Exceptional teachers for disadvantaged schools: A longitudinal study of graduates at work in low socio-economic status schools. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers for disadvantaged schools is a persistent problem of international significance. Building on a successful partnership with Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment, this project aims to investigate how graduates from a unique teacher education program - designed to prepare quality teachers for schools situated ....Exceptional teachers for disadvantaged schools: A longitudinal study of graduates at work in low socio-economic status schools. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers for disadvantaged schools is a persistent problem of international significance. Building on a successful partnership with Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment, this project aims to investigate how graduates from a unique teacher education program - designed to prepare quality teachers for schools situated in low socio-economic communities - perceive, recognise and enact ‘quality’ in their practice. The project merges theory on disadvantage with school-based practice and evidence of impact to develop theorisations of how early career teachers understand and enact quality teaching. The findings have implications for policy and practice in teacher education and capacity building.Read moreRead less
Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under- ....Improving Regional Low SES Students' Learning and Wellbeing. This study aims to address the learning and wellbeing needs of over 7000 predominantly low socio-economic status students in regional Australia by researching the conditions that enable refinement and extension of a successful curricular and wellbeing program. The current low educational performance of this student cohort has significant negative effects on individual employment prospects and broader national productivity. Their under-achievement and disengagement from schooling also contribute to many antisocial, harmful short-and long-term outcomes for individuals, with significant health and other costs to the broader community. Outcomes from the project have the potential to improve these current outcomes and to be applicable to similar settings.Read moreRead less
Moments in time: investigating a national history curriculum in early childhood settings and primary classrooms. The focus of this project will be the teaching and the learning of History in early childhood settings and primary classrooms located in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Findings from the project will provide evidence-based curricular and pedagogical theorising of effective and productive teaching and learning of History in those contexts.
Serious play: using digital games in school to promote literacy and learning in the twenty first century. Young Australian’s social and cultural experiences are increasingly digital. This project will offer leadership to schools seeking to use and create games to improve student outcomes across subject areas, and will generate new knowledge about how students and teachers approach digital games and the kinds of literacy, learning and pedagogy they entail.
Improving student outcomes: coaching teachers in the power of feedback. This project aims to investigate how student outcomes can be augmented through coaching teachers in effective feedback practice. The project addresses a critical problem of stagnating levels of student achievement in Australian schools with the innovative research design combining evidence-based, pedagogies of feedback, formative assessment and instructional coaching to improve teacher practice and ultimately raise student a ....Improving student outcomes: coaching teachers in the power of feedback. This project aims to investigate how student outcomes can be augmented through coaching teachers in effective feedback practice. The project addresses a critical problem of stagnating levels of student achievement in Australian schools with the innovative research design combining evidence-based, pedagogies of feedback, formative assessment and instructional coaching to improve teacher practice and ultimately raise student achievement levels. The project aims to guide policy implementation in pedagogy to raise the quality of teaching standards and to improve learning outcomes for Australian students. Ultimately, outcomes from the research will help close the gap for low achieving students, and challenge and extend those who may already be meeting required benchmarks. 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
Improving regional secondary students' learning and well-being. Given the academic under-performance and lower life opportunities of Australian regional and rural students compared to their metropolitan counterparts, this research has the potential to make a significant social, cultural and economic contribution to the community. This research will be useful in developing an evidence-based framework to guide policy and practice in implementing an effective systematic approach to regional educati ....Improving regional secondary students' learning and well-being. Given the academic under-performance and lower life opportunities of Australian regional and rural students compared to their metropolitan counterparts, this research has the potential to make a significant social, cultural and economic contribution to the community. This research will be useful in developing an evidence-based framework to guide policy and practice in implementing an effective systematic approach to regional education and, where appropriate, other contexts. The research's economic benefit centres on gains for individuals, local communities, and the nation in enhancing regional students' academic achievements, sense of well-being and aspirations; leading to more productive citizens.Read moreRead less
Developing digital pedagogies in inquiry science through a cloud-based teaching and learning environment. This project will extend innovative, cloud-based teacher planning software in order to develop effective strategies for using digital resources in inquiry science. This project will work with a number of schools to investigate the development of an inquiry based digital pedagogy, and a professional learning approach utilising cloud-based, digital resources.
Getting a job: vocationalism, identity formation and schooling in communities at disadvantage. This research will use young people's stories to investigate the barriers and obstacles to getting a job, and from their vantage point, identify the educational, policy and practice contexts that need to be created and more widely sustained in order to assist their career aspirations and life chances.