Complete thesis - Murdoch University

of disciplinary contexts, Ramsden (1988) theorised that deep and surface approaches wouldhave very different manifestations in different academic specialisations, in agreement withthe context-dependent nature of approaches as originally formulated by Marton and Saljo(1976).Other diagnosing instrumentsAdditional devices were also applied as available or appropriate. In general, most elements ofstudent assessment were available for scrutiny. These usually comprised individual and groupassignments and a formal exam. Other assessment items (not always available) included portfoliosand review documents. Student activity logs were introduced as part of the assessmentfor the follow on unit observed during Cycle 3 of the study. The self-reporting of activity leftthe instrument open to abuse (ie student logging more hours than actually worked of forgettingto log hours), but did provide some measure of categorisation of transactions/activitieswithin the class time. Mind maps (Buzan and Buzan, 1994) were also artefacts developed bystudents to demonstrate understanding of the concepts dealt with. These provide a visualrepresentation of the knowledge of main concepts and major sub-topics within a particulardomain (Hoover and Rabideau, 1995).An additional tool, only used sparsely due to its resource hunger, is the interaction schedule.An independent observer was engaged over several sessions to log the nature of transactionsundertaken within the class. As each class lasted four hours, and occurred twice a week, thishad the potential to generate a vast quantity of data.5.3.2 RecordsThe most important records used in this research are those provided by the students themselves.These take the form of items submitted for assessment, and include, in the variousunits examined, reflective components to assignments, activity logs and journal entries. Theseare included elsewhere in this section, based on the aim they fulfilled (ie as a diagnostic deviceor feedback mechanism).From the unit perspective, formal documentation in the form of unit outlines and syllabi areavailable, as are minutes and note of staff meetings during the unit development and thenadaptation process. Student information is available to academics through access to an online system. These provide data in the form of class lists, student enrolment background,programme of study and academic record.As the processes of professional re-accreditation would occur during this study, documentsrelating to graduate outcomes and attributes (both University- and profession-based) were239