Measuring the effectiveness of academic skills individual interventions on university graduate student writing: To what extent are we making a difference?

  • Stephen Thomas Campitelli University of Melbourne
  • Jane Page University of Melbourne
  • Jon Quach University of Melbourne
Keywords: individual consultations, university student outcomes, academic skills intervention, collaborative partnerships

Abstract

Student engagement, retention and success are central to the university context, and an integrated, collaborative partnership between a university program and an academic advising service can be pivotal in facilitating positive student outcomes and a successful university experience. While there is some international research that examines the effect of course-based academic interventions, there is little evidence that measures the impact of individual advising on students’ writing performance outcomes. This article outlines research conducted in an Australian university Graduate program that measures the effect of one-to-one academic skills interventions on individual Teacher Candidates’ writing and presents data on grade and overall writing improvement from pre to post academic skills assistance, as well as students’ perceptions of the impact of the support on their ability to engage with the assessment task. It demonstrates that individualised academic skills interventions make clear and measurable positive differences to student learning outcomes and proposes that they should be retained as a key component of a larger suite of service provision.

Author Biographies

Stephen Thomas Campitelli, University of Melbourne
Learning Strategist at Academic Skills at the University of Melbourne
Jane Page, University of Melbourne
Early Childhood Academic in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne
Jon Quach, University of Melbourne
Research Fellow in the Centre for Program Evaluation, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Published
2019-11-09
How to Cite
CampitelliS. T., PageJ., & QuachJ. (2019). Measuring the effectiveness of academic skills individual interventions on university graduate student writing: To what extent are we making a difference?. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 13(1), A124-A139. Retrieved from https://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/article/view/601
Section
Research Articles