Optimising students’ academic trajectories: The role of growth (‘personal best’) goals. Too many students fail to reach their academic potential and, as a result, they risk being systematically denied a sense of academic ‘success’ and progress. Through a focus on academic growth (and ‘personal bests’), this research project traverses complex terrain to identify the role of growth goals and growth goal setting in students’ academic trajectories. It also tackles methodological challenges that have ....Optimising students’ academic trajectories: The role of growth (‘personal best’) goals. Too many students fail to reach their academic potential and, as a result, they risk being systematically denied a sense of academic ‘success’ and progress. Through a focus on academic growth (and ‘personal bests’), this research project traverses complex terrain to identify the role of growth goals and growth goal setting in students’ academic trajectories. It also tackles methodological challenges that have impeded research progress in this compelling area. Through strategic international and institutional links, the research program will identify innovative approaches to academic growth and growth goals that will significantly assist pedagogy and psychology aimed at optimising students’ academic potential.Read moreRead less
Excellent researchers: Using learner profiles to enhance research learning. Recent evidence concerning metacognitive learning and affect reveals that research degree candidates are a diverse group of learners, and little is known about explaining wasteful attrition, stress and delays in progress. Such a study is essential, especially given the growth in research degrees, new transitional pathways, diversity in candidate backgrounds and chronic high attrition. This longitudinal study applies new ....Excellent researchers: Using learner profiles to enhance research learning. Recent evidence concerning metacognitive learning and affect reveals that research degree candidates are a diverse group of learners, and little is known about explaining wasteful attrition, stress and delays in progress. Such a study is essential, especially given the growth in research degrees, new transitional pathways, diversity in candidate backgrounds and chronic high attrition. This longitudinal study applies new findings about doctoral learning profiles in a direct intervention (DOCLearnPro) that targets individual differences across students in doctoral and master’s degrees to improve learning outcomes significantly and contribute theoretically, methodologically and substantively in order to advance understanding of researcher development.Read moreRead less
Measuring individual and group performance in collaborative problem solving. This project aims to develop performance measures of individuals and groups completing collaborative problem-solving tasks. The project plans to draw on new research in online assessment of collaborative problem solving across curricular domains. Outcomes may include new psychometric models taking into account differences in student ability within groups and the effect on student and group performance of the curriculum ....Measuring individual and group performance in collaborative problem solving. This project aims to develop performance measures of individuals and groups completing collaborative problem-solving tasks. The project plans to draw on new research in online assessment of collaborative problem solving across curricular domains. Outcomes may include new psychometric models taking into account differences in student ability within groups and the effect on student and group performance of the curriculum domain in which the task is embedded. The benefits include a better understanding of the measurement and improvement of group work. Policy extensions beyond the classroom may lead to a workforce better equipped to solve problems collaboratively.Read moreRead less
Rethinking higher education persistence. This project aims to address the issue of early departure from university. Many students leave higher education and disproportionate numbers are from educationally disadvantaged groups, including first-in-family learners. Too often, the individual learner is 'blamed' for this departure and perceived as deficit in necessary knowledge. This project extends previous research into how first-in-family students manage and engage with higher education. Expected ....Rethinking higher education persistence. This project aims to address the issue of early departure from university. Many students leave higher education and disproportionate numbers are from educationally disadvantaged groups, including first-in-family learners. Too often, the individual learner is 'blamed' for this departure and perceived as deficit in necessary knowledge. This project extends previous research into how first-in-family students manage and engage with higher education. Expected outcomes include knowledge about university persistence behaviours and a capabilities informed framework to design and implement future retention strategies.Read moreRead less
Language for learning: Developing learning-oriented talk in long-day-care. This study aims to identify, for the first time, key features of infant-toddler long day care (LDC) environments that support or constrain the development and use of language as a critical tool for early learning. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating early LDC predictors of preschool language skills, and will deliver much-needed new evidence to inform LDC pedagogy and curriculum development and ....Language for learning: Developing learning-oriented talk in long-day-care. This study aims to identify, for the first time, key features of infant-toddler long day care (LDC) environments that support or constrain the development and use of language as a critical tool for early learning. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating early LDC predictors of preschool language skills, and will deliver much-needed new evidence to inform LDC pedagogy and curriculum development and practice and, ultimately, to improve long term educational outcomes. This will provide significant benefits, such as improving the quality of infant-toddler LDC programs, which stands to enhance children’s learning and life-long outcomes.Read moreRead less
Modelling with data: Advancing STEM in the primary curriculum. Improving the nation's skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) remains a continuing concern, especially given the decline in international test results. The project aims to introduce a new approach to promoting this learning across grades 3-6 through modelling with data. With a focus on inquiry processes involving data variation and uncertainty within STEM-based contexts, the project aims to develop the imp ....Modelling with data: Advancing STEM in the primary curriculum. Improving the nation's skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) remains a continuing concern, especially given the decline in international test results. The project aims to introduce a new approach to promoting this learning across grades 3-6 through modelling with data. With a focus on inquiry processes involving data variation and uncertainty within STEM-based contexts, the project aims to develop the important mathematical and statistical literacies needed for lifting student achievements. In advancing both theory and practice, the project aims to contribute to knowledge of primary students' capabilities for STEM problem solving and ways of enhancing implementation of the Australian Curriculum.Read moreRead less
The impact of examiner feedback on doctoral learners and thesis outcomes. This project aims to investigate the final stage of doctoral examination across institutions in Australia, with particular emphasis on examiner feedback, candidate engagement with feedback, and the decision processes involved. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the least visible yet critical end stage of the doctoral examination process and its impact on thesis quality and candidate development. The expected ....The impact of examiner feedback on doctoral learners and thesis outcomes. This project aims to investigate the final stage of doctoral examination across institutions in Australia, with particular emphasis on examiner feedback, candidate engagement with feedback, and the decision processes involved. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the least visible yet critical end stage of the doctoral examination process and its impact on thesis quality and candidate development. The expected outcomes will inform future examination models and contribute new knowledge on the role of feedback in doctoral examination, and assessment practices more generally.Read moreRead less
Global childhoods: Life-worlds and educational success in Australia and Asia. This project aims to investigate how everyday life-worlds of year four students (nine-ten years of age) in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore shape children’s orientations to educational success. Situated in the global cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, the study explores connections between policy contexts, school experiences and everyday activities of children growing up in the Asian Century. Findi ....Global childhoods: Life-worlds and educational success in Australia and Asia. This project aims to investigate how everyday life-worlds of year four students (nine-ten years of age) in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore shape children’s orientations to educational success. Situated in the global cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, the study explores connections between policy contexts, school experiences and everyday activities of children growing up in the Asian Century. Findings will advance knowledge of factors that contribute to children’s understandings of how their experiences in and out of school prepare them for futures in a global world. This will enable policy-makers, educators and parents to provide improved learning opportunities in children’s lives.Read moreRead less
Raising the literacy bar for economically-disadvantaged students. This project aims to promote higher order literacy skills among economically-disadvantaged students. Higher order literacy is critical for productive engagement in academic, economic and personal spheres of life in literacy-rich knowledge economies. Opportunities for disadvantaged students to develop advanced literacy skills are limited if schools serving these students focus predominantly on basic skills training. This project ....Raising the literacy bar for economically-disadvantaged students. This project aims to promote higher order literacy skills among economically-disadvantaged students. Higher order literacy is critical for productive engagement in academic, economic and personal spheres of life in literacy-rich knowledge economies. Opportunities for disadvantaged students to develop advanced literacy skills are limited if schools serving these students focus predominantly on basic skills training. This project will investigate contradictions in policies and practices in Australia and Hong Kong to understand why and how disadvantaged students are supported or unsupported to learn higher-order literacy skills. It also explores successful practices that promote such learning, alongside basic skills, for disadvantaged students. This will provide significant benefits such as providing new conceptual understandings of the policy-practice interface and empirical evidence to inform the design of effective practices that promote higher-order literacy skills, alongside basic skills, for economically-disadvantaged students in Australia and Hong Kong.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