Three distinct clusters were identified from a survey study of a sample of 127 unit coordinators from a regional Australian University. The clusters emerged after a survey that explored perceptions of pedagogical practices that incorporated the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT). The key components of the survey were based on seven constructs derived from the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK). For future investigations of TPACK application in university contexts, a three-cluster configuration of teacher-practitioners is proposed that requires empirical confirmation. Alongside the theorised clusters of university lecturers according to their perceived engagement with ICT, several layers of technology policy disconnect have also been discovered. The relevance of the findings of the inquiry and their implications on universities that conduct ICT intensive courses are also discussed, especially in relation to improving teaching practices
Informal inferential reasoning is a relatively recent concept in the research literature. Several research studies have defined this type of cognitive process in slightly different ways. In this paper, a working definition of informal inferential reasoning based on an analysis of the key aspects of statistical inference, and on research from educational psychology, science education, and mathematics education is presented. Based on the literature reviewed and the working definition, suggestions are made for the types of tasks that can be used to study the nature and development of informal inferential reasoning. Suggestions for future research are offered along with implications for teaching.
First published November 2008 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives
The aim of this study was to identify and rate the importance of the competencies required by students for effective performance in a university e-learning environment mediated by a learning management system. Two expert panels identified 58 e-learning competencies considered to be essential for e-learning. Of these competencies, 22 were related to the use of technology. The remaining 36 competencies encapsulated a range of practices considered to be essential for learning within a social constructivist framework. Six of the competencies identified were either new or substantially different from what had been previously identified in the literature. A survey of e-learning stakeholders rating the importance of the e-learning competencies indicated that the competencies were not of equal importance. Critically, a number of key competencies from a social constructivist perspective that dealt with interacting and working with others were rated as being unimportant. This suggests that there is a disconnect between what the literature says about the importance of social constructivism to e-learning environments in theory and what elearning stakeholders perceive its importance to be in practice.
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