Susan Main

It doesn't seem like work, it seems like good fun': Perceptions of primary students on the use of Handheld Game Consoles in mathematics classes

A Chinese proverb suggests ‘Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.’ How to involve or engage today’s learner is at the forefront of much educational research and was the impetus for the study reported herein. This study explored the perceptions of Year 4/5 students from nine separate schools in Western Australia about the use of the Handheld Game Console (HGC) Nintendo DS to develop mental mathematics skills. It revealed that students perceived the use of the HGCs as both fun and engaging. Further, students identified that they were challenged, developed strategies for success and made independent choices during these classes. These discussions are presented as a framework of factors that impacted on the participating students’ self-improvement, self-determination and self-esteem.

Professional development to support the embedding of eportfolios in higher education programs

The documentation of achievement in program outcomes is important in higher education and often occurs in upper year courses through capstone and/or work-integrated learning projects. There is growing recognition that ePortfolios can be used in this process. Embedding ePortfolios across the curriculum offers a framework for student learning, increases student satisfaction, and provides a mechanism to demonstrate standards and professional competencies. However, if ePortfolios have not been embedded across a program, evidence for outcomes and the student experience can be disjointed or unclear, and can exclude important elements of the learning journey. This chapter uses case studies of professional development workshops to assist higher education curriculum leaders, academic developers and teaching staff to identify and develop methods for building a structured program that embeds ePortfolios from first to final year within tertiary and industry contexts. The process includes understanding and mapping program learning outcomes, scaffolding course learning outcomes, and addressing and assessing these outcomes to ensure that holistic program design provides evidence to meet quality standards and competencies. Higher education teaching staff often design and deliver courses individually, without considering implications of assessment design and learning outcomes for a program as a whole. The aim of the professional development workshop was to simulate authentic, collaborative planning activities where participants worked in small groups to plan the integration of ePortfolios across a program. Utilising self-completed questionnaire data gathered through end-of-workshop evaluations, this chapter discusses the pedagogical design, content and considerations addressed by the professional development workshop, as well as implications for its use to support higher education teaching staff.

Supporting the transition to inclusive education: teachers’ attitudes to inclusion in the Seychelles

ABSTRACT The inclusion of children with disability in regular classroom settings has been identified worldwide as crucial to the provision of effective education for all children and to the creation of more inclusive societies. To this end there has been significant focus on pre-service and in-service teacher education to ensure that teachers are adequately prepared to teach in inclusive classrooms. When delivering a unit on inclusive education in the Seychelles, which was developed in Australia, we considered it essential to determine the suitability of the unit in supporting Seychellois teachers to teach inclusively. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about people with disability are two aspects that have consistently been shown to impact on a teacher’s willingness to include children with disability. Therefore, the Seychellois teachers were asked to complete questionnaires in the first and final weeks of the semester in which the teachers undertook the unit. The two sets of responses were analysed to determine significance and effect sizes of any change in attitudes and beliefs. Data revealed that the Seychellois teachers reported more positive attitudes and beliefs about the inclusion of children with disability in regular classrooms after completing the unit, suggesting that the unit of study was suitable for the Seychellois context.

Inclusive Reading Practices for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Students in Australia

Abstract This chapter explores inclusive approaches to reading instruction for Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. Drawing from the literature on effective reading instruction, culturally appropriate instructional practices, and the authors’ research on reading interventions in remote communities in Australia we assert that to be inclusive you must provide a learning environment that supports all students to learn. Further, that the approaches used in this learning environment should be evidence-based.

Reflective Practitioners: Teachers and Support Staff Reflecting Together

Abstract This chapter explores the benefits of reflective practice in learning environments and discusses the conditions that can impede and facilitate reflection for teachers and teaching assistants. Various strategies and tools to support teaching teams to reflect collaboratively are discussed and recommendations about how to introduce reflective practice are outlined.