Transforming Learning Support: An Online Resource Centre for a Diverse Student Population

The diverse student population at large multi-campus universities requires English language and academic skills support which is targeted to their needs and easily accessible. The Online Student Resource Centre website, developed at Monash University, provides opportunities for students, no matter where they are, to make contact with staff and to access information, but more significantly offers a suite of stand-alone tutorials and downloadable resources, using NetObjects Fusion as the platform. These derive from some 100 print booklets covering academic writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar and study skills/exam strategies. This paper outlines the process and philosophy of development of these tutorials, based on a constructivist framework, with guided and self-directed learning paths designed to accommodate a range of learning styles. Two tutorials are analysed to highlight some of the pedagogical challenges in translating print resources for the online environment. The paper concludes by reporting on a pilot evaluation of the two tutorials. Transformation d’un support d’enseignement: un centre de ressources en ligne pour une population

variée d’étudiants. Les populations trés variées d’étudiants dans les grand campus multiples de certaines universités exigent une langue anglaise et des compétences académiques adaptés À leurs besoins et facilement accessible. Le centre de ressources en ligne pour les étudiants grÂce au site web, mis au point À Monash University fournit aux étudiants, où qu’ils soient, des occasions de contacts avec les enseignants et d’accès À l’information, mais de facon plus significative, offre une série d’actions de tuteurs alors que les étudiants sont seuls et de ressources que l’on peut télécharger utilisant la fusion d’objet du Net comme platforme. Ceux ci sont extraits d’une centaine de livrets imprimés concernant l’écriture, la lecture, l’écoute, la parole, la grammaire et les compétences

pour les études et les stratégies des examens. L’article donne les grandes lignes et la philosophie du développement de ces

exercices de tutorat, basés sur un cadre constructiviste comportant des cheminements d’apprentissage guidés et dirigés par les

étudiants pour faire face À toute une série de styles d’apprentissages. On analyse 2 exercices de tutorat pour mettre en valeur

certaines challenges pédagogiques en traduisant des ressources imprimés pour un environnement on ligne. L’article se termine

par le rapport d’une évaluation pilote de ces 2 exercices. Veränderte Lernhilfen: Ein Online Resource Centre für unterschiedliche Studentengruppen. Unterschiedliche Studentengruppen an grossen Campus Universitäten benötigen Unterstützung in der englischen Sprache und bei der Verbesserung der akademischen Fähigkeiten, die auf ihre Bedürfnisse zugeschnitten und einfach zugänglich ist. Das Online Student Resource Centre, das auf der Webseite von der Monash Universität entwickelt wurde, bietet den

Studenten Gelegenheit, unabhängig von ihrem Wohnort, sich mit den Lehrern in Verbindung zu setzen und Informationen abzurufen, aber darüber hinaus bietet es ein Forum für Tutorials and kopierfähiges Informationsmaterial unter Anwendung von NetObjects Fusion als Plattform. Dieses Unterstützungsmaterial stammt von 100 gedruckten Büchern über die Disziplinen, wissenschaftliches Schreiben, Lesen, Hören, Sprechen, Grammatik und Lernfähigkeiten /Prüfungsstrategien. Dieser Artikel beschreibt den Prozess und die Philosophie, die der Entwicklung dieser Tutorials zugrunde liegen und auf

einem ausbaufähigen System basieren und mit vorgegebenen und selbst bestimmten Lernpfaden so angelegt sind, dass sie mehrere Lernstile berücksichtigen. Zwei Tutorials werden analysiert um an ihnen einige der pädagogischen Herausforderungen zu verdeutlichen, die bei der übertragung von gedrucktem Material in das online Lernfeld entstehen. Der Artikel endet mit einem Bericht über die Pilot Evaluierung dieser beiden Tutorials.     

THE IMPACT OF A GERONTOLOGICAL INTERVENTION ON OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL STUDENTS

In order to evaluate the impact of adding a brief unit on aging to the first‐year curriculum of a school of osteopathic medicine a quasiexperimental design was employed. The educational experience involved three hours of classroom material, a visit to a nursing home, and a visit to a congregate housing facility for the well elderly. Over one semester the entire first‐year class was scheduled for the program. Analysis of pretest and posttest data revealed a mild but significant improvement in knowledge and attitudes with respect to the elderly. Subjective responses to the program were very positive.     

Changing Aging Competency Following a GeroRich Intervention Initiative: Implications for Bachelor's and Master's Social Work Education

This article reports an evaluation of a GeroRich effort to increase age-specific content throughout bachelor and master-level social work curricula. A total of 426 students (128 BSWs and 298 MSWs) completed pre and posttests in 2004–2005, self-rating their aging competency using the Social Work with Aging Skill Competency Scale II (New York Academy of Medicine, 2005 New York Academy of Medicine . ( 2005 ). Practicum Partnership Program Geriatric Social Work Competency Scale II . Retrieved July 7, 2005, from New York Academy of Medicine Geriatric Practicum Partnership Program Web site:http://socialwork.nyam.org/pdf/GSWCompetencyScaleII.d  [Google Scholar]). Additional outcome questions were included to assess elements of the specific strategy. Findings indicate that both groups showed improved aging competency, but policy and human behavior courses were key to competency for BSW students, while practice and field classes predicted competency for MSWs.     

Implementation of criteria and standards-based assessment: an analysis of first-year learning guides

Assessment expectations are communicated to students in various ways and at different points in the semester. The provision of written information in learning guides given to students at the start of semester articulates what they are to do and how well they are to perform in assessment tasks. This paper examines how assessment expectations at an Australian university were communicated by staff in 159 first-year units (subjects) in the first year of university-wide implementation of criteria and standards-based assessment and learning guides policies. A framework was developed to analyse the extent and types of assessment information provided in learning guides. The paper provides a snapshot of the types of assessment used in the first year, including exams and analytical, reflective and authentic tasks. The paper contributes to an understanding of how university-wide assessment policy implementation can be evaluated through an examination of documents produced by staff.     

Key workers and schools: meeting the needs of children and young people with disabilities

Across the world countries are advocating the education of children and young people with disabilities in mainstream schools. There is also increasing interest in developing effective coordination of the specialist services pupils with disabilities receive from different agencies. This is accompanied by growing recognition that such care coordination can positively influence the experience of inclusion for children and their families. However, while the literature of care coordination generally includes education as a core provider, there is little evidence on involvement of education professionals and the outcomes for children and schools. These issues are addressed by the findings reported here on the role of key workers in care coordination and their relationship with schools. The findings draw on interviews with professionals from seven key worker services across England and Wales, parents and carers who were recipients of these services and teachers in schools serving children supported by key workers. These interviews are part of a wider multi‐method study exploring the effectiveness and costs of different models of key worker services for disabled children. The data reveal the range of education and school issues addressed by key workers and the factors influencing their work with teachers. The benefits for children, families and schools of key worker involvement are identified and the implications for schools explored. Consideration is also given to the advantages and disadvantages of teachers themselves taking on the role of key workers. It is argued that key workers can improve home–school relationships, facilitate the contribution of teachers in inter‐agency working, enable mainstream schools to better meet the individual needs of pupils with disabilities and improve their inclusive practice.     

‘I am not the teacher!’: some effects of remodelling the roles of teaching assistants in English primary schools

Remodelling the roles, responsibilities and working practices of all school staff has been central to the government's modernisation agenda for English state schools. This is typified by a determination to review and change the distribution of tasks undertaken by teachers and teaching assistants (TAs). Whilst there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of TAs employed in schools there is still a lack of clarity about their roles and about the impact of remodelling on the working lives of both teachers and assistants. Evidence from the Transforming the School Workforce: Pathfinder Project, conducted immediately prior to the launch of the National Agreement in 2003, indicates that initial concerns about the ways in which TAs were being deployed are still very apparent. Here the authors focus on management and professional development issues arising from TAs adopting more pedagogical roles in schools.     

Changing classroom practice at Key Stage 2: the impact of New Labour’s national strategies

The article examines the impact of New Labour policies—particularly the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and the subsequent Primary National Strategy—on classroom practice at Key Stage 2 in England. Evidence is drawn from fieldwork conducted in 2003–2005 from a sample of 50 schools, replicating a study conducted a decade previously in the same schools. The data base consists mainly of 188 transcribed in‐depth teacher interviews and fieldnotes from observation of 51 lessons. By comparison with other research studies on primary classroom practice from the 1970s through to the mid‐1990s, our study suggests that there have been more changes in the last five years in teaching styles and in classroom organisation throughout the whole curriculum at KS2 than in the previous two decades. Such changes include a dramatic increase in whole‐class teaching, the use of learning objectives shared with pupils and changes in pupil seating arrangements. Through compliance with centrally imposed changes in pedagogy, teachers’ experiences have led them to change some of their professional values concerning desirable pedagogy. The article concludes by considering some of the implications of our evidence for theories of educational change and of teacher professionalism.     

Management as ideology: the case of ‘new managerialism’ in higher education

The paper explores ideological conceptions of management, especially ‘new managerialism’, with particular reference to their role in the reform of higher education. It is suggested that attempts to reform public services in general are political as well as technical, though there is no single unitary ideology of ‘new managerialism’. Whilst some argue that managers have become a class and have particular interests, this may not be so for all public services. The arguments presented are illustrated by data taken from a recent research project on the management of UK higher education. It is suggested that managers in public service organisations such as universities do not constitute a class. However, as in the case of manager‐academics, managing a contemporary public service such as higher education may involve taking on the ideologies and values of ‘new managerialism’, and for some, embracing these. So management ideologies do seem to serve the interests of manager‐academics and help cement relations of power and dominance, even in contexts like universities which were not traditionally associated with the dominance of management.     

A Testing Issue: Key skills assessment in Australia

Maintenance of academic standards, assessment and monitoring are key tasks for tertiary education, as the system attempts to meet government targets for universal participation. Tertiary education therefore demands more attention to the measurement of outcomes. However, the use of a graduate skills assessment test, we contend--particularly in the form this currently takes in Australia--implies a limited sense of the value added by a university education. We question the validity of national testing both on grounds of its suitability to assess the skills cultivated by university study and on grounds of equity and cultural inclusiveness.