Teaching Development in Higher Education

The report "Impact of teaching development programmes in higher education" by David Parsons, Inge Hill, Jane Holland and Dick Willis, was released by the UK Higher Education Academy (HEA), September 2012. It aims to be a "... state of the
art, evidence-based assessment of the impact of HE-based teaching development programmes and initiatives...". While looking at the UK, much of what is found could be applied in Australia.

The researchers found:

•     There is a positive association between participation in teacher development programmes and individuals’ propensity to develop (or enhance) learner-centred teaching methods.  This is important since a range of wider scholarly and pedagogic-
centred research studies have shown such methods are in turn associated with stronger student outcomes in HE. 
•     Impacts on teacher knowledge and skills are less clear but seem to be positively affected by a combination of longer duration programmes, integrated support (especially for newer teachers) and continued formal inputs from continuing professional development.
•     Impacts may be more readily achieved for established teachers but the available evidence suggests there is substantial potential for transfer to practice among ‘novice’ or aspiring teachers where a critical mass of pedagogic knowledge is achieved. ...

Interestingly the researchers suggest "... there is much that can be drawn in the UK from school-based teacher improvement, and specifically from other post-secondary teacher development including within further education.". However, I have found that university academics are very reluctant to acknowledge that there is anything they can learn from the vocational education (TAFE) sector or from professional education activities of bodies such as the Australian Computer Society.

Broadening University Coursework

Greeting from the Australian National University Graduate Lounge in Canberra, where I am attending a focus group with other graduate coursework students. The ANU is looking to improve support for the graduate coursework students, to match that provided for the research students.

One of the strategies suggested to the students is to make use of the extra-curricular activities which are available on campus. There are seminars by world leading visiting academics, business people and heads of state each week. One of the techniques I suggested for coursework students is to enroll in a "special project" course, where the top students can work with a staff member on what is essentially a six month mini-thesis, to give the flavor of research for those who have ambitions of doing a PHD.

Most ANU coursework programs have a structure to suit the needs of a particular profession, or discipline, such as ICT. However, the Graduate Studies Select allows students to pick from a wide range of courses across the universality to create their own custom program. With this flexibility comes the problem for the student of selecting what to do. I have suggested coursework students could use the Tool for Online Assessment of Skills and Training, and other tools developed for research students, to plan and document their work.

One thing which occurs to me is that while the university provides many extra training programs and extra activities, a coursework student will be focused on what they have to do for credit in courses. It may therefore be worth packaging up the extra activities into course-size units and offering credit for them. The coursework students may appreciate the same activities more if they are part of formal coursework and if the university charges the usual course fees.

Similarly research students will be concentrating on their research area, but also need to acquire skills to help with the research and to be able to communicate and present it. The same offering created for coursework students could also be offered to research students.

There would be value in coursework and research students combining their experience in the same classes. This could be taken further with staff of the university undertaking the same courses as part of their development of skills. The university could also offer these same courses on their own, as a program for those in the workforce wanting to improve skill, or just broaden their outlook. Entertaining events need not be turned into boring lectures as a result: the course can be blended with the detail and administration done on-line and the events kept fun.

Information Management Education

Greetings from the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, where the Records Management Association of Australasia is hosting "ACT Education Pathways". I will be speaking about information management at ANU. Also speaking are people from Canberra Institute of Technology up to Certificate IV, University of Canberra Master of Information Studies, Aurora Foundation Ltd, National Archives of Australia Short Courses, Charles Stuart University.

NAA are planning to run courses in 2012 on digital information records (2 days) and metadata (half day). This is of interest as I have been teaching about these at ANU.

NAA are also looking at providing courses by webinar. CIT hold classes for 49 weeks a year. University of Canberra, like ANU, use the Moodle Learning Management System for teaching.

What might influence information management and record keeping in the public service is the Cyber white paper being prepared for release in early 2012.

The Records Management Association of Australasia is hosting "ACT Education Pathways" at the National Archives of Australia offices in Canberra, Thursday 10 November 2011. I will be speaking about options at ANU. The ANU has two courses specifically designed for records/information managers (offered subject to demand):

1. Electronic Document and Records Management (COMP7420): An open access copy of my Notes for Electronic Document and Records Management Course are available on-line.
2. Data Mining and Matching (COMP7410)

The ANU also runs Public Policy Short Courses: One half to three day courses. Credit towards Diploma, Certificate, or Master of Studies, for two and a half or longer days study.

The Graduate Studies Select program allows a student to custom design their own Certificate, Diploma and Masters program, incorporating the above courses and others from ANU. This includes the option of on-line courses from ANU , University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and Charles Darwin University (CDU).

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Education Pathways for Records and Information Management Professionals

By Tom Worthington FACS CP

Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Research School of Computer Science, The Australian National University

For "ACT Education Pathways" by the Records Management Association of Australasia iat the National Archives of Australia offices in Canberra,

Thursday 10 November 2011

The ANU has two courses specifically designed for records/information managers (offered subject to demand):

1. Electronic Document and Records Management (COMP7420): http://studyat.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7420;details.html

   Web 2.0 and social networking have created a demand for rapid access to information in commercial and not-for-profit organisations. Government 2.0 provides open access and greater involvement in the decision making of government. Smart phones and tablet computers using wireless networks allow mobile access to cloud computing resources world wide. This poses a challenge for organisations to provide access and input, while maintaining the security and integrity of records, and the privacy of personal information. This course investigates how traditional records management techniques and document formats have been adapted to the Internet era.
   An open access copy of my Notes for Electronic Document and Records Management Course are available on-line: http://www.tomw.net.au/emanagement/

2. Data Mining and Matching (COMP7410): http://studyat.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP7410;details.html

   Large amounts of data are increasingly being collected by public and private organisations, and research projects. The Internet as well provides a very large source of information about almost every aspect of human life and society. This course provides an overview of the technologies and concepts used for data mining and matching. It focuses on the practical aspects of these techniques rather than the mathematical and statistical foundation.

The ANU also runs Public Policy Short Courses. One half to three day courses. Credit towards Diploma, Certificate, or Master of Studies, for two and a half or longer days study http://publicpolicy.anu.edu.au/education/courses.php

These courses are general workshops with 15–20 participants per session. These courses do not need prior knowledge or experience in public policy and are a foundation for an understanding of public policy and developing further knowledge. They are suitable for APS officers 4, 5 and 6, or staff at higher levels who may be unfamiliar with the policy process or are moving into a policy role from another area in the APS.

The Graduate Studies Select program allows a student to custom design their own Certificate, Diploma and Masters program, incorporating the above courses and others from ANU. This includes the option of on-line courses from ANU , University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and Charles Darwin University (CDU): http://studyat.anu.edu.au/graduate_studies.html

Graduate Studies Select is a new option for graduate studies at ANU. It recognises that graduate students have a range of professional and personal needs and that these cannot always be met by following a program of study in a single academic discipline. Subject to meeting course entry requirements, you will be able to select courses from across the graduate course offerings available.

This opportunity increases the flexibility and choice available to you. Graduate Studies Select allows you to structure your studies and direct your learning in a way which meets your academic, personal and professional interests and enables you to develop skills and expertise in a range of learning areas.

For example, you could construct a program of study comprising courses in art history, environmental science, finance and management.

A suite of new academic awards has been created for students who choose Graduate Studies Select. Students will be enrolled in the Graduate Studies Program, and may elect to take out the Certificate of Graduate Studies, the Diploma of Graduate Studies, the Master of Studies, the Master of Advanced Studies or the Master of Studies with Research.

International certification for ICT professionals

The ACS Canberra branch meeting this week had a presentation on changes to the Australian membership categories to fit in with global standards. It might be of concern if Australia had to fit in with a standard from elsewhere, but in this case Australia was one of the driving forces behind the process.

The "Seoul Accord" was launched on 6 December 6th, 2008 at a meeting in Seoul, South Korea, of ACS (Australia),
CIPS (Canada), JABEE (Japan), ABEEK (Korea),
BCS (UK) and ABET (USA). The participants agreed to ... establish a system of mutual recognition in the computing and IT-related disciplines amongst member organizations".

The detail of international agreement is being handled by the International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3).

There will be three categories of membership:

1. Certified technologist. This is for people early in their career and is at Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) level 3.
2. Certified professional: These are a step up from technologists. They are at SFIA level 4, 5 or 6. This is the level for the bulk of the industry.
3. Certified Specialist: This is for leading specialists. These will likely be at SFIA level 5, 6 or 7.

Certified professionals and Certified Specialists are covered by limited liability legislation in Australian states and territories (apart from SA and TAS were negotiations are ongoing).

The current nine categories of ACS membership will be simplified to the three levels. This is all being launched on 13 September 2010.

This will be confusing for the average person in the IT industry. In particular the SFIA framework is a bewilderingly complex standard, with seven levels and dozens of skills categories for each (it took me months to understand SFIA while writing the ACS CPEP course on Green ICT). However, this should have long term benefits, provided other nations bodies also implement it.

Those ACS members who apply for regrading to CP before 13 September 2010 will not need to pay a fee. As I already had status as a "PCP" under the ACS's previous professional program, I am automatically transitioned to the new CP status (but I have to remember to do 30 hours training a year).

One aspect of the Seoul accord which will be of interest to Australian university educators is that the agreement includes a detailed set of "Graduate Attributes":

The following table provides profiles of graduates of three types of postsecondary educational computing programs. See Section 4 for definitions of complex, broadly-defined, and well-defined computing problems and activities. Note that the Seoul Accord applies only to the Computing Professional graduate, and that the columns for Computing Technologist and Computing Technician are included for comparative and clarification purposes only.

	Differentiating Characteristic	… for Seoul Accord (Computing Professional) Graduate	… for Computing Technologist Graduate	… for Computing Technician Graduate
Academic Education	Educational depth and breadth	Completion of an accredited program of study designed to prepare graduates as computing professionals	Completion of a program of study typically of shorter duration than for professional preparation	Completion of a program of study typically of shorter duration than for technologist preparation
Knowledge for Solving Computing Problems	Breadth and depth of education and type of knowledge, both theoretical and practical	Apply knowledge of computing fundamentals, knowledge of a computing specialization, and mathematics, science, and domain knowledge appropriate for the computing specialization to the abstraction and conceptualization of computing models from defined problems and requirements	Apply knowledge of computing fundamentals, knowledge of a computing specialization, and mathematics, science, and domain knowledge appropriate for the computing specialization to defined and applied computing procedures, processes, systems, or methodologies	Apply knowledge of computing fundamentals, knowledge of a computing specialization, and mathematics, science, and domain knowledge appropriate for the computing specialization to a wide variety of practical procedures and practices
Problem Analysis	Complexity of analysis	Identify, formulate, research literature, and solve complex computing problems reaching substantiated conclusions using fundamental principles of mathematics, computing sciences, and relevant domain disciplines	Identify, formulate, research literature, and solve broadly-defined computing problems reaching substantiated conclusions using analytical tools appropriate to the discipline or area of specialization	Identify and solve well-defined computing problems reaching substantiated conclusions using codified methods of analysis specific to the field of activity
Design/ Development of Solutions	Breadth and uniqueness of computing problems, i.e., the extent to which problems are original and to which solutions have previously been identified or codified	Design and evaluate solutions for complex computing problems, and design and evaluate systems, components, or processes that meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety, cultural, societal, and environmental considerations	Design solutions for broadly-defined computing technology problems, and contribute to the design of systems, components, or processes to meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety, cultural, societal, and environmental considerations	Design solutions for well-defined computing problems, and assist with the design of systems, components, or processes to meet specified needs with appropriate consideration for public health and safety, cultural, societal, and environmental considerations
Modern Tool Usage	Level and appropriateness of the tool to the type of activities performed	Create, select, adapt and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern computing tools to complex computing activities, with an understanding of the limitations	Select and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern computing tools to broadly-defined computing activities, with an understanding of the limitations	Apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern computing tools to well-defined computing activities, with an awareness of the limitations
Individual and Team Work	Role in, and diversity of, the team	Function effectively as an individual and as a member or leader in diverse teams and in multi-disciplinary settings	Function effectively as an individual and as a member or leader in diverse technical teams	Function effectively as an individual and as a member in diverse technical teams
Communication	Level of communication according to type of activities performed	Communicate effectively with the computing community and with society at large about complex computing activities by being able to comprehend and write effective reports, design documentation, make effective presentations, and give and understand clear instructions	Communicate effectively with the computing community and with society at large about broadly-defined computing activities by being able to comprehend and write effective reports, design documentation, make effective presentations, and give and understand clear instructions	Communicate effectively with the computing community and with society at large about well-defined computing activities by being able to comprehend the work of others, document one’s own work, and give and understand clear instructions
Computing Professionalism and Society	No differentiation in this characteristic except level of practice	Understand and assess societal, health, safety, legal, and cultural issues within local and global contexts, and the consequential responsibilities relevant to professional computing practice	Understand and assess societal, health, safety, legal, and cultural issues within local and global contexts, and the consequential responsibilities relevant to computing technologist practice	Understand and assess societal, health, safety, legal, and cultural issues within local and global contexts, and the consequential responsibilities relevant to computing technician practice
Ethics	No differentiation in this characteristic except level of practice	Understand and commit to professional ethics, responsibilities, and norms of professional computing practice	Understand and commit to professional ethics, responsibilities, and norms of computing technologist practice	Understand and commit to professional ethics, responsibilities, and norms of computing technician practice
Life-long Learning	No differentiation in this characteristic except level of practice	Recognize the need, and have the ability, to engage in independent learning for continual development as a computing professional	Recognize the need, and have the ability, to engage in independent learning for continual development as a computing technologist	Recognize the need, and have the ability, to engage in independent learning for continual development as a computing technician