Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100399
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,996.00
Summary
Mathematics education for babies and toddlers. This project aims to investigate mathematics education for babies and toddlers by focussing on the practices of the educators who work with children aged under three years. This project expects to generate new knowledge about when and how mathematical experiences are provided for children in Under 3s settings. It will contribute to the current agenda of enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participation and outcomes by e ....Mathematics education for babies and toddlers. This project aims to investigate mathematics education for babies and toddlers by focussing on the practices of the educators who work with children aged under three years. This project expects to generate new knowledge about when and how mathematical experiences are provided for children in Under 3s settings. It will contribute to the current agenda of enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) participation and outcomes by elucidating the early mathematics education base upon which STEM education can build. Findings will inform the development of professional learning materials for Under 3s settings and will enhance pedagogical approaches to support high-quality mathematics education for very young children.Read moreRead less
Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and e ....Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and evaluation of the Observe, Reflect and Improve Children’s Learning (ORICL) tool. Expected outcomes include: enhanced pedagogical practices; enriched learning experiences for children birth-two; effective communication with families; and improved resourcing for providers of early childhood education and care services. Read moreRead less
Quality in adult-child interactions during digital experiences. This project aims to address the digital phenomenon with young children by investigating possibilities for adult-child interactions, guidance for educators and ways to measure quality in interactions. The project intends to influence how mobile technologies and applications are created and used in early childhood contexts. Expected outcomes include theory and evidence-based guidelines for adults about how to interact with children d ....Quality in adult-child interactions during digital experiences. This project aims to address the digital phenomenon with young children by investigating possibilities for adult-child interactions, guidance for educators and ways to measure quality in interactions. The project intends to influence how mobile technologies and applications are created and used in early childhood contexts. Expected outcomes include theory and evidence-based guidelines for adults about how to interact with children during digital play. The findings may have implications for educators and families supporting children’s digital experiences as well as app designers creating digital opportunities. The project can therefore contribute to a global agenda focused on young children and technology.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
Indigenous persistence in formal learning. This project will improve knowledge of the learning experiences of Indigenous students transiting from TAFE to university studies. The results will have significant implications for the ways Indigenous students can be supported in their studies in order to achieve better quality learning experiences as well as learning outcomes.
Interacting with knowledge, interacting with people: web searching in early childhood. This study investigates the extent of pre-school children's Web searching, what they access and in what social contexts. Findings will inform educators and families about Web use for socially interactive learning and knowledge-building.
Building executive function in imaginary play. This project aims to develop a sustainable, play-based program to increase the executive functions of children in the year prior to school. Executive functions (EF) are cognitive processes that control an individual’s behaviour and cognition and include processes such as working memory, inhibitory control and attention. There is evidence that EF skills are critical to a successful transition to formal learning environments and future academic achiev ....Building executive function in imaginary play. This project aims to develop a sustainable, play-based program to increase the executive functions of children in the year prior to school. Executive functions (EF) are cognitive processes that control an individual’s behaviour and cognition and include processes such as working memory, inhibitory control and attention. There is evidence that EF skills are critical to a successful transition to formal learning environments and future academic achievement, and that they are amenable to early intervention. Improving children’s EF skills in the year prior to school could produce lasting benefits across the school years, particularly for more vulnerable children. This project intends to inform professional development programs in early childhood education.Read moreRead less
Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and p ....Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and play.Read moreRead less
Continuity and change in curriculum and pedagogies as children start school. This project considers the impact of the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum on transition to school in Australia. Through extensive interviews and surveys, it gathers evidence to influence theoretical, policy and practice approaches to transition to school and, hence, the future schooling of all Australian children.
A cross-national study of the relative impact of an oral component on PhD examination quality, language and practice. High quality doctoral degrees call for the most effective forms of assessment. This project investigates the role of oral examination in PhD assessment, common internationally but not in Australia, and is the first to compare the relative impact of oral and 'no oral' models on examination quality, language and practice.