Malvern Project
At the end of 1971, a three-year study of closed circuit television in a number of secondary schools ended. The study, known as the Malvern Project, involved four schools: a state high school ( Chad- stone High School), a technical school (Syndal Technical School), an independent girls school ( Lauris- ton Girls School), and a Catholic boys school ( St James', East Bent- leigh).
The study was conducted jointly by the ACER and the De La Salle Brothers, and was directed by Bro- ther Bernard Hawkins. Extensive financial backing was provided by a number of Australian and overseas trusts and foundations, together with local industries. By making available full CCTV production facilities and staff to the schools, the project was able to observe the patterns of usage which developed.
Accurate checks on the timing of each school's use of CCTV, and on the costs have enabled the project to provide specific data on what has happened in the project schools.
Moreover, by keeping in contact with the school staffs through the project liaison officer, information was gained concerning teachers' atti- tudes towards the presence of CCTV in their school. It is hoped that any Australian secondary schools con- templating the introduction of CCTV will carefully study the project report before purchasing any equip-
ment. (The report will be available from ACER later this year.)
Although staff training in the uses of CCTV was undertaken in 1969 and 1970 by means of meetings and circulars, and although replay facili- ties were conveniently ava i !able to all teachers in each school, only two schools recorded a studio-made pro- gram for their teachers in 1971, compared with thirteen in 1969. In one of these schools, however, the number of 'off-air' recordings in- creased significantly.
RECOMMENDATIONS One of the major recommenda- tions in the report will concern the uti I ity of a videotape recorder as a classroom audio-visual aid; for what appears on both commercial and national channels becomes available to teachers to use as stimulus or enrichment material.
In only one school-Syndal Tech- nical School-was any consistent use made of the studio recording equip- ment and production crew. A total of thirty-one teacher-made programs was produced in 1970-71, many of them involving team-teaching.
Some features which character- ized this school from the others were the ample level of staffing (key teachers had a minimal teaching load); the absence of external examination pressures through the school; and four or five classes at each form level. In this situation,
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no 1 2, march 1972
the senior staff members who were enthusiastic about CCTV had time to plan and execute the programs, and to involve most of the teachers working under them.
DEMANDS OF CCTV Teachers in a 11 the schools pre- ferred to have the project staff han- d le the production processes, as they found the planning and script- ing very demanding on their time, energy, and enthusiasm. Compara- tively little use was made of the equipment for student-made pro- grams-teachers remarked that such programs were particularly demand- ing on their own time and talents.
Given the high cost per program and the length of time needed to pre- pare the scripts adequately, it would seem that there is I ittle justification for schools to have their own CCTV production equipment. Perhaps the addition of one simple camera to the videotape recorder could be justi- fied, but beyond that the costs escalate without any necessary improvement or advantage in the classroom situation.
The project team found that CCTV production faci I ities cou Id be used successfully in the making of in- dividualized learning material; they acquired considerable experience in production procedures, equip- ment evaluation, and educational applications. Anyone contemplating using CCTV at secondary school level can easily avail of the experi- ence gained in this project by writing to the ACER.
972
University Entrance
The problem of how best to arrange the transition between secondary and tertiary education is one which besets most of the world's education authorities. The aspects of the prob- lem considered most pressing differ from country to country. No two are identical, and to attempt to graft procedures which have been suc- cessful in one context on to other situations-irrespective of how ef- fective the solutions have sometimes been-is a suspect practice.
The highly complex technical ser- vices offered in the USA or the 'early admissions' policy adopted in parts of Canada have attractive features to an Australian investigator, but a closer look indicates that success is often a function of very specific local operating conditions, and ex- trapolation to Australia, with its peculiar tradition and pattern of secondary and tertiary education, is fraught with danger.
This is not to say that we have little to learn from overseas pro- gress; quite the, contrary. But there is a lesson for us in the often un- critical adoption of new American science courses and materials in Australia in the past ten years, and the comments which follow need to be read with this caveat in mind.
Canada, England, Scotland, and Japan have had or have at present serious reservations regarding the selection and guidance of students from secondary to tertiary education.
JAPAN
In Japan the limited availability of places at certain universities has led to competition which, even by Aus- tralian standards, can only be de- scribed as intense. Students in Japan enter a university either directly from secondary school, or after studying at preparatory schools en- tirely devoted to coaching for the university entrance examinations.
These are not unlike the, Aus- tralian Higher School Certificate ex- aminations, and much effort has gone into research to provide an 2
alternative. The postwar US occu- pation provided the impetus for several experiments by the National Institute of Educational Research along lines strikingly similar to the Australian TEEP project, but despite much promise and for a number of rather complex reasons these ex- periments did not result in any major changes.
CANADA
It is as difficult to generalize about developments in Canada as it is to generalize about Australia since Canada's educational systems are based on the provinces, but the most promising development in at least some of the provinces (e.g., On- tario) has been the abandonment of final school external examinations.
Teachers' assessments of student potential and marks obtained in school-controlled internal examina- tions provide the prime data for use in admission to university.
The ACER Newsletter is pub- 1 ished quarterly by the Austra- lian Council for Educational Research, Frederick Street, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122. Com- munications should be ad- dressed to the Editors, Ian Fraser and Merle O'Donnell, at this address.
This reliance on school assess- ment has made possible the process of 'early admissions', i.e. the selec- tion of students before the terminal school examinations are held. The process of selection itself is more informal than any used in Australia.
Even in a university such as the University of Toronto, in which de- mand for places greatly exceeds supply, the available data on stu- dents are not used for rigid cut-off decisions, but for discussion by university staff members in what is colloquially known as 'the auction'.
It must be remembered that those
who fail to enter this university almost certainly obtain a place in another, albeit less prestigious, col- lege. There seem to be few who miss out altogether.
For the past three years the ad- missions authorities have also had available scores on a test of aca- demic aptitude prepared by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and administered by the Service for Admission to College and University (SACU).
The SACU test is an aptitude test modelled on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in the USA and designed to supplement other sources of information about university ap- plicants. There is, however, some concern that the SACU tests have been adopted too directly from the American SAT without sufficient consideration of the different prob- lems involved.
USA
In the USA itself, two agencies- the College Examinations Entrance Board ( CEEB) and the American College Testing program (ACT), both of them independent, non- governmental and self-supporting bodies-test annually some two million high school leavers using a mixture of aptitude and achievement tests. The resulting scores are sent to colleges and supplement other data for decision-making in the admissions process.
One must admire the superb technical service, developed in the USA for providing colleges with the necessary information on intending students. A recent Commission on Tests, set up by the CEEB in re- sponse to criticism of the board's functions, has resulted in much soul-searching and a decision in particular to redress the present imbalance by providing intending students with information on the colleges of their choice.
The accent is clearly shifting away from selection to an improved guidance program. In fact, the Ameri- can college scene· is at present
ACER Newsletter No 12: March 1972
notable for the emphasis on pro- viding more and different (not necessarily equal-pace the CAEs) tertiary places and institutions for its 18 and 19-year-olds. The con- trast with the Australian stress on improved methods of selection and the 'efficiency' of graduate produc- tion is striking, and the comparison is not very favourable to Australia.
( Our problem of graduate employ- ment is incidentally paralleled in the USA.)
The SAT, used as a coarse apti- tude 'sieve', functions effectively,
IMP B
The first set of the Individual Mathe- matics Programme, IMP B, was re- leased for sale in 1964. By the middle of 1970, it was clear that the original printing of 5,000 kits would be exhausted by late 1971; but it was decided that, rather than just re- print the kit as it was, certain minor revisions would be made. The rationale for the changes was based on the experience of teachers who had used the original IMP B and the second kit, IMP C.
Probably the most major change has been the preparation of a Starter Booklet, which we hope will assist both pupils and teachers in the un- derstanding and using of IMP B. The Starter Booklet introduces pupils, among other things, to the materials in the kit, how to work independent- ly in the kit, and how their work is evaluated.
Introduction of the Starter Book- let has led to a change in procedures within the kit. Previously, the Place- ment Test was administered at the very beginning of the program. Now it is recommended the pupils do the Starter Booklet plus some of the early Pure Number Booklets before the Placement Test is given and pupils are assigned to their appro- priate levels of instruction. This should lead to a greater understand- ing of the materials and method of working in IMP B, and thus facilitate the pupil's ability to work indepen- dently in individualized materials such as IMP.
Another change has been to re- ACER Newsletter No 12: March 1972
but does not transplant too readily to other climes without much adap- tation.
ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND This conclusion was very evident in discussions about the experimen- tal work on the Test of Academic Aptitude (TAA) in England and on a similar test in Scotland. The examin- ation system in England is under de- tailed review, with plans being made (and often unmade) for uniting the CSE and GCE sets of boards under one head, and it is in this context organize the materials in the first five Pure Number Booklets and in some cases to provide new materi- als. Changes have been made to the Mastery Tests to fit in line with the changes to the booklets.
The Placement Tests have been revised and now include more items at the lower end of the scale to endeavour to place children more accurately in the early Pure Number Books.
The Teachers Handbook has been divided into two separate books.
One deals with materials in the kit and its general administration, and the other with evaluation. The Evalu- ation Handbook includes the Answer Keys to the Mastery Tests. Each section of a Mastery Test is now overprinted with the appropriate Special Card Number to help tea- chers assign pupils to appropriate remedial material.
No gummed shapes have been included in the latest version of the kit, and changes to booklets which previously required these materials have been made.
Teachers who would like more in- formation about IMP B (or IMP C) are invited to write to ACER's Senior Advisory Officer.
The latest edition of the ACER book- list is now available. It has been updated and extended, and contains descriptive entries on all forty-five ACER books in print. Those interested in obtaining a copy of the list are invited to write for one.
Readers who wish information about other titles obtainable from ACER should consult the ACER cata- logue.
that the experiment using the TAA must be seen.
Results so far in England and Scotland indicate that the tests used (again close copies of the American SAT) are not likely to add much new information about intending candi- dates, who represent a very small elite of their age group compared with the USA candidates. It should be noted too that at present the English experiment is limited to university entrance and is not concerned with the many tertiary institutions.
Book News
Books for the Retarded Reader by J.
A. Hart and J. A. Richardson was first published by ACER in 1959 and is now in its fourth edition. At presant, we are helping Mrs Hart in the preparations for edition five, which we plan to release for the, be- ginning of the 1973 school year.
The fifth edition will have current details on existing series, and will cover relevant titles which have been published since the fourth edition appeared in 1970.
Each book series is reviewed un- der a number of headings-covers, printing, illustrations, vocabulary, appraisal; and the author also pro- vides details about individual book titles, publisher and/or agent, read- ing age, interest age, and price.
Those, who work with children with reading retardation will ob- viously want to examine for them- seives any books they might want to buy. But Books for the Retarded Reader is an invaluable guide to the best books available in Australia, taking into account the, interests, capabilities, and ages of the children involved.
Testing in the Primary School (by S. S. Dunn) has proved a useful in- troduction for primary teachers to the nature and purposes of testing.
It discusses general ability and readi- ness tests, achievement testing, diagnostic testing, and the, measure- ment of non-cognitive objectives. We will be bringing out a revised edition of this booklet in the, middle of the year.
3
ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION
.-
An experience-based curr.iculum has long been recognized as·a vital part of primary education. However, only in the last decade has there been agreement that a most vital aspect of education is language. The use of language in-all its forms-· -talking, listening, reading, writing-is now the basis of primary education.
Rather than a silent room for rote learning, a primary classroom pro- vides an active, talking environment for the gathering of learning experi- ences.
Most psychological research into language has concentrated upon directing measurable aspects such as children's acquisition and devel- opment of language. Far less re- search has been concerned with language in the school situation.
During the last year ACER has been engaged in two pilot studies on language- in the primary school- one on oral expression, one on writ- ten expression.
ORAL EXPRESSION
This pilot study was essentially an exploratory one concerned with the ways of collecting, transcribing, and analysing samples of oral lan- guage in the primary school, using relatively simple techniques. Various situations for collecting the samples were- considered. The one finally selected for close study was the small-group discussion. This situa- tion provided not only samples of the language of individual children but also language interactions within the group-an important aspect of classroom work.
The transcripts made from the tape-recordings were subjected to several objective measures which are normally regarded as indicators of linguistic maturity. However, although these measures are useful for describing general differences over a wide age range, they are of limited value when describing the conversations of children of a simi- lar age. A new technique had to be found.
From the tape-recordings and the transcripts, it was possible to iden-
4
tify various important aspects of the conversations. Some children showed the ability to vary their con- versational technique according to situation, to ask questions, and to back up their arguments with rele- vant facts. Other children were more rigid in their approach, apparently having an inflexible, line of dis- cussion.
This type of assessment of parti- cipation in discussion is more sub- jective than the linguistic measures previously mentioned. Evaluation of the discussions is similar in several respects to the essay-marking situa- tion although a tape-recording and accompanying transcript provide more cues than an essay script:
pauses, inflexions, change of tone, etc. However, even tape-recordings lack the visual cues of facial expres- sion and gesture, which only film or videotape can provide.
The pilot study was small, being conducted in only one school and mostly with the children of one fourth grade. However, there were several important outcomes.
Firstly, it was found to be pos- sible, through studying tape and transcript, to make fairly objective comments on the contributions of individual children in the con- versational situation in terms of dimensions such as relevance, correctness, and originality of ut- terance.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the recording and playback to the children of these informal discussions had important implications for the children con- cerned. Self-critical remarks such as
'I should have- let John say some- thing there' or,
'Gee I was stupid saying a 11 that.
I should have, said [etcetera]' served to indicate that children were receiving vital feedback from par- ticipating in the study.
WRITTEN EXPRESSION The study of written expression in the primary school forms the de- ve·lopmental phase of a study into written language.
Children write in many situa- tions in the classroom, the type of writing varying with occasion. In order to make a comparison between the writing of different children, set stimulus situations which could be repeated with different groups of children were tried out. A variety of stimulus situations-verbal, visual, and aural-were used in order to ensure a variety and at the same time elicit a measurable response from the children. The stimulus situations which were particularly successful were the ones which provided a starting point for children and yet allowed them to draw on their own experiences as well.
Three pieces of written work were collected from six children in each of Grades 2, 4, and 6 in three schools. The stimulus situations for the writing were the same in each school in the study. Each piece of writing was subjected to similar ob- jective measures as were used in the oral expression study. '-Each piece was also marked by a group of twenty primary school teachers on A B C D E rating using their own criteria for marking. Comparing these results with the objective measures, there was found to be
· a poorer correlation than expected.
Useful as the objective measures were for an inter-grade comparison, they obviously were not indicators of what the teachers were looking for.
Some of the common factors isolated by teachers in their assess- ments were originality, personal involvement in writing, and evidence of continuity of thought. All teachers stated that spelling and grammatical correctness were very minor aspects to be taken into account.
The task at hand is to weld to- gether these two studies in an attempt to gain a more precise un- derstanding of the, way children's use and control of language develop over the primary years. This could have far-reaching imp I ications for the-primary teacher and for the cur- riculum planner.
ACER Newsletter No 12: March 1972