Browsing by Author "Sampson K"

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    Engineering Research Teams: The Role of Social Networks in the Formation of Research Skills for Postgraduate Students
    (Georgia Southern University, 2011) Sampson K; Comer KV
    This study explores learner experiences regarding skills acquisition of a cohort of engineering doctoral students enrolled in a New Zealand university. Employing a qualitative methodology, we interviewed 28 PhD students about the range of experiences and exchanges that comprised their pathways to skill acquisition. Students reported that research projects with application enabled the development of ‘real world problem solving’ by drawing on bonding and bridging network ties. Indeed, informal structures and disciplinary norms operating in the culture of postgraduate engineering research are principle contributors to successful progression, degree completion and outputs. Research practices emphasising repetition and doability establish productive environments for postgraduates, enhancing support for collective endeavours and increased outputs. In the absence of formalised skills development programmes, the approaches discussed in this paper contribute to postgraduates’ timely acquisition of skills. This research can assist supervisors, academic developers and administrators from a range of disciplines in improving postgraduate research environments.
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    Using Institutional Research Data on Tertiary Performance to Inform Departmental Advice to Secondary Students
    (AAIR, 2011) Brogt E; Sampson K; Comer KV; Turnbull MH; McIntosh AR
    This article examines the use of institutional research data on tertiary academic success of students in the first-year Biology program at the University of Canterbury in relation to their secondary school performance in English, Mathematics with Statistics, Biology and Chemistry. This study was commissioned by the School of Biological Sciences to examine the validity of the advice they gave to secondary students considering studying biology at university and was carried out as a joint venture between institutional researchers and departmental academics. We found that students with higher overall first-year university biology performance were more likely to also have taken Chemistry at secondary school. Controlling for overall performance, students taking both Chemistry and Biology as domains for the New Zealand University Entrance qualification (UE) did significantly better in two out of three first-year biology courses than those who had taken only one or neither subject as a domain. The extent of the advantage depended on the type of course; being greatest in the biochemistry-related course and least in ecology-related. We concluded that the advice the School of Biological Sciences had been giving students in secondary school as to the best preparation for (first- year) university studies in biology (emphasising the need to take both the subjects of Biology and Chemistry) was consistent with the institutional performance data of first-year students at university.