Introducing technology education: Using teachers' questions as a platform for professional development

This paper explores the issues and concems identified by a small group of teachers implementing technology ideas using the national document,A Statement on Technology for Australian Schools (Curriculum Corporation, 1994a), represented in four key questions they posed as a result of reflection upon their existing ideas and practices, early in the study. These same issues and concerns framed their later experiences as the study progressed. The case study of one of the teachers is used, to illustrate how the teachers implemented technology education working from their own perspectives and tackling issues and concerns that made sense to them. By reviewing the teachers' own questions about technology implementation, it is becoming, clear that what may be important for professional development in technology education is related to the questions that the teachers themselves are asking about their own, beliefs and practices.     

Teacher training and ‘quality’ in higher education language teaching: strategies and options

The article focuses on the training of higher education language teachers from a quality enhancement perspective. After a brief discussion of the nature of quality in higher education, the article considers the implications which the expansion of language learning in higher education in Europe has for the teachers involve in designing and delivering language programmes. The main body of the article is then devoted to a discussion of the strategies and options in the field of the training of language teachers which emerged from reports on quality enhancement in higher education language studies prepared in 18 European countries. The reports were prepared within the framework of Thematic Network Project 2, organised by the European Language Council. The article concludes by highlighting the crucial role of teacher training in the ‘quality cycle’ with respect to both teaching and student learning.

L'article traite de la formation d'enseignants de langue travaillant dans l'enseignement supérieur d'une perspective axée sur l'amélioration de la qualité. Suite à une brève discussion de la notion de qualité dans l'enseignement supérieur, l'article examine les implications de l'expansion de l'apprentissage des langues dans l'enseignement supérieur en Europe pour les enseignants responsables de la conception et de la réalisation pédagogique de programmes de langue. La partie principale de l'article est alors consacrée à l'analyse des choix et stratégies dans le domaine de la formation d'enseignants de langues qui se sont dégagés de rapports sur l'amélioration de la qualité dans le domaine des langues dans l'enseignement supérieur dans 18 pays de l'Europe. Ces rapports furent préparés dans le cadre du Projet de Réseau Thématique 2, organisé par le Conseil Européen pour les Langues. En conclusion, l'article souligne le rôle crucial joué par la formation des enseignants par rapport à la qualité autant de l'enseignement que de l'apprentissage des langues par les étudiants.

El artículo trata de la formación de profesores de lengua que trabajan en la enseñanza superior, desde la perspectiva de la mejora de la calidad. Tras una breve discusión acerca de la noci?n de calidad en la enseñanza superior, el artículo examina las implicaciones de la expansión del aprendizaje de las lenguas en la enseñanza superior en Europa para los profesores responsables de la concepción y de la realización pedagógica de programas de lengua. La parte principal del artículo se consagra por tanto al análisis de las elecciones y estrategias en el campo de la formación de profesores de lenguas, tal como se desprenden de los informes sobre la mejora de la calidad en el campo de las lenguas en la enseñanza superior en 18 países de Europa. Estos informes fueron preparados en el marco del Proyecto de Red Temática 2, organizado por el Consejo Europeo para las Lenguas. En conclusión, el artículo subraya el papel crucial desempeñado por la formación de los profesores en la calidad tanto de la ensepanza como del aprendizaje de las lenguas por los estudiantes.

Der Artikel behandelt die Ausbildung von Sprachlehrkräften an Hochschulen aus der Sicht der Qualitätsverbesserung. Nach einer kurzen Erörterung der Spezifität der Qualität in der Hochschulbildung, befasst sich der Artikel mit den Konsequenzen des verstärkten Lehrens und Lernens von Sprachen an Hochschulen für die mit der Planung und Umsetzung von Sprachlehrprogrammen betrauten Lehrkräfte. Der Hauptteil des Artikels ist der Analyse von Strategien und Möglichkeiten im Bereich der Ausbildung von Sprachlehrkräften gewidmet, die aus 18 europäischen Länderberichten über Qualitätsverbesserung im Sprachenbereich an Hochschulen hervorgingen. Diese Berichte wurden innerhalb des vom Europäischen Sprachenrat organisierten Thematischen Netzwerkprojekts Sprachen II (TNP2) erstellt. Am Schluss des Artikels wird die entscheidende Rolle der Ausbildung der Sprachlehrkräfte für die Qualität des Lehrens und Lernens von Sprachen an Hochschulen hervorgehoben.     

Science at the Crossroads? The Decline of Science in Australian Higher Education

The Australian Government has stressed the important role universities play in producing knowledge workers to service the needs of the technology-driven new economy. The massification of Australian higher education from 1989 rapidly increased the stock of university-educated people in all disciplines. Although university science enrolments also grew, analysis reveals both that the growth rate has been considerably less than the sector average, and that there has been a serious decline in the number of students being trained in the enabling sciences: chemistry, mathematics and physics. Recent Government policies are unlikely to reverse this critical decline.     

Programmed cell death features in apple suspension cells under low oxygen culture

INTRODUCTION A number of abiotic stresses have been shown to induce programmed cell death (PCD) responses in plant cells. High temperatures (e.g. 55 篊) induce nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation in cultured carrot, cucumber and Arabidopsis cells (McCabe et al., 1997; McCabe and Leaver, 2000), and also mitochondrial cytochrome c release in cucumber cotyledons (Balk et al., 1999). The PCD pathway also appears to be activated by ozone. Ozone induces an oxidative burst with acc…     

Are British Universities in a Position to Consider Implementing Total Quality Management?

Accompanying the removal of the binary divide between polytechnics and universities, the Department of Education and Science (DES) also specified the requirement that the British higher education sector should give more emphasis to the effective management of quality. Some writers have suggested that this can be achieved by institutions introducing the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). A vital aspect of TQM is the integration of multiple functions across the organization with the objective of establishing a quality conscious workforce. A recommended practice is to use the concept of internal marketing as a mechanism to persuade departments to work together in the creation of internal customer chains. To determine the current status of internal customer management practices in British Universities, a survey of academics was undertaken using a modified version of the Parasuraman SERVQUAL model. The majority of respondents indicated the existence of Type 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Gaps in the internal customer management process within their institution. Major influencers of these service gaps include minimal effort to gain further understanding of internal customer requirements and a lack of formal quality standards for managing internal customer relations. Respondents consider their faculties are unable to enhance internal quality if the issue was given higher priority by senior management. Identified obstacles to greater emphasis on an internal customer philosophy include insufficient trust between departments and low confidence levels of ability to manage the process. Under these circumstances, it does not appear that for the foreseeable future, British universities are in a position to adopt TQM philosophy. Hence it seems more advisable that these institutions should restrict their quality management activities to the simpler assessment-based approach recommended by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) Academic Audit Unit.