Education Commons^™

From Research To Practice : Using The Timss Video Study Findings To Enhance Australian Mathematics Teaching, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

The findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study have been reported at both international and national levels, however its impact on Australian mathematics teaching has yet to be realised. How can the results of the video study inform teachers' efforts toward excellence in mathematics teaching in Australia? This paper highlights some of the findings and recommendations in the national report, 'Teaching Mathematics in Australia: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study', and anticipates ways that the products of the study might be used for improving teaching and teacher development. The broad purpose of the …

The Numeracy Skills Of Preschoolers, Ray Peck, A Grant

Ray Peck

Project Good Start is a two-year study commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research as part of the Australian Government's Numeracy Research and Development Initiative. A number of state and national projects are being conducted which focus on improving students' outcomes in numeracy by identifying effective teaching and learning practices in the primary and pre- primary years. This article describes some of the findings of the study. The role of the Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) in the study is discussed.

Examining The Evidence : Science Achievement In Australian Schools In Timss 2002, Sue Thomson, Nicole Fleming

Nicole Wernert

Australia, 10030 students in 414 schools participated in the main sample of TIMSS 2002/03. ...Results are reported as average scores with the standard error, as distributions of scores, and as percentages of students who attain the international benchmarks, for countries and specific groups of students within Australia.

Looking At Education Through A Deweyan Lens: How Play Can Take Shape In Singapore’S Preschools, Sirene Lim

Sirene Lim

This article outlines key characteristics of Singapore’s national values and the preschool education context, and provides a discussion of what the spirit of play could be like in Singaporean preschools. The article uses Deweyan principles to advocate for socially just curricula in Singaporean preschools that embrace ‘play’ as a vehicle for children’s learning.

Shared Online Content And Services, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

The purpose of this paper is to introduce thinking about shared national online content and services which are commonly used and required by stakeholders in education and training.

Scale For Mapping Progress In Mathematical Competencies, Ross Turner, Gayl O'Connor, Thomas Romberg

Gayl O'Connor

No abstract provided.

15 Up : Charting The Influence Of Literacy And Numeracy Achievement On Later Life., Sheldon Rothman

Dr Sheldon Rothman

A successful involvement with further education, training and employment can be predicted through a student's performance in literacy and numeracy at secondary school level. The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) is a program that makes it possible to assess the influence of achievements in year 9, combined with the successful completion of year 12, while tracking the progress of students as they move through the education system to the workforce.

Drama As A Means Of Improving The Advocacy Skills Of Non-English-Speaking-Background Students, Chamkaur Gill

Chamkaur Gill

This paper will discuss the problems facing overseas-Asian students who study law in Western universities and will deal with how drama can help improve their English-language oral-communication skills. A profile of the average student belonging to a high-context, relational culture will be provided with the aim of showing why such a student needs full-on immersion in oral English. An attempt will be made to suggest that the activities and materials employed by instructors using such a strategy can help lower students’ affective barriers and increase their confidence, motivation and spontaneity when speaking, while improving their non-verbal skills. The writer’s personal …

And What Do You Mean By Learning? By Seyour Sarason. Portsmouth, Nh: Heinemann, 2004. Isbn 0-325-00639-3., Elizabeth Parang

Elizabeth Parang

Exploring Literacy: A Guide To Reading, Writing, And Research, Eleanor Kutz

Eleanor Kutz

Combining the elements of a reader, rhetoric, research guide, and handbook, Exploring Literacy offers an introduction to the sustained inquiry that underlies most academic work. Students are taught effective ways of engaging with different kinds of texts - memoirs, short fiction, ethnographic writings, academic essays - and are offered extensive instruction on how to use writing to enrich their involvement with texts.

Positive School Climate Helps Students Achieve Positive Results, Sheldon Rothman, Julie Mcmillan

Julie McMillan

A recent ACER study of Year 9 students' results on reading comprehension and mathematics tests found that a positive school climate is associated with higher literacy and numeracy test scores. Socioeconomic status (SES), language background, Indigenous status, gender and educational aspirations were also found to have significant effects on achievement in both literacy and numeracy.

Thinking Of The Other: Constructivist Discourse And Cultural Difference In The Field Of Educational Technology, David Shutkin

David S. Shutkin

Learning in a technologically enhanced constructivist classroom is a practice of acculturation into a western culture of power and traditions of reasoning. For children positioned outside this culture historical practices of inclusion and exclusion erase cultural differences that make a difference in their educational lives. While constructivism may be understood by some in the field of Educational Technology as a rallying cry for the reform of schooling, it is experienced by others as an ethical crisis in the relation of the self to the other. Even as we pursue equity through the integration of technology in constructivist learning practices, we …

‘That’S Why I Do It’: Flow And Efl Teachers’ Practices, Christine Tardy

Christine M. Tardy

Csikszentmihalyi's (1997) concept of flow describes a mental state resulting from peak experiences in which the level of challenge is high, but manageable given a person's skills. Because flow occurs at peak moments, these moments can motivate teachers, possibly shaping their classroom practices and giving them insight into their teaching beliefs. This exploratory interview study examines ten EFL teachers' flow experiences at work, and considers their implications for teacher education. The teachers all reported experiencing flow, and key categories relating to its occurrence were derived from their descriptions. Based on this study, we suggest that the concept of flow provides …

Summing It Up : Mathematics Achievement In Australian Schools In Timss 2002, Nicole Fleming, Sue Thomson

Nicole Wernert

This document analyses and interprets the Australian data collected as part of the TIMSS study for Year 4 and Year 8 students.

Alan Moore And The Graphic Novel: Confronting The Fourth Dimension, Mark Bernard, James Carter

James B Carter

Comics, especially the works of Alan Moore, are examined as meeting the goals of modernist artists and writers due to their combination of image and text, succeedeing where neither form of expression could independently of one another.

The Emotional Wellbeing Of Young People : School, Further Study, Work And Beyond, Julie Mcmillan, Kylie Hillman

Julie McMillan

Educational and labour market pathways in the early post-school years are becoming increasingly diverse. A pertinent issue for those working with young people is how young people now navigate the transition from secondary school into post-school education, training and employment, and the impact of the different paths followed on their emotional wellbeing. This paper has two aims: to describe the cross-sectional relationship between emotional wellbeing and participation in a range of post-school education, training and labour market activities; and, to assess whether movement between activities in the early post-school years is associated with changes in emotional wellbeing.

A Thousand Resources For Science Teachers, Gayl O'Connor

Gayl O'Connor

The Science Education Assessment Resource (SEAR) project is an online resource bank of science assessment tasks for the compulsory years of schooling (P-10). The bank includes a variety of items that can be used for diagnostic, formative or summative assessment purposes. The Australian Council for Educational Research is responsible for the overall management of the project, working in collaboration with Curriculum Corporation and other organisations.

Iea Civic Education Study: Technical Report, Wolfram Schulz, Heiko Sibberns

Dr Wolfram Schulz

During 1999, researchers surveyed nearly 90,000 14-year-old students in 28 countries. Findings for this age group were released in 2001 and reported in Citizenship and Education in Twenty-eight Countries: Civic Knowledge and Engagement at Age Fourteen (Torney-Purta, Lehmann, Oswald, & Schulz). In the following year, over 50,000 upper secondary students (ranging in age from 16 to 19 years) from 16 countries received a similar test and the same survey of civic concepts and attitudes. Findings for the upper secondary students were released in 2002 and reported in Civic Knowledge and Engagement. An IEA Study of Upper Secondary Students in Sixteen …

Laying The Foundations For Educational Foundations: Working Backward From Evaluation To Preparation., Mark Storz, Cindy Meyer Sabik

Mark G. Storz

Addresses the challenge of asking students to become political within the context of educational foundations. Description of the structure and purpose of foundations courses; Discussion on the goal of the project; Details of the students' assumptions, experiences and understandings of their foundations courses through excerpts of conversations; Reactions and reflections on the interactions and contradictions.

Teaching About Money, Cultural Heritage, And Citizenship In Slovakia, Samuel Hinton

Samuel Hinton

One crucial role of the teacher of citizenship education is to facilitate and help legitimize the “pupils’ voice” in the classroom. The teacher should abdicate the “talking head” role and replace it with one that encourages and validates pupil ownership of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to share some practical ways in which a module on citizenship education may be taught to students in the middle and high school levels in Slovakia.

Getting The Most Out Of Our Online Teaching Resources, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

Australia’s achievements in developing quality online resources for vocational education and training are exemplary. A number of well coordinated national initiatives have paved the way in developing an infrastructure for the creation and deployment of online content for learning and training. The Australian Flexible Framework initiative, which has adopted a holistic approach to content development, has had a significant impact on transforming flexible learning through professional development, community building, mentoring, and building its capacity to share teaching and learning resources across state boundaries. But many challengers remain. How do we ensure that mechanisms are in place to facilitate unrestricted access …

Then And Now : Texts In English Classrooms, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

What is anything has been consistently considered essential learning for students in English classes in secondary schools over the past fifty years, asks the author? This article considers the similarities and differences in the teaching of English since the 1950s focusing on the many facets of English texts in contemporary Australian classrooms.

Signposts To Improved Test Scores In Literacy And Numeracy, Julie Mcmillan, Sheldon Rothman

Julie McMillan

A recent study of year 9 students' results on reading comprehension and mathematics tests, by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) found that a positive school climate is associated with higher literacy and numeracy test scores. In other key findings, socioeconomic status, language background, Indigenous status, gender and educational aspirations were found to have significant effects on achievement in both literacy and numeracy. Parents' education had a significant effect on literacy but not on numeracy. This article gives an overview of the findings.

Teaching Fellows: An Innovative Approach To Facilitate The Integration Of Research And Education At Colby College, Philip Nyhus, F Cole, David Firmage, Edward Yeterian

F. Russell Cole

No abstract provided.

A Teacher Educator’S Story, Thomas Kelly

Thomas E. Kelly

No abstract provided.