Education Commons^™

Technological Efficacy: A New Identity Category, N. F. Johnson

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Debates continue about the relative benefits, costs and risks of the diffusion of computer-based technologies throughout society and schooling. One area that has received considerable attention is gender equity. Early work on gender and computers focused on differences between male and female access and use (e.g. Huff, Fleming & Cooper, 1992; Kirkman, 1993; Morritt, 1997; Nelson & Cooper, 1997; Sofia, 1993), with concerns focused on the potential for girls to be disadvantaged. In some respects, it is arguable that problems of gender equity in schools with respect to computers have been overcome. For example, in a small study I conducted …

Constructing High Quality Learning Environments Using Learning Designs And Learning Objects., B. Harper, S. Agostinho, Sue Bennett, J. Lukasiak, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Designing learning experiences supported by information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming an important skill for all academics in the higher education sector. With a range of "quality" measures being implemented and foreshadowed by government, including "dollars" linked to student learning outcomes, all academics will be increasingly asked to examine their instructional strategies and to offer high quality learning opportunities. Sharing learning resources is seen as one strategy to help academics in this change process. As such, online repositories of learning objects are flourishing to encourage the concept of reuse. However, what is lacking are tools to support academics in …

Naturalistic Inquiry In E-Learning Research, Shirley Agostinho

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Qualitative research means many things to many people. This evolving field of inquiry embraces a wide array of approaches, methods and techniques, and is accompanied with ongoing debate over what constitutes “quality” and “rigour”. This paper provides insight into how the Naturalistic Inquiry Paradigm (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) was operationalized in an educational technology research study that investigated the use of World Wide Web technology in higher education. A framework that situates the research study within the qualitative research literature sets the context of the research approach, a justification of how the study was “compliant” with Naturalistic Inquiry is presented …

Developing An Internet-Based Community For Special Education In Bulgaria, R. Peterson

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Research on special education practices in Bulgaria to develop an Internet-based community of practice is now underway. The study will answer a call to action to test the potential of online communities of practice (OCoPs) to close the gap between education research and practice. A secondary goal is to update findings about the feasibility of Internet-based instruction in Bulgaria. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to develop and evaluate a website and propose design principles for future OCoP development. Research has been guided by situated learning and legitimate peripheral participation theory as well as the design-based research approach. This …

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 State Of The Art Of Design-Based Research, R. Peterson, J. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Ann Brown (1992) and Allan Collins (1992) introduced the term design experiment in 1992 as an innovative approach to educational research. Today, commonly termed design-based research (DBR), the approach itself is still very much being designed. There is a general consensus that DBR standards need to be set by addressing such questions as: What kinds of knowledge should DBR be expected generate? What theoretical requirements should be imposed on DBR? and What types of research can be considered DBR? Given the drive for empirical educational research and escalating interest in DBR, it is hoped that continued expert commentary will lead …

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 …

'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.

Scaffolding Clinical Problem Based Learning Within An Online Collaborative Environment, Lori Lockyer, John W. Patterson

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

With a specific focus on addressing the health care needs of regional, rural and remote communities, the new medical school at the University of Wollongong will open the doors to its first cohort of students in January 2007. Clinical placements will see students spend substantial periods of time in general practices located in these target communities – which may be as far as 1200km from campus. Problem based learning (PBL) is the underpinning educational strategy used to facilitate students’ integration of medical science knowledge and clinical competencies. Educational technology has made a significant impact on the quality of the resources …

Playing With Texts: Classroom Practices For Enriching Young Readers' Engagement With Texts, Pauline J. Harris, Barbra Mckenzie

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores ways in which teachers may build bridges across children's home, community and school texts. It does so by looking at how children's texts form networks of relationships inside and beyond the text. These relationships significantly shape ways in which a reader interacts with the text in hand, other texts that the text-in- hand calls up, and other texts that the reader brings to bear. Further, these relationships provide teachers with valuable means for bridging children's home, school and community texts and literacy experiences. In exploring these relationships, implications for young readers and for classroom practices are described.

Simulation Technology In Pre-Service Teacher Education: 'Pleasurable Learning' To Inspire 'Passionate Teaching', Lisa K. Kervin, Janice B. Turbill, Brian L. Cambourne, Brian Ferry

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Reviews of beginning teacher programs over the past eighty years within an Australian context continually identify a number of key skills that are not well developed by traditional pre-service teacher preparation programs. In more recent times the teaching of literacy has been targeted as needing specific attention, especially at the pre-service level. Advances in educational software have demonstrated that it is feasible to create a representation of a real situation through simulation. The authors believe that creating a virtual classroom environment for pre-service teachers to interact with is one way to support them with understanding the theory of literacy learning …

Authentic Tasks In E-Learning Designs, Janice A. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Constructivist approaches to learning design, while gaining increased acceptance in the higher education community, are the exception rather than the rule in the majority of web-based courses currently offered by universities throughout the world. The adoption of university quality standards and the widespread use of course management programs have inadvertently constrained more authentic and innovative approaches to online learning. Contemporary trends in e-learning designs are highlighting the value of authentic approaches to learning. This paper argues that authentic tasks that guide complex and sustained learning endeavours can be adopted in web-based courses, and provides guidelines for implementation, together with examples …

Getting School Maths Online: Challenges And Possibilities, Boris Handal, Anthony J. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The World Wide Web (WWW) is making a significant impact in the field of mathematics education. In recent years. several thousand web sites have been created to promote the teaching and learning of school mathematics. It is now time to ponder how this phenomenon should articulate with the school curriculum and how the wealth of resources available in cyberspace can be appropriately integrated at the classroom level. This paper discusses a range of instructional. curricular and organisational issues associated with such a process and provides recommendations for future research.

Evaluating Online Mathematics Resources: A Practical Approach For Teachers, B Handal, Parvin Handal, Anthony J. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes a teacher-friendly approach to evaluating online mathematics resources. The Alessi and Trollip (2001) evaluation form is recommended as an instrument for assessing the worthiness of online resources from an instructional design point of view. An exploration of nearly 250 mathematics education websites revealed the benefits and limitations associated with using such a checklist. These issues are discussed through screen snapshots of webpages available from the WWW. This exploration also revealed that online resources from professional organisations’ websites seem to be better designed, organised, easy to search and more comprehensive than those from individuals’ websites.

The Conceptual Interface Between Secondary And University Mathematics: A Schema-Based Analysis, Mohan Chinnappan

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this paper I provide a theoretical analysis of difficulties experienced by students in having to transfer concepts they have learnt in high school to university mathematics. This analysis is based on the assumption that mathematical knowledge can be represented in the form of organised structures called schemas. The organisational quality of students’ mathematical schemas is a function of spread of network and strength of links between pieces of information. Well-developed schemas are argued here to facilitate assimilation of university mathematical concepts and the use of this new information in the solution of novel problems.

In Good Conscience, Valerie Harwood

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

‘I choose not to collaborate in my own oppression by restricting a basic human right…’ ‘To me this is a matter of conscience’. — Sister Jeannine Gramick (Rick & Maysles, 2004, p. 93). When sister Jeanine Gramick made the above remark she was commenting on the Vatican’s attempts to stop her work with lesbian and gay Catholics. Her struggle to resist this silencing has been made into the compelling film documentary In Good Conscience, which has been widely shown, including in North America and London, and has recently been show in Melbourne and Brisbane at the 2005 Queer Film …

Integrating Problem-Solving Strategies And Fieldwork Into An Authentic Online Learning Environment, Gwyn J. Brickell, Janice A. Herrington, Barry M. Harper

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this project, a technology-supported learning challenge has been developed to replace a conventional visitation program at Sydney Olympic Park. The educational approach taken is based on a general social constructivist model of learning, challenging learners with a problem based perspective directly linked to specific syllabus outcomes. Students engage in work on the web, in class, in the field and in technology ‘pods’ with an emphasis on student-centred tasks and field activities that will require them to explore data and information, construct and test hypotheses, and present conclusions and solutions in the form of artefacts. This paper describes the learning …

Curriculum Adjustments For Students With Learning Disabilities In Mainstream Clasrooms., Deslea M. Konza

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The stated policies or mission statements of many education systems around the world reflect the widespread realisation that students with learning difficulties and disabilities have both the ability and the right to learn in a normalised environment, and thus include a goal related to helping all students achieve to their potential. Indeed, education is viewed as one of the major ways in which individuals may achieve life goals, as it often holds the key to level of employment and financial security, level of housing and other life opportunities in addition to personal satisfaction and achievement (Allen, 2003; UNESCO, 2001).

Children's Sense Of Place As Literacy Learners In Their Classroom, Pauline J. Harris

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper focuses on children's sense of place that they find in their classroom literacy situations This paper presents findings of child interviews and samples of classroom observations from the author's classroom-based research, to explore the pleasures and passions that children bring to or find in their classroom literacy situations and the provocations they encounter there. Children's pleasures, passions and provocations provide a backdrop for exploring and understanding their patterns of participation. This paper examines how particular kinds of classroom situations may help or hinder children's participation and the sense of place that they find as literacy learners at school.

From Classroom Reality To Virtual Classroom: The Role Of Teacher-Created Scripts In The Development Of Classroom Simulation Technology, Lisa K. Kervin, Brian L. Cambourne, Janice B. Turbill, Brian Ferry, John Hedberg, David H. Jonassen, Sarah Puglisi

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes a specific kind of teacher narrative (the teacher created script) to support the design of a classroom simulation to be used in pre-service teacher education. We intend to share our experiences in exploring and developing the kind of narrative text which can be developed from a large reservoir of ethnographically generated data collected from the teachers and classrooms we have closely observed and documented over the last two decades. In particular, we explore the role which these narratives play within the development of the kind of classroom simulation we have produced.

Reflection has long been acknowledged as …

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 …

An Investigation Of Computer Generated Knowledge Retention Activities In Computer-Based Training With Adult Learners, Doug Reid, D M. 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 programs. This study focused on a computer-based learning system called the Profound Learning Delivery System (PLS). PLS is an application designed to improve the content knowledge retention of adult learners who are completing computer-based training. This study used a pretest-posttest experimental design to compare adult learners’ knowledge of Microsoft Outlook ("Outlook, " 1997) before and after a computer-based training session. Participants were trained using two different computer-based instructional programs; a commercially available software program …

Building Online Communities Of Practice For Teachers, Anthony J. Herrington, Janice A. Herrington, Ian W. Olney

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Numerous online communities of practice have emerged, in both formal and informal settings, to meet the professional needs of diverse groups throughout the world. While some of these communities fail, many become self-sustaining in their ability to meet the needs of their members. Using current research and theory relating to the creation of online communities, this paper describes the development o f a generic model to guide the design and development of sustained, engaging, supportive and collaborative communities. The paper illustrates the way a website built for the professional development and support of beginning primary teachers can be used as …

Design Of A Simulation Of Multiple Perspectives In Road Safety Education, Gregg S. Rowland, Robert J. Wright, Barry M. Harper, Stephen Gray

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The possibilities afforded by new multimedia technology, combined with contemporary ideas about learning, have opened up new design opportunities for educational simulations. In particular, the use of sophisticated multimedia environments have made the design of experiential simulations, in which the learner plays an authentic role carrying out complex tasks, a much more tractable design task This paper describes the use of an educational simulation paradigm to represent multiple perspectives in a road safety context and the evaluative strategies that were undertaken to ensure the teaching resource will lead learners to a stronger understanding of the various factors that interact and …

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 …

Case Studies In Online Assessment, Meg O'Reilly, Susan J. Bennett, Mike Keppell

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper outlines the progress to date of a project to compile, analyse and share examples of innovative online assessment activities using; online testing; teamwork and collaboration; simulations and role plays, and dialogue with experts and across cultures. The aim of this research is to provide teaching academics and educational developers with examples of assessment strategies that have been successfully applied in higher education, and to derive a number of key principles about online assessment that will be useful for future research. The project involves case studies from two Australian universities, which have been used to develop an initial set …

Re-Organising And Integrating The Knowledge Bases Of Initial Teacher Education : The Knowledge Building Community Program, Julie Kiggins, Brian Ferry, Brian L. Cambourne

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In a Report submitted to the NSW government in 2000, Gregor Ramsay made a claim that should challenge pre-service teacher educators in all Western democracies:

“…it is possible to reorganise the knowledge bases of undergraduate teacher education subjects so that they are more integrated with school and classroom culture, and therefore more relevant, more meaningful, better appreciated by student teachers, with less duplication across subject areas” (Ramsay, 2000, p57)

While such rhetoric sounds appealing, it begs the question of how pre-service teacher educators might realise such rhetoric in practice, given the entrenched transmission of information + practicum model of program …

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.

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 …

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 …