AUT - Pat Strauss

Dr Pat Strauss

Programme Leader, Associate Professor

Phone: 64 9 921 9999 ext 6847

Email: pat.strauss@aut.ac.nz

Qualifications:

• D.Ed — University of  Johannesburg
  
• M.Ed (first class honours) — University of  Johannesburg
  
• BA Hons (Applied Linguistics) — University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• BA Hons (English) — University of South Africa, Pretoria
• BA University of Pretoria Licentiate Diploma for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages — Trinity College London University
• Education Diploma — University of South Africa, Johannesburg.

Biography:

Teaching Areas:

• Masters in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education
• Master of Arts — Applied Language Studies
• Master of International Hospitality Management
• Supervision of Masters and doctoral students
• Academic writing workshops for PG Business students.

Research areas:

An examination of identity and agency, how these are affected by study in a foreign environment, and in turn how loss of agency and diminishing of identity affect student morale and performance.

Ownership implies the right to decide what is acceptable but if English is recognised as a global language who owns it? And even if the notion of ownership is set aside the setting of standards is, in itself, problematic.

What counts as acceptable English for academic purposes needs rigorous debate and investigation among academics, especially those of us who work in the field of teaching and researching English for academic purposes.

The development of an academic literacy papers at PG level based on discipline specific approaches.

The development of an online academic writing support system using open-access writing support materials currently provided on the internet by universities and writing centres around the world.

An  investigation of the widespread use of group assessments and how these affect and are affected by the multicultural nature of the modern university classroom.

Working with colleagues on the Masters in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education to review the published literature related to Adult Literacy, Language and Numeracy (LLN) policy, provision and practice in New Zealand / Aotearoa from 2006 to the present.

Research Summary:

• Strauss, P., U, A. and Young, S. (in press 2011). "I know the type of people I work well with" — student anxiety in multicultural group projects. Studies in Higher Education,36 (7).
• Chang, C. and Strauss, P. (2010). 'Active agents for change?' Mandarin student in New Zealand and the thesis writing process. Language and Education, 24(5), 415-429.
• Sachtleben, A. Strauss, P. and Turner, E. (2009) Empowering the apprentice academic: Teaching writing at postgraduate level. Writing and Pedagogy,1(2), 249-262.
• Strauss, P. and Smedley, F. (2009) Welcoming refugee students into New Zealand schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 44(2), 3-18.
• Kaliokhe, C., Strauss, P. and Smedley, F. (2009) The perceptions of first year undergraduate Malawian students of the essay writing process. Africa Education Review, 6(1)37-54.
• Strauss, P. (2008) Using "talkback" to empower the L2 thesis writer International Journal of Applied Linguistics: Special Issue on Learning and Teaching L2 Writing, pp. 277-278.
• Strauss, P. Sachtleben, A. and Turner, E. (2008) Talkback: Empowering EAL thesis writers In J. van Rij-Heyligers (Ed.) Intercultural communication across university settings — myths and realities. Auckland: Pearson Education, pp.174-188.
• Strauss, P. and U, A. (2007) Group assessments: Dilemmas facing lecturers in multicultural tertiary classrooms. Higher Education Research and Development. 26 (2).174-188.