Flexible coursework delivery to Australian postgraduates: How effective is the teaching and learning?

The educational implications of non-traditional delivery methods atpostgraduate level are not yet well understood. A major question is whetheradvantages of access and flexibility are accompanied by trade-offs inlearning experiences and outcomes. In this paper we address the effectivenessof delivery methods currently used in postgraduate coursework programs inAustralia. We draw heavily on a national study of flexible delivery methodsin postgraduate education, conducted in 1995.Following a nation-wide survey, we investigated the effects of deliverytechnologies on learning and teaching in seven postgraduate courses.Information was collected, mostly by taped interview, from staff andstudents, and also from course documentation. We present here a typology,based on teaching and learning characteristics, by which we found it usefulto group delivery methods. We identify and discuss four major issuesconcerning the effects of these delivery methods on learning and on teaching,under the headi ngs learner control of learning, interaction and socialexchange, teachers as supporters of student learning and feedback inteaching. As well, we report, according to the typology, the effects ofspecific technologies on teaching and learning.We conclude that on the score of encouraging intellectual independencemany non-traditional delivery methods are fairly robust – on managingcomplexity or uncertainty and encouraging a lively critical inquiry, theyfare less well. From what we have seen, the most effective strategies atpostgraduate level use integrated delivery approaches to create flexiblelearning environments with premiums on individual time management andpractical application of learning. Considerably more detailed evaluation ofthe resulting learning outcomes is needed.     

Teaching philosophies reconsidered:A conceptual model for the development and evaluation of teaching philosophy statements

Increasingly, the requirements of applicants to academic faculty positions, promotion and tenure procedures, nominations for teaching awards, or other application processes for innovative teaching grants worldwide include a teaching portfolio or dossier or a statement of teaching philosophy. Current literature provides a spectrum of approaches to constructing a teaching philosophy statement. While these resources provide practical utility, this literature generally lacks conceptual models that provide clear operational definitions and comprehensive frameworks for the process of generating or evaluating a teaching philosophy statement. However, this literature does illustrate the complexity of the task. Each teaching philosophy statement reflects not only personal beliefs about teaching and learning, but also disciplinary cultures, institutional structures and cultures, and stakeholder expectations as well. This synergy among self, discipline, and institutional context guided the development of a conceptual model for constructing a teaching philosophy statement. Based on the authors' survey of the literature, a conceptual model was developed, and then refined in a series of three workshops that included input from graduate students, academic faculty, faculty developers, and academic managers (administrators). The resulting conceptual framework includes the six dimensions commonly found in a survey of faculty teaching philosophies: the purpose of teaching and learning; the role of the teacher; the role of the student; the methods used; evaluation and assessment of teaching and learning; and also includes two framing devices - a metaphor or a critical incident and a device for acknowledging the impact that contextual factors have on teacher decision making. This paper describes the development of this conceptual model, and provides an evaluation rubric that can be applied to assess teaching philosophy statements generated using the proposed framework.     

Implementing New Pedagogical Models: Using Undergraduate Teaching Assistants in a Violence and Gender Learning Community

This article describes the use of undergraduate teaching assistants in a Violence and Gender learning community. After an introduction to the learning community structure and content, we describe the rationale for exploring this innovative pedagogical model. We present our strategies for recruiting, selecting, and preparing the undergraduate teaching assistants for this experience and illustrate how we collaborated as a teaching team. Finally, we present an evaluation of this model, using the teaching assistants' reflections on this experience, a survey of and interviews with students enrolled in the learning community, and our own assessment of this experience.     

我国大学生学情状态与影响机制的实证分析

采用整群分层抽样的方法,使用自编量表对全国23个省、直辖市和自治区52所高校的92122名大学生进行学习观、课堂体验、学习方式和学习收获的调查。结果显示:我国大学生的学习观、课堂体验、学习方式和学习收获偏正面,但还存在着许多需要进一步改善的地方。大学生的学习观和课堂体验既直接影响学习收获,也通过学习方式间接影响到学习收获。学习观、课堂体验和学习方式对学习收获的影响在不同类型高校中存在差异。根据大学生学习情况调查与指标结构分析的结果,提出如下对策与建议:转变大学生学习观和学习方式,强化大学生的多维学习体验;进一步提升教师的教学能力,促进大学生多维途径的互动;深化高等学校课程教学改革,全面提高大学生的学习成效;实行分类管理,形成高校各自的办学理念和风格;建立全国高等学校分类教学质量评估系统,持续实施国家大学生分类教学质量监测。     

The evaluation of physical learning environments: a critical review of the literature

This article critically reviews the methodologies and methods that have been used for the evaluation of physical learning environments. To contextualize discussion about the evaluation of learning spaces, we initially chart the development of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) for non-domestic buildings. We then discuss the recent evolution of POE into the broader evaluative framework of building performance evaluation. Subsequently, a selection of approaches used to evaluate higher education and school learning environments are compared and critically analyzed in view of contemporary approaches to teaching and learning. Gaps in these evaluative approaches are identified and an argument is put forward for the evaluation of physical learning environments from a more rigorous pedagogical perspective.     

天津市“空中课堂”试运行阶段应用情况调查与分析

为了解天津市"空中课堂"项目试运行阶段项目应用情况,该研究采用问卷调查的方法,调查了184名不同学校的网上学习者。文章得出7个方面的研究结果:登录平台学习情况,喜欢的教学方式,网上学习参与情况,对选修课程的评价,网上学习中遇到的困难,对学习支持服务的评价以及希望增加的功能。根据调查的结果和数据分析,从课程、主讲教师、学习支持服务、面授辅导和平台支持等方面,对发展和改善网上教学提出了策略性建议。     

教育督导评估现存问题的调查分析及改进建议

通过对3 000 多名教师与教育行政人员的问卷调查,发现教育督导评估中存在职能履行不到位,没有把工作重心落到以督促教、以督促学上等问题,从而让被督导学校与教师产生了督导工作扰乱正常教学工作的感觉,并普遍要求启动对督导不力不当行为的问责机制。所以,必须把督导评估工作重心落到以督促教、以督促学上,并杜绝督导工作对学校正常教学工作的不良影响。同时,应适当加强学校教职工对教育督导评估的认知,推进教育督导信息化建设,助力教育督导评估提质增效;强化问责机制,保障教育督导评估职能落在实处。     

因材施教,灵活多变——英语教学方法与学习风格初探

因材施教是每一位教师必须遵守的教学原则。在英语教学中,教师往往会面临这样一个问题:如何使自己的教学方法适应学生不同的学习风格和学习目的?本文通过对比,论述了两种不同的教学方法,即“以教师为中心”的教学方法和“以学习者为中心”的教学方法所各自拥有的优势和不足。由于学习者之间的差异,本文认为:作为一位专业的英语教师,我们必须充分考虑学生不同的英语学习风格和方法,并采取灵活多变的教学方法来使自己的教学风格与学生的学习风格尽可能地协调和统一,只有这样才能提高教学质量,提高学习者的语言学习效率。     

Modelling quality

This article argues that the increase in the number of teaching and learning centres in universities of technology in recent years is bound up with concerns about the quality of university education. Universities that have set up such centres have been motivated to do so for two main reasons. They are keen to improve the image and the capacity of their teaching faculty. They also hope to attract students at a time when many school leavers prefer immediate, well-paid employment to four or more years of study. There has been outside pressure as well. Governments have demanded that tertiary institutions become more accountable. Governments are insisting that taxpayers get value for their money, especially in the area of teaching and learning. The question asked in this article is whether or not teaching and learning centres should be modelling quality issues as well as teaching and learning issues. Our conclusion is that the centres should be proactive in this matter, providing their institution with both theoretical and practical models of quality management and assurance.     

School science education for citizenship: Strategies for teaching about the epistemology of science

One consequence of the advancing globalization and technological dependence of society is that people outside professional science are finding that issues of concern to them have a science dimension. I consider how school science education can support engagement with scientific information. I contend that teaching about the epistemology of science is central to achieving this educational goal. I identify epistemic learning aims appropriate to school science education. These are derived from a survey of case studies of how individuals interact with science outside formal education. I consider different ways in which these learning aims might be achieved in schools. Teaching approaches based on modifications of existing practice are identified. Addressing the full range of epistemic learning aims is likely to require teaching approaches rarely used in current science teaching.     

营销类课程教学效果提升路径研究——基于建构主义的视角

营销人才需求与供给的矛盾显示营销人才培养环节出现了问题,即未能把握市场需求。随之延伸的是教学中出现的一系列问题,主要是实践教学缺位、教学方法单一、教学内容机械、考评体系不完善等。问卷调查也显示,学生对课程设置和教学活动不满意。在探究英美相对完善的营销类课程教学体系后,在建构主义框架下提出了在课程目标、教学方法和内容、考评体系以及学生学习等不同方面的营销类课程教学效果提升路径。     

Preservice teacher perceptions of preparedness for teaching: Insights from survey research exploring the links between teacher professional standards and agency

In this article we explore the use of teacher professional standards in an initial teacher education programme and preservice teacher perceptions of their preparedness for teaching using a survey of 54 first- and second-year preservice teachers in a graduate-entry programme. The survey asked the preservice teachers to respond to 16 questions based on professional standards as well as their knowledge of student learning, professional identity and teaching as a career path. The preservice teachers’ responses were analysed using a mixed methods approach that relied on quantitative methods, but was supplemented by qualitative analysis of short-answer responses. Our analyses hypothesised about possible links between the preservice teachers’ responses and the extent to which they perceived they were classroom and career ready. The themes of teachers, teaching and student learning are used to present and discuss the results, while the notion of agency as achievement is used to deepen possible understanding about their meaning and implications. We conclude that the preservice teachers appeared to benefit from learning about professional standards throughout their programme but appeared to lack confidence in: engaging professionally with others such as parents/carers; setting objectives for all students with different backgrounds; and implementing lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning. Most doubted teaching as their future career. Finally, we discuss implications for: adopting standards-integrated initial teacher education programme approaches; preservice and early-career teacher professional learning needs; and future research opportunities, which include using innovative methodologies and conceptual frameworks.     

What trainees in England learn about teaching pupils with special educational needs/disabilities in their school-based work: the contribution of planned activities in one-year initial training courses☆

The project reported in this paper addresses the issue of trainee teacher learning with regard to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) during the school placement element of one-year postgraduate teacher training programmes in England. Through a focus on the university/school partnership, school organisational and classroom pedagogic processes, the project aimed to improve knowledge and understanding about teacher education relevant to the special educational needs and inclusive education fields. Specifically, the project examined and compared the school-based learning and outcomes of postgraduate teacher trainees in primary and secondary programmes that used different approaches to preparing teachers for the special needs aspects of their future teaching. Three kinds of school-based approaches are examined: one that involved a practical teaching task; a second which involved a pupil-focused task (but not practical teaching); and a third where there was no specific pupil-focused SEND task other than class teaching practice.

The paper reports on what and how trainees learned about teaching pupils with SEND and on differences related to the use of SEND tasks. Findings indicate that what trainees learn about teaching pupils with SEND is strongly interlinked with what they learn about teaching in general. The pedagogic knowledge learned from undertaking planned pupil-focused SEND tasks, however, centres on pupils’ personal learning needs, something that was less likely to be learned from only whole-class teaching experience. Implications for schools, initial teacher education (ITE) providers, national and international policy are presented as evidence-informed questions with possible options.     

The effective combination of hybrid usability methods in evaluating educational applications of ICT: Issues and challenges

This paper focuses on usability evaluation of information and communication technologies applications in education (ICTE applications). Various classes of teaching and learning systems are discussed in terms of technologies used and pedagogical approaches. Their usability is analyzed according to various dimensions and the impact of system usability on the learning effectiveness is studied. We argue that various classes of ICTE applications such as multimedia/hypermedia applications, open educational environments and CSCL environments, based on different theoretical perspectives, require fundamentally different approaches in evaluating their usability. The paper is structured as follows: an overview of different usability evaluation approaches is presented first, followed by a discussion on applicability of these techniques in various categories of teaching and learning computer systems. Typical case studies that engage both usability experts and users themselves (students and teachers) are also discussed. The objective is to describe both the methods, and the way to apply them effectively in order to certify the usability of an ICTE application with respect to its teaching and learning objectives.     

聚焦软技能的英语教学改革探索--以“十三五”职业教育国家规划教材《职程英语》为例

基于访谈和问卷调查的需求分析发现:用人单位看重的是“软技能”和“语言应用能力”;学生喜欢贴近生活的教学内容和“learning by doing(做中学)”的学习方式。基于此,《职程英语》将软技能的培养作为首要目标,着重培养沟通能力、协作能力、学习能力、问题解决和人际关系处理能力等核心职业技能;设计基于生活、有交际意义、有支架支持的互动式仿真任务作为主要教学手段,使学习者通过“用语言做事”的途径发展语言应用能力,解决生活中的现实问题;将生活中用得着英语的领域作为教学内容,包括学习方法、人际关系、出国旅游、跨境商务、就业准备五个主题;问卷调查显示《职程英语》的教学理念得到学生的认可。     

Evaluate to improve: useful approaches to student evaluation

Many teachers in higher education use feedback from students to evaluate their teaching, but only some use these evaluations to improve their teaching. One important factor that makes the difference is the teacher’s approach to their evaluations. In this article, we identify some useful approaches for improving teaching. We conducted focus groups with award-winning university teachers who use student evaluations to improve their teaching, and we identified how they approach their evaluation data. We found that these teachers take a reflective approach, aiming for constant improvement, and see their evaluation data as formative feedback, useful for improving learning outcomes for their students. We summarise this as the improvement approach, and we offer it for other teachers to emulate. We argue that if teachers take this reflective, formative, student-centred approach, they can also use student evaluations to improve their teaching, and this approach should be fostered by institutions to encourage more teachers to use student evaluations to improve their teaching.     

PBL(Project-based Learning)教学模式在高职英语自主学习课程中的应用研究

本文采用行动研究的方法,以武汉职业技术学院的英语听说过级自主学习课程为例,探讨如何在自主学习课程中应用PBL的教学模式改进自主学习课程的考核方式,提高学生的自主学习能力和意识。文章首先分析了自主学习课程在实施过程中遇到的问题,详细描述了PBL教学模式的总体设计构想和具体的实施步骤,并对实施的结果进行了讨论。经过统计和问卷调查结果发现,应用PBL模式后,实验班的学生的学习兴趣有了很大的提高,有利于培养他们的自主学习能力和合作精神。同时,试验前后的听力测试表明,实验班听力成绩较对照班也有了显著的提高。可见,PBL模式的应用能在一定程度上改进目前在自主学习课程中所遇到的一些问题。     

K–12 Blended Teaching Readiness: Model and Instrument Development

Abstract

An increasing number of K–12 schools have adopted blended learning approaches. Current empirical research has been sparse regarding preparing teachers for blended teaching, including the skills they must develop to teach in blended contexts. This research is focused on that weakness, with the purposes of systematically identifying the skills needed for teaching in a blended learning context and of developing and testing an instrument that can be used to determine individual and school-wide readiness for blended teaching. In this study we present a measurement model used to develop items for measuring K–12 blended learning readiness. Specifically the instrument contained the following top-level areas: (a) foundational knowledge, skills, and dispositions, (b) instructional planning, (c) instructional methods and strategies, (d) assessment and evaluation, and (e) management. Each top-level construct also had two to four subconstructs. Through confirmatory factor analysis using survey responses from 2,290?K–12 teachers we found that the data met all four fit statistics cutoffs set forth in the literature (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]= 0.041, comparative fit index [CFI]?=?0.926, Tucker–Lewis index [TLI]?=?0.923, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR]?=?0.041, X2?=?978.934, df?=?1992).     

Educational development for responsible graduate students in the neoliberal university

In this article, we examine how our work in educational development, specifically in graduate student training, enacts the logic of neoliberalism in higher education in Canada. We approach this examination through a collaborative autoethnographic consideration of and reflection on our practices and experiences as educational developers, the design and delivery of a graduate student survey and our own experiences of and identification with ‘self-actualizing graduate students’. Further, we illustrate how neoliberalism shapes the work of teaching and learning centres resulting in offering programming, which compels graduate students to act in ways that can be read as responsible and capable of navigating an increasingly bleak academic labour market. Throughout the article we call attention to the ways in which our role as educational developers may either reinforce or disrupt neoliberal discourses. While we urge a critical approach, we also reflect on constraints to such criticism.