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Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

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Articles 1201 - 1230 of 1792

Full-Text Articles in Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Student Use Of, And Engagement With, Information Technology, John Ainley, Laura Engers Jan 2007

Student Use Of, And Engagement With, Information Technology, John Ainley, Laura Engers

Digital learning research

The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has changed the nature of the learning environments experienced by school students. ... The connection between the learner and the learning environment is central to understanding how virtual learning environments motivate or engage students... The research literature on engagement in general has distinguished between three forms of engagement; behavioural, emotional and cognitive. These distinctions provide a means by which students? engagement with information technology can be described. Behavioural engagement refers to participation (both how much and in what forms) in technology-related activities. In this context behavioural engagement pre-supposes opportunities to engage with …

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Is School Wide Adoption Of Ict Change For The Better?, Katherine Dix Jan 2007

Is School Wide Adoption Of Ict Change For The Better?, Katherine Dix

Shannon Research Press

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools is now an intrinsic part of students’ learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The adoption and impact of ICT on teaching practice and learning outcomes has been a source of keen interest among government policy makers, school leaders, teachers and researchers worldwide. Few empirical studies have been conducted in Australia, or worldwide, that focus on student attitudinal outcomes framed within a design-based paradigm that spans several years. The overarching purpose of this study is to investigate longitudinal change in school climate through its influence on students and teachers, during …

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The Vit Program For Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers : Evaluation Of Implementation In 2005., Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Siek Toon Khoo, Jenny Wilkinson Jan 2007

The Vit Program For Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers : Evaluation Of Implementation In 2005., Lawrence Ingvarson, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Siek Toon Khoo, Jenny Wilkinson

Initial Teacher education

The VIT’s Program for Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers and its registration procedures are increasingly seen as valid and fair. The Program is generally perceived as leading to improvements in teaching practice. Principals and mentors were very positive about the program, and consistently reported high levels of satisfaction with its implementation. Research has repeatedly found that significant reforms are often accompanied by a degree of unease and resistance, and this has been the case with the introduction of the VIT standards and registration requirements. School leaders play a vital role in leading their schools through these changes. This study has found …

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Acer Conquest Version 2.0: Generalised Item Response Modelling Software, Margaret L. Wu, Ray J. Adams, Mark R. Wilson, Samuel A. Haldane Jan 2007

Acer Conquest Version 2.0: Generalised Item Response Modelling Software, Margaret L. Wu, Ray J. Adams, Mark R. Wilson, Samuel A. Haldane

Measurement and statistics

No abstract provided.

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National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2005, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Chris Freeman, Ministerial Council On Education, Employment, Training And Youth Affairs (Mceetya) Jan 2007

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2005, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Chris Freeman, Ministerial Council On Education, Employment, Training And Youth Affairs (Mceetya)

ICT - Digital Literacy

Australia's national goals for schooling assert that when students leave school they should be: confident, creative and productive users of new technologies, particularly information and communication technologies, and understand the impact of those technologies on society. The Australian National Assessment Program includes the systematic assessment of the extent to which this goal is being achieved through triennial sample surveys of students in Years 6 and 10. This report is based on the assessment of ICT literacy conducted in October 2005. It describes the development of a computer-based tool for assessing ICT literacy among school students and the application of that …

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Acer 2006-2007 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Jan 2007

Acer 2006-2007 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

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Year 12 Curriculum Content And Achievement Standards, Gabrielle Matters, Geoff N. Masters Jan 2007

Year 12 Curriculum Content And Achievement Standards, Gabrielle Matters, Geoff N. Masters

Assessment and Reporting

This study provides the first Australia-wide picture of what is expected of students taking five subjects—English (including Literature), Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Australian History—in the final years of secondary school. The study addresses three broad questions: What is currently taught in these five subjects across Australia? This question is addressed through an analysis of the content of senior school curricula in the five subjects in all Australian states and territories. The study documents similarities and differences in approaches and in the content (subject matter and skills/understandings) emphasised in state and territory curriculum documents. What is the 'essential' content (subject matter …

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Research On The Progressive Achievement Tests And Academic Achievement In Schools, Gerard Fogarty Jan 2007

Research On The Progressive Achievement Tests And Academic Achievement In Schools, Gerard Fogarty

Assessment and Reporting

This report presents three studies examining research conducted in Queensland on Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) published by Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). In study 1 ‘Predictive Validity of the Progressive Achievement Tests for Boys’, a battery of tests was used to assess vocabulary, comprehension, and numeracy skill levels of students commencing study at a regional high school. The tests were used as a screening tool to identify students who might benefit from additional instruction and also to select high achieving students for participation in extension work, maths competitions, and the like. Test results were later correlated with performance in …

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Australian Students Achievement In The Timss 2002 Mathematics Cognitive Domains, Sue Thomson Oct 2006

Australian Students Achievement In The Timss 2002 Mathematics Cognitive Domains, Sue Thomson

TIMSS Australia Monograph Series

The TIMSS assessment materials are organised on the basis of two domains: a content domain and a cognitive domain. The content domain describes the content that is intended to be assessed; while the cognitive domain describes the cognitive abilities students use to answer the items. The content domains are fairly consistently and readily found in the curricula of the participating countries, and are the subject of the major international and national reports for TIMSS. Developing reliable and valid achievement scales for the cognitive domains is not as straightforward, and differences among students across and within countries in their mathematical knowledge …

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Standards For School Leadership : A Critical Review Of The Literature, Lawrence Ingvarson, Michelle Anderson, Peter Gronn, Andrew Jackson Aug 2006

Standards For School Leadership : A Critical Review Of The Literature, Lawrence Ingvarson, Michelle Anderson, Peter Gronn, Andrew Jackson

Teaching standards and teacher evaluation

This document contains the review of literature, which maps recent and current developments in relation to standards for school leadership, professional learning and purposes for standards, such as professional development and certification, in Australia and overseas. It also provides a brief review of contemporary theory and research on leadership relevant to leadership standards. There is widespread concern about the recruitment, preparation, continuing professional development and recognition of school leaders. Leadership standards are a central component of most proposals for addressing these concerns.

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Teacher Education Accreditation : A Review Of National And International Trends And Practices, Lawrence Ingvarson, Alison Elliott, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Phillip Mckenzie Aug 2006

Teacher Education Accreditation : A Review Of National And International Trends And Practices, Lawrence Ingvarson, Alison Elliott, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Phillip Mckenzie

Initial Teacher education

In June 2005 the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership commissioned ACER to conduct a project to provide advice on developing a national system for the accreditation of pre-service teacher education programs. The project brief fell into two main sections. The first was to conduct a literature review examining: (a) Current accreditation and course approval policies and practices in Australia to identify similarities and differences and implications for a national accreditation system; (b) Developments in the accreditation of teacher education programs in other countries and whether any of the identified approaches could provide a basis for a national …

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Assessment During The Early And Middle Years: Getting The Basics Right, Ken Rowe Jul 2006

Assessment During The Early And Middle Years: Getting The Basics Right, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

Following a contextual introduction and a brief discussion of the fundamental importance of monitoring growth, this paper draws from emerging evidence-based research findings and ‘state-of-the art’ practice in assessment and reporting of students’ developmental and learning progress. The paper argues that the monitoring of individual progress over time requires both diagnostic and developmental assessments of such progress on well-constructed empirical scales (or quantitative ‘maps’) that are qualitatively described. The use of such ‘maps’ enables early detection of potential ‘risk factors’, and the monitoring of both individuals and groups across the years of schooling. Such ‘maps’ and their reporting products constitute …

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Effective Teaching Practices For Students With And Without Learning Difficulties: Constructivism As A Legitimate Theory Of Learning And Of Teaching?, Ken Rowe Jul 2006

Effective Teaching Practices For Students With And Without Learning Difficulties: Constructivism As A Legitimate Theory Of Learning And Of Teaching?, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

Much of what is commonly claimed as ‘effective teaching practice’ and implemented during the early and middle years of schooling in Australian schools, for either mainstream students or for those experiencing learning difficulties, is not grounded in findings from evidencebased research. Of particular concern is that despite a lack of supporting evidence for its utility, the prevailing educational philosophy of constructivism (a theory of self-directed learning rather than a theory of teaching) continues to have marked influences on shaping teachers’ interpretations of how they should teach – aided and abetted by the content emphasis given during pre-service teacher education, as …

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National Assessment Program : Civics And Citizenship Year 6 And Year 10. Technical Report 2004, Nicole Wernert, Eveline Gebhardt, Martin Murphy, Wolfram Schulz Jun 2006

National Assessment Program : Civics And Citizenship Year 6 And Year 10. Technical Report 2004, Nicole Wernert, Eveline Gebhardt, Martin Murphy, Wolfram Schulz

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

This report describes the technical aspects of the National Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. Chapter 3 also describes the process of weighting to derive population estimates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration and data management procedures, including quality control and the cleaning and coding of the …

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Growth In Literacy And Numeracy In The First Three Years Of School., Marion Meiers, Siek Toon Khoo, Ken Rowe, Andrew Stephanou, Prue Anderson, Kathy Nolan Jun 2006

Growth In Literacy And Numeracy In The First Three Years Of School., Marion Meiers, Siek Toon Khoo, Ken Rowe, Andrew Stephanou, Prue Anderson, Kathy Nolan

ACER Research Monographs

This report describes the findings from the first three years of the ACER longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study (LLANS). The longitudinal study was established in 1999 in a context in which there was significant national interest in improving achievement in literacy and numeracy for all Australian children, and a particular interest in the development of foundational skills in the early years of school. A nation wide sample of 100 schools was selected in proportion to the population of each state and territory and ten students were randomly selected from each of these schools. This provided a cohort for LLANS of …

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Rethinking And Reshaping Early Childhood Care And Education Policy : Visions And Directions For The Future., Alison Elliott Jun 2006

Rethinking And Reshaping Early Childhood Care And Education Policy : Visions And Directions For The Future., Alison Elliott

Early Childhood Education

At no time in the recent past has there been such keen interest in early childhood education. Finally, the decades of research showing the benefits of strong, rich early childhood programs on children's development and learning have captured community attention. Quality early childhood programs help children reach key developmental milestones and close learning gaps. At some point though, discussion on benefits and values must translate into vision, policy and action. This presentation is intended to highlight key issues facing early childhood education, to stress the importance getting the right mix of early childhood services, and to foreshadow some policy directions …

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Using Data To Support Learning In Schools : Students, Teachers, Systems, Gabrielle Matters May 2006

Using Data To Support Learning In Schools : Students, Teachers, Systems, Gabrielle Matters

Australian Education Review

AER 49 examines the issues raised by the ACER Research Conference 2005: Using Data to Support Learning. It analyses the conference papers, distils the essence of the conference 'conversations', and contextualises them in the light of a survey of the broader Australian and international literature on using data to support learning. Section 1 sets the context by providing definitions and an organisational framework. Section 2 discusses some purposes for collecting and analysing educational data, and considers the role of data in professional work. It addresses issues associated with identifying potential data sources, including consideration of the decision-making required to locate …

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Codebook: The Lsay 1995 Year 9 Sample Wave 11 (2005) Technical Report No. 36, Catherine Underwood May 2006

Codebook: The Lsay 1995 Year 9 Sample Wave 11 (2005) Technical Report No. 36, Catherine Underwood

LSAY Technical Reports

In 1995, a nationally representative sample of approximately 13,000 Year 9 students was selected to form the first cohort of the new Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth program. The sample was constructed by randomly selecting two Year 9 classes from a national sample of 300 schools designed to represent state and sector. Reading and numeracy tests were administered to students in their schools to provide information on school achievement for use in later analyses of educational and labour market participation. Students also completed a background questionnaire about their educational and vocational plans and attitudes to school. In 1996, these students …

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The Transition To Full-Time Work Of Young People Who Do Not Go To University, Gary Marks May 2006

The Transition To Full-Time Work Of Young People Who Do Not Go To University, Gary Marks

LSAY Research Reports

This report focuses on the transition to full-time employment of young people who do not go to university. The majority of Australia's school leavers do not enrol in university, and it is important to better understand the pathways that they follow. The report uses a substantial longitudinal dataset to map the dynamics of the youth labour market, and identify the factors that are important in securing full-time work. The group analysed were part of a national sample of 13,613 young people who were first surveyed in Year 9 in 1995. The report follows them through to 2002 when their average …

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Codebook: The Lsay 1998 Year 9 Sample Wave 8 (2005) Technical Report No. 37, Catherine Underwood May 2006

Codebook: The Lsay 1998 Year 9 Sample Wave 8 (2005) Technical Report No. 37, Catherine Underwood

LSAY Technical Reports

In 1998, a nationally representative sample of approximately 14,000 Year 9 students was selected to form the second cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. The sample was constructed by randomly selecting two Year 9 classes from a sample of schools designed to represent state and sector. Reading and numeracy tests were administered to students in their schools to provide information on school achievement for use in later analyses of educational and labour market participation. Students also completed a background questionnaire about their educational and vocational plans and attitudes to school. Details on the 1998 survey are provided in …

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Australian Certificate Of Education : Exploring A Way Forward, Geoff Masters, Margaret Forster, Gabrielle Matters, Jim Tognolini May 2006

Australian Certificate Of Education : Exploring A Way Forward, Geoff Masters, Margaret Forster, Gabrielle Matters, Jim Tognolini

Assessment and Reporting

In May 2005 the Department of Education, Science and Training commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to investigate and report on models and implementation arrangements for an Australian Certificate of Education (ACE). In particular, ACER was asked to investigate four options for the introduction of a new certificate. The current investigation has reviewed existing curriculum, assessment and certification arrangements in the senior years of school in Australia; explored current issues in senior secondary education and examined state and territory responses to these issues; looked at some alternative certification arrangements internationally—including the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program; investigated the use …

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Teaching Science In Australia : Results From The Timss 1999 Video Study, Jan Lokan, Hilary Hollingsworth, Mark Hackling Apr 2006

Teaching Science In Australia : Results From The Timss 1999 Video Study, Jan Lokan, Hilary Hollingsworth, Mark Hackling

TIMSS 1999

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study was conducted to investigate and describe Year 8 mathematics and science teaching practices in a variety of countries. This Australian report of the science component of the study includes many of the international results, but focuses on making comparisons and commentary from an Australian perspective. The study confirms that there is more than one way to successfully teach science. The results showed that teachers in the participating countries used a variety of teaching methods and combined them in different ways – providing several perspectives on effective teaching. The participating …

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Variations In Vet Provision Across Australian Schools And Their Effects On Student Outcomes, Stephen Lamb, Margaret Vickers Mar 2006

Variations In Vet Provision Across Australian Schools And Their Effects On Student Outcomes, Stephen Lamb, Margaret Vickers

LSAY Research Reports

The aim of this report is to develop a school-based typology that captures some of the variation in VET provision across Australian schools. Models of VET provision are constructed using information on system-level policies, obtained from state and territory curriculum authorities, and information on school-level delivery derived from a national survey of schools and students. The report not only focuses on the types or models of VET provision, but also their impact on school completion rates and on initial post-school outcomes for different groups of students. The results suggest that whereas schools adopting the integrated models of VET tended to …

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Enhancing Employment Opportunities For Indigenous Victorians : A Review Of The Literature, Nola Purdie, Tracey Frigo, Alison Stone, Wendy Dick Mar 2006

Enhancing Employment Opportunities For Indigenous Victorians : A Review Of The Literature, Nola Purdie, Tracey Frigo, Alison Stone, Wendy Dick

Indigenous Education Research

This paper was completed under contract to the State of Victoria through the State Services Authority. It draws on recent Victorian, Australian, and international literature in order to provide an overview of the barriers to, and drivers of successful workforce participation for Indigenous Victorians. Some barriers and drivers are generic, and thus apply to most people; other barriers and drivers are specific to Indigenous Australians; a few barriers and drivers apply specifically to Indigenous Victorians. The disadvantage that accrues from Indigenous unemployment is unrelenting and immense. This disadvantage may well become worse as the Indigenous .baby boom. increasingly reaches working …

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School Performance: Australian State/Territory Comparisons Of Student Achievements In National And International Studies, Ken Rowe Mar 2006

School Performance: Australian State/Territory Comparisons Of Student Achievements In National And International Studies, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

Policy activities related to outcomes and standards-based educational performance indicators and their links with growing demands for accountability, standards monitoring, benchmarking, school effectiveness and reform are widespread and well established in many countries throughout the world. While the long-term goals of school education may be expressed as the enhancement of young peoples’ access to and participation in society, as well as preparation for meeting the constantly changing demands of the modern workplace, the most direct and readily accessible measures of student and school performance are obtained from assessments of students’ academic achievements. Despite several limitations, achievement data obtained from both …

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Highlights From The Timss 1999 Video Study Of Eighth Grade Science Teaching Feb 2006

Highlights From The Timss 1999 Video Study Of Eighth Grade Science Teaching

TIMSS 1999

The results of the TIMSS 1999 Video Study of eighth-grade science teaching suggest different country-specific patterns of eighth-grade science teaching in each of the participating countries and highlight the role of content and a core instructional approach in the relatively higher-achieving countries. Despite some commonalities across the countries, each of the countries, including the four higher-achieving countries, had a distinct approach to science teaching, providing students with different opportunities to learn science and different visions of what it means to understand science. The countries varied in the organizational features, content features, and the ways in which students were involved in …

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The Community's Contribution To Science Learning: Making It Count, Leonie Rennie Jan 2006

The Community's Contribution To Science Learning: Making It Count, Leonie Rennie

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Underpinning the title of this address are two assumptions. The first is that the community should contribute to science learning. To justify this assumption, I describe a little of what we know about the outcomes of learning science. The second assumption is that the potential community contribution needs some assistance to ‘make it count’. To explain this, I outline community-based opportunities for learning science, meld this with what we know about learning outside of school, and then use case studies to illustrate how we can make it count.

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Primary Connections: A New Approach To Primary Science And To Teacher Professional Learning, Mark Hackling Jan 2006

Primary Connections: A New Approach To Primary Science And To Teacher Professional Learning, Mark Hackling

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Primary Connections is a teacher professional learning program supported by curriculum resources that aims to enhance learning outcomes in science and the literacies of science. The program is based on an innovative model that links science with literacy, uses cooperative learning, integrates assessment with teaching and learning, and follows an inquiry process using open investigations. The program was trialled in 56 schools throughout Australia in 2005. Research has demonstrated that the program improves teachers’ confidence, selfefficacy and practice, students’ learning, and the status of science within schools. The project is an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science, funded by …

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Boosting Science Learning Through The Design Of Curriculum Materials, Rodger Bybee Jan 2006

Boosting Science Learning Through The Design Of Curriculum Materials, Rodger Bybee

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

How can curricula enhance science teaching and student learning? A slightly deeper and more specific question than that is: what is the form and function of effective curriculum materials? These questions will be addressed in the following discussion. After a brief introduction to BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study), I will first discuss what we know about how students learn science and introduce an instructional model based on this research from the cognitive sciences. I will then review the curriculum development process at BSCS and describe a contemporary high school program and evidence of student learning attributed to that program.

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Creating Powerful Teacher Education Opportunities: The Need For Risk, Relevance, Resource, Recognition, Readiness And Reflection, Susan Rodrigues Jan 2006

Creating Powerful Teacher Education Opportunities: The Need For Risk, Relevance, Resource, Recognition, Readiness And Reflection, Susan Rodrigues

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

Two projects described in this paper illustrate what a successful teacher education model can look like, what its aims were, what happened in terms of teacher professional development, and what pupils accomplished as a result. The paper also describes policies, organisational features, resources, and relationships that informed the projects. In effect, both projects involved a community of teachers, educators and scientists working to develop resource materials involving various technologies for classroom use. Data was collected through teacher surveys, online dialogue, interviews, pupil work, teacher ‘show and tell’ and limited classroom observation. The data suggests that pedagogic change warrants the presence …

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