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The success of the peer tutoring program at Gippsland, Peninsula and Berwick campuses has led to a request to speak about the subject in Israel later this month.
Ms Jenny Ramage, manager of the Monash International office, Gippsland campus, will travel to Jerusalem to present a paper titled 'Tutoring and mentoring as an agent of change in a multicultural society' at the third International Conference on Tutoring and Mentoring from 23 to 26 October.
Peer tutoring involves placing international students as tutors in local schools and libraries to improve their English-speaking skills and break down cross-cultural barriers and stereotyping.
Ms Ramage said her paper would include an overview of the program and reflections from international students, local teachers and students.
Ms Ramage said the program began at Gippsland four years ago and later extended to the Peninsula and Berwick campuses, which have since taken over running their own peer tutoring programs.
She said that this year, 28 international students at the Gippsland campus, many from Asia, were placed in local primary, secondary or pre-schools or in local libraries, where they assisted teachers and staff with students for one or two periods a week.
"The international students often came back saying the classrooms were just so noisy, which was very different from their culture. The program helped them gain a better understanding of our way of learning - through interaction and play," she said.
"It widens their interaction with the community, and often they become involved in activities such as school concerts or plays."
She said cross-cultural awareness worked the other way too, with one teacher reporting she suddenly understood why the Chinese parents of one child in her class were so concerned about their son's learning.
International student Ms Connie Chow with students from Morwell Park Primary School at their annual concert.
More
than one hundred staff and students participated in the Faculty of Medicine's
Assessment and Evaluation Conference, held on 7 and 8 September at the Edmund
Barton Centre, Moorabbin.
The conference was part of the faculty's continuing process of consultation and planning for its new five-year medical course.
Its aim was to provide faculty staff and students with information and enable them to comment on new possibilities in assessment and evaluation - important issues across the whole university.
Discussions focused on balancing various forms of assessment tasks, ongoing teacher and student self-assessment, standard setting, how best to reward excellence, and the identification and counselling of at-risk students.
Keynote speakers were University of Sheffield professor of medical education David Newble (pictured) and Royal Australasian College of Physicians director of education Associate Professor Neil Paget, who had previously worked at Monash, in HEARU, for many years.
Both speakers commended the faculty for providing a forum where the central issues of assessment and evaluation policy could be debated.
Professor Newble spoke on the necessity for linking assessment policy with curriculum aims and objectives.
Associate Professor Paget, speaking on assessment and evaluation tools in medical education, encouraged the faculty to consider the World Federation for Medical Education's existing criteria for medical education.
It was important, he said, to constantly ask why methods of assessment and evaluation were to be used.
Assessment subcommittee co-chairs Associate Professor Euan Wallace and Dr Ben Canny summarised the faculty's views on future directions for assessment policy.
These included continuing development of policy on integrated approaches to assessment and a move towards criterion-referenced assessment and standard setting.
Evaluation subcommittee chair Associate Professor Merilyn Liddell introduced possible approaches to the broad scope of evaluation needed within the new curriculum.
These could include questionnaires, student work diaries, focus group interviews and teaching staff self-reviews.
Reducing the risk of computer painsOccupational Health, Safety and Environment, in conjunction with the local zone OHS committees, is conducting an office ergonomic expo across all Monash campuses. The aim of the expo, which will run until 20 November, is to explain the basic principles of workstation/PC setup to reduce the likelihood of musculoskeletel injuries. The principles can be applied both at home and in the workplace. For information on dates and locations of the expo, contact extn 51016 or visit the website at www.adm.monash.edu.au/ohse/ROADSHOW.HTML
The ergonomic expo in the Menzies building attracted more than 100 people. |
A
feast of Russian musicThe School of Music - Conservatorium is presenting works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich on 14 October in Robert Blackwood Concert Hall at 8 pm.
Well-known Russian pianist Yuri Rozum returns to Monash for the fifth time to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 with the New Monash Orchestra.
Mr Rozum has achieved international acclaim with performances in Germany, Russia and the US.
The concert will also see a rare performance of Shostakovich's moving cantata Song of the Forests.
It will include the New Monash Orchestra, VIVA VOCE, Monash Women's Choir, Monash University Choral Society, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir, Victorian Boys' Choir, Victorian College of the Arts Brass Choir, tenor Ashley Ng and bass Alexander Pogrechevsky.
Tickets are available from the Alexander Theatre Box Office. Contact extn 51111.
Service organisation moves aheadTalk of a Monash-wide approach to the delivery of services such as bookshops, catering, sport, student development and other 'Union' services is set to become a reality. Monash campus service organisations and student representatives have spent the past eight months working towards the formation of a new approach to service delivery at Monash and beyond. In recent weeks, Unicomm, MONSU, MSA and the Monash University Council have all given in-principle endorsement to the proposal, and the major implementation task has commenced. A task force with a series of project teams will be responsible for working with staff and students to resolve outstanding issues and bring the new organisation to life on 1 January 2001. An important feature of the new model is the recognition of diverse campus and stakeholder requirements. As part of this approach, local solutions will be adopted at each campus so as to best meet service requirements and ensure seamless service across the university. In keeping with this, discussions are continuing with student organisations at Gippsland and Berwick. The new arrangements are expected to improve services for students, staff and the university community. Increased career opportunities for staff and a reduction in reliance on the amenities fee will also be major goals. As a result of a selection process involving the existing senior staff of Monash service organisations, Mr Andrew O'Brien has been appointed as the CEO designate of the new organisation. All other senior appointments are expected to be completed in the next few weeks. Alison Crook, |
Nominations for the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Exceptional Performance by General Staff are invited from heads of administrative units or staff outside a work area who are aware of exceptional performance by individual general staff or work teams at Monash.
The awards, which are equivalent to the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Distinguished Teaching, are intended to recognise the contributions of general staff who exceed the normal requirements of their positions. Exceptional performance must have been sustained for at least a three-year period.
A selection committee will consider the nominations and distribute a total amount of $15,000 among the award winners. Further recognition is given by a permanent citation in the university Calendar.
The closing date for the 2000 awards is Friday 3 November. Full details of eligibility criteria and the nomination process can be found at www.monash.edu.au/personnel/sdu/awards/index3.htm
For inquiries, contact Mrs Trish Morris on extn 56876 or email patricia.morris@adm.monash.edu.au
Monash University Malaysia broadened its engineering industry contacts during a recent visit by delegates from the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM).
The delegates, headed by Professor Dr Ow Chee Sheng, visited the Malaysia campus at the invitation of the School of Engineering and Science and were welcomed by pro vice-chancellor Professor Bob Bignall.
IEM council members invited Monash engineering students to become student members of the organisation, which would give them access to functions, site visits and talks and seminars hosted by industry experts.
The head of the School of Engineering and Science, Professor Robin Alfredson, gave a presentation about the Engineering program at Monash Malaysia before the delegates were taken on a tour of the campus.
The Year 2000 Eleanor Shaw Lecture and round table discussion is on the topic "Fifty Years of Bioethics: Was it Worth it?"
It will be held on Monday 23 October at 8 pm in the Old Pathology Theatre, University of Melbourne, Parkville.
The keynote speaker is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Max Charlesworth.
Admission is free and all are welcome. Please RSVP by Monday 16 October to Victoria Baldwin on 9522 4333 or email VBaldwin@baker.edu.au
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