Internationalising the curriculum in Australian schools

In the Australian educational context, the International Baccalaureate Diploma has had a measurable effect on both state and independent schools. This globally recognised international program has fostered and encouraged national curriculum innovation through standardization in assessment, criteria based reporting, content rich staff development and whole school change.

'In reality it's almost impossible':CLT-oriented curriculum change

Curriculum innovation is challenging and, as several commentators have reported, moves to introduce communicative language teaching in many contexts internationally have resulted in mixed outcomes, or even failure. In an effort to shed some light on this complex problem, this article focuses on curriculum change through the introduction of new communicative textbooks in an engineering college (kosen) in Japan. First, three key factors that inhibit change are considered and then other factors that specifically hindered change in the kosen environment are identified. A study investigating the attitudes and classroom practices of four Japanese teachers of English highlighted a culture of pedagogical uncertainty and lack of professional support. Suggestions for supporting teachers to implement curriculum change more effectively, both in Japan and elsewhere, are drawn out.

Education futures : transforming teacher education in the middle years

The young people who populate our classrooms live in a changed and rapidly changing society: a society where information is the most valued commodity and where traditional ‘truth’s such as nation and family are increasingly destabilized and fragmented. Educators at primary, secondary and tertiary level must, with some urgency, address issues relating the emergence of new citizenships and identities, the impact of new technologies and new economies. Our pedagogy and curriculums must be relevant to the need of students now and in the future. The School of Education, The University of Queensland is addressing issues of change, new technologies, new work places, critical citizenry and the need for pedagogical and curriculum innovation through the development of a new Middle Years of Schooling Dual Degree program. This program is designed to equip pre-service teachers to approach pedagogy and curriculum in innovative ways and to challenge them to embrace diversity and change. This paper outlines the key features of the Middle Years of Schooling Dual Degree, identifying a number of innovative approaches to pre-service teacher education.

Using ‘think aloud’ as a strategy for improving clinical reasoning in high fidelity case-based simulation for undergraduate nursing students.

Theme Paper for Curriculum innovation and enhancement theme AIM: This paper reports on a research project that trialled an educational strategy implemented in an undergraduate nursing curriculum. The project aimed to explore the effectiveness of ‘think aloud’ as a strategy for improving clinical reasoning for students in simulated clinical settings. BACKGROUND: Nurses are required to apply and utilise critical thinking skills to enable clinical reasoning and problem solving in the clinical setting (Lasater, 2007). Nursing students are expected to develop and display clinical reasoning skills in practice, but may struggle articulating reasons behind decisions about patient care. The ‘think aloud’ approach is an innovative learning/teaching method which can create an environment suitable for developing clinical reasoning skills in students (Banning, 2008, Lee and Ryan-Wenger, 1997). This project used the ‘think aloud’ strategy within a simulation context to provide a safe learning environment in which third year students were assisted to uncover cognitive approaches to assist in making effective patient care decisions, and improve their confidence, clinical reasoning and active critical reflection about their practice. MEHODS: In semester 2 2011 at QUT, third year nursing students undertook high fidelity simulation (some for the first time), commencing in September of 2011. There were two cohorts for strategy implementation (group 1= used think aloud as a strategy within the simulation, group 2= no specific strategy outside of nursing assessment frameworks used by all students) in relation to problem solving patient needs. The think aloud strategy was described to students in their pre-simulation briefing and allowed time for clarification of this strategy. All other aspects of the simulations remained the same, (resources, suggested nursing assessment frameworks, simulation session duration, size of simulation teams, preparatory materials). Ethics approval has been obtained for this project. RESULTS: Results of a qualitative analysis (in progress- will be completed by March 2012) of student and facilitator reports on students’ ability to meet the learning objectives of solving patient problems using clinical reasoning and experience with the ‘think aloud’ method will be presented. A comparison of clinical reasoning learning outcomes between the two groups will determine the effect on clinical reasoning for students responding to patient problems. CONCLUSIONS: In an environment of increasingly constrained clinical placement opportunities, exploration of alternate strategies to improve critical thinking skills and develop clinical reasoning and problem solving for nursing students is imperative in preparing nurses to respond to changing patient needs.

The Games Concept Approach (GCA) as a mandated practice : views of Singaporean teachers

This paper reports on the views of Singaporean teachers of a mandated curriculum innovation aimed at changing the nature of games pedagogy within the physical education curriculum framework in Singapore. Since its first appearance over 20 years ago, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), as an approach to games pedagogy has gathered support around the world. Through a process of evolution TGfU now has many guises and one of the latest of these is the Games Concept Approach (GCA) a name given to this pedagogical approach in Singapore. As part of a major national curricular reform project the GCA was identified as the preferred method of games teaching and as a result was mandated as required professional practice within physical education teaching. To prepare teachers for the implementation phase, a training program was developed by the National Institute of Education in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and well known experts in the field from the United States. For this part of the study, 22 teachers from across Singapore were interviewed. The data were used to create three fictional narratives, a process described by Sparkes (2002a) and used more recently by Ryan (2005) in the field of literacy. The stories were framed using Foucault’s (1980/1977) notion of governmentality and Bernstein’s (1996) notion of regulative discourse. The narratives reveal tales of confusion, frustration but also of hope and enthusiasm.

The arts and education for sustainability : shaping student teachers' identities towards sustainability

The Arts are acknowledged for their potential in providing learners with multiple 'languages' with which they might make their learning visible across all levels of education. This chapter explores how the integration of the Arts and education for sustainabilty can provide expanded opportunities for seeing, understanding and responding to the sustainability imperative. Such approaches encourage broad engagement and expression of ideas about sustainability that extend beyond more common approaches that have mostly responded to sustainability through the languages of the Sciences and geography. Traditionally, the Arts have been valued highly by the early childhood education field and typically lie at the heart of early childhood programs. Increasing engagement with the sustainability agenda in early childhood contexts suggests that teachers might find ways to integrate early education for sustainability with the Arts in meaningful ways. This chapter explores how an integrated Arts and Humanities subject in an early childhood teacher education course in Queensland, Australia provides a context for the integration of sustainability as a cross-curricular thread in teacher education, reflecting recent national curriculum innovation in Australia.

Introduction to CIP Modules

A short video describing what the University is seeking in new modules for the Curriculum Innovation Programme

CIP-OSN; Networks as Graphs

Curriculum Innovation Programme - Online Social Networks (UOSM2012) - Networks as Graphs

Social Media Analytics: Trust and Power

In this lecture for a second year interdisciplinary course (part of the curriculum innovation programme) We explore the scope of social media analytics and look at two aspects in depth: Analysing for influence (looking at factors such as network structure, propagation of content and interaction), and analysing for trust (looking at different methods including policy, provenance and reputation - both local and global). The lecture notes include a number of short videos, which cannot be included here for copy-write reasons.

CIP Online Social Networks: week 5 - social capital

Lecture slides for the Curriculum Innovation module Online Social Networks on the topic of social capital.

In-service training needs in an African context: a study of headteacher and teacher perspectives in the Gucha District of Kenya

Improving the quality of teaching is an educational priority in Kenya, as in many developing countries. The present paper considers various aspects of in-service education, including views on the effectiveness of in-service, teacher and headteacher priorities in determining in-service needs and the constraints on providing in-service courses. These issues are examined though an empirical study of 30 secondary headteachers and 109 teachers in a district of Kenya. The results show a strong felt need for in-service provision together with a firm belief in the efficacy of in-service in raising pupil achievement. Headteachers had a stronger belief in the need for in-service for their teachers than did the teachers themselves. The priorities of both headteachers and teachers were dominated by the external pressures of the schools, in particular the pressures for curriculum innovation and examination success. The resource constraints on supporting attendance at in-service courses were the major problems facing headteachers. The results reflect the difficulties that responding to an externally driven in-service agenda creates in a context of scarce resources.

Growing a primary science specialism: assembling people, places, materials and ideas

This paper derives from the authors’ experiences of the development of a successful science specialism, implemented in a large primary school in regional Victoria, Australia, since 2012. We discuss how diverse resources – people, spaces, equipment, materials and ideas – were brought together to support a science specialism that focuses on positioning students as burgeoning experts; leveraging and enhancing connections with community; and, developing positive dispositions towards science and the environment. Our discussion is supported by illustrative excerpts from interviews, focus groups and meetings with school and university staff members. We conclude by identifying characteristics that might suggest principles for success in other contexts.

Establecimiento de un modelo educativo institucional para la orientación del proceso de innovación curricular de las carreras de la Universidad de Playa Ancha

La innovación curricular impulsada por la Universidad de Playa Ancha constituye un proceso en el que ha sido posible reconocer las características y principales dificultades que son comunes a iniciativas de esta índole, desarrolladas por instituciones de educación superior en diversas partes del mundo, y que, por tanto, son asumidas como inherente a estos cambios. Se pretende compartir esta experiencia con los pares, para reflexionar acerca de las problemáticas que son ineludibles en un proceso de innovación curricular y, muy particularmente, socializar la modalidad de trabajo desarrollada por la Universidad de Playa Ancha, en la búsqueda del compromiso, la coherencia y la participación institucional en cada una de las etapas. El proceso de innovación curricular comenzó con undiagnóstico previo, el cual desembocó en el establecimiento de un modelo educativo que constituye la base para el trabajo iniciado por las carreras y que, de acuerdo con lo presupuestado por la institución, deberá estar concluido en 2015