Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Teaching: One Criteria,Several Perspectives*

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) has influenced the thinking and operations within organizations from all sectors of the American economy. This paper presents the experiences of three faculty members who have used the Criteria for Performance Excellence and the underlying concepts of the MBNQA to enhance the learning experiences of their students. The authors discuss how Dale's Cone of Experience is employed, by means of concrete exercises and experiences, to better leverage the student's ability to understand the abstract concepts. The formal, end‐of‐term student evaluations indicate that the described approach has led to a higher level of student engagement in the learning process, as evidenced by more abundant and higher‐quality feedback to the instructors.     

A strategic quality assurance framework in an African higher education context

This study is based on a pragmatist analysis of selected international accounts on quality assurance in higher education. A pragmatist perspective was used to conceptualise a logical internal quality assurance model to embed and support the alignment of graduate competencies in curriculum and assessment of Ghanaian polytechnics. Through focus group and in-depth interviews, the framework was evaluated by internal stakeholders including lecturers, students and administrators of the polytechnics. It was found that from a pragmatist perspective, quality assurance concepts and practices in higher education reported in the international literature could be used to design a context-specific quality assurance framework for higher education systems in Africa but there will be challenges with implementation of such a framework. The challenges found include quality culture and financial resources. Nonetheless, it was noted that effective planning and stakeholder commitment can surmount the challenges to ensure effective implementation of the framework to enhance quality.     

Reflecting on the EFA Global Monitoring Report's framework for understanding quality education: A teacher's perspective in Eritrea

This paper considers issues concerning the quality of education in Eritrea using the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report's (GMR) framework for quality education. Drawing on 2 years school-based professional experience in the country, the multiple factors affecting quality in schooling are discussed. The applicability of the GMR framework is then assessed. Given the recent militarisation of the Eritrean school system, it finds the framework seriously lacking, by failing to enable a critique of some of the issues that arguably go to the heart of the quality of education in the country.     

Quantitative content analysis procedures to analyse students’ reflective essays: A methodological review of psychometric and edumetric aspects

Reflective essays are a common way to develop higher education students’ reflection ability. Researchers frequently analyse reflective essays based on quantitative content analysis procedures (QCA). However, the quality criteria that should be met in QCA are not straightforward. This article aims to: (1) develop a framework of quality requirements for QCA; and (2) explore the extent to which QCA studies of students’ reflective essays meet these quality requirements. First, a methodological review of psychometric and edumetric criteria for QCA is conducted, resulting in a framework with required quality criteria. Second, 18 studies were selected in which QCA was used to analyse students’ reflective essays. These studies were scrutinised using the developed framework. The results showed that none of the selected studies met all requirements. It is concluded that QCA procedures for analysing students’ reflective essays need improvement and that the developed framework can be used to improve and evaluate these procedures.     

终身教育资历框架下的质量保证机制:欧盟和东盟的策略与启示

终身教育资历框架的建立为各级各类教育的纵向衔接和横向沟通提供了可能,为保证资历衔接的公平、公正和透明,严格的质量保证机制是基础。欧盟建立了基于资历框架下的高等教育质量保证标准和职业教育与培训质量保证参照框架,东盟构建了资历参照框架下的东盟质量保证框架并推动了东盟国家的资历衔接,通过对欧盟和东盟资历框架下的质量保证机制进行剖析,提出我国资历框架质量保证体系建立的策略性建议,以期为我国终身教育资历框架和配套质量保证体系的构建提供参考。     

Evaluating assessment quality in competence-based education: A qualitative comparison of two frameworks

Because learning and instruction are increasingly competence-based, the call for assessment methods to adequately determine competence is growing. Using just one single assessment method is not sufficient to determine competence acquisition. This article argues for Competence Assessment Programmes (CAPs), consisting of a combination of different assessment methods, including both traditional and new forms of assessment. To develop and evaluate CAPs, criteria to determine their quality are needed. Just as CAPs are combinations of traditional and new forms of assessment, criteria used to evaluate CAP quality should be derived from both psychometrics and edumetrics. A framework of 10 quality criteria for CAPs is presented, which is then compared to Messick's framework of construct validity. Results show that the 10-criterion framework partly overlaps with Messick's, but adds some important new criteria, which get a more prominent place in quality control issues in competence-based education.     

构建全民教育质量评估体系的蓝图--《2005全球全民教育监测报告》述评

2000年的世界全民教育论坛通过了《达喀尔行动纲领》,提出了“全面提高教育质量”的目标,教育质量逐渐为人们所关注和重视。2004年11月,联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)公布了《2005全球全民教育监测报告》(EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005),为教育质量指标体系的建立起了重要的推动作用。本文在介绍其产生背景、发展历程以及主要内容的基础上,分析了报告的成效与意义。     

远程学习支持服务学生感知服务质量评价个案研究——基于“内容-品质”二维框架和SERVPERF方法

以服务内容和服务品质两维框架为基础构建评价指标,采用SERVPERF方法对某网络教育学院的远程学习支持服务学生感知服务质量评价进行个案研究。研究认为,相比单从服务内容维度或服务品质维度进行评价,基于服务内容和服务品质两个维度更能全面、完整地评价学习支持服务质量。     

Developer,teacher, student and employer evaluations of competence-based assessment quality

This study examines how different stakeholders experience the quality of a nationally developed assessment framework for summative, competence-based assessment (CBA) in AVET, which aims to reflect theoretical characteristics of high quality CBAs. The quality of two summative CBAs, based on this national framework, is evaluated along an extensive, validated set of quality criteria for CBA evaluation and through involving key stakeholders (i.e., students, teachers, developers, and employers). By triangulating quantitative and qualitative evaluations and argumentations of key stakeholders, this study gives insight into the processes and characteristics that determine CBA quality in VET educational practice in relation to theoretical notions of high quality CBAs. Results support many theoretical characteristics and refine them for reaching quality in actual assessment practice. Strikingly, developers and teachers are more critical about the assessment quality than students and employers. The discussion reflects on the theoretical CBA characteristics in the light of the empirical findings and deduces practical implications for the national assessment framework as well as other summative CBAs in VET.     

Quality incentive based congestion control for multimedia communication over IP networks

In this paper we introduce a framework for using quality as an incentive to promote proper application level congestion control. Through integrating a joint-source channel coder and feedback-based congestion control scheme, we are able to construct accurate and efficient quality incentives. The framework is applicable in all network architectures where end-to-end congestion control may be used, and is as such not specific to either best-effort or traffic class-based architectures. The concept is presented along with preliminary simulations that highlight the resulting rate control accuracy. We also discuss how to implement some well-known congestion control schemes within our framework.     

Quality incentive based congestion control for multimedia communication over IP networks

In this paper we introduce a framework for using quality as an incentive to promote proper application level congestion control. Through integrating a joint-source channel coder and feedback-based congestion control scheme, we are able to construct accurate and efficient quality incentives. The framework is applicable in all network architectures where end-to-end congestion control may be used, and is as such not specific to either best-effort or traffic class-based architectures. The concept is presented along with preliminary simulations that highlight the resulting rate control accuracy. We also discuss how to implement some well-known congestion control schemes within our framework.     

我国专业学位研究生教育质量标准框架的构建

以职业需求为导向、以创新实践能力培养为重点是完善高层次应用型人才培养体系的重要途径,也是专业学位研究生教育的发展需要。随着专业学位研究生人数的逐年扩增,其教育质量备受各界关注。以TSR模型为基础,通过分析高层次应用型人才培养的硕博双维度、培养过程的内卷化表现、质量标准框架的多指标环节,研究表明,可以从内部质量保障和外部质量监管两个维度构建了硕士和博士层次专业学位研究生教育质量标准框架,不同层次专业学位研究生教育质量标准的构建应呈现不同特色,硕士层次的框架突出职业导向、专业特色及就业竞争力;博士层次的框架突出应用创新能力及科技成果转化。     

澳大利亚质量标准化下的职业教育与培训之启示——以巴拉瑞特大学TAFE学院为例

澳大利亚的职业教育独具特色,通过实地参观、驻校调研与澳方教育界同仁面对面交流,身临其境地了解了澳大利亚教育管理体制、职业教育质量保障体系及其执行机制,获得了有益的启示和值得借鉴的经验。如澳大利亚职业教育与培训在国家培训框架的规范下,从教育与培训机构的准入、教育与培训输出质量、职业资质与文凭的互认流动,课程内容与开发的要求等方面都实现了标准化。国家层面统一的职业教育体制建设与质量培训框架的建立对提振澳职业教育与培训至关重要,是根本,澳大利亚的国家培训框架的建设,从根本上改观了其职业教育与培训的局面;好的质量框架制定后得到有效的执行是职业教育与培训事业良性发展的关键。TAFE学院的自我约束,严格按框架标准做,是提供高质量职业教育与培训的重要保证。     

Beyond the Rhetoric: A framework for evaluating improvements to the student experience

A framework is described to assist institutions in evaluating the extent to which activities described as “quality improvements” or “quality enhancements” are likely to directly improve the student experience. The framework classifies ways of improving the student experience into “coaching improvements”, “umpiring improvements”, and “facilities improvements”, while also considering the location of improvements along a “risk avoidance—quality assurance—quality enhancement” continuum. The utility of this framework is explored through case studies of sector‐wide initiatives in Scotland and Australia. If used to stimulate internal discussion, the framework can help institutions to better balance their efforts to improve the student experience.     

“苏格兰学分与资格框架”的质量保障机制研究

质量保障机制应成为资格框架建立及运行过程中的核心问题。作为涵盖苏格兰311个组织11500个“资格”在内的“苏格兰学分与资格框架”,其质量保障机制的特色是“‘共担责任’的质量保障模式”“坚守质量保障‘原则’”以及“将‘学分评级机构’作为资格框架质量保障的核心和关键环节”。“苏格兰学分与资格框架”的质量保障机制,对推动“苏格兰学分与资格框架”成为国际上最成熟的资格框架之一功不可没,其经验可以为我国尚处于探索阶段的国家资历框架建设提供重要的借鉴。     

地市级基层电大开放教育教学模块化管理的实践与思考

多年来基层电大教学管理已形成“分散的质量监管架构”的状态,所存在的各种问题困扰着基层电大教学管理的实践操作者。如何将基层电大教学管理中现存的“分散的质量监管架构”体系进行持续修正,作者认为应以“以提高培养学生质量为本,将分散的模块化管理逐步修正形成环状教学管理信息系统”为指导思想,将开放大学制度设计标准与教学管理实践结合起来,形成系统框架,为开放大学建成做好前期准备。     

博士生学业成就影响因素分析及其概念模型研究

博士生教育承担着为党和国家培养高层次人才的重要任务,全球化背景下知识经济竞争的加剧使得博士人才培养的重要性日益凸显。随着我国研究生招生规模的扩大,博士生教育面临的教育质量问题愈发严峻。博士生教育质量体现在博士生的学业成就上,而影响学业成就的因素是多方面的,了解影响因素并揭示相互之间的关联无疑可以帮助博士生顺利完成学业,提升高等教育质量。本研究基于契合理论,扩展了博士生环境契合度的理论框架,创建了更为细致的博士生教育契合度多维框架,包括博士生环境契合度、学生职业契合度和博士生文化契合度三个维度。该分析框架呈现了博士生教育契合度与博士生学业成就之间的关联,对于完善博士人才培养、提升教育质量具有重要作用。     

Designing context-based teaching materials by transforming authentic scientific modelling practices in chemistry

ABSTRACT

One of the challenges of context-based science education is to construct high quality teaching materials. This paper presents results from a study investigating the heuristic value of an activity-based instructional framework for transformation of authentic scientific practices for use in the science classroom, in line with cultural historic activity theory (CHAT). The activity-based instructional framework was used to transform the authentic practice of Modelling Human Exposure and Uptake of Chemicals in Consumer Products into a curriculum unit. The transformation was conducted by experienced chemistry teachers well informed about CHAT. The heuristic value was judged on criteria completeness, instructiveness and appreciation. Collected data are designed curriculum materials and a focus group interview. Analysis of the designed curriculum materials indicated that the framework was highly complete and instructive, except for evoking reflection in students. Most important, the framework proved successful in operationalising CHAT into concrete guidelines for educational design. Additionally, the results show that the instructional framework is highly appreciated by the users. Further development of such instructional frameworks is important, since it fosters the construction of high quality context-based curriculum materials.     

研究生教育和谐的内外部质量保障机制的构建

针对目前研究生教育质量面临的问题,分析了研究生教育质量保障体系研究的现状,提出了以研究生教育质量保障方式和方法制度化的模式,来构建研究生教育质量保障机制的观点,阐述了构建原则、方法和步骤。在此基础上,构建了内外和谐的研究生教育质量保障机制。