Education Commons^™

Finding The Right Fit: University Course Selection And Completion, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

As higher education enrolments continue to climb, the proportion of students failing to graduate remains high among some cohorts, according to analysis by Daniel Edwards.

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.

Rethinking Combined History Departments: An Argument For History And Anthropology, Ageeth Sluis, Elise Edwards

Ageeth Sluis

Many opportunities for more integrated teaching that better capture the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary scholars' work and better achieve the aims of liberal arts education still remain untapped, particularly at smaller schools where combined departments are often necessary. The disciplinary boundaries between history and sociocultural anthropology have become increasingly blurred in recent decades, a trend reflected in scholarly work that engages with both fields, as well as dual-degree graduate programmes at top U.S. research universities. For many scholars, this interdisciplinarity makes sense, with the two disciplines offering critical theoretical tools and methods that must be used in combination to tackle …

Rethinking Combined History Departments: An Argument For History And Anthropology, Ageeth Sluis, Elise Edwards

Elise M. Edwards

Many opportunities for more integrated teaching that better capture the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary scholars' work and better achieve the aims of liberal arts education still remain untapped, particularly at smaller schools where combined departments are often necessary. The disciplinary boundaries between history and sociocultural anthropology have become increasingly blurred in recent decades, a trend reflected in scholarly work that engages with both fields, as well as dual-degree graduate programmes at top U.S. research universities. For many scholars, this interdisciplinarity makes sense, with the two disciplines offering critical theoretical tools and methods that must be used in combination to tackle …

Quality Assurance In Gp Training, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

An annual survey is collecting information about the postgraduate training experiences of General Practice registrars across Australia.

Work Integrated Learning: A Lesson In Good Wil, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Successful and sustainable work integrated learning programs share a number of key elements, as Daniel Edwards explains.

Mat-Rix-Toe: Improving Writing Through A Game-Based Project In Linear Algebra, Adam Graham-Squire, Elin Farnell, Julianna Stockton

Elin R Farnell

The Mat-Rix-Toe project utilizes a matrix-based game to deepen students’ understanding of linear algebra concepts and strengthen students’ ability to express themselves mathematically. The project was administered in three classes using slightly different approaches, each of which included some editing component to encourage the improvement of the students’ mathematical thinking and writing. Differences in the implementation of the project illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of various methods of editing in the mathematics classroom and highlight recommendations for improvements in future implementations of the project.

Improving Assessment Processes And Quality In Medical Specialisations, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

ACER’s work for a number of specialist colleges in medicine is contributing to higher quality education, as Daniel Edwards explains.

Remember The Students: Lessons For Learning Outcomes Assessments, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards

Dr Jacob Pearce

Assessments of student learning outcomes are important for institutional and system-level quality assurance, but should also help students improve their knowledge and skills.

Remember The Students: Lessons For Learning Outcomes Assessments, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

Assessments of student learning outcomes are important for institutional and system-level quality assurance, but should also help students improve their knowledge and skills.

Assessing Vocational Competencies In Civil Engineering: Lessons From Ahelo For Future Practice, Jacob Pearce

Dr Jacob Pearce

There has been much interest in the notion of vocational competencies of late. The pressing question, however, is how to measure vocational competencies. In order to contribute to this ‘how’, the results of the Civil Engineering strand of the recent Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) Feasibility Study are discussed. The focus of the assessment instrument was explicitly on “above content” areas of the domain, and the assessment framework provides an example of a construct which articulates certain domain-specific competence components. This paper draws specific attention the Constructed Response Tasks (CRTs) in the instrument and discusses the results of …

The Distribution Of College Graduate Debt, 1990-2008: A Decomposition Approach, Brad Hershbein, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

Student Loans And The Dynamics Of Debt, Brad Hershbein, Kevin Hollenbeck

Brad J. Hershbein

Student Loans And The Dynamics Of Debt, Brad Hershbein, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

The papers included in this volume represent the most current research and knowledge available about student loans and repayment. It serves as a valuable reference for researchers and policymakers who seek a deeper understanding of how, why, and which students borrow for their postsecondary education; how this borrowing may affect later decisions; and what measures can help borrowers repay their loans successfully.

A Rural Phd Candidate And The Grace Of Community, Jillian Marchant, Pauline Taylor

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy

Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno

Jessica Townsend

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering was created to address several perceived needs for engineering graduates of the future and to be an experimental laboratory for engineering education. As such, Olin College is not only dedicated to innovation within its boundaries but also to catalyzing change throughout the engineering enterprise. The curriculum aims to support life-long learning, teamwork, communication, and contextual understanding, along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative skills.

Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno

Vincent P. Manno

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering was created to address several perceived needs for engineering graduates of the future and to be an experimental laboratory for engineering education. As such, Olin College is not only dedicated to innovation within its boundaries but also to catalyzing change throughout the engineering enterprise. The curriculum aims to support life-long learning, teamwork, communication, and contextual understanding, along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative skills.

Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno

Lynn Andrea Stein

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering was created to address several perceived needs for engineering graduates of the future and to be an experimental laboratory for engineering education. As such, Olin College is not only dedicated to innovation within its boundaries but also to catalyzing change throughout the engineering enterprise. The curriculum aims to support life-long learning, teamwork, communication, and contextual understanding, along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative skills.

Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno

Mark Somerville

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering was created to address several perceived needs for engineering graduates of the future and to be an experimental laboratory for engineering education. As such, Olin College is not only dedicated to innovation within its boundaries but also to catalyzing change throughout the engineering enterprise. The curriculum aims to support life-long learning, teamwork, communication, and contextual understanding, along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative skills.

Supported Student Success: Communities Of Practice In Higher Education, Aimee Dechambeau

Aimee deChambeau

This research tells a story about how students form communities of practice that help them succeed in graduate school. Told within the context of individual and collective experiences, it holds valuable lessons for how student success can be supported across the higher education landscape. Communities of practice can develop spontaneously when individuals involved in a common activity or with a sense of shared identity come together to deal with organizational complexities or establish a forum for continued learning. The practice of becoming an accomplished and successful student who is able to develop scholarly abilities and deepen disciplinary understanding, experience personal …

Growth And ‘Quality’ In Higher Education, Daniel Edwards, Ali Radloff

Ali Radloff

Strong growth in university enrolments may not necessarily be affecting quality, according to analysis by Daniel Edwards and Ali Radloff.

Growth And ‘Quality’ In Higher Education, Daniel Edwards, Ali Radloff

Dr Daniel Edwards

Strong growth in university enrolments may not necessarily be affecting quality, according to analysis by Daniel Edwards and Ali Radloff.

Ensuring Quality In Ahelo Item Development And Scoring Processes, Jacob Pearce

Dr Jacob Pearce

This chapter summarises the work undertaken in the Engineering Strand of the OECD's Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) Feasibility Study. The iterative processes of design, review and revision that were followed to ensure that the assessment instrument and scoring processes were of high quality are outlined in detail. There are several lessons which can be drawn out of these experiences for future practice. The chapter offers an example of the amount of thinking and effort that is required in the development of an assessment instrument and the scoring processes related to it, if high quality data and directions …

A Critical Turn In Higher Education Research: Turning The Critical Lens On The Academic Language And Learning Educator, Alisa Percy

Alisa Percy, PhD

This paper suggests that historical ontology, as one form of reflexive critique, is an instructive research design for making sense of the political and historical constitution of the Academic Language and Learning (ALL) educator in Australian higher education. The ALL educator in this paper refers to those practitioners in the field of ALL, whose ethical agency has largely been taken for granted since their slow and uneven emergence in the latter half of the twentieth century. Using the lens of governmentality, genealogical design and archaeological method, the historical ontology proposed in this paper demonstrates how the ethical remit of the …

Profiling Diversity Of Australian Universities, Marian Mahat, Hamish Coates, Daniel Edwards, Leo Goedegebuure, Eva Van Der Brugge, Frans Van Vught

Dr Daniel Edwards

This chapter contributes to the discourse about diversity of public institutions in the Australian Higher Education system. While there is scepticism around whether or not universities in Australia are significantly different from each other, there has been little effort to objectively examine whether this claim is reasonable. The research in this chapter offers a contribution to taking the discussion of diversity to the next level. The research does not promise neat solutions, but our analysis aims to go beyond existing discourse to explore emerging dynamics - regardless of the traditional 'groupings' of institutions. We do this by creating classification structures …

Using A Media Technology Showcase To Bridge The Gap Between K-12 & Higher Education: Creating A Professional Development Workshop., Sonya Shepherd

Sonya S. Gaither

Why should students spend time navigating to find the library tools needed to search? Why not provide direct links to library resources so more time is spent finding, evaluating, and synthesizing information? These were questions asked by some academic librarians trying to help students locate resources for assignments.As a result, these academic librarians created online tutorials for using persistent links to library resources. Teaching faculty learned how to use the links in web pages and WebCT Vista. These tutorials were also shared at conferences. Attendees encouraged the presenters to develop a hands-on workshop. Attendees also suggested the workshop as a …

Why Facebook Is (And Isn't) A Pre-Service Teacher's Friend, Pauline Taylor

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy

Grey Literature In Australian Education, Gerry White

Dr Gerald K. White

Gerald White discusses the need to better organise the proliferation of non-commercially published reports and documents of particular importance in the area of public policy.

Reaching For The Brass Ring: The U.S. News & World Report Rankings And Competition, Ronald Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The behavior of academic institutions, including the extent to which they collaborate on academic and nonacademic matters, is shaped by many factors. This paper focuses on one of these factors, the U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) annual ranking of the nation’s colleges and universities as undergraduate institutions, exploring how this ranking exacerbates the competitiveness among American higher education institutions. After presenting some evidence on the importance of the USNWR rankings to both public and private institutions at all levels along the selectivity spectrum, I describe how the rankings actually are calculated, then discuss how academic institutions alter their …

Generation X: Redefining The Norms Of The Academy, Ronald Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The members of Generation X are the young faculty members of today and the immediate future. The panelists at this session of the conference were asked to discuss the effects of this generation on academic norms and institutional governance and the types of new models that may be emerging for academia as a result of them. More specifically, they were asked if the attitudes and loyalties of these young faculty members really do differ from that of the Baby Boom Generation, how their attitudes and behavior affect graduate programs, what academic institutions will need to do to attract the …