Vol. 12 No. 3 (2015)
Published:
1 September 2015
Articles
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Quality Assurance and Foreign Languages - Reflecting on oral assessment practices in two University Spanish Language Programs in Australia
In the era of quality assurance (QA), close scrutiny of assessment practices has been intensified worldwide across the board. However, in the Australian context, trends in QA efforts have not reached the field of modern/foreign languages
In the era of quality assurance (QA), close scrutiny of assessment practices has been intensified worldwide across the board. However, in the Australian context, trends in QA efforts have not reached the field of modern/foreign languages. This has largely resulted in leaving the establishment of language proficiency benchmarking up to individual institutions and programs of study. This paper discusses the findings of a cross-institutional collaborative research project focused on the comparative analysis and review of assessment practices in the Spanish language majors at the University of Queensland (UQ) and Griffith University (GU), both members of the Brisbane Universities Languages Alliance (BULA). The project had a two-pronged focus; on the one hand, establishing comparable student academic achievement standards, specifically for oral assessment in intermediate level courses; and, on the other hand, providing tools and resources to train teachers (continuing and sessional staff) in consensus moderation (CM) practices through an online platform. The results presented here offer practical pedagogical suggestions to support planning and review of oral assessment, thus contributing to QA management in languages other than English.
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‘Capping off’ the development of graduate capabilities in the final semester unit for biological science students: review and recommendations
Biology is the most rapidly evolving scientific field of the 21st century. Biology graduates must be able to integrate concepts and collaborate outside their discipline to solve the most pressing questions of our time, e.g. world hunger
Biology is the most rapidly evolving scientific field of the 21st century. Biology graduates must be able to integrate concepts and collaborate outside their discipline to solve the most pressing questions of our time, e.g. world hunger, malnutrition, climate change, infectious disease and biosecurity. University educators are attempting to respond to this need to better prepare undergraduates to face these challenges by undergoing a dramatic shift in teaching practice from teaching-centered to student-centered and from discipline knowledge to graduate capabilities. With this shift came the development of capstone units—a student’s culminating academic experience where authentic learning environments assist students to develop employer-prized capabilities, e.g. metacognition, networking, time management, collaborative skills. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) launched a new student centered set of science majors in 2012 and in second semester 2015 will offer a capstone in biology for the first time. My main aims with this report are to understand the theoretical basis and logic behind the development of capstone units and to compare and contrast what other Australian institutions are providing. Based on my findings, I recommend six generic elements for capstone units in biological science: 1. Challenging inquiry-based learning tasks that are intentionally ill defined and complicated, and address cutting edge relevant problems. 2. Small group work activities and assessment that encourages positive constructivist learning. 3. Student centered learning where teachers take the role of coaching and mentoring with students also being provided opportunities to network with members of the professional community. 4. Students perform authentic tasks that involve articulating their findings to peers and experts including the experience of having to defend arguments and decisions. 5. Learning opportunities that include career development skills and training. 6. Explicit modeling of self-aware and meaningful learning to encourage deep learning strategies that foster an appreciation for the nature of science. Overall, I found that the characteristics of capstone units should not be focused on transmitting content, nor simply another controlled application of the scientific method; instead the activities and assessment students perform should be complex, relevant, and realistic to encourage students to move beyond being motivated by grades or fear of failure to wanting to understand concepts deeply and solve problems to make a difference within their future professions and communities.
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Writing the Book…Literally: The Convergence of Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) and Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Using the Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) models, we sought to create coursework that had value beyond the classroom. Refinements in the self-publishing book industry provide the opportunity to present
Using the Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) models, we sought to create coursework that had value beyond the classroom. Refinements in the self-publishing book industry provide the opportunity to present student work to a larger audience and in a different, more engaging format. With the help of free software, our classes were able to publish professionally-finished books for sale on Amazon.com. This article shows how we designed, implemented, assessed and evaluated a book-writing project for graduate (leadership studies) and undergraduate (science education) students who wrote, edited, designed, and published it at the end of the course.
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Preparing students for diverse careers: developing career literacy with final-year writing students
Graduates from generalist science and arts degrees can face diverse careers characterised by portfolios of simultaneous, self-managed roles. This paper reports from a study on identity and career literacy in which final-year professional
Graduates from generalist science and arts degrees can face diverse careers characterised by portfolios of simultaneous, self-managed roles. This paper reports from a study on identity and career literacy in which final-year professional writing and publishing students developed an ePortfolio and engaged in open blogging during their industry internships. The ePortfolio emerged as a vehicle through which identity was challenged and negotiated with educator and peer support. However, students engaged only when the ePortfolio was mandated, and deep engagement was the result of the ePortfolio being presented as a practical career development tool. Findings suggest that the combination of ePortfolio and internship is an effective strategy for developing the career literacy needed for the transition to graduate life.
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Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) in an Introductory Course in Chemistry.
Approaches to study and learning may enhance or undermine educational outcomes, and thus it is important for educators to be knowledgeable about their students’ approaches to study and learning. TheApproaches and Study Skills Inventory for
Approaches to study and learning may enhance or undermine educational outcomes, and thus it is important for educators to be knowledgeable about their students’ approaches to study and learning. TheApproaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students(ASSIST) – a 52 item inventory which identifies three learning styles (Deep, Strategic, and Surface), was given to first year undergraduate students undertaking an introductory chemistry course. Completed inventories (n=103, 85% response), included 30 BSc Biomedicine, 15 BSc Food and Nutrition, 22 BSc Geology, 18 BSc Science students, and a further 18 students on unnamed BSc pathways. The dominant learning style adopted was the Surface approach, with a mean score (SD) of 2.94 (0.54). The preference of the surface approach was consistent for all BSc pathways.There was a higher mean score for the strategic learning style in males (n= 59) compared to females (n=44) with no gender-based differences in either the deep or the surface learning styles.A surface approach may not necessarily indicate a lack of interest in chemistry, rather chemistry may be perceived as being peripheral to the students’ interests – this may be a problem when students with a diverse range of career aspirations study common content in large, first year introductory courses. Identifying students that adopt a surface learning style at an early stage in the undergraduate education journey is an important step in effectively targeting educational resources aimed at enhancing students’ learning habits.
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Laughing with the lecturer: the use of humour in shaping university teaching
This paper addresses the ways in which humour is used by university academics to shape teaching personas. Based upon the work of Mauss and Foucault, and employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a range of university teachers
This paper addresses the ways in which humour is used by university academics to shape teaching personas. Based upon the work of Mauss and Foucault, and employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a range of university teachers, this research suggests that most tertiary teachers deliberately fashion various kinds of teaching persona, which they then perform in lectures and tutorials. The use of humour is widely seen as an important component within this form of self-shaping, as it fits within dominant frameworks of expectation regarding contemporary models of “edutainment”. This research demonstrates that a wide range of practices of the self—including physical, verbal, and relational elements—are employed by academics as part of shaping various humorous teaching personas. Some boundaries exist limiting the use of these pedagogic characters; for example, arguments about natural ability with humour prefigure who is most likely to deploy humour as a practice of professional self-formation. Also, professional concerns regarding seniority and job security are also factored into decision-making regarding those humorous personas likely to be considered appropriate within particular tertiary teaching contexts.
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Distributing leadership for sustainable peer feedback on tertiary teaching
A growing evidence-based literature supports the value of peer feedback as a positive professional learning activity that enhances confidence, builds collegial relationships and supports reflective practice. Less clear is how best to embed
A growing evidence-based literature supports the value of peer feedback as a positive professional learning activity that enhances confidence, builds collegial relationships and supports reflective practice. Less clear is how best to embed such programs in university practices. This paper describes a leadership approach developed to support the scalable and sustainable implementation of peer-based professional development in a large Australian university. Drawing on distributed leadership approaches, we locate responsibility for ongoing implementation at the local level. This approach and its effectiveness are evaluated by analysing the experiences of 10 leaders. Based on the leaders’ evaluations and our reflections our approach has potential to support the leadership of sustainable and effective peer-based professional development of academic teaching staff in the tertiary sector. We identify critical success factors, challenges and future directions for the leadership and implementation of peer feedback on teaching in higher education.
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Adopting online lecturing for improved learning: A case study from teacher education
This paper presents the results of a study that examined the integration of video lectures into a pre-service teacher unit of study. The aim of the research was to ascertain how students used the pre-recorded videos to complement their
This paper presents the results of a study that examined the integration of video lectures into a pre-service teacher unit of study. The aim of the research was to ascertain how students used the pre-recorded videos to complement their learning. The focus was on the pedagogy, and explored three factors: convenience, self-regulation of learning and design to aid learning. A mixed method approach to the data collection was used. Data sources included reflective journals, surveys and semi-structured interviews. An analysis of the data indicates that the pre-service teachers viewed the use of pre-recorded lectures positively and that they were a useful resource for self-study. The use of a webcam was also viewed positively as a design feature of the lectures. Overall, the responses to the innovation were positive.
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Book Review: Integrative Learning - International Research and Practice