Digital Commons Network^™

Language-As-Skill Approach In Foreign Language Education: A Phenomenological Study, Xiang Y. Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand foreign language educators' lived experience of language-as-skill that focuses on language use. The central research question explored the foreign language educators' experiences and perspectives on the concept of language acquisition as a type of skill acquisition. In addition, the researcher investigated foreign language educators' language-as-knowledge and language-as-skill methodologies. This study also aimed to discover how the language-as-skill with advanced technology could be a way to address the contemporary challenges in foreign language education for learners and improve learners' communicative competence to thrive in a globalized world with diversity. A transcendental …

What Is Pedagogy?: Discovering The Hidden Pedagogical Dimension, Norm Friesen, Hanno Su

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

What is pedagogy, exactly? Merriam-Webster defines it simply as “the art, science, or profession of teaching.” In contemporary academic discourse, however, pedagogy is generally left undefined — with its apparent implicit meanings ranging anywhere from a specific “model for teaching” (e.g., behaviorist or progressivist instruction) to a broadly political philosophy of education in general (most famously, a “pedagogy of the oppressed”). In this paper, Norm Friesen and Hanno Su follow the Continental pedagogical tradition in giving pedagogy a general but explicit definition. They do so by looking at how pedagogy arises both in everyday life and in school as unavoidably …

Relational Employability Teaching-Learning Framework, Elizabeth J. Cook

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This framework was designed, developed and implemented during Elizabeth’s doctoral research, specifically in 2022-2023. Elizabeth’s conceptualisation of relational employability, as depicted by this framework, is holistic and shows three equally important relational elements of employability and careers, which may transcend time and space: (1) foundational career development and identities (self); (2) humanistic interactions and contributions throughout careers (other humans); and (3) more-than-human interactions and contributions throughout careers (beyond humans). The framework builds on the work of Nataša Lacković (2019) and was constructed to enable academics to deeply and meaningfully integrate careers and employability thinking-imagining within curricula and assessment. The framework …

A Framework For Addressing Foster Care Trauma In The Public Education System: Perceptions And Implications, Valerie A. Storey, Fletcher Roschanda

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

BACKGROUND

It is estimated that approximately 90% of children in foster care have experienced a traumatic event, with nearly half reporting exposure to 4 or more types of traumatic events. Educators must remain alert to indicators suggesting a history of trauma and understand the difficulties foster youth may face regulating their emotions and behavior while in school.

METHODS

A framework for foster youth trauma in the public education system identifies the interplay between macro-level forces, such as federal and state policy, and school and teacher micro-level forces.

RESULTS

The framework highlights the inadequacy of educators in identifying the manifestations of …

An Account Of The Methodological Implementation Of Design-Based Research In The Chemistry Classroom Context, Esther Kibga, Emmanuel Gakuba, John Sentongo

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Design-Based Research (DBR) has recently received a significant amount of attention in the educational research literature of the 21st century. This work analyses the understanding of DBR as the research methodology, why, and how it can be applied in educational research to bring a practical outcome and improve educational practices. Besides, this work reflects on a step-by-step implementation of the Hands-on Instructional Model (HIM) designed to enhance the development of chemistry learners’ curiosity and problem-solving skills. Also, it gives a detailed description of the two prototypes of the first alteration cycle. A sample of 169 Senior Three chemistry students was …

Philosophical Underpinnings Of Mathematics Teacher Educator's Work, Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, Signe E. Kastberg, Melva R. Grant, Olive Chapman

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) are turning research lens on themselves to explore their knowledge and practices and with that contribute knowledge to the field of mathematics teacher education. In this working group we build from our exploration of MTEs' work. MTEs will describe their work and their views of knowledge and being in their work as MTEs. We invite MTEs to join our working group and assert that MTEs' discussions of their work will provide opportunities for professional learning that reveals how their knowledge and identity inform their practice.

A Multimodal Framework For Supporting Academic Writer’S Perspectives, Practice And Performance, Roisin Donnelly, Ita Kennelly, Claire Mcavinia

Articles

Supporting writing remains an important dimension to the work of academic developers particularly for early career academics and doctoral candidates. A small qualitative case study was undertaken on an academic writing module to explore participants’ needs and evaluate a new multimodal writing framework which sought to enhance publication opportunities while supporting the development of writing practice. The framework introduced the modes of reading, writing and reviewing as distinctive dimensions of the writing process and introduced practical activities to build participants’ confidence and skills working in each mode. It also prompted participants to acknowledge, adopt and shift between the perspectives of …

Law Library Blog (December 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Guest Post: A Well-Read Post, Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Reasons For The Theory-Practice Gap In Education Administration, Gary Houchens, Ysuf Badavan, Nuray Kisa

School of Leadership & Professional Studies Faculty Publications

The theory-practice gap can be defined as "a failure to apply or to relate the concepts, ideas and theories to professional conditions". The aim of this research was to explore the reasons for the theory-practice gap in the field of educational administration. Participants included 380 school administrators working in primary, secondary and high schools and 57 researchers working in different higher education institutions in Ankara. The views are collected through the questionnaire with two different forms, namely Reasons of Theory-Practice Gap in the Field of Educational Administration developed by the researchers. Data were interpreted by percentages, frequency distributions and chi-square …

Chalk Drawings: A Series, Sophia Marble

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Initially, over a year ago, I was talking to one of the Vital Climbing managers and expressing my curiosity about their artist space. Have there ever been writers who display here? At the time, I was a member of the climbing gym. Every month-or-so I stopped above the steps to view and appreciate the variety of visual artists and photographers who showcase at this location. The artist space is small, a section of brick wall at the entry of their gym. Lights above the posted art highlights the works as climbers walk up and down the stairs. It’s so fun …

The Power Of Open: Benefits, Barriers, And Strategies For Integration Of Open Educational Resources, Tian Luo, Kirsten Hostetler, Candice Freeman, Jill Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Open Educational Resources (OER) are becoming a significant, mission-driven trend within educational literature. To help address rising costs, instructors and designers are looking to OER to effectively replace traditional instructional content, which requires more than just identify and replace. Drawing from 51 OER studies conducted in countries across the five continents, this systematic literature review explored the empirical themes evident in the current research on a global scale. This review found (1) discoverability, sustainability, and remixing are significant barriers that stand in the way of OER disrupting traditional textbook models; (2) there is no significant difference in learning outcomes when …

Yes, School Librarians Teach Reading: Reading Skill Reinforcement And The School Librarian, Tammy S. Gruer, Karen M. Perry

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article discusses that school librarians are the literacy leaders in their buildings. It mentions that reinforcing reading skills taught in the classroom and motivating students to practice reading are an integral part of a school librarian's job; and also mentions that reading aloud to students from chapter books helps develop their imagination.

Social Care Graduates’ Judgements Of Their Readiness And Preparedness For Practice, Fiona Mcsweeney, David Williams

Articles

While research has been conducted on social work graduates’ views of their readiness and preparedness for practice, the views of social care workers have not been specifically researched. This paper reports on the views of social care graduates in Ireland of how ready they are to join the workforce and how their educational programme has prepared them. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the same participants. The first was at the end of their final year in college and the second between 9 and 12 months later when they were in employment. Findings indicate that participants, while apprehensive, felt ready …

The Fearless Teaching Framework: A Model To Synthesize Foundational Education Research For University Instructors, Alice E. Donlan, Sandra M. Loughlin, Virginia L. Byrne

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

There is often a disconnect between the unit of analysis in rigorous education research, and the types of recommendations that instructors find the most useful to improve their teaching. Research often focuses on narrow slices of the student experience, and university instructors often require broad recommendations. We present the Fearless Teaching Framework to address this gap between research and practice. In this framework, we define four pieces of effective teaching: classroom climate, course content, teaching practices, and assessment strategies. We argue that these are appropriate areas of focus for instructor growth, based on their relations to student engagement.

Towards Sustainable Technology-Enhanced Innovation In Higher Education: Advancing Learning Design By Understanding And Supporting Teacher Design Practice, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Shirley Agostinho

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Improving teacher design promises to be a scalable, sustainable approach to building capacity amongst a workforce faced with complex and evolving drivers of change in higher education worldwide. While design has long been recognised as a routine part of teaching, there has been renewed interest in supporting and understanding the design work that teachers do to foster innovation, particularly in technology-enhanced learning, at institutional scale by influencing teachers' practices. Re-framing teaching as design usefully emphasises the creative problem-solving needed to balance pedagogical, logistical and technical considerations within specific educational contexts, tailored to learners' needs. There is potential for this re-framing …

Conceptualising Technology Practice In Education Using Bourdieu's Sociology, Karley A. Beckman, Tiffani L. Apps, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Evidence from large-scale studies of primary and secondary students' technology practices at school over the last decade show disparities in student practices and suggest that schools need to do more to cater for all students. Research that explores the influence of social and cultural factors may be useful for understanding such inequality in student practice. Bourdieu's theory of practice [(1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. London: Cambridge University Press] is proposed as an example of a sociological theory that can be adopted in educational technology research to move towards understanding the wider complexities of technology practice. To encourage discourse …

Employability In A Global Context: Evolving Policy And Practice In Employability, Work Integrated Learning, And Career Development Learning, Martin Smith, Kenton Bell, Dawn Bennett, Alan Mcalpine

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research project was activated to explore trends emerging in the intersecting domains of employability, work-integrated learning, and career development learning. In late 2015, researchers, academics, and career practitioners from Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada gathered to attend an Employability Masterclass at the University of Wollongong. Attendees explored questions around employability in vocationally specific and non-vocationally specific degrees. The language and conversations highlighted the influence of global contexts on strategies and practices in transnational settings-specifically, how employability is defined and supported across the breadth of university activity.

Advocating For Change In School Library Perceptions, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The article focuses on a research which aims to examine the practices of school librarians to know their impact on stakeholder perceptions. It mentions that the research was guided by the question on the advocacy strategies that were effective in changing the perception of the school library program among stakeholders. A chart is presented depicting characteristics of participants.

Inspiring Environmentally Responsible Preschool Children Through The Implementation Of The National Quality Framework: Uncovering What Lies Between Theory And Practice, Krista Pollock, Jane D. Warren, Peter J. Andersen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FOR environmental sustainability (ECEfES) has become significant in the early years, as highlighted by the inclusion of ECEfES in Australia's first and current National Quality Framework (NQF) for early childhood education and care (ECEC). This article reports on the major findings from a case study (Pollock, 2014), which aimed to uncover what lies between theory and practice, as ECEC educators attempt to support young children to become environmentally responsible, through the implementation of the NQF. This article discusses some of the findings from an analysis of the documents central to the NQF as well as semi-structured interviews …

Patient, Oncologist And Gp Views About Cancer Follow-Up Care In General Practice, Heike Schutze, Melvin Chin, David Weller, Sue Suchy, Mark Fort Harris

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 2nd International Conference on General Practice & Primary Care, 18-19 September 2017, Zurich, Switzerland

Lessons From The Aime Approach To The Teaching Relationship: Valuing Biepistemic Practice, Samantha Mcmahon, Valerie Harwood, Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Anthony D. Mcknight, Paul A. Chandler, Amy Priestly

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) is a national, extra-curricular mentoring programme that is closing the educational gap for young Indigenous Australians. So what is AIME doing that is working so well? This article draws on a large-scale classroom ethnography to describe the pedagogies that facilitate the teacher-student relationships in this programme. We use Shawn Wilson's theorisation of Indigenous ways of knowing in order to 'unpack' how these approaches succeeded in creating the egalitarian and trust-filled relationships reportedly experienced in the AIME programme.

Enhancing Instructional Leadership Through Collaborative Coaching: A Multi-Case Study, Gary Houchens, Thomas A. Stewart, Sara Elizabeth Jennings

School of Leadership & Professional Studies Faculty Publications

Purpose – Executive coaching has become increasingly important for enhancing organizational leaders’ professional effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a growing body of research literature that examines how coaching techniques help school principals improve their instructional leadership.

Design/methodology/approach – Using a protocol based on a theories of practice framework (Argyris and Schön, 1974) to support principals in deepening their self-reflection, this study added the element of a guided peer-coaching component in a group setting.

Findings – Results confirmed the effectiveness of the coaching protocol for assisting principals in deepening their self-awareness and critical reflection regarding their …

Educational Development For Online Teaching, Jordanne Christie

Teaching and Learning in a Digital Context

This paper discusses a case study that explores the impact on educators’ teaching practices, particularly their assumptions and beliefs about teaching and self-efficacy, as a result of their participation in an educational development programme designed to prepare college educators to develop and teach online and hybrid courses. The data were collected through an online survey of 34 participants, face-to-face interviews with 18 participants and documentary evidence review of 6 participants, and was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis approach. The findings suggest that the knowledge and experience that college educators acquire when participating in educational development for online …

Pacific Islands Field Education - Promoting Pacific Social Work Education & Practice Across Oceania, Jioji Ravulo

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Pacific Islands Field Education (PIFE) initiative started in 2012 and has developed into an innovative project combining various stakeholders. Over the last 4 years, it has seen 20 Western Sydney University (WSU) students successfully complete a 3-month field education placement in either Fiji, Samoa or Tonga; in an array of agencies working with women, children, families and adult offenders. Apart from mobilising students to undertake international learning opportunities, the initiative strives to support the development of social work education, teaching and learning outcomes with the University of the South Pacific (USP); who has an active MOU arrangement with Western …

A Virtual Community Of Practice For General Practice Training: A Preimplementation Survey, Stephen Barnett, Sandra C. Jones, Sue Bennett, Donald C. Iverson, Laura Robinson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Professional isolation is an important factor in low rural health workforce retention.

Objective: The aim of this study was to gain insights to inform the development of an implementation plan for a virtual community of practice (VCoP) for general practice (GP) training in regional Australia. The study also aimed to assess the applicability of the findings of an existing framework in developing this plan. This included ascertaining the main drivers of usage, or usefulness, of the VCoP for users and establishing the different priorities between user groups.

Methods: A survey study, based on the seven-step health VCoP framework, was …

The Clinical Effectiveness Of Concise Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Or Without Pharmacotherapy For Depressive And Anxiety Disorders; A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Equivalence Trial In Clinical Practice, Denise Meuldijk, Ingrid V. Carlier, Irene M. Van Vliet, T Van Veen, R Wolterbeek, Albert M. Van Hemert, Frans G. Zitman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Depressive and anxiety disorders contribute to a high disease burden. This paper investigates whether concise formats of cognitive behavioral- and/or pharmacotherapy are equivalent with longer standard care in the treatment of depressive and/or anxiety disorders in secondary mental health care. Methods: A pragmatic randomized controlled equivalence trial was conducted at five Dutch outpatient Mental Healthcare Centers (MHCs) of the Regional Mental Health Provider (RMHP) 'Rivierduinen'. Patients (aged 18-65 years) with a mild to moderate anxiety and/or depressive disorder, were randomly allocated to concise or standard care. Data were collected at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months by Routine Outcome …

Support For Assessment Practice: Developing The Assessment Design Decisions Framework, Margaret Bearman, Phillip Dawson, David J. Boud, Sue Bennett, Matt Hall, Elizabeth K. Molloy

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There are many excellent publications outlining features of assessment and feedback design in higher education. However, university educators often find these ideas challenging to realise in practice, as much of the literature focuses on institutional change rather than supporting academics. This paper describes the conceptual development of a practical framework designed to stimulate educators' thinking when creating or modifying assessments. We explain the concepts that underpin this practical support, including the notions of 'assessment decisions' and 'assessment design phases', as informed by relevant literature and empirical data. We also present the outcome of this work. The Assessment Design Decisions Framework. …

Evaluation Of A Sexually Transmissible Infections Education Program: Lessons For General Practice Learning, Jenny Reath, Penny Abbott, Ann Dadich, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Wendy Hu, Melissa Kang, Tim Usherwood, Carolyn Murray, Chris Bourne

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: The New South Wales (NSW) Sexually Transmissible Infections Program Unit (STIPU) produced nine resources to support the diagnosis and management of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in general practice. Objective: In this study, we explored the processes of developing the resources and outcomes achieved. Methods: We analysed project documents and undertook a focus group interview with the STIPU Working Group to evaluate resource development and dissemination. Interviews with general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses (PNs), combined with previously reported survey findings, provided an outcomes evaluation. Results: STIPU used a rigorous, multimodal approach to develop evidence-based clinical resources. GPs and PNs …

Fostering Effective Early Learning (Feel) Through A Professional Development Programme For Early Childhood Educators To Improve Professional Practice And Child Outcomes In The Year Before Formal Schooling: Study Protocol For A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial, Edward Melhuish, Steven J. Howard, Iram Siraj, Cathrine Marguerite Neilsen-Hewett, Denise Kingston, Marc De Rosnay, Elisabeth Duursma, Betty Luu

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: A substantial research base documents the benefits of attendance at high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) for positive behavioural and learning outcomes. Research has also found that the quality of many young children's experiences and opportunities in ECEC depends on the skills, dispositions and understandings of the early childhood adult educators. Increasingly, research has shown that the quality of children's interactions with educators and their peers, more than any other programme feature, influence what children learn and how they feel about learning. Hence, we sought to investigate the extent to which evidence-based professional development (PD) - focussed on …