Encouraging student engagement in a blended learning environment: the use of contemporary learning spaces

Research shows that some non‐traditional students find the university environment alienating, impersonal and unsupportive. The ‘Quickstart’ project combines traditional lectures and seminars with a sequence of carefully designed online tasks, aimed at lessening the impact of the start of year uncertainties for new students. One thousand students across two geographic locations participated in the programme. The project was evaluated by considering three sources of data: data generated by server statistics of 40,358 successful requests for pages in the first four weeks of teaching; student anonymous responses to an online end of course questionnaire as well as extracts from their reflective journals; and the student experience as viewed through the eyes of a researcher in the classroom. Findings offer insights into how the students blend classroom time with their own time; and student perceptions of their own learning experiences. A collaborative learning experience involving travel to a contemporary learning space (the Tate Modern Art Gallery) mitigated the possible isolating effect of the use of technology; instead the technology enhanced the discussion and participation in activities. The students visited the Tate Modern and then facilitated their discussions by sending each other SMS text messages; they bonded very quickly in the seminar groups, where weekly online tasks that had been prepared individually ‘outside’ the classroom were the focus of group discussion and debate ‘inside the classroom’; their end of semester reflective writing showed very clearly how valuable the early ‘friendship’ groups had been for them settling into university life.     

Towards mapping competencies through learning analytics: real-time competency assessment for career direction through interactive simulation

Abstract

The selection of career paths and making of academic choices is a difficult and often confusing task for young people. The impact on their lives, however, is enormous as it can determine entire future career possibilities. In India, a general remedy to this stress is that instead of choosing a field of study tailored to individual preferences and strengths, topics are chosen that align with the choices of the students’ families or their friends. This can have the effect of entrenching patterns of intergenerational inequity. The aim of this research is to give students greater access to the knowledge capital which will help them make better choices. This is achieved by engaging students in the career planning process, in order to convey information in a likeable and credible way. The COMPCAT (Competency and Career Assessment Tool) game engine combines the use of learning analytics and real time, interactive computer simulations designed to gain insights into the students’ engagement in the making of these complex decisions. This paper presents the conceptual architecture of the game and demonstrates its role in enhancing the learning effectiveness of the students.     

Developing educational goals: insights from a Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme

The rapid changes facing higher education are placing increased focus on the quality of the student experience, achieving learning outcomes, and employability expectations. As a result, academics in teaching roles are increasingly measured on performance via student evaluations amplifying attention on professional development initiatives for academics. One such initiative is the Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme currently in practice across many Australian universities. The critical component of the scheme is the establishment of teaching goals that provide focus and direction for the peer partnership. This study addresses two questions: (1) Around which aspects do academics set their goals for teaching improvement? and (2) How do academics’ goals align with the SMART goal-setting framework that is prescribed in the scheme? Findings from five Australian universities showed that goals align with a variety of educational areas yet many were underdeveloped, or misaligned with the proposed strategy. The implications of this are discussed and a framework for setting education goals for teaching improvement is developed.     

School principals and racism: responding to Aveling

This study responds to Nado Aveling's call in ‘Anti-racism in Schools: A question of leadership?’ (Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2007, 28(1), 69–85) for further investigation into racism in Australian schools. Aveling's interview study concluded that an overwhelming number of school principals denied the presence of racism in their schools, and that there were no discernible differences in how principals in different schools constructed racism. In contrast, our research found that school principals' constructions of cultural racism are strongly influenced by their school contexts. We elucidate these differences examining the various intersections between race, class and religion deployed by principals in different sites, and argue for the utility of examining and theorising cultural racism using an intersectional approach. By bringing context into our analysis we provide a more nuanced insight into the different ways in which racism is constituted and understood by Australian school principals.     

The fidelity of formative assessment implementation: issues of breadth and quality

The paper examines the breadth and quality of formative assessment implementation of 202 mathematics and science teachers who participated in a two-year, school-based professional development programme that focused on formative assessment. Results are triangulated using three sources of data: baseline and end-of-Year 2 data from an annual survey, logs that were completed daily at six two-week time points and reflections on formative assessment techniques that the teachers wrote weekly during the log collection periods. The data indicate that while teachers made significant improvements in some areas, certain aspects of formative assessment are less emphasised and there are some patterns around quality of implementation that suggest more targeted professional development is warranted.     

Stress,Anxiety, and School Burnout Post COVID-19: A Study of French Adolescents

This study examined the symptoms of exhaustion, school stress and anxious school refusal from a comparative developmental perspective in French adolescents enrolled in public and private general, technological and vocational schools. It is particularly important to consider academic stress levels, anxiety and school burnout in middle and high school students as they are linked to many mental health problems, such as depression or suicidal thoughts. In this study, four hundred and ninety-three adolescents completed an online questionnaire consisting of the School Burnout Inventory, the Echelle Toulousaine de Stress Scolaire perçu and the School refusal evaluation was developed. The results show a very high percentage of suffering among teenagers. The young people most affected are high school students and more particularly students in 10th and 12th grade, with nearly three-quarters of them suffering from school burnout and/or high school stress, without any distinction between the sexes or the type of schooling.     

Internationalisation in higher education in Latin America: policies and practice in Colombia and Mexico

There is now an extensive literature about internationalisation in higher education. However, much of the research relates to North America and Europe. This paper is concerned with internationalisation in Latin America and seeks to consider perceptions and experiences in Colombia and Mexico, and to compare practice in the public and private sectors. Based on detailed analysis of interviews with senior managers in six universities, the paper shows a growing level of activity, with some increasing levels of planning and strategy. Important differences are identified in the response of public and private universities, reflecting funding differences and freedom to determine institutional priorities.     

College students’ motivation and learning strategies profiles and academic achievement: a self-determination theory approach

The development of effective self-regulated learning strategies is of interest to educationalists. In this paper, we examine inherent individual difference in self-regulated learning based on Motivated Learning for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ) using the cluster analytic approach and examine cluster difference in terms of self-determination theory related variables. The sample of the study consisted of 238 junior college students from 12 intact classes. Two adaptive clusters and two maladaptive clusters were uncovered based on the MLSQ, with the adaptive clusters showing better academic grades. Results from the one-way MANOVA showed that the four clusters differed significantly in terms of their needs satisfaction, behavioural regulations, enjoyment, effort and value. The findings supported the importance of needs satisfaction in the development of self-regulated learning behaviour.     

Instructing First-Grade Children on Patterning Improves Reading and Mathematics

Research Findings: In each of 16 public school classrooms serving multiethnic low-income neighborhoods, 2 first graders were assigned to be taught patterning, 2 to be taught reading, 2 to be taught mathematics, and 2 to be taught social studies for 15-min sessions 3 days per week for 6 months. Assignment within each classroom was randomized. The children's mean age was 6 years, 5.19 months. Patterning instruction included instruction on symmetrical patterns, patterns with increasing numbers of elements, and patterns involving the rotation of an object through 6 or 8 positions. In May, the 120 children still available were tested on patterns, reading, and mathematics. Patterning instruction had large, fully mediated effects on both reading and mathematics. There were no significant differences on some individual scales, but on others children who received patterning instruction scored best, often by grade equivalents of 4 to 8 months. Extant explanations of the efficacy of patterning instruction are reviewed, and the potential importance and limitations of its role in early education are discussed. Practice or Policy: Patterning instruction should be extended to more complex patterns than the alternations currently used in elementary schools in order to produce important improvements in both reading and mathematics.     

‘I’m coming back again!’ The resilience process of early career teachers

Early career teachers face a range of challenges in their first years of teaching and how these challenges are managed as career implications. Based on current literature, this paper presents a model of early career teacher resilience where resilience is seen as a process located at the interface of personal and contextual challenges and resources. Through a semi-structured interview the challenges faced by 13 Australian early career teachers and the resources available to manage these challenges are examined. Findings show that beginning teachers experience multiple, varied and ongoing challenges and that personal and contextual resources are both important in sustaining them through the beginning year(s) of their teaching careers. The study emphasises the critical roles played by family and friends and the importance of relationships in the resilience process. Implications for future research and teacher education are discussed.