Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Profiles Of Teachers In Selected Curriculum Areas: Further Analyses Of The Staff In Australia’S Schools 2013 Survey, Paul R. Weldon, Julie Mcmillan, Glenn Rowley, Phillip Mckenzie

School and system improvement

This report was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education (formerly the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations). It was designed to analyse the characteristics and profiles of the teachers teaching in selected learning (or curriculum) areas in primary and secondary schools. The intent was to use the data collected through the Staff in Australia’s Schools 2013 (SiAS) project to provide a more detailed analysis of the teachers concerned than was provided in the main survey report (McKenzie et al., 2014 ) . The SiAS project was designed to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher workforce, …

Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: Apec University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation Workshop: Discussion Paper, Sarah Richardson, Ali Radloff

Higher education research

This discussion paper was prepared to inform the APEC workshop on Promoting Regional Education Services Integration: APEC University Associations Cross-Border Education Cooperation held in Kuala Lumpur from 20–22 May 2014. The workshop brings together university associations to support, pursue and work towards the achievement of the priorities outlined by APEC Economic Leaders. This includes the recognition of best practice in cross-border education (CBE), the identification of existing barriers to CBE, and an examination of ways to progress the priority areas identified. The paper highlights the key considerations for APEC economies in strengthening collaboration around CBE in the university sector and …

The 'Literacy' Idea, Ross Turner

Assessment GEMS

A central reason why researchers and practitioners refer to domain literacy is to draw attention to the kinds of things students learn in the domain. In a traditional learning domain the focus might be on the acquisition of discrete facts, skills and procedures that have little obvious connection or utility. In a learning domain with a literacy orientation, the focus is on applying the domain’s facts, skills and procedures to support creativity and inventiveness, to solve novel problems and to deal with the kinds of challenges that life presents outside the classroom. In the case of mathematics, for example, a …

Acer 2012-2013 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Professional Certification For Accomplished Principals: Directions For Australia, Lawrence Ingvarson

Educational leadership

This review was commissioned by Principals Australia Institute. Its purpose is twofold: to review approaches to assessing and evaluating principals internationally; and, to draw on this review in developing recommendations for building a rigorous and beneficial professional certification system for accomplished principals in Australia. There is widespread agreement that our society needs to place greater value on the important and complex work of teachers and principals (Productivity Commission 2012). Whether that happens will depend in large part on our capacity to develop standards for successful practice and rigorous methods for assessing those who meet them. Our ability to recognise and …

An Account Of The Inner Workings Of Standards, Judgement And Moderation : A Previously Untold Evidence-Based Narrative, Claire Wyatt-Smith, Peta Colbert

Queensland research and reviews

This paper was commissioned to inform the Review of Queensland Senior Assessment and School Reporting and Tertiary Entrance Processes undertaken by Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Specifically, the lead Investigator was tasked to address the hypothesis that the Queensland Studies Authority’s (QSA, also referred to as system) approach to specifying assessment criteria and standards remains dominant and salient across disciplines. It was also to consider the holistic and analytic judgement models that operate in District and State review panels. The original aims were therefore to consider the nature and function of standards in informing teacher judgements as reported through …

Auditing The Office For Learning And Teaching Resource Library, Philip Hider, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Bennett, Ying-Hsang Liu, Carole Gerts, Carla Daws, Barbara Spiller, Robert Parkes, Pat Knight, Raylee Macaulay, Lauren Carlson

Information Management

The Australian government Office for Learning and Teaching’s (OLT) Resource Library was a key means of disseminating the outcomes from projects funded by itself and its predecessor organisations, the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) and the Carrick Institute. In order to apply the recommendations and resources emanating from these projects, it is vital that educators and other stakeholders are aware of, and effectively able to use, the Resource Library. Based on anecdotal evidence indicating a lack of awareness of the Resource Library and problems with consistently being able to search for and retrieve relevant resources from the database, the …

A Review Of Victoria’S Developmental Learning Framework For School Leaders, Lawrence Ingvarson

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

The Department of Education and Training, Victoria launched the Developmental Learning Framework for School Leaders (DLF) in March 2007 as a central component of the 2003 Blueprint for Government Schools (DET, 2003). Six years later, a decision was made to review the DLF and seek advice on the extent to which it may need revision or redevelopment.In June 2013, the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to conduct an independent review of Framework for School Leaders (DLF). The brief was to conduct a critical assessment of the content, design, and usability of the …

School–University Partnerships In Initial Teacher Preparation: An Evaluation Of The School Centres For Teaching Excellence Initiative In Victoria, Glenn Rowley, Paul R. Weldon, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Lawrence Ingvarson

Initial Teacher education

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of School Centres for Teaching Excellence (SCTE) initiatives introduced by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) during 2011. SCTEs are partnerships of universities and schools designed to establish leading practice in providing quality pre-service teacher education, continuing professional learning and research opportunities. The initiative was funded through the Smarter Schools National Partnership on Improving Teacher Quality.

Digital Fluency : Skills Necessary For Learning In The Digital Age, Gerald K. White

Digital learning research

This article examines the skills that will be required for the 21st century that will need to be embedded in educational curricula in order achieve them. It begins by considering how communicating between people has changed and current educational responses. A view of 21st century skills follows with an argument for some core subjects that will be necessary. Learning and teaching are then discussed leading to a view about what is needed in order to develop digital fluency in education, for now and the future.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of Queensland’S Op System Today, Reg Allen

Queensland research and reviews

The purpose of this paper is to inform the Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance Processes by describing the strengths and weakness of the Overall Position (OP) system in Queensland as it is in the opening years of the second decade of the twenty-first century. The paper is intended to provide a basis for consideration of possible changes to the current system. It therefore focuses on those underlying features that set the fundamental shape of the system.

Background Paper No. 1 : Senior Assessment And Tertiary Entrance In A Nutshell, Gabrielle Matters

Queensland research and reviews

The purpose of this paper is to describe senior assessment and tertiary entrance in Queensland in a nutshell. It does not purport to be an academic paper, a procedural manual, or the definitive description of senior assessment and tertiary entrance procedures in Queensland. Its focus is on describing and explaining the key features of the system to an audience that is not necessarily acquainted with the intricacies of the Queensland system. And it is simply an aide mémoire for those who are part of the system. Not all aspects of senior assessment and tertiary entrance are mentioned and technical discussion …

Overview Of Senior Assessment And Tertiary Entrance In Australia And Other Countries, Doug Mccurry

Queensland research and reviews

This paper presents an overview of senior assessment and tertiary entrance procedures in Australia and other countries. This paper provides background information to inform the deliberations of the Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance. It includes an overview of the commonalities and differences in the senior secondary assessment systems and certificates in the different the Australian states and territories. Also included is overview of the senior secondary assessment and tertiary entrance systems of some 30 countries. It includes information about the use of examinations, tests and school based assessments for certification and selection for tertiary entrance. This information …

Networking Young Citizens : Learning To Be Citizens In And With The Social Web, Suzanne Mellor, Terri Seddon

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

Many claims are made, both in the popular press and the professional education literature, about the significance of the social web in enabling civic participation. However empirical evidence supporting these claims is sparse and contested rather than strongly-indicative. The Monash University pilot research project, Networking Young Citizens, relates to the discussion about the ways in which the social web might support the civic participation, especially of young people, by examining the ways in which Web 2.0 was integrated into teaching and learning in the school, and any other processes of civic socialisation that were consciously adopted in three schools.

This …

Review Of National And International Practice In Voluntary Certification For Principals, Brian Caldwell

Educational leadership

The purpose of the project was to undertake and report on a global scan of schemes for the voluntary certification of school leaders that have been established by professional associations and institutions. The focus was on the certification of principals or those aspiring to the principalship. A distinction was made between certification that is awarded by a government or government agency, and certification that is awarded by an independent professional body. Five national and one state (US) voluntary principal certification programs were identified in the scan. Ten critical issues to be addressed in a scheme for voluntary certification were drawn …

Understanding Learning : Lessons For Learning, Teaching And Research, John Hattie, Gregory Yates

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

No abstract provided.

Challenges And Opportunities For Neuroscience : How To Explain The Connection Between Socio-Cultural Practices And Cognition?, David Clarke, Hilary Hollingsworth

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 3

Being The Best Learner You Can Be: Translating Research Into Educational Practice, Donna Nitschke

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 3

From The Laboratory To The Classroom : Translating The Learning Sciences For Use In Technology-Enhanced Learning, Jason Lodge

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 2

When The Educational Neuroscience Meets The Australian Curriculum : A Strategic Approach To Teaching And Learning, Martin Westwell

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 1

The Brain, Early Development And Learning, Michael Nagel

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 1

From Brain Research To Design For Learning : Connecting Neuroscience To Educational Practice, Peter Goodyear

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 1

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2013)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

How the Brain Learns: What lessons are there for teaching? was the theme of the 2013 Research Conference, held 4–6 August 2013 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Scientific Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This report focuses on Australian students' performance on the PISA items that have been released in Scientific Literacy. It includes an overview of the PISA Scientific Literacy Framework, Australian students' results in the 2006 international assessment, examples of responses and marking guides and the context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and motivation, and recognition of environmental issues.

Measure For Measure : A Review Of Outcomes Of School Education In Australia, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Assessment and Reporting

There have been a plethora of research reports providing information about the achievements of students in Australian schools and how those achievements differ among jurisdictions and among groups of students. However, each report has often been viewed in isolation from other similar studies. This report is intended to provide an integrated appraisal of the results of the international and national achievement surveys conducted since 1994 but with some references to earlier studies. In addition to limiting the task to manageable proportions, this time span corresponds to the widespread introduction of modern measurement methods so that there is a better basis …

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This report focuses on Australian students' performance on the PISA items that have been released in reading literacy. It includes an overview of the PISA Reading Framework, Australia's results in the PISA 2009 international assessment , examples of responses and marking guides, and the context behind achievement, e.g. enjoyment of reading, how often they read and high-level strategies for learning.

A Teacher's Guide To Pisa Mathematical Literacy, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

This report focuses on mathematical literacy and is one of a series of three reports on Australian students' performance in PISA. The report provides an overview of the PISA mathematics framework and Australia's results in the PISA 2003 international assessment. Also included are mathematics items released for public viewing after the PISA 2003 assessment and examples of responses, marking guides and comparisons of results with other countries. The context behind achievement, e.g. attitudes, engagement and learning strategies, is also presented.

Mobile Learning - Why Tablets?, Helen Galatis, Gerry K. White

Digital learning research

Although flexible and distance learning has been an integral part of the education landscape for many years , the nature of learning using technology has experienced an unprecedented rate of change over the last decade. This change has been also reflected in the terminology used to describe this learning, such as e - learning, m - learning and more. In the broadest sense, the new technologies have been a catalyst for merging the boundaries of formal, informal and lifelong learning. Global economies are driving aspects of social change through the adaptation of new technologies for everyday business and transactions. As …

Forward Thinking : Three Forward, Two Back : What Are The Next Steps?, Gerald K. White

Digital learning research

The use of digital technologies and digital media in teaching, learning and leadership in education has gradually gained momentum since the 1980s, when personal computers first became popular. The resultant media hype and educational posturing by technology evangelists were given a boost with the take up of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. And significant investment followed nationally and internationally. So what have we learnt in that time about using technology for teaching, learning and educational leadership? What will be the challenges for successfully using digital technologies in education in the next five years?

This address briefly traverses …

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

Higher education research

There is a good deal of consensus that institutional diversity in higher education is a good thing. Simply put, systems with more diverse institutions perform better than systems with less diverse institutions. Yet the overall diversity of Australia’s higher education system remains unclear. Significant questions and opportunities remain unresolved. How diverse are Australia’s institutions today? How can stakeholders— particularly institutions and policymakers—understand and manage this diversity? This LH Martin Institute and ACER research briefing seeks to shift discussion of diversity to a more considered level. The analysis moves beyond extant sectoral partitionings and contingent policy interventions to expose emerging dynamics …