Abstracts - Earli

the existence of inter-individual differences in postgraduate students’ conceptions of research thuslaying a foundation for subsequent comparative work by Meyer, Shanahan and Laugksh (2007). Inessence these two studies consolidate findings in terms of five conceptually discrete dimensions ofvariation: discovering the truth, insightful exploration and discovery, re-examining existingknowledge, problem-based activity, and a set of misconceptions. The present study extends thisearlier work in the important respect of focussing on a sample of doctoral students in a researchintensive university. Initial findings support the existence of the five previously mentioneddimensions of variation and further extend them in terms of research as information gathering anda scientific process. Variation within these seven conceptually discrete dimensions is explored inthe doctoral student sample according to broad disciplinary field of study (Science andEngineering. Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Health), gender, and status in terms ofbeing an overseas student with English as a first language. Field and status but not gender exhibit astatistically significant overall effect. Analyses of structural (covariance) differences according tofield are presently underway and findings will be reported at the EARLI Conference. Althoughwork of this nature is still in its infancy it is clear from the findings of the present and earlierstudies that there is multivariate complexity in the manner in which postgraduate students differ intheir conceptions of research. In focussing exclusively on doctoral students the present studyreports findings that are discussed in terms of their capacity to inform the ‘pedagogy’ ofpostgraduate training.Media-based university courses - two surveys of students’ experiences and expectationsManuela Paechter, University of Graz, AustriaBarbara Fritz, University of Graz, AustriaBrigitte Maier, University of Graz, AustriaSimone Manhal, University of Graz, AustriaWhich aspects of media-based courses (pure e-learning or blended-learning courses) do studentsexperience as being favorable or as being unfavorable for learning? What expectations do theyhave on media-based courses? These questions were investigated in two surveys. In survey 1, 450students from 8 Austrian universities were interviewed about their experiences and expectationswith regard to five critical didactic components of a course (cf. Ehlers et al., 2004): 1) Didacticdesign and presentation of the course material, 2) interaction with the tutor, 3) communication andcooperation with peer learners, 4) support of individual, self-regulated learning, 5) learningoutcomes. In a content analysis, students’ answers were categorized according to the fivecomponents and subcategories within these components. All in all, students reported distinctadvantages and disadvantages of media-based courses. They emphasized the flexibility and theself-regulation of learning as well as the manifold possibilities to communicate with peers as mainadvantages. On the other hand, students reported dissatisfaction with the course material (e.g., alack of clarity, the absence of exercises) and they wished more tutorial support. With regard to thelearning outcomes, the possibility to acquire media competence was an important factor for thechoice of a course. In survey 2, nearly 2000 students from 21 Austrian universities (at least twouniversities from each federal state) and from all scientific fields participated. They filled in astandardized questionnaire about their experiences in a media-based course which they have beenpresently visiting and about their expectations on media-based courses in general. Furthermore,students were to compare learning in media-based courses to learning in traditional courses.Again, students reported very distinct advantages and disadvantages. First analyses indicate thatoverall the self-regulation of the learning processes but also the manifold possibilities forcommunication and cooperation are regarded as main advantages of media-based courses.– 98 –