The bandwidth-sync correlation that's worth thinking about Check this out. Every once in a while a cool graph pops into my head. Here are a dozen or so forms of communication, arranged on two axes. On the horizontal, they rank from asynchronous (meaning the creator and the responder are separated in time--like a letter) and synchronous (meaning the creator and…
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On social work training. 'Degrees in social work are viewed as being "difficult to fail" - a reputation that is unacceptable, a select committee of MPs has said.' From James A: As I wrote several years ago; When I taught on social work courses, on which the majority of other tutors were former social workers, they were often exemplary tutors.…
The Black-White Test Score Gap Down-under. Andrew Leigh observes: Discussing NT schools, the CIS’s Helen Hughes writes: This week all Australian children in school years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sat numeracy and literacy tests for the second time. The tests are to give Australians an annual snapshot of basic educational progress. The first national ‘NAPLAN’ tests, held in May…
The National Quality Council has identified five Action Groups to work on achieving 5 priorities for 2009. They are: Vet Products for the 21st Century, Quality of Assessment Action Group, Skills for Sustainability Action Group, International VET Action Group, and National Consistency Action Group. National Quality Council agrees on priorities.
COAG Communique released. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) held its 20th meeting on 20 December 2007. In addition to the Prime Minister, Premiers, Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Commonwealth and State and Territory Treasurers also attended. COAG agreed to a new model of cooperation underpinned by more effective working arrangements. COAG identified…
Andrew Leigh has a rivetting outline and discussion on the merits of "merit pay" and its relationship to policy work on teacher effectiveness. Have a read and engage in the debate. Debating the merits of merit pay. Glenn Rowley and Lawrence Ingvarson have a piece in today’s Age, criticising my recent study on teacher effectiveness. It’s not online, so I’ve…
Teachers are not as smart as they were 20 years ago, an Australian study by economists Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan from the Australian National University concludes, in a finding that will reinforce concerns over declining classroom standards. The study used literacy and numeracy tests as the best proxy available for assessing teachers' academic abilities. Link: Teachers not so clever any…
While still controversial, National Benchmarking [flawed or otherwise] allows us to begin the exploration of what is most difficult in education... Measuring our impact as educators and making comparisons over time, being able to repeat what works and identify and improve on what is not working. The data is critically important and the time series over the next decade will…
An excerpt from Professor John Hattie's Inaugural Lecture, Univeristy of Auckland, August 2nd 1999. Professor Hattie's work resonates very strongly with my own experiences and limited research. It most certainly encourages me to continue with further study in this field. This was his third inaugural lecture. The excerpt reads; There is so much known about what makes a difference in…