Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354538
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across ....Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across the three disciplines, Australia's most outstanding, experienced and dedicated researchers with new and mid-career colleagues. Expected outcomes include a diverse but cohesive and collaborative research community that provides international leadership in helping students achieve their full potential. Read moreRead less
Federalism in Australian schooling: Its impact upon quality and equity. The project is designed to support the objectives for schooling in Australia that have been identified by the Council of Australian Governments. These objectives are in the face of growing inequities in the distribution of educational resources, growing concentrations of students with high levels of educational needs, and imbalances in the distribution of resources across key stages, especially in early childhood education. ....Federalism in Australian schooling: Its impact upon quality and equity. The project is designed to support the objectives for schooling in Australia that have been identified by the Council of Australian Governments. These objectives are in the face of growing inequities in the distribution of educational resources, growing concentrations of students with high levels of educational needs, and imbalances in the distribution of resources across key stages, especially in early childhood education. By examining the ways in which federalism contributes to the structural barriers to these objectives and by developing and validating a set of structural reforms the project will contribute to these national objectives. Read moreRead less
Providing the Mathematical Foundation for an Innovative Australia within Reform Based Learning Environments. The focus of this project is the pedagogical change that The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education indicates must take place in order to lay the quantitative foundations for advancing innovation, science, technology, and mathematics, while satisfying the requirements of a reform-based learning environment. Professional learning directed at teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and be ....Providing the Mathematical Foundation for an Innovative Australia within Reform Based Learning Environments. The focus of this project is the pedagogical change that The Review of Teaching and Teacher Education indicates must take place in order to lay the quantitative foundations for advancing innovation, science, technology, and mathematics, while satisfying the requirements of a reform-based learning environment. Professional learning directed at teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and belief structures with respect to mathematics within an environment of curricular change, will be evaluated in evidence-based terms related to teacher change and student outcomes. Significance includes the context, the middle school years in rural district schools, and the influence of technology on pedagogy.Read moreRead less
School-University e-Learning research partnerships for scaling up innovation. Despite optimism about new technologies for learning, e-learning innovation has been slow to scale up. This project tests a novel research strategy for engaging schools sustainably with e-learning. Teams of students (school and university), teachers (including beginning teachers), community members, consultants and e-learning researchers are constituted, in schools, to identify, collaboratively, hard-to-learn (technolo ....School-University e-Learning research partnerships for scaling up innovation. Despite optimism about new technologies for learning, e-learning innovation has been slow to scale up. This project tests a novel research strategy for engaging schools sustainably with e-learning. Teams of students (school and university), teachers (including beginning teachers), community members, consultants and e-learning researchers are constituted, in schools, to identify, collaboratively, hard-to-learn (technology-and-science) concepts and effective teaching approaches, develop ways of exploiting new media to teach such concepts and scale up their solutions within and beyond their schools. Re-conceiving the problem so students and teachers gain equity as e-learning researchers yields a model for scholarly, future-oriented educational renewal.Read moreRead less
Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Student Retention and Success in High School. This longitudinal study of the implementation of an Aboriginal secondary student retention and achievement program in ten centres in Western Australia will result in a policy and program framework for better education of Indigenous students. Policy formulation and the development of theoretical propositions regarding the ways schools and agencies work with Indigenous students will be an outcome of the project. This is ....Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Student Retention and Success in High School. This longitudinal study of the implementation of an Aboriginal secondary student retention and achievement program in ten centres in Western Australia will result in a policy and program framework for better education of Indigenous students. Policy formulation and the development of theoretical propositions regarding the ways schools and agencies work with Indigenous students will be an outcome of the project. This is a significant project because it will provide evidence of the success of potentially valuable strategies to encourage Indigenous students to remain at school, complete Year 12 and enter further education or the work force.Read moreRead less
Supporting personalised learning in secondary schools through the use of specific mathematics assessments that reveal thinking. This project will improve numeracy standards in secondary schools, by assisting teachers to personalise the teaching of each student. Through detailed research, the project will develop sophisticated assessments that clearly reveal students' mathematical thinking. On-line diagnosis will suggest teaching activities that can bring about desired conceptual changes. The eff ....Supporting personalised learning in secondary schools through the use of specific mathematics assessments that reveal thinking. This project will improve numeracy standards in secondary schools, by assisting teachers to personalise the teaching of each student. Through detailed research, the project will develop sophisticated assessments that clearly reveal students' mathematical thinking. On-line diagnosis will suggest teaching activities that can bring about desired conceptual changes. The effectiveness of the resources will be thoroughly tested, for impact on student achievement and the mathematics teaching skills of teachers, especially those working out-of-field. Rural schools will have equal access to these resources. Good numeracy provides the foundation for life-long learning, employment satisfaction and the economic competitiveness of Australia.Read moreRead less
From high school to higher education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education. Serious gender-based disparities exist in participation in the Information, Communication, and Computing Technologies (ICCT) field, in both higher education and industry, with a 2004 review of Australian university participation rates identifying women as an equity target group in this field. A multi-method, multi-stage project has been design to identify the processes that le ....From high school to higher education: Gendered pathways in information, communication and computer technology education. Serious gender-based disparities exist in participation in the Information, Communication, and Computing Technologies (ICCT) field, in both higher education and industry, with a 2004 review of Australian university participation rates identifying women as an equity target group in this field. A multi-method, multi-stage project has been design to identify the processes that lead to this gender gap. Specifically, the project will focus on students' experiences and decisions at secondary school in three states to ascertain why so few girls choose to enter university-level ICCT courses, and what strategies could be implemented in schools to remedy this problem. Read moreRead less
Western Australian rural and remote schooling: The influence of learning environments on student participation and retention. By 2010 all Australian States and Territories will have raised the school leaving age from 15 to 17 years of age. As one of the first States to have undertaken this essential step toward re-engaging disaffected youth in education, training and/or employment options, it is important that a rigorous examination of the Western Australian experience is conducted. The proposed ....Western Australian rural and remote schooling: The influence of learning environments on student participation and retention. By 2010 all Australian States and Territories will have raised the school leaving age from 15 to 17 years of age. As one of the first States to have undertaken this essential step toward re-engaging disaffected youth in education, training and/or employment options, it is important that a rigorous examination of the Western Australian experience is conducted. The proposed research focuses on what is likely to be the most problematic area of the initiative for school communities - how and why the programs offered to students in rural and remote school and classroom learning environments impact upon student engagement and retention.Read moreRead less
Blended learning in schools, TAFE and universities: experience, principles, patterns and practice. Effective use of technology in education depends upon the teacher's understanding of good ways to support learning. New uses of technology to improve learning are emerging constantly: the challenge is to share good practice. This project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and using the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called a 'design pa ....Blended learning in schools, TAFE and universities: experience, principles, patterns and practice. Effective use of technology in education depends upon the teacher's understanding of good ways to support learning. New uses of technology to improve learning are emerging constantly: the challenge is to share good practice. This project focuses on investigating the quality of blended learning experiences and using the outcomes to identify and share good practice using a format called a 'design pattern'. Design patterns combine research-based evidence and the knowledge of experienced practitioners in a format which is relatively easy to communicate, learn and apply. They are not yet used in teaching with technology. We will generate and test design patterns for learning through discussion in technology-based and other classroom settings.Read moreRead less
Space to Grow: The Faulkes Telescope and improving science engagement in schools. Exceptional opportunities exist to engage, develop and enrich science students and their teachers through access to the cutting-edge Faulkes Telescopes (FTs). The FT South (sited in Australia) is the world's largest dedicated to educational use with Australia enjoying a 15% share as the host country of this exceptional educational initiative. Operated remotely via the internet, the FT provides natural links to ICT, ....Space to Grow: The Faulkes Telescope and improving science engagement in schools. Exceptional opportunities exist to engage, develop and enrich science students and their teachers through access to the cutting-edge Faulkes Telescopes (FTs). The FT South (sited in Australia) is the world's largest dedicated to educational use with Australia enjoying a 15% share as the host country of this exceptional educational initiative. Operated remotely via the internet, the FT provides natural links to ICT, on-line learning, physics, astronomy and mathematics. Given appropriate support, it can play a valuable role in re-engaging students in science and enhancing science education and literacy outcomes in Australian schools over the next 20 years.Read moreRead less