Megan Kek

Exploring the combined relationships of student and teacher factors on learning approaches and self‐directed learning readiness at a Malaysian university

This article presents the findings of a study of the interrelationships between students’ individual characteristics, self‐efficacy beliefs, parental involvement, university and classroom learning environments; teachers’ individual characteristics, teaching efficacies, university and classroom learning environments, teacher outcomes and approaches to teaching; and approaches to learning (deep and surface learning) and self‐directed learning readiness. The study was guided by a two‐level integrated theoretical framework, designed to examine ‘student and teacher ecological systems’ and their influences on student learning and outcomes. Data was drawn from 392 students and 32 teachers situated in 44 problem‐based learning classrooms from three study levels at a Malaysian private medical university. The analyses, through hierarchical linear modelling, revealed what and how personal, family, learning environment and teacher factors directly influenced approaches to learning and self‐directed learning readiness. Implications for teaching in higher education are discussed.

Theorising Academic Development As an Academic Discipline? Exploring Academic Developers’ Ways of Knowing, Theorising and Use of Methods

In this chapter, we report on a meta-analysis of 30 refereed journal articles published between 1996 and 2015 by academic developers from Australasia, Britain and South Africa. We used a disciplinary lens to examine academic development research during this period. Specifically, we analysed the academic development literature to identify ‘ways of knowing’, the extent of explicit use of theories and research methods. Findings indicate that academic development research continues to be largely experiential, under-theorised and fragmentary. Articles analysed tended to fall within three research clusters, including education and educational psychology; professional learning and scholarship of learning and teaching; and sociology and philosophy. Qualitative research methods and psychological and sociological disciplinary lenses were dominantly referenced and adopted.

Exploring nursing educators' use of theory and methods in search for evidence based credibility in nursing education

OBJECTIVES In this paper, a review of nursing education literature is employed to ascertain the extent to which nursing educators apply theory to their research, as well as the types of theory they employ. In addition, the use of research methodologies in the nursing education literature is explored. DESIGN An integrative review. METHODS A systematic search was conducted for English-language, peer reviewed publications of any research design via Academic Search Complete, Science Direct, CINAHL, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition databases from 2001 to 2016, of which 140 were reviewed. FINDINGS The findings suggest that within current nursing education literature the scholarship of discovery, and the exploration of epistemologies other than nursing, in particular as they relate to teaching and learning, shows significant potential for expansion and diversification. CONCLUSIONS The analysis highlights opportunities for nursing educators to incorporate broader theoretical, pedagogical, methodological and philosophical perspectives within teaching and the scholarship of teaching.

Enhancing Inquiry-Based Learning Environments with the Power of Problem-Based Learning to Teach 21st Century Learning and Skills

This chapter provides an outline of how the essential elements of problem-based learning (PBL) can be adapted to enhance inquiry-based learning environments and in the process teach 21st century skills. It uses a case study of a first-year nursing course at a regional Australian university to show how essential PBL elements can be adapted in an ‘ePBL’ context, following five ePBL steps. Overall, it is argued that a carefully mapped outset of learning outcomes and PBL problems designed as inquiry-based activities provide a ‘liquid learning’ environment that will ultimately prepare confident graduates who will be able to take full advantage of the 21st century learning and professional contexts in which they find themselves.