Proposing a Model of Online Learning

So I have moved back into the University system for a time, working as an educational designer, in supporting the implementation of online learning. As I work, I realize a significant issue, one that I have come across in many of my work places. It is the question of what is an acceptable level of being online for academics when they start out in the online space? Often when Universities or schools begin their online learning journey, there is an expectation that the work of academics become exceptional - Web 2.0 tools are the expected order of the day, students are expected to engage in blogs, wikis, web conferencing, Twitter, Prezi, Flikr, Slideshare, the list is endlessly long. The pressure on the academic, many digital migrants at best, is to adopt and become expert in as many as possible of these tools, in order to engage their students. 

The reality is of course that whilst many of the academics in question (or teachers in the classroom when considering schools) are excellent practitioners face-to-face, the thought of moving online is intimidating and daunting, and faced with this sudden demand, many suffer anxiety, balk at the demand, will leave their employment, or simply turn a blind eye! It needs to be recognised that as with beginning to learn how to teach, we need to give a better guide to educational practitioners, as to what is an acceptable level of online presence at the outset, and then teach them to build on from there. And we also need to recognise that there are times when these early levels are often enough, as we meet the many different needs of all our students. A variety of learning experiences gives the best educational outcomes. 

To view the proposed model - drawn on many years of experience in implementing online learning, teaching in the online space, as an online student completing my MBA, and based on current literature, read more ...

Australian Education and the role of the Commonwealth Government

As I was re-reading my last post, I recalled using that paper as the foundation for a chapter on the context in my PhD thesis (2004). The chapter, however, had a broader context, and included a rather extensive section on the role of the Commonwealth Government in State education. An interesting topic considering the current movement towards the National Curriculum and discussions on Commonwealth funding models. This chapter does not address that issue specifically, though glances off it on the side and offers a historical perspective to the growing role of the Commonwealth Government in Australian school's education debate.

A Study of Educational Change in the Context of Western Australia

Introduction

Educational change, in Western Australia as elsewhere, has taken the form of major school restructuring and school reculturing, often with an underlying rationale for improving the educational success of all students.  Historically many of the changes introduced in schools have been a result of top-down policy initiatives and have sought to address specific issues of academic failure, school dropouts, student alienation, and the need to equip students to be contributors in an increasingly complex society.  To this end in late 1997, the Western Australian Government released its Plan for Government School Education to set the direction for the government education system over following three years and into the twenty-first century. 

However, policies are never released in a vacuum.  There are a number of contexts, which will impact upon how the policy is written, how it is received and how it is acted upon (Taylor, Rizvi, Lingard, & Henry, 1997).  When investigating the LAEP Framework it becomes apparent that the intentions of the policy are exposed by understanding these various contexts and that two, possibly conflicting, discourses can be identified.   These will be discussed in more detail later.  First, it is imperative to outline both the present context of the nature of State secondary schooling in Western Australia, the role of the Commonwealth Government, and the historical location of the policy, as argued by Ranson (1996) as being essential to any policy analysis.

Read more ....

Curriculum Change in Australia, taking a moment to reflect on the impending National Curriculum

I found this paper, I had written in 1999, recently and decided it was worth another airing. The Australian National Curriculum is well on its way to implementation in Australian schools, both private and State systems. It is worth a moment of reflection, however, to ponder whether it is going to be as successful as predicted. If past history is anything to go by, we may wish to hold off on the accolades a little longer. This rather longish essay explores curriculum change in Western Australia, from the 1950-1993, and goes into considerable detail on the seven reports that led the curriculum changes in schools in Western Australia, framed in Fullan's construct of four change decades. But the lessons learned there are worth considering for the future of the National Curriculum.

The History and Nature of change in the Lower Secondary Education System in Western Australia, 1950-1993

Introduction

This paper traces the history and the nature of change in the lower secondary education system in Western Australian State High schools.  Educational change can be defined as the processes which alter the behaviours or the attitudes of those who are involved in education, or to alter the structures, procedures or outputs of an organization, in this case the Western Australian lower secondary education system.  The paper begins with a discussion of the nature of change, including a definition of how change is viewed in terms of this paper.

The paper includes a brief historical overview beginning with the founding of the Education Department in 1893 up to the appointment of Dr. Robertson, 1950, as Director General of the Education Department.  This period of the Department can be seen as a time of 'establishing'.  It was a time when there was little room for 'educational change'.  During this time the focus was on setting up the Department and on gaining community acceptance and support for the introduction of state run secondary education.

Read More ...


Further Reading:
For those interested in understanding more about Curriculum in Australian schools I recommend the text Australia's Curriculum Dilemmas: State Cultures and the Big Issues, edited by Lyn Yates, Cherry Collins and Kate O'Connor.

Wicked Problems

The Role of Private Sector Governance in the Australian Public Sector

Improving society’s well-being, for example through the provision of better education (that is, improved education access, better educational facilities, and higher literacy and numeracy outcomes) have been seen as the fundamental responsibility of governments, achieved according to the rhetoric by strong and sustainable economic growth and through the effective and efficient administration of government finances and a better governed public sector.

In Australia the move to introduce New Public Management [NPM] techniques in the APS, drawing on private sector practices, began in the seventies, and has included performance measurement, accrual accounting and budgeting, and a change to outcomes and outputs reporting, with the aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. But there is some question over the effectiveness of the new practices, with some commentators stating there is still work to be done, others questioning the validity of the new methods for the public sector, whilst a number of writers suggest that the techniques fail to adequately take account of the needs and demands of the public sector.

The essay I am publishing here moves slightly away from my previous blog posts, but explores an issue I have been researching. Whilst it does not directly draw on education management literature or themes, it explores the broader issues of governance in the public sector, with a particular focus on accountability and transparency. It concludes by suggesting that it may be necessary to review the new public management practices, but it is not an argument that governance models should be abandoned, instead it suggests further research may be needed before we fully understand the complexities and how best we can solve the wicked problems that face our society. 

Read More ...
  

The Science Fair

One of the joys of working in a University environment, though one I suspect is no longer available, is the rich variety of work you have the opportunity to engage in. Donna Satterthwait is a brilliant science educator and one whom it has been my privelege to work with. Even before I arrived at UTas, she ran a science fair as part of the primary science education programme. The purpose of the science fair was a brilliantly organised event that truly engaged primary education students in science, teaching and children. Just imagine a large room full of 300 primary aged students in small groups engaging in basic hands on science activity. It is an electric moment when you first enter the space and watch both the pre-service teachers and primary students so immersed in the business of doing science.

The poster we presented in 2009, at the UTas Teaching Matters Conference, tried to capture some of that excitement, but also explore the theory behind why this, well it just works.

Abstract

Over the last four years, the postgraduate primary teacher accreditation course (B.Teach.) has required pre-service teachers to participate in the university’s science fair, an event sponsored jointly by the Faculties of Education, and Science, Engineering and Technology.  Many of these pre-service teachers are hesitant about the teaching of science, displaying the same trepidation as that commonly reported of primary teachers in schools.  To address the negative attitude and lack of confidence, the science teacher education staff developed a sequence of authentic tasks that required immersion in the act of planning, presenting, and evaluating a science lesson based on a single science concept and activity.  The pre-service teachers enacted the lesson at least six times, each time with a different small group of local upper primary students over a two day period.  Since around 1200 school children attend this event annually, the pre-service teachers necessarily interacted with children of diverse interests and abilities.  Data collected from questionnaires, interviews, and unsolicited emails indicate that the pre-service teachers benefited greatly from this intense experience, an experience that demanded considerable energy and focus.  Perhaps because of this intensity, they emerged surprised that they enjoyed the ‘science’ and were more confident with science pedagogy.

Read More...

ePortfolios in Teacher Education

This paper was a Innovation Showcase presented by myself with Jenny Munday and Carole Hunter from Charles Sturt Univeristy. The paper was presented at the 2009 Australian Teacher Education Association annual conference held in Albury Wodonga. The power of ePorfolios in teacher education as a reflection and development tool has not been fully realised. The move to the National Professional Standards for Teachers gives great opportunity to explore how these might be used more broadly. I was first introduced to PebblePad in late 2008. This paper tells some of the beginnings of that story both for my work at UTAS, but also for Jenny and Carole's work at CSU.

Preparing for the Profession: Embedding Course-based ePortfolios in Teacher Education

Jennifer Munday, Charles Sturt University; Karin Oerlemans, University of Tasmania ; Carole Hunter, Charles Sturt University  

Abstract:

There is great potential for the development of professional ePortfolios for pre-service teachers by embedding the process(es) into degree programs.  Stefani (2007) has identified four types of ePortfolios: Assessment portfolios, that focus on learners collecting evidence to illustrate competence in subject areas; Showcase portfolios, that allow the learner to display their work in the form of an electronic curriculum vitae; Development portfolios, that support the tracking and planning of student learning; and, Reflective portfolios, that focus on self-assessment.  The advent of flexible and stable ePortfolio environments means that students can be shown a practical way to approach the collection of artefacts and supporting documentation in order to provide evidence of their learning and development, and encourage them to life-long learning beyond their degree study.

Read More ...

An Innovative Pathway in Teacher Education

One of the joys I had when working at the University of Tasmania was to work as the liaison between the Faculty of Education and the Department of Educations innovative Partnership in Teaching Excellence Programme. This paper I wish to share was originally presented as a poster, which after it had been presented at the 2009 UTAS Teaching Matters conference, hung for some time in the entry to the Rokeby Teaching Learning Centre.

Pathways to Practice: Piloting a new partnership in teacher education 

Karin Oerlemans and Bob Phillips

Abstract
This paper presents the beginnings of an innovative new program about piloting an extended model of practice between the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Department of Education. A number of alternative pathways in teacher education have re-emerged in recent years, especially those situated within the school community. The current community-based program is for students in their second year of the Bachelor of Teaching, and is a pilot teacher education pathway for pre-service teachers, tailored towards the local teaching needs of Tasmanian schools.

Research suggests that there are likely to be a variety of effective pathways into teaching and the challenge for the partnership is to ensure that elements of program excellence are embedded (Zeichner & Conklin, 2008). The focus of the program will be on reflective practice with an aim of enhancing pre-service teacher’s practice in the classroom. 

Read more ...