The Added Value of Conducting Learning Design Meeting to the Online Course Development Process

Do you find it challenging to have discussions with instructors about designing online courses and best practices in teaching? This article will highlight key components to conducting effective Learning Design meetings. It outlines techniques used by this institution that inspires faculty to design coherent courses that lead to meaningful learning experiences. These meetings invite instructors to express their feelings about online formats, inform them about expectations and time commitment, and reassures them of support throughout the process. Learning Design (LD) meetings have proven to be a compelling manner of decreasing faculty resistance, while exposing instructors to best practices in pedagogy, andragogy and online learning. Instructional Designers (IDs), Instructional Facilitators (IFs), and Course Authors (CAs) who work in higher educational online settings should find this information useful. Novices in the field may find these practical techniques particularly beneficial.     

Within the teacher evaluation policies black box: two case studies

This paper analyzes the relationship between teacher evaluation policies in Chile and Uruguay, teacher professional development, and teacher performance effectiveness. The analysis tries to understand the extent to which the existing processes for teacher evaluation stimulate an improvement in the quality of teaching. The comparison of two national cases with similar educational results but radically different educational policies allows the authors to take a close look within the ‘black box’ of educational policy-making. The paper is based on in-depth analysis of the PISA survey to heads of schools and in-depth interviews with teachers, heads, and key informants. The paper finds that policies aiming to strengthen teacher development and teacher performance through teacher evaluation cannot be understood in dichotomist ways; lack of attention to teachers’ perspectives and unintended effects of policy implementation can lead to marginal effects. Uruguay, where teacher evaluation policies have weak practical effects, has managed to obtain similar educational results to Chile. However, the experience of Chile shows that teacher evaluation can have an effect on teacher professional development and, in the long run, this may have an effect on the quality of teaching and student results.     

Promoting student flow and interest in a science learning game: a design-based research study of School Scene Investigators

Educational technology research and development - We report on a design-based research study that was conducted over three iterations. It chronicles the design, development, and implementation of...     

How Much Do They Understand? Lectures,students and comprehension

A recent study into tertiary literacy (Reid, Kirkpatrick, & Mulligan, 1998) found that many students have problems with comprehension and note-taking in lectures and that students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) reported particular difficulty. Despite the increase in the number of international students attending Australian universities over the past decade, it seems that many lecturers are still failing to accommodate the cultural and linguistic diversity of the classes they teach. The study reported here aimed to determine the nature and extent of problems experienced by NESB students in comprehending lectures and found significant gaps in understanding: slightly fewer than 1 in 10 NESB students was able to understand the content and intent of their lectures very well. More disturbingly, almost one-quarter of them had not understood much of the lectures at all. The paper offers some suggested strategies for change—for those who prepare students for university study, for the students themselves, and for the lecturers who teach them.     

Variables related to the effectiveness of response cost

Students in four second-grade classes exhibiting disruptive behavior were exposed to response cost programs with varying initial reinforcement and fine levels. Results indicated that all treatments were highly effective, as all groups underwent maximum behavioral change, with the target behaviors approaching a near-zero level. Thus, the degree of aversiveness of the procedure did not appear to be strongly related to effectiveness. Results are explained in terms of the discriminative properties of response cost.     

Student/patient: the school perceptions of children with cancer

Childhood cancer incidence is rising, affecting a growing proportion of elementary school students. For most of these children, school attendance can be limited by hospitalisations, treatments and side effects. However, little is yet known about the educational needs and experiences of this population. This phenomenological study explored the school experiences of 10 6- to 12-year-old children with cancer as they underwent chemotherapy. Results revealed perceptions that attending school in the hospital or home during cancer treatment is essentially lonely, confusing and “different”. These perceptions intertwined to illuminate five themes: (1) school should involve fun activities; (2) group educational formats are preferable; (3) old school is the “best school”; (4) being a “good student” is important during treatment; and (5) attending school is complicated during treatment. Therefore, hospital-based and homebound schooling programmes should integrate socially interactive and cognitively engaging curriculum to best support the learning needs of this population.     

The three-stage assessment process: Issues and implications

The three-stage process of assessment is a structured, complete approach to the appraisal of a whole child. These systematic procedures insure due consideration for all factors affecting educational functioning. Stage 1 is designed to detgermine physical, mental, or emotional disability; Stage 2 to identify significant educational needs; Stage 3 to identify specific learning competencies and necessary instructional and related services. When all three stages are correctly and adequately addressed, the inherent bias in standardized tests will be offset by the identificantion of learning competencies and the subsequent development of appropriate learning strategies.