Team teaching and communicative language teaching in Japanese secondary schools

Explores team teaching and communicative language teaching in Japanese schools. The study's first phase uses the ethnographic approach of participant observation. The second phase uses eleven case study interviews to discover the teachers' conceptions of communicative language teaching. Identifies elements of team taught lessons and elucidates the conceptions of communicative language teaching held by a sample of teachers.

Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds

What are educators‟ motivations for using virtual worlds with their students? Are they using them to support the teaching of professions and if this is the case, do they introduce virtual worlds into the curriculum to develop and/or expand students' professional learning networks? Are they using virtual worlds to transform their teaching and learning? In  recognition of the exciting opportunities that virtual worlds present for higher education, the DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group was formed. It is made up of Australian university academics who are investigating the role that virtual worlds will play in the future of education and actively implementing the technology within their own teaching practice and  curricula. This paper presents a typology for teaching and learning in 3D virtual worlds and applies the typology to a series of case studies based on the ways in which academics and their institutions are exploiting the power of virtual worlds for diverse purposes ranging from business scenarios and virtual excursions to role-play, experimentation and language development. The case studies offer insight into the ways in which institutions are transforming their teaching for an unknown future through innovative teaching and learning in virtual worlds. The paper demonstrates how virtual worlds enable low cost alternatives to existing pedagogies as well as creating opportunities for rich, immersive and authentic activities that would otherwise not be feasible or maybe not even be possible. Through the use of virtual worlds, teaching and learning can be transformed to cater for an unknown future.

Beyond externalizing and finalizing definitions : standards for teachers of english language and literacy in Australia (STELLA)

This article explores issues relating to the development of the Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia (STELLA). STELLA is the product of work by members of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA), the two key professional bodies in Australia representing secondary English teachers and primary school literacy teachers respectively. However, the question remains as to the extent to which English literacy teachers around Australia can meaningfully identify with these standards. This article asks whether professional standards can provide a framework for practitioner inquiry and the renewal of the English teaching profession in contradistinction to managerial pressures to impose standards for regulatory purposes.

Where shall the future student learn? Student expectations of university facilities for teaching and learning

This paper examines some of the issues surrounding educational facilities - their design and impact upon student learning now and into the future. It details some of the recent literature in this area with particular emphasis upon teaching and learning trends that match the needs of modern students. The responses of a group of first year university students in the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University are also matched against these trends. The conclusions from these responses drawn indicate that the future university student will want flexible learning spaces that can adapt to both individual and collaborative work with a strong emphasis on social learning and advanced technology. The responses also indicate a mismatch between existing lecture theatres and tutorial rooms and the third space learning that these graduates of 2011 want. The results have implications for all higher education institutions as we enter the new millennium.

An Australian/UK comparison of contemporary teaching and learning technologies

The last decade has delivered substantial changes in construction and property education in Australia and the UK. There has been an increase in the number of courses offered in built environment education and the profile of a typical student has changed. In both countries students are under pressure to balance study and work due to the higher costs of living and education. This has placed demands on providers to deliver teaching and learning which meets student, industry and professional needs. Simultaneously there has been an increase in the application of technology in the business and corporate world which has resulted in increased efficiencies and new challenges. This paper evaluates changes in construction and property education courses to embrace new technology. The focus is on the delivery of innovative teaching and learning materials and the interaction between students, staff and the community. Results from questionnaires from new and existing students at Deakin University and Nottingham Trent University were used alongside examples of teaching and learning as illustrative case studies, the emphasis is placed on pushing the boundaries of the conventional built environment education process. The findings show that by embracing technology there can be a „win-win‟ scenario for students, staff and industry stakeholders. Whilst courses adopt varying levels of technology, it seems inevitable that educators must evolve the delivery of education to become efficient and effective as the century progresses.

A review of e-learning technologies – opportunities for teaching and learning

The number of different e-learning technologies available to support teaching and learning is growing exponentially. A major issue for faculty and educational developers in higher education is to determine which e-learning technology is most appropriate to support their particular teaching needs and provide optimum learning opportunities for students. Over the last few years a vast amount of literature has been published on e-learning technologies and how they are used in education Therefore the decision to use a particular technology should be based on sound research and clear evidence. This paper reviews many of these e-learning technologies and provides information regarding their use and the opportunities afforded by them.

Immersive interfaces for art education teaching and learning in mixed reality virtual and real world environments

Selected ubiquitous technologies encourage collaborative participation between higher education students and educators within a virtual socially networked e-learning landscape. Multiple modes of teaching and learning, ranging from real world experiences, to text and digital images accessed within the Deakin Studies Online learning management system and a constructed virtual world in which the user’s creative imagination transports them to the “other side” of their computer screens is discussed in this paper. These constructed environments support interaction between communities of learners and enable multiple simultaneous participants to access graphically built 3D environments, interact with digital artifacts and various functional tools and represent themselves through avatars, to communicate with other participants and engage in collaborative art learning. A narrative interpretative research approach was used to profile the 21st century higher education student learner, to investigate the lived experience and multiple art learning perspectives documented in student visual journal entries and art educator observations to ascertain if an e-technology rich augmented learning environment resulted in the establishment of more effective e-learning communities of practice.

Immersive interfaces for art education teaching and learning in virtual and real world learning environments

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.

Current issues and limitations in using the internet for teaching and learning

This paper acknowledges the new educational possibilities provided by the Internet, as well as identifying its current limitations as an educational medium. Issues of concern in using the Internet include equity and access, infrastructure considerations, intellectual property, development methodologies, implications for the delivery and administration of education, and the relationship between the Internet and other new media in education, including audio/video tapes, computer aided learning software, videoconferencing and CD-ROM. While the Internet offers valuable opportunities to enhance all modes of teaching and learning, and it is likely that most of the current limitations of the Internet in this regard will be overcome in time, those developers currently pursuing or investigating the Internet as a teaching resource should be aware of the potential difficulties. This paper draws on the experiences of the author in conventional and distance university teaching, and in using the Internet as an aid to teaching and learning in engineering and technology, but the issues addressed apply generally to those using the Internet in education.

Immersive interfaces for art education teaching and learning in virtual and real world learning environments

Selected ubiquitous technologies encourage collaborative participation between higher education students and educators within a virtual socially networked e-learning landscape. Multiple modes of teaching and learning, ranging from real world experiences, to text and digital images accessed within the Deakin Studies Online learning management system and a constructed virtual world in which the user's creative imagination transports them to the “other side” of their computer screens is discussed in this paper. These constructed environments support interaction between communities of learners and enable multiple simultaneous participants to access graphically built 3D environments, interact with digital artifacts and various functional tools and represent themselves through avatars, to communicate with other participants and engage in collaborative art learning. A narrative interpretative research approach was used to profile the 21st century higher education student learner, to investigate the lived experience and multiple art learning perspectives documented in student visual journal entries and art educator observations to ascertain if an e-technology rich augmented learning environment resulted in the establishment of more effective e-learning communities of practice.

The best of all worlds: Immersive interfaces for art education in virtual and real world teaching and learning environments

A narrative interpretative research methodology was used to investigate collaboration between higher education students and an art educator with the aim of establishing a community of learners. Located, Cloud based and graphically built 3D virtual, socially networked, e-learning environments were used to encourage synchronous and asynchronous student participation in authentic learning and collaborative art practice. Discussion focuses on art educator observations, student visual journal entries, their virtual exhibition of artworks on Deakin Art Education Island in Second Life and student evaluations of the unit Navigating the Visual World. It was concluded that immersion in an e-technology rich blended learning environment resulted in the establishment of an effective e-learning community of art.

An inquiry into the effectiveness of student generated MCQs as a method of assessment to improve teaching and learning

 In anticipation of helping students mature from passive to more active learners while engaging with the issues and concepts surrounding computer security, a student generated Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) learning strategy was designed and deployed as a replacement for an assessment task that was previously based on students providing solutions to a series of short-answer questions. To determine whether there was any educational value in students generating their own MCQs students were required to design MCQs. Prior to undertaking this assessment activity each participant completed a pre-test which consisted of 45 MCQs based on the topics of the assessment. Following the assessment activity the participants completed a post-test which consisted of the same MCQs as the pre-test. The pre and post test results as well as the post test and assessment activity results were tested for statistical significance. The results indicated that having students generate their own MCQs as a method of assessment did not have a negative effect on the learning experience. By providing a framework to the students based on the literature to support their engagement with the learning material, we believe the creation of well-structured MCQs resulted in a more advanced understanding of the relationships between the concepts of the learning material as compared with plainly answering a series of short-answer questions from a textbook. Further study is required to determine to what degree this learning strategy encouraged a deeper approach to learning.

Project and Module Based Teaching and Learning

This paper proposes a new teaching and learning approach-project and module based teaching and learning (PMBTL). The PMBTL approach incorporates the merits of project/problem based and module based learning methods, and overcomes the limitations of these methods. The correlation between teaching, learning, practice and assessment is emphasized in this approach, and new methods have been proposed accordingly. The distinct features of these new methods differentiate the PMBTL approach from conventional teaching approaches. Evaluation of this approach on practical teaching and learning activities demonstrates the effectiveness and stability of the approach in improving the performance and quality of teaching and learning. The approach proposed in this paper is also intuitive to the design of other teaching units.