Blended learning in schools, TAFE and universities: experience, principles, patterns and practice. Effective use of technology in education depends upon the teacher's understanding of good ways to support learning. New uses of technology to improve learning are emerging constantly: the challenge is to share good practice. This project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and using the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called a 'design pa ....Blended learning in schools, TAFE and universities: experience, principles, patterns and practice. Effective use of technology in education depends upon the teacher's understanding of good ways to support learning. New uses of technology to improve learning are emerging constantly: the challenge is to share good practice. This project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and using the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called a 'design pattern'. Design patterns combine research-based evidence and the knowledge of experienced practitioners in a format which is relatively easy to communicate, learn and apply. They are not yet used in teaching with technology. We will generate and test design patterns for learning through discussion in technology-based and other classroom settings.Read moreRead less
Equity and access: analysing the level and pattern of funding of teaching and learning resources in Australian schools. The project will develop indicators and evidence of best practice that will enable educators and schools to make improved and more informed decisions on how to support learners in the provision of teaching and learning resources.
Staying on at school: strategies for increasing high school completion rates in low-retention regions of NSW. Leaving school early has been shown to have detrimental effects on the life chances, well being and health of young people and their communities. Despite this, a significant portion of today's youth chooses to leave school early. Unfortunately, little is understood about the processes and factors involved in the decision to leave school, and hence schools and systems are uncertain about ....Staying on at school: strategies for increasing high school completion rates in low-retention regions of NSW. Leaving school early has been shown to have detrimental effects on the life chances, well being and health of young people and their communities. Despite this, a significant portion of today's youth chooses to leave school early. Unfortunately, little is understood about the processes and factors involved in the decision to leave school, and hence schools and systems are uncertain about how to decrease dropping out. Understanding the processes and factors involved in the decision to leave school early, and identifying the basis for between-school differences, will assist in the development of programs and curricula that will be more successful in increasing retention rates, hence enhancing the skill base of Australia's youth.Read moreRead less
Tackling the issues of low numbers of Australia's advanced users of Japanese: Reasons and strategies. A sound relationship between Australia and Japan is critical to Australia. Their key relations in trade, foreign policy and cultural exchange require an advanced understanding of Japanese. However, Australia is not producing sufficient numbers of advanced users of Japanese. This project creates and implements strategies to develop more Australian learners into advanced users of Japanese, thus c ....Tackling the issues of low numbers of Australia's advanced users of Japanese: Reasons and strategies. A sound relationship between Australia and Japan is critical to Australia. Their key relations in trade, foreign policy and cultural exchange require an advanced understanding of Japanese. However, Australia is not producing sufficient numbers of advanced users of Japanese. This project creates and implements strategies to develop more Australian learners into advanced users of Japanese, thus contributing to Australia's knowledge base in language education and applied linguistics. The PhD project will train a well-rounded Australian applied/educational linguist, equipping them with in-depth knowledge of current learners as well as fundamental research tools in both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Read moreRead less
Exploring the Effects of Boarding School on Academic and Non-academic Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study of Boarding and Day Students. There is little large-scale Australian and international research assessing the effects of boarding school on academic and non-academic outcomes. In partnership with the Australian Boarding Schools Association and schools overseas, this Project examines the effects of boarding school over and above other factors that might explain student outcomes. Through concurrent ....Exploring the Effects of Boarding School on Academic and Non-academic Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study of Boarding and Day Students. There is little large-scale Australian and international research assessing the effects of boarding school on academic and non-academic outcomes. In partnership with the Australian Boarding Schools Association and schools overseas, this Project examines the effects of boarding school over and above other factors that might explain student outcomes. Through concurrent assessment of day students in the same schools, the study informs academic and non-academic development for all students. Findings will assist policy, pedagogy, and pastoral care directed at enhancing academic and non-academic pathways and centrally position Australia as a leading nation in boarding school research - and potentially, youth-based residential care more generally.Read moreRead less
Using machine learning and automated document analysis methods to support English composition training. The project has the potential to further strengthen Australia's Higher Education industry by providing scalable solutions for teaching academic writing, a core competence for students in the tertiary sector. It is also a contribution to the E-learning industry in general. Innovating with these respective technologies will have a significant impact on the quality of online training. Australian ....Using machine learning and automated document analysis methods to support English composition training. The project has the potential to further strengthen Australia's Higher Education industry by providing scalable solutions for teaching academic writing, a core competence for students in the tertiary sector. It is also a contribution to the E-learning industry in general. Innovating with these respective technologies will have a significant impact on the quality of online training. Australian organizations will be able to reap the benefits of a well-tested platform, with the exclusive added capabilities that this project will develop. One of the software systems to be used in this project is an open source Learning Management System that is available to every Australian institution without any licensing cost.Read moreRead less
Comprehensive support for collaborative writing: Visualising argument, text and process structures. This project will provide benefits on a national level due to the importance of collaborative writing (CW) in business, government, and research. Most writing in professional contexts is, to some extent, accomplished collaboratively, but writing is taught almost exclusively individually. This research will yield a suite of integrated software tools to support all aspects of the CW team process, an ....Comprehensive support for collaborative writing: Visualising argument, text and process structures. This project will provide benefits on a national level due to the importance of collaborative writing (CW) in business, government, and research. Most writing in professional contexts is, to some extent, accomplished collaboratively, but writing is taught almost exclusively individually. This research will yield a suite of integrated software tools to support all aspects of the CW team process, and the effectiveness of the main innovations will be empirically tested. This has the potential to contribute to the competitiveness of Australia's businesses and to the efficiency of its administrative systems. Further benefits include improved e-learning tools in the secondary and tertiary education sector, such as online team learning.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
Academic Buoyancy and Academic Resilience: New Approaches to Examining and Understanding Adversity and Setback in the Academic Domain. Although Federal & State/Territory governments inject millions of dollars into schools, multitudes of students fall short of their academic potential due to an inability to deal with academic adversity. Essentially, these students are not academically buoyant or resilient. This diminishes their personal capacity through life & ultimately Australia's capacity to c ....Academic Buoyancy and Academic Resilience: New Approaches to Examining and Understanding Adversity and Setback in the Academic Domain. Although Federal & State/Territory governments inject millions of dollars into schools, multitudes of students fall short of their academic potential due to an inability to deal with academic adversity. Essentially, these students are not academically buoyant or resilient. This diminishes their personal capacity through life & ultimately Australia's capacity to compete globally. The proposed Research Program conducts a comprehensive analysis of academic buoyancy & resilience & the attributes pivotal to them. In so doing, it seeks to promote & maintain young people's good academic health. According to Australian authorities (eg. Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs), young people's academic health is vital to our nation's economic, cultural, & social success.Read moreRead less
Improving university teaching: Creating strategies and tools to support the design process. This project will create strategies and tools to help university teachers design effective online learning experiences. Excellence in online education is important to Australia, socially and economically. Social benefits come from greater participation and graduates better equipped to contribute to their communities. Economic benefits come from graduates with skills and knowledge to be flexible, adaptable ....Improving university teaching: Creating strategies and tools to support the design process. This project will create strategies and tools to help university teachers design effective online learning experiences. Excellence in online education is important to Australia, socially and economically. Social benefits come from greater participation and graduates better equipped to contribute to their communities. Economic benefits come from graduates with skills and knowledge to be flexible, adaptable and productive in a dynamic workplace. As high quality online education providers, Australian universities will be more competitive in the international education market. This project will raise the profile of Australian research and lead to new commercial ventures through the development of innovative technologies for online learning.Read moreRead less