Student learning: "the heart of quality" in education and training

This paper surveys the development of various approaches to quality that are essentially learning-centred:

•In the Schools sector: a brief overview of the Victorian Quality in Schools project;

•In Higher Education: work in progress at two Australian universities (Victoria University of Technology and Swinburne Universities of Technology in Melbourne); and

•In Vocational Education and Training: work in progress in re-orienting the policy approach to Quality towards a more flexible and learning-centred model.

This paper will argue that when looked at from the perspective of the individual learner, there is a strong case for student learning to be placed at the very heart of Quality Systems in all sectors of education, and also therefore in related sectoral Quality Assurance programs and processes.

Plagiarism – can preventative measures and a commitment to the value of learning by academics and students reduce plagiarism in classrooms?

Plagiarism is an interruptive act in the teaching and learning value chain. This paper analyses the impact of both plagiarism and effective assessment in the learning value chain. Effective assessment is the positive outcome. Plagiarism negates or breaks the chain. Anecdotal evidence suggests the incidences of plagiarism are increasing in faculties across the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and where every subject/unit outline includes a statement and warning to students of the penalties of this activity, deterrence tools do not overcome the harmful impact of plagiarism on the teacher/student learning relationship. A working party established in 2000 in the Faculty of Business at QUT, examined the literature, university policies, teaching and learning practices, and examples of plagiarism and penalties in order to identify the wider learning and assessment issues surrounding plagiarism and options for action and policy. A three-semester study of acts of plagiarism and wide consultation with staff presented the working party with an opportunity to develop a set of preventative measures, and also exposed the legal, cultural and accountability issues of diverse attitudes and values.

The paper presents the findings and recommendations from the investigation, and also proposes an interpretation of marketing theory of the impact of plagiarism on the teaching and learning value chain.

Fostering meaningful learning by using word problems in post-secondary mathematics

This research is a case study of action research investigating the effects of using word problems with Chinese Malaysian post-secondary students studying mathematics as an enabling science. A variety of word problems, a discussion method, reflective and peer learning, specific values in mathematics, and relevant socio-cultural and language issues were explored.

Learning by drawing

Scientists use a range of visual forms to imagine new relations, test ideas and elaborate knowledge, with digital technologies increasingly used to construct elaborate maps, 3D simulations, graphs or enhanced photographs. These visual tools are not simply passive communication devices but actively shape how we build knowledge in science.

Facilitating learning by going online : modernising Islamic teaching and learning in Indonesia

This chapter examines the impact of eLearning and Web 2.0 social media in a socially conservative environment in Indonesia that has nevertheless proven surprisingly adroit at change management. Web 2.0 social media has proven enormously popular in Indonesia but traditional Islamic schools (which are known in Java as pesantren but elsewhere in the Muslim world as madrasah) the focus of this study is often unable to access Web 2.0 or the Internet in general. Progressive non-national government organizations (NGOs) seek to remedy this situation by providing satellite broadband links to remote schools and this chapter examines one particular project. Despite the impoverished and conservative nature of their community, the leaders of this school have led their students in a surprisingly enthusiastic reception of eLearning technology, recognizing its great capacity to produce and enhance social networks and provide new opportunities for learning. Particular attention in this case study is given to factors relating to social capital, attitudes, and patterns of behavior in leadership and change management. A case study approach was chosen to enable a richer and more finely-grained analysis of the issues. The case study is based on semi-structured interviews and observations conducted over several years. This research shows that whilst the adoption and uptake of eLearning with emerging technologies is strongly shaped by cultural and social factors, it plays out in very different ways than might first have been expected.

Localized learning by emerging multinational enterprises in developed host countries: a fuzzy-set analysis of Chinese foreign direct investment in Australia

Firms learn general international management and foreign market specific knowledge in their internationalization process. Firms' strategic emphasis on generalized vs. localized learning is an important yet underexplored issue in the extant literature. Drawing on the theoretical framework of dynamic capability, and in the context of emerging multinational enterprises' FDI into developed host countries, this study examines the equifinal process-position-path configurations of firms that will motivate them to engage in localized learning (as opposed to generalized learning). Utilizing primary and secondary data of eleven Chinese foreign direct investments in Australia, collected at both headquarters and subsidiary levels, we conducted fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) that provided substantial support to our propositions. This study contributes to the internationalization process model by identifying equifinal process-position-path configurations, as well as their core and peripheral conditions that motivate localized learning at both the headquarters and the subsidiary levels.

The organ of repetition

This paper considers the practice of learning-by-heart and argues for its relevance to learning, to thought (as defined by Gilles Deleuze) and as a way of turning towards the ‘new’ or ‘the future’, via the operation of repetition. It considers two modes in which rote learning can be productive and provocative—firstly, when the content itself is something worth retaining, and secondly, when the actual process of the learning itself and then the repeating align themselves with the criteria of ‘practice’, as framed by the author here. In the face of rote learning’s reputation as an out-moded pedagogical tool, the paper argues that it inhabits a paradoxical and productive site, whereby what begins as a repetition of the same, can open towards pure repetition (as Deleuze frames this notion), and facilitate inventiveness and a courting of the new. In this way, poetry, and the learning of it by rote, constitute a unique constellation, disputing the platitude that learning is ‘only discovering what one already knew’ and instead proposing that learning is closer to an awesome ordeal, one that leads to concepts and collisions that did not exist before and cannot be predicted in advance.

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.

The application of a reinforcement learning agent to a multi-product manufacturing facility

An intelligent agent-based scheduling system, consisting of a reinforcement learning agent and a simulation model has been developed and tested on a classic scheduling problem. The production facility studied is a multiproduct serial line subject to stochastic failure. The agent goal is to minimise total production costs, through selection of job sequence and batch size. To explore state space the agent used reinforcement learning. By applying an independent inventory control policy for each product, the agent successfully identified optimal operating policies for a real production facility.

Deakin as a national leader in teaching and learning

Deakin University has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming a national leader in teaching and learning and in the provision of high quality flexible education. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sally Walker, recently reinforced the target of Deakin being in the top third of Australian universities in relation to teaching and learning by 2012.

Representational issues in students learning about evaporation

This study draws on recent research on the central role of representation in learning. While there has been considerable research on students’ understanding of evaporation, the representational issues entailed in this understanding have not been investigated in depth. The study explored students’ engagement with evaporation phenomena through various representational modes. The study indicates how a focus on representation can provide fresh insights into the conceptual task involved in learning science through an investigation of students’ responses to a structured classroom sequence and subsequent interviews over a year. A case study of one child’s learning demonstrates the way conceptual advances are integrally connected with the development of representational modes. The findings suggest that teacher-mediated negotiation of representational issues as students construct different modal accounts can support enriched learning by enabling both (a) richer conceptual understanding by students, and (b) enhanced teacher insights into students’ thinking.