Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,500.00
Summary
A rhythm and movement intervention for self-regulation in preschool. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of a rhythm and movement intervention, delivered by early childhood teachers, to improve self-regulation for preschool-aged children living in disadvantaged communities. Coordinated rhythmic movement activities are proposed as an effective means to support the neurological bases of self-regulation and enhance motor, auditory, and self-regulatory functioning. Project outcomes will i ....A rhythm and movement intervention for self-regulation in preschool. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of a rhythm and movement intervention, delivered by early childhood teachers, to improve self-regulation for preschool-aged children living in disadvantaged communities. Coordinated rhythmic movement activities are proposed as an effective means to support the neurological bases of self-regulation and enhance motor, auditory, and self-regulatory functioning. Project outcomes will include resources designed for teachers on how to use rhythmic movement activities to improve young children’s skills to regulate attention and behaviour. This project will have significant benefits for positive school transition, and may help to address disparities in early learning and childhood wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100399
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,996.00
Summary
Mathematics education for babies and toddlers. This project aims to investigate mathematics education for babies and toddlers by focussing on the practices of the educators who work with children aged under three years. This project expects to generate new knowledge about when and how mathematical experiences are provided for children in Under 3s settings. It will contribute to the current agenda of enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participation and outcomes by e ....Mathematics education for babies and toddlers. This project aims to investigate mathematics education for babies and toddlers by focussing on the practices of the educators who work with children aged under three years. This project expects to generate new knowledge about when and how mathematical experiences are provided for children in Under 3s settings. It will contribute to the current agenda of enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participation and outcomes by elucidating the early mathematics education base upon which STEM education can build. Findings will inform the development of professional learning materials for Under 3s settings and will enhance pedagogical approaches to support high-quality mathematics education for very young children.Read moreRead less
Digital mediation of children’s interactions with the more than human world. This project aims to investigate how children deploy digital devices to interact with the "natural" world and how this influences their literate practices, emotional engagement and identities. The project intends to examine these issues longitudinally across Australia and Finland, and in relation to key contextual issues of social class, material conditions, and pedagogical approach. Expected outcomes include identifyin ....Digital mediation of children’s interactions with the more than human world. This project aims to investigate how children deploy digital devices to interact with the "natural" world and how this influences their literate practices, emotional engagement and identities. The project intends to examine these issues longitudinally across Australia and Finland, and in relation to key contextual issues of social class, material conditions, and pedagogical approach. Expected outcomes include identifying ways of educating students through mobile digital technologies that connect them in emotional, creative and engaging ways with the "natural" world. This should provide significant benefits as children contribute as co-researchers in establishing a set of protocols for using digital technologies to both maximise learning in "nature" and mitigate harm to the environment.Read moreRead less
Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and e ....Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and evaluation of the Observe, Reflect and Improve Children’s Learning (ORICL) tool. Expected outcomes include: enhanced pedagogical practices; enriched learning experiences for children birth-two; effective communication with families; and improved resourcing for providers of early childhood education and care services. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100830
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,071.00
Summary
Supporting children's early mathematics development. This project aims to investigate how implementation of cognitively demanding mathematics tasks in the early years may change number development and mathematics achievement. By focusing on children’s use of strategy, the project seeks to link classroom mathematics with underpinning cognitive processes. It also plans to use eye tracking technology to identify connections between explicit mathematics strategies and intuitive cognitive behaviours. ....Supporting children's early mathematics development. This project aims to investigate how implementation of cognitively demanding mathematics tasks in the early years may change number development and mathematics achievement. By focusing on children’s use of strategy, the project seeks to link classroom mathematics with underpinning cognitive processes. It also plans to use eye tracking technology to identify connections between explicit mathematics strategies and intuitive cognitive behaviours. It is expected this project will have important implications for teaching practice in the early years of school, by providing new understanding of how engaging in demanding tasks influences children’s flexible use of strategy and subsequent achievement. This would inform practitioners and policy-makers about the supports required to establish strong mathematics foundations in children.Read moreRead less
New play pedagogies for teaching and learning in the early years. Traditional play-based learning in early childhood education cannot account for new play: very young children's everyday play with technologies, digital media and popular culture. This project uses a recently developed web-mapping tool to create a pedagogical approach to new play. The pedagogical approach to new play comprises teaching practices and learning outcomes that capitalise on the educational potential of children's every ....New play pedagogies for teaching and learning in the early years. Traditional play-based learning in early childhood education cannot account for new play: very young children's everyday play with technologies, digital media and popular culture. This project uses a recently developed web-mapping tool to create a pedagogical approach to new play. The pedagogical approach to new play comprises teaching practices and learning outcomes that capitalise on the educational potential of children's everyday play with technologies, digital media and popular culture. It aims to enable teachers to work from a theorised and empirically validated perspective for connecting young children's everyday play with technologies, digital media and popular culture artefacts to their 21st century learning needs.Read moreRead less
Investigating mobile technologies in young children's everyday worlds. This project will seek to understand how young children access benefits of learning/ play through mobile internet-connected technologies in homes, preschools and communities. It will provide empirical evidence of everyday practices to inform policy development about smart technology use in the early years to support early childhood educators and families.
Interacting with knowledge, interacting with people: web searching in early childhood. This study investigates the extent of pre-school children's Web searching, what they access and in what social contexts. Findings will inform educators and families about Web use for socially interactive learning and knowledge-building.
Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the int ....Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the inter-relationship between the technologies and imaginative play - the renowned developmental force in the early years. By utilising theoretically based criteria, and considering the perspectives of children and their families, this study will develop principles for developmentally sound use of tablet technologies in children's digital play.Read moreRead less
Investigating educator-infant talk and infant-peer interactions in Long Day Care. Very young children’s participation in language rich experiences form a foundation for their subsequent learning and wellbeing. Most studies focus on mother-child interactions but this project analyses the conditions for rich interactions in long day care centres, specifically educator-infant talk and infant-peer communication. High quality infant childcare can provide a buffer against social and educational disadv ....Investigating educator-infant talk and infant-peer interactions in Long Day Care. Very young children’s participation in language rich experiences form a foundation for their subsequent learning and wellbeing. Most studies focus on mother-child interactions but this project analyses the conditions for rich interactions in long day care centres, specifically educator-infant talk and infant-peer communication. High quality infant childcare can provide a buffer against social and educational disadvantage and, with one in four Australian infants attending long day care centres, our findings will provide evidence-based knowledge to support best practice in infant pedagogy and curriculum. Strategies to promote the best possible infant care and education will ultimately strengthen our nation’s human capital.Read moreRead less