Maintaining a precise, invariant unit in state, national and international educational assessment. School achievement testing is a high stakes activity for state and national governments, not just for school students. Significant educational policy decisions turn on comparisons of test results over time, and among states and nations. These decisions rest on assumptions about the validity and precision of national testing. In particular, current measurement systems assume that assessment scales h ....Maintaining a precise, invariant unit in state, national and international educational assessment. School achievement testing is a high stakes activity for state and national governments, not just for school students. Significant educational policy decisions turn on comparisons of test results over time, and among states and nations. These decisions rest on assumptions about the validity and precision of national testing. In particular, current measurement systems assume that assessment scales have common units. Empirically, it is clear that many factors can compromise this assumption, making it rarely justified. This study will serve the national interest by building the theory and technology necessary to solve this problem.Read moreRead less
Maintaining invariant scales in state, national and international level assessments. Large scale assessments involve comparisons between countries, states within a country, and within these over time. For many reasons, identical items cannot be administered to every student. Nevertheless, the items must operate invariantly across groups. The Rasch models, which have invariance as an intrinsic property, are powerful in checking for such invariance. This project brings the basic research of the ....Maintaining invariant scales in state, national and international level assessments. Large scale assessments involve comparisons between countries, states within a country, and within these over time. For many reasons, identical items cannot be administered to every student. Nevertheless, the items must operate invariantly across groups. The Rasch models, which have invariance as an intrinsic property, are powerful in checking for such invariance. This project brings the basic research of the Chief Investigators to the industry partners to study, apply and document ways in which violations of Rasch models and different data collection formats are reflected as changes of scale, and how these might be controlled both statistically and empirically.Read moreRead less
The School: Designing a dynamic venue for the new knowledge environment. This project addresses a problem of real concern in relation to national and state government policies for promoting an innovation culture and economy. This project does this at the base level of schools by creating effective education learning environments that will encourage creative and innovative citizens of the future. This detailed examination of the collaborative design process and the day to day functioning of the p ....The School: Designing a dynamic venue for the new knowledge environment. This project addresses a problem of real concern in relation to national and state government policies for promoting an innovation culture and economy. This project does this at the base level of schools by creating effective education learning environments that will encourage creative and innovative citizens of the future. This detailed examination of the collaborative design process and the day to day functioning of the physical setting, including the use of smart technologies, focusing on stakeholder needs for 21st Century success, will assist in identifying the role of intelligent design in assisting a schools to deliver education for innovation.Read moreRead less
Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by exami ....Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by examining the teaching context and the characteristics of student learning in integrated science, mathematics and technology classrooms. This project employs detailed and elaborated case studies of six middle school classrooms to develop sophisticated understandings about the connection between integrated pedagogy and student learning and motivation.Read moreRead less
The sociocultural construction of early childhood science learning: Learning of scientific concepts within situated playful encounters in early childhood contexts. As a result of large-scale international and intensive neuroscientific research, it is now widely recognized that the early childhood period is one of the most critical periods of a child's development and education. Quality educational input within the first five years of a child's life has been shown to have sustained long term so ....The sociocultural construction of early childhood science learning: Learning of scientific concepts within situated playful encounters in early childhood contexts. As a result of large-scale international and intensive neuroscientific research, it is now widely recognized that the early childhood period is one of the most critical periods of a child's development and education. Quality educational input within the first five years of a child's life has been shown to have sustained long term social and emotional outcomes, and to result in improved educational opportunities and life chances for all children. Gaining a better understanding about how scientific learning can be organized within playful early childhood contexts would lead to more appropriate models for science teaching for Australian early childhood teachers, more science being taught, and a more scientific literate population. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354538
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across ....Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across the three disciplines, Australia's most outstanding, experienced and dedicated researchers with new and mid-career colleagues. Expected outcomes include a diverse but cohesive and collaborative research community that provides international leadership in helping students achieve their full potential. Read moreRead less
Discipline and Diversity: Cultural Practices and Dispositions of Learning. This project, based in six primary schools across a number of regions in the Sydney metropolitan area, will examine the links between ethnicity, sociocultural background and 'scholarly habitus' - the embodied dispositions and educational capital necessary for participation in the Australian educational system. It will explore the extent to which such a habitus can be explained by ethnicity, or whether it also relates to a ....Discipline and Diversity: Cultural Practices and Dispositions of Learning. This project, based in six primary schools across a number of regions in the Sydney metropolitan area, will examine the links between ethnicity, sociocultural background and 'scholarly habitus' - the embodied dispositions and educational capital necessary for participation in the Australian educational system. It will explore the extent to which such a habitus can be explained by ethnicity, or whether it also relates to a complex set of factors related to family background and socioeconomic status, manifest in specific home- and school-based practices.Read moreRead less
Predicting progress: A longitudinal study of the social behaviour, numeracy and literacy of children in the Queensland preparatory trial. High quality early education has been shown to improve later school performance. By identifying factors that affect literacy, numeracy and social behaviour in the early years, this project contributes to improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes for children and increased levels of pedagogical expertise for teachers. Children will have better chances of a ....Predicting progress: A longitudinal study of the social behaviour, numeracy and literacy of children in the Queensland preparatory trial. High quality early education has been shown to improve later school performance. By identifying factors that affect literacy, numeracy and social behaviour in the early years, this project contributes to improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes for children and increased levels of pedagogical expertise for teachers. Children will have better chances of achieving essential standards in literacy and numeracy, especially in rural, remote, Indigenous, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. National benefits include contributing to life long learning and improving the life chances of young children. Read moreRead less
Facilitating children's transition to school within families with complex support needs. This project aligns with National Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health. Specifically, it links with the Priority Goals of promoting A healthy start to life and Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. A positive start to school promotes future academic and social success, as well as promoting general health and well-being. School failure and lack of engagement with school i ....Facilitating children's transition to school within families with complex support needs. This project aligns with National Research Priority 2: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health. Specifically, it links with the Priority Goals of promoting A healthy start to life and Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. A positive start to school promotes future academic and social success, as well as promoting general health and well-being. School failure and lack of engagement with school is related to poor long term outcomes and increased social and economic dependency. The project also relates to the key action areas identified in the National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0882815
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$105,000.00
Summary
Conditions for Success to Enhance Aboriginal Education. Aboriginal students remain the most educationally disadvantaged Australians. This research will elucidate the conditions for success in classrooms, schools, and Aboriginal communities that empower primary Aboriginal students to achieve their potential. The outcomes of this research have the potential to 'break the cycle' of underachievement by generating new solutions to: strengthen schooling; shape a better future for Aboriginal students b ....Conditions for Success to Enhance Aboriginal Education. Aboriginal students remain the most educationally disadvantaged Australians. This research will elucidate the conditions for success in classrooms, schools, and Aboriginal communities that empower primary Aboriginal students to achieve their potential. The outcomes of this research have the potential to 'break the cycle' of underachievement by generating new solutions to: strengthen schooling; shape a better future for Aboriginal students by enabling students to reach their potential; build capacity at community, school, classroom, and individual levels; and providing educators with effective strategies that are salient to Aboriginal children for doing so.Read moreRead less