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News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published April 2010 3134 subscribers Subscribe Now In this issue: Students improve computer skills but gaps in achievement remain Recognising accomplished teachers Where is the profession in the national partnership on teacher quality? ACER UPDATE Students improve computer skills but gaps in achievement remain The latest findings of the National Assessment Program- ICT Literacy, conducted for the by ACER under the auspices of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs – (MCEECDYA) reveal mixed results in Australian students’ proficiency with computers. A nationally representative sample of approximately 11 000 students from around 600 schools across Australia completed computer-based assessments in October and November 2008. This was the second administration of the national assessment, which was first carried out in 2005. Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard released a detailed report on the 2008 national assessment on 22 April. Continue reading » Recognising accomplished teachers In an Australian Journal of Education article, ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson looks at efforts since the 1970s to strengthen the teaching profession by making teaching a more attractive career, lifting the quality of teacher training, retaining and rewarding quality teachers, promoting effective professional learning and supporting workforce mobility. There are two main purposes for teacher evaluation. One is for all teachers to meet basic standards of professional performance. The other is to provide high standards of professional accomplishment and incentives for teachers to attain them, usually through professional certification. Continue reading » Where is the profession in the national partnership on teacher quality? In this opinion article ACER Principal Research Fellow, Dr Lawrence Ingvarson, explores the role of the newly created Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and argues it has the potential to have a major impact on the quality of school teaching in Australia. Continue reading » ACER UPDATE ACER celebrates 80^th Anniversary April 2010 marks the 80^th anniversary of the establishment of ACER. 80 years ago, on 1 April 1930, two staff members, Ken Cunningham, the inaugural chief executive and secretary Mary Campbell, established ACER's first office in two rooms of the T&G building on the corner of Collins and Russell Streets in central Melbourne. By the end of the 1930s ACER's total staff had expanded to five. From that humble beginning ACER has grown into one of the world's leading educational research bodies with an expanding national and international presence. Eight decades after the organisation was founded, ACER has more than 300 staff working in offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Dubai and Delhi. This article briefly outlines the ACER journey. A brief outline of ACER’s history has been posted on our website. Kids who walk on track to better health Results from an ongoing study being undertaken by ACER for VicHealth suggests that children who walk to school are significantly more connected with their local community. ACER researcher Catherine Underwood presented the first findings of a three year evaluation of VicHealth’s Streets Ahead initiative at the inaugural International Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress in Melbourne last month. The research presented to the Congress involved analysing surveys and pictures drawn by 659 primary school aged children between the ages of 9 and 12. Twenty-six per cent of children surveyed had walked to school in the previous five days. Children who walked to school drew detailed elements of green space such as parks, trees, grass, flowers, sporting ovals and children playing football, people riding bikes, walking their dog and playgrounds. In contrast, children who travelled to school by car tended to depict abstract, isolated images of their neighbourhood environment with the car and the road as the central theme. Further Information on the Streets Ahead initiative is available from the VicHealth website. Continue reading »
Copyright © Australian Council for Educational Research 2013 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au Subscribe Unsubscribe Australian Council for Educational Research Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124 Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555 Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500 Web: www.acer.edu.au

News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published April 2010
3134 subscribers
Subscribe Now

In this issue:

Students improve computer skills but gaps in achievement remain

The latest findings of the National Assessment Program- ICT Literacy, conducted for the by ACER under the auspices of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs – (MCEECDYA) reveal mixed results in Australian students’ proficiency with computers.

A nationally representative sample of approximately 11 000 students from around 600 schools across Australia completed computer-based assessments in October and November 2008. This was the second administration of the national assessment, which was first carried out in 2005. Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard released a detailed report on the 2008 national assessment on 22 April.

Recognising accomplished teachers

In an Australian Journal of Education article, ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Lawrence Ingvarson looks at efforts since the 1970s to strengthen the teaching profession by making teaching a more attractive career, lifting the quality of teacher training, retaining and rewarding quality teachers, promoting effective professional learning and supporting workforce mobility.

There are two main purposes for teacher evaluation. One is for all teachers to meet basic standards of professional performance. The other is to provide high standards of professional accomplishment and incentives for teachers to attain them, usually through professional certification.

Where is the profession in the national partnership on teacher quality?

In this opinion article ACER Principal Research Fellow, Dr Lawrence Ingvarson, explores the role of the newly created Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and argues it has the potential to have a major impact on the quality of school teaching in Australia.

ACER UPDATE

ACER celebrates 80^th Anniversary

April 2010 marks the 80^th anniversary of the establishment of ACER. 80 years ago, on 1 April 1930, two staff members, Ken Cunningham, the inaugural chief executive and secretary Mary Campbell, established ACER's first office in two rooms of the T&G building on the corner of Collins and Russell Streets in central Melbourne. By the end of the 1930s ACER's total staff had expanded to five.

From that humble beginning ACER has grown into one of the world's leading educational research bodies with an expanding national and international presence. Eight decades after the organisation was founded, ACER has more than 300 staff working in offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Dubai and Delhi. This article briefly outlines the ACER journey. A brief outline of ACER’s history has been posted on our website.

Kids who walk on track to better health

Results from an ongoing study being undertaken by ACER for VicHealth suggests that children who walk to school are significantly more connected with their local community. ACER researcher Catherine Underwood presented the first findings of a three year evaluation of VicHealth’s Streets Ahead initiative at the inaugural International Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress in Melbourne last month.

The research presented to the Congress involved analysing surveys and pictures drawn by 659 primary school aged children between the ages of 9 and 12. Twenty-six per cent of children surveyed had walked to school in the previous five days. Children who walked to school drew detailed elements of green space such as parks, trees, grass, flowers, sporting ovals and children playing football, people riding bikes, walking their dog and playgrounds. In contrast, children who travelled to school by car tended to depict abstract, isolated images of their neighbourhood environment with the car and the road as the central theme. Further Information on the Streets Ahead initiative is available from the VicHealth website.

All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au

Subscribe Unsubscribe

Australian Council for Educational Research
Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124
Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555
Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500
Web: www.acer.edu.au