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Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Assessing Computational Thinking, Daniel Duckworth Aug 2019

Assessing Computational Thinking, Daniel Duckworth

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This paper provides some context for the role of computation thinking (CT) in the Australian Curriculum, an abridged literature review of CT as a problem-solving framework from the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 assessment framework and some examples of how CT has been used to solve real-world problems. Finally, this paper presents ways to teach and assess CT.

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What Can Early Childhood Education And Care Settings Teach Us About Skills For The 21st Century?, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker Aug 2019

What Can Early Childhood Education And Care Settings Teach Us About Skills For The 21st Century?, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings are naturally oriented towards promoting 21st century skills. This can be seen in Australia, where learning is defined as the development of identity, social and emotional skills, problem-solving, and communication skills. A 21st century orientation is also seen in the playbased pedagogies implemented in ECEC settings. A gap, however, exists in the ability of the ECEC sector to communicate its successes. This gap relates to the lack of measurement tools to quantify the quality of the adult–child interactions in ECEC settings, and children’s growth in these 21 century skills and abilities. This paper …

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Assessment In The Interpersonal Domain: Experiences From Empathy Assessment In Medical Education, Neville Chiavaroli Aug 2019

Assessment In The Interpersonal Domain: Experiences From Empathy Assessment In Medical Education, Neville Chiavaroli

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Frameworks for the teaching and assessment of 21st-century skills commonly recognise the importance of learning and skill development in the interpersonal domain. They also usually acknowledge the challenge of reliably and validly assessing students in this domain. In the field of medical education and in selecting students for medical courses, the concept of empathy has become central to representing the particular interpersonal understandings and skills expected of students and practising doctors. Attempts to assess these attributes during medical training are just as challenging as in school contexts. This presentation draws on several years’ experience of working with medical educators to …

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Assessing And Understanding Social And Emotional Skills: The Oecd Study On Social And Emotional Skills, Sue Thomson Aug 2019

Assessing And Understanding Social And Emotional Skills: The Oecd Study On Social And Emotional Skills, Sue Thomson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

In an increasingly fast-changing and diverse world, the importance of developing social and emotional skills is becoming more evident. The large body of accumulated evidence shows that these skills have strong relationships with life outcomes and they have been referred to as a key component of 21st century skills. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Study on Social and Emotional Skills is a new international assessment of these skills in students at primary and secondary schools. This study also gathers information on students’ families, schools and community learning contexts, aiming to provide information about the conditions or practices …

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Wii-Ma-Li (Light The Fire): The Impact Of The Connected Communities Strategy On Hillvue Public School, Chris Shaw Aug 2019

Wii-Ma-Li (Light The Fire): The Impact Of The Connected Communities Strategy On Hillvue Public School, Chris Shaw

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Hillvue Public School has an enrolment of approximately 300 students, 80 per cent of whom identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The school, located in Tamworth, is one of 15 Connected Communities schools in New South Wales. The Connected Communities Strategy is about developing an inclusive culture in a school and providing an environment that maximises student learning with an emphasis on high expectations, engagement and achievement. Globally, there have been significant changes to the ways that children learn and teachers teach. Our school environment and the world in which our students grow and function continues to change in …

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Digital Literacy: Myths And Realities, Julian Fraillon Aug 2019

Digital Literacy: Myths And Realities, Julian Fraillon

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Digital literacy, under a wide variety of names, is routinely classified as a 21st-century skill and is frequently reported as an area of high priority in school education systems internationally. In comparison with students in other countries, Australian students have high levels of access to digital technologies both at and outside of school. With this access comes the expectations that students will be highly-proficient users of digital technologies and that schools will use digital technologies in transformative ways to support student learning. This session will examine how concepts of digital literacy have developed over time, what data from large-scale assessments …

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Teaching And Assessing The General Capabilities In A Secondary School Context, Loren Clarke, Melissa Hughes Aug 2019

Teaching And Assessing The General Capabilities In A Secondary School Context, Loren Clarke, Melissa Hughes

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Education researchers, policymakers and private enterprise agree that, in addition to content knowledge, students in the 21st century need to acquire particular skills to equip them for active citizenship in the modern world. This is a real challenge for teachers today: how do they teach and assess the skills needed to live and work in the 21st century? This paper will explore the development of Eltham High School’s focus on teaching and assessment of collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking over the past seven years. It will explore the development of the assessment program, its connection to the school and state …

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Using Learning Analytics To Measure 21st-Century Skills, Dragan Gašević Aug 2019

Using Learning Analytics To Measure 21st-Century Skills, Dragan Gašević

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The unprecedented opportunities to collect data about learning and contexts in which learning occurs has attracted great attention in education. The use of data analytics and machine learning methods have offered much potential to address many relevant questions in education. This talk will focus on the use of learning analytics to measure 21st-century skills in education and outline the types of data commonly used. It will also discuss approaches that are used for analysis and modelling of relevant learning processes and outline the ways in which learning analytics can be used to track learning progression and how the validity of …

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Not Just For The Kids: Adult Skills In The 21st Century, Juliette Mendelovits, Dave Tout Aug 2019

Not Just For The Kids: Adult Skills In The 21st Century, Juliette Mendelovits, Dave Tout

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international survey of adult skills that covers reading literacy, numeracy and problem-solving of 16-to-65-year-old adults. This paper focuses on the development and evolution of the reading and numeracy aspects of PIAAC and presents an overview of Australian performance in PIAAC, the social and economic outcomes associated with literacy and numeracy proficiency and the literacy and numeracy standards for graduating teachers.

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The Science Behind The Art Of Teaching: Evaluation As Inspiration, Michele Bruniges Am Aug 2019

The Science Behind The Art Of Teaching: Evaluation As Inspiration, Michele Bruniges Am

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Teachers across Australia inspire students to love learning. Our best teachers are constantly evaluating their impact on learning outcomes and adapting their practice – balancing the art and science of teaching. As we move rapidly towards the third decade of the 21st century, there is more pressure than ever for all teachers to deliver both deep discipline knowledge and the skills students need to survive and thrive in the workplace of the future. We need to use technology and data to support teachers to maximise learning outcomes for their students. This has to be done in a way that helps …

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21st Century Skills: Realising The Potential Of The Australian Curriculum, Robert Randall Aug 2019

21st Century Skills: Realising The Potential Of The Australian Curriculum, Robert Randall

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (Melbourne Declaration) (MCEETYA, 2008) proposed that the Australian Curriculum (and state or territory and local curriculum) develop: a solid foundation in knowledge, understanding, skills and values on which further learning and adult life can be built; deep knowledge, understanding, skills and values that will enable advanced learning and an ability to create new ideas and translate them into practical applications; and general capabilities that underpin flexible and analytical thinking, a capacity to work with others and an ability to move across subject disciplines to develop new expertise. The Australian Curriculum, approved …

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Digital Literacy Skill Development: Prescriptive Learning Analytics Assessment Model, Elspeth Mckay Aug 2019

Digital Literacy Skill Development: Prescriptive Learning Analytics Assessment Model, Elspeth Mckay

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is a broad awareness of how information communications technology (ICT) digital literacy impacts everyday life. In schools, use of ICT tools has become mandatory. These tools include computers, tablets and mobile phones. These smart devices are used to send emails, browse the internet and make video calls. It is essential for teachers to identify student digital literacy levels through classroom activities and when to implement flexible ePedagogies for students who need help. This presentation will provide easy-to-follow steps to manage learning analytics to determine digital literacy skill levels. Learning analytics can be used for a range of purposes: to …

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Educational Reform – Scottish Style!, David Leng Aug 2019

Educational Reform – Scottish Style!, David Leng

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The government in Scotland has made education their defining mission, setting out a clear framework for improvement based on four key aims as articulated in the National Improvement Framework (2015). One improvement driver is Assessing Children’s Progress. This new approach to assessment has been developed to integrate curriculum, assessment (particularly classroom assessment) and pedagogy. Teacher professional judgement has been central to this, and national initiatives have focused on supporting and strengthening it. In this context, the Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) was launched in 2017, and is a national assessment tool to support improvement in classroom practice while still providing …

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Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2019), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Aug 2019

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2019), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

In a rapidly changing world, there is widespread agreement that students require new levels of skill in collaborating, communicating, thinking critically, innovating, solving problems and applying what is learnt in new contexts, underpinned by values and dispositions that include a commitment to social inclusion, responsible citizenship and respect for human rights. So how do we best prepare young people and equip them to survive and thrive in the unpredictable world of the future? Research Conference 2019 will profile research around innovative ways of conceptualising, developing and assessing this broader range of priorities for student learning and development in the 21st …

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Teaching Quality: Core Content Implemented Through Evidence-Based Methods With Structure, Support And Challenge, Eckhard Klieme Aug 2018

Teaching Quality: Core Content Implemented Through Evidence-Based Methods With Structure, Support And Challenge, Eckhard Klieme

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Educational research aims to replace traditional notions of ‘good teaching’ with evidence-based theories of ‘successful teaching’ and develop concepts and measures of teaching quality that can inform teacher training, professional development and evaluation. Scholars have presented various conceptualisations, including constructivist as well as direct instruction models, Western and Eastern approaches, comprehensive paradigms (e.g. ‘mastery learning’ or ‘inquiry-based science education’) as well as discrete teaching practices such as scaffolding, peer tutoring or formative assessment. Content coverage and the quality of the subject matter taught (also called ‘opportunity to learn’) have been identified as strong factors. This keynote presentation will attempt to …

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Using Measures Of Quality To Improve The Learning Outcomes Of All Children, Dan Cloney Aug 2018

Using Measures Of Quality To Improve The Learning Outcomes Of All Children, Dan Cloney

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is compelling evidence that high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs can act to narrow achievement gaps attributed to social inequality. This evidence is typically observed in model programs, designed by experts and offered to vulnerable families outside the market. In everyday settings, where market forces may price families out of certain programs or poor local availability may preclude attendance, ECEC programs do not appear to deliver these significant gains or close these gaps. There is a need to continually improve quality in all ECEC settings to deliver on the potential of early education. It is unclear, however, …

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Enhancing Teaching And Learning Through Design Practice, Lori Lockyer Aug 2018

Enhancing Teaching And Learning Through Design Practice, Lori Lockyer

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Design is part of a teacher’s practice on a daily basis. Teachers are constantly designing and redesigning learning experiences for their students. However, the notions of the teacher as designer or ‘teacher design practice’ are rarely used as frameworks within teacher education or continuing professional learning. In fact, ‘teacher design thinking’, that is, how school teachers think about and engage in design practice has been an under-researched area. Design thinking has the potential to provide teachers with a scaffold to reflect upon contextual and evidence-based factors when designing learning experiences for their students. However, we need to know how teachers …

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Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment: An Intervention Project At The Intersection Of Standards, Professional Knowledge And Assessment, Claire Wyatt-Smith Aug 2018

Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment: An Intervention Project At The Intersection Of Standards, Professional Knowledge And Assessment, Claire Wyatt-Smith

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

The benchmarking of education systems has been accompanied by an increasing policy interest in the evidence base for initial teacher education and the related claims about graduate quality. In some countries, this has also fuelled the move to install standards that seek to specify competence on entry to teaching and at stages of career progression. In Australia, referents for these efforts include the Australian professional standards for teachers: Graduate teachers (AITSL, 2011), and National Program Standards (AITSL, 2015). It was in the context of policy-driven reform in Australian initial teacher education (ITE) that a consortium of 13 ITE providers from …

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Equipping Teachers With Tools To Assess And Teach General Capabilities, Claire Scoular Aug 2018

Equipping Teachers With Tools To Assess And Teach General Capabilities, Claire Scoular

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is wide recognition that students need to be equipped with appropriate social and cognitive skills demanded by society and the workforce. The unresolved question is how to do this. Many education systems globally are addressing this demand by including skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity into curriculum documents or supplementary materials. However, there is little research to guide educators in teaching such skills at school level. The need to develop practical solutions for assessing and teaching social and cognitive skills, broadly classified under the umbrella ‘21st-century skills’ or ‘general capabilities’, is ever increasing. An integrated approach …

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Making Online Group-Work Work: Scripts, Group Awareness And Facilitation, Peter Reimann Aug 2018

Making Online Group-Work Work: Scripts, Group Awareness And Facilitation, Peter Reimann

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Even though group work for learning is a well-established and extensively researched pedagogy, teachers find it still challenging to engage students in productive collaborative learning that extends over time (e.g. weeks – in the context of project-based learning) and is computer-mediated in addition to being classroom-based. I introduce three practices that have been shown to foster collaborative knowledge production and learning: first, group scripts; second, knowledge building and knowledge awareness; and third, group facilitation. I discuss how teachers can integrate these into their teaching practices to address three challenges to productive group learning: unequal participation, lack of awareness, and stratified …

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Teaching Practices That Improve Performance, Attainment And Engagement: Results From A Longitudinal Study Of High School Students In Nsw, Ian Mccarthy, Brianna Mccourt, Victoria Ikutegbe, Jin Zhou Aug 2018

Teaching Practices That Improve Performance, Attainment And Engagement: Results From A Longitudinal Study Of High School Students In Nsw, Ian Mccarthy, Brianna Mccourt, Victoria Ikutegbe, Jin Zhou

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This report builds on a body of evidence showing the positive effect of teaching and classroom practices on engagement, wellbeing and academic outcomes. Using two student cohorts in NSW government schools, Years 7 to 9 and Years 10 to 12, we have quantified the effects of quality instruction and other effective classroom practices as drivers of student outcomes (see Figure 1, p. 54). A common theme across both cohorts was the positive impact on key academic outcomes of teachers having high expectations and appropriately challenging all their students (as measured through the NAPLAN tests and Year 12 completion). Modelling also …

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Assessing Accomplished Teaching With Reliability And Validity: The Acer Portfolio Project, Lawrence Ingvarson Aug 2018

Assessing Accomplished Teaching With Reliability And Validity: The Acer Portfolio Project, Lawrence Ingvarson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

We know that good teachers are worth their weight in gold. But if good teaching is to be truly valued, the teaching profession must be able to demonstrate that it can evaluate itself in ways that are reliable, valid and fair. This capacity is central to any profession. It is also central to lifting the status of teaching, rewarding accomplished teaching and enabling teaching to complete with other professions for our ablest graduates. Recent OECD reports emphasise the necessity of strengthening the teaching profession, which depends upon widespread use of evidence-based teaching practices. Building the capacity for evaluation is the …

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Communicating Student Learning Progress: What Does That Mean And Can It Make A Difference?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard Aug 2018

Communicating Student Learning Progress: What Does That Mean And Can It Make A Difference?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Traditionally in schools, the main method of communicating students’ academic performance has been the summative end-of-semester report, and the focus of much of this communication has centred on reporting achievement against year-level standards. While semester reporting largely remains established practice, the advent of new school management systems has seen schools embrace a practice known as ‘continuous reporting’. Though well-intended, early analysis would suggest that the potential benefits of this relatively new process are inconsistently understood, and reveal a confusion between progressive instalments of feedback versus feedback on student progress. Such confusion may be indicative of other gaps in the organisational …

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Driving One’S Own Learning – Full Speed Ahead! Motivationally Anchored Instruction, Alison Davis Aug 2018

Driving One’S Own Learning – Full Speed Ahead! Motivationally Anchored Instruction, Alison Davis

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This paper explores the concept of motivationally anchored instruction, how it is practised in classrooms and the structure for teacher professional learning that supports its implementation. Participants will examine how teachers enact pedagogical practices that deliberately develop and grow students’ inner desire to want to learn. Content will draw on the analogy of learners driving their own learning by describing and examining deliberate acts of teaching that grow and develop the intrinsic motivation dispositions of our students. Research and practices that support a learning environment where intrinsic motivation creates internal drive and desire to do well are examined, and such …

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Making A Difference Through Quality Teaching Rounds: Evidence From A Sustained Program Of Research, Jennifer Gore Aug 2018

Making A Difference Through Quality Teaching Rounds: Evidence From A Sustained Program Of Research, Jennifer Gore

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Through rigorous forms of research, including a randomised controlled trial, Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) has been shown to make a positive difference to the quality of teaching, teacher morale and school culture. This presentation will draw on both quantitative and qualitative evidence to demonstrate the impact of QTR, outlining its effects across a range of NSW primary and secondary schools and for teachers at very different stages of their careers. The essential components of QTR will be elaborated with analysis of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the effectiveness of this form of professional development in improving teaching practice. As …

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The Role Of Evidence In Teaching And Learning, Geoff N. Masters Ao Aug 2018

The Role Of Evidence In Teaching And Learning, Geoff N. Masters Ao

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Highly-effective teaching requires evidence-informed decision making at crucial points in the teaching process. First, effective teachers use quality evidence to establish the points individual learners have reached in their learning. This enables teachers to identify starting points for further teaching and learning and to ensure that each student is given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of challenge. In contrast, much teaching instead assumes all students will be appropriately challenged by common year-level curricula. The process of establishing and understanding where students are in their learning often requires detailed diagnostic evidence of individual misunderstandings and obstacles to learning progress. Second, …

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Evidence-Based Approaches To School Improvement: The Kimberley Schools Project, Bill Louden Aug 2018

Evidence-Based Approaches To School Improvement: The Kimberley Schools Project, Bill Louden

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Despite a great deal of goodwill, effort and funding, student achievement in the Kimberley region of Western Australia has shown little improvement in the last decade. Governments have intervened in a range of ways: tying funding to evidence that schools are closing the gap; improving conditions for teachers and principals working with remote communities; funding a bewildering range of attendance and engagement strategies; and supporting cultural relevance though a range of short-term skill and enrichment programs. This paper describes the Kimberley Schools Project, which is an alternative approach funded by the Western Australian Government through the Royalties for Regions program. …

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Making A Difference In Learning Through Arts-Rich Pedagogy, Robyn Ewing Am Aug 2018

Making A Difference In Learning Through Arts-Rich Pedagogy, Robyn Ewing Am

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is unequivocal evidence that arts-rich pedagogies enhance student social and emotional wellbeing and, consequently, academic learning outcomes across the curriculum. Yet many primary teachers report they lack the expertise and/or confidence to embed quality arts processes and experiences in what is increasingly described as an overcrowded curriculum. This presentation reviews the research findings about the impact and sustainability of School Drama, an initiative developed through a partnership between the Sydney Theatre Company and The University of Sydney. An innovative co-mentoring teacher professional learning program and drama-based intervention, the program aims to develop primary teachers’ professional knowledge of and expertise …

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Transforming Learning With Information And Communication Technologies: Insights From Three Decades Of Research, Romina Jamieson-Proctor Aug 2018

Transforming Learning With Information And Communication Technologies: Insights From Three Decades Of Research, Romina Jamieson-Proctor

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Since computers first appeared in classrooms, educators have sought to integrate information communication technologies (ICT) into teaching and learning. In Australia, as elsewhere, ICT are widely regarded as critical facilitators of student learning. The ability to use ICT effectively is specified in Australia’s national curriculum as a required general capability. However, despite the educational environment being replete with ICT related programs, our understanding of how students use ICT for learning is still limited. This paper presents insights from the past 30 years of research, which suggest that even though the current ‘climate’ in Australian schools is favourable, teacher confidence and …

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Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2018), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Aug 2018

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2018), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is no shortage of opinion about more and less effective ways of teaching. Schools are continually presented with strategies, programs and approaches that claim to be ‘research-based’, ‘evidence-based’ or even ‘brainbased’. Vocal advocates of particular teaching methods promote their proposed solutions in the media. But how many of these programs and methods have solid foundations in research? And how can teachers and school leaders distinguish exaggerated marketing claims from teaching strategies shown through research to be effective in improving student outcomes? Research Conference 2018 examines research evidence around teaching practices that make a difference. It brings together leading international …

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