Spoken mathematics as an instructional strategy: the public discourse of mathematics classrooms in different countries

This chapter examines the use of spoken mathematics in the public discourse of eighth-grade mathematics classrooms internationally. By “spoken mathematics” we mean the recognizably mathematical terms used in spoken interaction in the classroom. Our principal focus was the relatively sophisticated terms by which each lesson’s central concepts or procedures were named. In our analysis we addressed the question(s): “What is the occurrence of publicly spoken mathematics in the different classrooms studied and what efforts do the teachers appear to make to promote students’ use of technical mathematical terms in their public classroom talk?” A companion chapter examines the question of students’ private spoken mathematics in the classroom and the possible learning that might result.

Student speech as an instructional priority: mathematics classrooms in seven culturally-differentiated cities

Student spoken use of mathematical terminology in public and private classroom discourse distinguishes one mathematics classroom from another. While student-student spoken interactions were frequent in the classrooms studied in Berlin, Melbourne, and San Diego, and non-existent in Shanghai and Seoul, student use of mathematical terminology varied significantly. The variation between the practices of the mathematics classrooms studied in Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo problematizes any simplistic characterization of “the Asian classroom.” Our results demonstrate that student spoken facility with the technical language of mathematics requires deliberate scaffolding and, interestingly, this can be achieved through either public or private discourse.

A “partnership in teaching excellence”: ways in which one school-university partnership has fostered teacher development

This paper reports on some of the factors that contribute to an effective partnership between an urban Australian university and a State Department of Education. The partnership, currently in its third year of implementation, entails as a key purpose the development of school Centres of Excellence which contribute to the preparation of pre-service teachers. The foundational aims of the partnership include addressing the gap between theory and practice, facilitating pre-service teacher recruitment and providing a guarantee of future employment for identified Faculty of Education students through the provision of pre-service teacher scholarships. Data for the study were collected via two program reviews, conducted at the end of the first and third years of the program. Findings point to ways in which the partnership has enhanced pre-service teacher engagement and learning and also indicate ways in which partners in both institutions might further strengthen the partnership.

Infusing instructional design principles into an active student-centred social learning framework

Social and participatory media offer a plethora of ways for students to communicate, collaborate, and learn in schools. Using a social learning approach, Casey (2013a) investigated ways that social media could be integrated into Australian public high school classrooms to enhance student learning. In the process, she developed a social learning framework as discussed in Casey (2013b). Similarly, Davidson-Shivers and Hulon (2013; Hulon & Daidson-Shivers, 2013) suggest ways to employ ID principles to prepare college instructors and pre-service teachers to integrate technology into classrooms. Prior to that, Davidson-Shivers with Rasmussen (2006) developed an instructional design (ID) model for creating effective Web-based learning environments. Through collaboration, Casey and Davidson-Shivers consider a wide range of social learning and instructional design principles and approaches to help develop frameworks for new media integration that can work within varying levels of education.

Greater cognitive effort for better learning : tailoring an instructional design for learners with different levels of knowledge and motivation

The capacity limitation of working memory is a widely recognised determinant of human learning. A cognitive load exceeding the capacity hampers learning. Cognitive load can be controlled by tailoring an instructional design to levels of learner prior knowledge. However, such as design does not necessarily motivate to use the available capacity for better learning. The present review examines literatures on the effects of instructional design, motivation, emotional state, and expertise level on cognitive load and cognitive effort, which ultimately affect working memory performance and learning. This examination suggests further studies on the effects of motivation and negative emotional states on the use of working memory. Prospective findings would help better explain and predict individual differences in the use of working memory for cognitive learning and task performance.

The teaching contest as a professional development activity to promote classroom instruction excellence in China

Teaching contests might be alien to many readers outside of China mainland, but as one of professional development activities, it is well known by most of Chinese school teachers. This chapter, based on the data collected by mail surveys to the contest organizers, evaluation panel members, contest winners, and ordinary participating teachers, and detailed notes taken from various meetings of the evaluation committee, as well as a lesson video of one of the three contest winners, we aimed to the 2011 national high school teachers' teaching contests carefully, to examine the aims and processes of teaching contests, their possible merits or weaknesses for teachers’ professional development, and features of exemplary lessons demonstrated during the national teaching contest. It was found that the aim of the teaching contest was totally not the competition per se., to promote curriculum development and teachers' professional development, to provide a big platform for those teachers who pursue excellence in teaching to display, discuss, explore, and share with others about mathematics instruction were real intentions of the organizers.

Modelling of vocational excellence: An international perspective

This paper provides an overview of the findings from a Finnish Ministry of Education sponsored project called ‘Modeling of Vocational Excellence’ (MoVE) and an Australian application and adaptation of this research: ‘MoVE Australia’. The Finnish MoVE research project was conducted by the Research Centre for Vocational Education at the University of Tampere explored WorldSkills as a site for the development of expertise and pursuit of excellence. It addressed questions about the abilities and attributes of competitors, and the social and environmental factors which influenced their skill development. The Australian project administered the Finnish MoVE survey to the Australian international WorldSkills team which will compete in London in October 2011 and introduced a second survey about competitor experience, designed to give voice to the young people involved in WorldSkills. This survey was administered to competitors, trainers and judges participating in the WSA National Competition held in Brisbane in May 2010, and later to employers and families. The Australian extension of the Finnish research has generated a rich source of experiential data, providing fresh insights into career choice and training. The findings of the research offer opportunities for reviewing elements of trade training and raise questions about the role of a competitive community of practice in quality skill formation and about the current level of research on this aspect of Australia VET practice.

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health : an operational rationale and some reflections on progress so far

The Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health was established in late 2003 through a major National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant involving collaboration between the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA), Flinders University, and Aboriginal Health Services. Our foundation research communities are the Aboriginal communities served by these Aboriginal Health Services in the Spencer Gulf / Eyre Peninsula region. In recent years a number of collaborative research programs involving chronic illness management, self-management and coordinated care have been implemented in these communities and this work is the basis of the initial CCRE activities. Key objectives of the CCRE are to improve the health status of Indigenous people through conducting relevant and meaningful Aboriginal controlled health research, providing formal training for Indigenous health researchers and developing innovative approaches to health care that can be readily translated and applied to support communities. The inclusion, empowerment and engagement of Indigenous people in the process of managing community health represent tangible strategies for achieving more equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal people. This paper outlines the CCRE operational rationale and presents early activities and outcomes across the three strategic areas of CCRE operations: research, education and training, and translation. Some critical reflections are offered on the progress and experience of the CCRE thus far. A common obstacle this CCRE has encountered is that the limited (especially staff) resources available to the Aboriginal Health Services with which we are collaborating make it difficult for them to engage with and progress the projects we are pursuing.

What contributes to vocational excellence? Characteristics and experiences of competitors and experts in WorldSkills London

Modelling Vocational Excellence (MoVE) International is a WorldSkills Member research initiativesupporting:• skills improvement and Competition best practice• international skills benchmarking, and• promotion of vocational excellence to young people, employers and policy makers.MoVE International is the inaugural research project for the WorldSkills Foundation and is alsosupported by Skills Finland, WorldSkills UK, WorldSkills Australia and the Dusseldorp Skills Forum.The research team is a partnership between: University of Tampere, Finland; University of Oxford,UK; and RMIT University, Australia, with support from Deakin University, Australia.The research initiative sets out to produce outcomes relevant to the interests of its majorstakeholder groups. The data produced by the study offers WorldSkills International and individualWorldSkills Members a framework for international benchmarking on skills quality, and a windowinto the WorldSkills experience for Competitors and Experts. Through the research reports,WorldSkills Member organizations will also gain access to global data on WorldSkills Competitorsand Experts which may be applied to improve training and professional development. Importantly,young people are afforded a global voice. In telling their own stories they can share theirexperiences with peers, and provide future Competitors with insights into the experience of beinginvolved in international skill competitions. For WorldSkills International, the data is a source ofpromotional material, and may contribute to event and organizational evaluation.The MoVE research project launches the WorldSkills Foundation’s program of research,engagement and advocacy. MoVE offers the Foundation an opportunity to influence the globaldebate on vocational education and training, and to shift the orientation of VET research away froma ‘deficit’ framework to one which highlights benefits and opportunities (see section 2.2 for a fullerexplanation of these research orientations).The outputs of the 2011 MoVE international research project include this global report and casestudies of the Australian, Finnish and British teams that competed at WorldSkills London 2011.

The excellence criterion

Why would the MPACs need more funding? After all, they are already among the best-funded cultural organisations in the country. Opera Australia is the single largest recipient of Australia Council funding, receiving $20.5 million in 2014, plus another $4.2 million from the New South and Victorian governments. All up, Opera Australia receives more government funding than the 145 small-to-medium organisations put together. But such an imbalance is par for the course in performing arts funding.