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Full-Text Articles in Education

Outcomes Assessment In Practice: Reflections On Two Australian Implementations, Daniel Edwards, Jacob Pearce Feb 2015

Outcomes Assessment In Practice: Reflections On Two Australian Implementations, Daniel Edwards, Jacob Pearce

Dr Jacob Pearce

This chapter provides a critical reflection of the experiences of the authors in two different projects that have explored the assessment of learning outcomes of higher education students. Both projects were undertaken in the context of a growing higher education system and in an era of increased calls for accountability in higher education, and a ‘search’ for metrics to help monitor ‘quality’. Each project involved the development of assessments, engagement of higher education institutions and students, implementation of assessments and reporting of outcomes. While these projects both focused on measuring learning outcomes and were implemented in the same higher education …


Collaborative Assessments Of Learning Outcomes: Generating Positive Institutional Change, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards Feb 2015

Collaborative Assessments Of Learning Outcomes: Generating Positive Institutional Change, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards

Dr Jacob Pearce

Insight into the development of higher education assessment collaborations in two fields (medical education and engineering education) is presented. These collaborations aim to improve and share assessment and assessment practice in order to enhance educational outcomes of students. This model is efficient and effective, can be applied nationally or internationally, and can generate positive institutional change around the globe.


Internships And The Assessment Of Student Learning, William K. Templeton, Karel A. Updyke, Robert B. Bennett Dec 2014

Internships And The Assessment Of Student Learning, William K. Templeton, Karel A. Updyke, Robert B. Bennett

William K. Templeton

The use of internships is a powerful learning tool that allow business students to make connections between their classroom experience and the world of work. If designed appropriately and positioned correctly in the curriculum, they can also be an ideal opportunity to conduct assurance of learning activities related to business school accreditation. This study reports on survey results relating to business schools’ use of internships in their assurance of learning efforts and describes one school’s successful attempt to use internships as the key platform for its well-developed assurance of learning program.


Stretching To Reach High Standards, Geoff Masters Dec 2014

Stretching To Reach High Standards, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

In order to raise achievement, teachers need to stretch their students with tasks that are neither too easy nor difficult, according to Geoff Masters.


Getting To The Essence Of Assessment, Geoff Masters Oct 2014

Getting To The Essence Of Assessment, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Assessments in education can be made, interpreted and used in different ways, but all serve the same fundamental purpose, as Geoff Masters explains.


How Service-Learning In Spanish Speaks To The Crisis In The Humanities, Terri Carney Sep 2014

How Service-Learning In Spanish Speaks To The Crisis In The Humanities, Terri Carney

Terri M. Carney

Service-learning is a transformational pedagogy with timely application to the teaching and learning of foreign languages. In our current climate of assessment outcomes, language study and the humanities more generally tend to be devalued and rendered invisible by utilitarian models of evaluation. Incorporating service-learning courses and experiences into the foreign language classroom provides real- world immersion for students in their local linguistic and cultural communities, satisfies teachers’ desires to connect teaching and research to local community issues, and allows departments to meet institutional and educational goals. Indeed, service-learning points us to new definitions of old concepts—such as the role of …


Strategies To Assess Large Classes, Carol Kominski Sep 2014

Strategies To Assess Large Classes, Carol Kominski

Carol A Kominski

No abstract provided.


Reflections On An Inherent Tension Between Peer Collaboration And Individual Assessment In Online Professional Learning, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Leena Vainio Aug 2014

Reflections On An Inherent Tension Between Peer Collaboration And Individual Assessment In Online Professional Learning, Elizabeth Hartnell-Young, Leena Vainio

Dr Elizabeth Hartnell-Young

In this paper, the authors reflect on potential tensions between peer learning among adult students and current forms of assessment in two professional learning contexts: one in Finland, and one in Australia. The two groups participated separately in online and face to face learning that required them to gather data, reflect, communicate and try out new strategies in their workplaces. Formal learning outcomes and assessment were expected.


Determining The Quality Of Assessment Items In Collaborations: Aspects To Discuss To Reach Agreement, Lambert Schuwirth, Jacob Pearce Aug 2014

Determining The Quality Of Assessment Items In Collaborations: Aspects To Discuss To Reach Agreement, Lambert Schuwirth, Jacob Pearce

Dr Jacob Pearce

No abstract provided.


Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams Aug 2014

Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams

Dr Luc Tu Le

ACER ConQuest (Adams, Wu, and Wilson, 2012) has been popularly used for analysing testing and assessment data. Two of the most common estimation methods for Rasch measurement models (Rasch, 1960/1980) are available in this software, marginal maximum likelihood estimation (MML) and joint maximum likelihood estimation (JML). This study is concerned with item parameter recovery for the dichotomous Rasch model. Our primary focus is on comparing JML and MML when the assumptions of MML are violated, that is the abilities are not sampled from the distribution that is assumed in the estimation.


How Have Music Student Teachers Done On The Edtpa So Far?, David W. Snyder Aug 2014

How Have Music Student Teachers Done On The Edtpa So Far?, David W. Snyder

David W. Snyder

This article contains the results from a recent pilot study of the edTPA student teacher assessment to be used in Illinois startingn in 2015. Student scores on the edTPA were evaluated in order to reveal areas of weakness in student teacher preparation.


Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams Aug 2014

Evaluation Of Item Parameter Recovery Estimation By Acer Conquest Software, Luc T. Le, Ray Adams

Professor Ray Adams

ACER ConQuest (Adams, Wu, and Wilson, 2012) has been popularly used for analysing testing and assessment data. Two of the most common estimation methods for Rasch measurement models (Rasch, 1960/1980) are available in this software, marginal maximum likelihood estimation (MML) and joint maximum likelihood estimation (JML). This study is concerned with item parameter recovery for the dichotomous Rasch model. Our primary focus is on comparing JML and MML when the assumptions of MML are violated, that is the abilities are not sampled from the distribution that is assumed in the estimation.


Introduction To Lantite Assessment Frameworks And Content, Julian Fraillon Jul 2014

Introduction To Lantite Assessment Frameworks And Content, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

No abstract provided.


Why A To E Grades Paint The Wrong Picture, Geoff Masters Jul 2014

Why A To E Grades Paint The Wrong Picture, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Geoff Masters makes the case for a new approach to assessment so that teachers can better monitor the progress their students make and the effectiveness of their own teaching.


Mapping Reading From The Early Years To The End Of Primary School: Implications For The Assessment Of Reading In Australia And Beyond, Juliette Mendelovits Jun 2014

Mapping Reading From The Early Years To The End Of Primary School: Implications For The Assessment Of Reading In Australia And Beyond, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

No abstract provided.


Collaborative Assessments Of Learning Outcomes: Generating Positive Institutional Change, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards Jun 2014

Collaborative Assessments Of Learning Outcomes: Generating Positive Institutional Change, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Insight into the development of higher education assessment collaborations in two fields (medical education and engineering education) is presented. These collaborations aim to improve and share assessment and assessment practice in order to enhance educational outcomes of students. This model is efficient and effective, can be applied nationally or internationally, and can generate positive institutional change around the globe.


Liberating Insight By Walking In Other People's Shoes, Gail Rathbun, Jane Leatherman, Rebecca Jensen Jun 2014

Liberating Insight By Walking In Other People's Shoes, Gail Rathbun, Jane Leatherman, Rebecca Jensen

Rebecca S Jensen

The researchers framed this program evaluation project as an investigation of the influences on teaching practices of a teaching center program participants and non-participants. Changes in teaching practices and the motivations for these changes of fifteen randomly chosen faculty were studied. Session participants will develop and analyze brief case studies using abbreviated data sets and three of the methods that were used in the study. Through hands on analysis of data, session participants will enhance their ability to evaluate the conclusions drawn by the researchers and become familiar with useful analytical frameworks that they can use in their own research. …


To Rubric Or Not To Rubric: That Is The Question, Amy Kenworthy, George Hrivnak Jun 2014

To Rubric Or Not To Rubric: That Is The Question, Amy Kenworthy, George Hrivnak

George Hrivnak

Extract: In conclusion, although there are certainly a number of challenges associated with the effective utilization of rubrics, we agree that rubrics have the potential to be highly useful tools for faculty members to consider using. Our primary contribution to this scholarly discussion is to question the framing of rubrics as something akin to a panacea for assessment issues. They are not. As with any teaching tool, we believe faculty should never be forced to use tools that they are neither committed to nor adequately supported in the use of. Comfort and commitment to using a tool are critical components …


Assessment Essentials: Engaging A New Audience, Michael J. Mastalski Iii, Jo Campbell, Anat Levtov Jun 2014

Assessment Essentials: Engaging A New Audience, Michael J. Mastalski Iii, Jo Campbell, Anat Levtov

Michael J Mastalski III

No abstract provided.


What Can Student Affairs Learn From Nielsen Audio? Benefits Of Using A Modified Arbitron Assessment In Higher Education, Oscar T. Mcknight Ph.D., Kerri Carmichael, Jonathan Locust Jr Jun 2014

What Can Student Affairs Learn From Nielsen Audio? Benefits Of Using A Modified Arbitron Assessment In Higher Education, Oscar T. Mcknight Ph.D., Kerri Carmichael, Jonathan Locust Jr

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This presentation explores the history and evolution of an Arbitron assessment model (Nielsen Audio) when applied in higher education, specifically Student Affairs. Highlighted are the differences between traditional models of Student Affairs assessments and a modified Arbitron assessment. This new Student Affairs assessment model allows an institutional researcher to study student feedback minute to minute, day to day, week to week basis, etc. Discussed are the strengths and weaknesses of a Nielsen Audio model when applied to Student Affairs.


What’S The Story? Making Sense Of Conflicting Literacy And Numeracy Results, Juliette Mendelovits Apr 2014

What’S The Story? Making Sense Of Conflicting Literacy And Numeracy Results, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

No abstract provided.


Rethinking Assessment In Vet, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Rethinking Assessment In Vet, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.


Some Reflections On Teaching And Learning From Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy Assessments, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Some Reflections On Teaching And Learning From Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy Assessments, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.


Web-Based Student Peer Review: A Research Summary, Edward F. Gehringer Mar 2014

Web-Based Student Peer Review: A Research Summary, Edward F. Gehringer

Edward F Gehringer

Interest in Web-based peer-review systems dates back nearly 20 years. Systems were built to let students give feedback to other students, mainly to help them improve their writing. But students are not necessarily effective peer reviewers. Left to their own devices, they will submit cursory reviews, which are not very helpful to their peers. Techniques have been developed to improve the quality of reviews. Calibration is one such technique. Students are asked to assess samples of writing that have previously been assessed by experts. Students must submit an evaluation “close enough” to the experts’ before they are allowed to review …


Developing Outcomes Assessments For Collaborative, Cross-Institutional Benchmarking : Progress Of The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration, Daniel Edwards, David Wilkinson, Benedict Canny, Jacob Pearce, Hamish Coates Jan 2014

Developing Outcomes Assessments For Collaborative, Cross-Institutional Benchmarking : Progress Of The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration, Daniel Edwards, David Wilkinson, Benedict Canny, Jacob Pearce, Hamish Coates

Dr Daniel Edwards

The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC) began in 2010. This article charts the development of the collaboration over its initial years. AMAC was instigated as a way of improving the quality of medical education through the recognition of the need for tools for comparison and evaluation of learning outcomes, acknowledgement of the need for high quality assessment, and to share expertise in these areas. In a climate of increasing regulation and accountability, this collaboration was formed as a means of increasing assessment practices by, with and for medical schools. This article provides an overview of the background issues stimulating the …


Writing High Quality Assessment Items, Ray Philpot Dec 2013

Writing High Quality Assessment Items, Ray Philpot

Ray Philpot

A seminar and workshops on how to develop instruments for a national assessment, with an emphasis on Mathematics.


Outcomes Assessment In Practice: Reflections On Two Australian Implementations, Daniel Edwards, Jacob Pearce Dec 2013

Outcomes Assessment In Practice: Reflections On Two Australian Implementations, Daniel Edwards, Jacob Pearce

Dr Daniel Edwards

This chapter provides a critical reflection of the experiences of the authors in two different projects that have explored the assessment of learning outcomes of higher education students. Both projects were undertaken in the context of a growing higher education system and in an era of increased calls for accountability in higher education, and a ‘search’ for metrics to help monitor ‘quality’. Each project involved the development of assessments, engagement of higher education institutions and students, implementation of assessments and reporting of outcomes. While these projects both focused on measuring learning outcomes and were implemented in the same higher education …


The Impact Of Library Resource Utilization On Undergraduate Students' Academic Performance: A Propensity Score Matching Design, Felly Kot, Jennifer Jones Dec 2013

The Impact Of Library Resource Utilization On Undergraduate Students' Academic Performance: A Propensity Score Matching Design, Felly Kot, Jennifer Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

This study uses three cohorts of first-time, full-time undergraduate students (N=8,652) at a large, metropolitan, public research university to examine the impact of student use of three library resources (workstations, study rooms, and research clinics) on academic performance. To deal with self-selection bias and estimate this impact more accurately, we used propensity score matching. Using this unique approach allowed us to construct treatment and control groups with similar background characteristics. We found that using a given library resource was associated with a small, but also meaningful, gain in first-term grade point average, net of other factors.