Education Commons^™

Exploring The Role Of Instructional Technology In Course Planning And Classroom Teaching: Implications For Pedagogical Reform, Matthew T. Hora, Jeremiah I. Holden

Remi Holden

Instructional technology plays a key role in many teaching reform efforts at the postsecondary level, yet evidence suggests that faculty adopt these technology-based innovations in a slow and inconsistent fashion. A key to improving these efforts is to understand local practice and use these insights to design more locally attuned interventions. This exploratory study draws on systems-of-practice theory from distributed cognition research to provide a framework for producing comprehensive accounts of technology use. This account includes three components: (a) awareness of the local resource base for instructional technology, (b) decision-making processes regarding tool use, and (c) actual classroom use of …

Free Resources For Teaching Psychology, T. L. Brink

T. L. Brink

Provides links to free materials for teaching psychology (textbooks, videos, statistical programs)

Attracting Top Teaching Talent, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

In some of the world’s highest-performing countries, entry to teaching is now as competitive as courses such as engineering, science, law and medicine.

Archives Alive!: Librarian-Faculty Collaboration And An Alternative To The Five-Page Paper, Tom Keegan, Kelly Mcelroy

Tom Keegan

American Council On The Teaching Of Foreign Languages-Heritage Language Sig Newsletter, Theresa Y. Austin, Yvonne Farino, Joy Payton

Theresa Y. Austin

An Official Newsletter of ACTFL - August 2015

Designing Effective Feedback For Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Some Psycholinguistic Considerations, Sacha Develle

Dr Sacha DeVelle

No abstract provided.

Words For Pam, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

Words spoken by Rowan Cahill at the funeral of his wife, Pam Cahill, 24 June 2015.

Tying It All Together: Implications For Classrooms, Schools, And Districts, Ryan Flessner, Kenneth Zeichner, Kalani Eggington

Ryan Flessner

Ryan Flessner, Kenneth Zeichner, and Kalani Eggington's contribution to "Creating Equitable Classrooms through Action Research"

Meeting The Challenge Of Disciplinary Literacies, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

Embedding Employability In The Curriculum – Strategies To Improve Outcomes For University Graduates, Sarah Richardson

Dr Sarah Richardson

No abstract provided.

Movers And Shapers: Teaching In Online Environments, Janine Delahunty, Pauline Jones, Irina Verenikina

Janine Delahunty Dr

This paper reports a study-in-progress examining interactions in the asynchronous discussions of a post-graduate TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) distance subject, focusing on the impact of scaffolding collaborative knowledge construction. Two complementary theories were used: sociocultural theory, which views interaction as essential to the knowledge building process, in particular dialogically between expert-novice, and students as equals; and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) which highlights language asa meaning-making resource deployed in social interactions and allows insight into the unfolding construal of knowledge and the interpersonal relationships being enacted. The results confirmed the significant role of the instructor in shaping …

Step Away From The Podium: A Year Of “Untethered” Teaching, Ryan Ingersoll, Robbin Riedy

Ryan Ingersoll

Our experiment in the untethered classroom is not about the technology—it is not about using the latest, neatest gadgets. This is about facilitating deeper learning; learning that goes beyond rote memorization and surface recall. This year Ryan Ingersoll, the Head of Library Technology, and Robbin Riedy, the Assistant Director of Educational Technology and Media, are facilitating three faculty learning communities on “untethered” teaching. These Communities of Practice are primarily utilizing iPads, Apple TVs and an app called Splashtop in order to re-imagine the classroom in a more collaborative and relationship friendly fashion. Discussions that we have with our faculty include …

The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model: Early Literacy In Context, Leigh Rohde

Leigh Rohde

Integrating Games To Teach A First Programming Course, Soumia Ichoua

Soumia Ichoua

In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in game-based learning as a powerful tool to stimulate students’ interest and promote their engagement in the learning process. In this paper, we discuss our experience in integrating gaming to teach a first programming course. The course is restructured and redesigned to allow teaching the basics of programming through games. Students actively use fundamental programming concepts learned to modify and create two dimension games using C# and XNA with .Net framework. This is an on-going work. Surveys and worksheets are developed to be used in assessing the effectiveness of …

Focused: Why A Teaching Team Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts, Ray Peck

Ray Peck

Ray Peck reports on new research revealing that focused teaching teams assist the mathematics learning of students with Down syndrome.

Deaf Students And Their Classroom Communication: An Evaluation Of Higher Order Categorical Interactions Among School And Background Characteristics, Thomas Allen, Melissa Anderson

Melissa L. Anderson

This article investigated to what extent age, use of a cochlear implant, parental hearing status, and use of sign in the home determine language of instruction for profoundly deaf children. Categorical data from 8,325 profoundly deaf students from the 2008 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children and Youth were analyzed using chi-square automated interaction detector, a stepwise analytic procedure that allows the assessment of higher order interactions among categorical variables. Results indicated that all characteristics were significantly related to classroom communication modality. Although younger and older students demonstrated a different distribution of communication modality, for both younger and older …

Thelma Perso And Colleen Hayward, Teaching Indigenous Students: Cultural Awareness And Classroom Strategies For Improving Learning Outcomes, Jacynta Krakouer, Troy Meston

Jacynta Krakouer

A Message From Your Body: Dream The Answer, Jalae Ulicki

Jalae Ulicki

Can They Teach Each Other? : The Restructuring Of Higher Education And The Rise Of Undergraduate Student “Teachers” In Ontario, Jennifer Massey

Jennifer Massey

Changes to public funding regimes, coupled with transformations in how universities are managed and measured have altered the methods for educating undergraduate students. The growing reliance on teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and increasingly undergraduate peer educators (administering Supplemental Instruction [SI] programs) is promoted as a means to achieve a greater “return on investment” in the delivery of postsecondary education. Neoliberal discourses legitimating this downloading of teaching labour suggest it offers a “win-win” solution to the “problem” of educating growing numbers of undergraduate students. It proposes universities can deliver the same curricula, and achieve the same “outcomes” (primarily measured through grades …

Creative Activities In Mathematics : Problem-Based Maths Investigations For Lower And Middle Primary : Book 1., Derek Holton, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Problem-based learning is a powerful alternative to drill-and practice or skills-based learning, especially within maths, but it can be difficult to source rich materials that engage an entire class. The Creative Activities in Mathematics series provides a wealth of investigations and open-ended active learning activities, designed to engage students with mathematics and develop their problem-solving, collaboration and mathematical skills. Book One provides 12 different class activities suitable for students in lower and middle primary school (Foundation to Year 4), along with teaching notes and staged lesson plans. Each activity is a whole-class investigation with open-ended answers that takes a particular …