Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Participation On Students' Performance In Online Accounting Courses, Keith Duncan, A. L. Kenworthy, Ray Mcnamara

Ray McNamara

This article examines the relationship between MBA students' performance and participation in two online environments: a synchronous forum (chat room) and an asynchronous forum (discussion board) at an Australian university. The quality and quantity of students' participation is used to predict their final examination and course grade performance outcomes. We find that the total quality of students' participation is positively related to final examination performance but the total quantity of students' participation is related to overall course performance. We also find that synchronous engagement with the course (combined quality and quantity) drives these results and has twice the examination and …

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Mathematical Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

Lisa De Bortoli

This report focuses on mathematical literacy and is one of a series of three reports on Australian students' performance in PISA. The report provides an overview of the PISA mathematics framework and Australia's results in the PISA 2003 international assessment. Also included are mathematics items released for public viewing after the PISA 2003 assessment and examples of responses, marking guides and comparisons of results with other countries. The context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and learning strategies, is also presented.

Supporting The Development Of Core Skills For Work, Kate Perkins, Dara Ramalingam, Katrina Grant

Kate Perkins

No abstract provided.

Supporting The Development Of Core Skills For Work, Kate Perkins, Dara Ramalingam, Katrina Grant

Dr Dara Ramalingam

No abstract provided.

Unfinished Business : Pisa Shows Indigenous Youth Are Being Left Behind, Tony Dreise, Sue Thomson

Dr Sue Thomson

The latest international assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy – the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – shows that the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has remained the same for the last decade. In short, Indigenous 15-yearolds remain approximately two-and-a-half years behind their non-Indigenous peers in schooling.

This essay provides a précis of the results and analysis of some of the issues; it compares Indigenous performance in 2012 with that from previous PISA cycles; and discusses a range of implications for policy and practice.

Development Of A School Improvement Framework With Broad Application In Different Contexts, Elizabeth A. Hartnell-Young

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young (Consultant)

School improvement has been a focus of attention in Australia for some time, but the publication of results in international testing such as PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in recent times has heightened awareness of comparisons between Australian students and their peers in other countries (eg. Thomson, Hillman, Wernert, Schmid, Buckley, and Munene, 2012). This paper describes the National School Improvement Tool (ACER, 2012) developed in Australia to support school and system improvement efforts.