Using diagnostic tests in science as formative assessment to enhance teaching and learning. The success and continuation of science programs in upper secondary school and university is dependent on foundational improvements in science education in lower secondary schools. This proposal is designed to address this national concern by fostering talent in science and encouraging more students to study and enjoy science in a meaningful way. Through planned formative assessment, teachers will enable ....Using diagnostic tests in science as formative assessment to enhance teaching and learning. The success and continuation of science programs in upper secondary school and university is dependent on foundational improvements in science education in lower secondary schools. This proposal is designed to address this national concern by fostering talent in science and encouraging more students to study and enjoy science in a meaningful way. Through planned formative assessment, teachers will enable students in Years 8-10 to think about the science concepts and consider alternative explanations rather than memorise basic facts for a test or examination which are then forgotten. Practical benefits are a large range of valid and reliable tests and a range of teaching approaches for diagnosing student learning difficulties.Read moreRead less
Outcomes-focused Learning Environments, Affective Outcomes and Achievement Standards in Senior School Classes in Western Australia. Given the controversy in the media about outcomes-focused education and the acute lack of research into its implementation and effectiveness, this research is timely and useful. It could have far-reaching implications for educational systems about how to effectively create outcomes-focused learning environments and whether educational standards are being maintained. ....Outcomes-focused Learning Environments, Affective Outcomes and Achievement Standards in Senior School Classes in Western Australia. Given the controversy in the media about outcomes-focused education and the acute lack of research into its implementation and effectiveness, this research is timely and useful. It could have far-reaching implications for educational systems about how to effectively create outcomes-focused learning environments and whether educational standards are being maintained. It will provide information about how teachers can use action research, involving feedback from students, to guide the improvement of learning environments. Training opportunities will be provided for one Master's and two doctoral students.Read moreRead less
Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional response ....Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional responses of this population in the classroom and during transitions. Through a series of studies the proposed research will identify events which are emotionally provoking for primary and secondary school-aged ADHD children, and then develop and evaluate emotion self-regulation programs (in combination with/without medication) which assist ADHD children to manage emotionally provoking events.Read moreRead less
Improving assessment in science through the use of students' perceptions. The aim of the project is to focus on students as the clients and generate information resulting in an improvement in the assessment of science at middle school level. It brings together three components of educational research not previously conceptualised in the one study: students' perceptions of assessment tasks, students' perceptions of teacher-student interactions, and students' attitudes towards science. The current ....Improving assessment in science through the use of students' perceptions. The aim of the project is to focus on students as the clients and generate information resulting in an improvement in the assessment of science at middle school level. It brings together three components of educational research not previously conceptualised in the one study: students' perceptions of assessment tasks, students' perceptions of teacher-student interactions, and students' attitudes towards science. The current international emphasis on outcomes-based education has focused attention on assessment as a crucial component in student learning and makes this research timely. Understanding the relationships among the three research components will lead to improvements in teaching and learning science.Read moreRead less
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
Measuring the effectiveness of specialist science enrichment programs. Australia faces critical problems in science education with student attitudes to science in decline and a shortage of science teachers. We also face significant problems in indigenous education. This project will determine the ability of science enrichment centres to change student attitudes and to motivate them towards science using exciting and innovative new education facilities. Results will provide valuable data to allo ....Measuring the effectiveness of specialist science enrichment programs. Australia faces critical problems in science education with student attitudes to science in decline and a shortage of science teachers. We also face significant problems in indigenous education. This project will determine the ability of science enrichment centres to change student attitudes and to motivate them towards science using exciting and innovative new education facilities. Results will provide valuable data to allow future funding priorities to be optimised.Read moreRead less