Addressing quality teaching in hard to staff settings : the Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools Project

This Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (ETDS) project sets out to design a new model of Australian teacher education responding to recent demands for quality education in low SES and disadvantaged schools. The project moves teacher education from the ‘missionary’ (Larabee, 2010) or deficit (Comber and Kamler 2004; Flessa, 2007) approaches, towards a focus on notions of quality and academic excellence. Rice (2008, p.1) argues for a need to place more of the “very best teachers into the most challenging schools”, yet the problem is not merely one of training more teachers, for disadvantaged schools already receive disproportionate numbers of beginning teachers (Connell, 1994; Vickers & Ferfolja, 2006). Rather, Grossman and Loeb (2010, p. 245) argue the problem centers on the common practice of “[p]lacing the least experienced teachers with the most needy students”. This paper reports on the first year trial of the project. The ETDS project is at present, the only mainstream Australian teacher education model that targets cohorts of academically high achieving pre-service teachers with the overt aim of preparing graduates of the program to teach in disadvantaged schools. At the end of its first year, the ETDS program graduated 20 new teachers, each of whom had over the previous 18 months engaged with a specialized curriculum and carefully monitored/scaffolded practicum placements in disadvantaged schools around Brisbane, Australia.

Competing through service innovation : the role of bricolage and entrepreneurship in project-oriented firms

The criticality of service innovation in building and sustaining competitive advantage is gaining increasing recognition in the marketplace. Using empirical data from US and Australian project-oriented firms, the study uses a multi-staged multi-method research program to demonstrate how entrepreneurial service firms strategically combine resources at hand (bricolage) to innovate and stay ahead of rivals. The research shows that service entrepreneurship (SE) and bricolage influence two forms of service innovation (interactive and supportive), which in turn is associated with sustained competitive advantage (SCA). The results suggest that SE and bricolage indirectly relate to SCA through service innovation. The findings offer novel insights into how project-oriented service firms engage in innovation. In short, the findings encourage the “making do by combining resources at hand” as higher levels of entrepreneurial bricolage are associated with higher levels of interactive and supportive innovation enabling SCA, suggesting a new model.

Interface design in interactive science courseware for the Malaysian Smart School Project

With the goal of improving the academic performance of primary and secondary students in Malaysia by 2020, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has made a significant investment in developing a Smart School Project. The aim of this project is to introduce interactive courseware into primary and secondary schools across Malaysia. As has been the case around the world, interactive courseware is regarded as a tool to motivate students to learn meaningfully and enhance learning experiences. Through an initial pilot phase, the Malaysian government has commissioned the development of interactive courseware by a number of developers and has rolled this courseware out to selected schools over the past 12 years. However, Ministry reports and several independent researchers have concluded that its uptake has been limited, and that much of the courseware has not been used effectively in schools. This has been attributed to weaknesses in the interface design of the courseware, which, it has been argued, fails to accommodate the needs of students and teachers. Taking the Smart School Project's science courseware as a sample, this research project has investigated the extent, nature, and reasons for the problems that have arisen. In particular, it has focused on examining the quality and effectivity of the interface design in facilitating interaction and supporting learning experiences. The analysis has been conducted empirically, by first comparing the interface design principles, characteristics and components of the existing courseware against best practice, as described in the international literature, as well as against the government guidelines provided to the developers. An ethnographic study was then undertaken to observe how the courseware is used and received in the classroom, and to investigate the stakeholders' (school principal, teachers and students') perceptions of its usability and effectivity. Finally, to understand how issues may have arisen, a review of the development process has been undertaken and it has been compared to development methods recommended in the literature, as well as the guidelines provided to the developers. The outcomes of the project include an empirical evaluation of the quality of the interface design of the Smart School Project's science courseware; the identification of other issues that have affected its uptake; an evaluation of the development process and, out of this, an extended set of principles to guide the design and development of future Smart School Project courseware to ensure that it accommodates the various stakeholders' needs.

Leveraging innovation for sustainable construction, proceedings of the CIB Task Group 58: Clients and Construction Innovation Workshop

This publication consists of a volume of papers presented at the workshop of the CIB Task Group 58: Clients and Construction Innovation, held on May 18- 19, 2009 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. The workshop theme, “Leveraging Innovation for Sustainable Construction”, reflects a growing concern among clients for perspectives, approaches, and tools that will secure the practice of construction economically, socially, and environmentally. This collection encompasses some of the most incisive assessments of the challenges facing the construction industry today from a range of researchers and industry practitioners who are leading the way for tomorrow’s innovations. It provides a useful documentation of the ongoing conversation regarding innovation and sustainability issues and a foundation of knowledge for future research and development. The papers contained in this volume explore the workshop’s overarching theme of how to leverage innovation to increase the sustainability of the construction process and product. Participants sought to generate discussion on the topics of innovation and sustainability within the construction field, to share international examples of innovation from the research community and from industry, and to establish a point of reference for ongoing enquiry. In particular, our contributors have noted the value of learning through practice in order to orient research based on real-world industry experience. Chapters two and three present complementary models of sustainable research programs through the three parts collaboration of government, industry, and academia. Chapters four and five explore new tools and forms of technological innovation as they are deployed to improve construction project management and set the direction for advances in research. Chapters six, seven, and eight closely study practical examples of innovation in large-scale construction projects, showing with concrete results the impact of applying creative methods and best practices to the field. Innovation and sustainability in construction are truly global efforts; these papers illustrate how we can draw on international examples and cooperative organizations to address these important issues for long-term benefit of the industry.

Project alliancing and information technology in building construction : the National Museum of Australia

The construction industry demands priority from all governments because it impacts economically and socially on all citizens. A number of recent studies have identified inefficiencies in the Australian construction industry by modelling the building process. A culture of reform supported by industry and government is now emerging in the industry – one in which alternate forms of project delivery are being trialed. The Australian Building and Construction Industry Action Agenda brought together industry and government to identify actions necessary to lift Australia’s innovative and knowledge creating capacity at the sector level. A central activity under this Action Agenda was dissemination of information relating to industry best practice initiatives in innovation, project delivery and the use of information technology. Government and industry identified project alliance contracting and more advanced information technology as means to increase efficiency in construction as part of a new innovative procurement environment.

Project manager competencies in a knowledge-based society

The construction phase of building projects is often a crucial influencing factor in success or failure of projects. Project managers are believed to play a significant role in firms’ success and competitiveness. Therefore, it is important for firms to better understand the demands of managing projects and the competencies that project managers require for more effective project delivery. In a survey of building project managers in the state of Queensland, Australia, it was found that management and information management system are the top ranking competencies required by effective project managers. Furthermore, a significant number of respondents identified the site manager, construction manager and client’s representative as the three individuals whose close and regular contacts with project managers have the greatest influence on the project managers’ performance. Based on these findings, an intra-project workgroups model is proposed to help project managers facilitate more effective management of people and information on building projects.

Industry needs and course content in project management

The new competitive international business environment is characterised by constant change and uncertainty. This is particularly true in project-oriented industries such as construction where subcontracting and competitive tendering add new dimensions to an already uncertain working environment. Many management writers and practitioners argue that the changing business environment and the speed required to design, develop and market products and services will lead to increasing use of project management in the future. This means that project management skills will become a competitive weapon for those individuals and firms that properly develop them.

Evaluation of green public road procurement in Australia : current practices and gaps to fill

Public road authorities have a key responsibility in driving initiatives for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the road construction project lifecycle. A coherent and efficient chain of procurement processes and methods is needed to convert green policies into tangible actions that capture the potential for GHG reduction. Yet, many infrastructure clients lack developed methodologies regarding green procurement practices. Designing more efficient solutions for green procurement requires an evaluation of the current initiatives and stages of development. A mapping of the current GHG reduction initiatives in Australian public road procurement is presented in this paper. The study includes the five largest Australian state road authorities, which cover 94% of the total 817,089 km of Australian main roads (not local) and account for 96% of the total A$13 billion annual major road construction and maintenance expenditure. The state road authorities’ green procurement processes and tools are evaluated based on interviews and a review of documents. Altogether 12 people, comprising 1-3 people of each organisation, participated in the interviews and provided documents. An evaluation matrix was developed for mapping the findings across the lifecycle of road construction project delivery. The results show how Australian state road authorities drive decisions with an impact on GHG emissions on the strategic planning phase, project development phase, and project implementation phase. The road authorities demonstrate varying levels of advancement in their green procurement methodologies. Six major gaps in the current green procurement processes are identified and, respectively, six recommendations for future research and development are suggested. The greatest gaps remain in the project development phase, which has a critical role in fixing the project (GHG reduction) goals, identifying risks and opportunities, and selecting the contractor to deliver the project. Specifically, the role of mass-haul optimisation as a part of GHG minimisation was reviewed, and mass-haul management was found to be an underutilised element with GHG reduction potential.