TRN Performance Indicators: How Will We Know We Have Been Successful? Performance indicators will depend on your departmental and institutional TRN policies. Some indicative student performance indicators are listed below. They may be adapted according to local policies and learning goals.
Indicative Student Performance Indicators We will know that we have achieved success in implementing TRN policy in our Department/Faculty when the following factors become embedded in learning and teaching activities, and are evident in student outcomes.
In any given undergraduate degree program (or course), it would be reasonable to expect that, if discipline-based research has been infused in learning and teaching, students will:
understand how research within their disciplines leads to knowledge creation.
be introduced to current research in their disciplines across all year levels.
learn the methods used to carry out research in their disciplines
be motivated to learn through knowledge of and direct involvement in research.
carry out research in a range of ways and in a range of contexts.
have the opportunity to participate in research conducted by their lecturers.
learn and be assessed by methods that reflect research procedures in their discipline.
learn how research is organised and funded.
become members of a School /Department and University culture within which learning, research and scholarship are integrated.
benefit from learning that is supported by systems and structures at departmental and institutional level that facilitate scholarship and research in the pedagogy of the disciplines as well as disciplinary scholarship and research (Adapted from Oxford Brookes University website, Linking Teaching and Research in the Disciplines. Accessed Feb 2008: www.brookes.ac.uk/genericlink/pedagogy/htm!).
How Will We Know We Have Been Successful? A range of measures could be used to gauge whether these outcomes have been achieved. These include:
student assessment tasks of various kinds, including research-based assignments, verbal presentations, student conferences and poster presentations;
student feedback on formative and summative measures that ask specific questions about their experiences with research;
feedback from work-based learning supervisors, employers and industry representatives.
Graduate Attributes as TRN Performance Indicators Generic graduate attributes are intended to capture the core knowledge, values and attitudes that a university hopes its graduates have developed as a result of their experience at any particular institution. Typically, graduate attributes include some reference to scholarly values in relation to the connection between teaching and research. Graduate attributes, and the assessment of them, represent a significant indicator of whether or not teaching and research have been effectively integrated into the experience of students.
Some examples of TRN-related graduate attribute statements for a range of Australian universities are included below. Excerpts only are included.
James Cook University Postgraduate Graduate Attribute: Problem solving
the ability to think laterally and be original
the ability to conceptualise problems
the ability to conceptualise and evaluate a range of potential solutions to relevant problems
the ability to encompass and use methods and conceptual advances in areas of knowledge cognate to their central area(s) of expertise
the ability to evaluate and extrapolate from the outcomes of their research
Charles Darwin University A CDU Graduate has: an understanding of the broad theoretical and technical concepts related to their discipline area, with relevant connections to industry, professional, and regional and indigenous knowledge
The University of Melbourne The Melbourne Experience enables our graduates to become: Academically excellent:
have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship
have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s)
reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication
be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning
be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
University of South Australia A graduate of the University of South Australia is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical and creative thinking to a range of problems. A graduate will:
gather, evaluate and deploy relevant information to assist problem solving – ie analysis and synthesis
define researchable questions in the discipline or professional area
initiate creative responses to problems and frame such responses as opportunities
apply strategies to conceptualise problems and formulate a range of solutions.
University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts Research and Inquiry Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will be able to create new knowledge and understanding through the process of research and inquiry.
possess a body of knowledge relevant to their fields of study, and a firm grasp of the principles, practices, and boundaries of their discipline;
be able to acquire and evaluate new knowledge through independent research;
be able to identify, define, investigate, and solve problems;
think independently, analytically and creatively; and
exercise critical judgement and critical thinking to create new modes of understanding.
Curtin University Curtin graduates demonstrate evidence, as appropriate to their disciplines, that they can:
Apply discipline knowledge, principles and concepts, including apply discipline knowledge, understand its theoretical underpinnings, and ways of thinking;
Extend the boundaries of knowledge through research.
How Will We Know We Have Been Successful? A range of measures could be used to gauge whether these graduate attributes have been achieved. These include:
feedback on the Course Experience Questionnaire (post graduation);
graduate employment destinations;
feedback from employers and industry representatives.
