Russell F. Waugh

Teacher Receptivity to Systemwide Change in the Implementation Stage

This review examines studies relating to the implementation of systemwide educational change and, in particular, focuses on teacher receptivity to those changes. It provides a brief historical summary of this literature from the past 40 years and presents as well the general variables that seem to be related to teacher receptivity. It is assumed that there are fundamental generalizations common to all such changes and that these can be embodied in ideal-type models of implementing change. The important general variables that should be included in such models appear to be teachers’ personal cost appraisal of the change, practicality of the new educational system in the classroom, perceived support for teacher roles at school with respect to the main referents of the new educational system, alleviation of fears and uncertainties associated with the change, and perceived expectations and beliefs concerning the important aspects of the change. In addition, there are a number of other important general variables, such as beliefs on general issues of education relating to the change and overall feelings and attitudes towards the previous educational system.

Teacher Receptivity to System‐wide Change in the Implementation Stage

Abstract This study is concerned with the receptivity of Western Australian secondary school teachers towards a system‐wide educational change, the Unit Curriculum system. In any system‐wide educational change that involves the classroom, teachers’ receptivity towards the change is an important determinant of its successful implementation. It is important for educational decision‐makers to know what variables affect receptivity so that new proposals can be tailored to achieve the best chance of successful implementation. It is proposed that there are fundamental variables common to all system‐wide changes and these are included in a model of receptivity developed from previous research. This paper reports the results of an empirical study using data from 480 teachers where 56% of the variance in attitudes towards the Unit Curriculum system is predicted from four fundamental variables, when they are adapted to apply to the Unit Curriculum. These variables are non‐monetary cost benefit to the teachers, perc...

Approaches to studying for students in higher education: A Rasch measurement model analysis

Background. The revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (Entwistle & Tait, 1994) comprises 38 self-report items designed to measure student approaches to learning in a higher education context. A Rasch analysis (Waugh & Addison, 1998) using data from an Australian university showed that some improvements could be made. The inventory was further revised to include 40 attitude items and 40 corresponding behaviour items based on a Deep Approach, a Surface Approach, a Strategic Approach, Clarity of Direction in Studying and Academic Self-Confidence towards Studying. n n n nAims. The aims were to create a new interval level scale, analyse its psychometric properties using a modern measurement model, the Extended Logistic Model of Rasch (Andrich, 1988 a, 1988 b; Rasch, 1980), and investigate the conceptual design of the inventory. n n n nSample. The sample consisted of 369 students (mainly first year) from an Australian university and is basically a convenience sample. There are 83 (22.5%) undergraduates studying in Business, Education and Nursing; 161 (43.6%) undergraduates studying Health Science, 84 (22.8%) studying undergraduate Management; and 41 (11.1%) in 2nd year Nursing. n n n nMethod. The data were analysed initially with the whole sample for the 40 attitude items and for the 40 behavioural items separately. Items not fitting the model were then discarded (12 attitude items and 12 behavioural items). The analysis was repeated using the 56 valid items together and the items of each of the five subscales separately (Deep Approach, Surface Approach, Strategic Approach, Lack of Direction in Studying and Academic Self-Confidence towards Studying). n n n nResults. Fifty-six of the 80 items form a good scale with satisfactory psychometric properties. Its conceptual design based on attitudes, behaviour and the five learning orientations is confirmed. All the attitude items fall at an easier position on the scale than their corresponding behaviour items. Nineteen of the 20 items of the Strategic Approach subscale, 20 items of the Deep Approach subscale, 4 of the 20 items of the Surface Approach subscale, 4 of the 10 items of the Clarity of Direction in Studying subscale, and 9 of the 10 items of the Academic Self-Confidence towards Studying subscale, fit the model. n n n nConclusions. The Extended Logistic Model of Rasch was useful in creating an interval level scale of student attitudes and behaviours towards studying, and for analysing its psychometric properties and conceptual design. The scale is confirmed as involving attitudes and behaviours as a measure of a variable based on five orientations to learning. Attitudes are easier than their corresponding behaviours and the Rasch model helps to explain how behaviours are influenced by attitudes.

Teacher Receptivity to System-wide Change

This study is concerned with the receptivity of teachers in Western Australia towards the recently implemented Certificate of Secondary Education System, a new method of certifying student achievement using teachers’ assessments. A general model of teacher receptivity towards system‐wide educational change is developed, and forms the basis for an empirical investigation with a large and representative sample of teachers. Using correlation and regression techniques, the results show a clear pattern of relationships between the independent variables and teacher receptivity.

A Rasch Measure of Fostering Creativity

A general creativity questionnaire of 21 stem-items was designed and based on 7 teaching aspects of fostering creativity in higher education students: (a) teaching the skills and attitudes of creativity; (b) teaching the creative methods of the disciplines; (c) developing a problem-friendly classroom; (d) using prior knowledge; (e) using different types of problems; (f) using multi-disciplinary hands-on projects; and (g) using appropriate lesson plans. Stem-items (21) based on these were conceptualized from easy to hard—3 stem-items for each of the 7 aspects—and answered in 2 perspectives: (a) an attitude self-view (ideally this is what I think I should do) and (b) a behavior self-view (this is what I actually do)—using 3 ordered response categories: none or some of the time (score 1), most of the time (score 2), and all of the time (score 3). This meant that the effective item sample was 42. The general questionnaire was applied to a lecturer sample from a higher institution, N = 124. Data were analyzed with a Rasch measurement model computer program. The item-trait interaction chi-square was not statistically significant (χ2 = 87.6, df = 84, p = 0.37), meaning that a unidimensional trait (called fostering creativity) was measured in which the 42 items each fitted the measurement model with p > 0.02. The Person Separation Index was 0.78 and the Cronbach Alpha was 0.79 showing that the measures were well-separated along the scale in comparison to the errors.

Applications of Rasch measurement in learning environments research

This study investigated the differences between two competing regression methods (single-level Means-on-Means regression and Multilevel Modelling) used to produce value-added performance-indicator information for the monitoring of school effectiveness. Data from 24 government secondary schools with a total of 2862 students in 132 Year 8 classes in Western Australia were used. The dependent variable was a Rasch-created linear measure of Year 8 Numeracy. The five independent variables were: (1) a Rasch-created, linear measure of Year 7 Numeracy; (2) gender; (3) ethnic group (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or nonAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status); (4) language background (English or other than English); and the school-level variable (5) school socioeconomic status. The findings of this study suggest that residual-based performance indicators calculated using the Multilevel model are more accurate and fair than those produced using the single-level Means-on-Means regression model, and would enable both schools and teachers to report on accountability and investigate a greater range of school effectiveness issues with more confidence.

Measuring self-reported studying and learning for university students: Linking attitudes and behaviours on the same scale

BACKGROUNDnThe relationships between self-reported Approaches to Studying and Self-concept, Self-capability and Studying and Learning Behaviour are usually studied by measuring the variables separately (using factor analysis and Cronbach Alphas) and then using various correlation techniques (such as multiple regression and path analysis). This procedure has measurement problems and is called into question.nnnAIMSnTo create a single scale of Studying and Learning using a model with subsets of ordered stem-items based on a Deep Approach, a Surface Approach and a Strategic Approach, integrated with three self-reported aspects (an Ideal Self-view, a Capability Self-view and a Studying and Learning Behaviour Self-view).nnnSAMPLESnThe stem-item sample was 33, all answered in three aspects, that produced an effective item sample of 99. The person convenience sample was 431 students in education (1(st) to 4(th) year) at an Australian university during 2000.nnnMETHODnThe latest Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Model Computer Program (Andrich, Lyne, Sheridan, & Luo, 2000) was used to analyse the data and create a single scale of Studying and Learning.nnnRESULTSnAltogether 77 items fitted a Rasch Measurement Model and formed a scale in which the difficulties of the items were ordered from easy to hard and the student measures of Studying and Learning were ordered from low to high. The proportion of observed student variance considered true was 0.96. The response categories were answered consistently and logically and the results supported many, but not all, the conceptualised ordering of the subscales. Students found it easy to report a high Ideal Self-view, much harder to report a high Capability Self-view, and harder still to report a high Studying and Learning Behaviour for the stem-items, in accordance with the model, where items fit the measurement model. The Ideal Self-view Surface Approach items provided the most non-fit to the model.nnnCONCLUSIONnThis method was highly successful in producing a single scale of Studying and Learning from self-reported Self-concepts, Self-capabilities, and Studying and Learning Behaviours, based on a Deep Approach, a Surface Approach and a Strategic Approach.

Teaching Students with Severe Intellectual Disabilities Non-Representational Art Using a New Pictorial and Musical Programme

A recently developed pictorial and musical programme was used to teach non-representational (abstract) art to students with severe intellectual disabilities, and to regular students as a control group. A 2 (two levels)×2 (three levels) ANOVA was used to test three hypotheses. The dependent variable was the quality of non-representational art. The independent variables were the type of student (special or regular) and the type of teaching programme (pictorial only, pictorial with rock music, or pictorial with classical music). The sample consisted of 12 primary age students with severe intellectual disabilities from a special school and 12 regular Year 2 (7 year old) students. There were no significant interactions. There was a significant main instructional effect favouring pictorial with classical music over both pictorial only and pictorial with rock music. There was a significant main effect for the type of student favouring regular students over special students for both pictorial only and pictorial with classical music.

Use of Virtual-Reality in Teaching and Learning Molecular Biology

The teaching of Molecular Biology in secondary schools suffers from student disengagement and lack of suitable resources to help students master this novel area of their curriculum. The result is frustration and incomprehension by the students. Visualization is critical for the learning of Molecular Biology. While the traditional classroom uses diagrams, models, and other tools to accommodate visual-spatial learners, these tools are insufficient to represent the cellular and molecular dynamics elucidated by current research and presented in the modern biology classroom. Several works have recommended the use of simulation-based learning environments. This chapter describes the design considerations in formulating an approach to help students “see” DNA, proteins, and cellular structures in three-dimensional space. The experimental study and intervention described leverage on novel computer-based virtual-reality technologies to help students understand the three-dimensional structures and the molecular interactions between them that enable function. Results indicate significant increases in Molecular Biology achievement in male students. Focus group interviews reveal that, prior to this intervention, students relied heavily on memorization, and the visualization exercises helped to clarify understanding while increasing interest and engagement. The results of this study recommend the use of technology in the teaching and learning of Molecular Biology, especially for male students in Singapore.

The Utility of Rasch Measurement for Learning Environments Research

The purpose of this introductory chapter is to show in simple ways, how using a Rasch model can benefit learning environments research. As such, it is deliberately non-technical and written for readers who do not wish to pursue complex mathematical matters either now, or perhaps not even later. There are many established instructional courses and texts on applying the Rasch model and we assume that researchers requiring a more formal and theoretical understanding will consult these (for example, Bond & Fox, 2007). The chapter is structured into a series of sections each dealing with a particular aspect of the model or its application. The first section is about measurement in the human sciences.