University Student Progressions and First Year Behaviour

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From research to practice: The case of mathematical reasoning

Mathematical proficiency is a key goal of the Australian Mathematics curriculum. However, international assessments of mathematical literacy suggest that mathematical reasoning and problem solving are areas of difficulty for Australian students. Given the efficacy of teaching informed by quality assessment data, a recent study focused on the development of evidence-based Learning Progressions for Algebraic, Spatial and Statistical Reasoning that can be used to identify where students are in their learning and where they need to go to next. Importantly, they can also be used to generate targeted teaching advice and activities to help teachers progress student learning. This paper explores the processes involved in taking the research to practice

The place of professional learning groups in the induction of in-service teacher educators : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Adult Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

In New Zealand In-service Teacher Educators (ISTEs) provide professional development for teachers, principals and management in Early Childhood Centres and Schools. ISTEs have been teachers or principals themselves. However, the role of ISTE is different to that of a teacher or principal. There are varied practices throughout New Zealand relating to the induction of ISTEs. The research of Trowler and Knight (1999) concluded that educators required support in gaining explicit knowledge about their new professional role and a process was required to enable this learning to take place. This study investigated how the use of professional learning groups (PLGs) supported the professional learning of five new ISTEs and also examined the perspectives of three members of the team responsible for implementing the PLGs. A mixed-methods approach was taken with predominantly qualitative and some quantitative information gathered from on-line surveys and semi-structured interviews. Broadly, the study's findings suggested that ISTEs do find the transition into their new role difficult and that the PLGs were a relevant structure to support their professional learning and induction. The findings also identified factors related to the broader area of induction of ISTEs. These were collaboration, observation and feedback related to ISTE practice and the leadership and facilitation of the PLG. This study's findings support research that concluded PLGs had the potential to strengthen professional learning and that there were conditions that were necessary for this to occur. The first was the purpose of the PLG related to the PLG as part of a larger induction structure. The second was what occurred in the PLG including the composition of the PLG and the environment that was necessary within the PLGs for them to be effective. Finally, the findings are presented relating to the ISTEs' and the Implementation Team's perspective on the continuation of the PLGs to support the professional learning of new ISTEs. The findings support research that proposed the transition into new professional roles was stressful and that an induction process that met educators' needs was vital to positively support the transition. The findings culminate in five recommendations and three suggestions for further research

Caring attributes and preparedness to care: effects of a pre-enrolled nursing certificate programme in Singapore

Background: Caring is a highly complex and abstract concept, and nurturing a caring attribute among individuals for a nursing career is believed to be best introduced at the start of student journey in preparatory courses specifically designed for nursing. However, because of the need to professionalise nursing, pre-enrolled nursing programmes have been discontinued and replaced by generic healthcare programmes in many parts of the world. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the impact of pre-enrolled certificate nursing education on students’ caring attributes and their preparedness to care. Methodology: A mixed methods approach using unstructured questions and the Caring Behaviour Inventory was employed to determine student caring attributes and their preparedness to care. The participants were final year pre-enrolled nursing students in Singapore. Findings: Students demonstrated attributes of caring based on an average CBI score of 4.55 (SD 0.32). Expressions of professional nurse caring were explicit in students’ entire learning journey and these took various forms of approach embedded in both curricular and extracurricular activites. The study also found that nurturing caring attributes was associated with a high expectation of student social behaviour and closely linked to the increasingly good reputation of nursing as a profession in that region. Conclusions: This study indicates the high potential value of pre-enrolled nursing education for developing the caring attributes of individuals. A nursing-oriented programme title and its high status associated with nursing were critical elements for nurturing the caring attributes. The implications for developments in nurse education and research are discussed

Developing successful intelligence : a curriculum for employability in changing markets for graduate labour

A key pedagogical challenge for undergraduate educators in integrating work and learning in the curriculum, is the identification of appropriate conceptual constructs to facilitate student learning and development. State and employer organisations have articulated a discourse of 'key skills' which has been adopted by universities, and yoked to innovations in pedagogy for employability. We propose the construct 'successful intelligence' to enhance pedagogy for employability. We show how it might be introduced to the undergraduate business curriculum, using a case study of the evolution of an undergraduate management development programme to ground our thinking in practice. We also use student perceptions of teaching, learning, and career planning to distinguish what students regard as real and relevant in their studies, contributing to employability

Equipping teachers with tools to assess and teach general capabilities

There is wide recognition that students need to be equipped with appropriate social and cognitive skills demanded by society and the workforce. The unresolved question is how to do this. Many education systems globally are addressing this demand by including skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity into curriculum documents or supplementary materials. However, there is little research to guide educators in teaching such skills at school level. The need to develop practical solutions for assessing and teaching social and cognitive skills, broadly classified under the umbrella ‘21st-century skills’ or ‘general capabilities’, is ever increasing. An integrated approach to teaching and assessing the skills across domain areas is necessary for sustainability. Traditional methods of assessment are not sufficient to capture the complexity of how general capabilities are applied in real-world settings, and innovative methods need to be sought and validated. Teachers require professional development, resources and tools to be effective. This presentation outlines a study undertaken by the Centre for Assessment Reform and Innovation (CARI) at ACER to develop an assessment framework and a set of proof-of-concept tasks for measuring and monitoring the skills in the classroom. Through a combination of curriculum-focused assessment tools, learning progressions, and professional development, the agenda is to equip teachers to integrate teaching and assessing of general capabilities into their classroom. The assessment tools involve complex problem-solving tasks in which students need to demonstrate collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, information literacy, and communication skills. Learning progressions have been proposed for each of the skills to support identification of levels of proficiency and monitoring of student growth. This paper presents the work of the project so far and outlines plans for validation of the assessment framework, tools and learning progressions