In recent weeks, Australian universities’ commitment to teaching Australian literature has come under scrutiny. This came amid revelations Sydney University has withdrawn funding from its Chair of Australian Literature – the nation’s first. Later news of the possible closure of UWA Publishing compounded anxiety about the future of Australian literary studies. An article in The Australian newspaper noted there is […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
Old white men dominate school English booklists. It’s time more Australian schools taught Australian books
More questions about Higher Ed answered
So I’m looking at a list of “17” (actually more than that) questions about higher ed that a former Poo-Bah of higher ed now asks…he’s out of the game, so he can afford to ask questions which would cost the job of a lowly one such as myself to ask. If we were building from […] … learn more→
Report cards’ report card: showing potential, but with room for improvement
Australian teachers are in the thick of producing end-of-year reports. In many schools, the report writing process begins several weeks – or even months – before reports are eventually released. This process has significant costs, including time spent away from teaching. For the past three years, the Australian Council for Educational Research has been investigating how effective […] … learn more→
Translating technology: Infrastructure literacy for researchers
Do you wonder about the difference between coding and programming? Are you new to these concepts? If you hear the word kernel, do you think about corn before you think about computing? Do you have maths trauma, believe in the ‘geek’ gene, stare blankly at people who mention operating systems, the command line or bandwidth? […] … learn more→
The great suffering of teachers in the face of academic failure
In a survey of a representative sample of 8,214 K-12 teachers on their personal assessment of the causes of school failure (published in 2019), we were struck by expression of powerful cleavages between those who “go forward”, and the nostalgic of a “school order”, in their eyes, as well as by the great suffering of all teachers […] … learn more→
Why the nation should screen all students for trauma like California does
As the first person to hold the new role of Surgeon General of California, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is pushing an unprecedented plan to implement universal screenings for childhood trauma within the state’s schools. Childhood trauma is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as an “emotionally painful or distressful” event that “often results in lasting mental and […] … learn more→
Planning a paper
Last week I was in Norway running a three part workshop on planning a journal article. The workshop was based around a Tiny Text abstract. As a planner myself, I use Tiny Texts for sorting out the contribution argument of a paper as well as developing a writing schedule. In case this approach is of […] … learn more→
A Retired poo-bah asks 17 Higher Ed questions. Here are answers…
The “global warming” scam has been running for 20 years now. Back when it started and people were buying into it, I tried to point out obvious issues, such as clear evidence the climate was warmer during Roman times…and clearly the climate didn’t change because the Romans weren’t driving around in SUVs. It did little […] … learn more→
How WhatsApp groups support Nigeria’s nurse graduates
Around 12,000 students are enrolled in Nigeria’s nursing schools each year. As it is in many health professions, these students often find it challenging after graduation when they search for and start their first job. They feel unprepared and have difficulties to put their knowledge from school into practice. In addition, many feel unwelcome in their teams, which […] … learn more→
Education is rehabilitation: How GED classes change improve prison reform
More penal system decision-makers are experimenting with training programs that reduce recidivism and supply talent for woefully understaffed technology fields. Companies already have problems meeting the demand for skilled technical talent, and analysts forecast that the need for computer programmers will grow by 27% by the year 2024, according to an A&E expose. By teaching […] … learn more→
