Social moderation,assessment and assuring standards for accounting graduates

Evidencing student achievement of standards is a growing imperative worldwide. Key stakeholders (including current and prospective students, government, regulators and employers) want confidence that threshold learning standards in an accounting degree have been assured. Australia’s new higher education regulatory environment requires that student achievements are benchmarked against intended programme learning outcomes, guided by published disciplinary standards and a national qualifications framework, and against other higher education providers. Here, we report on a process involving academics from 10 universities, aided by professional practitioners, to establish and equip assessors to reliably assure threshold learning standards in accounting that are nationally comparable. Importantly, we are learning more about how standards are interpreted. Based on the premise that meaning is constructed from tacit experiences, social interactions and intentional reflection on explicit information, we report outcomes of three multi-part calibration interventions, situated around judgements of the quality of the written communication skills exhibited in student work and their related assessment tasks. Qualitative data from 30 participants in the calibration process suggest that they perceive that the process both assists them both in developing a shared understanding of the accounting threshold learning standards and in the redesign of assessment tasks to more validly assess the threshold learning standards.     

Comparing multimethod assessment of approaches to learning among preschool children: Direct measure,teacher report,and parent report

A multi‐informant or multimethod approach has been suggested for use in educational evaluation and children's development assessment. However, in the study field of approaches to learning, most previous studies used one method to measure approaches to learning. In addition, compared with kindergarten and elementary children, younger children have received little attention. This study was dedicated to determining whether a multimethod approach (direct measure, teacher report, and parent report) was needed to assess preschool children's approaches to learning. A total of 713 preschool children were enrolled in this study. Correlations and multiple regressions were conducted to analyze the correlation among the three methods as well as their criterion validity based upon comparisons with an assessment of children's early childhood development. The results revealed significant but weak correlations among the three assessment methods. The direct measure of approaches to learning was more relevant to children's early childhood development than the teacher report and the parent report. The criterion validity of using the direct measure to assess preschool children's approaches to learning was also better than that of the teacher report and the parent report. Therefore, the direct measure was recommended for use in assessing preschool children's approaches to learning, and teacher report can be used as a supplement.     

Formal,nonformal and informal modes of learning: A glimpse of the Tanzanian experience

Conclusion This short report has reflected upon and illustrated the different ways and means by which formal, nonformal and informal modes of learning have been made to interact with each other in Tanzania. Integration to such an extent has been made possible both through structural changes in the educational system as well as through the operation of some specific learning programmes. The rationale for using such an integrative approach has also been outlined.The interaction between formal, nonformal and informal structures and modes of learning is certainly not comprehensive nor completely integrated, as is evident from the report. Rather, a rational start has been made in that direction within the overall framework of Tanzania's development goals and aspirations.     

Inter-Life: a novel,three-dimensional,virtual learning environment for life transition skills learning

This paper presents the findings from one of the first empirical research studies which has investigated the impact of Inter-Life; a novel three-dimensional immersive virtual learning environment, on learning and development of social and educational life transition skills in a group of looked after and accommodated children. Drawing on social constructivism in which meaningful learning is related to context and situated in practice, we report on a series of Inter-Life workshops that enabled young people to work together and through the processes of participation in authentic learning activities contributed to the development of life transition skills such as self-confidence, empathy, negotiation and mediation skills, teamwork and active problem-solving skills. The novel affordances of the Inter-Life virtual world which contributed to the development of the learning community included the ability to personalise learner engagement and activities from the outset along with ‘co-presence’ and ‘immersion’ and the flexibility provided by the innovative, technology-enhanced Inter-Life platform. This study presents some empirical evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of new models of learning that are mediated by innovative malleable technologies that can be shaped by the learner in a participatory manner.     

Understanding effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate academic stress,motivation and coping over time

The rapid and unprecedented shift from face-to-face instruction to remote online learning as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on teaching and learning in Higher Education: students had to adapt to a new way of learning, away from typical campus settings and their peers, and to new forms of assessments. This study examined academic stress, learning strategies, motivation and ways of coping from a sample of 177 unique students from a large London university, collecting primary data via survey at three time points during the academic year 2020/21 when teaching was remote and online only. Our findings show how patterns in academic stress, learning strategies, motivation and coping vary over the course of the academic year giving novel insight into how student learning and adaptation to the situation changed over time. We also report on differences in these patterns according to year group and for those students who are the first-in-family to attend university and those who are not. Based on these findings we identify priority areas where higher education institutions should support undergraduate students and provide evidence that some groups of students may need more and targeted support to secure their ongoing learning and well-being.     

Sketching,not representational competence,predicts improved science learning

Representational competence is a target of novel learning environments given the assumption that improved representational competence improves learning in science. There exists little evidence, however, that improving representational competence is positively correlated with learning outcomes across science disciplines. In this report, we argue that the previously reported weak relationships between representational competence and science learning outcomes have resulted from designs that do not explicitly analyze the discipline‐specific skills related to the representational competence construct. Here, we demonstrate through a detailed analysis of students' representation use that at least two demonstrated skills comprising representational competence (e.g., construction and selection) are not strongly related to improved conceptual understanding in the domain. We discuss the implications of these results for the design of future learning environments that aim to improve learning through improved representational competence.     

保定建设学习型社区的现状、问题及对策

学习型社区是构建学习型社会的基础,是未来我国社区建设的主流方向。调查表明,保定市社区教育取得了可喜的成绩,学习型社区雏形开始形成,但也存在投入不足,重视不够,学习活动开展不普遍等问题,应转变观念,加大投入力度,充分发挥高校作用,对社区教育工作者进行培训,加快创建学习型组织。     

高职英语课程学习需求分析——以顺德职业技术学院为例

本文对调查对象的学习条件、现有水平、学习目标与困难以及他们对教师的要求,对教材、学习内容、活动方式等的看法进行了分析研究,并比较了有关专业学生的需求差异。了解了学生对高职英语课程学习的需求状况,为确定教学目标,开展教学活动,选择教学方法、内容等提供依据,也为后续课题研究和课程建设提供参考。     

Analyzing the Roles,Activities, and Skills of Learning Technologists: A Case Study From City University London

This article reports on a case study carried out at City University London into the role of learning technologists. The article examines how the role developed by providing points of comparison with a report on the career development of learning technology staff in UK universities in 2001. This case study identified that learning technologists undertook diverse roles and acquired the skills to work in different communities (professional, academic, and research). It also found that although the core role and activities of learning technologists were similar to findings in 2001, the changing context in which they operated added complexity to the role and impacted the skills and experience required.     

Coteaching, as colearning, is praxis

In this study, we report on our learning as we engaged in a four-month experience of coteaching a water unit in a Grade 7 classroom. Working at each other's elbows, in praxis, provided many opportunities to learn together: teaching and about teaching. We use two examples, learning to ask productive questions and struggling to enact an orderly curriculum to show how coteaching affords colearning, and how the lack of coteaching leads to struggling. Our work also suggests that coteaching allows for a mode of learning that is not captured by Schön's notions of reflection-in-practice and reflection-on-practice. We conclude that coteaching, as colearning, is praxis.     

Information, Knowledge and Learning

The recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education are assessed in the light of their vision of a learning society and criticised in terms of the inevitability of a knowledge economy with a new lifelong learning sector. While the National Committee has produced a report which demands careful study by everyone involved with higher education it has not provided us with a workable blueprint for the construction of a learning society.
The relationships between information, knowledge and learning are analysed in terms of three interacting economies – a cognitive economy, a learning economy and a knowledge economy. Technology will play a vital role in the evolution of these three inter-linked economies in the following ways:
• The cognitive economy will be transformed by the role of machine agents
• The learning economy will be transformed by the development of new ways of structuring and accessing instantiated knowledge
• Interactions between the creators and supplies of knowledge will create a trading economy based on wideband communications and internet technologies.
The major driver of the development of a knowledge economy will be a demand for lifelong learning. After a decade or so, by far the largest part of lifelong learning will be delivered off campus and into the workplace or home. In responding to these developments higher education will have to adapt radically.     

Epistemologies, conceptions of learning, and study practices in medicine and psychology

The subjects (N = 175), freshmen and fifth year students in psychology (n = 59) and medicine (n = 116), described their modes of studying by answering open-ended questions and Likert-type questions, presented to them within a task booklet. They were first asked to write down their own subjective definitions of learning. Scales to classify the answers were adopted from Lonka et al. (1990). Second, subjects were given a comprehension monitoring probe adopted from Ryan (1984). Responses were analysed to determine the specific comprehension criteria the student employed. Third, students rated a set of 71 statements concerning learning styles, regulation of learning, and conceptions of learning (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Vermunt & van Rijswijk, 1988). Embedded in the last set of statements were seven items that were used to classify students as dualists or relativists (Perry, 1968; Ryan, 1984).It was found that constructivist conceptions of learning were the most typical of (advanced) psychology students, whereas learning was more often seen as intake of knowledge by the medical students. Highest dualism scores were obtained by the first year students, especially medical students. In general, dualists were more likely to report knowledge comprehension criteria to test their understanding than were relativists, and dualists' conceptions of learning were also more passive. Four principal components were identified that reflected qualitatively different approaches to learning and knowledge: externally regulated and reproduction-directed learning (PC1), self-regulated, meaning-directed, and goal-oriented learning (PC2), constructivist epistemology (PC3), and active professional orientation (PC4). Medical students scored higher on variables related to PC1 and PC4, whereas psychology students scored higher on scales associated with PC2 and PC3.     

Exploring school stress in middle childhood: interpretations,experiences, and coping

With increased academic and social challenges at school, middle childhood can be a particularly stressful time. The present study explored how a sample of children from a supportive learning environment interpreted, experienced and reported coping with everyday stress at school. Using a phenomenological approach, third graders attending an elementary school in the United States participated in semi-structured interviews in which they could discuss the nature of stress, stressful moments at school, and their responses to different situations. Despite nearly optimal learning conditions, child reports included a range of school stressors. Children’s interpretations of ‘stress’ seemed inextricably linked to their learning and social obstacles at school; those daily experiences were further linked to coping strategies. The discussion section emphasises the importance of understanding how children interpret and report stress and coping, and how pastoral care can support young students.     

Prior knowledge, attitude, and strategy use in an introduction to statistics course

The present study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the learning and motivational strategies used by students in a beginning-level statistics course. The research questions that guided the investigation are: (1) Do motivational variables account for unique variance in the academic performance of statistics students? (2) Do deeper-level processing strategies account for unique variance in the academic performance of statistics students? (3) Do successful students report using different motivation and learning strategies than unsuccessful students in a beginning-level statistics course?     

透视美国网络高等教育现状的一个窗口——斯隆联盟2007年网络高等教育报告解读

2007年10月,著名网络高等教育研究机构斯隆联盟发布了题为《线上的国家：网络教育成长的五年》的年度报告。这是斯隆联盟自2003年来发布的关于美国网络高等教育现状的第五个报告,这一系列报告已成为透视美国网络高等教育发展的一个不可多得的窗口。本文从2007年度报告的概况入手,分别从美国网络高等教育的发展现状、发展动因与前景预期以及制约因素等方面进行了解读,认为美国网络高等教育基本的竞争格局已经形成,其增长点因院校类型和规模各异;美国高等院校介入网络教育的动因主要是扩大教育供给、促进教育公平,而且正面临着从“增量增长”向“存量增长”的历史转变;美国网络高等教育的可持续发展有赖于各参与群体的成熟与合作。最后本文提出了几点启示,即我国网络高等教育的健康可持续发展不仅需要一个成熟的市场环境,而且需要一整套完善的市场化体制与机制作为制度保障;还有赖于思想观念与发展模式上的进一步革新与突破;此外,网络教育机构应重视市场观念,加强对市场真实需求的把握及应对能力。     

Learning disabilities as functions of familial learning problems and developmental problems

A family history of learning problems as provided on a specially designed questionnaire by maternal report was examined in families of 101 children with learning disabilities and 171 children without disabilities. Diagnoses of learning disabilities followed the U.S. Office of Education definition. Students were selected from the Special School District of St. Louis County and the Pattonville School District. A life history of developmental risk factors in the child subject was also examined in the same two groups. Learning disabilities were found to be strongly familial. In principle, the definition of learning disabilities excluded from the study children with problems attributable to child rearing, emotional, or motivational factors. The report of a family history of learning problems is therefore interpreted as consistent with, although not unequivocally supportive of, genetic factors as determinants. Among developmental factors, only male gender proved to have a significant association with learning disabilities.     

Community College Student Perceptions of Their Experiences Related to Global Learning: Understanding the Impact of Family,Faculty, and the Curriculum

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to better understand community college students’ engagement in global learning. The study, supported by the Florida Consortium for International Education, was conducted during the 2015–2016 academic year in Florida across nine community colleges drawing from a 55-question survey with an 11% response rate (n = 175). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, with data analysis conducted using NVivo and SPSS software. An electronic survey was piloted with one institution, and a refined version was sent to select professors across nine community colleges in the state for distribution to students in the fall semester of 2015. A total of 175 students completed the survey. The majority of students responding were interested in global learning; however, they reported that this interest stemmed primarily from family encouragement and personal experiences rather than from their academic experiences. Students did report that professors were promoting global learning in their classes, although the results were not statistically significant. Students who did not express an interest in global learning felt as though it was not important because it was unrelated to their daily lives. It is the hope that this study will inform community college administrators and faculty to better understand how and why students become interested in global learning to more effectively promote their engagement both on and off campus.     

Taking critical thinking,creativity and grit online

Technology has the potential to facilitate the development of higher-order thinking skills in learning. There has been a rush towards online learning by education systems during COVID-19; this can therefore be seen as an opportunity to develop students’ higher-order thinking skills. In this short report we show how critical thinking and creativity can be developed in an online context, as well as highlighting the importance of grit. We also suggest the importance of heuristic evaluation in the design of online systems to support twenty-first century learning.

     

Helping students understand their learning styles: Effects on study self‐efficacy,preference for group work,and group climate

Small tutorial groups in higher education are often composed without regard to students’ gender or broad knowledge background, for example, yet research indicates that composing groups on the basis of gender and prior qualifications may have significant effects on assessment outcomes. Previous studies have also investigated the effects of composing groups on the basis of learning style preference and found no effects. The effect of combining group composition with training in learning styles is unclear, however. In this study we report on the effects of workshop training in learning styles on balanced group members’ study self‐efficacy, preference for group work, group climate, and assessment performance. Although we found no effects, students reported greater self‐awareness of their own learning and acceptance of others’ styles. We conclude that in collaborative learning environments, training may need to go beyond facilitating growth in students’ self‐awareness to include a focus on how to apply this understanding to improving group function and helping others to learn.     

The Impact of Implementing an Educational Project, the Solar Village, on Pupils, Teachers, and Parents

In this project, we suggest building a real model of solar village inside schools, which use only solar energy. Such projects emphasize the importance of energy for a technological society and the advantage of alternative energy sources. In this study, we report on pupils in the 6th grade in three elementary schools in Israel who were active participants in building systems that use solar energy. The study objective was to examine the educational, social, and scientific impact of this project on students, parents, and teachers. The study results showed that the three groups (students, parents, and teachers) highly appreciate the project, educationally and socially. Parents supported the project because they observed the positive impact on their children's learning. Teachers rated the project highly because of students' interaction and involvement, as well as their increases in learning skills such as developing reading plans and executing research and writing reports.