Education Commons^™

Factors Impacting Program Delivery: The Importance Of Implementation Research In Extension, Ryan J. Gagnon, Nancy K. Franz, Barry A. Garst, Matthew F. Bumpus

Barry A Garst

Cooperative Extension is in a unique position, given its relationship with research-based, Land-Grant Universities, to advance the scholarship of implementation research. A stronger shift towards evidence-based practice has been occurring, oriented towards the assessment of programs for outcomes. This paper explores core concepts related to program implementation and delves into factors that influence successful implementation of Extension programs and services. The importance of implementation within the Extension Program Development Model is explored, along with emerging issues and trends.

Reading Is Cool: Meeting The Needs Of Modern Students Through Book Clubs In The Secondary English Classroom, Hannah Moore

Hannah Moore

Investigating The Influence Of The Level Of Inquiry On Student Engagement, Emily K. Faulconer

Emily Faulconer

Previous studies investigating student-generated questions in a laboratory class compared inquiry to a traditional approach without characterizing the inquiry level. This study investigated the influence of inquiry level on the quantity and quality of student-generated questions over one semester in a General Chemistry course with 356 participants. The researchers studied two types of inquiry in labs: structured inquiry and open inquiry. Quantity and quality of student-generated questions were analyzed and student attitudes were measured using a LIKERT survey while content knowledge was assessed via post-test. A close relationship was not found between the level of inquiry and the quantity or …

Towards Engaging Students In Curriculum Transformation: What Are The Effective Characteristics Of Rubrics?, Anthony Williams, Maria T. Northcote, Jason K. Morton, Jack Seddon

Maria Northcote

Rubrics are tools commonly used by educators to accurately and consistently mark student assessments and communicate achieved learning outcomes. The teachers, having a clear understanding of the assessment's intended learning outcomes, have traditionally constructed rubrics; however, an enhanced shared understanding of an assessment’s outcomes has the potential to be achieved if rubrics are developed as a collaboration between staff and students. Such practices provide potential for assessment, and its subsequent feedback, to be more highly valued by students not simply as an end-point, but rather as an opportunity for them to be active in their own learning, this becoming a …

Beyond Powerpoint: Innovative Ways To Engage Counselors-In-Training, Nick R. Abel, Rick Auger

Nick R. Abel

No abstract provided.

Let’S Make It Real! Approaching Engaged Learning From Authentic Contexts Across Disciplines, Emerging Case Studies From Southern Cross University, Kristin A. Den Exter, Jonathan Purdy, Adele Wessell, Elizabeth Reimer, Pascal Scherrer, Michael B. Whelan

Dr Kristin den Exter

In Action: Snapshot Of Engagement Activity, Southern Cross University’S Live Ideas: In Re-Imagining The Engaged University., Kristin A. Den Exter

Dr Kristin den Exter

Towards Engaging Students In Curriculum Transformation: What Are The Effective Characteristics Of Rubrics?, Anthony Williams, Maria T. Northcote, Jason K. Morton, Jack Seddon

Maria Northcote

This grant seeks to unpack the current use of rubrics in tertiary assessment, research the design of rubrics in collaboration with students, and disseminate ideas and recommendations. Our aims are to develop:

• a model of collaborative rubric practice (including design, use and moderation of rubrics)
• cross disciplinary case studies of collaborative rubric practice
• practical, research-informed recommendations for how to engage students in the collaborative process of designing, using and moderating assessment rubrics.

This published paper below is not connected to the grant but illustrates an ongoing interest in rubric construction and application. Bev Christian and Peter Kilgour have constructed professional …

Engaging Postgraduate Students And Supporting Higher Education To Enhance The 21st Century Student Experience., Linda Crane, Shelley Kinash, Madelaine Judd, Gary Hamlin, Ashley Stark, Ken Udas, Helen Partridge, Bill Eckersley, Sarah Richardson, Harry Rolf

Linda Crane

Aims:

• Undertake a comprehensive analysis of the broad experiences of Australian postgraduate coursework students.
• Establish evidence-based recommendations that can be used to impact and enhance Australia’s postgraduate students’ broad experiences

What Matters Most When Students And Teachers Use Interactive Whiteboards In Mathematics Classrooms?, Kimberley Mcquillan, Maria T. Northcote, Peter Beamish

Maria Northcote

As teachers, we are encouraged to immerse our students in rich and engaging learning environments (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003). One teaching tool that can facilitate the creation of rich learning environments is the interactive whiteboard (IWB) (Baker, 2009). IWBs are quickly being introduced into schools across the nation and worldwide, and educators are exploring the implications of having them in the classroom. Of particular interest are student attitudes to the use of IWBs: what students think and feel about IWBs, and what factors matter most to students when IWBs are used in their classroom. Attitudes play an …

"I 'Feel' Like I Am At University Even Though I Am Online." Exploring How Students Narrate Their Engagement With Higher Education Institutions In An Online Learning Environment, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Cathy Stone, Janine Delahunty

Professor Sarah O' Shea

This article outlines a collaborative study between higher education institutions in Australia, which qualitatively explored the online learning experience for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The project adopted a narrative inquiry approach and encouraged students to story their experiences of this virtual environment, providing a snapshot of how learning is experienced by those undertaking online studies. The study explores what impacted upon students' engagement in this environment and how different facets of their learning experience made a qualitative difference to how individuals enacted engagement. Drawing upon Sharon Pittaway's engagement framework, the article seeks to foreground student voice as the learners define …

Aboriginal Early Childhood Education: Why Attendance And True Engagement Are Equally Important, Jacynta Krakouer

Jacynta Krakouer

The Australian government has increasingly recognised the importance of quality early childhood education (ECE) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as noted in a variety of policy documents such as the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Closing the Gap targets of the Rudd government in 2008, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014, and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy 2015 (Tye, 2014; Dreise & Thomson, 2014; Education Council, 2015). However, the focus in Aboriginal ECE is still on improving access to, and attendance at ECE centres in Australia rather than highlighting the reasons …

Gender And Sex Differences In Student Participation, Achievement And Engagement In Mathematics, Sarah Buckley

Dr Sarah Buckley

Research in neuroscience, psychology and education explores gender differences in achievement and learning in many different ways with different implications for educators and policymakers. This paper presents some of the literature from these three research fields. Rather than being an exhaustive review, This paper provides a brief synthesis of relevant issues when considering gender in education. The paper has three main sections. The first section presents data on gender differences in mathematics participation, achievement and engagement in Australia. Note that for the purposes of this paper, the term ‘engagement’ will be used to describe students’ motivated involvement with mathematics, particularly …

Hot For Teacher: Using Digital Music To Enhance Students' Experience In Online Courses, Joanna C. Dunlap, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Joanna Dunlap

This article provides a review of the instructional potential of digital music to enhance postsecondary students' experience in online courses by involving them in music-driven instructional activities. The authors describe how music-driven instructional activities, when used appropriately, can (a) humanize, personalize, and energize online courses by enhancing social presence through student-to-student interaction; (b) tap into students' interests, and elicit positive feelings and associations; and (c) involve students in relevant and meaningful student-to-content interaction by engaging them in active knowledge construction. This article includes descriptions of several music-driven instructional activities that rely on digital music resources to engage students in generative, …

Case Studies To Enhance Graduate Employability: Competitive Sports, Athletes And Employability., Shelley Kinash, Linda Crane, Madelaine Judd, Cecily Knight, Matthew Mclean, Kirsty Mitchell, David Dowling

Linda Crane

This is one in a series of case studies to enhance graduate employability. The theme of this case study is: • Competitive sport, athletes and employability The aim of this case study is to present evidence that student participation in cocurricular activity, such as competitive sports, has the power to lift graduate employability. This case study addresses competitive sports, athletes and employability from two perspectives. First, it addresses sport organisations as graduate employers. As explained by one of the interviewees, there are ten sectors within the sports industry. Graduates can become employed in: 1) local government, 2) state government, 3) …

Preparing Computer Science Graduates For The 21st Century, Paul Parsons

Paul Parsons

The nature of computer use has changed remarkably in the past fifty years. However, most undergraduate computer science courses are still often taught through an old paradigm that is not adequate to address modern concerns. This 90 minute seminar will address some issues relevant to preparing computer scientists for the 21st century. These include issues central to human-computer interaction (HCI) such as cognitive and perceptual aspects of computer users, ergonomics, and human factors. Although there has been literature on this topic for at least the past 15 years, it is still not widely recognized nor understood by the majority of …

Why Getting People To Write An Emergency Plan May Not Be The Best Approach, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

Many government agencies and not-for-profit emergency organisations throughout the world encourage those community members and businesses at risk to write disaster survival or emergency plans. In Australia, community flood education and engagement programs such as FloodSafe promote the preparation of home and business emergency plans. In some cases, agencies use the writing of these plans as an indicator of community preparedness. There has been little research conducted into the efficacy of personal or business emergency plans, although there is evidence to show that business damages could be reduced by having an emergency plan. On the other hand, some social research …

8 Steps To Improving Learning And Teaching Through Education Technology Research, Shelley Kinash

Shelley Kinash

Extract: One of the key differentiating characteristics of quality schools and universities is their distinctive value proposition in the area of learning and teaching. Quality schools and universities strive to make an outstanding contribution to student learning, engagement and the overall student experience.As leaders in learning and teaching, teachers have an opportunity (and some would say an obligation) to build and share new knowledge and application with others to advance the overall sector of education. Learning and teaching has become a national pillar of renowned research excellence. One of the content areas where Australian researchers have made a particularly notable …

Students׳ Willingness To Use Response And Engagement Technology In The Classroom, Eric A. Brown, Nicholas J. Thomas, Lisa Y. Thomas

Eric A. Brown

Increased use of student response and engagement systems in the collegiate classroom environment is a growing trend in hospitality education. However, faculties have expressed hesitance in adopting this technology due to apprehension of students. This purpose of this paper is to share the results of a survey given to undergraduate hospitality students at Iowa State University about their willingness and ability to use these systems. When analyzing the data from the 413 respondents, the results show students are in fact able and willing to use a classroom response and engagement system in order to increase engagement. In addition, students have …

Can Engagement Be Compared? Measuring Academic Engagement For Comparison, Ling Tan, Xiaoxun Sun, Siek Toon Khoo

Dr Siek Toon Khoo

Student engagement is a reflection of active involvement in learning. In digital learning environment, research studies on engagement have been focused on detecting behavioral and psychological engagement indicators from the patterns of activities using feature engineering, but student engagement estimates were rarely compared across sessions or across domains of learning. This paper describes how this could be done by revisiting engagement instrument, diagnosing engagement indicators, estimating engagement parameters, and equating. This study illustrates how engagement reliability can be improved by refining engagement indictors. We demonstrated through DataShop data that student engagement levels can be compared across domains of learning.

Can Engagement Be Compared? Measuring Academic Engagement For Comparison, Ling Tan, Xiaoxun Sun, Siek Toon Khoo

Dr Xiaoxun Sun

Student engagement is a reflection of active involvement in learning. In digital learning environment, research studies on engagement have been focused on detecting behavioral and psychological engagement indicators from the patterns of activities using feature engineering, but student engagement estimates were rarely compared across sessions or across domains of learning. This paper describes how this could be done by revisiting engagement instrument, diagnosing engagement indicators, estimating engagement parameters, and equating. This study illustrates how engagement reliability can be improved by refining engagement indictors. We demonstrated through DataShop data that student engagement levels can be compared across domains of learning.

What Is Disaster Resilience Education?, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

Community disaster education, communication and engagement (ECE) is an integral component of emergency management in Australia and around the world. Its main goal is to promote public safety and, to a lesser extent, reduce damages. However, many governments around the world, including Australia, aim to also build community disaster resilience, with learning viewed as a critical mechanism. There is therefore a need to examine current community disaster ECE practices with a view to aligning them to the broader goal of disaster resilience. To attempt this, an exploratory research methodology was utilised to examine possible education content and processes that could …

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

Dr Sue Thomson

No abstract provided.

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

Dr Sue Thomson

No abstract provided.

Wellness And The Neuroscience Of Learning: Implications For Counselor Education, Michelle Flaum Hall, Scott E. Hall

Scott E. Hall, Ph.D., LPCC-S

Improvization And Strategic Risk Taking In Informal Learning With Digital Media Literacy, Renee Hobbs

Renee Hobbs

The city provides a rich array of learning opportunities for young children. However, in many urban schools, often it can be logistically difficult to get young children out of the building. But when elementary children are encouraged to view the city as a classroom and use digital media to explore and represent their neighborhoods, they can be inspired by the unpredictable events of daily life to ask naive, critical and sometimes troubling questions. This paper presents a case study of a teacher in an informal media literacy learning environment who worked with a group of 9-year-olds in Philadelphia. It documents …

Community Flood Education And Awareness In Fairfield City (Report), Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.

How To Turn Around Your Classroom, Jalae Ulicki, Arlene Westphal

Jalae Ulicki

• Explore and create effective student response questions for use in class
• Determine potential uses for data to create a higher level of engagement in the classroom
• Determine how to use the data to enhance teaching

Sea No Evil, Hear No Evil - Community Engagement On Adaptation To Sea Level Change, Neil Dufty, Heather Stevens, Stuart Waters, Greg Giles

Neil Dufty

No abstract provided.