Validating a teaching survey which drives increased response rates in a unit survey

At Curtin University, student perceptions of teaching and learning are gathered and reported online through eVALUate, a system that includes separate unit and teaching surveys. This article reports the development and validation of one of those surveys, the eVALUate teaching survey, which was developed based on the research literature on excellent teaching and evaluation. Since its development in 2006, repeated statistical testing using progressively larger samples has shown that the survey is valid and reliable. Moreover, the way in which the teaching survey is deployed within eVALUate, appended to the unit survey, which provides crucial institutional data, has significantly increased university response rates. This validated instrument is used for self-reflection, professional development, and rewarding staff.     

Educational Broadcasting

Bernard Rubin's Media, Politics &;amp; Democracy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977- $8.00/4.00)

Forrest P. Chisman's Attitude Psychology and the Study of Public Opinion (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977—$13.50)

Sidney Kraus, ed. The Great Debates: Kennedy vs. Nixon, 1960 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977—$17.50/5.95)

Jean Schwoebel, Newsroom Democracy: The Case for Independence of the Press (Monograph Series No. 2, Iowa Center for Communication Study, School of Journalism, Yniversity of Iowa, Iowa City 52242—$2.50, paper)

Rex Winsbury, New Technology and the Journalist (Thomson Foundation Editorial Study Centre, Thomson House, Cardiff, CF1 1WR, Great Britain-75p or about $1.25, paper)

Laura Longley Babb, ed. The Editorial Page (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1977 &;ndash;price not given, paper)

Bob Roberts, for telling us about Magazine Studies Quarterly (MSQ Ltd., Box 2054, Muncie, Indiana 47302—about $5.00 per year for four issues)

Morgan Harris and Patti Karp's How to Make News and Influence People (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1976—$7.95, with a paperback edition available, for which no price given)

Alice Payne Hackett and James Henry Burke's 80 Years of Best Sellers: 1895-1975 (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977—$14.95)

Mort Walker's Backstage at the Strips (New York: A&;amp;W Publishers, Inc., 95 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016—$6.95, paper)

Peter Haining's Terror: A History of Horror Illustrations from Pulp Magazines (New York: A&;amp;W Publishers, 1977—$12.50/6.95)     

Compounding Confusion? When Illustrative Practical Work Falls Short of its Purpose—A Case Study

Illustrative practical work is commonly used in chemistry education to enrich students?? understandings of chemical phenomena. However, it is possible that such practical work may not serve to foster understanding but rather cause further confusion. This paper reports the struggles experienced by a group of senior (Year 12) secondary chemistry students as they sought to understand redox chemical concepts involved in the reactions occurring when steel wool is added to copper sulfate solution. The results showed that the students lacked the skills required to make accurate observations during the practical work. Nor were they able to link the observed phenomena with previously taught redox concepts. The paper also presents possible ways to overcome the difficulties encountered by students as they move between macroscopic and submicroscopic levels of representation of redox reactions.     

Graduate attributes for 2020 and beyond: recommendations for Australian higher education providers

Given global uncertainty related to rapid technological developments and the world of work, alongside other equally (if not more) concerning social and political disruptions – the assurance of graduate attributes of importance to employability and citizenship are arguably more important than ever. In this paper, we investigate three areas of practice by Australian universities, and non-university higher education providers who have been omitted from past analyses of this kind. First, we examine the graduate attributes most frequently published by institutions and discipline groups and whether emphasis has changed over time. Second, we investigate how graduate attributes are assured, including a scan of the inputs put in practice by higher education providers, and comparison of graduate and employer perceptions of achievement gathered through recent national surveys. Third, we connect our findings in the first two areas and make recommendations for the attributes needed to equip 2020+ graduates for citizenship and employability. Based on these analyses, we recommend that all providers, university and non-university, and the discipline groups within them: make graduate attributes more visible to the public and especially to students; continue embedding them in the assessed curricula, but also ensure that assessment is explicit and that attributes are communicated and explained repeatedly throughout the course; continue to use stakeholder perception measures, but more consistently align skills in data collection instruments to allow a more constructive comparison, and also draw on more objective measures such as actual assessment of achievement; continue to emphasise attributes associated with global citizenship, teamwork and communication; give more emphasis to independence, critical thinking and problem-solving, and the fundamental foundational skills of written and spoken communication. Most importantly, continue to revise the attributes regularly to ensure fitness for purpose in the rapidly changing environment within which we and our graduates operate.     

The National Library for the Handicapped Child

Beverley Mathias is one of the trustees of the Sidney Robbins Trust, set up in memory of the founder ofChildren's Literature in Education. Since 1985 she has been Director of The National Library for the Handicapped Child in the U.K. The Editors invited her to describe the work of this important institution in the field of learning to read.Beverley Mathias worked as a librarian in Australia, where she was also associated with Court and Joyce Oldmeadow, winners of the Eleanor Farjeon Award, specialising in children's books. From 1979 to 1985, Ms. Mathias was Children's Books Officer for the National Book League (now the Book Trust) in London. She has published two poetry compilations for children and a new series of books for deaf and hearing children.     

Some classroom applications of current ideas on conceptual learning in science

Conclusion Evidence collected so far seems to substantiate the contention that the constructivist approach to teaching has assisted students in their ability to interact with and internalize scientific concepts. The meanings attached to these concepts has become personalized in accordance with the learner's level of cognitive development. The question of intellectual growth is less decisive in the absence of more extensive long term studies. From the teaching point of view this method is both interesting and rewarding, providing an opportunity to reflect on and evaluate a personalized construct for conceptual learning.     

A Competency‐Based Study of Academic Staff Development Needs

The role of Australian academics is undergoing a period of rapid change as the Federal Government attempts to restructure both the higher education system and the economy. With these changes in role comes a need for the continuing professional development of academics. This paper gives details of a study which adopted a competency‐based approach to identify the job requirements, skill‐deficiencies and training needs of one group of Australian academics. This group ‐ staff from the Business faculties of (former) Colleges of Advanced Education ‐ is of particular interest because its members are experiencing uncommonly rapid growth and change. In general, the respondents tended to rate (a) teaching skills as more important than research skills, (b) their own teaching skills as more highly developed than their research competencies, and (c) their desire for training as greatest with respect to several specific research skills. Some potential barriers to the successful implementation of professional development programmes are discussed.     

Making the Ethical Transition in South Africa: Acquiring Human Bodies for Training in Anatomy

While dissection remains the method of choice for teaching human anatomy, ethical requirements for obtaining cadavers has made the process of acquiring human bodies more strenuous for institutions. In Africa and at the School of Anatomical Sciences in South Africa, dependence on unclaimed bodies has been prevalent. The aim of the present study was to determine whether more rigorous application of ethical consent has altered the provenance of the cadavers in the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. The numbers of bequeathed/donated/unclaimed cadavers received over the period 2013–2017, as well as their sex and population affinity were analyzed. The majority (96.8%) of the cadavers dissected over the period were from bequests/donations. Marginally more females than males were available. In addition, the population affinity of the cadavers had changed from a majority of South African African (unclaimed) bodies to a majority of South African White (bequest/donated) bodies. The study shows that even with ethical constraints it is possible to transition from the use of mainly unclaimed bodies to the acquisition of bequeathed/donor bodies. However, there may be challenges in relation to anatomical collections in the School as few of the bequest/donated cadavers remain in the School to be added to the collections. These changes also affect the demographics of the Schools' collections.