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.

A Program For Persistent Integration Of Faith And Learning In A Christian University Online Environment, John Norris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia has expanded since 1971 to become the largest Christian university in the world. Liberty will be used in this paper as a contemporary example of a Christian university that has maintained its Christian commitment. Liberty will be contrasted with numerous Christian colleges and universities that had similar missions but have eventually lost their religious affiliations and their Christian-oriented focus. This paper will explore how and why other universities have drifted from their original religious affiliations and doctrines. The reasons and processes will be examined and used to develop a program for online Christian education that …

Aligning Reading Assessment With National Goals, Danielle Anzai, Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker

No abstract provided.

Extensibility - Validation Of Workplace Learning In Higher Education - Examples And Considerations, Deirdre Goggin, Stephen Cassidy, Irene Sheridan, Phil O'Leary

Conference Papers

The importance of effective curriculum design and development in structuring and supporting learners in their knowledge attainment has been outlined in the writings of Tyler (1949) [1] which supports the approach adopted in European Higher Education stemming from the 1999 Bologna Declaration (European Commission, 2009). These structures are assisted in part by national and European qualification frameworks and the Dublin descriptors which are explicit of the variances in knowledge, skill and competence as one progresses in higher education and training. In addition, the inclusion of learning outcomes and programme objectives in the development of comprehensive curricula has been linked to …

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 …

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

Dr Sarah Richardson

No abstract provided.

The Space Between The Notes: The Effects Of Background Music On Student Focus, Duna L. Strachan

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Student behaviors were tallied in three similar Montessori early childhood classes while children practiced social, motor and academic skills with and without background music. Teacher impressions of work period productivity were tallied along with information from teacher notes and student self-assessments. Music came from Pandora stations such as “Relaxation Radio” or “Yoga Radio.” Music was selected for slow tempo (approximately 60 beats per minute or the rate of the adult heart) and relaxing instrumental quality, played at a soft volume and during times when students were not expected to pay attention to other auditory input such as stories, songs, lessons …

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

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Innovating Today’S Learning And Teaching To Engage Tomorrow’S Learners And Teachers, Daniela Signor, Kulari Lokuge, Anne-Marie Chase

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.

An Exploration Of Rpl In Higher Education In Ireland With Particular Focus On Quality Assurance, Deirdre Goggin, Irene Sheridan, Phil O'Leary

Conference Papers

This paper focuses on examining the practice of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) a provision which allows a learner present previously acquired relevant learning for assessment for credit. In general all forms of learning are formally recognised within an RPL system which includes informal, non formal and formal learning. The key misconception within higher education can be that RPL requires a different quality assurance system than that of conventional assessment methods.

This paper explores current assessment policies and practices in Ireland with a particular focus on the structural realities required to deliver good practice with RPL provision for summative purposes. …

Understanding And Addressing The Learning Needs Of Our Highest-Performing Students, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

No abstract provided.

Isalt: A Campus-Wide Support System To Evaluate Technology-Based Instructional Innovations, Qijie (Vicky) Cai, Jude Higdon

iSALT Outcomes: Publications, Presentations, and Other Scholarly Works

The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a campus-wide support system called iSALT that we've created to promote evaluation research around technology and teaching innovations at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The system was successfully piloted in spring 2014 with eight participants who completed evaluations for their instructional innovations and disseminated their findings through at least five journal publications and/or conference presentations. We will discuss the steps we've gone through to develop iSALT and the strategies we've used to engage faculty participants. Additionally, we will present the evaluation projects completed by the iSALT participants and discuss their findings.

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.

Aprendizaje Y Evaluación Auténtica De La Argumentación Oral A Través Del Debate Escolar, Jorge Ricardo Cortés Roncancio, Alexandra Franco Vargas, Carolina Franco Vargas

Maestría en Docencia

Nuestro proceso investigativo hizo parte del macroproyecto Aprendizaje y Evaluación Auténtica de la Maestría en Docencia de la Universidad de la Salle, orientado por la tutora Luz Helena Pastrana Armírola. Para su desarrollo se empleó el método de Investigación Acción que por su carácter cualitativo, permitió una permanente interacción dialógica y reflexiva de los investigadores frente a la teoría y la realidad. El proyecto surge de la necesidad de mejorar el proceso de aprendizaje de la argumentación oral en estudiantes de quinto grado y cómo éste contribuye a potenciar la comunicación. En nuestras prácticas como docentes podemos evidenciar diferentes dificultades …

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

Dr Anne-Marie Chase