Editorial : English teachers’ work in an era of standardisation

Of particular interest to us, as the editors of this issue of English Teaching: Practice and Critique, is the emergence of standards-based reforms, producing a situation in which English teaching has been subjected to standards at multiple levels – both professional standards that claim to map what teachers “should know and be able to do” (to echo the rhetoric that is typically employed to rationalise/vindicate the development of professional standards) and mandated learning outcomes, whether in the form of learning continua that purportedly capture outcomes that students are expected to achieve at each level of development or in the form of standardised literacy testing (see, for example, Zacher Pandya, 2011).

Using models in teaching and learning science

Models can be excellent tools to help explain abstract scientific concepts and for students to better understand these abstract concepts. A model could be a copy or replica, but it can also be a representation that is not like the real thing but can provide insight about a scientific concept. Models come in a variety of forms, such as three dimensional and concrete, two dimensional and pictorial, and digital forms. The features of models often depend on their purpose: for example, they can be visual, to show what something might look like, dynamic to show how something might work, and or interactive to show how something might respond to changes. One model is often not an accurate representation of a concept, so multiple models may be used.
Students’ modelling ability has been shown to improve through instruction and with practice of mapping the model to the real thing, highlighting the similarities and differences. The characteristics of a model that can be used in this assessment include accuracy and purpose. Models are commonly used by science teachers to describe, and explain scientific concepts, however, pedagogical approaches that include students using models to make predictions and test ideas about scientific concepts encourages students to use models for higher order thinking processes. This approach relates the use of models to the way scientists work, reflecting the nature of science and the development of scientific ideas. This chapter will focus on the way models are used in teaching: identifying pedagogical processes to raise students’ awareness of characteristics of models. In this way, the strengths and limitations of any model are assessed in relation to the real thing so that the accuracy and merit of the model and its explanatory power can be determined.

Web 2.0 for networked learning : from collaboration to shared cognition and knowledge networking

This poster presents research-in-progress into the educational affordances of so-called Web 2.0 sites, services, with a particular emphasis on those applications that involve forms of shared human-machine cognition and that promote public knowledge networking. This research involves reviewing many hundreds of Web 2.0 tools and selecting approximately 50 for further analysis and exploration as learning applications. In doing so, the research will generate examples of unusual affordances provided by Web 2.0; it will also present a more structured categorisation of the kinds of uses and benefits of these tools. This approach is valuable because much current research and analysis of the impact of Web 2.0 on education, particularly higher education, has emphasised a relatively limited array of tools – principally blogs, wikis and social networking services – that offer educators and students opportunities for student-led collaborative work. Such opportunities involve strong emphasis on constructivist pedagogy: students’ interactions with each other, mediated via the Internet, are viewed as the positive benefit which networked learning can provide. However, Web 2.0 is far more than just collaboration, and associated shared self-expression. In particular, Web 2.0 includes many examples of services that take one form of input from a user and, rather than just sharing it with others, enable the transformation of that input into different forms, either as visualisations, maps, or other re-representations. Web 2.0 is also starting to see the development of knowledge-work engines that embody the concept of shared cognition, in which the service and the user cooperate in the production of some final knowledge output or which present to users knowledge that has already been processed more extensively than through simple searching. Web 2.0 is also closely associated with the idea that knowledge work is now networked and distributed; it involves users appropriating, creating and sharing knowledge products in a very public way, far beyond the narrow ‘audience’ of a particular course or program of study. The research presented in this poster will provide, firstly, examples of the Web 2.0 tools which emphasise these additional ways of exploiting the Internet for networked learning; secondly, the research will provide a first iteration of the overarching structure of categories and classifications which can be used to assess any proposed Web 2.0 application in terms of its affordances for learning as knowledge networking. By understanding these technologies, truly collaborative networked learning can be developed that blends with the emerging cultures of online behaviour increasingly common to contemporary student populations.

Utilising the virtual learning environment to encourage faculty reflection and improve the student learning experience

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are the most frequent form of faculty performance in the classroom, though they tend to be used as summative rather than formative evaluations. In this chapter, a project involving the use of a virtual learning environment for formative, weekly SETs is explored from both the student and faculty point of view at a rural university college in the United Kingdom. This project encouraged student participation in creating the learning environment and faculty reflection on how to improve the student experience. From the student perspective, the weekly anonymous evaluations were useful for providing feedback; however, students tended to only respond if they were not satisfied with the faculty member. The exception to this was that some students were more motivated to complete the evaluation forms if they believed the faculty member was utilising their feedback. From the faculty perspective, the feedback was not as detailed as they had expected, and some questioned whether it was worth the effort of conducting formative evaluations if the response rate was so low. Others used the feedback for reflective purposes, and it was found that those that reflected on their work at higher levels tended to receive a greater year-on-year increase in their end of year teaching evaluations.

Online peer mentoring with pre-service teachers : a learning experience

In 2010, 34 pre-service teachers at Deakin University were invited to use Web 2.0 technologies to support practicum in rural and regional schools. Students in their final year of the Bachelor of Education Primary course were given access to an online forum, a ‗ning‘, to facilitate development of mentoring relationships within a community of peers. Access to the ning was presented as an optional extra available only to students undertaking their professional experience in rural and regional settings. Based on the work of Le Cornu (2005), mentoring was framed as a collaborative and collegial arrangement through which participants could hone the interpersonal and critical reflection skills crucial to practicum. A ning was selected as it: 1) allowed the creation of a closed, protected social network with customised options, and 2) requires little technological skills and investment of time from participants in terms of setting up a profile and participating in the online community. These features seemed to make it an ideal platform for pre-service teachers to analyse and reflect on professional experience. However, the small pre-service cohort did not choose to access the site. This unexpected outcome seems to challenge contemporary discourses about the current generation‘s attitudes to web based technology. It also highlights the importance of coupling use of template-based online tools, such as the ning, with awareness of Bourdieu‘s (1977) social capital to ensure uptake. In capturing the learnings from the project and systematically reviewing relevant literature, this paper provides a set of recommendations for conceptualising and engaging pre-service teachers in the use of online forums.

Learning as knowledge networking : conceptual foundations for revised uses of the internet in higher education

This paper argues that the inherent characteristics of knowledge work, when combined with the operation of the Internet in contemporary society, produce a change in the dominant paradigm of what constitutes knowledge work. Since learning is a form of knowledge work, therefore this change will affect university education. The paper further argues that, because of the way in which online learning initially developed in universities, in most cases, the current approach to the Internet and higher education does not account for the changed conditions of knowledge in a network society. It concludes that new directions are needed which will allow us to make technology and pedagogy choices for future education better suited to a network society.

Creating project-based learning in software

BACKGROUND : Project Based Learning (PBL) allows students to learn by doing hands on work and thus also again practical skills. Therefore going to software simulation may seem like a backwards step. However, the opportunity presented itself to create a unit on Artificial intelligence (AI). This lends itself it a software approach. An added benefit was the opportunity to create a PBL AI unit for both Engineering and IT students.

PURPOSE : Can Project Based Learning be improved with dedicated, specifically written, software design?

DESIGN/METHOD : After introducing a dedicated software package the student marks and student feedback for the AI unit for a few years before the package introduction until the most recent year was analysed. In the student surveys, 2 key questions where examined: unit material quality and feedback to students. Student comments were also studied.

RESULTS : Student surveys gave a consistently high mark for unit’s material and student marks seems consistent as well but favourable comments increased. The most significant result was that the students’ thoughts about the project feedback had increased significantly, probably due to the inbuilt feedback system in the dedicated software package.

CONCLUSIONS : With an appropriate subject matter a dedicated software package can help students in PBL. Student enjoyment increased which, in turn, increased their motivation.

The process of design based learning : a students' perspective

BACKGROUND : Deakin engineering has used Design Based Learning (DBL) as one of its engineering learning principles for further development in teaching and learning. Whilst the students are surveyed after every unit, this data only provides a generic overview of the process and does not help the academic staff determine if DBL is a preferable learning and teaching approach. What is required to improve the process is a holistic approach from the students’ perspective over the entire degree program.

PURPOSE : Do students see any value in DBL and should it be is further developed for teaching and learning? This study examines students’ perceptions of DBL in their curriculum, DBL in final year project, DBL in engineering career.

DESIGN/METHOD : A survey dedicated to DBL from the students’ point of view has been designed and given to 30 fulltime students in 3rd year in engineering at Deakin. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of this survey will give students’ perspective of DBL as they progress through their degree studies.

RESULTS : The full time students’ surveyed indicated that they believed that DBL was a useful tool and was of value to their career. Also that it would be helpful as part of their final project and that it helps teamwork although they would like to see it used for both team and individual work.

CONCLUSIONS : The full time students’ surveyed displayed a basic understanding of DBL and an eagerness to use it. Students’ perceived that DBL approach got an important value in their learning curriculum and it is a positive sign for the Deakin engineering to use it as one of its engineering learning principle.

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

A collaborative constructivist model of e-learning enabled second year undergraduate students and art educators to establish a community of learners within an augmented immersive learning environment. Artistic practice and work based learning was enhanced through the creation of digital artifacts to support shared knowledge building using authentic learning tasks and social networking.

Conceptualizing teamwork and group-work in architecture and related design disciplines

This paper reports on the early findings of an Australian Learning Teaching Council (ALTC/OLT) funded project – “Enhancing and Assessing Group and Team Learning in Architecture and Related Design Contexts.” This is a two-year project investigating good practice in Australian higher education for the teaching of teamwork in the design disciplines, with a focus on architecture. Drawing upon a review of the literature and discussions with teachers and practitioners, the paper considers how teamwork is conceived in the context of the design disciplines. The paper explores notions of team and group design activities in the literature, identifying the key elements and characteristics of effective teams and groups. While a great deal of research exists on effective teamwork in organizational, management and general education literature, this research found a clear gap in knowledge relating to teaching teamwork in architecture and related design contexts. Suggestions are made about the ways in which theories on effective teamwork in organisations might elucidate teaching and assessment of effectively functioning student design teams. The literature review prompted five key questions, outlined here, around the conceptualisation of teamwork in design education that were subsequently discussed with educators and practitioners, thus allowing the identification of issues, problems and solutions common to all fields of design.

The circumstantial activist : holistic practice, learning and social activism

The 21st century has seen renewed interest in issues relating to social justice, campaigning and social change globally. This paper considers the educational nature of activists’ learning as they engage in progressive social change within and against the state. A great deal has been written on learning in the workplace in recent years, it is widely believed that adults learn throughout all of their lives and that a majority of this learning occurs in the workplace. Drawing on current research, this paper argues that learning of a similar nature takes place in the unpaid work of social and political activists, through social learning. It is argued that activists’ learning is holistic and embodied, that is, they use cognition, the emotions and the physical body to learn. This paper explores the significance of learning associated with the processes and practices of activism; learning that has only recently been recognised in Australia as ‘real’ adult education.