Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Identification Of Learning Barriers Affecting English Reading Comprehension Instruction, As Perceived By Esl Undergraduates In Thailand, Chayapon Chomchaiya, Katie Dunworth

EDU-COM International Conference

Facility in English language reading comprehension is essential for learners of English as a second language, since English is the international language of written (as well as spoken) communication for business, science and technology. In Thailand, as acknowledged in the literature, learners of English as a second language often experience considerable difficulties with reading. There are many reasons for this, but, given the importance of reading to the development of language proficiency, it is of great importance to identify ways in which student learning can be enhanced. This paper reports on a project that sought to obtain specific information from …

Students Ranking, Based On Their Abilities On Objective Type Test: Comparison Of Ctt And Irt, Amir Zaman, Atiq-Ur-Rehman Kashmiri, Mamoon Mubarak, Arshad Ali

EDU-COM International Conference

The focus of this paper is to investigate the idea of differential ability for students ranking on a multiple choice test in the subject of physics at secondary level. The weakness of Classical Test Theory (CTT) in measuring the ability with continuity and consequently its ranking ability of students on the basis of ability has been highlighted in this paper. In CTT, a student attempting a difficult question and an easy question get equal credit which is not the case in Item Response Theory (IRT). Moreover in CTT two students with equal raw score have the same ranking while in …

We've Thrown Away The Pens, But Are They Learning? Using Blogs In Higher Education, Katrina Strampel, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

In today’s university classrooms, “the time of restricting students products and learning opportunities to ink on paper are past” (Siegle, 2007). Blogs are only one of many computer-mediated technologies starting to dominate blended and wholly online courses. Most people assume that using these technologies, because it is what the students want, will translate into increased learning opportunities. As the literature continuously asserts, however, learning, and especially reflection, does not just happen (Boud, Keogh, & Walker, 1985). It seems imperative, therefore, that extra measures are taken when any technology is being implemented in a university classroom to ensure high levels of …

Mutual Adaptation Of International Students And Academics For The Sustainable Development Of International Education, Tran Ly Thi

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that explores how international students from China and Vietnam in different disciplines in Australian higher education interpret and adapt to disciplinary requirements and how academics respond to the diverse needs of international students. The study employed a trans-disciplinary framework for interpreting students‘ and lecturers' practices within institutional structures. This framework has been developed by infusing a modified version of Lillis‘ (2001) heuristic for exploring students‘ meaning making with positioning theory (Harré & van Langenhove, 1999). A prominent finding of the study indicates the emergence of three main forms of adaptation, committed …

Teacher-Student Relationships In Primary Schools In Perth, Natalie C. Leitao

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigated teacher-student relationships at Perth metropolitan schools in Western Australia. From the literature, three key social and emotional aspects that affect teacher-student relationships, namely, Connectedness, Availability and Communication, were identified as important to good, positive teacher-student relationships. Data were collected in four parts: (1) through a teacher questionnaire; (2) through a student questionnaire; (3) through teacher interviews; and (4) through student interviews. The three relationship aspects formed the structure of a teacher questionnaire in which ten stem-items were conceptualised from easy to hard - four stem-items for Connectedness, three for Availability, and three for Communication - and answered …

Performance Enhancement Of The Task Assessment Process Through The Application Of An Electronic Performance Support System, Alistair B. Campbell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Higher education in Australia, as for many other countries, has changed greatly over the last 20 years at all levels and in many areas of operation including teaching, learning and assessment. The driving forces for these changes have been both internal and external, and have included factors such as: the increasing student population; the increasing use of part-time staff; a reduction in government funding; an increased expectation of institutional accountability; and the growing access and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning. Assessment has not escaped these changes but in many cases has not kept up …

Reducing The Effects Of Bullying Among Aboriginal Children Living In Rural Western Australia: Annual Report, Child Health Promotion Research Unit, Edith Cowan University

Research outputs pre 2011

It is unknown how Aboriginal children and adults conceptualize childhood bullying and what school/community intervention programs are appropriate. The Solid Kids, Solid Schools project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop culturally informed and determined understandings of bullying among Aboriginal children. These understandings can then be used to formatively develop a sustainable school and community-based bullying prevention and reduction program with strategies identified by Aboriginal people for use in schools in the Yamaji region or Midwest, Murchison Education District of Western Australia.

According to the funding proposal a Steering Committee was established to provide project …

Augmenting Postgraduate Student Problem-Solving Ability By The Use Of Critical Thinking Exercises, M N. Johnstone

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper describes the results of a research programme whose focus was critical thinking and explores how information technology (IT) postgraduate students model problems. Some results from the programme show that IT students appear to improve their problem-solving ability by undertaking structured critical thinking exercises. An AC Nielsen survey commissioned by DETYA in 2000 sought to gauge employer satisfaction with graduates using a variety of methods including questionnaires, focus groups and in-depth interviews. A key finding was that ‗the skills employers consider to be most important in graduates are creativity and flair, enthusiasm and the capacity for independent and critical …

A Role Of The University Leader In The 21st Century: A Case Study At Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University,Thailand, Wanwadee Chaichankul

EDU-COM International Conference

Learning is a life-long process, it requires dedication and motivation on the students and lecturers part; and resources and moral support on the administrators part. A leader‘s duty in an educational institution is to provide a system where the lecturers achieve the desired learning outcome not only because they are empowered, competent and accountable, but also because they care. The co-administrators must exercise visionary leadership responsive to emerging learning needs of the nation; ensure adequate resources; promote appropriate technology; create and sustain a climate conducive to enhancing learning. The 21st century educational world is becoming highly competitive in many aspects. …

The Suranaree University Of Technology – Mobile Examination Unit (Sut-Meu), S Chansilp

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper presents an online testing tool that may help extend flexible delivery for quality education. The Suranaree University of Technology – Mobile Examination Unit (SUT-MEU) is an alternative tool which offers an online test unit previously not available to educational institutes. SUT-MEU can be used by teachers to compose exams and grade exams, test proctors to set up the test server and students to sit exams. Both strongly encrypted exam file and public-key encrypted exam result file can be stored and transferred safely when the test needs to be set up elsewhere off campus and thus is designed to …

Asian Students’ Perceptions Of Group Work And Group Assignments In A New Zealand Tertiary Institution, Jacqui Campbell, Mingsheng Li

EDU-COM International Conference

Globalisation, cultural diversity, and structural reconfiguration in organisations of all types, have led to academics in New Zealand tertiary institutions embracing changes in their course delivery approaches. One of these changes is the emphasis on collaborative learning, featuring group work and group assignments. This study examines Asian students‘ perceptions of the much-promulgated collaborative learning concepts in the form of group work and group assignments. The research was conducted in 2005 in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Twenty-two Asian students participated in one-hour individual semi-structured interviews. The study found that Asian students valued highly the significance of classroom group discussions where …

Empowering International And Culturally Diverse Honours And Project Students Through Mentoring Activities, L J. Armstrong, S Singh

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper reports on an initiative to develop a successful school based student mentoring program in the context of a Computer Science based school which has a high proportion of international and culturally diverse student population. A review of literature was made of three areas of research related to mentoring and peer support. This provided evidence for the role of mentoring and peer support in empowering student learning, with particular emphasis on how mentoring can provide both social and academic support; on the role of mentoring in different contexts; within the Computer Science field and within an international and culturally …

The Professional Expectations And Experiences Of Australian Postgraduate Research Students In Engineering Fields, Karen Adams, Anthony Zander, Gerald Mullins

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the beliefs and expectations about their professional socialisation of postgraduate research students, at Masters and PhD level, in two Engineering schools in an Australian university. This study is part of a larger research project exploring the views of Engineering postgraduate research candidates, engineering academics, recently employed postgraduate qualified engineers and employers of postgraduate research trained engineers.

Engaging Diversity Through Brain Hemispheric Orientation (Bho) Among College Students: Some Implications On Their Mathematics Performance., Flerida C. Alvaro

EDU-COM International Conference

This study primarily sought empirical results to be used for a more complicated future research undertaking. This study categorized the students of the College of Teacher Education according to their left, right, or confluent brain hemispheric orientation through a preference scale. Also, these college students were classified with respect to their low, average, or high level of Mathematics performance basing from the grades in Mathematics subjects. Diversity in college students‘ gender, age, and ethnicity were analysed for their effect on the brain hemispheric orientation as well as their effect on their level of Mathematics performance. Likewise, this study investigated the …

The Development Of The Collaborative Intelligent Computer-Assisted Instruction Model Using Computer Network (Cicai Model), W Arreerard, S Sanrach, M Tiantong

EDU-COM International Conference

The purpose of this research was to construct the CICAI model, to develop the lessons based on the CICAI model, to compare the achievement of students who learned with the developed lessons to students who had a regular class and to survey the satisfaction of students with the developed lessons, and 5) assess a thinking-skill process after learning with the developed lessons. The research instruments used were five rating-scale questionnaire and achievement test. The sample subjects were ten experts and sixty students. The research statistics used were mean, standard deviation and t-test. Results of the research were as follows: According …

Cultural Adaptation: A Case Study Of Asian Students’ Learning Experiences At A New Zealand University, Mingsheng Li, Jacqui Campbell

EDU-COM International Conference

More than eighty-five percent of international students in New Zealand are Asian in origin. The level of satisfaction of Asian international students with their learning experiences in New Zealand has been of enormous concern for the New Zealand export education industry. The results of this current research, based on a qualitative research approach conducted at a New Zealand tertiary institution, provide a critical summary of some important and yet challenging issues in teaching Asian students. This study found that Asian students were overall satisfied with their learning experiences at the university in terms of educational quality and programme offering. Asian …

How Do You Like It? Student Perspectives On Remote E-Learning, Jeremy Pagram, Elaine Rabbitt

EDU-COM International Conference

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is embracing e-learning as its preferred mode of distance education. E-learning has changed the mode, pedagogy and style of learning for distance education students. The convenience of studying online has provided numerous opportunities for remote learners but what is the reality of their educational experience via e-learning? This paper reports on a smallscale research project that examined e-learning from the student‘s perspective. The views of ECU distance education students in Singapore, Thailand, and remote parts of Australia were analysed in order to learn how to better support their needs.

Beyond Written Computation, Alistair Mcintosh, Len Sparrow

Research outputs pre 2011

This collection of papers based on research into aspects of number is a result of a writing conference held on Rottnest Island, near Perth, Western Australia. The concept of the conference emanated from Alistair Mcintosh and Len Sparrow and was based on two similar meetings organised by Cal Irons and Bob Reys.

All papers in this book were discussed at the Rottnest conference and subsequent changes were made by the authors based on comments and recommendations from the peer group who attended the conference.

Local Learning And Employment Partnership: North Metro: Environmental Scan, Beth Walker, Beverley Webster, Alan Charlton

Research outputs pre 2011

Young people are vital to all communities and encouraging and supporting them to participate in education and training is a significant way to ensure that communities maintain a skilled workforce. However, there are many barriers to young people staying in the community, not the least of which is a lack of appropriate jobs. That is, jobs that the young people want to do, but are sustainable for the individual as a career path and not on a casual basis. These jobs normally involve some form of training or further education. Marrying the needs of industry in terms of their current …

Does The Computer Helpdesk Vocational Training Course Change Attitude About Customer Service?, Anthony Wethereld

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research was to determine whether The Computer Helpdesk vocational computing course, in conjunction with The Virtual Workplace simulation computer program, changed attitude about customer service. Thirty-seven adult female students at Fujairah Women's College of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates took part in the study. To assess possible attitude change, a combination of observation, interview and survey techniques were used. The Likert scale customer service attitude survey, which measured beliefs and perceptions about customer service, fanned the primary data gathering instrument. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated, and quantitative results were analysed …

The Practice Of Homework : A Critical Ethnography : The Story Of Four Families, Jacqueline Hubbard

Theses : Honours

This thesis explores the homework experiences of four students and their families through the lens of critical inquiry. The stories of the participants are told through conversational interviews with students and their parents/caregivers, as well as their classroom teacher, in a bounded study. Drawing on these stories, the issue of homework is 'problematised', and analysed in light of issues such as institutional power and hegemony. A critical review of the literature reveals a significant gap in the existing research on homework in relation to the inclusion of student and parent voices. The study addresses this silence by listening to the …

A Study Of The Use Of Graphic Organiser Software To Support The Development Of Organisational And Problem Solving Skills In A Middle School Curriculum, Suzanne Bursey

Theses : Honours

Early adolescence, classified from 10-14 years, is an important stage of development where thinking, planning and reasoning skills are evolving. Many young adolescents in this age group encounter problems with these skills in the transition from primary school to high school. Middle school is an educational context which focusses on the provision of support for young adolescents in this transitional period. Graphic organizer software is a program designed to help users visualize problems and organize information into logical structures. This study considered the conditions under which the problem solving and organizational skills of middle school students can be enhanced using …

The Development Of A Valid And Reliable Instrument To Assess Constructivist Practices In Primary Classrooms, Bianca Herlihy

Theses : Honours

This study investigates the development of an instrument to measure teachers' constructivist practices in their classrooms. The Department of Education Curriculum Framework for Western Australia is based on a constructivist learning environment, and this study has sought to develop an instrument for exploring individual Western Australian teachers utilisation of a constructivist learning environment in their classrooms. While there are a number of studies relating to constructivist classroom practices, the literature review indicates that there is little research about actual practice in a Western Australian primary school context. The instrument was developed from an extensive review of the literature. Key theorists …

Curriculum And Assessment : A Question Of Politics?, Christine R. Brew, Gilah C. Leder

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) has been subject to ongoing modifications since its full introduction in 1992. These changes were largely driven by vocal opponents of this educational reform. In this paper we give voice to teachers charged with implementing the curriculum and assessment directives of the VCE. Specifically, we draw on the experiences of close to 500 senior mathematics teachers – through interview and survey data - to consider the impact on them of the evolution of the VCE.

Lower Secondary Student Attitudes Towards Social Studies In A Catholic School, Ekaterina Thiveos

Theses : Honours

This case study examined lower secondary student attitudes towards social studies and identified the factors that influenced attitudes in one Catholic secondary school located in the Perth metropolitan area. A total of 4 75 students were enrolled in Years 8 to 10 at the school in 1999. A modified version of Student Attitudes Towards Social Studies (Moroz 1996) questionnaire with 94 items, was utilised to gauge secondary student attitudes towards the learning area. A total of 421 lower secondary students participated in the survey. The data was analysed using the statistical software package SPSS 9. 0 for Windows, where descriptive …

Year 9 Student Attitudes Toward Social Studies In A Western Australian Government High School : A Case Study, Leah Elizabeth Anne Hansberry

Theses : Honours

This study identifies the status of social studies in one metropolitan Government secondary school in Western Australia. This was achieved by investigating the attitudes of Year 9 students, at the case study school, toward the subject and by identifying the factors responsible for influencing these attitudes. A focus of the study was to explore the impact of student gender on attitudes toward the learning area. The underlying theoretical basis for the study contends that attitude toward social studies is a function of the interrelationship of student, teacher and learning environment variables. The empirical database for the study was quasi-experimental in …

Aboriginal Students Perceptions Of The Effect Of Vocational Education And Training On Post School Experiences, Steven J. Florisson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the past decade there have been dramatic and unprecedented changes in post compulsory education, with an increase of over 40% for year 12 retention rates to 76.6% in 1992 and huge expansion of year 11 and 12 vocational education and training programs. However, for Aboriginal past compulsory age students, the picture is very different. In 1993 the year 12 Aboriginal retention rate was only 24.48% or 982 students (Australia wide), and by 1996 only 10% of the indigenous 15 and older population had any post school qualification, compared to 35% of the total population. Only 34% of West Australian …

The Effects Of Incorporating A Word Processor Into A Writing Program: Seven Individual Case Studies, Natalie Beck

Theses : Honours

Writing is a "complex interplay of social, physical, and cognitive factors" (Daiute, 1985a, p.1) and an essential part of every young child's school life. However, "every school has at least a few children who can be classified as non-writers" (Aumack, 1985, p.46). Some children are often inhibited and "frustrated when they attempt to express themselves with pencil and paper'' (Aumack, 1985, p.46) and are put off by the thought of writing, erasing and rewriting, thus producing "children who do not want to write" (Aumack, 1985. p.46). In response to these statements, this qualitative study examined the effects of incorporating a …

The Measurement Of Classroom Music Learning Using An Outcomes Framework In Western Australian Schools, Beverley J. Pascoe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study addresses the problem of a lack of reliable and systematic methodology for evaluating progress in classroom music, using an outcomes framework, in primary and secondary schools in Western Australia. An innovative range of assessment tasks was developed for use at system, school or classroom level in order to develop a Music Achievement Scale, so that in the future, meaningful reporting of student outcomes in music, in relation to The Arts Student Outcome Statements (Education Department of Western Australia, 1996), can occur. Music tasks were tested with a representative sample of 2191 government primary school students from Years 3 …

An Evaluation Of Digital Chisel 3.0 As A Multimedia Authoring Tool In A Year Seven Classroom, Robert Richardson

Theses : Honours

Most commercial interactive multimedia authoring packages are designed to be used by teachers and trainers to build commercial training or classroom teaching applications (Handler, Dana, Peters & Moor, 1995; Magel, 1997). The evolution of interactive multimedia technologies however, has made it possible for students to become actively involved in creating their own interactive multimedia projects, and in so doing, gain considerable learning benefit (Lehrer 1993). Facilitating this in the classroom and particularly at the Year Seven level, requires the use of a cost-effective, purpose-built authoring tool. Digital Chisel 3.0 (DC3), was developed by Pierian Spring Software (1997), as just such …