Education Commons^™

Performance, Assessment And Communication In One App: Mobile Tablet Assessment Is Here To Stay, Alistair Campbell Phd, Susan J. Main Mrs

eCULTURE

It is high time we moved performance assessment into the mobile age. Performance is one of the most difficult tasks to assess using traditional methods. The pen-and-paper method generates multiple administrative bottlenecks that prevent the assessor from focusing on their primary task of professional judgment. The application of mobile technology and tablet devices can now replace pen-and-paper assessment, and achieve significant synergies resulting from the combination of technology with the assessors’ professional judgment.

The presentation will demonstrate how the application of mobile technology to the assessment of performances can be successfully achieved. The Touch2Assess (T²A) software process developed …

“It’S The Best Idea Ever!”: Exam For The Byod Generation., Susan J. Main Mrs, Alistair Campbell Phd

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This research sought to investigate the feasibility of digitising exams to improve student outcomes and was based on research suggesting that the handwriting speed of undergraduate students limits their ability to demonstrate knowledge, while poor legibility makes it difficult for the assessor to accurately judge the quality of the response. Research found that the handwriting speed of undergraduate students was equivalent to fluency data on 11-year-old schoolchildren, which is a significant concern when we consider that handwriting fluency accounted for considerable variance in writing quality and tutor marks for examination answers. This generation of students typically relies on digital technologies …

Clinical Placement Before Or After Simulated Learning Environments? A Naturalistic Study Of Clinical Skills Acquisition Amongst Early-Stage Paramedicine Students, Brennen W. Mills Mr, Owen Carter A/Prof, Cobie Rudd Prof, Nathan Ross Mr, Louise Claxton Mrs

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Background

There is conflicting evidence surrounding the merit of clinical placements (CP) for early-stage health-profession students. Some contend early-stage CPs facilitate contextualisation of subsequently learned theory. Others argue attending CP before attaining skills competency is problematic and should only occur after training in simulated-learning environments (SLE). The evidentiary basis surrounding the extent to which either is true remains limited.

Methods

First-year paramedicine students (n=85) undertook three days of CP and SLEs as part of course requirements. Students undertook CP either before or after participation in SLEs creating two groups (Clin→Sim/Sim→Clin). Clinical skills acquisition was measured via objectively-structured clinical examinations (OSCE) …

Can We Use Grammar To Support Students’ Communication Skills?, Rebecca Blaxell

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Communication skills consistently rank as one of the skills most desired by employers and is included in the graduate attributes at ECU. This paper looks to examine why sound grammatical skills are considered important and what role it plays in the development of communication skills. It looks at the role of grammar in the tertiary classroom and at possible ways that university educators can help support students’ understanding of the grammatical structures needed in the text types that are most closely associated with the workforce. Using Halliday’s interpretation of register, grammar can be considered in terms of the function needed …

Using The Delphi Technique To Identify Components Of A Tertiary Strategic Hrm Curriculum, Helen Sitlington, Alan Coetzer

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This study sought to identify key knowledge, skills and attitudes required of SHRM graduates as identified by experts in the academic and practitioner fields. The Delphi technique was selected as it has been used effectively in other contexts to develop consensus amongst experts for a range of purposes, including curriculum design. Explanation of this technique, the rationale for its use and reflections on its use in curriculum design by both participants and researchers is provided.

Surviving And Sustaining Teaching Excellence: A Narrative Of ‘Entrapment’, Heather Sparrow

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"This paper discusses the key concepts of ‘surviving’ and ‘sustaining’ in the context of teaching excellence in contemporary universities, and reports the findings emerging from a work-in-progress study of Award Winning Teachers. It provides evidence that teachers recognized for their passion, commitment and expertise in teaching, work well beyond their paid hours to achieve excellence. Most become ‘entrapped’ in a culture of over-work that can have a negative impact on their lives and well-being. Factors that influence ‘teaching sustainability’ are presented, to support university teachers, administrators and managers in thinking about ways to improve the teaching and learning environment for …

Environmental And Social Sustainability Impacts Of Teaching And Research: Some Ideas, Rowena H. Scott

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"One aim of Australia’s 2009 National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability is to equip all Australians with the awareness, knowledge, skills, values and motivation to live sustainably in order that future generations can meet their needs. Despite the efforts of ECU Green Office Program, their brief is not to address curriculum issues so consequently this paper aims to be a starting point for discussions that examine how we at Edith Cowan University teach and conduct research that considers their environmental, social, cultural and economic implications. This paper focuses on two main issues: how ECU units teach in environmentally sustainable …

Sustainability Education, Or Educating Sustainably?, Angus Stewart

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"Many universities teach programs in sustainable energy, but should they be incorporating theories and practice of sustainability across many disciplines? The argument is proposed that institutes of higher education should be primary vehicles of change in our transition towards a sustainable future. It is discussed that this can occur at the institutional and curriculum level. Integrating concepts of sustainability within a biomedical discipline area is discussed with strategies exemplified to lift awareness within student groups and for teaching and support staff."

Sustainability, Survival And Engagement: Implications For Curriculum And Pedagogy In Social Professions, Trudi Cooper, Rowena H. Scott

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"The purpose of this paper is primarily to provide conceptual discussion of the implications of social sustainability for higher education. In this paper we examine the implications of concepts of social sustainability, survival and engagement for university curriculum and pedagogy in social professions. The first part of this paper briefly discusses the implications of social sustainability for the vision of university education and curriculum in the context of current debates in higher education. The second part of this paper provides an example of successful methods to engage initially reluctant learners with analysis of political, social and ethical issues relevant to …

Sustainable Curriculum, Sustainable University, Rowena H. Scott

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"Integrating the principles of sustainable development is a United Nations’ goal. One aim of Australia’s 2009 National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability is to equip all Australians with the awareness, knowledge, skills, values and motivation to live sustainably in order that future generations can meet their needs. Education is fundamental to enabling people to achieve this goal. Australian universities are starting to address these ideals. With many definitions of sustainability education, grown from environmental education in the 1970s, it is important to offer explanations for environmental, social, economic, cultural and corporate sustainability that show the broadness of the meanings …

Outcomes Versus Incomes: Teaching Students What They Need To Get A Job, Joanna Mcmanus, Ruth Callaghan

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It’s an age-old question for university educators: is it our role to provide students with specific skills as well as education? Should learning outcomes be more attuned to what employers want? And which employers? As print and broadcast journalism practitioners, as well as educators, we are involved in research to answer some of these questions. As part of this, we questioned major WA news employers about what they wanted from journalism and broadcasting graduates, both in skills and personal attributes, and what they believed was missing from university journalism courses. We found strong agreement about the importance of ‘traditional’ journalism …

A Toe In The Water And A Bet Both Ways: A Rationale For Teaching Convergence Journalism, Ruth Callaghan

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"Call them digital or call them converged, there is no doubt that newsrooms in Australia and elsewhere in the world are changing. No longer are a pen and paper the only equipment a journalist needs to do their jobs: many newsrooms are employing the skills of video journalists, mobile journalists and backpack journalists, radio stations are posting web articles and TV stations are preparing video for mobile phones. Yet there is considerable debate within university institutions over how best to prepare journalism students for this new workplace — and even whether the industry knows just what it wants. This paper …