Education Commons^™

Diving Deeper With Assessment, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

ACER is helping educators to understand and implement assessment practices for positive classroom change and improved learning.

Students' Voices : Learning With Technologies : Students' Expectations About Learning With Technologies : A Literature Review, Kathryn Moyle, Susanne Owen

Professor Kathryn Moyle

This literature review is concerned with studies published since 2002 that take the perspectives of students in relation to learning with information and communication technologies. Students in schools, vocational education and training and in preservice teacher education, as well as early career teachers and other higher education students are included. The review examines published literature to: ascertain what recent research has already been undertaken in the field within Australia and overseas; ascertain the research methods used to underpin existing research; determine the gaps in existing knowledge; and consider the implications for determining what next steps could be undertaken. [Executive summary, …

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 …

Redefining Teaching And Learning In Educational Administration, Connie Fulmer

Connie L. Fulmer

Presents assumptions and components of an experiential learning model to demonstrate the transformation of traditional educational leadership program delivery models. Two examples of experientially-based course projects are presented to illustrate teaching and learning as a transactional process of creating personal knowledge. (SLD)

Towards A Unified Theory Of Assessment, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Attempts to categorise educational assessments as either ‘formative’ or ‘summative’ no longer serve us well and the time has come to develop a more unified theory of assessment.

Same Year, Same School, Same Curriculum: Different Mathematics Results, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

Year 4 students from a large metropolitan school in Melbourne were tested using the One Minute Tests of Basic Number Facts and a paper and pencil Number Screening Test developed by the author and colleagues. Observation of classes during the assessment procedures highlighted the vast difference in the students’ speed and accuracy when recalling basic facts and the types of strategies they used when solving whole number arithmetic tasks. When the results were analysed there were differences noted in the class results and when the results were presented to the teachers their reactions to these results varied considerably. This paper …

A Cross-Institutional Initiative In Digital Assessment, Anne-Marie Chase, Diane Robbie, Bella Ross, Ekaterina Pechenkina

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Year-Level Expectations Can Impede Learning, Expert Warns, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Some of the ways in which school education is organised and delivered may be contributing to our highest and lowest achieving students making little annual progress in their learning.

Addressing The Learning Needs Of All Students, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Year-level curriculum expectations in our schools sometimes impose artificial ceilings on student learning, and many of Australia’s most able students are not achieving their true potential as a result. Geoff Masters explains why.

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.

Wikis For Group Work: Encouraging Transparency, Benchmarking And Feedback, Amir Abdekhodaee, Dini Kourosh, Farnaz Modarres, Anne-Marie Chase, Bella Ross

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Australian Teachers And The Learning Environment: An Analysis Of Teacher Response To Talis 2013: Final Report, Chris Freeman, Kate O'Malley, Frances Eveleigh

Chris Freeman

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international survey programme to focus on the learning environment and the working conditions of teachers in schools. The overarching aim of TALIS is to provide robust, policy relevant indicators and analysis on teachers and the learning environment for an international audience. It aims to provide an opportunity to examine best practice in education systems around the world, to allow countries to identify other education systems facing similar challenges to their own and to learn from other policy approaches. TALIS provides internationally comparable information in the areas of teacher demographic …

A Whole New Engineer, David Goldberg, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

A Revolution Is Coming. It Isn’t What You Think. This book tells the improbable stories of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and the iFoundry incubator at the University of Illinois. That either one survived is story enough, but what they found out together changes the course of education transformation forever: How trust is key to unleashing young, courageous engineers. How engineers need to move from a narrow technical education to one that actively engages six minds. How emotion and culture–not content, curriculum & pedagogy–are the crucial elements of change. How all stakeholders can collaborate to disrupt the status quo.status …

Indigenous Sharing, Collaboration And Synchronous Learning, Michelle Eady, Irina Verenikina, Sarah Jones

I. Verenikina

Online learning is progressively accepted in Indigenous communities with the realized potential for sharing, collaboration and learning for adults living in remote and isolated communities. This study used a design-based research approach that provided opportunity to integrate the current literature, literacy practitioners' views and community members' self identified literacy needs to generate ten draft guiding principles which guided this study. A collaborative community engagement project was created by the community members in consideration of these principles and presented in three iterations in a synchronous environment which will lead to design-based principles for working with technology and Indigenous communities. This paper …

Understanding Student Motivation: A Key To Effective Curriculum Design, Jonathan Stolk

Jonathan Stolk

This chapter explores student motivation as a potential key to the success of today's college curricula. It argues that curriculum designers and instructors could benefit from developing a more nuanced view of motivation - one that extends beyond the labeling of individuals as "motivated" or "unmotivated." Designing curricula that help students develop self-motivation for learning is an achievable goal, but one that involves several steps. First, instructors need to change their thinking about motivation and develop the knowledge to more accurately characterize student motivational responses. Second, instructors need to develop the ability to explain how classroom variables link to specific …

Technologies, Democracy And Digital Citizenship: Examining Australian Policy Intersections And The Implications For School Leadership, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

There are intersections that can occur between the respective peak Australian school education policy agendas. These policies include the use of technologies in classrooms to improve teaching and learning as promoted through the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Australian Curriculum; and the implementation of professional standards as outlined in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. These policies create expectations of school leaders to bring about change in classrooms and across their schools, often described as bringing about ‘quality teaching’ and ‘school improvement’. These policies indicate that Australian children …

On The Benefits Of Seeking (And Avoiding) Help In Online Problem-Solving Environments, Ryan Baker, Ido Roll, Vincent Aleven, Kenneth Koedinger

Ryan S.J.d. Baker

Seeking the!right!level!of!help!at!the!right!time!can!support!learning.! However,!in!the!context!of!online!problem=solving!environments,!it!is!still!not! entirely!clear!which!help=seeking!strategies!are!desired.!We!use!fine=grained data! from!38!high=school!students!who!worked!with!the!Geometry!Cognitive!Tutor!for! two!months to!better!understand!the!associations!between!specific!help=seeking! patterns!and!learning.!We evaluate how!students’!help=seeking!behaviours!on!each! step!in!a!tutored!problem!are associated!with their!success!on!subsequent!steps that! require!the!same!skills.!Analysing!learning!at!the!skill level!allows!us to!compare! different!help=seeking!patterns!within!a!single!student,!controlling!for!between= student!variations.!Overall,!asking!for!help!on!challenging!steps is!associated!with! productive!learning, and!overusing!help!is!associated!with!poorer!learning. However,!contrary!to!many help=seeking!theories,!avoiding!help (and!failing repeatedly)!is!associated!with!better learning!than!seeking!help on!steps!for!which! students!have!low!prior!knowledge.!These!results!suggest!that!novice!learners!may! benefit!from!engaging!in!solution!attempts before!they!can!make!sense!of!given! assistance. Methodological!benefits!for!using!local!measures!of!learning!are! discussed!and!comparisons!are!drawn!to!other!forms!of!Productive!Failure!in! problem=solving.!

Helping Kids With Disability, Katherine Dix

Dr Katherine Dix

Digital Fluency : Skills Necessary For Learning In The Digital Age, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

This article examines the skills that will be required for the 21st century that will need to be embedded in educational curricula in order achieve them. It begins by considering how communicating between people has changed and current educational responses. A view of 21st century skills follows with an argument for some core subjects that will be necessary. Learning and teaching are then discussed leading to a view about what is needed in order to develop digital fluency in education, for now and the future.

Online Mentoring And Peer Support: Using Learning Technologies To Facilitate Entry Into A Community Of Practice, Lori Lockyer, John Patterson, Gregg Rowland, Douglas Hearne

Professor Lori Lockyer

A vital aspect of any professional education is the opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical experiences. In pre‐service teacher education in Australia, this vital teaching practice component has undergone challenges in recent years due to increasing student numbers (linked to the increasing demand for new teachers) and limited resources in university and school sectors. As such, initiatives to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper details the methodology and outcomes associated with a pilot project that utilized asynchronous Web‐based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the teaching practice experience. …

The Practicum - A Starting Point For The Development Of An On-Line Learning Community Of Physical And Health Education Professionals, Gregg Rowland, Lori Lockyer, Leah Carter, John Patterson, Doug Hearne

Professor Lori Lockyer

While ad hoc, course-specific projects have allowed early adopters to explore possible innovations in the use of information and communication technologies in facilitating flexible learning situations, educational institutions are now exploring more integrated strategies to such developments. This paper describes the development of one such strategy that attempts to foster a community- wide approach for a group of professionals coming to terms with the most effective way to utilise technologies - physical and health educators. The Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong is developing an on- line learning community to facilitate the pre- service education and continuing professional …

Delivering Health Education Via The Web - Design And Formative Evaluation Of A Discourse-Based Learning Environment., Lori Lockyer, John Patterson, Barry Harper

Professor Lori Lockyer

Constructivist learning theory suggests that important components of the learning process are learner interaction and discourse. The nature of health education is such that emphasis is placed on discussion of health attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviours as a key instructional strategy. It follows then, that health education learning environments designed using constructivist learning principles and employing instructional strategies that allow for learner discourse and interaction should contribute to knowledge construction and attitude change. The rapid development of the World Wide Web and its increasing use for educational purposes provides a unique medium for such a learning environment. This increasing utilisation …

Forward Thinking : Three Forward, Two Back : What Are The Next Steps?, Gerald White

Dr Gerald K. White

The use of digital technologies and digital media in teaching, learning and leadership in education has gradually gained momentum since the 1980s, when personal computers first became popular. The resultant media hype and educational posturing by technology evangelists were given a boost with the take up of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. And significant investment followed nationally and internationally. So what have we learnt in that time about using technology for teaching, learning and educational leadership? What will be the challenges for successfully using digital technologies in education in the next five years?

This address briefly traverses …

Aligning Practice And Philosophy: Opening Up Options For School Leaders, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

The educational use of digital technologies such as mobile devices, computers, and the Internet are progressively replacing pens, books, and the physical spaces known as libraries. Both online synchronous and asynchronous learning modes are emerging as part of the learning styles used with children physically attending schools. Consequently schools and school districts deploy various sorts of software applications to meet the range of teaching, learning, and management functions they perform. As leaders of schools, principals have heightened responsibilities concerning the philosophical directions of schools, as well as aligning the uses of technologies across all facets of their organizations. Set against …

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

Ali Radloff

No abstract provided.

How Design Can Get Kids On The Path To Tech Careers: A Conversation With Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, The Founder Of A New Type Of Science And Math Academy, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

An interview with Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall about educational design and the design of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. "IMSA sought not only to develop decidedly different scientific minds, but also to develop a decidedly different residential learning community -- one that was nurturing and innovative, and one that instilled a sense of stewardship, and an obligation to give back. As a dynamic teaching and learning laboratory, IMSA continues to evolve, yet the roots of our founding ideas and goals remain."

Beyond Competition--Innovation For A Sustainable Future, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

Dr. Marshall outlines her belief that the current context and conditions of schooling are far too constrained, prescribed and risk-averse for our children’s imagination, and as a result, actually mitigate against innovative thinking and creative and collaborative problem-solving. Authentic learning is a live encounter. She feels that we cannot mandate, punish or test our children into greatness and provides recommendations for educational transformation--not reform--to design the educational experiences needed by today's children.

A Decidedly Different Mind, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall explains the need for educational transformation grounded in the design of a generative and more natural system of learning and schooling.

Educating The Whole Child: The Real Story Of Wholeness And Belonging, Stephanie Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

In her 2008 keynote address to the Massachusetts ASCD, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall outlines why we--as leaders, storytellers and mapmakers--must ensure that the story, map, and landscape of schooling does not constrain our children’s potentials, silence their spirit, demean their passion, ridicule their dreams, or deny them access to wisely learn whatever it is that they want to know.

Challenging Mobile Learning Discourse Through Research: Student Perceptions Of Blackboard Mobile Learn And Ipads, Shelley Kinash, Jeffrey Brand, Trishita Mathew

Trishita Mathew

Many university academics disagree with the rationale that we should pursue mobile learning because 21st century students are apparently demanding it. We argue that the only defensible rationale for making mobile learning part of pedagogy is because it enhances student learning. This presentation shares results from research with 135 students engaged in mobile learning over two semesters. It addresses the question of whether Blackboard Mobile Learn made a perceived difference to their learning. Results revealed that in-class, students used their mobile devices for Blackboard Mobile Learn to the same extent as they used them for searching the web for study, …