Education Commons^™

What Is The Best And Most Special About Teaching Religious Education?, Chris B. Hackett

Education Papers and Journal Articles

If you have taught Religious Education in a Catholic secondary school, then you may have sat down at the end of the class or the school day and just wondered why you bothered. Before reading this article further, give yourself a few moments to reflect on this question:

“What for you is the best and most special about teaching Religious Education?”

How did you answer the question? Was your response negative or positive? Did you reach for the instant cynical remark, “When I finished teaching the class!” Or, did you imagine yourself taking great pride in accomplishing deeper understandings among …

Religious Educators: Promoting Servant Leadership, Shane D. Lavery

Education Papers and Journal Articles

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it proposes that servant leadership is a suitable model of leadership for religious educators. Second, it suggests reasons why religious educators should exercise servant leadership.

The paper briefly considers the history of leadership development, per se. The concept of servant leadership is then explored with particular reference to four Gospel texts: Mk 10:42-45, Mt 23:8-12, Lk 22:24-27; and Jn 13:12-17. Three reasons are then presented as to why religious educators should choose to exercise and model servant leadership for their students. These are: servant leadership is the way Jesus exercised leadership; servant …

Middle Years Students' Use Of Self-Regulating Strategies In An Online Journaling Environment, Chris Campbell

Education Papers and Journal Articles

This study investigated boys’ capacity for self regulation in a Year 8 classroom at a regional secondary college in the state of Victoria, Australia. This was an exploratory descriptive study that sought to examine how the use of an online journal influenced students’ capacity to adaptively react (Zimmerman, 2002) to self-determined knowledge about the effectiveness of their method of learning and set learning goals (Ames & Ames, 1989; Midgley, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001). An online recording and online journaling space were developed by the researcher. The journal has been designed to be engaging for young adolescent male students as well …

Swapping The Boardroom For The Classroom, Matthew B. Etherington

Education Papers and Journal Articles

This study inquires into the practicum experiences of 10 second career pre-service teachers who were enrolled in two accelerated graduate teacher education programs at a well established university in Ontario Canada. The objective was to understand the actuality of the teaching experience for teacher candidates with previous careers. The data collection drew on a semi-structured interview format and spanned nearly a six month period. The results suggest that second careerists draw heavily on their experiences from first careers and these experiences continue to shape their interpretations, attitudes and beliefs about teaching during and after the practicum. The conclusions recommend that …

Service-Learning: Promoting Leadership In Young People, Shane D. Lavery

Education Papers and Journal Articles

This article proposes two ways in which service-learning can promote responsible leadership in young people. First, service-learning can develop specific leadership skills. Second, service-learning can engender a notion of leadership based on service. The article then explores the practical experiences and reflections of education students studying a first semester service-learning course at the University of Notre Dame Australia Fremantle campus. These responses indicate ways those involved in service-learning are able to meet needs in the community. Finally, the article considers a range of comments made by the students' placement supervisors. Many of the comments highlight leadership attributes and behaviours.

Engaging Boys Through Self-Reflection Using An Online Journaling Tool, Chris Campbell, Craig Deed

Education Papers and Journal Articles

The study reported here investigated whether Year 6 boys were engaged through the use of an online journaling tool. This journaling tool allowed the students to self reflect on their behaviour and affective reaction in an online environment. Case study methodology was used with twelve boys from a regional primary school in Victoria, during the one school term of ten weeks. This online journaling website allowed the boys to log in securely, set goals, reflect on their goals as well as keep a reflective journal measuring their cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement. The results suggest that the online journaling tool …

Managing The Move, Anne Coffey

Education Papers and Journal Articles

In Western Australia, the compulsory years of education have typically been divided into seven years of primary school followed by five years of secondary school. This changed in the Catholic Education system in 2009 when it was decided that year seven students should be migrated to secondary schools. A good deal of thought and planning was invested in this enterprise in the year prior to the move being executed. This report examines how the move of year seven students to the secondary environment was managed by six Catholic schools, and investigates responses from students and parents during the transition year. …

Developing Online Training Materials In Molecular Biology: Enhancing Hands-On Lab Skills., Rachel Boulay, Cynthia Anderson, Alex Parisky, Chris Campbell

Education Conference Papers

A well-accepted form of educational training offered in molecular biology is participation in active research laboratories. However, this approach to learning severely restricts access. Addressing this need, the University of Hawaii launched a project to expand this model to include newly developed online training materials in addition to a hands-on laboratory experience. This paper explores the process of material development and assessment plans. A pilot case study of a science teacher who embarks on learning molecular biology over a four-month period through online training materials and working side-by-side with medical researchers in a laboratory is described. Feedback suggested that the …

Using Learning Activity Management Systems (Lams) With Pre-Service Secondary Teachers: An Authentic Task., Chris Campbell, Leanne Cameron

Education Conference Papers

Within an authentic learning framework, second year pre-service teachers were introduced to LAMS (the Learning Activity Management System) as part of one of the information and communication technology (ICT) units they are required to complete as part of their course. Using case study methodology, the students returned some interesting results: LAMS helped the students plan all aspects of their lesson and allowed them to preview their lesson from the learner’s perspective. Additionally, the software provided a visual overview of the lesson which assisted them to identify the learning styles that were addressed with the activities employed. Students also saw the …

Junior Secondary Students' Perceptions Of Influences On Their Engagement With Schooling, Chris Campbell, Craig Deed, Sue Drane, Michael Faulkner, Andrea Mcdonough, Angie Mornane, Vaughan Prain, Caroline Smith, Peter Sullivan

Education Papers and Journal Articles

Various explanations and solutions have been proposed over the last decade in relation to the implications of students’ apparent lack of engagement with middle years schooling in Australia. In this article we report on responses to a questionnaire by 333 Year 8 students (aged about 13, the second year of high school) on perceptions of factors relating to their engagement with the academic curriculum. We found that while the majority of students reported a strong sense of the importance of, and opportunities in, schooling, and saw English, mathematics and science connected to those opportunities, this orientation was not matched by …