Abstracts - Earli

learning from worked examples have demonstrated that that providing learners with more in-depthexplanations of the solution steps or prompting them for self-explanations are effective infacilitating learning and transfer. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative merits ofthese two approaches on learner performance, perceived mental effort and attitudes. Wheninstructional explanations were provided, learners performed better on both achievement andtransfer tests when they did not also have to provide self-explanations. Yet, when no instructionalexplanations were present, learners who were prompted to self-explain did better than learnerswho did not receive such prompts. The presentation will discuss implications of these and otherfindings.N 1531 August 2007 16:00 - 17:20Room: 0.99Paper SessionHigher educationChair:János Steklács, Teacher-Training College Kecskemét, HungaryQuality indicators for PhD theses in EngineeringSid Bourke, University of Newcastle, AustraliaAllyson Holbrook, University of Newcastle, AustraliaTerence Lovat, University of Newcastle, AustraliaEngineering education is facing a crisis across the board in western nations as demand for suchcourses declines but demand for engineers and engineering research is growing apace. Given thenational interest implications of the engineering discipline, there is intense debate about the natureof doctoral education in this climate. This study utilises examples of text drawn from 165examination reports for 65 engineering PhD theses, and the recommendations the examiners makeon the fate of the thesis. The extent to which engineering theses can be ranked on the basis ofquality indicators grounded in examination text analysis and linked to examination outcome isdescribed and discussed. Given that more than half the examiners of engineering theses are locatedoutside Australia, comparisons are made between examiner comments and recommendations bycountry/region. Comparisons are also made between examination comments made by academicEngineers and by industry professionals, in terms of the nature, agreement and consistency ofquality judgements. The significance of the study resides in its contribution to examiner judgementliterature while setting the stage for studies of alternate models of research training to maximiseoutcomes for the engineering profession.Perspective on the dynamics of collaboration between Higher Education researchers andpractitioners: a case study from the history strand of the ETL Project.Kate Day, Univeristy of Edinburgh, United KingdomCharles Anderson, University of Edinburgh, United KingdomGiven the strong emphasis within current educational research in the UK and elsewhere on theimportance of working in partnership with practitioners, this paper examines what is entailed inenabling and nurturing such collaborations and what factors may create gaps between rhetoric and– 753 –