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.
Effects of training teachers in communication skills during cooperative learning on classroom discourse, social inclusion, and learning among middle-year students. Helping children work together, communicate effectively, and think constructively are critically important if children are to engage in learning, develop self-efficacy as learners, and respect for the unique contributions of others to their learning experiences. Teachers play a key role in creating leaning environments that are conduc ....Effects of training teachers in communication skills during cooperative learning on classroom discourse, social inclusion, and learning among middle-year students. Helping children work together, communicate effectively, and think constructively are critically important if children are to engage in learning, develop self-efficacy as learners, and respect for the unique contributions of others to their learning experiences. Teachers play a key role in creating leaning environments that are conducive to learning, responsive to children's needs, and supportive of their endeavours. This project will help teachers enhance children's strategic and metacognitive thinking and learning through the promotion of interactions and relationships that are inclusive of all children regardless of their diverse learning needs and social and ethnic identities.Read moreRead less
Comparative effectiveness of two strategic and meta-cognitive questioning approaches on children's explanatory behaviour, problem-solving, and learning during cooperative, inquiry-based learning. Teaching children to ask and answer questions is critically important if they are to engage effectively in reasoned argumentation, a cornerstone of inquiry-based learning. Unfortunately, in many schools, students are not consistently taught to pose and answer questions that challenge others' perspective ....Comparative effectiveness of two strategic and meta-cognitive questioning approaches on children's explanatory behaviour, problem-solving, and learning during cooperative, inquiry-based learning. Teaching children to ask and answer questions is critically important if they are to engage effectively in reasoned argumentation, a cornerstone of inquiry-based learning. Unfortunately, in many schools, students are not consistently taught to pose and answer questions that challenge others' perspectives, understandings, and learning, nor are they taught to simultaneously monitor, regulate, and evaluate their own thinking and learning. This project builds on the benefits widely attributed to promoting higher-level thinking by helping teachers to enhance students' use of strategic and metacognitive questioning and the development of explanatory discourse during inquiry-based learning.
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Connecting and generalising arithmetic into powerful abstract systems: Year 2 to 5 children's cognitive development with respect to algebraic reasoning. Algebra is a fundamental area of mathematical thinking. In spite of the wealth of research at both the national and international level, algebraic thinking still persists as a barrier to secondary and tertiary mathematics. This project will develop new research integrating alegbra and arithmetic at the primary level as a key for access to higher ....Connecting and generalising arithmetic into powerful abstract systems: Year 2 to 5 children's cognitive development with respect to algebraic reasoning. Algebra is a fundamental area of mathematical thinking. In spite of the wealth of research at both the national and international level, algebraic thinking still persists as a barrier to secondary and tertiary mathematics. This project will develop new research integrating alegbra and arithmetic at the primary level as a key for access to higher levels of algebra. The investigators will engage teachers and students from 5 primary schools to construct a model of Year 2 to 5 children's cognitive development with regard to algebraic reasoning and develop instructional strategies and teaching episodes to facilitate this.Read moreRead less
Teaching effective 3D authoring in the middle school years: Multimedia grammatical design and multimedia authoring pedagogy. This project addresses the National Research Priorities goal 'promoting an innovative culture and economy'. It provides radical re-thinking of literacy pedagogy essential in globalised knowledge-based economies mediated by digital multimedia literacies. 3D multimedia authoring pedagogy, emphasizing playful innovation and explicit knowledge of multimedia design, will increa ....Teaching effective 3D authoring in the middle school years: Multimedia grammatical design and multimedia authoring pedagogy. This project addresses the National Research Priorities goal 'promoting an innovative culture and economy'. It provides radical re-thinking of literacy pedagogy essential in globalised knowledge-based economies mediated by digital multimedia literacies. 3D multimedia authoring pedagogy, emphasizing playful innovation and explicit knowledge of multimedia design, will increase digital-age student engagement in learning. The Australian Children's Television Foundations' Kahootz is uniquely effective, highly motivating authoring software for schools. What is needed is a thoroughly researched multimedia authoring pedagogy to fully realise Australian leadership potential in renovating literacy pedagogy for the digital multimedia age. Read moreRead less
Young student's generalisation in arithmetic and algebra: patterns and mathematical structure. The ability to generalise is at the heart of the development of most computer based mathematical models, models utilised to assist us in addressing our National Research Priorities. The short fall of scientists and mathematicians is a national concern. These issues begin at an early age. Presently, increasingly more young students are making minimal progress on numeracy measures and consequently failin ....Young student's generalisation in arithmetic and algebra: patterns and mathematical structure. The ability to generalise is at the heart of the development of most computer based mathematical models, models utilised to assist us in addressing our National Research Priorities. The short fall of scientists and mathematicians is a national concern. These issues begin at an early age. Presently, increasingly more young students are making minimal progress on numeracy measures and consequently failing to engage in higher levels of mathematics. The basis for this problem is experiential. This research promotes in-depth understanding of how young students generalise mathematics in the early years, thus allowing them access to the powerful ideas of algebra, leading to improved outcomes in mathematics. Read moreRead less
Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN ....Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN and PISA data will also provide policy and practice relevant knowledge for systems and for schools. The project will strengthen Australia's research capacity in education policy studies and its reputation in the academic field, and contribute to improved research-based policy making in education.
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Literacy in the digital world of the twenty-first century: learning from computer games. The creation of a literate and tech-savvy workforce and community is essential to Australia's future prosperity. By helping teachers better understand and teach ICT-enabled forms of text and literacy, drawing on insights from young people's actual engagement with digital culture in their leisure hours, the project will help strengthen young Australians' capacity to critically evaluate and use ICTs for effect ....Literacy in the digital world of the twenty-first century: learning from computer games. The creation of a literate and tech-savvy workforce and community is essential to Australia's future prosperity. By helping teachers better understand and teach ICT-enabled forms of text and literacy, drawing on insights from young people's actual engagement with digital culture in their leisure hours, the project will help strengthen young Australians' capacity to critically evaluate and use ICTs for effective learning and communication. This project will help produce the skills, knowledge and orientations necessary to create smart information use, through developing and strengthening young people's uses and understandings of ICT-based forms of text and literacy.Read moreRead less
Enabling schooling success: Psycho-social drivers & impact of Positive Behaviour for Learning intervention on behaviour, well-being, academic engagement & achievement. Reducing behavioural & emotional difficulties in schools is vital given their pervasiveness & long-term consequences for academic failure, mental health & anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities to promote proactive health & wellbeing effective research-based positive behaviour for learning intervention ....Enabling schooling success: Psycho-social drivers & impact of Positive Behaviour for Learning intervention on behaviour, well-being, academic engagement & achievement. Reducing behavioural & emotional difficulties in schools is vital given their pervasiveness & long-term consequences for academic failure, mental health & anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities to promote proactive health & wellbeing effective research-based positive behaviour for learning interventions will yield important educational & socio-economic benefits by enriching learning, psychosocial adjustment, schooling success & life potential of young Australians. Research outcomes have the potential to seed success by generating new solutions to strengthen schooling; enable students to reach potential; build capacity at individual & community levels & contribute to national socio-economic wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are droppi ....Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are dropping behind in international competitiveness in reading and literacy achievement. The study concentrates on early reading development and to inform on teacher education and classroom teaching practices. Read moreRead less