Teacher renewal: collaboration and collegiality

This paper draws in part on findings gathered for the evaluation of the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DE&T) response to the federal Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) funded Quality Teacher Progam (QTP). The paper reports on findings from one strategy, the Local Area Project and focuses on aspects of that project that relate to teacher renewal and enhancement of professionalism. The findings suggest that the professional development opportunities offered by participation in Local Area Projects have, through collaboration and collegiality, enhanced teacher professionalism and provided an environment for teacher renewal.

Exploring the foundations of practicing online collaboration

In collaborative learning, instruction is learner-centered rather than teacher-centered and knowledge is viewed as a social construct, facilitated by peer interaction, evaluation and mutual support [1]. Such computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) enables and encourages learners to confer, reflect and help to develop meaningful learning in an environment where significant learning can be achieved through interactions supported by electronic communication and discourse [2]. This paper proposes a theory that supports educational collaboration in a peer-to-peer computing environment, thus blending the two disciplines.

Cross-discipline collaboration and innovation in the design studio : drawing on the Bath model

As information expands and comprehension becomes more complex, so the need increases to develop focused areas of knowledge and skill acquisition. However, as the number of specialty areas increases so the languages that define each separate knowledge base become increasingly remote. Hence, concepts and viewpoints that were once considered part of a whole become detached. This phenomenon is typical of the development of tertiary education, especially within professional oriented courses, where disciplines and sub-disciplines have grown further apart and the ability to communicate has become increasingly fragmented.
One individual and visionary who was well acquainted with the shortcomings of the piecemeal development between the disciplines was Professor Sir Edmond Happold, the leader of the prestigious group known as Structures 3 at Ove Arup and Partners, who were responsible for making happen some of the landmark buildings of their time, including Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre, and the founding professor of the Bath school of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 1975. While still having a profound respect for the knowledge bases of the different professions within the building and construction industry, Professor Happold was also well aware of the extraordinary synergies in design and innovation which could come about when the disciplines of Architecture and Civil Engineering were brought together at the outset of the design process.
This paper discusses the rational behind Professor Happold’s cross-discipline model of education and reflects on the method, execution and pedagogical worth of the joint studio-based projects which formed a core aspect of the third year program at the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Bath University.

Learning to be a teacher - examining the role of self-as-researcher in a phenomenological study

Many qualitative studies position the researcher as either an impartial observer or as an active participant in any given gathering of humanistic data. This paper presents the researcher in a different paradigm and emphasises the importance of the researcher's story being told as well as those of the participants. The paper presents the research of a doctoral study that used a phenomenological framework and adopted a narrative inquiry approach. Narrative inquiry was used as it recognised that particular research interests often have their genesis in the researcher’s own experience and background. This study focused on how you can explore the role of self-as-researcher in order to be open to listen and report on the findings of those who we study.

The artist and the computer : understanding the creative user

This paper is focused on understanding the creative computer user for the purposes of informing the design of future creativity support systems and related software. We present an investigation of a successful Australian artist, Jill Lewis, who paints on canvas. In particular, we highlight the interesting part that existing digital technology plays in her creative practice, and we identify and describe in detail two specific uses of this technology. We terml these uses "electronic collaging" and "media switching". We go on to attempt to relate this artist's creative process to two theoretical models of the creative process.

Constructing wikis as a platform for online collaboration in an e-learning environment

Previous studies conclude that finding a collaborative tool to suit the e-Iearning environment adequately is quite a task. Consequently, research has been conducted for this very purpose, to trial the use of wikis as a platform to support collaboration in a way that students will embrace and adopt for regular use. The wiki is easily accessible, requires no software and allows its contributors to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. However there are wiki related challenges that have yet to be researched in the online e-Iearning environment. Possible intrusions, no opinion control, user hostility, and unintentional deletions or editing all require further investigation. This paper will further research the wiki environment in the tertiary e-Iearning setting, as well as consider wiki moderation, member authentication, and interest sustainability to support this community focused collaborative tool. Relevant results from the current case study are explored whilst delivering meaningful data, thus providing an insight into how wikis are an appropriate platform to incorporate in the online collaborative environment.

“Through a glass darkly” : a report on trends in school music education provision in Australia

This paper reports on research commissioned by the Music Council of Australia (MCA) on the provision of school music education in Australian states and territories. Using guidelines developed by the principal researcher, a team of state and territory investigators collected data on eleven research questions formulated by MCA’s Research Committee. The principal investigator compiled, analysed and interpreted the state data and synthesised the findings into an overview of
the current situation nationally. One of the major findings was the limited amount of uniform data available from education authorities; indeed, the inadequacy or non-availability of data from some states is a matter of serious concern in terms of public accountability for the school music provision. Nevertheless, the project provided an overview of the current state of school music education in all states and territories. In relation to three of the key indicators (numbers of specialist music teachers, numbers of students taught music, and numbers of students studying music at Year 12), the study revealed that the provision of music has not changed significantly over the past two decades—the situation has either remained static or has improved or declined slightly. The principal recommendation from the project is the need for a more comprehensive survey to be undertaken and a Deakin University team, in collaboration with the MCA as industry partner, will be applying for an ARC Linkage Grant which will investigate effective teaching of music in schools and the preparation of teachers for implementing music programs.

Employing wikis for online collaboration in the e-learning environment: case study

This paper examines the various ways in which students reflect on their very recent experiences in collaborating in an online e-learning environment. Wikis, fully editable Websites, are easily accessible, require no software and allow its contributors, in these case students, to feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. Wikis are everywhere, but, unfortunately, the online literature has not yet begun to focus enough on wikis (Mattison 2003). Whereas students are used to the WebCT based university Elearning environment, Deakin Studies Online (DSO), this case study, completed in Nov 2004, was conducted to test the wiki platform as a means of online collaboration in the tertiary education environment. A full analysis of the results is presented, as are recommendations for improving the platform in an effort to employ wikis and utilize them to their full and absolute potential.

Beyond the silo effect : the challenges of collaboration

Women entering the maternity arena in Australia and other Western regimes have suffered incidentally from what is known as the' silo effect'. This refers to a clash between the training regimes of the 'old' professionalism and the 'new' professionalism. Under the 'old' professionalism, hierarchies were erected between medicine and the so-called semi-professions such as nursing and social work (Tully and Mortlock 2004) resulting in what Degeling et al (1998; 2000) have documented as oppositional modes of decision-making, styles of working, roles and accountabilities. Within the last decade, a 'new professionalism' has emerged in many Western regimes, including Canada, NZ, the UK and The Netherlands. (Romanow Report 2002; Street, Gannon and Holt 1991; Victorian Department of Human Services, Australia 2004) depicted by a flatter more egalitarian structure of multidisciplinarity .. An example in Australia is the Future Directions in Maternity Care document released in mid 2004 by the Bracks Victorian Labor government. In Australia, the move towards the 'new professionalism' can be attributed to a confluence of macro economic factors including the swing away from hospital-based training and towards university-based training for nurses and midwives, the ripple effects of three decades of feminism, the professionalisation of midwifery, the attrition of midwives from the workforce, the rise of health consumerism from the late 1980s and the crippling costs of professional indemnity health insurance for obstetricians leading to a crisis in recruitment.

The effects of facilitation on punctuated equilibrium in e-collaboration projects

Information technology has transformed the “heartland” of education around the world. Classrooms are global, students international, but traditional methods and their adjacent challenges persist or are exacerbated in online schoolhouses. There is reason to believe that team performance of online students completing team projects can be significantly improved by the active participation of a facilitator. What could explain such improvement? Given the communication barriers that learners can experience using e-learning technologies, the skill of a teacher at facilitating an understanding of e-collaboration and the prescient need to facilitate collaborative skills at all times is essential to a successful educational result. There may also be generational learning style issues to consider. One practical, proven tool is progress reporting. This paper reviews the literature and reflects on author experiences in the online education of Management students at universities in the United States and Australia to draw theoretical connections with communication, leadership, and punctuated equilibrium relevant to contemporary educational practice. The implications of effective facilitation of student teams for Management education and management of student performance are explored.

An educational durian? Issues in teacher education in international collaboration

This paper looks at an international collaborative project in teacher education between Malaysian Institutes of teacher training and an Australian university from the perspectives of four of the participants. Two of the stories are from participants who are co-ordinating aspects of the collaboration, and two stories come from participants who were involved closely in the curriculum and teaching aspects of the program. These personal stories reveal that international collaborative projects are indeed like the durian: there are both good and bad aspects. Our differing roles in the program allow us to provide rich insights into such an international collaboration that we believe will be of benefit to others attempting similar projects.