Research into Student Retention

This project is intended to address a current gap in understanding around how the use of digital learning resources contributes to student outcomes at WSU. It will provide a nuanced insight into the broader question around how student cohorts consume online learning materials and whether there are specific reading s<h4>tyles and patterns that facilitate student success better than others. This will lead to the development of predictors of disengagement to determine those students most at risk  through understanding how frequently or infrequently a student accesses digital learning materials, the time spent per textbook page, and the model reading behaviours that indicate potential grade outcomes.

Cultural competency is identified as a necessary set of skills needed by health professionals with direct impact on consumer health and wellbeing outcomes. Resistance is of particular interest as research demonstrates that students who experience this reaction to cultural competency teaching are less likely to engage in the content or to enact the principles of cultural competency.

By exploring students’ candid expressions of willingness and resistance via their SFU and SFT feedback we can better understand what characterizes these experiences. This foundational exploration will inform the development of future research with students with a focus on how to support student learning, address resistance and increase student transition and retention.

More broadly a better ability to support transition and retention in this regard results in effective engagement in cultural competency training which is inherently designed to promote the development and maintenance of a positive therapeutic alliance between practitioners and their clients

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to the University sector. One of the key immediate challenges was the required transition from traditional face to face classes to online teaching in accordance with health and safety guidelines. However, the impact of this transition on the development of the sense of belonging among students enrolled in their first year of higher education clinical health science courses is currently unknown.

The primary aim of the study is to explore the perspectives of both students and academics around how online learning platforms impacted development of the sense of belonging. Secondary aims of the study include i) identifying challenges faced by both academic and student in their ability to foster the sense of belonging through online platforms, ii) formulating strategies to enhance development of the sense of belonging for first year clinical health science students and iii) identifying if the sense of belonging differed across different student populations.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the School of Social Sciences’ flipped classroom model on student transition, retention and progression in social science programs/courses at WSU and identify features of the flipped classroom model that can support student transition, retention and progression in social science programs/courses.

This study will investigate students’ preparedness and learning behaviours needed to succeed in a flipped model of learning and teaching practices that support success in a flipped model. Findings will contribute to good practice in transition and retention in a hyflex model.

This study will draw on the insights and recommendations of a broad range of studies at the intersection of retention, transition, progression, online study, and mathematics and statistics learning support to canvas issues emerging in the COVID-19 era that affect both students and teachers at two sites, Western Sydney University and University College Dublin.

The main purpose of this study is to qualitatively examine the experience of mathematics and statistics students and teachers in negotiating the wholly online educational conditions imposed on them in the COVID-19 era. With a focus on specialised learning support in mathematics and statistics and the dramatic (and sudden) switch to online study and instruction, this research will probe questions that have rarely, if ever, been considered.

It is expected that the study will reveal many issues related to the learning, teaching and support of mathematics and statistics that can be used to implement practical improvements in the delivery of units and support services in the COVID-19 era and beyond.

This project aims to identify early predictors for students at risk of dropping out and/or failing. In other words, this project aims to identify factors that predict the likelihood of a student dropping out or not progressing in order to provide strategies and support students who drop out or do not meet the requirements for progression. Identifying these predictors could be used to guide and develop strategies to provide support and therefore to reduce the number of students getting into academic difficulties and dropping out of medicine or law.

This project aims to explore the perspectives of post-graduate student regarding a short (200 hours) bespoke course, to identify student learning and support needs in attending bespoke training, and to explore the perspectives of teaching staff who conducted the course.

It is hoped that the outcome will be an understanding of the post-graduate student experience of bespoke training – the strengths and weaknesses of such training and what was gained from the experience.

Commencing University StudenTs’ experiences with nOn-first language as the Medium of instruction. Language acquisition plays a pivotal role in the successful transition and academic progression of international students as this is the language of instruction. As language is the vehicle for communicating information, supporting international students to apply discipline-specific information into their writing, oral presentations, informal day-to-day communication needs to be ‘everybody’s business’ in the university, including academic and professional staff. To effectively support language acquisition of international students, there is a need to better understand and learn from the experiences of these students, particularly the early stages of language acquisition, the challenges encountered and strategies used to overcome these difficulties.

Online university mathematics and statistics learning support in the COVID-19 era. This study will draw on the insights and recommendations of a broad range of studies at the intersection of retention, transition, progression, online study, and mathematics and statistics learning support to canvas issues emerging in the COVID-19 era that affect both students and teachers at two sites, Western Sydney University and University College Dublin.

Both of these articles are open access:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1962555

https://academic.oup.com/teamat/advance-article/doi/10.1093/teamat/hrab014/6374683

Students’ perceptiOns of proFessional Identity in heAltH professional education.The study aims to identify and compare differences in professional identities of health student cohorts in two university settings, and to examine possible associations with selected student factors. The impact of COVID19 transition to learning experiences on students’ development of professional identity  at this early stage of their course is also investigated. Gaining an understanding of these factors and how they contribute to students’ sense of professional identity will help inform student support strategies that build connectedness to the student cohort, course of study and profession, towards transition success and retention of students in their first year.

The Student and staff Preferences On Types Of assessmeNt feedback in an undergraduate nursing course (SPOT-ON) study aims to explore the experiences and preferences for assessment feedback modes of undergraduate nursing students and lecturers.

Despite pedagogical merits of formative assessment and feedback, factors such as limited time within semester scheduling, quick marking turnaround times, increased research responsibilities and growth of student cohort numbers impact on feedback provided. In attempts to enhance student learning, progression and retention, alternative modes such as audio, podcast, video, screencast, face-to-face, self or peer feedback have been trailed across disciplines over the last decade however limited research exists regarding assessment feedback in undergraduate nursing schools in an Australian context.

The expected outcomes of this study are to develop a greater understanding of student and staff preferences around assessment feedback. The findings will inform how feedback is provided to future students.

With a focus on data around the Digital Textbook Initiative, this project is intended to address a current gap in understanding around how the use of digital learning resources contributes to student outcomes at WSU. While the Digital Textbook Initiative has been cancelled due to budgetary constraints brought about by COVID-19, a data-sharing MOU has been negotiated between the DTI vendor, ProQuest, and the Western Sydney University Library where 6 months of ProQuest data on students’ engagement with online textbooks has been made available to the Library.

Co-commentating' the Science Classroom - can communication strategies from sports commentating improve engagement with on-line science classes? This study aims to investigate whether a co-teaching model that includes elements from sports commentating can improve student engagement, enjoyment and interest in on-line science classes.

Reflective Practice in First Year Law Studies This study seeks to explore the impact of a Self-Reflection Quiz as a means of implementing TLO 6 in relation to first year students. There is a body of literature on the implementation of TLO 6 at Australian Law Schools,  and some of this literature makes suggestions for supporting TLO 6 in first year.  However, these studies do not examine the impact of a curriculum tool designed to support and encourage first year students’ reflections on their own performance.

Student peer support for improving engagement, retention, and learning outcomes in postgraduate public health and health sciences

This project asks: What is the impact of student peer support intervention in improving student engagement, retention, and learning outcomes in postgraduate public health and health sciences?