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News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published September 2012 3134 subscribers Subscribe Now In this issue: University numbers growing fast, Indigenous even faster Reporting Indigenous outcomes English language proficiency in higher education Bring your own technology – now Literacy and the most marginalised children ACER Update University numbers growing fast, Indigenous even faster New data from the Australian Census shows that the growth in university students in Australia over the five years from 2006 to 2011 was the fastest recorded for at least the past 20 years, according to a research briefing by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The latest ACER Joining the Dots research briefing analyses data from the 2011 Census, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August 2012, to provide insight into the characteristics of Australian university students and how they have changed since the previous Census and in the first decade of the 21st century. Continue reading » Reporting Indigenous outcomes An ACER review of a national report on the key indicators of Indigenous disadvantage found it would benefit from a focus on Indigenous strengths and achievements. Continue reading » English language proficiency in higher education Higher education institutions must support the English language development of students with a non-English language speaking background to ensure that they graduate with the English language skills required for society and the workplace, according to Professor Sophie Arkoudis, Dr Chi Baik and Dr Sarah Richardson, the authors of English Language Standards in Higher Education: From entry to exit, a new book from ACER Press. Continue reading » Bring your own technology – now The use of mobile devices by young people is surging, and schools that continue banning their students from using their own technology inside the school gates will be swamped, according to the authors of a new book on the Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) model in schools. Continue reading » Literacy and the most marginalised children A recent roundtable brought together researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in the field of inclusive education to discuss synergies across the Australian and international development education policy arenas regarding literacy interventions for the most marginalised children. ACER hosted the roundtable in conjunction with children's development organisation PLAN Australia at the State Library of Victoria in September. Continue reading » ACER Update Grey literature conference ACER is working in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria University of Technology, the National Library of Australia, the National and State Libraries Australasia and the Eidos Institute on a three-year Grey Literature Strategies research project. Grey Literature Strategies is an ARC Linkage project that aims to provide best practice guidelines for producing and managing grey literature, reports and documents produced outside commercial publishing channels, particularly in the area of public policy. As part of this project, a conference will explore the opportunities for increased access to knowledge and research communication as well as the challenges presented in producing, disseminating, evaluating, collecting and accessing policy grey literature. ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Gerry White will present on grey literature in relation to educational reform and digital technologies. Where is the evidence? Policy, research and the rise of grey literature takes place in Canberra on 10 October. Further information about the research project and the conference is available from http://greylitstrategies.info/ Higher education student engagement conference ACER and the LH Martin Institute are co-hosting the 2012 National Student Engagement Conference, on the topic ‘Enhancing retention and outcomes in a competitive environment’. The conference will bring together stakeholders from across the sector to discuss how Australian tertiary education can assure and enhance students’ engagement in effective educational practices to boost quality and productivity. The conference takes place in Melbourne on 30-31 October. Two half-day pre-conference workshops will address using technology to engage students and using student voice data for change. Further information, including a list of speakers and registration details, is available from www.acer.edu.au/highereducation/courses-and-conferences/ Designing learning in the digital age ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Gerry White is the keynote speaker at the 2012 Designing Learning in the Digital Age program starting in Adelaide on 25 October, where he will present the latest digital educational research trends. The goal of the program is to enable participants to facilitate ‘disruptive’ and transformative learning experiences in their own organisations. Modelling a ‘flipped classroom’ approach, participants will actively curate their own learning and will take away something more tangible than just ‘new knowledge’. The one-day event will be followed by four weeks of synchronous and asynchronous activities so that participants can continue their learning, sharing and networking. Further information is available from www.designinglearning.com.au Advanced Masterclass Workshop with Dr Mark Majors Highly regarded psychometrician Dr Mark Majors will present an Advanced Masterclass workshop on personality assessment at ACER in October. Dr Majors will give insights into: connecting the information in these scales with personality dynamics integrating all features of the results into a more complete profile seeing how barriers to the expression of natural personality affect relationships and performance in the workplace developing skills to use this information in applied coaching or counselling situations, and applying this knowledge to further team and organisational effectiveness. The Advanced Masterclass Workshop takes place in Melbourne on 29 October and in Sydney on 30 October. Further information is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/press-events/markmajors Excellence in Professional Practice Conference ACER invites you to share and learn with the best in the profession at the inaugural Excellence in Professional Practice Conference for teachers. The conference addresses the theme, ‘Teaching the Australian Curriculum: Excellence and innovation in the classroom’ by drawing together teachers from across Australia to share their professional practice and expertise, and learn from one another about best practice in teaching the Australian Curriculum from classrooms across the country. The Excellence in Professional Practice Conference takes place on the Gold Coast on 17 and 18 March, 2013. Further information is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/eppc
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 September 2012
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Grey literature conference

ACER is working in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria University of Technology, the National Library of Australia, the National and State Libraries Australasia and the Eidos Institute on a three-year Grey Literature Strategies research project. Grey Literature Strategies is an ARC Linkage project that aims to provide best practice guidelines for producing and managing grey literature, reports and documents produced outside commercial publishing channels, particularly in the area of public policy.

As part of this project, a conference will explore the opportunities for increased access to knowledge and research communication as well as the challenges presented in producing, disseminating, evaluating, collecting and accessing policy grey literature. ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Gerry White will present on grey literature in relation to educational reform and digital technologies. Where is the evidence? Policy, research and the rise of grey literature takes place in Canberra on 10 October. Further information about the research project and the conference is available from http://greylitstrategies.info/

Higher education student engagement conference

ACER and the LH Martin Institute are co-hosting the 2012 National Student Engagement Conference, on the topic ‘Enhancing retention and outcomes in a competitive environment’. The conference will bring together stakeholders from across the sector to discuss how Australian tertiary education can assure and enhance students’ engagement in effective educational practices to boost quality and productivity.

The conference takes place in Melbourne on 30-31 October. Two half-day pre-conference workshops will address using technology to engage students and using student voice data for change. Further information, including a list of speakers and registration details, is available from www.acer.edu.au/highereducation/courses-and-conferences/

Designing learning in the digital age

ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Gerry White is the keynote speaker at the 2012 Designing Learning in the Digital Age program starting in Adelaide on 25 October, where he will present the latest digital educational research trends. The goal of the program is to enable participants to facilitate ‘disruptive’ and transformative learning experiences in their own organisations.

Modelling a ‘flipped classroom’ approach, participants will actively curate their own learning and will take away something more tangible than just ‘new knowledge’. The one-day event will be followed by four weeks of synchronous and asynchronous activities so that participants can continue their learning, sharing and networking. Further information is available from www.designinglearning.com.au

Advanced Masterclass Workshop with Dr Mark Majors

Highly regarded psychometrician Dr Mark Majors will present an Advanced Masterclass workshop on personality assessment at ACER in October.

Dr Majors will give insights into:

connecting the information in these scales with personality dynamics
integrating all features of the results into a more complete profile
seeing how barriers to the expression of natural personality affect relationships and performance in the workplace
developing skills to use this information in applied coaching or counselling situations, and
applying this knowledge to further team and organisational effectiveness.

The Advanced Masterclass Workshop takes place in Melbourne on 29 October and in Sydney on 30 October. Further information is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/press-events/markmajors

Excellence in Professional Practice Conference

ACER invites you to share and learn with the best in the profession at the inaugural Excellence in Professional Practice Conference for teachers.

The conference addresses the theme, ‘Teaching the Australian Curriculum: Excellence and innovation in the classroom’ by drawing together teachers from across Australia to share their professional practice and expertise, and learn from one another about best practice in teaching the Australian Curriculum from classrooms across the country.

The Excellence in Professional Practice Conference takes place on the Gold Coast on 17 and 18 March, 2013. Further information is available from http://www.acer.edu.au/eppc

University numbers growing fast, Indigenous even faster

Reporting Indigenous outcomes

English language proficiency in higher education

Bring your own technology – now

Literacy and the most marginalised children

ACER Update