Education Commons^™

Investigating The Factors That Influence The Use Of Digital Learning Resources In The K-12 Educational Context, Susan J. Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Ian M. Brown

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Australian and New Zealand governments have made a significant investment in the establishment of an on-line repository that will make digital learning resources, also called learning objects, available to teachers in the K-12 sector. The focus of this, and similar learning object initiatives around the world, has been on content development and delivery. Much of the current learning object research has been concerned with resolving the technical issues to support these processes, with little attention paid to pedagogical and practical issues that might influence learning object use. This paper argues for research to address this gap and reports on a …

Employment Aspirations Of Newly Qualified Teachers: A Comparative Study Of Nqts From A Uk And Regional Australian University, Ted Booth, Timson Carol

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Contemporary beginning teachers have a diverse mix of ages and prior experiences and many are seeking teaching work beyond their own state or county in a rapidly changing national and international market. The aim of this descriptive comparative study is to investigate the initial and medium term employment aspirations of two cohorts of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) just prior to their entry into the teaching workforce in 2003. The two case studies are from post graduate diploma in teaching programs from a regional Australian university and a university in the Home Counties in the UK. The paper initially explores the …

Learning With The Arts: Palettes, Performance & Employability Skills, Claire Manning

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This research explores the ways in which the arts and learning with the arts can motivate adults to learn and build the skills needed to succeed at work. Through several case studies it unveils the learning experiences of adults who participated in courses, which utilised the skills, techniques and environments offered by the performing and visual arts. This paper presents an analysis of the participants' perceptions of learning with the arts by applying the Employability Skills Framework developed by the Department of Education, Science and Training in 2002 which identifies the skills valued in the workplace. With the emergence of …

Online Classroom Simulation: Using A Virtual Environment To Prepare For Classroom Reality, Brian Ferry, Lisa K. Kervin, Sarah Puglisi, Janice Turbill, Brian Cambourne, David Jonassen, John Hedberg

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Research over past decades consistently shows that traditional pre-service teacher preparation programs are not adequately preparing beginning teachers for the reality of classrooms. The purpose of this paper is threefold. We describe the development of an online classroom simulation, the specific design features in our initial prototype version of the software and our research into our first trial of this with pre-service teachers. The classroom simulation allows the user to take on the role of the teacher of a virtual Kindergarten classroom, working with students aged 5 to 6 years of age. During the simulation the user is required to …

I Need Another Animated Gif! : Instructional Design Trends Of Ict Teaching Resources Created By Pre-Service Science Teachers, Doug Reid, Vaille M. Dawson, Patricia A. Forster

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this paper, we present an examination of ICT resources created by pre-service science teachers. After a great deal of modelling, use and discussion regarding ICT materials, twenty-seven pre-service science teachers created ICT resources for use in lower secondary science classrooms. These resources were submitted in a number of formats and were designed with a variety of beliefs about instruction and interaction. Trends in the designs of the resources are reported in this paper and we point out possibilities for future study.

Online Support For Collaborative Authentic Activities, Susan J. Bennett

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Don't Just Listen- Do Something! Lessons Learned About Governance From The Growing Up In Cities Project, Louise Chawla, Natasha Blanchet-Cohen, Nilda Corsco, David Driskell, Jill Kruger, Karen A. Malone, Robin Moore, Barry Percy-Smith

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Eight practitioners in the Growing Up in Cities project of UNESCO reflect on what they have learned in terms of how to move government officials and leaders of civil society to view children and youth as partners in creating livable cities. They describe their experience in participatory action research with children and youth, how they achieved successful outcomes, what they learned from mistakes, and strategies that they would apply if they were beginning a new initiative to ensure that city officials, community leaders and donors integrate young people into decision-making. The conclusion summarizes the group’s shared wisdom regarding how to …

We Know Best : A Critique Of Youth Research Directions, Judith Laverty

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper looks at the problematising of young people in relation to existing literature on health and the portrayal of young people experiencing homelessness. It reviews this literature with the view to understanding interconnections between research agendas and the positioning of young people as a problem group within society, based on adult and institutional definitions.

Inviting Dissent: Classroom Practices For Nurturing Communities Of Readers In The Early School Years, Pauline J. Harris, Barbra Mckenzie

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In the context of the early school years, this paper examines established classroom practices that focus on engaging young readers with texts. The lens used for this exploration is provided by transtextuality theory that accounts for ways in which texts build networks of meaning for readers to negotiate. Transtextuality theory originated in and serves literary criticism. However, this paper demonstrates how this theory provides teachers and researchers with tools for interrogating classroom practices that seek to develop young readers as meaning makers. Examples of teaching strategies and learning experiences are shared. These examples sometimes see dissent over interpretation arise among …

Productive Pedagogies, Literacy And The Development Of Numeracy, Mohan Chinnappan

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Debates about children’s understanding of mathematics has focused on how children make use of school mathematics in their every day lives. The notion of numeracy has been gaining increasing currency is recent curriculum reforms that support the need for mathematics and mathematics teaching to pay attention to involving children in the learning of mathematics in ways that will make sense to each child. Children’s everyday life abounds with mathematics objects and concepts. An awareness .of the mathematics in the environment is a function of students’ ability to interpret the relevance of both the formal and informal mathematics they have been …

Prospective Teacher's Representation Of Multiplication, Mohan Chinnappan

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The use of ICT-based resources in order to provide effective learning environments in which children could explore concepts such as multiplication has received considerable attention. This approach is based on the assumption that teachers who are already teaching and those who are being trained to become teachers, draw on a well-developed knowledge of the multiplicative process, and could exploit the ICT appropriately. The aim of the study reported here was to examine the quality of content and pedagogical content knowledge of multiplication developed by a group of prospective elementary mathematics teachers in the context of an ICT-based software. Analysis of …

Operationalizing Nine Design Elements Of Authentic Learning Environments In A Classroom-Based On-Line Simulation, Brian Ferry, Lisa K. Kervin, John Hedberg, Janice B. Turbill, Brian L. Cambourne, David H. Jonassen

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Herrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) assert that many researchers and teachers now accept that well designed multimedia environments provide an alternative to real-life settings without sacrificing the authentic context. Further, researchers report that recent educational software advances have demonstrated that it is feasible to create a motivational simulation that supports pre-service teachers by providing them with tools that allow them to view the effects of their decisions within a virtual classroom context (Aldrich, 2004) However, limited research has been reported on the use of authentic simulations in pre-service teacher education.

This paper describes the on-line simulation that we developed to …

The Challenges And Dilemmas Of The Global Business Of Teaching English In South East Asia, Peter M. Kell

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper is a discussion of the nature and character of the markets in English Language and the way in which English language and teaching is characterised by a series of markets in which there is strong and vibrant competition between a diversity of providers attempting to secure a share of growing international market in programs, products, methodologies, teacher training, teacher recruitment and placement. This paper explores aspects of the nature of this competition with particular reference to South East Asia and highlights the dilemmas and challenges that emerge from the development of a multileveled and trans-national market in English …

Supporting The Development Of Pedagogically Sound Learning Environments Using Learning Designs And Learning Objects, Shirley Agostinho, Susan J. Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Barry M. Harper, Jason Lukasiak

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In a climate where Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming mainstream within the higher education sector, academics are faced with the ongoing challenge of incorporating World Wide Web and Internet technology within their teaching practices. Coupled with a “quality” agenda, academics will be required to examine their instructional strategies and to offer high quality learning opportunities. Reuse, in the form of sharing learning resources and modelling expert practice are seen as strategies to help academics in this change process. Whilst online repositories of learning resources (learning objects) are flourishing, what is lacking are tools to support academics to design …

Understanding And Teaching Students With Asperger's Syndrome As Individuals, Deslea M. Konza

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Students diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome are being reported with increasing frequency in classrooms throughout the Western world (Barnhill, 2001; Safran, 2001), yet many teachers have limited understanding of the condition, or of appropriate strategies for the successful inclusion of students with this diagnosis. There are now increasing calls for teachers to become aware of the nature of this Syndrome, and of strategies to facilitate the learning of students with this diagnosis in regular classrooms (Myles, 1998; Attwood, 1998). While it is imperative that teachers acquire broad information about the condition, this does not preclude the need to be closely attuned …

You Expect Me To Remember What? : Knowledge Retention In Computer-Based Training With Adult Learners, Doug Reid, D Michele Jacobsen, Larry Katz

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of training and the effectiveness of different types of knowledge retention activities delivered by computer-based training (CBT) programs. This study focused on a computer-based learning system called the Profound Learning Delivery System (2005) (PLS). PLS is an application designed to improve knowledge retention in adult learners undertaking CBT. This study used a pretest-posttest experimental design to compare adult learners’ knowledge of Microsoft Outlook (Outlook, 1997) before and after a CBT session. Participants were trained using two different computer-based instructional programs: a commercially available software program matched for comparison purposes, and …

Interactive Television: Educational Use In The New Millenium, Jann Roberts, Janice A. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Interactive television (ITV) has a great deal of potential for facilitating interactive, collaborative, constructivist, situated, and authentic learning. Many teachers, however, are not familiar with the features of ITV, or how it could impact on teaching and learning in Australia. Inherent in its adoption, there are a number of issues which need to be addressed, including the lack of research into current generation ITV, the lack of availability of pedagogically sound, research-driven guidelines for ITV use, and the existing attitudes towards ITV. This paper describes some of the theoretical and practical issues surrounding the use of ITV in the classrooms …

Reusable Learning Designs In University Education, Susan J. Bennett, Shirley Agostinho, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper discusses the application of reusable learning designs as a support mechanism to guide teachers in designing learning experiences for students. Learning designs, which describe a sequence of learning activities, together with the necessary resources and supports, can serve as a framework which a teacher can then adapt to suit the needs of his or her students. The paper draws on an ongoing study of university teachers using learning designs to design their subjects to highlight reusability issues and outline what further research is necessary.

The Use Of Embedded Tools And Support Materials Within A Classroom Simulation To Support Quality Teaching, Janice B. Turbill, Lisa K. Kervin, Brian Ferry, Brian L. Cambourne, John Hedberg, David Jonassen, Sarah Puglisi

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper focuses on the use of embedded tools and support materials within a web-based simulated classroom environment. The developed simulation prototype allows the user to adopt the role of a Kindergarten teacher where they have to “teach” a typical literacy episode that we have called “days of the week”. During this episode the user is asked to make decisions about the organisation of the classroom, management of the classroom, and the teaching and learning experiences to be offered.

A key component of this on-line simulation is the incorporation of an embedded tool, referred to as a thinking space, at …

From Surviving To Thriving: The Use Of Information And Communication Technology In An Induction Program For Early Career Teachers In Personal Development, Health And Physical Education, Douglas Hearne, Gregg S. Rowland, Amy L. Webb

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper is a discussion of a project with both face-to-face and online components designed to support early career teachers from the key learning area of Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) across three teacher employing authorities in New South Wales, Australia. The project was initiated in 2004 by the Australian Council for Health Physical Education and Recreation, NSW (ACHPER) in conjunction with the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme. Supporting all aspects of the project is the BEST:PDHPE (Beginning and Establishing Successful Teachers) website that has been developed to provide resources and communication tools. Research associated with the project …

Exploring Our Connections And Relationships With Place And/Or Nature, Tonia L. Gray

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Over the past 10-15 years, I have witnessed the delivery and Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning in Australia and New Zealand to take a different tangent. Typically, facilitators of Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning have operated ‘in a bubble’ unaware or immune to the impact of nature upon human psyche and being. They have primarily been dislocated from nature, taking photographs of our outdoor experiences, but oblivious to the soulful text of the land. As Winton (2003, p.266) poignantly states ‘aborigines sometimes question the “European” urge to climb high and look out across land from a bluff or peak. I …

Burnout In Adventure Therapy: Bush-Fire As A Catalyst For Change And Soul Work: An Australian Perspective, Tonia Gray, Carole Birrell

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

As a background to the exploration of burnout as a psychological notion, it seemed appropriate to place it in a broader context. Both authors have at various stages, experienced symptoms of burnout, hence they were naturally drawn together by the need to understand this phenomenon more deeply. The bushfire metaphor seemed to link this naturally occurring event to the psychology of burnout. Rather than examining burnout from merely a pathological perspective, it was decided to look at it as a natural phenomenon that could perhaps unearth soulful qualities. In the tradition of Moore (1992; xiii), “soul lies midway between understanding …

The Present Socio-Economic-Political Culture & The Myth Of English As An Access To Social Equality In Post-Colonial Sri Lanka, Sudharma Wickramasuriya

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This study investigates the myth of the English language as a means of access to equality in the post-colonial era in the present socio-economic-political climate in Sri Lanka. This is a literature-oriented research study based on the current state of the English language and the role of English language education, in facilitating the process of poverty reduction and the promotion of equality in Sri Lanka. The researcher attempts to clarify the opinions, biases, presuppositions and interpretations of the existing socio-economic and political culture in relation to English as a language of opportunities and equality. The analysis of the data reveals …

Technology-Supported Collaboration On Field-Based Authentic Tasks, Gwyn Brickell, J. Herrington, Barry Harper

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The traditional ‘work-sheet’ approach has long been a favoured method for the conduct of field trips and excursions for school students. Such an approach fails to capitalise on constructivist theory and more specifically, collaborative learning, which holds rich potential to engage students and enhance learning on excursions. This paper describes a new approach to school excursions where learners are challenged in multiple learning contexts in a School Excursion Education Program at Sydney Olympic Park. The Park has a wealth of opportunities for the examination of a range of issues other than Olympic sport, such as natural environments, endangered species, pollution …

The Quality Teaching Model: Does It Apply To Special Education Contexts In Nsw Public Schools, Roselyn M. Dixon, Leanna Formosa

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In May 2003, the NSW Department of Education and Training introduced the Quality Teaching framework to NSW public schools for discussion and possible implementation. Principals and teachers were encouraged to use the framework for the twofold purpose of improving both teaching practice and student learning. While versions of the framework have been successfully used in USA and Australia, there is a paucity of research which reports on its merit, worth, or value for teachers of children with moderate intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study is to explore the degree of congruence and/or “fit” between the Quality Teaching framework and …

Managing Behaviours Of Young Children, Roselyn M. Dixon

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Young children with disabilities may present challenging behaviours at home and in pre-school settings for any number of reasons.

'Trends And Imperatives In Educational Leadership', In Nsw Det, Stephen Dinham, Narottam L. Bhindi

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The job of the principal and other school leaders has become more demanding, stressful and complex. Whitaker (2003) argues that the contextual changes and shifting roles of principals have contributed to problems of selection, recruitment, and retention of quality candidates.