Collaborative research for assessment for learning

This paper reports on a collaborative research study between three secondary teachers and two university researchers, initiated by the teachers, into the practice and impacts of assessment for learning in science, geography and history classes. The research provides insights into how teachers and researchers can collaborate to develop a research and practice agenda. The study illustrates the need for a dynamic interconnection between the personal, micro or school-related level and the macro or policy level factors. The findings highlight the importance of external support, shared teacher knowledge and beliefs, professional experimentation, and shared reflection on student responses to classroom innovations.     

Evolutionary trajectories in school assessment systems: the case of Bhutan

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of school assessment in Bhutan, briefly, as a background to considering the present and future school assessment issues especially as they relate to quality concerns and educational improvement in Bhutan. A benchmark for Bhutan, the National Educational Assessment (NEA) programme in Bhutan was inspired by a 2002 initiative in South Asia funded by the World Bank. In this paper, we address how the 2003 NEA was developed. Emerging issues are discussed including methods of reporting and the concept of “benchmarking” in three senses of that term. Technical issues are also addressed in the context of the desire to administer another comparative NEA in 2010. Out of these developments, the Bhutan Board of Examinations has developed ideas about expanding access to system-wide assessment data to different levels of stakeholders in order to achieve improvements. A 2x2 matrix is provided identifying four key questions around judgments of educational achievement at two key levels (system and school) within and between these levels. This matrix represents a model of the evolution of assessment in Bhutan. This paper should be of interest to education systems in developing countries that have undertaken or intend to undertake national educational assessment programmes.     

Senior High School Student Biology Learning in Interactive Teaching

This paper reports Grade 12 students’ biology learning during interactive teaching classes in 2001 in Taiwan. The researcher as teacher, working within an interpretive framework, set out to improve her senior high school student biology teaching and learning. An intervention based on a social constructivist view of learning was designed, implemented and evaluated. The findings of this study indicate that intervention students’ cognitive development was facilitated, their reasoning and social abilities were enhanced, and they enjoyed the lessons more. Their first term examination outcomes were comparable with those in the traditional teaching classes. This study, therefore, provides an example for how interactive teaching, based on a social constructivist view of learning, can be effectively used for teaching and learning biology in the senior high school in Taiwan.     

Preparing Entry‐Level Counselors for Collaboration

Over a period of 5 years, faculty members from the North Carolina State University's Counselor Education Program have integrated a curriculum enhancement to promote collaboration behaviors among program graduates across the master's degree options for training school, college, and community counselors. The School–College–Community Collaboration (SC3) idea was integrated into a 48‐credit master's degree curriculum accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The authors present the rationale for the training program, historical background, program enhancement content, evaluation findings and faculty responses, and future plans for the SC3 enhancement program.     

Challenging experiences faced by beginning casual teachers: here one day and gone the next!

The Educational Alumni Support Project (EdASP) indicated that there is an urgent need for the teaching profession to support casual beginning teachers (CBTs). The EdASP that was carried out at the University of New England provided online support for primary and secondary beginning teachers, yet the majority of postings were submitted by CBTs. In general, these casual teachers experienced feelings of alienation, culture shock, a lack of school and systemic support, and are often not considered part of the school community by staff or students. The analysis of postings by CBTs provides further insight into the difficulties they face, as well as reveals or reinforces strategies that could effectively facilitate their teaching. Many of these findings are not new, yet the call to aid casuals continues to be overlooked. This need for support is both professional and pragmatic. Ethically, education – a nurturing profession – should support its novices. In addition, the transition period from pre‐service to professional teacher has significant implications for teacher educators plus the potential retention of teachers.     

Games children play: How they increase the intellect?L'Enfance. Et les jeux: Comment ceux-ci peuvent developper l'intelligenceJugos de niños: ¿Cómo pueden ayudar al desarollo del intelecto?

This paper contends that games are powerful promoters of intellectual ability and are too little used in educational curricula. It offers nine propositions in support of this thesis. It explores the possibilities of classifying games in categories which relate to their uses and suggests a digital code for indicating both category and status within a category. Finally, the findings of some preliminary and rudimentary research are presented to suggest that the systematic use of games may be as influential as systematic instruction in altering scores on IQ tests.     

The Data Science Opportunity: Crafting a Holistic Strategy

The rise of data-driven research and discovery may be one of the greatest strategic opportunities to confront academic libraries in a generation. The argument advanced in this article is that the data science opportunity is about data curation AND data analysis. Thus the development of a holistic data science strategy ought to include both elements. Up until now, academic libraries have largely responded to the data science opportunity from a curatorial and archiving perspective. However, this is beginning to change. The case for crafting a holistic data science strategy is presented in six parts in this article. In part one, a broad overview of the data science opportunity is presented, followed by a definition of data analysis and data curation in part two. The traditional academic library response (curation) and a reframing of it to include data analysis are then presented in two separate parts. And finally, part five reports findings from a recent survey conducted at the University of Florida (UF) which indicates robust demand for training in analytical tools and technologies. The article concludes with some thoughts on the challenges of offering data analysis services, using the UF experience to highlight key issues.     

Issues in Selection for Vocational Education: some lessons from the Queensland experience

Selection for tertiary education is an increasingly problematic issue wherever supply exceeds demand. Intense competition for places in Australian tertiary institutions has led to the development of state centralised selection systems. In Queensland, selection is managed for tertiary institutions by the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC). The system is explained and the benefits and consequences of recent incorporation of technical and further education (TAFE) diplomas into the system analysed. Implications for other education systems facing similar selection pressures are discussed.