Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards

In 2010 the Australian government commissioned the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) to undertake a national project to facilitate disciplinary development of threshold learning standards. The aim was to lay the foundation for all higher education providers to demonstrate to the new na...

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Main Authors: Freeman, M., Willey, K., Hancock, P., Howieson, B., Watty, K., Abraham, A., O'Connell, B., De Lange, Paul
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53813
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author Freeman, M.
Willey, K.
Hancock, P.
Howieson, B.
Watty, K.
Abraham, A.
O'Connell, B.
De Lange, Paul
author_facet Freeman, M.
Willey, K.
Hancock, P.
Howieson, B.
Watty, K.
Abraham, A.
O'Connell, B.
De Lange, Paul
author_sort Freeman, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In 2010 the Australian government commissioned the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) to undertake a national project to facilitate disciplinary development of threshold learning standards. The aim was to lay the foundation for all higher education providers to demonstrate to the new national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), that graduates achieved or exceeded minimum academic standards. Through a yearlong consultative process, representatives of employers, professional bodies, academics and students, developed learning standards applying to any Australian higher education provider. Willey and Gardner reported using a software tool, SPARKPLUS, in calibrating academic standards amongst teaching staff in large classes. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of this technology to promote calibrated understandings with the national accounting learning standards. We found that integrating the software with a purposely designed activity provided significant efficiencies in calibrating understandings about learning standards, developed expertise and a better understanding of what is required to meet these standards and how best to demonstrate them. The software and supporting calibration and assessment process can be adopted by other disciplines, including engineering, seeking to provide direct evidence about performance against learning standards. © 2012 IEEE.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-538132017-09-13T15:46:23Z Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards Freeman, M. Willey, K. Hancock, P. Howieson, B. Watty, K. Abraham, A. O'Connell, B. De Lange, Paul In 2010 the Australian government commissioned the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) to undertake a national project to facilitate disciplinary development of threshold learning standards. The aim was to lay the foundation for all higher education providers to demonstrate to the new national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), that graduates achieved or exceeded minimum academic standards. Through a yearlong consultative process, representatives of employers, professional bodies, academics and students, developed learning standards applying to any Australian higher education provider. Willey and Gardner reported using a software tool, SPARKPLUS, in calibrating academic standards amongst teaching staff in large classes. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of this technology to promote calibrated understandings with the national accounting learning standards. We found that integrating the software with a purposely designed activity provided significant efficiencies in calibrating understandings about learning standards, developed expertise and a better understanding of what is required to meet these standards and how best to demonstrate them. The software and supporting calibration and assessment process can be adopted by other disciplines, including engineering, seeking to provide direct evidence about performance against learning standards. © 2012 IEEE. 2012 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53813 10.1109/FIE.2012.6462402 restricted
spellingShingle Freeman, M.
Willey, K.
Hancock, P.
Howieson, B.
Watty, K.
Abraham, A.
O'Connell, B.
De Lange, Paul
Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title_full Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title_fullStr Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title_full_unstemmed Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title_short Using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
title_sort using technology to improve peer review and collaborative conversations to benchmark academic standards
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53813