Connecting with plants: lessons for life

Greater understanding of biodiversity and responsible behaviour towards conservation and sustainability are vital in the twenty-first century. Education is the chief means of encouraging a deeper, more holistic way of thinking, a link between ecology and human ecology, and a change in mental models in order to think to the future. Education is necessary at all levels from the government to the individual. Botanic gardens are an important specialist resource for the development of such education programmes, both formal and informal. Evaluation, partnership, creative communication and an inclusive approach are essential to successful environmental education programmes.     

Assessment moderation in an Australian context: processes,practices, and challenges

Moderation is a quality assurance process that plays a central role in the teaching, learning, and assessment cycle in higher education. While there is a growing body of research globally on teaching, learning, and, to a lesser degree, assessment in higher education, the process of moderation of assessment has received even less attention. In a context of heightened accountability and greater transparency in the tertiary sector, the formalising of moderation processes has not been a part of established practice. In light of these changes, the purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and investigate current marking and moderation processes and practices operating within one faculty in a large urban university in eastern Australia to gain insight into the challenges to effective moderation. The findings suggest the need for moderation to be considered holistically as an inherent part of teaching and learning, and the need for ongoing staff development.     

“The Wire,” William Julius Wilson,and the Three Sobotkas: Conceptually Integrating “Season 2: The Port” into a Macro-Level Undergraduate Communities and Crime Course

A challenge in any undergraduate communities and crime course is helping students understand how macro-level context affects the lives of individuals. This article describes one approach based on three characters in Season 2 (“The Port”) of “The Wire.” A multi-layered framework is outlined which prominently features William Julius Wilson's unemployment thesis. Data sources for illustrating how different parts of the model apply to the surrounding region and neighborhoods close to the port are noted. The narrative arcs for three central characters in Season 2 are described and each is connected to Wilson's thesis. Even though in-class screening time was limited, students' written work and questionnaire responses suggested that the material clarified key concepts. The approach described here is just one approach of the many which are feasible for a macro-level communities and crime course, or for integrating “The Wire” into criminal justice or criminology courses.     

Measuring zoo visitor learning and understanding about orangutans: evaluation to enhance learning outcomes and to foster conservation action

Despite the endangered status of the orangutan, very little research has sought to understand what people know about this species or the conservation challenges they face. As zoos are well placed to influence such understandings, the present study sought to explore knowledge following a visit to orangutan exhibits at three Australian zoos (N?=?240). Two learning assessments were utilised, capturing (1) self-reported learning and (2) understandings in relation to the information zoos prioritise for inclusion on exhibit signage. The relationship between the latter, attitudes toward orangutans and intentions for future conservation behaviour were also explored. Higher knowledge scores were significantly (indirectly) associated with intentions for future conservation behaviour through higher attitudes (indirect effect?=?0.15, std. error?=?.05, z?=?3.12, p?R²?=?20.3). The importance of enhancing visitor understandings (e.g. through improved exhibit design and signage displays, and through encouraging repeat zoo visits) for conservation action is discussed.     

The Image of Resource Teachers in Schools and Colleges

THE IMAGE of resource teachers, as perceived by a representative sample of 600 administrators and teachers in Queensland secondary schools and TAFE colleges, was measured using a semantic differential instrument. Results show that resource teachers as a group enjoy a strongly positive image, and that a significantly more positive image of resource teachers is held by those who use their services than by those who do not. Few significant differences of perceived image were found between administrators and teachers, and teachers of different subject areas while none was found between male and female respondents, and less and more experienced teachers. Ways are suggested in which resource teachers can extend their influence with administrators and teachers.     

Did the Recession Impact Student Success? Relationships of Finances,Staffing and Institutional Type on Retention

Economic recessions impact higher education institutions in complex ways. Several analyses have examined the influence of the 2007–2009 recession on tuition, enrollments, revenues, and expenditures, but the connection of these resource allocation patterns to a student success outcome—namely, retention—is limited. This study examined relationships among institutional expenditures, tuition, and staffing patterns on first-year retention rates at private and public institutions in 2007, 2009 and 2011: before, during, and after the economic recession. Private and public institutions increased tuition during this time period and increased expenditures. Expenditures most directly educating students (i.e. instruction) and institutional selectivity were positively associated with retention. However, public and private institutions differed in how they allocated their expenditures. That the findings correspond with past research investigating relationships between resource allocation and retention illustrate principles of the resource dependency theory (Pfeffer and Salancik 1978): institutions impacted by external economic changes, adjust revenues, staffing, and expenditures during economic changes.     

Spatial patterns and memory for locations

Rats obtained food from the tops of vertical poles in a 5 × 5 matrix of locations. On each trial, the baited locations formed one of the two possible exemplars of a checkerboard spatial pattern. During training, locations that had been visited earlier in the trial were indicated by a visual cue. Following training, performance with and without the visual cues was compared. Spatial choices were controlled by the checkerboard spatial pattern. The visual cues enhanced the ability of rats to avoid revisits of locations. However, the visual cues did not enhance control by the spatial pattern, as would be expected if the same spatial memories were involved in avoidance of revisits and coding the location of baited locations.     

What’s the point of moderation? A discussion of the purposes achieved through contemporary moderation practices

An increasingly regulated higher education sector is renewing its attention to those activities referred to as ‘moderation’ in its efforts to ensure that judgements of student achievement are based on appropriate standards. Moderation practices conducted throughout the assessment process can result in purposes identified as equity, justification, accountability and community building. This paper draws on the limited studies of moderation and wider relevant research on judgement, standards and professional learning to test commonly used moderation practices against these identified purposes. The paper concludes with recommendations for maximising the potential of moderation practices to establish and maintain achievement standards.