Tag: knowledge

Posted on

‘SERPS Up’: Support, Engagement and Retention of Postgraduate Students – a model of postgraduate support

Authors: Margaret Alston, Juliane Allan, Karen Bell, Andy Brown, Jane Dowling, Pat Hamilton, Jenny McKinnon, Noela McKinnon, Rol Mitchell, Kerri Whittenbury, Bruce Valentine, Alison Wicks, and Rachael Williams; Charles Sturt University

Edition: Volume 45, Number 2, July 2005

Summary:  The federal government’s 1999 White Paper Knowledge and Innovation: a policy statement on research and research training, notes concerns about retention and completion rates in doctoral studies programs in Australia. This paper outlines a model of higher education support developed at the Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University. The postgraduate student body in the Centre represent the most vulnerable to attrition – mostly female and mature-aged, a majority studying at a distance and part-time, and most with family and work responsibilities. The program developed in the Centre – the SERPS model (Support, Engagement and Retention of Postgraduate Students) – has seen a significant  rise in the number of students studying through the Centre and significantly high retention and completion rates. This paper outlines the model as well as the results of an evaluation of the model conducted with students in the Centre. This paper indicates that retention (and ultimately completion) is linked to the vibrancy of the learning and social support networks established for the students and the creation of a collegial culture.

Keywords: White Paper, Knowledge, Innovation, research, doctoral, retention, completion

[wpdm_file id=226]

Posted on

Approaches to the postgraduate education of business coaches

Author/s: Grace McCarthy

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This paper focuses on the education and training of business coaches, specifically at the Masters/graduate level. The paper first reviews the knowledge and skills required of business coaches, comparing the recommendations of professional associations and the literature. Next the paper reviews the approaches to education which are best suited to help students acquire knowledge and skills, and how these may be assessed. The paper discusses the challenge of developing both knowledge and skills, and the use of e-learning as an on-going support for students. The benefits of authentic assessment and a varied approach to learning are also reviewed. Thirdly, the paper reports on the experiences of a new Master of Business Coaching at Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong, Australia, providing both performance and perception data from the first cohort of students. Possible reasons for the students’ strong performance are suggested.

Keywords: business coaches, education, knowledge, skills, e-learning

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail  Share a copy of this abstract.

This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

Posted on

Taking risks—experiential learning and the writing student

Author/s: Robin Freeman and Karen Le Rossignol

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: The role of a professional and creative writing degree is to provide resources, structured workshops, professional interactions—and the potential for creative risk. Opportunities for risk, within the structured environment of the university, challenge the individual’s perspectives and judgements, as well as their ability to analyse and to reflect on their writing and creative practices.

From this starting point the authors, both writing industry practitioners and academics, have developed experiential projects with the aim of transforming their teaching practice from a model of narrative hierarchies of knowledge to learning through performativity, social connectedness and immersive workplace learning. As the case studies illustrate, this transitional approach has enabled our millennial learners more confidently to take risks, accept challenges and transform their understanding of their own knowledge, skills and identities.

Keywords: creative risk, writing, creative practices, experiential, hierarchies, knowledge

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail  Share a copy of this abstract.

This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.