Education Commons^™

How To Write An Email, Joan H. Robinson

Open Educational Resources

This two-page guide for college students explains common pitfalls in email etiquette and shows examples of email styles: best practices (most formal), acceptable, and unacceptable (unprofessional).

Understanding Collaborative Teacher Teams As Open Systems For Professional Development, Kylie Lipscombe, Kellie A. Buckley-Walker, Peter Mcnamara

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Teacher collaboration continues to be deeply grounded within effective professional development. Teacher teams, where small groups of teachers work together in teaching and learning, have become progressively more popular and are considered one of the most effective approaches to improvement and growth. However, teacher teams are situated within a school system where interrelated sets of elements, such as resources and priorities, interact and impact on their work. These interactions can both enable and constrain the necessary conditions of members working effectively together but also their capabilities in producing a meaningful impact on the school organization. As such, paying attention to …

What Is The Impact Of Professional Learning On Physical Activity Interventions Among Preschool Children? A Systematic Review, Michele Peden, Anthony D. Okely, Michelle J. Eady, Rachel A. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate professional learning models (length, mode, content) offered as part of objectively measured physical childcare-based interventions. A systematic review of eight electronic databases was conducted to June 2017. Only English, peer-reviewed studies that evaluated childcare-based physical activity interventions, incorporated professional learning and reported objectively measured physical activity were included. Study designs included randomized controlled trails, cluster randomized trials, experimental or pilot studies. The search identified 11 studies. Ten studies objectively measured physical activity using accelerometers; five studies used both accelerometer and direct observation tools and one study measured physical activity using direct …

University Rankings: Evidence And A Conceptual Framework, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Jacob Fowles, H. George Frederickson

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

University ranking has high public visibility, the ranking business has flourished, and institutions of higher education have not been able to ignore it. This study of university ranking presents general considerations of ranking and institutional responses to it, particularly considering reactions to ranking, ranking as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and ranking as a means of transforming qualities into quantities. The authors present a conceptual framework of university ranking based on three propositions and carry out a descriptive statistical analysis of U.S. and international ranking data to evaluate those propositions. The first proposition of university ranking is that ranking systems are demarcated …

Psychological States Underlying Excellent Performance In Professional Golfers: "Letting It Happen" Vs. "Making It Happen", Christian F. Swann, Richard J. Keegan, Lee Crust, David Piggott

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: In this study we aimed to better understand the occurrence and experience of flow in elite golf. As flow is more likely to occur during peak performances, and for elite athletes, our objectives were to: (i) identify golfers who achieved exceptional performances (e.g., winning a professional tournament), and (ii) explore if and how they experienced flow within that performance. Design: Mixed-method multiple case study. Method: Participants were 10 professional golfers (M age = 30; SD = 9.9). Performance data and participant observations informed semi-structured interviews which took place as soon as possible after an excellent performance (M = 4 …

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 …

Issues In The Development Of E-Supervision In Professional Psychology: A Review, Frank P. Deane, Craig J. Gonsalvez, Russell J. Blackman, Daniel F. Saffioti, Retta Andresen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective Clinical psychology students and clinicians in regional and remote areas face challenges accessing required supervision and peer consultation. Distance supervision using existing online conferencing tools (e.g., SKYPE) is one option, but limitations of existing platforms require an external method of initiating a supervisory relationship and securely sharing confidential documents and videos. This paper addresses the development of an e-supervision application to overcome these limitations, and examines issues inherent to such a development. Method A newly developed e-supervision application provides online access to a database of clinical supervisors and peers for students to search, contact and meet, with additional document …

Enhance The Connection Between Academic Studies And Internship, Frank Cullen

Other resources

This module provides a structure to develop an enhanced learner experience. The concept of internship is complex. It hinges on the relationships and connections between the Schools, student, industry and institutions. It relates to the quality of the engagement with academic, administrative and support staff as well as their interaction with and for students and potential employers. At the institutes core should be the quality, breadth and appropriateness of internship that the student and industry experience.

An Investigation Of Teachers' Awareness And Willingness To Engage With A Self-Directed Professional Development Package On Gifted And Talented Education, Kylie Fraser-Seeto, Steven J. Howard, Stuart Woodcock

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Despite recognising the importance of educators in meeting the needs of gifted and talented students, research indicates that teachers often lack the essential knowledge, skills and confidence to identify and meet the needs of gifted and talented students. Evidence suggests this lack of preparation may be related to teachers' professional development. This quantitative study of 96 primary school teachers aimed to provide an initial insight into the knowledge and uptake of the 2005 DEST/GERRIC Gifted and Talented Training Package. It further aimed to give some insight into teachers' opinions and behaviours as it pertains to this mode of professional development. …

Reggio Emilia As A Metaphorical Homeland: An Account Of Professional 'Becoming', Gai M. Lindsay

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An invitation in the August 2014 edition of 'The Challenge' to reflect on how the Reggio Emilia educational project has influenced me professionally and personally immediately provoked memories from throughout my teaching career. Encounters with the ideas underpinning pedagogy in Reggio Emilia have repeatedly reignited my passion as an early childhood teacher and have provoked me to advocacy, debate, research in practice, leadership and now doctoral studies and university teaching. Much of the credit I give to the project in Reggio Emilia for my ongoing growth as an educator has been documented in previous editions of 'The Challenge' (Lindsay 2008a, …

Transnational Teaching Teams: Professional Development For Quality Enhancement Of Teaching And Learning-Final Report, Lynne M. Keevers, Maureen Bell, Sumitha Ganesharatnam, Fauziah K.P. Dawood Sultan, Jane See Yin Lim, Vin Cent Loh, Geraldine Lefoe, Cathy Hall, Casey Scholz

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Transnational Teaching Teams: professional development for quality enhancement of learning and teaching project was a two-year Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT)-funded project that targeted professional-practice development for transnational teaching teams to enhance quality learning and teaching in transnational education programs. Five partner universities were involved: the University of Wollongong (lead), INTI International University and Colleges (Malaysia), RMIT International University (Vietnam), RMIT University and La Trobe University.

School Culture And Mentoring Relationships, Crucial To Developing Confidant Professional Identities Among Lbote Pre-Service Teachers, Lynn D. Sheridan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the AARE-NZARE 2014 Conference, 30 November-4 December, Brisbane, Australia

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Ielts As A Gateway To The Professional Workplace: The Case Of Employers Of Overseas Trained Teachers, Jill Murray, Judie Cross, Kenneth E. Cruickshank

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on a qualitative study which explored stakeholder perceptions of the IELTS test as a gateway to the professional workplace for teachers in Australia and New Zealand. The goal of this study was to research perceptions of school principals as regards teachers who have entered the profession through IELTS or other English language proficiency test pathways and how the changing language demands of teaching may have impacted on these perceptions. Three research questions were addressed, with data for the study collected from 21 principals through their participation in one-to-one interviews and/or face-to-face focus groups. Five IELTS sample Speaking …

Transcending Teacher Professional Development: From Determinism To Complexity, Abdul Rahman, Garry F. Hoban, Wendy S. Nielsen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There is a multiplicity of factors and actors that come into play to make teacher professional development (TPD) a strategic and powerful scheme for improving teacher practices. This multiplicity is evident in educational practices and theories. Consequently, traditional perspectives that take a simple view of TPD as a single, independent entity in teacher learning in isolation from other factors and actors are problematic. To better understand how TPD can bring about change in teacher practices-transforming teacher learning, there is a need to transcend the linear, causal, deterministic assumption about TPD. Here, in this discussion paper, I argue that powerful TPD …

Transnational Team Builds Professional Development Resource For Transnational Teams, Lynne Keevers

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

How can transnational teaching teams deliver quality subjects, work well together, and avoid the pit falls of the fly-in-fly-out model? The OLT funded project: Transnational Teaching Teams: Professional development for quality enhancement of learning and teaching has concluded that learning and teaching practice development needs to be collaboratively designed and negotiated by the whole teaching team, sensitive to the context of all team members across all teaching sites, and involve team members learning and developing together in the context of their daily work.

Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications For Professional Practice, Mohan Chinnappan, Barbra Mckenzie, Phil Fitzsimmons

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Reforms in Australia about the education of future teachers have placed a high degree of emphasis on the development of knowledge and skills that are necessary for practitioners who will ply their trade in culturally rich and diverse classrooms (Ramsey, 2000). There is now a broad consensus from key stakeholders (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2012) that pre-service teachers need to be provided with a range of opportunities that are grounded in classroom practices including exposure to teaching students overseas. The aim of this mixed mode study (Creswell, 2012) is to better understand the skills and knowledge that …

Applying Linguistics In Making Professional Practice Re-Visible, Tom Bartlett, Honglin Chen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Editorial: In their introduction to the first issue of the relaunched Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice ( JALPP), Sarangi and Candlin (2010) give two readings to the conjunction of 'applied linguistics' and 'professional practice' in the title, signalling two complementary agendas in applied linguistics research. The first agenda is to extend the study of language and communication to a wider range of professional contexts, i.e. to respecify the field of applied linguistics; the second is to contribute to the transformation and recontextualization of the professional practices of applied linguists in advancing knowledge and providing professional judgement. Following this …

Coaching Efficacy With Academic Leaders: A Phenomenological Investigation, Deanna Lee Vansickel-Peterson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this psychological phenomenological research was to understand the efficacy of life coaching from the perspective of academic leaders. To date, not one investigation or attempt has been made towards the above stated purpose. This study includes a theoretical overview and a review of the coaching literature from Socrates (469-399 BC) to current day Humanistic theory presented in part by Roger (1902-1987).

This process included data collection from five academic leaders who have been coached for at least two years. Levels of analysis of 365 statements, quote and/or comments produced finding of efficacy in life coaching with academic …

Professional Learning In Different Contexts Of Mathematics Teacher Education, Ian Putt, Elizabeth Warren, Anthony Herrington

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Editorial

Teaching As A Craft: Making Links Between Pre-Service Training And Professional Practice, Lisa Kervin, Jan Turbill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is acknowledged in the literature and in professional practice that there are "gaps" between the theory of pre-service teacher education and the realities of classroom practice. The report from the 2002 National Meeting of Professional Educators identified tensions between theory and practice and suggested that teachers were "living these out in everyday learning environments" as a "creative tension" (Cumming, 2002, p. 3). We believe the challenge for teacher educators is to assist beginning teachers in making links between pedagogical theory they have accrued in their pre-service training and practice they are attempting to put into place in their classrooms. …

The 1994 Aca Model Legislation For Licensed Professional Counselors, Harriet L. Glosoff, James M. Benshoff, Thomas W. Hosie, Dennis R. Maki

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

Model legislation seeks to facilitate uniformity of counselor licensure laws and promote accepted professional standards. The text of the model bill as endorsed by the 1994 American Counseling Association Governing Council is provided with commentary accompanying those sections in which significant changes have occurred. The article concludes with 15 specific suggestions based on experiences gained in the development and implementation of previous legislation for licensed professional counselors.