Te Mātāpuna - Library & Learning Services

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This collection contains research done by AUT Te Mātāpuna - Library & Learning Services staff.

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KEYS to Academic Writing Success: A Six-stage Process Account
(Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ATLAANZ), 2011) Allan, Q
This paper was originally conceived as a position paper arguing for the retention of KEYS to Academic Writing Success (KAWS), a successful undergraduate writing programme which had been developed by AUT University’s unit for Learning Development and Success: Te Tari Awhina. However, AUT’s approach to developing academic literacies has recently been reviewed; therefore this revised version merely seeks to document the approach taken in KAWS, which may be of pedagogical interest to colleagues considering adopting a genre-based approach to academic writing programmes. This approach aims to empower first year undergraduate students with the confidence and skills to tackle their first writing assignment, which is typically an essay, due in the first few weeks of the first semester. As a coherent writing development programme, KAWS has received positive endorsements from colleagues teaching on the programme and by faculty staff members whose students’ writing improves as a result of having attended the programme, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students themselves.
The Library Consortium of New Zealand's Shared IRR Infrastructure
(Open Repositories, 2012) Murdoch, Craig; Schweer, Andrea; Brown, Allison; Lockett, Andrew; Miller, Kate
The Library Consortium of New Zealand has run an Institutional Research Repository Project for three universities and one institute of technology in New Zealand since 2006. After a brief introduction to the context in which the project operates, this document describes the Institutional Research Repositories that are part of this project and their shared infrastructure. Particular emphasis is placed on advantages and challenges created by the shared infrastructure.
Considerations for cultural and social spaces in University Library
(Developing Library Network, 2013-12-12) Gazula, S
This paper explores my thoughts on a research project, how social and cultural conditions play a major role in students’ life, and influences the social and cultural practices of the university library usage at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Manukau Campus. This research will examine the students’ use of the library and the study space in and around the campus. This qualitative research is a case study to explore the library usage at the Manukau Campus. The exploration will be based on the interviews with my library colleagues and academic staff, including focus group methods with students, and observation of the influences on social and cultural practices on a university library usage at the Manukau Campus. The paper concludes that, while planning or redeveloping libraries, one needs to consider the social and cultural impact of spaces for students of different ethnicities and how these support peer learning, create a sense of belonging, encourage student retention, and contribute to increasing enrolment at the university.
Journey Into the User Experience: Creating a Library Website That’s Not for Librarians
(VALA - Libraries, Technology and the Future Inc., 2014) Murdoch, Craig; Hearne, S
Auckland University of Technology Library started work on a major redevelopment of its website in 2012. The problem was that the website content, as is the case for many library websites, had been written by librarians with almost no user input. The challenge was to redesign the website, rethinking our entire focus and placing the user at the centre of the process. This is the story of a journey of transformational change based on our user-centric approach. We believe we have achieved what we set out to do and created a website that’s built not for librarians but for users.
Becoming User-Centric: Implementing a User Focus and Usability Testing for an Academic Library Website
(Library and Information Association of New Zealand, 2014-10-13) Murdoch, Craig; Hearne, S
In 2012 Auckland University of Technology Library set out to redevelop its website. Inspired by the work of leaders in the field like Matthew Reidsma and Aaron Schmidt we realised that the virtual space which had become our key contact point with users was increasingly frustrating and turning off those users. The problem was that our website, like many library websites, had been designed by librarians, for librarians, with almost no user input. The challenge for the AUT Library was not just to redesign the website, but to rethink our entire focus to place the user at the centre of everything we do. This paper is the story of a journey of transformational change, from where we were to where we wanted to be. It is a journey into user interviews and user testing, heatmaps, personas and scenarios, responsive and adaptive design, and the meaning of simplicity and beauty in content and design. There is a significant focus on our practice of monthly usability testing, and how the results inform the continual development of the website. Through an exciting and challenging process we believe that we have created a website that is built not for librarians but for users.
Embedding Academic Literacy Skills: Towards a Best Practice Mode
(University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 2014-11-19) McWilliams, R; Allan, Q
Learning advisors provide academic literacy development support in a variety of configurations, ranging from one-on-one consultations through to large-scale lectures. Such lectures can be generic, stand-alone modules or embedded within a discipline-specific course. Pragmatic and institutional considerations suggest that a generic model of delivery often has an effective role to play; however, there are strong pedagogical arguments for adopting an embedded approach wherever possible. The practice of embedding literacy interventions within subject papers is time-consuming and often logistically challenging; therefore, in order to help learning advisors, their managers and academic staff in faculties to consider the issues, options and constraints in a systematic manner, this paper proposes a best-practice model drawing from over two decades of literature and the authors’ practical experience over the same period in New Zealand and overseas. In order to elucidate the model, the paper critiques an embedded academic literacy skills programme facilitated by an interdisciplinary studies unit at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand. The programme is embedded in a core paper entitled Knowledge, Enquiry and Communication (KEC) which is a prerequisite for entry into all of the Health Science programmes. As well as describing key features which have contributed to the success of the programme, the authors identify several key factors which need to be taken into account when considering embedded academic literacy initiatives.
Embedding Academic Literacy Skills: Towards a Best Practice Model
(Research Online, the University of Wollongong, 2014-12) McWilliams, R; Quentin, A
Learning advisors provide academic literacy development support in a variety of configurations, ranging from one-on-one consultations through to large-scale lectures. Such lectures can be generic, stand-alone modules or embedded within a discipline-specific course. Pragmatic and institutional considerations suggest that a generic model of delivery often has an effective role to play; however, there are strong pedagogical arguments for adopting an embedded approach wherever possible. The practice of embedding literacy interventions within subject papers is time-consuming and often logistically challenging; therefore, in order to help learning advisors, their managers and academic staff in faculties to consider the issues, options and constraints in a systematic manner, this paper proposes a best-practice model drawing from over two decades of literature and the authors’ practical experience over the same period in New Zealand and overseas. In order to elucidate the model, the paper critiques an embedded academic literacy skills programme facilitated by an interdisciplinary studies unit at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand. The programme is embedded in a core paper entitled Knowledge, Enquiry and Communication (KEC) which is a prerequisite for entry into all of the Health Science programmes. As well as describing key features which have contributed to the success of the programme, the authors identify several key factors which need to be taken into account when considering embedded academic literacy initiatives.
Equal Partners? Improving the Integration Between DSpace and Symplectic Elements
(OR2015 (http://www.or2015.net/), 2015) Murdoch, Craig; Miller, K; Schweer, A
While self-submission by academics was regarded as the ideal way to add content to Open Repositories in the early days of such systems, the reality today is that many institutional repositories obtain their content automatically from integration with research management systems. The institutional DSpace repositories at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and at the University of Waikato (UoW) were integrated with Symplectic Elements in 2010 (AUT) and in 2014 (UoW). Initial experiences at AUT suggested a mismatch between the interaction options offered to users of Symplectic Elements on one hand and the actions available to repository managers via the DSpace review workflow functionality on the other hand. Our presentation explores these mismatches and their negative effects on the repository as well as on the user experience. We then present the changes we made to the DSpace review workflow to improve the integration. We hope that our experiences will contribute to an improvement in the integration between repository software and research management systems.
Diversity in Academic Librarianship: A New Zealand Perspective
(Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA), 2015-07-02) Gazula, S
This paper explores diversity in the context of academic libraries in New Zealand in the 21st century, how the concept of diversity has been addressed in the literature, and discusses how diversity has been understood and implemented. It highlights prominent issues of diversity in libraries, such as: the number of immigrant librarians, issues of diversity in academic libraries such as their changing roles, collection development, library information literacy, and library spaces. The paper concludes by summarising the challenges being faced by the immigrant library profession such as: developing relevant collections to diverse users, the impact of diversity on librarians, library information literacy workshops for diverse users, providing library spaces for diverse users, and makes recommendations to overcome these challenges.
Changing librarianship in the collaborative era: a case study from New Zealand
(LIS Links, 2015-08-20) Gazula, Suhasini
Purpose: To consider changing roles of academic librarians in particular the role of subject liaison librarians in the 21 st century education. The aim is to stimulate debate on changing roles of librarians, to suggest possibilities and encourage others to envisage librarians and the change process in multiple ways. Design/methodology/approach: Self-review to the researcher is a process through which library roles and services evaluate the effectiveness of what they do, with the aim of improving the quality of their library practice. “Self-review as a form of ‘practical philosophy’ whereby the philosophical values that underpin the practice of both the individuals and the teaching team as a collective, are examined through a process of reflection and dialogue” (Grey, 2010). Findings: The researcher does not wish to form any fixed generalisations about librarians’ roles, instead seek to problematize and discuss an approach that was completed in a context to make visible the understandings and interpretations of those immediately involved in the process. Practical Implications: It is presumed to be significant as the article is a form of self-review; based on the philosophical and values of those directly involved in the service, and so reviews the implementation of philosophy, rather than measuring behaviour against a set of externally defined criteria. Originality/value: This approach contends that evaluation of self- review should consist of a process of meaning making, rather than just the assessment of practice, whereby external behaviour is modified by first examining the underlying values on which it is based.
Tuwhera: How Being Open Is the Key to Scholarly Communication
(The Higher Education Technology Agenda (THETA), 2017-05-08) Hayes, L; Hearne, S
Tuwhera (‘be open’) is AUT’s Open Access journal publishing platform. It officially launched in October 2016. The project to create Tuwhera was based on a feasibility study carried out by senior staff at AUT Library in 2014. That report explored the possibilities of developing an open access scholarly journal publishing service to meet the needs of academics within the university seeking new ways to make their journals more visible and accessible. A number of proprietorial and open sources hosting solutions were investigated with the Library selecting Open Journal Systems as the product on which to build the platform. The Library successfully bid for AUT Capex funding for the project and work began in February 2016. The project was led by the Library’s Scholarly Communications team, established as an outcome of an organisational review of its Digital Services unit and in recognition of an emerging and significant area for academic libraries. The project team connected with key stakeholders across the university, including ICT, the Research and Innovation Office and a wide range of academic staff. The name, Tuwhera, emerged early on in the project, giving the service not only a point of difference but an identity which acknowledges AUT’s commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. The name was chosen in consultation with Māori representatives within the University and when the platform was officially launched, the event was marked by appropriate tikanga. If Tuwhera’s initial aim was simple, then its vision has evolved to be much more expansive. The principles and values underpinning Tuwhera have inspired a great deal of interest within the University and have opened up numerous possibilities for scholarly communications at AUT. In realising those possibilities, Tuwhera is positioning itself as a key player in driving the Open Access movement and influencing the research culture in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Designing Student Participation in Synchronous Writing Instruction
(Cranmore Publishing, 2020) Macnaught, L; Yates, J
Although various e-learning technologies have been in use for decades, the rapid worldwide spread of COVID-19 has made online teaching and learning 'the new normal'. Many academic units, such as our team of Learning Advisors at Auckland University of Technology, have had to make quick decisions about the design of online learning experiences for students. This study reports on the creation of online writing workshops for postgraduate research students. In our context, research students can self-enrol in 'one-off' workshops where they typically do not know each other. As teaching staff, we also had little prior knowledge of how best to design student participation in synchronous writing activities. An initial challenge was thus to identify different means through which students can participate online, and then use these findings to inform workshop design. Our findings centre on an online participation matrix with two sets of simultaneous options: whether participants are identified or not; and whether their participation occurs as a series of discrete actions by individuals, or as simultaneous actions by multiple participants. In Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, we found that these combinations give rise to observant, anonymous, episodic, concealed, or discursive participation. We define and illustrate each of these participation types, discuss their sequencing across an entire workshop, and reflect on specific adaptations from face to face settings. These findings are of particular relevance to teachers who are exploring a variety of software features and want to make principled choices for the design of activities in online writing workshops.
Using Historical Evidence: Semantic Profiles and Demonstrating Understanding of Ancient History in Senior Secondary School
(University of Newcastle, 2023-03-06) Macnaught, Lucy; Matruglio, Erika; Doran, Yaegan
This paper presents findings from the Australian Research Council funded ‘Disciplinarity, Knowledge and Schooling’ project (DISKS) which investigates knowledge-building practices in Australian secondary schools and gave rise to the ground-breaking notions of ‘semantic waves’ (Maton, 2013) and ‘power pedagogy’ (Martin, 2013). In this paper, we investigate student writing in senior secondary school Ancient History. We focus on how students use evidence in their responses to different types of exam questions. Our research question focuses on the extent to which key features of responses to short answer questions appear in extended responses and vice versa. This focus arose through findings that teachers in our study tended to view short answer questions as a ‘mini’ version of extended responses and prepared students accordingly. The similarities and differences are important to identify as extended responses make a significant contribution to the overall exam grade. To better understand the use of evidence in responses to different types of exam questions, the study draws on the dimension of Semantics in Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, 2013). We use the newly developed wording and clausing tools (Doran & Maton, 2018, forthcoming) to analyse the relative strength of context dependence in responses to Year 12 exam questions. Context dependence is particularly relevant to how students use evidence, as it involves relating the concrete particulars of specific historical artefacts, events, and the behaviours of historical figures to more abstract concepts in the discipline of history that are not bound to one historical setting. Our analysis tracks relative shifts in context dependence in student texts to generate semantic profiles of their exam responses. Findings show that although teachers may use the writing of short answer questions as preparation towards the high-stakes extended writing tasks, short answer responses are not ‘minature’ versions of extended responses. We argue that the differences are teachable and propose the use of model texts to make these features visible to students. Beyond the timeframe of secondary school education, learning to use evidence, particularly for the development of arguments, may provide a robust foundation for tertiary level writing tasks where students need to control degrees of context dependence.
Developing Librarians’ Teaching Practice: A Case Study of Learning Advisors Sharing Their Knowledge
(Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, 2023-04-27) Harding, Rachael; McWilliams, Robyn; Bingham, Tricia
Increasingly, tertiary librarians are required to teach as part of their role. There is recognition that ongoing professional development (PD) is required in teaching and learning as this is not generally provided as part of formal library qualifications. Using an education design-based research approach, this collaboration aimed to enhance the teaching practice of liaison librarians to enable more consistent review, planning, and design of information literacy workshops. As part of a wider PD programme for liaison librarians at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), learning advisors developed and taught three workshops. The learning advisors were chosen by the library leadership due to their teaching expertise and adaptability. They provide embedded, academic literacy support for students tailored to specific assessment guidelines and marking criteria. The aim was to share examples of learner advisor practice underpinned by relevant theory and applied directly to an information literacy context. Liaison librarians were exposed to workshop strategies to develop appropriate learning outcomes, content, and pedagogical approaches for planning ongoing teaching. They had opportunities to assess and evaluate their current knowledge and skills and consider new approaches. These sessions enabled the team to go forward with shared knowledge to guide their workshop design to create more consistent, sustainable, and measurable content. Another outcome was the co-development of workshop design principles which have been applied to the redevelopment of workshops. As this process is replicable, the value of sharing knowledge and expertise between teams such as learning advisors and liaison librarians is worth exploring further.
Collaboration for Academic Literacies Development and Enriched Inter-professional Relationships
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023-05-18) McWilliams, Robyn; Raleigh, Susan
"Be better than what's out there."
(AUT University Students Association (AUTSA), 2023-07-06) Murdoch, Craig
Tucked down an alleyway in central-ish Auckland is the place where I get my hair done. If you don’t know it’s there, you’re not very likely to find it. The big open space with the deliberate lack of signage is run in the manner of a collective, and peopled by tattoo artists, pop-up vendors, the occasional market which spills into the alleyway, and my hairdresser. It’s a welcoming and safe space for those blessed by neurodiversity and for members of the Rainbow community. It is one of my favourite places...
‘I don’t know the hierarchy’: Using UX to Position Literacy Development Resources Where Students Expect Them
(Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), 2023-11-28) Bassett, Mark; Chapman, Emma; Wattam, Craig
The provision of online resources for tertiary student literacy development outside of students’ curricular contexts is problematic because engagement with centralised support provisions is low. As part of a Library team focused on student literacy development across our university, we have conducted multiple rounds of user experience (UX) testing with our students to design a set of resources in a course within our learning management system that all students can access. Our most recent UX employed usability testing, card sorting, and low-fi wire framing activities to identify how students experience our resources. Findings indicate that students are confused by enforced groupings of literacy development content and that they expect our resources to be accessible with the rest of their assessment information. Implications for design include balancing student expectations of immediate access to relevant literacy development resources with the constraints of having a small team who can design this content.
Academic Misconduct Among Undergraduates Across Aotearoa: Insights and Implications for Policy and Practice
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-03-26) Stephens, JM; Absolum, K; Adam, LA; Blickem, CJ; Gilliver-Brown, KE; Hart, DE; Kelly, J; Olsen, W; Ulrich, N
As elsewhere in the world, academic misconduct is a serious problem in Aotearoa. Yet, beyond the occasional newspaper headline, we know relatively little about the extent of the problem here or the factors associated with it. Consequently, our educational leaders and practitioners are left under-informed as they seek to address the problem and promote academic integrity. To help provide the knowledge and insights needed to craft good policy and best practice, the Research on Academic Integrity in New Zealand (RAINZ) Project—a research collaboration involving eight tertiary institutions—was founded in 2021. In the second semester of 2022, the RAINZ Project launched the first-ever nationwide survey of undergraduate students’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours related to academic integrity. Results from this survey, which was completed by undergraduates (N = 4493), indicate that most students (approximately two-thirds) reported engaging in at least one form of academic misconduct in the past year. As hypothesised, students’ perceptions (of the institutional climate and peer norms) and moral attitudes (related to cheating) were significantly associated with their engagement in academic misconduct. Details of these results as well as their implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Embedded Approaches to Academic Literacy Development: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research About Impact
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-05-20) Bassett, Mark; Macnaught, Lucy
This systematic literature review identifies evidence used to justify embedded approaches to academic literacy development. This inquiry is of direct relevance to widening participation in higher education and persistent inequity with completion rates for linguistically and culturally diverse student groups. Using the PRISMA-P checklist, 20 studies were included. Analysis focused on their research designs, types of evidence presented, pedagogic practices implemented, and journal choice. Findings show that research designs often involved questionnaire, interview, and focus group data to generate insights about student and staff perceptions. Descriptions of pedagogic practices were brief and not always related to claims about impact, and publishing targeted a variety of disciplines. These findings highlight the need for research teams with discipline knowledge and literacy knowledge so that evidence about the impacts of embedded approaches on academic performance are included, as well as complementary publications that detail the pedagogic practices contributing to change in academic performance.
Only Two Out of Five Articles by New Zealand Researchers Are Free-to-Access: A Multiple API Study of Access, Citations, Cost of Article Processing Charges (APC), and the Potential to Increase the Proportion of Open Access
(PeerJ, ) White, RKA; Angelo, A; Fitchett, D; Fraser, M; Hayes, L; Howie, J; Richardson, E; White, B
We studied journal articles published by researchers at all eight New Zealand universities in 2017 to determine how many were freely accessible on the web. We wrote software code to harvest data from multiple sources, code that we now share to enable others to reproduce our work on their own sample set. In May 2019, we ran our code to determine which of the 2017 articles were open at that time and by what method; where those articles would have incurred an Article Processing Charge (APC) we calculated the cost if those charges had been paid. Where articles were not freely available we determined whether the policies of publishers in each case would have allowed deposit in a non-commercial repository (Green open access). We also examined citation rates for different types of access. We found that, of our 2017 sample set, about two out of every five articles were freely accessible without payment or subscription (41%). Where research was explicitly said to be funded by New Zealand’s major research funding agencies, the proportion was slightly higher at 45%. Where open articles would have incurred an APC we estimated an average cost per article of USD1,682 (for publications where all articles require an APC, that is, Gold open access) and USD2,558 (where APC payment is optional, Hybrid open access) at a total estimated cost of USD1.45m. Of the paid options, Gold is by far more common for New Zealand researchers (82% Gold, 18% Hybrid). In terms of citations, our analysis aligned with previous studies that suggest a correlation between publications being freely accessible and, on balance, slightly higher rates of citation. This is not seen across all types of open access, however, with Diamond OA achieving the lowest rates. Where articles were not freely accessible we found that a very large majority of them (88% or 3089 publications) could have been legally deposited in an institutional repository. Similarly, only in a very small number of cases had a version deposited in the repository of a New Zealand university made the difference between the publication being freely accessible or not (125 publications). Given that most New Zealand researchers support research being open, there is clearly a large gap between belief and practice in New Zealand’s research ecosystem.

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