Education Commons^™

Redefining Education: Sustaining 1 To 1 Computing Strategies In Western Australian Schools, Christopher P. Newhouse, Jeniffer M. Lane, Martin G. Cooper, Peter Twining

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In 1993 the first WA private school adopted a 1 to 1 computing strategy and then ten years later the first government school did so. With the advent of the Digital Education Revolution initiative many schools in WA commenced 1 to 1 strategies and it has almost become an expectation in secondary schools. Our snapshots studies involved two new government schools and along established elite private school that had a similar vision for learning with digital technologies. The two government schools had 1 to 1 strategies, but had found that their chosen tablet PC was not robust enough, and had …

Methods For Multimodal Analysis And Representation Of Teaching-Learning Interactions In Primary Science Lessons Captured On Video, Mark W. Hackling, Karen J. Murcia, Khadeeja Ibrahim-Didi, Susan M. Hill

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Video-based classroom research is opening-up exciting new insights into how teachers generate productive opportunities for student engagement in quality learning, reasoning and the development of their scientific literacy. The significant role played by multimodal representations in learning and teaching becomes evident through the medium of video and its analysis. Classroom research that is framed from social constructivist, sociocultural, activity theory and social semiotic perspectives highlights the social interactions involving multimodal representations which are used to communicate science ideas and also act as semiotic resources for meaning making. Social and cognitive processes of co-constructing meaning are mediated by talk, embodied representations …

Personality Traits In Australian Business Graduates And Implications For Organizational Effectiveness, Denise A. Jackson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The Five-Factor model is widely accepted as a robust model of personality that influences workplace behaviour and performance. Given evidence of persistent skills gaps in Australia, it is important to explore personality traits in business graduates to understand whether they have the necessary characteristics to enable the country to perform successfully nationally and to compete on a global level, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty. This study examines personality traits in 674 Australian business graduates, using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and variations in traits across demographic/background characteristics. The results indicate that graduates are relatively high in extroversion, conscientiousness and …

Pathways To Success: Evaluating The Use Of "Enabling Pedagogies" In A University Transition Course, Jeniffer M. Lane, Suzanne Sharp

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

All universities in the Western world strive to attract and retain students, particularly those students who would not normally engage in tertiary studies. One way to widen access to university courses is to provide an enabling or alternative entry pathway course. The research reported in this paper was undertaken at an Australian university that has a social equity agenda to support students from diverse backgrounds to successfully engage in tertiary study. An evaluation was conducted of a particular pathway course at this university, with a view to contributing to knowledge on teaching and learning strategies in enabling courses. The research …

An Eportfolio Environment To Enhance Reflection In Pre-Service Teachers: What Worked, What Didn't And Why?, Pauline K. Roberts

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This research paper details some results of a doctoral study that was designed to enhance reflection in pre-service teachers by scaffolding an action research project within the eportfolio-based learning environment. It reports on a unit level implementation of the PebblePad eportfolio platform in a Western Australian university, and focuses specifically on the levels of student engagement when guided by prompts placed within PebblePad as part of a scaffolded learning environment. The paper also examines the barriers to engagement that were identified through the data collection. The key findings indicate that the students were most engaged with the prompts that had …

A Day In The Park: Emerging Genre For Readers Of Aboriginal English, Ian G. Malcolm

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite the fact that varieties of Aboriginal English are widely used in communication in Aboriginal communities across Australia, the use of Aboriginal English in writing has been limited. A significant genre for Aboriginal writers has been the autobiographical narrative. In most published narratives of this genre, Aboriginal English has not been widely used. This paper describes and discusses an autobiographical narrative composed by Aboriginal author Glenys Collard and published by the Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development in 2011 in which the only medium of narration (except for utterances by non-Aboriginal characters) is Aboriginal English. Analysis of this …

Self-Assessment Of Employability Skill Outcomes Among Undergraduates And Alignment With Academic Ratings, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite acknowledgement of the benefits of self-assessment in higher education, disparity between student and academic assessments, with associated trends in overrating and underrating, plagues its meaningful use, particularly as a tool for formal assessment. This study examines self-assessment of capabilities in certain employability skills in more than 1000 Australian business undergraduates. It evaluates the extent to which student self-assessments differ from academics, in what ways and the influence of certain individual and background characteristics - such as stage of degree, gender and academic ability - on rating accuracy. Explanations for documented disparities are presented, in addition to implications and strategies …

Developing Bilateral And Spatial Concepts In Primary School-Aged Children: An Empirical Evaluation Of The Anker Bilateral Spatial System, Janet Richmond Dr, M Taylor Dr, S Evans

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties contribute to school-aged learning problems. Hence, a need exists to address children’s visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties as early as possible in the child’s school career. Thus, this study reports on the evaluation of the Anker Bilateral Spatial System’s (ABSS) effectiveness in remediating primary school children’s perceptual difficulties.

Method: Thirty-one children (17 boys and 14 girls) aged 6 to 12 years who had been identified by their classroom teacher as having observable visual-spatial and visual-motor perceptual difficulties participated in a 10-week pre/posttest intervention study. The study’s pre/posttest assessments included the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor …

Enhancing First Year Student Engagement: Collaborative Practice In A Core Business Unit, Tina Fleming, Alicia Stanway

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The purpose of this paper, informed by an action research framework, was to evaluate how a collaborative approach between unit facilitators and learning advisors in a first-year core business unit contributes to an environment where students are actively engaged in their learning. Student engagement in their learning is a key priority for university faculties, particularly in first year, as it is a key factor in student performance and persistence in their studies. Using the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement as a benchmark, a mixed-methods approach was adopted using an online survey (n_171) and focus groups

(n _ …

Embodied Learning: Towards New Models For Engaging With Art Within The University, Clive Barstow, Paul Uhlmann

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Mark Johnson’s embodied mind thesis (2007) makes a case for aesthetics as being the most important philosophy for the 21st century. If this is the case, then art schools become even more important to the advancement of knowledge; however economic reforms clearly place traditional art schools under enormous pressure. These two points provide a background for considering two ongoing projects as flexible models for embodied learning – the Jimmy Pike Scholarship, which is an annual artist-in- residency programme for Aboriginal artists, and the Third Space Project which is an ongoing International exchange programme between Edith Cowan University and University of …

Educational Innovations And Pedagogical Beliefs: The Case Of A Professional Development Program For Indonesian Teachers, Cher Ping Lim, Jo Tondeur, Hendrati Nastiti, Jeremy E. Pagram

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study aimed to explore the impact of a professional development program on the teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. More specifically, the program endeavoured to design a prototype for teacher professional development in Indonesia that was sustainable and scalable. This one-year program built upon the participating teachers’ existing practices, reinforced with the concept of reflection as a tool for ongoing inquiry of their own practices. The three major components of this program were: action research, peer-coaching and leadership support. By using a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data collection, this study examined the changes in the participating teachers’ beliefs …

Web-Based Training In E-Agriculture For Agricultural College, Prachyanum Nilsook, Leisa Armstrong, Pornchai Taechatanasat, Tirtha Ranjeet

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper presents a web-based training system in eAgriculture for agricultural college in Thailand. The eAgriculture contents consist of introduction to information and communication technology (ICT) for agriculture, information technology in agriculture, agricultural management information system and precision farming. The research shows that the majority users are highly satisfied with the developed web-based training system. The users favoured four factors of the system including the content of the website; technical media production; the designing and the formatting of the website; and benefits of its uses.

Enhancing Experiential Learning In Planning Education Through An Online Toolkit Of Resources, Christine Slade, Johanna Rosier, Claudia Baldwin, Andrew Harwood, Eddo Coiacetto, Trevor Budge, Timothy J. Perkins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper reports on the development of an online toolkit of resources to support the use and assessment of experiential learning (EL) across planning programs. Planning graduates face diverse workplace demands with expectations to address the local and regional implications of global trends, integrate technological advances with existing planning processes, as well as interpret and integrate changing legislative and institutional arrangements. Planning education is about educators, practitioners and students coming together. Equipping students for increasing complexity and change requires planning educators to design programs that facilitate the learning of personal and professional skills and both broad and specialised planning knowledge. …