Browsing by Author "Emerson, Lisa"
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- ItemA collaborative approach to integrating the teaching of writing into the sciences in a New Zealand tertiary context : this thesis presented for partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University(Massey University, 1999) Emerson, Lisa; Emerson, LisaThe research question examined in this thesis is: "how can we effectively teach writing in the disciplines?" During the development of the research two subsidiary questions were included: "can writing in the disciplines be taught effectively through the combined expertise of writing specialists and subject specialists?" and "is action research an effective method of empowering academic staff as teachers of writing?" New Zealand universities, to date, have taken a very limited, generic approach to teaching or researching writing in the disciplines. This research makes a major innovation by bringing a writing teacher into collaboration with academic staff from the applied sciences to develop a programme whose objective was to teach the genres and styles of applied science writing to students in that discipline. The thesis focuses upon three writing projects. All three took place in the Faculty of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences at Massey University between 1993 and 1996 and took their inspiration from the writing across the curriculum movement. Project one involved the development of a Communication in Applied Science paper for first year students. Project two was a departmental writing across the curriculum programme aimed at integrating the teaching of writing into content courses. Project three involved integrating writing into the fundamental pedagogy of a single paper in horticulture. The project teams used action research as a method of developing and evaluating their programme. Action research was chosen as an appropriate methodology because it combines research with practical action, takes place in a real rather than an ideal context, provides a process to implement and monitor change, and allows for effective collaboration and ownership of the project. The projects have had the following key outcomes. Action research provides a successful methodology for integrating writing into the disciplines. Collaboration between academic staff and a writing consultant can offer a fully viable means of teaching writing in the disciplines. An institutional context of support and rewards for innovative teaching can enable staff to gain confidence as teachers of writing and understanding of writing in the disciplines. Student attitudes to writing and communication skills become more positive when the genres taught are professionally relevant, the importance of communication is modelled by credible sources, and writing support facilities are available. Finally, writing should be integrated into the pedagogical schema of a course at its inception, rather than being superimposed upon existing courses.
- ItemUniversity students’ and staff’s perceptions of third-party writing assistance and plagiarism : a mixed methods study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Möller, AmiConsidering plagiarism as the by-product of undeveloped and inadequate composition skills, it seems reasonable for a student to seek assistance to improve their writing. But when does writing assistance stop constituting help and start constituting plagiarism? Little research, especially in Aotearoa New Zealand, investigates perceptions about situations where students use assistance during the process of composing their assessments. This thesis uncovers the intricacies of perceived [un]acceptability of third-party writing assistance scenarios through an examination of what undergraduate students and teaching staff in Aotearoa New Zealand believe about instances of collaborating, editing, repurposing, and ghostwriting. The study uses a convergent mixed methods design comprised of a primary qualitative track and a supplementary quantitative track. Both approaches use an original set of fictional, yet realistic, scenarios of writing assistance that vary in amount, scope, and quality. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with students and descriptive statistics and quantitative content analysis of an anonymous online survey of staff provide insight into both groups’ beliefs. Themes of labour and learning included situational features participants identified as why writing assistance was acceptable or unacceptable. All students and most staff viewed scenarios where a student subverted the labour of writing, like obtaining an assessment composed by someone else, as unacceptable. Participants in both groups considered scenarios that involved collaborating acceptable when situations included an explanatory discussion, which they perceived as active and engaged learning. Between these scenarios, though, existed a distinct lack of certainty regarding the boundaries of acceptability and plagiarism—especially when it came to instances involving editorial interventions, repurposing of text, and technology-based phrasing tools. Contributions from the findings include confirming earlier reports of students’ limited conceptions of plagiarism; illuminating an added complication in determining acceptability based on how a student operationalises assistance; and enhancing our understanding of when writing assistance constitutes plagiarism. The unique implementation of embedding scenarios into qualitative interviews contributes a fresh approach to academic integrity research. And the bespoke set of scenarios offers potential utility as a learning support tool. Implications include refocusing acceptability onto how assistance is utilised; considering cognitive offloading in response to efficiency motives; integrating direct, sustained dialogue about writing assistance into instruction; and requiring transparent declarations of use in assessments.