Learning to mark: exemplars,dialogue and participation in assessment communities

The problems of shifting from norm-referenced assessment to criterion-referenced assessment have been identified by several scholars in recent years. These important critiques touch on a number of areas, but neglect a key question about how assessors learn to accomplish what Shay calls a ‘socially situated interpretive act'. Research that does exist tends to focus on salaried, full-time academics. This overlooks the heterogeneity of the academic labour force in higher education and the substantial contribution made by contract (hourly-paid) lecturers, particularly in applied disciplines such as Business and Management. This study explores how nine newcomers to a UK Business School – including salaried and contract staff – attempt to understand local assessment practice. We use a situated learning lens to analyse their diary entries and interviews about their experiences of learning to mark. Drawing on scholars such as Sadler, we examine the suggestion that exemplars are important for newcomers coming to understand local assessment practice. We argue for the fundamental importance of dialogue about exemplars and other aspects of practice, both to develop inter-subject understandings of assessment ‘anchor points' and also to foster among newcomers (and especially contract lecturers) a greater sense of participating in, and being valued by, the local assessment community.     

Technology’s role in learning at a commuter campus: The student perspective

Patterns of technology ownership and usage, as well as skills with and preferences for various technologies, affect the college experience (Educause 2012). Students at a commuter campus of a large Midwestern public university were surveyed about technology and the learning process: 94% of the respondents believed that technology had the potential to benefit learning and 85% thought it was central to their academic success. Students credited technology-enhanced courses with increased and more effective communication with instructors, the ability to better manage course activities and expanded opportunities for practice and reinforcement. Students’ prior experiences with a course management system affected their perceptions of the role of technology and their subsequent beliefs about the benefits of its use in their university courses. Implications for administrators who make decisions about faculty development, student retention and funding for technology-enhanced course offerings are discussed.     

Stepping out: collaborative research across disciplines

This paper offers the experiences and insights of two faculty members, located in two separate disciplines, as they engaged in collaborative research. While knowledge created by stepping out and reaching across disciplines reflects the reality of an increasingly complex world, their experiences highlight both the benefits of a supportive collaborative partnership as well as the risks and discomfort experienced without tangible discipline support, when researchers stray too far from their home discipline. While transparency and attention to process is critical to all researchers engaged in collaborative partnership, its necessity is heightened when venturing beyond the territory of familiar disciplines.     

Can textured insoles improve ankle proprioception and performance in dancers?

With the aim of determining both the acute and the chronic effects of textured insoles on the ankle discrimination and performance ability of dancers, 60 ballet dancers from the Australian Ballet School, aged 14–19 years, were divided into three groups (two intervention groups and a control group), age- and level-matched. In the first 5 weeks (weeks 1 to 5), the first intervention group (GRP1) was asked to wear textured insoles in their ballet shoes and the second intervention group (GRP2) was not given textured insoles to wear. In the next 5 weeks (weeks 6 to 10), GRP2 was asked to wear the same type of textured insoles and GRP1 did not wear the textured insoles. The control group (CTRL) did not wear textured insoles during the whole 10 weeks. All participants were tested preintervention, after 5 weeks and after 10 weeks for ankle discrimination score (AUC scores). Dance performance was assessed by 5–7 dance teachers. Pre-to-post change in AUC scores was significantly greater for the groups wearing insoles than for the controls (P = .046) and the size of pre-to-post changes did not differ between the two intervention groups (P = .834). Significant correlation was found between ankle discrimination score and performance scores, using the textured insoles (r = .412; P = .024). In conclusion, the stimulation to the proprioceptive system arising from textured insoles worn for five weeks was sufficient to improve the proprioceptive ability and performance ability of ballet dancers.     

Exploring inclusive pedagogical practices in Hong Kong primary EFL classrooms

Social diversity is now commonplace in many communities in today’s globalised world. This diversity can be seen in any classroom of learners, and international studies have shown the complex ways in which disabilities, race, ethnicity, gender and social class can determine a child’s opportunity to succeed or fail in the education system. In Hong Kong, like in many educational contexts around the world, teachers are grappling with increasing diversity amongst their students, including teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) and non-Chinese speaking students (NCS) living in Hong Kong. This paper examines how three primary TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers are constructing identities as inclusive practitioners as they grapple with enacting the inclusive education policy recently introduced into Hong Kong schools. The data are drawn from a small-scale collaborative reflective inquiry for teacher professional development. Drawing upon a sociocultural and critical framing of identity theory, we trace the three teachers’ identity construction as EFL teachers and inclusive education practitioners. We view the role of discourse, self-positioning and social context as key processes in teacher identity formation. Implications for furthering the development of inclusive education in EFL classrooms are offered.     

Metafiction for beginners: Allan Ahlberg'sTen in a Bed

Margaret Mackey is studying for a master's degree in library and information studies at the University of Alberta in Canada. Previously, in Britain, she taught English language and literature in secondary schools for ten years. She has been secondary editor ofThe Essex Review of Children's Literature and has editedFestival Plays (Longman), a collection of young playwrights.     

What Is Wrong with Practicum?: some reflections

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perceptions of previously identified negative aspects of practicum during preparation courses for careers in the field of early childhood education. Students at each of three year levels of the course earlier had been surveyed using a Likert‐type instrument following recent practicum experiences. Item frequency analysis was conducted for each separate year group's responses and for the combined group. Analysis of data from the combined responses included item properties, item‐scale relationships, scale properties and instrument factor analysis. Results of factor analysis revealed seven interpretable stressors, the most serious being the cluster labelled ‘physical demands’. The 10 most negative aspects for each year level (i.e. items with the lowest means) were compiled in a subsequent instrument similar to the original but also including a request for explanatory comments following each item. These three instruments were administered at the end of the same year. Student comments on the latter instruments clarified the statistical results and are presented here in the categories of ‘demands on students’, Hime and energy’, ‘coping with written requirements’, and ‘conforming with mistrusted practices’. Reflections on the implications of this illumination of statistical analysis are then presented.     

Many spaces: Some limitations of single readings

Margaret Mackey is studying at the University of Alberta in Canada, pursuing a Ph.D. in Education. Her particular interest is the development of readers and the importance of the relationship between readers and texts. Previously, in Britain, she taught English in secondary schools and was secondary editor ofThe Essex Review of Children's Literature.     

Challenging from the margins into the mainstream—improving renal services in a collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit

Can the development, both clinical and managerial, of practitioners involved in healthcare be enriched by connecting action learning principles and practice with research on ‘tempered radicals’? Might such connection also assist the efforts of patients and their advocates to create more holistic approaches to patient care? This paper explores these questions with reference to a UK Department of Health project to improve renal services. The prime focus is the experience of a set of set advisers who ‘held the ring’ on the project, supporting the work of the sets and attempting to make sense of the emerging learning.