Feedback literacy for effective learning at university and beyond. This project aims to develop frameworks and strategies that help learners make the most of feedback across their studies and into their working lives. Using behaviour change techniques from the health and social sciences, the project expects to develop ways to support students and graduates to seek out and use feedback, and to manage their emotions throughout the feedback process. Expected outcomes of this project include evidenc ....Feedback literacy for effective learning at university and beyond. This project aims to develop frameworks and strategies that help learners make the most of feedback across their studies and into their working lives. Using behaviour change techniques from the health and social sciences, the project expects to develop ways to support students and graduates to seek out and use feedback, and to manage their emotions throughout the feedback process. Expected outcomes of this project include evidence-informed strategies that individuals and institutions can use to develop life-long capabilities to make the most of feedback. This should provide significant benefits across all sectors of Australian society, where productivity, learning and wellbeing depend on healthy and effective engagement with feedback.Read moreRead less
Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under- ....Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under-achievement and disengagement from schooling also contribute to many antisocial, harmful short-and long-term outcomes for individuals, with significant health and other costs to the broader community. Outcomes from the project have the potential to improve these current outcomes and to be applicable to similar settings.Read moreRead less
Improving regional secondary students' learning and well-being. Given the academic under-performance and lower life opportunities of Australian regional and rural students compared to their metropolitan counterparts, this research has the potential to make a significant social, cultural and economic contribution to the community. This research will be useful in developing an evidence-based framework to guide policy and practice in implementing an effective systematic approach to regional educati ....Improving regional secondary students' learning and well-being. Given the academic under-performance and lower life opportunities of Australian regional and rural students compared to their metropolitan counterparts, this research has the potential to make a significant social, cultural and economic contribution to the community. This research will be useful in developing an evidence-based framework to guide policy and practice in implementing an effective systematic approach to regional education and, where appropriate, other contexts. The research's economic benefit centres on gains for individuals, local communities, and the nation in enhancing regional students' academic achievements, sense of well-being and aspirations; leading to more productive citizens.Read moreRead less
Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular imag ....Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future.Read moreRead less
Building executive function in imaginary play. This project aims to develop a sustainable, play-based program to increase the executive functions of children in the year prior to school. Executive functions (EF) are cognitive processes that control an individual’s behaviour and cognition and include processes such as working memory, inhibitory control and attention. There is evidence that EF skills are critical to a successful transition to formal learning environments and future academic achiev ....Building executive function in imaginary play. This project aims to develop a sustainable, play-based program to increase the executive functions of children in the year prior to school. Executive functions (EF) are cognitive processes that control an individual’s behaviour and cognition and include processes such as working memory, inhibitory control and attention. There is evidence that EF skills are critical to a successful transition to formal learning environments and future academic achievement, and that they are amenable to early intervention. Improving children’s EF skills in the year prior to school could produce lasting benefits across the school years, particularly for more vulnerable children. This project intends to inform professional development programs in early childhood education.Read moreRead less
Getting a job: vocationalism, identity formation and schooling in communities at disadvantage. This research will use young people's stories to investigate the barriers and obstacles to getting a job, and from their vantage point, identify the educational, policy and practice contexts that need to be created and more widely sustained in order to assist their career aspirations and life chances.
Exploring mathematical sequences of connected cumulative challenging tasks. This project aims to enhance the mathematics outcomes of Australian students by researching teaching approaches that utilise sequences of cognitively challenging tasks that build connections between key mathematical ideas whilst developing depth, flexibility and transfer of knowledge. The project expects to build new understandings in the ways in which mathematics is learned by 5-8 year-olds and will provide mathematics ....Exploring mathematical sequences of connected cumulative challenging tasks. This project aims to enhance the mathematics outcomes of Australian students by researching teaching approaches that utilise sequences of cognitively challenging tasks that build connections between key mathematical ideas whilst developing depth, flexibility and transfer of knowledge. The project expects to build new understandings in the ways in which mathematics is learned by 5-8 year-olds and will provide mathematics leaders and teachers with the strategies and tools to improve student learning. Outcomes include a series of empirically-tested sequences of challenging tasks for use by all education sectors, new approaches to teacher learning and improved student mathematics learning that will benefit Australia's social and economic needs.Read moreRead less
Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and p ....Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and play.Read moreRead less
Secondary and university mathematics: do they speak the same language? This project seeks innovative reasons for low progression rates of students in mathematical sciences subjects in Australia. It will examine students' symbol use at university and explore how it differs from the use at school. It will also examine links between students' response to increased symbolic load and their confidence to continue studying subjects with high mathematical content at university. Theoretical outcomes are ....Secondary and university mathematics: do they speak the same language? This project seeks innovative reasons for low progression rates of students in mathematical sciences subjects in Australia. It will examine students' symbol use at university and explore how it differs from the use at school. It will also examine links between students' response to increased symbolic load and their confidence to continue studying subjects with high mathematical content at university. Theoretical outcomes are expected to include new applications of epistemology and didactics theories and identification of key components of symbol load (for example, symbolic density, symbol familiarity) to describe how mathematical practices change with educational level. Practical outcomes are expected to include advice for educators with examples across the mathematical sciences.Read moreRead less
Reasonable Adjustments to Maths for Students with Intellectual Disabilities. Reasonable adjustments to secondary mathematics – parents want it, students need it, the Australian law requires it – but how do teachers achieve it? The aim of this project is to find ways to adjust, teach and assess secondary mathematics for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The significance of this study is in solving a problem facing teachers who are required by law to teach mathematics with ....Reasonable Adjustments to Maths for Students with Intellectual Disabilities. Reasonable adjustments to secondary mathematics – parents want it, students need it, the Australian law requires it – but how do teachers achieve it? The aim of this project is to find ways to adjust, teach and assess secondary mathematics for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The significance of this study is in solving a problem facing teachers who are required by law to teach mathematics without evidence informed approaches. Expected outcomes are an evidence-base for reasonable adjustments to secondary mathematics and approaches and strategies for teachers for inclusive practices. If ways for teaching year-level mathematics to learners with intellectual disability are developed, many more students may benefit.
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