Self-taught approach to teaching with computers : a case study

The study has investigated the pedagogy of teachers with litle or no training in computer use. The value of a self-taught approach to teacher learning about teaching with computers was scrutinised, and a range of practical implications for the professional development of such teachers was identified.

Social networking and teaching : an Australian case study

In recent years, the Internet has impacted all aspects of modern society. We have now seen the phenomenon of social networking and the impact that this had upon all aspects of modern society including higher education. An issue is how can these social networking technologies relate to tertiary education and how can they be used in this educational context. This paper is based on two case studies which were conducted at an Australian University into the usage of two social networking systems in a teaching environment. The results of these case studies were assessed using a socio-technical framework.

Growth of pre-service teachers’ knowledge and teaching ideas about decimals and fractions : The case of Vivi

This paper discussed and analysed the growth of one pre-service teachers’ knowledge about decimals and fractions during a teaching experiment. Evidence of her progress is based on responses to written test and interview questions. This case shows with probing questions and appropriate teaching ideas, it is possible for a pre-service teacher with initially weak and fragmented knowledge about decimals and fractions to develop a meaningful knowledge about decimals and fractions. The stronger conceptual base provided by use of a concrete representation of decimals enabled Vivi to move away from reliance on memorised facts and rules and towards conceptually based explanations of ideas.

Uncertainty and reluctance in teaching taboo language: a case study of an experienced teacher of English as an additional language

Despite its ubiquitous employment by users of English to achieve authentic communicative goals, taboo language has received little attention in the education literature. Even less focus has been placed on such language in English language teaching - specifically, in teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL). Given the multiplicity of communicative struggles experienced by EAL learners surrounding the use of taboo language in authentic communication, meaningful consideration of this aspect can be seen as crucial in EAL instruction. Classroom learning could prepare learners for navigation and negotiation of taboo language use they will inevitably encounter in social interactions in target language communities of practice. However, EAL teachers' uncertainty or reluctance to introduce taboo language in classroom instruction is a key impediment in developing learners' sociocultural knowledge regarding such language use. We foreground one case of such uncertainty and reluctance surrounding the introduction of taboo language in EAL instruction derived as interview data from an experienced EAL teacher.

Fostering cultural diversity in Australia: a case study of teaching, learning and assessing African musical arts

Australia is forged by ongoing migration welcoming a range of cultures, languages and ethnicities thus celebrating a diverse range of musical arts. In this multicultural society, music and dance may serve as a positive medium to transmit and promote social cohesion. I argue that the inclusion of innovative and immersive practice of African music in particular where authentic teaching and learning is facilitated may help foster understandings of culture in educational settings and the wider society. As a migrant forming part of the African Diaspora in Melbourne, I am strongly connected to my ancestral homeland (South Africa) when teaching African music to Australian tertiary students. Having gained ethical clearance to undertake the two research projects at Deakin University in Melbourne (Attitudes and perceptions of Arts Education Students: preparing culturally responsive teachers and Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education), I discuss tertiary students experience in relation to the teaching and learning of African music within higher education courses. Drawing on interview, questionnaire, observation notes, anecdotal feedback and narrative reflection, I employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyse and code the data into themes. By offering a discussion of assessment and evaluation, I explore and invite international dialogue in regards to how best we can prepare, assess and evaluate our students to improve the quality of musical arts education.

Articulations of teaching practice: a case study of teachers and "general capabilities"

The research reported on in this paper is a qualitative case study of secondary school teachers’ interpretations of how they work with a component of the Australian national curriculum, the seven “general capabilities.” The case study of four secondary school teachers utilized teacher interviews eliciting via descriptive analysis how teachers understand and work with the “general capabilities.” The Australian curriculum listing explicit “general capabilities” alongside endorsed disciplines and cross-curriculum priorities requires teachers and their associated classroom practice(s) bond to practical dexterities. Policy expectations are such that the knowledge, skills, behaviors and dispositions of the “general capabilities,” along with curriculum content and cross-curriculum priority areas will support students to successfully live and work in the twenty-first century. While policy expectations appear well defined, including expectations that teachers navigate and implement relevant curriculum in creative ways, the study underpinning this paper finds that teachers assert their professional and pedagogic authority over the curriculum by enacting and translating it for the benefit of their students.

Deakin Online: an evolving case study

This paper describes the planning, implementation and current progress of the Deakin Online Project which aims to establish a virtual campus for Deakin University. The project is built upon the WebCT Vista© learning management system. Strategies for eTeaching and eLearning are analysed and the dangers and opportunities are identified. Approaches to the preparation of both students and faculty for working in the online environment are discussed including online training, mentoring schemes and a dedicated teaching and learning support unit. An in-depth account of the project is presented which is potentially useful to any organization considering embarking on online teaching on a large scale.

Environmental education - appropriate vehicle for teaching science?

This article we have addresses the issue of an integrated science education curriculum. Following Beane (1995), we suggest an approach that begins with an issue, topic or problem that has an independent existence in real life, and which can serve as a supra.disciplinary organizing principle in providing a framework ror developing a curriculum that presents science content in a contextual fashion alongside other disciplinary content, as dictated by the demands of doing justice to an investigation of the issue, topic or problem. The article illuminates the approach with reference to a case study of a whole-year environmental program. It engages some of the issues raised in recent literature on integrated science curricula, concluding that environmental education might well serve as a useful vehicle for an integrated science education.

Windows into practice: constructing effective science teaching and learning in a school change initiative

This paper outlines the development of a framework - the Science in Schools (SiS) Components - that describes effective science teaching and learning and that has become a central focus for the Science in Schools Research project that is being implemented in 225 Australian schools. The description is in a form that provides a basis for monitoring change, and which can be validated against project outcomes. The SiS Components were partially based on interviews with a small number of primary and secondary teachers identified as effective practitioners, and have been subject to a variety of validation processes. The focus of this paper is on a particular form of validation involving interviews with an expanded set of effective primary teachers, from three Australian states. Case descriptions of core elements of these teachers' beliefs and practice were constructed, and a review and mapping process used to examine the extent to which the SiS Components, as a distinct 'window into practice', align with and capture these core elements, and differentiate the practice of these effective teachers from other primary teachers in the project.

Staff perceptions of the role of technology in experiential learning: a case study from an Australian university

This paper reports on a cross-disciplinary comparative study that examines the interplay between information and communications technologies (ICT) and experiential learning, in the context of seven fields of professional practice in undergraduate education. Our central claim is that academic teachers' framing of the meaning and nature of experiential learning shapes the actual and possible uses of ICT, in supporting the development of professional expertise in academic and workplace learning environments. Implicit in teaching conceptions and practices is an underlying view of the changing nature and conduct of the professions, and the requirements for effective entry level practice in relevant professional fields. The paper explores key indicators of ICT development and usage in supporting the creation of meaningful professional learning, and the design of integrated, coherent, professional learning environments.

Learning and teaching assessment: reviewing the evidence

The authors have recently completed a research review on learning and teaching of assessment in social work which was commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the Social Policy and Social Work Learning and Teaching Support Network (SWAPltsn) to support the development of the new social work award in England. This involved reviewing relevant literature from social work and cognate disciplines back to 1990 with the aim of identifying best practice in learning and teaching of assessment skills.

Although assessment has been recognised as a core skill in social work and should underpin social work interventions, there is no singular theory or understanding as to what the purpose of assessment is and what the process should entail. Social work involvement in the assessment process may include establishing need or eligibility for services, to seek evidence of past events or to determine likelihood of future danger, may underpin recommendations to other agencies, or may determine the suitability of other service providers. In some settings assessment is considered to begin from the first point of contact and may be a relatively short process, whereas elsewhere it may be a process involving several client contacts over an extended period of time. The assessment process may range from the collection of data on standardised proforma to a flexible approach depending on circumstances. These variations permeate the literature on the learning and teaching of assessment in social work and cognate disciplines.

Several different approaches to classroom based learning were proposed in the literature including case-based teaching, interviews with actors who have been trained to play 'standardised clients', and observation of children and families, as well as didactic lecturing and various uses of video equipment and computers. Furthermore learning by doing has long been one of the hallmarks of social work education, and there are a number of models proposed in which students learn about the assessment process through conducting assessments. The evidence to support these different approaches to learning and teaching is variable. Based on the evidence reviewed, recommendations as to what is good practice in learning and teaching about assessment will be presented.