Education Commons^™

Students’ Views About Learning With Technologies: A Literature Review, Kathryn Moyle, Guus Wijingaards, Susanne Owen

Professor Kathryn Moyle

There is a paucity of recent, formal education research that listens directly to students’ views of learning with technologies. Much of the research that has been conducted has tended to focus on evaluating students’ current experiences within a specific course, or concerned with tangible issues such as frequency of computer use, access to computers and the Internet, and evaluations of technical skill levels. Available research has tended to use quantitative or mixed method approaches, with data collected through surveys using convenience samples, Likert scales and free response questions. These methods are sometimes supplemented with interviews and observations. To establish an …

Assessing Higher Education Learning Outcomes In Civil Engineering: The Oecd Ahelo Feasibility Study, Roger Hadgraft, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards, Julian Fraillon, Hamish Coates

Julian Fraillon

BACKGROUND

Higher education is increasingly a global business. At present, university ranking schemes are heavily reliant on research indicators, while students are likely looking for an excellent teaching and learning environment. Aware of this discrepancy, the OECD has funded the AHELO project.

PURPOSE

AHELO was designed to test the feasibility of an international assessment of higher education learning outcomes. The two test disciplines are civil engineering and economics, together with an assessment of generic skills. The civil engineering test will be reported in this paper.

More than a ranking, AHELO is a direct evaluation of student performance. It is intended …

Png Curriculum Reform Implementation Project : Implementation Project Report On The Pilot Curriculum Standards Monitoring Test, Chris Freeman, Prue Anderson, George Morgan

Chris Freeman

This report presents an analysis of the test data from the Curriculum Standards Monitoring Test (CSMT) Pilot program, conducted in 2003 - 2004. It has been prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the Department of Education (DoE), with the support of the Curriculum Reform Implementation Project (CRIP). The terms of reference for the pilot CSMT required ACER and Curriculum Development Division (CDD) to conduct an assessment of PNG student achievements in literacy and numeracy in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 8 against the then current curriculum, taking into account also the outcomes of the …

Pm's Education Goals Mired In Underachievement, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

International test results released this week highlight the magnitude of the challenge we face in raising the level of educational achievement in Australia. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) add to the publicly available information about how students in our schools are performing. The results include the first data on how reading levels in Australian primary schools compare with standards in other countries.

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2011 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Eveline Gebhardt, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Kate O'Malley, Chris Freeman, Martin Murphy, John Ainley

Chris Freeman

This report describes the technical aspects of the National Assessment Program – ICT Literacy (NAP – ICTL) 2011 sample assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. It also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates and calculation of participation rates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration of the …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2011 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Eveline Gebhardt, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Kate O'Malley, Chris Freeman, Martin Murphy, John Ainley

Dr John Ainley

This report describes the technical aspects of the National Assessment Program – ICT Literacy (NAP – ICTL) 2011 sample assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. It also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates and calculation of participation rates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration of the …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2011 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Eveline Gebhardt, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Kate O'Malley, Chris Freeman, Martin Murphy, John Ainley

Julian Fraillon

This report describes the technical aspects of the National Assessment Program – ICT Literacy (NAP – ICTL) 2011 sample assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. It also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates and calculation of participation rates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration of the …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2011 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Eveline Gebhardt, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Kate O'Malley, Chris Freeman, Martin Murphy, John Ainley

Dr Wolfram Schulz

This report describes the technical aspects of the National Assessment Program – ICT Literacy (NAP – ICTL) 2011 sample assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. It also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates and calculation of participation rates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration of the …

Academics’ Attitudes Towards Phd Students’ Teaching: Preparing Research Higher Degree Students For An Academic Career, Denise Jepsen, Melinda Varhegyi, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

An exploratory study of 473 academics in a metropolitan university investigated the attitudes of academic spervisors towards training for university teaching for doctoral students. The study investigated academic supervisors’ levels of awareness and knowledge of teacher training opportunities, the relative importance of teaching – both lecturing and tutoring – compared with research in the academic selection process, and the academics’ own entry into and attitudes about PhD students teaching during their candidature. Results indicate that academic supervisors are more aware of short courses and workshops than in-depth teaching certificates and diplomas. In terms of the relative value of aspects of …

Assessing Higher Education Learning Outcomes In Civil Engineering: The Oecd Ahelo Feasibility Study, Roger Hadgraft, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards, Julian Fraillon, Hamish Coates

Dr Daniel Edwards

BACKGROUND

Higher education is increasingly a global business. At present, university ranking schemes are heavily reliant on research indicators, while students are likely looking for an excellent teaching and learning environment. Aware of this discrepancy, the OECD has funded the AHELO project.

PURPOSE

AHELO was designed to test the feasibility of an international assessment of higher education learning outcomes. The two test disciplines are civil engineering and economics, together with an assessment of generic skills. The civil engineering test will be reported in this paper.

More than a ranking, AHELO is a direct evaluation of student performance. It is intended …

The Abcs Of Gfe, Brandon Youker

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is the process of determining something’s merit intentionally without reference to its stated goals and objectives. The following PowerPoint presentation describes GFE and discusses preliminary attempts at operationalization. The video concludes with a lively discussion where audience members challenge Dr. Youker on GFE's feasibility and merit. . *This presentation is available at The Evaluation Center's website archived as an Evaluation Café presentation: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/2012/11/goal-free-evaluation-an-analog-experiment-comparing-goal-free-evaluation-and-goal-based-evalation-utility/

Action Learning- A Process Which Supports Organisational Change Initiatives., Pauline Joyce

Pauline Joyce

This paper reflects on how action learning sets were used to support organisational change initiatives. It sets the scene with contextualising the inclusion of change projects in a masters programme. Action learning is understood to be a dynamic process where a team meets regularly to help individual members address issues through a highly structured, facilitated team process of reflection and action. The key findings from evaluation of the students and facilitators’ experiences are reflected on, together with plans for improving the experience for all stakeholders for the next academic year. In sharing this experience the purpose of the paper is …

Evaluation Research In Education, Pauline Joyce

Pauline Joyce

This paper gives an overview of evaluation and evaluation research, particularly how it fits with education. Reference to some evaluation debates over the years is presented as well as some seminal works in the topic area. A brief synopsis of evaluation in the education setting is then presented before outlining various approaches to evaluation.

Did Teachers’ Race And Verbal Ability Matter In The 1960’S? Coleman Revisited, Ronald Ehrenberg, Dominic Brewer

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Our paper reanalyzes data from the classic 1966 study Equality of Educational Opportunity, or Coleman Report. It addresses whether teacher characteristics, including race and verbal ability, influenced "synthetic gain scores" of students (mean test scores of upper grade students in a school minus mean test scores of lower grade students in a school), in the context of an econometric model that allows for the possibility that teacher characteristics in a school are endogenously determined. We find that verbal aptitude scores of teachers influenced synthetic gain scores for both black and white students. Verbal aptitude mattered as much for black teachers …

Graduate Pathways: Insights From Australian Graduates In The First Five Years After Completion, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

This presentation explores the outcomes of higher education graduates based on data collected through the Graduate Pathways Survey (GPS) that was conducted in 2008 to gain insight into the pathways of Australian university graduates in the first five years after completion of their undergraduate degree. The presentation explores two key issues: the advancement of people from disadvantaged backgrounds and the net impact of gender on future salary. The findings from this detailed study of 10,000 Australian students provides valuable insight and lessons that are transferable across higher education systems, and helps to better understand the role of universities in the …

Iccs 2009 Asian Report : Civic Knowledge, Attitudes, And Engagement Among Lower Secondary Students In Five Asian Countries, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz

Dr John Ainley

This report describes results from the Asian regional module of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). The five countries from the Asian region that participated in the international study—Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand—also participated in the Asian regional module. Each of these countries is located in either eastern or southeastern Asia. The report focuses on aspects of particular relevance for this geographic region, and should be viewed as part of the broader set of publications from ICCS. ICCS investigates the ways in which countries prepare their young people to undertake their …

Ict Research Comes Of Age, Gerry White

Dr Gerald K. White

That is not to suggest that teachers and students do not use ICT. In fact, they are two of the highest ICT user categories reported by ACMA and ABS. However, the combination of ICT and education programs in classrooms and courses is a situation where issues about pedagogy and the benefits to learning with ICT continue to be debated.

Growing Pains, Adelina Alegria, Candace Kelly-Hodge

Adelina Alegria

No abstract provided.

'Friday Is My Research Day': Chance, Time And Desire In The Search For The Teaching-Research Nexus In The Life Of A University Teacher, William Boyd, Meg O'Reilly, Karyn Rendall, Stephen Rowe, Erica Wilson, Kay Dimmock, Wendy Boyd, Elaine Nuske, Johan Edelheim, Daniel Bucher, Kath Fisher

Dr Meg O'Reilly

This paper builds on some ideas recently presented by Boyd et al. (2010). In that paper, the focus was on the ways in which experienced academic staff articulate the teaching-research nexus. By presenting six short case accounts, this paper describes how a reflective narrative activity enabled some ‘new to academe’ teachers to identify the teaching research nexus in their own work. For each of them, there was some particular reason or stimulus that led to them articulating the teaching-learning nexus in their work. Given the effectiveness of this method for enabling staff to consider the teaching-research nexus, this paper speculates …

Principals’ Sense Of Efficacy And Cultural Factors In Rural West Virginia Schools, Louis Watts, Cynthia Kolsun, Vicky Cline, Leatha Williams

Louis K Watts

Some studies of rural education in the United States suggest there are unique features of rural communities that affect schooling and student outcomes. Appalachia has been a special interest of many studies. Chenoweth and Galliher (2004) measured the influence of three cultural factors associated with Appalachia on the college aspirations of rural West Virginia high school students: (1) localism, a sense of connection to the land, (2) historicism, the sense of understanding one’s place in the family and region where born, and (3) familism, the tendency to maintain close family ties geographically and interpersonally. A key influence in creating effective …

Group Of National Experts On The Ahelo Feasibility Study : Contextual Dimension Framework : Ahelo Feasibility Study : 8th Meeting Of The Ahelo Gne, Paris, 28-29 November 2011, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The document provides an overview of the framework and instruments used in the AHELO contextual dimension. Building on prior work, it describes development of a framework that charts an understanding of contexts of most relevance to contemporary higher education. It describes the properties of instruments that operationalise this framework in efficient, technically informed and environmentally relevant ways. The instruments are designed to yield data on systems, institutions, teachers and students. Importantly, this data will be combined with information on student learning outcomes.

Boys In School And Society, John Cresswell, Ken Rowe, Graeme Withers

Dr John Cresswell

In the past decade there has been a growing perception in Australia that girls have become more successful pursuing their educational goals than boys - especially in educational outcomes relating to literacy. In addition there is evidence from a range of studies that boys regard their school experience less favourably than girls and are less strongly engaged in the work of schools. This paper focuses on students' achievement and attitudes to school, and the influences that shape different outcomes for boys and girls. Areas of difference discussed include literacy, year 12 performance, mathematics, proficiency with computers, educational participation, and social …

Location, Location, Location : Implications Of Geographic Situation On Australian Student Performance In Pisa 2000, John Cresswell, Catherine Underwood

Dr John Cresswell

The primary focus of this report is to examine the effect that geographical location may have on the performance of students from schools from all parts of Australia who participated in the OECD/Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2000). Approximately 5477 students from 231 school across Australia encompassing schools in Major Cities, Inner Regional areas, Outer Regional areas, Remote areas and Very Remote areas participated. Results for Australian schools located in Major Cities and Inner Regional areas were above the OECD average in reading literacy. Outer Regional areas and Remote/Very Remote areas were at or below the OECD average.

Evaluation Of The University Of Canberra Programme For Advanced Literacy Development Scaffolding Literacy Programme With Indigenous Children In School, John Cresswell, Catherine Underwood, Graeme Withers, Isabelle Adams

Dr John Cresswell

This evaluation was created from the records of interviews with the principals and teachers and others involved in the Scaffolding Literacy Programme and is, therefore, a summary document of all the data collected by the three researchers at ACER and the sub-contractor in Western Australia, with an interpretation of the observations in terms of the guidelines set out in the contract.

Australia's Indigenous Students In Pisa 2000 : Results From An International Study, Lisa De Bortoli, John Cresswell

Dr John Cresswell

In the total PISA sample, the weighted percentage of Indigenous students was 2.4 percent. This figure consisted of 192 students who identified themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent in the main sample. An additional 301 Indigenous students, not selected for the main sample, accepted the offer to participate in PISA. This report is based on the results of this combined group of 493 Indigenous students. The distribution of the sample is representative of the Indigenous population in Australia.

Immigrant Status And Home Language Background : Implications For Australian Student Performance In Pisa 2000, John Cresswell

Dr John Cresswell

The primary focus of this report is to examine the effect that immigrant status and home language background may have on the performance of Australian students who participated in the OECD/Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2000). Approximately 5477 students from 231 schools across Australia participated in the study. In this report, two sets of analyses were conducted. The first set focuses on immigrant status of students and the second set of analyses provides data on those students who speak a language other than English at home compared to students from an English home language background.

Measurement Of Student Engagement In Learning, Hamish Coates, Ali Radloff

Ali Radloff

No abstract provided.

Supply, Demand And Characteristics Of The Higher Degree By Research Population In Australia, Daniel Edwards, Ali Radloff, Hamish Coates

Ali Radloff

This research has been undertaken for the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research by researchers from the Australian Council for Educational Research. It was conducted during May and June 2009. Its focus is on identifying the higher research degree (HDR) population in Australia, examining the characteristics of this population, and the levels of demand and supply for people with these qualifications now and into the future. This research also catalogues a number of existing data sources that can be utilised for research into this population and identifies key gaps in the current collections which inhibit some areas of analyses …

Pyp And Myp Student Performance On The International Schools’ Assessment (Isa), Ling Tan, Yan Bibby

Dr Ling Tan

This study, undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), investigated how International Baccalaureate (IB) students enrolled in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) performed on the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA), relative to non‐IB students. The ISA assesses student performance in Grades 3 to 10 across four domains: Math Literacy, Reading, Narrative Writing, and Expository Writing. The math and reading components of the assessment are based on the reading and mathematical literacy frameworks of the HOECD'sProgramme for International Student Assessment (PISA)H. The study sample included IB students (N=23,575) and non‐IB students ( …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Talis And Pisa Link Data: An Investigation Of The Possible Relationships, Frances Eveleigh, Chris Freeman

Chris Freeman

This paper proposes to report a preliminary investigation of the field trial data of PISA combined with the TALIS data from the same pool of schools. It proposes exploratory analyses of the data through correlation, ANOVA and MANOVA, and multi-level modelling techniques to identify plausible relationships and explained variation that may be uncovered within the data. This investigation will inform the types of analyses that may be performed on the main study data that are being collected in mid to late 2012.