Education Commons^™

Acer’S Mathematics Anxiety And Engagement Strategy (Maes): A Framework, Sarah Buckley, Kate Reid, Catherine Pearn, Shani Sniedze

Student learning processes

The Mathematics Anxiety and Engagement Strategy (MAES) was established by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in 2018 in response to declining mathematics achievement and participation among Australian students. Findings from the 2022 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that 15-year-old students in Australia had significantly lower levels of mathematical literacy than students in 2003 (De Bortoli et al, 2023). The 2022 results also showed that male students outperformed female students and only 30 percent of students from more disadvantaged backgrounds achieved the National Proficient Standard in mathematics compared to 72 percent of students from …

Collaboration In East Africa: A Contextualised Approach To Defining The Construct, Claire Scoular, David Alelah Otieno

Assessment and Reporting

Collaboration has been highlighted internationally as a key skill for learning, working, and living in the twenty-first century. However, to teach it well, enhance its performance, and measure its growth, it is essential to have a clear and consistent definition of the skill. There are a number of frameworks that describe collaboration in a way that is meaningful to learning and growth. Despite some differences across frameworks, it is clear there is a common core set of contributing subskills. This suggests that collaboration is of global interest, and that there are components that transcend national or cultural specificities. Notwithstanding, definitions …

Spotlight On Student Engagement. Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr, Australian Council For Educational Research

Education Analytics Service

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Lao PDR to undertake significant primary education reforms through its flagship Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR program (BEQUAL), including the roll-out of a new primary curriculum. Phase 1 of BEQUAL (2015-22) supported the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to roll out the new primary curriculum in schools. BEQUAL support included teaching and learning materials, orientation training on the new curriculum, and education support grants. Phase 2 (2022-26) is focused on inclusive teaching practices, student engagement and improved learning outcomes. To understand progress and to make necessary adjustments, the …

National Assessment Program: Ict Literacy 2022: Public Report, Tim Friedman, Kate O'Malley, Zachary Watts, Kristy Osborne, Louise Ockwell, Laila Helou

ICT - Digital Literacy

This public report documents the findings of the sixth National Assessment Program ICT Literacy (NAP–ICT Literacy) assessment cycle. In reporting national key performance measures (KPMs) of Australian students’ ICT literacy, the NAP–ICT Literacy assessment provides a way to monitor progress towards the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Goals for Young Australians. Goal 2 of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration is that “all young Australians become confident and creative individuals, successful lifelong learners, and active and informed members of the community” (Education Council 2019, p. 6). The elaboration of this goal highlights the importance of young Australians’ digital and ICT literacy …

The Contribution Of Learning Trajectories To Enacting The Early Years Learning Framework V2.0, Caroline Cohrssen

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia v2.0 (EYLF) guides pedagogy and practice with children aged from birth to 5 years and states that ‘over time, children engage with increasingly complex ideas’. With 5 learning outcomes and 8 principles of practice, this requires educators to be highly skilled in facilitating children’s engagement with increasingly complex ideas. It also assumes that all educators recognise children’s demonstrations of understanding, and know what knowledge (or capabilities) likely preceded this understanding, and what comes next. As a framework, this specific information is missing from the EYLF. Learning trajectories may assist educators to recognise demonstrations …

Conceptual Development: How Do Early Educators And Teachers Support Children's Early Thinking In Stem?, Marilyn Fleer

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

As national and state-based reforms in early education roll-out across Australia, concern for building a well-qualified workforce to meet growing demand has intensified. In parallel with the reforms, teachers and educators are reminded by the recently released 2022 Early Years Learning Framework to design programs that support intentionality in play-based learning. However, the literature shows that despite the concept of intentional teaching being around since 2009, difficulties with how to do this remains. This presentation takes up this challenge, by 1) sharing the collective findings of 6 Australian Research Council-funded research projects into play and learning in STEM; and 2) …

Mathematical Mindsets: Fostering Student Engagement And Positive Mindsets Through The Use Of Challenging Tasks, Alison Hall

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

This paper explores the planned use of challenging mathematical tasks. These tasks provide the opportunity for students to improve mathematical thinking by working on problems that they do not yet know how to answer. This research involved a heterogeneous class of year 3 students from a Catholic parish primary school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. A rubric was also developed to use in conjunction with these tasks, to support discussions with students, broaden their strategies in finding solutions and thereby improve their conceptual understanding. These pedagogical approaches were found to support the improvement of both students’ conceptual understanding in …

The Journey To Becoming A Reader: Relationships Between Home Activities, Attitudes And Reading, Kylie Hillman

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Progress in International Reading Study – PIRLS for short – has been running since 2001, with Australia joining in 2011. Along with a well-researched measure of students’ reading comprehension, PIRLS includes a number of questionnaires for students, teachers, principals and parents/guardians that provide background and context for students’ performance in the reading assessment. This presentation will provide educators with an introduction to PIRLS and discuss what PIRLS can tell us about various home, attitudinal and behavioural factors that relate to Year 4 students’ performance in the PIRLS reading comprehension assessments.

We will discuss relationships between reading scores and factors …

Does Play Belong In The Primary School Classroom?, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Rachel Parker

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Learning through play has emerged as an important strategy to promote student engagement, inclusion, and holistic skills development beyond the preschool years. If we want to build an education system preparing children for lifelong learning, we can use these strategies and achieve a balance of academic growth, holistic skills and a joy of learning. This presentation addresses the disconnect between policy, research, and practice, by summarising 5 key findings from international studies and 4 challenges to connect policy and practice. The evidence that play supports learning is considerable, and a new framework can create continuity between the early years learning …

Themes, Resources And Uptake Of Acer’S Science In The Early Years Suite, Gayl O'Connor

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Science in the early years series was developed to assist preschool and Foundation to year 2 primary educators to incorporate the latest research in science learning into their programs and teaching practice. This paper focuses on the educator resources developed to support early years educators implement activities to assist children to develop science concepts and inquiry skills. The activities are underpinned by evidence-based research that revealed 4 themes in the early years’ science literature.

Assessment Is Coming And The Early Childhood Sector Must Lead The Way, Dan Cloney

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is a core component of quality early childhood practice. It is explicitly highlighted in the new Early Years Leanring Framework V2.0 and is a standard within Quality Area 1 of the National Quality Standard. In everyday early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, and in initial teacher education, assessment is often limited to observational and narrative-driven approaches. Recent reviews of the literature highlight that there are few other assessment tools readily available to educators. What assessment looks like in early childhood is changing. The Commonwealth, as part of the Preschool Reform Funding Agreement, is developing, trialling, and implementing a …

Partnerships In Early Childhood Education: Engaging Families In Professional Conversations, Simone Griggs, Greta Rollo

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Effective monitoring of learning and development involves integrating multiple perspectives from a child’s parents, carers, family, and their educators. A collaborative approach between educators and families not only recognises the family’s critical importance in their child’s life but it has also been shown to benefit children with learning difficulties, delays and behavioural concerns (Parenting Research Centre, 2012; Prior et al., 2011). Efforts made towards the integration of multiple perspectives can also support stronger inclusion of diverse families into communities of early childhood education and care. However, discussions with parents and carers about issues regarding their children’s development can be a …

Developing A Learning Progression For Teachers To Support Effective Thinking And Self-Regulation, Hannah Campos Remon, Adam Kuss

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Brisbane Grammar School has undertaken four years of systematic research to develop a learning progression to support teachers in the development of their students’ capacity for learning, including self-regulation. The learning progression offers a comprehensive, learning-focused tool for teachers to consider how their students are developing as learners over time. Whilst it is not intended to be prescriptive or exhaustive, or to produce a grade for ‘learning’, it offers a purposeful sampling of important components of effective thinking.

Transdisciplinary Stem Enactment: An Exploratory Case Study In The Queensland Context, Kristie Schulz

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Enacting STEM education in Australian schools is an ambitious task, in a climate of unclear definitions and little implementation advice. Should STEM education simply refer to an umbrella-term of subjects that Australian students need to improve in, or could a cross-disciplinary pedagogy that engages students in authentic problem-solving be realised? This poster outlines a project in which Parklands Christian College designed and enacted a transdisciplinary student-centred ideology of STEM education in 2017. The program has continually evolved using a transdisciplinary pedagogical framework.

Policy Brief: Monitoring And Evaluating Global Citizenship Education In The Asia-Pacific Region, Payal Goundar, Rachel Parker

Global education monitoring

Global citizenship education is now an important element of curricula, policy, and practice in many diverse nations around the world. Almost a decade ago, education for global citizenship was described as a target under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 – to ‘ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.’ Despite efforts to define and frame global citizenship education (GCED), systems continue to grapple with understanding, enacting, and assessing GCED in ways that reflect changing local and global conditions for students, teachers, and schools. This new study responds to the need for tools and resources to …

Bertumbuh Berkembang: Modul Pelatihan Pendidik Paud, Hani Yulindrasari

Pengembangan Profesional

Modul Pendidik PAUD-HI ini memaparkan berbagai aspek perkembangan anak yang dibagi ke dalam indikator pencapaian per kategori umur di 6 area perkembangan yang mengacu kepada Standar Tingkat Pencapaian Perkembangan Anak (STTPA). Pembelajaran inklusi, pembelajaran berbasis bermain, serta cara komunikasi postif juga dijelaskan dalam modul yang disusun khusus untuk pendidik PAUD.

This module written in Indonesian Bahasa has been developed for Early Childhood Educators and describes key aspects of children's development. It is divided into achievement indicators by age in 6 areas of development referred to in the Standard Levels of Achievement of the Development of Children (in Indonesian: STTPA). Creating …

Bertumbuh Berkembang: Aktivitas & Lembar Evaluasi—Modul Pelatihan Pendidik Paud, Hani Yulindrasari

Pengembangan Profesional

Aktivitas & Lembar Evaluasi ini adalah lampiran yang melengkapi Modul Pelatihan Pendidik PAUD dan berisikan penjelasan mengenai teknik asesmen serta beragam aktivitas untuk dipraktikkan di ruang kelas yang akan merangsang minat dan perkembangan anak.

Being And Becoming Global Citizens: Measuring Progress Toward Sdg 4.7. Phase I: Monitoring Teacher And School Readiness To Enact Global Citizenship In The Asia-Pacific Region, Rachel Parker, Jennie Chainey, Payal Goundar, Sarah Richardson, Anna Dabrowski, Amy Berry, Claire Scoular

Global education monitoring

Substantive work has been undertaken to define and frame global citizenship education (GCED). Global citizenship and related terms are included in the curricula and policy statements of many diverse nations around the world (Parker & Fraillon, 2016; APCEIU, 2020b), however, the education sector often struggles to enact and monitor GCED in ways that reflect the changing conditions of students and schools. This study responds to an identified need for enhanced tools and resources for schools and systems to monitor and evaluate GCED, in accordance with United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7. This need is particularly pressing in the …

Spotlight On Teacher Supports. Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr, Australian Council For Educational Research

Education Analytics Service

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Lao PDR to undertake significant primary education reforms through its flagship Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR program (BEQUAL), including the roll-out of a new primary curriculum. Phase 1 of BEQUAL (2015-22) supported the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to roll out the new primary curriculum in schools. BEQUAL support included teaching and learning materials, orientation training on the new curriculum, and education support grants. Phase 2 (2022-26) is focused on inclusive teaching practices, student engagement and improved learning outcomes. To understand progress and to make necessary adjustments, the …

School Improvement Tool, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

School and system improvement

Research shows the powerful impact that school leadership teams can have in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Effective leaders create cultures of high expectations, provide clarity about what teachers are to teach and students are to learn, establish strong professional learning communities, and lead ongoing school-wide efforts to improve teaching practices. The School Improvement Tool describes the practices of highly effective schools and school leaders. The SIT assists schools to review and reflect on their strategies to improve the quality of classroom teaching and learning. It supports school-wide conversations – including with families, school governing bodies, local communities, …

Spotlight On Teacher Supports. Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr (Lao Version), Australian Council For Educational Research

Education Analytics Service

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Lao PDR to undertake significant primary education reforms through its flagship Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR program (BEQUAL), including the roll-out of a new primary curriculum. Phase 1 of BEQUAL (2015-22) supported the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to roll out the new primary curriculum in schools. BEQUAL support included teaching and learning materials, orientation training on the new curriculum, and education support grants. Phase 2 (2022-26) is focused on inclusive teaching practices, student engagement and improved learning outcomes. To understand progress and to make necessary adjustments, the …

Spotlight On Student Engagement. Evaluation Of Australia’S Investment In Teacher Development In Lao Pdr (Lao Version), Australian Council For Educational Research

Education Analytics Service

The Australian Government is supporting the Government of Lao PDR to undertake significant primary education reforms through its flagship Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR program (BEQUAL), including the roll-out of a new primary curriculum. Phase 1 of BEQUAL (2015-22) supported the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) to roll out the new primary curriculum in schools. BEQUAL support included teaching and learning materials, orientation training on the new curriculum, and education support grants. Phase 2 (2022-26) is focused on inclusive teaching practices, student engagement and improved learning outcomes. To understand progress and to make necessary adjustments, the …

Teachers’ Assessment Literacy And Design Competence Framework, Sladana Krstic, Sarah Manlove, Sarah Richardson

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Teachers play a central role in facilitating learning and empowering learners (Pastore & Andrade, 2019). They must possess a high level of assessment literacy to properly fulfil their role of implementing teaching and facilitating students’ learning (Hattie, 2009). Without it, the quality of educational provision can be impacted (Looney et al., 2018). The expectations placed on teachers in relation to their assessment knowledge and skills tend to focus on their ability to design and implement assessment with students, and to use assessment data to inform teaching practices (Brookhart, 2011). Much of the emphasis in the literature is on the mechanical …

Assessing Reading: How Assessment Can Be Used To Target Teaching And Enhance Understanding Of Reading Comprehension, Sandra Knowles

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The skills demonstrated by a proficient reader are not easy to untangle. Current research acknowledges that reading comprehension is a highly complex area of ability, one that needs to be understood as the coordination of several integrated processes. Using example test questions and data, this presentation explores how assessment can help us make sense of reading comprehension in a way that curricula and commonly used teaching strategies cannot. Assessment is evidence that informs us about the skills involved in the reading process, how they relate to each other, and how they develop in complexity. When assessment is understood in this …

Assessment Moderation: Is It Fit For Purpose?, Lenore Adie

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

This presentation outlines the different practices and purposes of assessment moderation and analyses the benefits and issues of these. Two projects are presented; each seeks to improve teacher judgement. Both attempt to redefine what we mean by moderation and how moderation can be conducted to reach diverse and dispersed groups. The first draws on a current Australian Research Council project that is exploring the development of scaled exemplars, the use of commentaries of judgement decisions, and the use of digital platforms to support teachers grading student work. The second draws on the work of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA) …

The Transformational Change Of Adaptive Assessment, Jarrod Hingston, Toby Newton

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Organisational change theory often discusses the differences between adaptive change and transformational change; adaptive change being the process of incremental shifts that are intended to drive improvement, while transformational change requires major alterations in processes. In 2019, ACER embarked on a mission to develop a new adaptive testing and reporting system, with the goal of delivering an assessment that would improve the precision of results for every student. While the intention was to introduce an adaptive change in the assessments, the project truly transformed the way that ACER delivers assessments and reports results, a result recognised by the project being …

Sharing And Securing Learners' Performance Standards Across Schools, Richard Kimbell

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessing learners’ performance makes very different demands upon teachers depending on the purpose and the context of the assessment. But common to all assessment is some sense of what ‘quality’ looks like. Most often teachers engage in formative assessments in the classroom, and the familiar standards of the classroom are adequate for this purpose. However if teachers are to undertake external, nationally regulated assessment then some sense of a national standard of quality is required. But there are very limited mechanisms by which teachers can acquire this understanding, so they use their best judgement, and standards vary from school to …

An Innovative Method For Teachers To Formatively Assess Writing Online, Dr Sandy Heldsinger, Stephen Humphry

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is an integral component of effective teaching and a teacher’s professional judgement influences all routine aspects of their work. In the last 20 years, there has been considerable work internationally to support teachers in using assessment to improve student learning. However, there is a pressing issue that impedes teacher professional judgement being exploited to its full potential. The issue relates to teacher assessments in the context of extended performances such as essays and arises from the complexity of obtaining reliable or consistent teacher assessments of students’ work. Literature published in the United States, England and Australia details evidence of …

Using Pat Data To Inform Teaching And Learning, Marc Kralj, Rachel Felgate, Shani Sniedze, Caithlin Power, Grant Barclay, Darren Leech

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

ACER works with thousands of Australian schools to set up Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) functionality, assign and administer tests, and to assist teachers to understand and interrogate the resulting test data and act upon findings. This session provides participants with an opportunity to hear about a school’s journey, and discuss this with the ACER team and our PAT school guest. ACER researchers have evaluated and documented assessment implementation and professional development opportunities, observing this school’s ability to track student and educator progress over time, which is a critical element in ACER’s Progressive Achievement approach. ACER’s educational consultants will demonstrate how …

Reimagining Classroom Assessment And Feedback To Meet Learner Needs, Fabienne Van Der Kleij

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The power of classroom assessment and feedback to improve student learning outcomes has long been recognised. Yet, decades of research have yielded disappointing and often conflicting outcomes. This presentation challenges traditional conceptions of classroom assessment and feedback as teacher-driven practices. To meet learner needs better, it proposes a student-centred perspective in which students are active and have agency. By drawing on an extensive study of feedback reviews, this presentation illustrates how conceptualisations of feedback have changed over recent decades. This paper provides key insights into how classroom assessment and feedback practices can be changed in ways that are sustainable, afford …