Education Commons^™

The Oer Project @Shu: 5 Factors Driving Institutional Change, Jaya Kannan, Zachariah Claybaugh

Zachariah Claybaugh

Sacred Heart University’s OER initiative has seen positive results in its first stage of planning and implementation. Five factors have been driving change – tactical planning, collaborative networking, awareness building, impact measurement, and pedagogy focus. Using evidence-based examples, we share strategies for cost-savings, increased access, and enhanced pedagogical practices.

Considering Family And Significant Others In The Faculty Recruitment Process: A Study Of Social Work Recruiting Practices, Michael E. Sherr, Johnny M. Jones

Michael Sherr, Ph.D.

One of the most important facets of quality social work education is the recruitment and retention of faculty. This mixed methods study uses findings from an on-line survey of 106 recent (within three years) faculty hires and their (n=24) spouse/partner/significant others (S/P/SO) to determine the degree to which family- integrative recruitment strategies were being used in recruiting social work faculty and the impact with which the presence or absence of these strategies have on retention. A majority of respondents reported that S/P/SO were excluded from the recruitment process.Though the few respondents who ...

Making Online Group-Work Work: Scripts, Group Awareness And Facilitation, Peter Reimann

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Even though group work for learning is a well-established and extensively researched pedagogy, teachers find it still challenging to engage students in productive collaborative learning that extends over time (e.g. weeks – in the context of project-based learning) and is computer-mediated in addition to being classroom-based. I introduce three practices that have been shown to foster collaborative knowledge production and learning: first, group scripts; second, knowledge building and knowledge awareness; and third, group facilitation. I discuss how teachers can integrate these into their teaching practices to address three challenges to productive group learning: unequal participation, lack of awareness, and stratified ...

Teaching Practices That Improve Performance, Attainment And Engagement: Results From A Longitudinal Study Of High School Students In Nsw, Ian Mccarthy, Brianna Mccourt, Victoria Ikutegbe, Jin Zhou

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

This report builds on a body of evidence showing the positive effect of teaching and classroom practices on engagement, wellbeing and academic outcomes. Using two student cohorts in NSW government schools, Years 7 to 9 and Years 10 to 12, we have quantified the effects of quality instruction and other effective classroom practices as drivers of student outcomes (see Figure 1, p. 54). A common theme across both cohorts was the positive impact on key academic outcomes of teachers having high expectations and appropriately challenging all their students (as measured through the NAPLAN tests and Year 12 completion). Modelling also ...

Assessing Accomplished Teaching With Reliability And Validity: The Acer Portfolio Project, Lawrence Ingvarson

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

We know that good teachers are worth their weight in gold. But if good teaching is to be truly valued, the teaching profession must be able to demonstrate that it can evaluate itself in ways that are reliable, valid and fair. This capacity is central to any profession. It is also central to lifting the status of teaching, rewarding accomplished teaching and enabling teaching to complete with other professions for our ablest graduates. Recent OECD reports emphasise the necessity of strengthening the teaching profession, which depends upon widespread use of evidence-based teaching practices. Building the capacity for evaluation is the ...

Communicating Student Learning Progress: What Does That Mean And Can It Make A Difference?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Traditionally in schools, the main method of communicating students’ academic performance has been the summative end-of-semester report, and the focus of much of this communication has centred on reporting achievement against year-level standards. While semester reporting largely remains established practice, the advent of new school management systems has seen schools embrace a practice known as ‘continuous reporting’. Though well-intended, early analysis would suggest that the potential benefits of this relatively new process are inconsistently understood, and reveal a confusion between progressive instalments of feedback versus feedback on student progress. Such confusion may be indicative of other gaps in the organisational ...

Making A Difference Through Quality Teaching Rounds: Evidence From A Sustained Program Of Research, Jennifer Gore

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Through rigorous forms of research, including a randomised controlled trial, Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) has been shown to make a positive difference to the quality of teaching, teacher morale and school culture. This presentation will draw on both quantitative and qualitative evidence to demonstrate the impact of QTR, outlining its effects across a range of NSW primary and secondary schools and for teachers at very different stages of their careers. The essential components of QTR will be elaborated with analysis of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the effectiveness of this form of professional development in improving teaching practice. As ...

Driving One’S Own Learning – Full Speed Ahead! Motivationally Anchored Instruction, Alison Davis

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

This paper explores the concept of motivationally anchored instruction, how it is practised in classrooms and the structure for teacher professional learning that supports its implementation. Participants will examine how teachers enact pedagogical practices that deliberately develop and grow students’ inner desire to want to learn. Content will draw on the analogy of learners driving their own learning by describing and examining deliberate acts of teaching that grow and develop the intrinsic motivation dispositions of our students. Research and practices that support a learning environment where intrinsic motivation creates internal drive and desire to do well are examined, and such ...

Enseñar Superpoderes:La Importancia De Una Educación Bilingüe, Camryn Potter

Best Integrated Writing

This argumentative essay deals with a well-known topic in the field of linguistics, methodology and education. The topic, however, has not been exhausted, so Camryn Potter’s reflections insert her in a generation of new advocates of second language teaching. In detailed progression and with a clear style, Potter conveys her vision: it is true that when learning a second language, a person acquires skills beneficial for the brain and the holistic human condition. Although passionate about the topic, Potter does not jump to conclusions. On the contrary, she explores different pros and cons. An educator at heart, she invites ...

The Role Of Evidence In Teaching And Learning, Geoff N. Masters Ao

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Highly-effective teaching requires evidence-informed decision making at crucial points in the teaching process. First, effective teachers use quality evidence to establish the points individual learners have reached in their learning. This enables teachers to identify starting points for further teaching and learning and to ensure that each student is given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of challenge. In contrast, much teaching instead assumes all students will be appropriately challenged by common year-level curricula. The process of establishing and understanding where students are in their learning often requires detailed diagnostic evidence of individual misunderstandings and obstacles to learning progress. Second ...

Friends With Benefits: Collaboration Between A State University And A School District Designed To Improve Teaching And Learning For Bilingual Students, Elizabeth A. Skinner, Pauline Williams

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

This article describes a long-term collaborative effort between a college of education and a public school district in Illinois. As both the district and the Bilingual-Bicultural Education Program at the university sought to improve the teaching and learning for bilingual students, the relationship between the two institutions evolved. The result is a pipeline of teacher candidates, specifically prepared to work in the district’s dual language schools. The article describes the implementation of the federally funded program as well as the challenges encountered over the course of the collaboration.

Robert James Baker (1942-2018), Obituary, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert D. Bradley, David J. Schmidly, Lisa C. Bradley, James J. Bull, Karen Mcbee, Meredith J. Hamilton, Peter A. Larsen

Mammalogy Papers: University of Nebraska State Museum

First paragraph:

On 30 March 2018, the science of mammalogy and the American Society of Mammalogists lost one of the most influential figures of the last half-century. Robert James Baker died quietly at his home in Lubbock, Texas (Fig. 1). He was born on 8 April 1942 to James Simeon Baker and Laura Cooper in Warren, Arkansas. His father was killed during World War II and his mother remarried, resulting in his growing up with six half-siblings. According to Robert’s autobiography in Going afield (330—number refers to specific publication in “Bibliography”), he spent a good deal of his ...

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne Daily

No abstract provided.

Ouachita Sets Fundraising Record, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia has received a record $17.2 million in private support in academic year 2017-2018. The fundraising total surpasses the previous record set in 2005-2006 by almost $1 million.

My News, Georgia Southern University

My News

• Faculty, staff kick off new academic year during annual convocation ceremony
• Georgia Southern announces ‘40 Under 40’ Class of 2018
• College of Education alumna, staff member selected as a Google Innovator

• Georgia Southern University Police Department’s K-9 Bear to get donation of body armor

• Follow Georgia Southern on Snapchat!

• On-Campus News

• In the Media

Tiro Final.Pdf, Lebogang Tiro

Lebogang Tiro

Evidence-Based Approaches To School Improvement: The Kimberley Schools Project, Bill Louden

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Despite a great deal of goodwill, effort and funding, student achievement in the Kimberley region of Western Australia has shown little improvement in the last decade. Governments have intervened in a range of ways: tying funding to evidence that schools are closing the gap; improving conditions for teachers and principals working with remote communities; funding a bewildering range of attendance and engagement strategies; and supporting cultural relevance though a range of short-term skill and enrichment programs. This paper describes the Kimberley Schools Project, which is an alternative approach funded by the Western Australian Government through the Royalties for Regions program ...

Transforming Learning With Information And Communication Technologies: Insights From Three Decades Of Research, Romina Jamieson-Proctor

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

Since computers first appeared in classrooms, educators have sought to integrate information communication technologies (ICT) into teaching and learning. In Australia, as elsewhere, ICT are widely regarded as critical facilitators of student learning. The ability to use ICT effectively is specified in Australia’s national curriculum as a required general capability. However, despite the educational environment being replete with ICT related programs, our understanding of how students use ICT for learning is still limited. This paper presents insights from the past 30 years of research, which suggest that even though the current ‘climate’ in Australian schools is favourable, teacher confidence ...

Making A Difference In Learning Through Arts-Rich Pedagogy, Robyn Ewing Am

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

There is unequivocal evidence that arts-rich pedagogies enhance student social and emotional wellbeing and, consequently, academic learning outcomes across the curriculum. Yet many primary teachers report they lack the expertise and/or confidence to embed quality arts processes and experiences in what is increasingly described as an overcrowded curriculum. This presentation reviews the research findings about the impact and sustainability of School Drama, an initiative developed through a partnership between the Sydney Theatre Company and The University of Sydney. An innovative co-mentoring teacher professional learning program and drama-based intervention, the program aims to develop primary teachers’ professional knowledge of and ...

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2018), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2018 ACER Research Conferences

There is no shortage of opinion about more and less effective ways of teaching. Schools are continually presented with strategies, programs and approaches that claim to be ‘research-based’, ‘evidence-based’ or even ‘brainbased’. Vocal advocates of particular teaching methods promote their proposed solutions in the media. But how many of these programs and methods have solid foundations in research? And how can teachers and school leaders distinguish exaggerated marketing claims from teaching strategies shown through research to be effective in improving student outcomes? Research Conference 2018 examines research evidence around teaching practices that make a difference. It brings together leading international ...