Teachers' professional development, communities of practice, and the secondary school subject department: The case of health and physical education. Schools are significant sites of authentic learning for teacher professional development. This study will contribute to a better understanding of how the culture of the secondary school subject department can facilitate or hinder such development. The project will: contribute to creating more supportive work contexts for teachers thereby reducing te ....Teachers' professional development, communities of practice, and the secondary school subject department: The case of health and physical education. Schools are significant sites of authentic learning for teacher professional development. This study will contribute to a better understanding of how the culture of the secondary school subject department can facilitate or hinder such development. The project will: contribute to creating more supportive work contexts for teachers thereby reducing teacher attrition; inform the development of better polices and practices surrounding teachers' professional learning communities; contribute to national and state level initiatives for the articulation of professional standards for teaching; and optimise the professional practices of HPE teachers who, as 'allied health workers', are integral to addressing Australia's health priorities.Read moreRead less
Investigating ways to enhance teachers' science explanations and students' concept learning using cycles of reflective explanations. Explanation is central to learning because teachers explain phenomena to students and students are assessed on their explanations to other students and the teacher. Teacher explanations are not always effective and many lower secondary students provide descriptions when an explanation is needed. This projects aims for three outcomes: first, it researches teacher ....Investigating ways to enhance teachers' science explanations and students' concept learning using cycles of reflective explanations. Explanation is central to learning because teachers explain phenomena to students and students are assessed on their explanations to other students and the teacher. Teacher explanations are not always effective and many lower secondary students provide descriptions when an explanation is needed. This projects aims for three outcomes: first, it researches teacher explanations for teachers. Second, it researches student-student and student-teacher explanations to find which explanatory types maximise concept learning; and third, it evaluates a cycle of reflective explanations model for enhancing science teacher explanations.Read moreRead less
The role of subject-matter knowledge in teaching science and mathematics: Practices of teachers with advanced qualifications in the sciences. High quality science and mathematics education is central to economic prosperity. This study will achieve two outcomes. Firstly it explores the importance of subject matter knowledge in teaching. Much has been studied about the knowledge of teachers but limited research has been conducted with teachers who have substantial subject-matter knowledge. These f ....The role of subject-matter knowledge in teaching science and mathematics: Practices of teachers with advanced qualifications in the sciences. High quality science and mathematics education is central to economic prosperity. This study will achieve two outcomes. Firstly it explores the importance of subject matter knowledge in teaching. Much has been studied about the knowledge of teachers but limited research has been conducted with teachers who have substantial subject-matter knowledge. These findings will inform the current debate about the appropriate models of teacher education and the balance of emphasis on content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. Secondly, given a number of attempts to attract mid career professionals with high qualifications to teaching, the study will provide evidence on how these people transition to their new careers and what support is needed.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0668328
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$159,713.00
Summary
Indigenous world view, algebra pedagogy and improving Indigenous performance in secondary mathematics. Schools have low mathematics expectations for Indigenous students; low performance is blamed on their culture which is seen as primitive and instruction is reduced to repetitive rote learning of computation. There is evidence that Indigenous students could excel in mathematics if it is contextualised and taught from patterns and structure. A theory showing how Indigenous students can develop st ....Indigenous world view, algebra pedagogy and improving Indigenous performance in secondary mathematics. Schools have low mathematics expectations for Indigenous students; low performance is blamed on their culture which is seen as primitive and instruction is reduced to repetitive rote learning of computation. There is evidence that Indigenous students could excel in mathematics if it is contextualised and taught from patterns and structure. A theory showing how Indigenous students can develop strong mathematical understandings would provide a counter to accepted wisdom of low performance and a model for future Indigenous student attainment. Making mathematics-based University disciplines a reality for Indigenous students will benefit individual students, their community and the economic future of Australia.Read moreRead less
ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is signifi ....ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is significant in providing an innovative way to engage upper primary and junior secondary students in regional and rural Australian contexts in learning science, and is expected to promote more effective learning and more positive student attitudes to the subject.Read moreRead less
Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondar ....Designing technology-enriched pedagogy in secondary mathematics education. The Australian Government's "Agenda for Action" emphasises the need to foster innovation in mathematics teaching and teacher education, and encourages teachers to embrace technologies that enhance student learning. Yet international research shows that successful innovation in teaching with technology has been elusive. This project will develop new theoretical understanding of why technology-related innovation in secondary school mathematics teaching takes hold in some educational settings but not others. The findings will lead to practical recommendations for design of teacher professional development programs, and shed light on reasons why teachers may embrace or reject educational change.Read moreRead less
Crisis in chemistry: How do we best teach particle concepts for understanding? Fundamental chemistry knowledge is essential in the information age because citizens and professionals need to make informed decisions about GM technology, pollution and how to teach science. Chemistry learning is compromised by recurring intuitive and taught misconceptions about atoms and molecules. The widely documented misconceptions emphasise what students cannot do. This unique project studies students, teachers ....Crisis in chemistry: How do we best teach particle concepts for understanding? Fundamental chemistry knowledge is essential in the information age because citizens and professionals need to make informed decisions about GM technology, pollution and how to teach science. Chemistry learning is compromised by recurring intuitive and taught misconceptions about atoms and molecules. The widely documented misconceptions emphasise what students cannot do. This unique project studies students, teachers and international chemistry educators to develop a theoretical and practical model of what students can understand and do in primary, secondary and university chemistry with respect to atoms and molecules. The research will significantly improve chemistry teaching at the macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic levels.Read moreRead less
Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without ....Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without losing sight of current educational approaches such as middle years of schooling. The project will explore research-based, integrated pedagogies, content and assessment to provide Australian teachers with new ways of engaging students with the mathematics and science curricula.Read moreRead less
Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemo ....Disciplinarity and classroom practice: Epistemological issues in the analysis and improvement of teaching and learning. Demands on levels of content and technical knowledge are accelerating from many employment sectors in Australia and elsewhere. In addition, there is an increasing need to apply knowledge to complex problems in innovative and flexible ways and in authentic settings not readily simulable in traditional schooling. The proposed project addresses fundamental questions about epistemology, curriculum, and everyday classroom practice. It offers novel and evidence-based approaches to the building of discipline-based knowledge, and thus has powerful implications for the revitalising of Australian education to meet the urgent requirements of new economic, technological, and cultural times put pressures on education. Read moreRead less
The role of technology-enriched, technology-mediated learning communities in reforming mathematics teacher education. This project examines the impact of a technology-enriched teacher education program on beginning teachers' integration of educational technologies into secondary school mathematics classrooms. It seeks to increase theoretical understanding of how beginning teachers are initiated into a collaborative professional community featuring both web-based and face to face interaction, and ....The role of technology-enriched, technology-mediated learning communities in reforming mathematics teacher education. This project examines the impact of a technology-enriched teacher education program on beginning teachers' integration of educational technologies into secondary school mathematics classrooms. It seeks to increase theoretical understanding of how beginning teachers are initiated into a collaborative professional community featuring both web-based and face to face interaction, and how participation in such a community shapes their pedagogical beliefs and actions. Of central interest is the role of technologically knowledgeable pre-service and beginning teachers as agents ofinnovation and reform in secondary school mathematics. Outcomes will inform the design and implementation of models of pre-service teacher education and professional development.Read moreRead less