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Title

Lost in transit: exploring the first-year domestic and international student experience

Author(s)

Banky, George P.;  Richards, David;  Blicblau, Aaron S.

Abstract

Research by others has shown that student attitudes and approaches to tertiary learning have significant dependence on their expectations of university study. An aim of the pilot project detailed in this paper is a better understanding of learning issues faced by first-year domestic and international students transitioning from secondary to tertiary education. An anonymous survey of student expectations of both the university environment and their approach to learning during their first year at university was implemented. Over 160 students responded to a series of close-ended questions some of which used a 5-point Likert scale. Analysis of the results indicated that students perceived themselves to be well prepared for teaching styles and learning at university. After one semester of study the majority did not perceive a change in the majority of their learning skills. However, for three of their learning skills, the international students' responses indicated a perceived loss of ability. International students lacked the skill of using problem-solving as a learning tool. These outcomes highlight the need for more targeted orientation of students who are about to commence their tertiary courses.

Publication type

Conference paper

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology

Source

Proceedings of 'Developing engineers for social justice: community involvement, ethics and sustainability', the 22nd Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2011), Fremantle, Australia, 05-07 December 2011 / Yasir M. Al-Abdeli and Euan Lindsay (eds.), pp. 178-183

Publication year

2011

Keyword(s)

Domestic students;  First-year students;  Higher education;  International students;  Learning;  Student attitudes;  Tertiary education;  Tertiary learning;  University study

Publisher

Engineers Australia

ISBN

9780858259980, 0858259982

Publisher URL

http://www.aaee.com.au/conferences/2011/papers/index.html

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 George P. Banky, David Richards and Aaron S. Blicblau. The authors assign to AaeE and educational nonprofit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The authors also grant a non-exclusive licence to AaeE to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web (prime sites and mirrors) on CD-ROM or USB, and in printed form within the AaeE 2011 conference proceedings. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the authors. The published version is reproduced in accordance with this policy.

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