Basic skill requirements for selected Army occupational training courses

This study investigated the basic cognitive skills soldiers must possess before entering the Army, skills that are needed for successful completion of entry-level training. Judgments of 126 instructors from 25 military occupational specialties were obtained on 129 candidate skills, which resulted in the identification of 55 basic skills. Factor analysis of these 55 skill items resulted in 11 interpretable factors. Mean scores on the factors were compared across factors and across Army training schools. The results of the study suggest that, for all occupational specialties studied, skills related to the learning process are as crucial as traditional academic skills for successful training course completion. These results have important implications for training for the Army as well as for industry.     

A school practitioner's response to the discussion of the Learning Outcomes Theme Group

New devolutionary powers for education have been enthusiastically seized on by politicians and policy-makers alike to promote a more integrated and holistic form of education in Scotland. This period of curriculum renewal offers the prospect of increased levels of outdoor education; however, to date there is a lack of a clearly agreed rationale for learning and clarity about how curriculum will be experienced by students. Consequently, we analyse pertinent conceptual questions about these matters through reviewing articles and policy announcements prior to advancing, in a preliminary fashion, a rationale for outdoor education which conceives of outdoor learning primarily as a moral endeavour. In developing the proposed rationale as the organising framework for learning, the article critically considers the multifarious challenges of connecting policy intentions with the authentic learning experiences of students. In so doing it discusses many of the most apparent curriculum and pedagogical barriers to learning, which have led in recent years to fragmented provision and the under-realisation of increased levels of deeply embedded and connected outdoor learning experiences.     

Teacher Questioning: The Epicenter of Instruction and Assessment

In this article we examine some sequences of teacher–student interaction in which a teacher generates and acts on formative assessment data. We look at the teacher's practices of question construction and her decisions about in situ next pedagogical steps made in real time to support and further student learning. Our observations are guided by the following research questions: (a) What are the interactional practices that constitute formative assessment? (b) Are there observable classroom routines and organization that support these interactional practices? Our observations suggest that open and respectful pedagogical questioning is a key resource in eliciting students' current learning status, and for making decisions about next steps in student learning. Stable classroom routines and mutually understood interactional goals and practices are significant supports for these processes.     

Australian academics’ perspectives on quality and accountability

Abstract

Universities have been challenged as teaching as well as research institutions. On the one hand, universities have been required to teach more students and pay more attention to quality of teaching and educational programmes; on the other hand, there has been increasing focus on faculty research performance. This paper examines whether these are conflicting demands, or whether university faculty are able to fulfil these requirements simultaneously. In Norway, the number of university students almost doubled between 1987 and 1995. Norway is, therefore, a sound case to examine the impact of massification on university research.