Massey Documents by Type

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294

Browse

Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.College teachers

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    University 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, Ami
    Considering 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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Teacher perspectives on the development of business English programmes in the Thai tertiary context : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Amatayakul, Panithi
    Business English has emerged as an important aspect of English for Specific Purposes in Thailand and is currently provided as an undergraduate programme in about one third of all universities. However, to date we know relatively little about how the Business English programme has been developed in the Thai tertiary context. The current study aimed to explore the development of Business English programmes in the past, present, and future, through the perspectives of Thai tertiary teachers. Firstly, the development of Business English programmes in two university contexts was explored, based on retrospective interviews with five experienced teachers. In addition, a survey which included open-ended scenarios was completed by Business English teachers (N=84) from throughout Thailand (North, Northeast, Central, and South), regarding their contemporary perspectives on Business English in the Thai tertiary context and future prospects for the field. Finally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 Business English teachers, focusing particularly on their contemporary perspectives on Business English and the trajectory of Business English as a tertiary subject. Overall, the findings revealed that the contemporary tertiary Business English programmes emerged from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives, and were shaped by local factors such as ongoing changes to curriculum and teaching practices. The development of the programmes was also influenced by a combination of external factors, including the government policy, English as a Lingua Franca in the Asia region and global pressures. The teachers who participated in this study thought that the future changes would be in line with these contemporary changes. It was also evident that future programmes might continue to face both internal and external challenges. The thesis concluded by reflecting on future challenges which needed to be addressed and the resulting implications for research, professional development, and practice.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Dilemmas of educational innovation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Khan, Sajid
    Education is reported to be in crisis. The needs and demands of learners are continuously evolving due to rapid changes in the socio-cultural and technological landscape, whereas pedagogy is slow to change. Institutions have been admonished that they need to encourage creativity and innovation in educational practices. Yet prior research shows that realising innovative pedagogical solutions is not easy for teachers because it involves complex dilemmas. This research investigated the experiences of tertiary level pedagogical innovators to identify dilemmas they encountered during the innovation process and the strategies they used to resolve them. Interviews were conducted, either face-to-face or via Skype, with 30 research participants. The participants were all tertiary-level teachers who had led a team-based pedagogical innovation project and who had published about the innovation in peer-reviewed academic journals. In order to explore experiences of innovators, each interview was used to generate a cognitive map, and then the individual maps were combined into an aggregate map using Decision Explorer. The aggregate map was then explored and analysed to identify the dilemmas of innovators and the strategies used to resolve them. These findings were then reviewed, interpreted and discussed in the light of relevant literature. Overall, the findings of this study reaffirm that pedagogical innovators encounter a range of dilemmas while realizing their innovations and the effective management of these dilemmas enables them to progress toward their intended pedagogical goals. Effective management usually involved the “through—through” thinking advocated by Trompenaars. The main contributions of this research are: the application of cognitive mapping to identification of dilemmas; the identification of thirteen distinct dilemmas that can be managed by educational institutions and innovative educators; and articulation of alternative ways of reconciling dilemmas. The findings may assist educators with choosing an appropriate course of action when facing a dilemma during their innovations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Moments of clarity : a study of higher education teachers' professional learning experiences and the transformational process of change in self-efficacy development : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Percy, Bridget Marie
    This qualitative longitudinal study sought to understand ‘aha’ moments experienced by a group of early career higher education teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand and the role those moments played in the transformational process of change in teacher self-efficacy development. Self-efficacy theory was foregrounded throughout the study, transformation theory provided an established framework to understand the process of transformation, and the notion of threshold concepts was used to conceptualise the ‘aha’ moment and name potential teaching threshold concepts. Aotearoa New Zealand specific teacher self-efficacy studies are important because studies in other contexts have shown self-efficacy is a predictor of teacher motivation, resilience and persistence in the face of difficulties and self-efficacy is linked to successful student achievement. In understanding the relationship between ‘aha’ moments and how these contribute to teacher self-efficacy development, there is the potential for professional learning opportunities that support self-efficacy promotion. Eleven early career teachers shared their experiences of ‘aha’ moments and their interpretation of the role these played in their teacher self-efficacy development. This research found that ‘aha’ moments were personal learning realisations that contributed to change in teacher self-efficacy and that the transformational development of teacher self-efficacy can be understood as a process containing four distinct phases. Furthermore, the transformative ‘aha’ moments, and in particular those that constituted a teaching specific potential threshold concept, provided teachers with an enhanced awareness of teaching capability. Finally, mastery experiences (successful and unsuccessful) were the most commonly described source of efficacy information related to the teachers’ ‘aha’ moments.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Work integrated learning (WIL) practitioners' perceptions of the value of communities of practice : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education in Tertiary Education at Massey University (Manawatū), New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Nicholas, Leanne
    Work integrated learning (WIL) practitioners design and deliver situated, experiential learning opportunities for a growing number of programmes within the New Zealand tertiary sector. Professional development opportunities for WIL practitioners’ should lead to effectively designed and delivered WIL programmes for learners. Due to the limited availability of formal professional development opportunities, much of WIL practitioner development is through informal and incidental on-the-job learning (Lazarus, Oloroso, & Howison, 2011). Greater collaborative learning opportunities have been advocated as beneficial by the WIL community (Brown, 2010). In addition, professional development initiatives are increasingly focusing on Communities of Practice (CoP) to support situated learning for educators. The pressure on teachers required to design, teach, administer and manage WIL experiences, raises issues of how best to develop and support them in effectively fulfilling their roles. This qualitative study explores and interprets the experiences and perceptions of WIL practitioners of the value of communities of practice. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. A recursive approach to the data collection and analysis stages (an adaption of the Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat (2011) five cycles of value creation framework) was adopted. The study findings indicate a lack of common understanding of WIL terminology, and that WIL practitioners want greater access to WIL networks, expertise, best practice and related policy information. The many and varied relationships of WIL practitioners, provide inherent values, upon which to benchmark and develop their practices. However, the invisible nature of many WIL activities, hidden within programmes, makes it difficult at times for WIL practitioners to identify each other, connect in networks and develop relationships. WIL practitioners want more collaborative learning opportunities and sharing of best practice resources. In spite of this, WIL practitioners are seeking out expertise that assists them to be more competent, knowledgeable and effective practitioners. The study has highlighted that WIL practitioners are engaging in, and gaining value from, the very same process of learning within CoPs, that they co-ordinate for their students. WIL CoPs are valuable mechanisms for WIL practitioner development that should be acknowledged and encouraged.