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PhD student Zarin Salter recently returned from a research trip that took her across the USA: collecting data, visiting research groups and developing professional skills in environmental education program evaluation.

Zarin’s trip was made possible by two competitive research travel awards, The Convocation Postgraduate Research Travel Award and a 2011 Grant for Research Student Training.

“One of the highlights from my trip was collaborating with Professor Michaela Zint from the University of Michigan on a unique mind mapping data collection and assessment tool,” she recalls. “My supervisors and I developed the tool during my PhD research, and with Professor Zint’s help I was able to visit and collect mind map data from 9 to 12-year-old students at two environmentally focussed schools in California.”

Zarin will analyse the Californian students’ mind maps and compare the results to those from students in Perth. This material will form the basis of a series of papers, published in collaboration with Professor Zint and supervisors, Winthrop Professor Grady Venville and Associate Professor Nancy Longnecker.

The student anticipates these papers will trigger other researchers to consider using mind maps as a data collection tool. “Mind maps have been widely used as an educational tool to aid learning or organise information, but their non-linear, freely structured composition makes them difficult to interpret when used to collect data,” says Zarin. “The assessment tool we developed, however, makes it possible for researchers to explore trends and compare groups of students, whilst capitalising on the breadth of information that arises from freely structured responses.”

There were many highlights from Zarin’s trip, including a tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s marine education facilities.

“For marine educators like me, visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium is akin to a physicist visiting the Large Hadron Collider – so exciting and full of new possibilities,” she recalls.

These and other opportunities were made possible by scholarships from the Office of Convocation and The Graduate Research School. “Thanks to these two awards I have made professional connections and developed skills that will benefit me throughout my career”, Zarin said. Juanita Perez is responsible for overseeing the Convocation Travel Award.

”Convocation, the UWA Graduates Association, provides awards to enable postgraduate research students to enhance their work through travel in Australia or overseas,” says Juanita. “Awards are made available through the generosity of graduates and with the assistance of the University and the UWA Postgraduate Students Association.”

Due to budgetary constraints the Grants for Research Student Training were suspended for 2012, but Zarin was one of the lucky awardees from 2011. “The GRST initiative was informed by The University of Western Australia’s commitment to recognising, promoting and rewarding graduate research excellence. Our PhD students benefited by being able to travel to institutions such as Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford to present their research and collaborate with experts in their field”, said Dr Michael Azariadis, coordinator of the award.

Published in Uniview Vol. 31 No. 3 Spring 2012