Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that ....Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that enables individuals to participate in interdisciplinary work. The outcomes will provide a much better understanding of the qualities that help individuals and groups to work productively across disciplinary boundaries. They will be used to create better strategies for supporting interdisciplinary learningRead 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
International collaboration in teaching and learning of Einsteinian physics. Following a previous project that showed that it is possible and beneficial to teach the modern Einsteinian paradigm of space, time, matter, light and gravity to students as young as 8 years old, this project aims to test and evaluate a seamless progression of learning modern physics through primary and secondary school. It will sequence, integrate and test research-informed teaching and learning materials, and assessme ....International collaboration in teaching and learning of Einsteinian physics. Following a previous project that showed that it is possible and beneficial to teach the modern Einsteinian paradigm of space, time, matter, light and gravity to students as young as 8 years old, this project aims to test and evaluate a seamless progression of learning modern physics through primary and secondary school. It will sequence, integrate and test research-informed teaching and learning materials, and assessment instruments developed through a 7-nation collaboration. Research across 24 schools will be reviewed by a panel drawn from professional organisations and curriculum authorities, and learning resources will be widely disseminated, with view to worldwide introduction of Einsteinian science at school.Read moreRead less
Connecting mathematics learning through spatial reasoning. This project aims to create a framework based on spatial reasoning that identifies pathways for mathematics learning, pedagogy and curriculum. Realising Australia’s Innovation and Science Agenda fundamentally rests on transforming the nation's mathematical capacity. Spatial reasoning, an emerging transdisciplinary area, is integral to all human learning, particularly for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Thi ....Connecting mathematics learning through spatial reasoning. This project aims to create a framework based on spatial reasoning that identifies pathways for mathematics learning, pedagogy and curriculum. Realising Australia’s Innovation and Science Agenda fundamentally rests on transforming the nation's mathematical capacity. Spatial reasoning, an emerging transdisciplinary area, is integral to all human learning, particularly for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This project will map the unknown complex systems linking spatial and mathematical concepts, and design, implement and evaluate a longitudinal intervention study of primary students, including tracking of highly able students. This will lead to more highly skilled and adaptive citizens.Read moreRead less
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
Enabling students' critical mathematical thinking. The capacity to use mathematics critically is essential for making prudent decisions and forming balanced judgements about economic, health, environmental and other challenges facing society. Developing Critical Mathematical Thinking (CMT) in the classroom provides students with the necessary skills to address complex real-world problems. Fostering CMT, however, is difficult and teaching practices around its development are under-researched and ....Enabling students' critical mathematical thinking. The capacity to use mathematics critically is essential for making prudent decisions and forming balanced judgements about economic, health, environmental and other challenges facing society. Developing Critical Mathematical Thinking (CMT) in the classroom provides students with the necessary skills to address complex real-world problems. Fostering CMT, however, is difficult and teaching practices around its development are under-researched and under-theorised. This study aims to generate new insight into teaching practices that can promote or inhibit students' CMT development. To address this aim, we use an innovative video-based methodology that integrates researcher and teacher perspectives on students' CMT development.Read moreRead less
Processing mathematics tasks: the nature and role of visual and non-visual reasoning in digital and non-digital environments. Within the next four years, it is likely that the National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be administered in a digital mode. This project identifies differences between the delivery of mathematics assessment in pencil-and-paper and computer-based modes. Primary students' mathematics reasoning is compared across these modes and to cohorts from Sing ....Processing mathematics tasks: the nature and role of visual and non-visual reasoning in digital and non-digital environments. Within the next four years, it is likely that the National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be administered in a digital mode. This project identifies differences between the delivery of mathematics assessment in pencil-and-paper and computer-based modes. Primary students' mathematics reasoning is compared across these modes and to cohorts from Singapore.Read moreRead less
Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory ta ....Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory tasks, examining adult and child populations. This is expected to influence applications of WM theory in many everyday settings, resulting in improvements in educational practices, workplace procedures, and clinical treatments that depend on theoretical understandings of limits in cognition.Read moreRead less
Improving numeracy outcomes for young Indigenous children through the Patterns and Early Algebra Preschool (PEAP) professional development program. The study aims to improve mathematics outcomes for young Indigenous children and advance the pedagogical content knowledge of early childhood educators and working towards closing the gap in numeracy achievements for Indigenous children. The study will add to the research literature on early algebraic thinking and mathematical reasoning.
Maintaining active minds and bodies through adult music education. This project aims to investigate how instructional design can enhance learning and wellbeing for older adults who are studying a musical instrument for the first time. Music is a highly valued cultural activity in this age group, yet teaching strategies are seldom modified from that for young learners. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge of improvisation as a learning stimulus, and of the possible barriers of ....Maintaining active minds and bodies through adult music education. This project aims to investigate how instructional design can enhance learning and wellbeing for older adults who are studying a musical instrument for the first time. Music is a highly valued cultural activity in this age group, yet teaching strategies are seldom modified from that for young learners. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge of improvisation as a learning stimulus, and of the possible barriers of musical notation and the physical demands of an instrument. Intended outcomes include uptake of results by music professionals, aged-care and older-adult education service providers, leading to significant benefits in the social, cultural, and physical health and wellbeing for this growing population.Read moreRead less