Education Commons^™

Using A Student Centred Learning Approach In A Large Class Context, Dawn Darlaston-Jones, Lynne Cohen

Dawn Darlaston-Jones

Teaching in large classes traditionally involves a formal lecture setting following a 'sage on stage' format. This is often dissatisfying for staff and students alike and results in surface rather than deep learning. Recent developments in teaching has seen a shift away from this traditional approach with lecturers adopting a more flexible style of teaching that incorporates multimedia and discussion as part of the learning experience. However, adopting this practice in large classes is often problematic. In second semester 2002 I coordinated a first year psychology unit. The unit is designed and taught by the School of Psychology for Bachelor …

Are They Being Served? Student Expectations Of Higher Education, Dawn Darlaston-Jones, Lisbeth Pike, Lynne Cohen, Allison Young, Sue Haunold, Neil Drew

Dawn Darlaston-Jones

The current climate in tertiary education places students as primary consumers. As such, students are becoming more conscious of their customer rights and of gaps between their expectations of service delivery and the reality of that service. Not only does this service gap present a quality assurance challenge for universities, it is also likely to contribute to student withdrawal. In week one of the first semester 2001, a sample of 56 first year psychology students volunteered to complete the SERVQUAL questionnaire (Riddings, Sidhu, & Pokarier, 2000) to assess their expectations of university in terms of academic and Administrative staff. The …

Teacher Preparation For Inclusive Education: Increasing Knowledge But Raising Concerns, Chris Forlin, Dianne Chambers

Dianne J Chambers

The role of the generalist teacher is now affirmed as being an important component in the success or otherwise of inclusive education practice. Issues about the effectiveness of teacher preparation for working in inclusive classes have arisen. An evaluation of pre-service teachers' perceptions regarding their preparedness for inclusion had some interesting findings. The study found that increasing knowledge about legislation and policy related to inclusion, and improving levels of confidence in becoming inclusive teachers, did not likewise address their concerns, or perceived stress, about having students with disabilities in their classes. As universities re-evaluate their teacher preparation courses, a range …

Interpreting Inclusivity: An Endeavour Of Great Proportions, Richard G. Berlach, Dianne Chambers

Dianne J Chambers

Commencing with a historical account of how special needs education has informed the inclusivity debate, the authors consider the knotty problem of what is meant by inclusivity. An examination of the characteristics of inclusivity is then undertaken, and a functional school-based inclusivity framework – a three-faceted model – is proposed. The model commences with a philosophical underpinning designed to generate a number of emphases to be determined by the school. Once agreed upon, these are then operationalised for classroom practices. It is contended that the model is a defensible way of facilitating the development of an inclusivity ethos within the …

Inclusivity Imperatives And The Australian National Curriculum, Richard G. Berlach, Dianne Chambers

Dianne J Chambers

With work currently being undertaken on formulating Australia's first national curriculum, now seems an opportune time to review the current state of play with regard to how well inclusivity is being represented in the developing documentation. An accurate understanding of “what is” is often the first step in preparing for “what may be” on a much broader scale. Accordingly, this essay addresses three matters, and does so by way of engaging in interpretive documentary analysis. First, the notion of inclusivity in education per se is introduced, and the concept itself defined. Second, an examination is undertaken of how the various …

Service-Learning: More Than Just Volunteering, Shane D. Lavery, John Richards

Shane D Lavery

In this article, the authors recommend a social capital building program that benefits schools, students and the community. There is a growing trend within Catholic and independent schools in Western Australia to actively involve secondary students in service-learning. This paper presents an overview of service-learning and, by doing so, indicates why such involvement by students holds benefits for all involved.

Promoting Our Interior Life As Teachers, Shane D. Lavery, Peter Hay

Shane D Lavery

You cannot give what you have not got. This being the case, developing the spirituality of teachers to make them more effective role models for their students is crucial. This article outlines the steps on Catholic Australian school took to address this issue. The school sought to promote the interior life of teachers in two stages - an afternoon staff conference, followed by a staff development day three weeks later.

Student Leaders: So Many Reasons To Bother, Shane D. Lavery

Shane D Lavery

WHY bother with student leadership when the school day is so busy? Why bother when teachers already develop students academically, socially, vocationally, morally and physically? Why bother when staff interact with students on the sports field, in drama, liturgy, debating, the orchestra or the choral ensemble? Why bother when students can 'learn' leadership by simply watching and then sampling the extensive range of experiences offered in our technological, post-modern twenty-first century?

One reason (perhaps warning) derives from research in the United States which suggests that many high school students do not consider themselves as having leadership potential. Such studies indicate …