  Program  workshops   Essay Writing (12 hour workshop) • This information will help/was a good analysis of approaches to essays - I

expect to be able to use it in the near future • Good pace – easy to ask questions • It will help me a lot in logical structuring and arguments

Clearer Writing (8 hours) • I know how to organise my ideas in paragraphs, as well as elements that link the ideas logically

• This is going to be incredibly useful for my research degree Critical Reading of a Research Article (3 hours)

• The teacher is good at what she does – high quality. • Fantastic and valuable workshop on a topic area I find very challenging

Overview of a Thesis (Postgrad Research students) (4 hours)

• First time at seeing the elements of a thesis explained in detail. • Exercises and group discussions were helpful

Procrastination and Managing Time (2 hours) • Putting things in perspective – gave a boost in motivation • I’m looking forward to increasing my concentration and productivity

Oral Presentation Skills (Postgraduate NESB) (6 hours)

• Being recorded provided great insight • We got lots of practice thinking on our feet and talking in front of others

Functional Grammar for Academic Writing (10 hours)

• Very comprehensive – great depth in the content. • Packing all the information in a nominal group is something I learned for

the first time in this workshop

Table  11:  2013  Qualitative  comments  from  evaluations  of  a  sample  of  Faculty  workshops  

Faculty of Education and Social Work Academic Reading and Writing

• Gave me a better understanding about academic requirements. A mind shift for me.

• Thoroughly enjoyed these workshops and learnt so much. Great teachers. • Helpful overall and conducted in a very friendly manner, encouraging questions

and enquiries. • The passion and commitment that the teachers showed and their willingness to

help in any way made learning more effective and enjoyable. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies Higher Degree Research

• Really helped me understand how to organise my literature review and approach my work.

• Interesting and in-depth presentation on the types of writing styles and when to apply them.

• Very important information on writing and relaying information. • Makes you conscious about how you write. Gave me some tips and techniques

that I will employ in my writing. • The format was excellent - discussion was mixed with the presentation. • Examples really help to understand the way to write papers.

Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning

• Fundamental skills I require were demonstrated and clarified. • Important academic writing skills were learnt in this workshop. • I received personalised feedback which is very important to understand my

writing - this class was very interesting and clear. • This is going to be useful to my thesis. This workshop not only enabled me to

learn many techniques relating to academic writing but also how to read an academic article.

• This workshop is a good resource for learning. Faculty of Law Writing Seminar

• It helped me to break down and isolate the different aspects of critical writing. Toulmin model for instance was something I found very informative.

• Helped to further solidify categories of different types of writing.

   

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Figure 2: 2013 Student Evaluations of Academic Reading/Writing Workshops, Central Program  

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%   90%   100%  

Writing in an Academic Style (9hrs)!Writing in an Academic Style (6hrs)!Writing in an Academic Style (2hrs)!

Writing a Critical Review on a Topic Area!Writing a Critical Review on a Single Text or Object!

Using Evidence in Essays!Reading Strategies!

Reading for Effective Notetaking!Quoting, Summarising, and Paraphrasing!

Professional Report Writing!Planning an Assignment!

Language Strategies for Referring to Evidence!Introduction to Critical Writing!

Introduction to Critical Reading (NESB)!Introduction to Critical Reading!

Functional Grammar for Academic Purposes!Foundations of Grammar!

Essay Writing!Developing an Argument!

Critical Thinking!Critical Reading of a Research Article!

Clearer Writing (8hrs)!Clearer Writing (3hrs ESB)!

Clearer Writing (2hrs)!Analytical Writing!

Analysing an Assignment Question!

Very  Useful   Sometimes  Useful   Not  Useful  

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Figure 3: 2013 Student Evaluations of Postgraduate Research and Coursework Workshops, Central Program

Figure 4: 2013 Student Evaluations of Honours Workshops, Central Program

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%   90%   100%  

Writing Up Research (Social Sciences)!Writing Up Research (Sciences)!

Writing Up Research (Humanities)!Writing Coursework Assignments!

Writing a Thesis Proposal!Writing a Literature Review!

Writing a Journal Article in the Sciences!Working With Your Thesis Supervisor!

Vocabulary for Describing Data!The Process of Getting a Journal Article

Preparing for PostGraduate Study Preparing for PostGraduate Study

Preparing a Thesis Proposal!Overview of a Thesis!

Managing Literature for Coursework!Managing Literature for Coursework

Introductions, Conclusions and Abstracts!Grammar Clinic for Editing and

Very  Useful   Sometimes  Useful   Not  Useful  

0%!10%!20%!30%!40%!50%!60%!70%!80%!90%!100%!

Writing an Honours Proposal!

Overview of an Honours Thesis!

Managing the Honours Year!

Introductions, Conclusions, and Abstracts!

Developing the Thesis Argument!

Very Useful! Sometimes Useful! Not Useful!

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Figure 5: 2013 Student Evaluations of Exam Preparation/Study Skills Workshops, Central Program

 

 

 

Figure 6: 2013 Student Evaluations of Oral Presentation Workshops, Central Program  

0%! 10%!20%!30%!40%!50%!60%!70%!80%!90%!100%!

Working in Groups!

Preparing for Short Answer Exams!

Preparing for Multiple Choice Question Exams!

Preparing for Exams!

Preparing for Essay Exams!

Procrastination and Managing Time!

Very Useful! Sometimes Useful! Not Useful!

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%   90%   100%  

Pronunciation Skills !

Oral Presentation Skills (PG NESB)!

Oral Presentation Skills (PG ESB)!

Discussion Skills!

Very  Useful   Sometimes  Useful   Not  Useful