Best assessment practices of final year engineering projects in Australia

Social moderation, assessment and assuring standards for accounting graduates

Evidencing student achievement of standards is a growing imperative worldwide. Key stakeholders (including current and prospective students, government, regulators and employers) want confidence that threshold learning standards in an accounting degree have been assured. Australia’s new higher education regulatory environment requires that student achievements are benchmarked against intended programme learning outcomes, guided by published disciplinary standards and a national qualifications framework, and against other higher education providers. Here, we report on a process involving academics from 10 universities, aided by professional practitioners, to establish and equip assessors to reliably assure threshold learning standards in accounting that are nationally comparable. Importantly, we are learning more about how standards are interpreted. Based on the premise that meaning is constructed from tacit experiences, social interactions and intentional reflection on explicit information, we report outcomes of three multi-part calibration interventions, situated around judgements of the quality of the written communication skills exhibited in student work and their related assessment tasks. Qualitative data from 30 participants in the calibration process suggest that they perceive that the process both assists them both in developing a shared understanding of the accounting threshold learning standards and in the redesign of assessment tasks to more validly assess the threshold learning standards.

Navigating teacher education: mapping the terrain, surveying the landscape

While there are many small-scale case studies that investigate specific teacher education practices, large scale longitudinal studies designed to provide rich and comprehensive data about the effectiveness of teacher education, are limited (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005). The Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE) project aims to address this gap by investigating the effectiveness of teacher education programs in preparing teachers for the variety of school settings in which they begin their careers. This three-year study utilises large-scale surveys and case studies, and includes a comprehensive mapping of teacher education programs across Australia. It tracks all 2010/2011 teacher education graduates in Queensland and Victoria to investigate the effectiveness of particular characteristics of their teacher education programs in equipping them with the capacity to meet the learning needs of young people in a diverse range of Australian school settings.

This paper presents the findings from the mapping exercise and the surveys of teachers and principals, and the problematics and possibilities of reading across the data sets. The SETE mapping exercise used publicly available online information to examine the characteristics of initial teacher education programs accredited by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) and the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT). Preliminary results address, inter alia, the length, content and delivery of programs and critical issues of the development of pedagogical and assessment expertise and preparation to teach in diverse contexts. The paper also presents findings from the first of a series of online surveys completed by teacher education graduates in Queensland and Victoria. Beginning teachers’ responses are mapped against key characteristics of participants' pre-service programs and framed in relation to the key themes of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, behaviour management, and engagement with school stakeholders and local community.

Investigating the effectiveness of teacher education for early career teachers in diverse settings: analysis of large-scale survey data

‘As researchers and practitioners in the field of teacher education, we seem ill prepared to respond to critics who question the value of professional education for teachers with evidence of our effectiveness’ (Grossman, 2008, p.13). While there are many small-scale, nuanced case studies that speak about the particularities of specific teacher education practices, large scale, systematic, longitudinal studies that can provide rich and comprehensive data about the effectiveness of teacher education are limited (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005). In Australia, the Studying the Effectiveness of Teacher Education (SETE) project is addressing this gap by investigating the effectiveness of teacher education programs in preparing teachers for the variety of school settings in which they begin their careers. This three-year study utilises large-scale surveys and case studies to construct a deeper understanding of early career teachers’ experiences. It tracks all 2010/2011 teacher education graduates in Queensland and Victoria to investigate the effectiveness of particular characteristics of their teacher education programs in equipping them with the capacity to meet the learning needs of young people in a diverse range of Australian school settings.

This paper will discuss findings from the first of a series of online surveys completed by teacher education graduates in Queensland and Victoria (March-April 2012). Survey data includes teacher demographic information which form independent variables to inform inferential statistical analysis. Beginning teacher responses are mapped against key characteristics of participants' pre-service programs and framed in relation to the key themes of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, behaviour management, and engagement with school stakeholders and local community. The findings will assist teacher educators design teacher education programs for effective beginning teaching in diverse settings and will also provide an evidentiary basis for policy decisions regarding teacher education and beginning teaching.

A randomised group comparison controlled trial of 'preschoolers with autism': a parent education and skills training intervention for young children with autistic disorder

Aim
To determine the effect of parent education on adaptive behaviour, autism symptoms and cognitive/language skills of young children with autistic disorder.

Method
A randomised group comparison design involving a parent education and counselling intervention and a parent education and behaviour management intervention to control for parent skills training and a control sample. Two rural and two metropolitan regions were randomly allocated to intervention groups (n = 70) or control (n = 35). Parents from autism assessment services in the intervention regions were randomly allocated to parent education and behaviour management (n = 35) or parent education and counselling (n = 35).

Results
Parent education and behaviour management resulted in significant improvement in adaptive behaviour and autism symptoms at 6 months follow-up for children with greater delays in adaptive behaviour. Parent education and behaviour management was superior to parent education and counselling. We conclude that a 20-week parent education programme including skills training for parents of young children with autistic disorder provides significant improvements in child adaptive behaviour and symptoms of autism for low-functioning children.

Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum

This article reports on a study into student teachers’ perceptions about their professional development during practicum. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective, the study examined to what extent, and how effectively, one group of student teachers was able to integrate theory and practice during a three-week practicum in the first year of their degree. The context for this mixed methods study was a Master of Teaching, graduate-level entry programme in the Faculty of Education at an urban Australian university. Although there is a strong field of literature around the practicum in pre-service teacher education, there has been a limited focus on how student teachers themselves perceive their development during this learning period. Further, despite widespread and longstanding acknowledgement of the ‘gap’ between theory and practice in teacher education, there is still more to learn about how well the practicum enables an integration of these two dimensions of teacher preparation. In presenting three major findings of the study, this paper goes some way in addressing these shortcomings in the literature. First, participants in this study largely valued both the theoretical and practical components of their programme, which stands in contrast to the commonly identified tendency of the student teacher to privilege practice over theory. Second, opportunities to integrate theory and practice were varied, with many participants reporting the detrimental impact of an apparent lack of clarity around stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities. Third, participants overwhelmingly supported the notion of linking university coursework assessment to the practicum as a means of bridging the gap between, on the one hand, the university and the school and, on the other hand, theory and practice.

Stakeholders’ perspectives of the nature and role of assessment during practicum

This paper focuses on the assessment of student teachers during practicum. The study is contextualised in an Australian pre-service teacher education program in which practicum has been reconceptualised to help bridge the theory–practice gap commonly associated with “front-end loading” programs. Survey and interview data collected from student teachers and supervising teachers point to what participants perceive as disparate understandings between university and school staff about the nature and role of assessment and suggest that this lack of common understanding adversely affects students’ experiences of assessment.

Building academic resilience: A longitudinal study of Master of Teaching students’ perceptions of written feedback on high stakes assessment

This paper reports on a two-year study of tertiary education students’ perceptions of written feedback on assessment. Contextualised in a regional Australian university and drawing on a cohort of Master of Teaching pre-service teachers, a survey approach was used to collect data from participants in both years of their graduate-level entry program. The paper contributes to the emerging body of literature on students’ perceptions of written feedback on assessment by discussing four themes that emerged from the study. It concludes with a number of recommendations for teacher educators to enhance current feedback practices.

The 'iPortfolio' : measuring uptake and effective use of an institutional electronic portfolio in higher education

An institutional electronic portfolio called the "iPortfolio" had over 17,000 subscribers one year after its introduction at an Australian university. This paper reports on a study to determine how students use these "iPortfolio" accounts, and factors leading to uptake and effective use. Self-assessed competence with technology skills, factors motivating uptake, and barriers to adoption were examined using an online survey completed by 554 students. Of these, 339 had an "iPortfolio" at the time they completed the survey. Survey results were examined in the context of usage patterns based on data automatically collected for operational and administrative purposes. No statistically significant difference in prior technology use or self-assessed competence with information technology was observed when comparing students with "iPortfolio" accounts to those without. Assessment was found to be the principal driver of "iPortfolio" uptake. However, about two-fifths (42.9%) of students agreed that they were likely to use the "iPortfolio" in the future, even if it was not a course requirement. An additional 29.6% were neutral. Significant use of the "iPortfolio" to reflect on extracurricular activities was not observed. Improved employability outcomes were seen to be a benefit of "iPortfolio" adoption by about half (52%) of the students. Recommendations are made to promote "iPortfolio" uptake and encourage student reflection on "lifewide" experiences that enhance employability and augment learning within the formal curriculum.

The nature and role of assessment during practicum : stakeholders’ perspectives

This paper focuses on the assessment of student teachers during practicum. The study is contextualised in an Australian pre-service teacher education program in which practicum has been reconceptualised to help bridge the theory-practice gap commonly associated with “front-end loading” programs. Survey and interview data collected from student teachers and supervising teachers point to what participants perceive as disparate understandings between university and school staff about the nature and role of assessment and suggest that this lack of common understanding adversely affects students’ experiences of assessment. While contextualised in teacher education, these findings have applicability to other tertiary programs for the professions. The study’s conclusions are threefold: the importance of establishing and sustaining effective university-school partnerships is paramount; there is a clearly identified need for shared stakeholder understandings about practicum assessment; and disregarding failed or diminished partnerships jeopardises student learning.