Students` perceptions of workshop based introductory macro-economics tutorials: a survey

The declining popularity of Economics courses, evident in the last decade, has fuelled a debate on the nature of Economics units and the way in which they are taught in tertiary institutions. The effectiveness of traditional teaching methods has been questioned as lecturers search for alternative ways of presenting material and engaging students. In recent times, workshop-based/cooperative tutorials have become more popular in promoting deeper learning. This paper assesses the application of such an approach at a large tertiary institution. It evaluates student perceptions of this tutorial method in an Introductory Macroeconomics first-year unit. An anonymous questionnaire was used. Whilst the sample size is small (n = 56), the results are important in that this is the first such study in Macroeconomics. Students found workshop-based tutorials useful, preferred them over lecture style tutorials, and found that they fostered inclusivity. The importance of tutorials per se, is reiterated. Students state that tutorials are an important adjunct to lectures. This study also looks at students' study habits: finding that on average they spend less than one hour per week studying Economics and most prepare only occasionally for tutorials. The sample studied indicates that there are notable differences in the perceptions of tutorials and teaching methods between the genders and between local and international students. This may impact on the way in which tutorials are conducted effectively.

Easier analysis and better reporting : modelling ordinal data in mathematics education research

This article presents an examination of the use of Rasch modelling in a major research project, 'Improving Middle Years Mathematics and Science' (IMYMS). It is unarguable that it is important to take students' perceptions, or views, into account when planning learning and teaching for them. The IMYMS student perceptions survey is an attempt to make visible these student viewpoints, and report them in a way that is accessible to teachers and researchers involved in the project. The project involves four clusters of schools from urban and regions of Victoria to investigate the role of mathematics and science knowledge and subject cultures in mediating change processes in the middle years of schooling. There are five secondary and twenty-eight primary schools. The project has generated both qualitative and quantitative data, with much of the qualitative data being ordinal in nature. Reporting the results of analyses for a range of audiences necessitates careful, well-designed report formats. Some useful new report formats based on Rasch modeling -the Modified Variable Map, the Ordinal Map, the Threshold Map, and the Annotated Ordinal Map - are illustrated using data from the IMYMS project. The Rasch analysis and the derived reporting formats avoid the pitfalls that exist when working with ordinal data and provide insights into the respondents' views about their experiences in schools unavailable by other approaches.

Becoming l(IT)erate : pre-service English teachers and ICTs

One of the recommended principles for classroom practice from the Digital Rhetorics Project is ‘Teachers First’, emphasising the need to prioritise the requirements of teachers in learning new technologies and in understanding their relationship to literacy education (Lankshear, Green and Snyder 2000, p. 121). While most of my pre-service English Education students use digital technologies for their own purposes and understand the benefits of doing so, it is not always straightforward regarding how technology can be effectively utilised in their classroom and for what purposes. This article reports work conducted with pre-service English Education teachers in an elective unit that focuses upon digital technologies in secondary classrooms. Using Green’s 3D model of literacy as a way of understanding the complex interrelationships between the cultural, critical and operational aspects of literacy, the students experiment with digital technologies such as mobile phones, wikis and blogs.

A focus on teaching in online pedagogy

As the Internet continues to grow in popularity and educational institutions feel the need to have a presence online, 'learning and teaching online' has become somewhat of an IT cliché. In many cases course material is made available online and it is left up to the learner to learn. The claims made for online courses promise considerable cost savings after the initial establishment period, and opportunities to provide education to a larger, globalised marketplace. For students, online learning is thought to allow more flexible study options, and the opportunity to work and study at the same time (Bell, et al 2002, p. 27).

In this paper we question the assumption that online teaching is merely making course material available on the World Wide Web. We report on our study of what is involved in the act of teaching online and on the research that led to the development of the 'mobile teaching facility' to enable a focus on teaching in the online environment. We reflect on how a group of academic staff are responding to online teaching. Details of professional development workshops, hardware and software solutions and working with the complexities of pedagogy will also be discussed. This paper is about our findings, recommendations and plans for future explorations.

A case for a mobile architecture and built environment laboratory

Deakin University and other research and industry partners have recently won a grant for the establishment of a Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL). MABEL provides the first means of integrated, on-site measurement of the key aspects of the built environment (power, sound, light and comfort) using the latest instrument technology. There exists an ongoing need to establish a versatile and comprehensive in-situ testing facility for built internal environments, for the provision of research, education, training and technology diffusion. The ability to make on-site measurements across the environmental spectrum is unique and important. Individual measurements might demonstrate improved lighting performance, reduced power consumption, and improved ventilation or better building acoustics. More importantly, an integrated perspective will address an interaction in terms of energy efficiency and overall occupant comfort. H is recognised that many of the parameters we can measure with existing instrumentation remain unresolved regarding their diagnostic significance on occupant health, comfort and productivity. Also, developed standards for in-situ measurement are at an emerging state, in the delivery of reliable and useful assessment methods. This paper discusses the inception and role of the MABEL facility for building research, learning and teaching.

Teaching for the `new work order`: empowerment or exploitation?

Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs addressing the needs
of workers in the ‘New Work Order’ have increasingly emphasised the development of communication, analytical, negotiation and decision- making skills over technical skills. Education for work has often been seen as a means of empowering workers to take up the opportunities available to them in the new ‘democratic’ workplaces of the last twenty years by developing the skills to contribute to workplace change through participation in collaborative decision-making processes. This paper is based on the findings of a study that explored the ways in which trainers take up and work within the current discourses of VET. Data from interviews with trainers as well as observations of them at work are analysed and presented in this paper to highlight the ways in which they inadvertently position their students as compliant and powerless workers, despite the rhetoric that learning- for-work will prepare them to become active agents of change in democratic workplaces. I argue that this contradiction is due, in part, to the ways in which the trainers’ classed identities intersect with discourses of VET in powerful and complex ways. Their understanding of work, learning- for-work and teaching- for-work is constructed and mediated through their social class positionings and is enacted through classroom practices.

Using online technologies: does culture matter?

There has been an increase in the number of international students studying information technology programmes in Australia. There is little information about how this group uses online technologies. The overall aim of this research was to investigate how students use online technologies and teaching resources. A secondary aim was to determine whether there were any differences between international and local students using the online environment. The study consisted of two parts: an online survey  questionnaire and an analysis of the student’s use of the online environment. The overall results showed very little difference between two cohorts and that these results would be enhanced by further research into educational and cultural backgrounds.

Employer requirements of economics graduates and the implications for undergraduate economics programs

In recent years there has been considerable debate about the general decline in the number of students undertaking bachelor degrees and majors in economics. The discussion has stemmed mainly from a supply-side perspective of the economics education market. The goal of this paper is to add another dimension to the debate and report the results of a survey of employers of economics graduates. Drawing on the extensive customer services literature it is argued that a market oriented, or demand-side analysis is also an important component in redressing low student enrolments and retention. A first step in adopting a market oriented approach is to determine the skills required of the economics graduates entering the jobs market. With the support of The Economics Society of Au~tralia, twenty-nine public and private sector employers were surveyed in 2002. The aim of the survey was to establish the demand for economics graduates with bachelor and honours degrees, the skills and knowledge required of these graduates, and the performance of such graduates. The study found that economic knowledge and skill were important to employers. However, the skills rated most important by employers were the more general or 'generic' skills of clear writing, data analysis, interpersonal skills and a practical problem-solving orientation. While graduates generally performed satisfactorily in relation to the economic skills required by employers, this was not the case for generic skills. The result of the survey findings have some significant implications for the content and teaching of undergraduate economics programs. This paper outlines these implications and also discusses areas for future research It is argued that such research should aim to utilize both the demand and supplyside perspectives with the development of more precise definitions and measurement of the economic skills required by the various stakeholders in the economics education market.

Beyond pretence: new sensibilities for computing and communication technologies in teacher education

Making particular reference to schools’ traditional relationships with CCTS (and the kinds of ‘pretend’ and ‘artificial’ learning/assessment tasks that this relationship has historically produced), this paper details a research and teaching agenda focused on exploring the potential of having students work on tasks with value to local and/or school communities. The paper maps the informing theories and current practices of schools
participating in the ‘knowledge producing schools’ (KPS) agenda. Particular attention is given to the ways in which KPS schools are better positioned to respond to the needs of diverse student/community populations, particularly those students traditionally perceived as ‘at risk’.

The right to own : internationalization of perspectives of plagiarism and the internet

Cultural diversity in tertiary classrooms is integral to the current university scene. Teachers must incorporate different methods of delivery and
assessment to cater for an increasingly international student population. This paper explores the notion of plagiarism from two perspectives: the law
and English as a Second Language (ESL) writing theory.

Professional development : the singing ear sees and does

This paper argues that professional development is seen as one element that can lead to the types of change that create more effective schools and improve the learning outcomes of students (Rhodes and Houghton-Hill, 2000). As change is a multifaceted phenomenon that teachers find difficult, it questions and challenges education reform that requires teachers to significantly change their practices and approaches to teaching without significant long-term ongoing support for that change. While there is an emphasis on teachers to be lifelong learners and teaching is viewed as a dynamic and growing profession, many teachers will require ongoing professional development to support such change. This paper examines the relationship between professional growth and professional development and its impact on teacher change. This paper concludes with some views from artists-in-residence and from music teachers regarding onsite professional development and the need for ongoing professional development specifically in African music. The authors contend that an expanded program of professional development in music is likely to be more effective if it is onsite and long-term where broad educational views are considered and participants’ knowledge valued.

Musical arts education in Africa : differentiation, integration and disassociation

By discussing the future challenges to musical arts education in Africa in which local cultural practices are valued, the differences of those historically marginalised by virtue of gender, race, ethnicity, and class, are celebrated. In Africa, musical arts education and culture are regarded as an integral part of our life, which not only embraces the spiritual, material and intellectual aspects of our society, but also contributes greatly toward our emotional development. This affirms the integrity and importance of various forms of 'Art' including literature, technology, design, dance, drama, music, visual art, media and communication.

This paper will discuss the future of African musical arts education programmes through the dynamic cycle of differentiation, integration and disassociation. The authors will consider the concept of ‘differentiation’, ‘integration’ and ‘disassociation’ within musical arts practice. An analysis of selected international arts education programmes provides a globally differentiated perspective through a discipline-based approach. In the African context, arts education programmes are located within an integrated approach. The structure of a Music Action Research Team (MAT cell) in Southern African Developing Community (SADC) countries will be highlighted as a means to address disassociation through the active engagement of professional development programmes offered by the Centre for Indigenous African Instrumental Music and Dance (CIIMDA).

Doing futures: futures education and enactivism

In New Times (Hall, 1996), there has been much rhetoric about school’s role in equipping students for the future. Futures education, or futures pedagogy, provides an interdisciplinary approach in which alternative futures may be explored, designed and articulated. Enactivism, as a theory of learning, affirms my contention that it is not enough to talk about the future. Rather, I propose that education must act as an agent of change, in equipping teachers and students alike, to imagine, critique and create possible, preferable and probable futures. This paper, then, explores the co-emergence (Manturana & Varela, 1992) of an explicit futures dimension, and teaching and learning drawing upon case studies of practice in schools.