Sean Kearney

Improving engagement: the use of ‘Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning’ to enhance the student learning experience

Innovative assessment practices have the potential to shift the way universities function. By focusing on well-designed assessment tasks, where students are expected to work collegially and are actively involved in self- and peer-assessment, the opportunity to engage students in the assessment process is realised. This article contends that students are significantly and detrimentally disengaged from the assessment process as a result of traditional assessments that do not address key issues of learning. Notable issues that arose from observations and questioning of students indicated that vast proportions of students were not proofreading their own work were not collaborating on tasks; had not been involved in the development of assessment tasks; and that students had insufficient skills in relation to their ability to evaluate their own efforts. These facts led the author to conceptualise new models of assessment focusing on authentic learning and the authentic assessment of that learning through self- and peer-assessment. Authentic assessment for sustainable learning (AASL) and Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning (ASPAL) were trialled with approximately 300 undergraduate education students at the University of Notre Dame Australia. This article explains the conceptual development of the models and provides justification for their implementation.

Reconceptualizing Beginning Teacher Induction as Organizational Socialization: A Situated Learning Model.

Abstract The process of beginning teacher induction has gained widespread attention in the literature as a means to help newly appointed teachers negotiate the early years of their careers, which are characterized by high attrition rates, due in part to stress, burnout, heavy workloads, and lack of support. While there is empirical evidence to suggest that comprehensive teacher induction can curtail teacher attrition by up to 20%, there exists a lack of understanding with regard to how to develop and implement effective programs. Although new teachers face some distinctive challenges, all new career starters, irrespective of their field, have a period of adjustment to go through. This article presents a conceptual framework for understanding beginning teacher induction as a situated learning process through an organizational socialization framework more commonly used in business. By conceptualizing beginning teacher induction through a common framework, culminating in a shared understanding of induction, it is envisaged that more effective programs may be implemented to help support teachers in the early years of their career.

Understanding beginning teacher induction: A contextualized examination of best practice

Abstract The problems that teachers face early in their careers are a major factor in growing rates of attrition among neophyte teachers. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, high rates of attrition, coupled with and aging teacher population in many countries in the developed world, may cause a teacher shortage crisis in coming years. Beginning teacher induction is an imperative process in acculturating teachers to their new careers and helping them overcome the hardships of teaching and the accreditation process. While induction practices have become more common in recent years, there are still no mandated structures for inducting teachers into the profession throughout Australia. This article reviews a number of international induction programs, which have been successful in supporting beginning teachers and curbing attrition rates, to emphasize why many programs are inadequate at meeting the needs of beginning teachers. The review proposes a definition for induction to better understand common misconceptions and highlights best practice induction as a way to retain quality teachers in the profession and help ameliorate conditions for beginning teachers. Finally, recommendations are made, specifically in the Australian context, which could help to improve induction practices to better acculturate neophyte teachers to their profession.

Preparing teachers through international experience:: A collaborative critical analysis of four Australian programs

In an increasingly internationalized, interconnected and globalized world, characterized in many school education contexts by diverse classrooms and varied student needs, the importance for teachers to develop an intercultural competence has become urgent. International experiences, embedded within teacher education, are seen as one means to enhance this capability. In this Australian study, coordinators of international professional experiences from four NSW universities discuss and interrogate the strengths and weaknesses of their own and each other’s programs, guided by an established evaluation framework for such programs. Findings indicate that, while support for such programs is strong in the lead-up to and during such international experiences, subsequent evaluation of these programs and reflection remain underdeveloped. Implications for international professional experience programs are discussed.

How self-transcendence via individualised moral foundations predict emotional and social enhancement

In this article we focus on explaining personality trait self-transcendence (ST) in relation to social and emotional competence, and suggest that ST through differences in moral foundations can partially predict social and emotional competence. A sample of 195 university students was used to test hypotheses regarding several paths between ST, trait emotional intelligence (EI), universalism and moral foundations. Consistent with the hypotheses, ST was found to predict social and emotional competence via individualised moral foundations (IMF). Results have implications for our understanding of the relationship between ST, moral foundations, social and emotional competence.

Where Is the “Service” in Service-Learning? Critiquing International Programmes as a Means of Increasing the Global-Mindedness of Teacher Education Students

Universities are continuously looking for better ways to prepare their graduates for the world and workforce they will enter upon graduation. No longer does a university degree guarantee a rewarding career; therefore, universities are diversifying opportunities for students within their courses. Students also want to gain experience, through university programmes that will put them in good stead when they enter the workforce. Amongst those programmes are service-oriented opportunities and international service-learning programmes. This paper critiques international service-learning in light of recent and ongoing criticism about volunteerism and tokenistic exchange programmes. Using two such programmes as a baseline, the chapter analyses and critiques international service-oriented programmes in terms of their value to the student, the institution, and the “service” to the host organization.

What happens when induction goes wrong: Case studies from the field

Abstract Although induction programmes are widely held to alleviate the pressures beginning teachers face early in their careers, what happens when beginning teachers do not receive adequate induction? While the research advocates effective and ongoing induction to acculturate new teachers to their careers, there is little research on the effects of unsuccessful induction on the teachers who undertake such programmes. The author is a long-standing advocate for beginning teacher induction, it is important to note that simply implementing a programme does not guarantee success. While induction practices have become more common in recent years, there are still no mandated structures for inducting teachers into the profession throughout Australia, although guidelines are forthcoming. This article showcases the types of programmes that some schools have implemented in the wake of “mandated” induction and the impacts that these programmes have on the teachers who undertake them. The negative effects on teacher morale and efficacy, when they are not supported in the early years of their careers, are highlighted to justify the importance of effective and ongoing induction. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to understand and interpret the ways in which the participants of the programmes experienced their induction. This analysis along with the content analysis of the interviews with the school’s leadership and a document review of the policies and procedures of induction provided detailed insight into the nature, purpose, strengths and shortcomings of the programmes in question.