Education Commons^™

Finding The Right Fit: University Course Selection And Completion, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

As higher education enrolments continue to climb, the proportion of students failing to graduate remains high among some cohorts, according to analysis by Daniel Edwards.

Sharing The Assessment Reform Story, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

A new web-based resource is chronicling the experiences of schools as they undertake assessment reform.

Students’ Views About Learning With Technologies: A Literature Review, Kathryn Moyle, Guus Wijingaards, Susanne Owen

Professor Kathryn Moyle

There is a paucity of recent, formal education research that listens directly to students’ views of learning with technologies. Much of the research that has been conducted has tended to focus on evaluating students’ current experiences within a specific course, or concerned with tangible issues such as frequency of computer use, access to computers and the Internet, and evaluations of technical skill levels. Available research has tended to use quantitative or mixed method approaches, with data collected through surveys using convenience samples, Likert scales and free response questions. These methods are sometimes supplemented with interviews and observations. To establish an …

Group Of National Experts On The Ahelo Feasibility Study : Engineering Assessment Framework : Ahelo Feasibility Study, Hamish Coates, Sarah Richardson, Jacob Pearce, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

This AHELO Engineering Assessment Framework describes and illustrates the domain of engineering competency that is used in the AHELO Feasibility Study. The framework gives an organisational structure for the domain in terms of engineering knowledge, processes and contexts; describes the types of assessment items that have been developed; and details how reporting will be carried out. - p.4

Leaders Of School Improvement Share The Journey, Sharon Clerke

Sharon Clerke

ACER's evaluation of ‘turnaround’ schools has revealed that strong school leaders do not undertake leadership alone, but build leadership capacity around them. Sharon Clerke reports.

University Completions And Equity, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

University students from disadvantaged groups have a lower completion rate than their more advantaged peers, but most disadvantaged students do complete their degrees, research reveals.

Plan To Recruit Our Best And Brightest, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Australia faces a number of challenges over the next decade in planning the future teacher workforce, according to Geoff Masters.

Review Recommends Tertiary Entrance Changes, Geoff Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

A review by Gabrielle Matters and Geoff Masters of senior assessment and tertiary selection processes in Queensland has recommended changes to meet future education needs.

Review Recommends Tertiary Entrance Changes, Geoff N. Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

A review by Gabrielle Matters and Geoff Masters of senior assessment and tertiary selection processes in Queensland has recommended changes to meet future education needs.

Measuring Learning Growth In A World Of Universal Education, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

ACER is leading the development of new ‘learning metrics’ – tools for measuring learning growth – as Ross Turner explains.

A Brief Examination Of Professional Development Models, Imran Chaudary

Imran Anjum Chaudary

This paper aims to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the major professional development models by examining their underpinning assumptions in the light of the particular bodies of scholarship from the field of education. For this purpose, nine professional development models have been chosen from the Kennedy (2005) and a framework of analysis has been constructed by modifying the criteria of effective professional development reported in the Fraser, Kennedy, Reid, and Mickinney (2007) and the Piggot-Irvine (2006). There is no ‘one right answer’! No one particular form or model of professional development is better than others to be adopted; rather, …

What Information From Pisa Is Useful For Teachers? How Can Pisa Help Our Students To Become More Proficient?, Juliette Mendelovits, Dara Searle, Tom Lumley

Juliette Mendelovits

A frequent objection to large-scale testing programs, both national and international, is that they are used as an instrument of control, rather than as a means of providing information to effect change. Moreover, concerns about large-scale testing often take the form of objection to the specific characteristics of the assessments as being prescriptive and proscriptive, leading to a narrowing of the curriculum and the spectre of 'teaching to the test' to the exclusion of more important educational content. Taking PISA reading literacy as its focus, this paper proposes, on the contrary, that a coherent assessment system is valuable in so …

Measuring Progress, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Geoff Masters discusses the need for a system of educational assessment that provides long-term pictures of student progress.

Delivering Health Education Via The Web - Design And Formative Evaluation Of A Discourse-Based Learning Environment., Lori Lockyer, John Patterson, Barry Harper

Professor Lori Lockyer

Constructivist learning theory suggests that important components of the learning process are learner interaction and discourse. The nature of health education is such that emphasis is placed on discussion of health attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviours as a key instructional strategy. It follows then, that health education learning environments designed using constructivist learning principles and employing instructional strategies that allow for learner discourse and interaction should contribute to knowledge construction and attitude change. The rapid development of the World Wide Web and its increasing use for educational purposes provides a unique medium for such a learning environment. This increasing utilisation …

Teach For Australia Pathway : Evaluation Report Phase 2 Of 3, Paul Weldon, Phillip Mckenzie, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Kate Reid

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

The evaluation of the Teach for Australia Pathway was commissioned by DEEWR and commenced in March 2010. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess whether the delivery of the Pathway can be modified to better achieve intended outputs and outcomes, and whether the Pathway is achieving expected outcomes. This report (Part 2) concerns the second of three phases of the evaluation of the TFA Pathway. The first report (Part 1) was designed to provide a summary of data gathered on the operation of the Pathway in its initial stages. Data for that report were collected via site visits with …

Grey Literature In Australian Education, Gerry White

Dr Gerald K. White

Gerald White discusses the need to better organise the proliferation of non-commercially published reports and documents of particular importance in the area of public policy.

The Abcs Of Gfe, Brandon Youker

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is the process of determining something’s merit intentionally without reference to its stated goals and objectives. The following PowerPoint presentation describes GFE and discusses preliminary attempts at operationalization. The video concludes with a lively discussion where audience members challenge Dr. Youker on GFE's feasibility and merit. . *This presentation is available at The Evaluation Center's website archived as an Evaluation Café presentation: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/2012/11/goal-free-evaluation-an-analog-experiment-comparing-goal-free-evaluation-and-goal-based-evalation-utility/

Action Learning- A Process Which Supports Organisational Change Initiatives., Pauline Joyce

Pauline Joyce

This paper reflects on how action learning sets were used to support organisational change initiatives. It sets the scene with contextualising the inclusion of change projects in a masters programme. Action learning is understood to be a dynamic process where a team meets regularly to help individual members address issues through a highly structured, facilitated team process of reflection and action. The key findings from evaluation of the students and facilitators’ experiences are reflected on, together with plans for improving the experience for all stakeholders for the next academic year. In sharing this experience the purpose of the paper is …

Evaluation Research In Education, Pauline Joyce

Pauline Joyce

This paper gives an overview of evaluation and evaluation research, particularly how it fits with education. Reference to some evaluation debates over the years is presented as well as some seminal works in the topic area. A brief synopsis of evaluation in the education setting is then presented before outlining various approaches to evaluation.

Group Of National Experts On The Ahelo Feasibility Study : Contextual Dimension Framework : Ahelo Feasibility Study : 8th Meeting Of The Ahelo Gne, Paris, 28-29 November 2011, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The document provides an overview of the framework and instruments used in the AHELO contextual dimension. Building on prior work, it describes development of a framework that charts an understanding of contexts of most relevance to contemporary higher education. It describes the properties of instruments that operationalise this framework in efficient, technically informed and environmentally relevant ways. The instruments are designed to yield data on systems, institutions, teachers and students. Importantly, this data will be combined with information on student learning outcomes.

The Digest Edition 2008/2 : Using Data To Improve Student Learning, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

This Digest is focused on studies that have investigated how data can be used in schools to examine teaching practices in order to improve student learning. A selection of relevant websites is listed, and a full reference list is provided. Links to those references for which full-text online access is freely available are also included. School systems, principals and teachers have access to an extensive range of data that can be used for a variety of purposes. Accountability processes and data have come to play a significant place in policy development and reform efforts. There is a large body of …

Enhancing Education, Sheldon Rothman, David Slattery, Sarah Buckley, John Ainley

Dr Sheldon Rothman

Kidsmatter Early Childhood Evaluation Report, Phillip Slee, Rosalind Murray-Harvey, Katherine Dix, Grace Skrzypiec, Helen Askell-Williams, Michael Lawson, Susan Krieg

Dr Katherine Dix

Fit-To-Model Statistics For Evaluating Quality Of Bayesian Student Ability Estimation, Ling Tan

Dr Ling Tan

Bayesian ability estimation is a statistical inferential framework constructed from a measurement model and a prior knowledge model. It is attractive in practice because Bayesian estimation methods offer an elegant way to incorporate appropriate knowledge on target ability distribution in order to improve the accuracy of ability estimation, when there are uncertainties or errors in observable data. One hurdle for applying Bayesian-based methods is evaluating the validity of Bayesian ability estimates at individual-level. This study investigated a class of fit-to-model statistics for quantifying the evidence used in learning Bayesian estimates. The relationship between fit-to-model statistics and root mean square error …

Group Of National Experts On The Ahelo Feasibility Study : Engineering Assessment Framework : Ahelo Feasibility Study, Hamish Coates, Sarah Richardson, Jacob Pearce, Julian Fraillon

Dr Jacob Pearce

This AHELO Engineering Assessment Framework describes and illustrates the domain of engineering competency that is used in the AHELO Feasibility Study. The framework gives an organisational structure for the domain in terms of engineering knowledge, processes and contexts; describes the types of assessment items that have been developed; and details how reporting will be carried out. - p.4

Whole-School Mental Health Promotion In Australia, Phillip Slee, Katherine Dix, Helen Askell-Williams

Dr Katherine Dix

Students With Special Needs: State Of The Nation, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

Enhancing Education, Sheldon Rothman, Sarah Buckley, David Slattery, John Ainley

Dr Sarah Buckley

The Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) was announced on 21 July 2007 and has been implemented over the last four years. This federal government initiative aims to protect children, to make communities safe and to build a better future for people living in Indigenous communities and town camps in the Northern Territory. The strategies have changed since its initial implementation but its focus and many of the key themes and measures remain the same. This evaluation examines the NTER from a whole-of-government perspective, reviewing the impact on community safety, wellbeing and service provision; service coordination and engagement; promoting law and …

Collaborative Design Projects: Evaluating Students' Online Discussions, S. Lambert

Sarah Lambert

This paper reports on the author’s work to evaluate student online discussion, a learning tool used in a face-to-face graphic design subject centred around a collaborative design project. A modified teaching and learning model with new online resources was trialled with approx 45 undergraduate design students in session 1 of 2003. The 4 students in each project team were allocated a specific role based on contemporary design studio practice. An online discussion space was set up for each project team. A number of evaluation techniques were used including a content analysis of online discussion postings on which this paper focuses. …

Indigenous Literacy Policy Implementation In Queensland Schools : An Evaluation, Pauline Taylor

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy