Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools. What facilitates or impedes intercultural understanding in children, adolescents and schools? How can this be addressed? How can we know what makes a difference? This project answers these questions at the individual, school and national level using a novel cultural systems approach and methodological and technological innovations.
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.
New Dimensions of Group Literacy Tests for Schools: Multimodal reading comprehension in conventional and computer-based formats. Today's texts require readers to comprehend information from an extensive range of images integrated with print material. No assessment currently exists to test what new reading strategies students require to interpret the meanings made jointly through images and print in contemporary texts. To address this problem, this research will develop a model of image/text rel ....New Dimensions of Group Literacy Tests for Schools: Multimodal reading comprehension in conventional and computer-based formats. Today's texts require readers to comprehend information from an extensive range of images integrated with print material. No assessment currently exists to test what new reading strategies students require to interpret the meanings made jointly through images and print in contemporary texts. To address this problem, this research will develop a model of image/text relations. Such a model is foundational to the development of effective assessment tools, particularly group tests. For the first time, such tests will incorporate the comprehension strategies that students require to understand conventional and computer-based texts with their increased integration of images and print.Read moreRead less
Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency ....Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency and comparability of assessment decisions, and a new approach to moderating teacher judgements. This project should provide significant benefits in building teachers’ assessment capabilities, shaping policy and teacher preparation.Read moreRead less
Building the numeracy and information and communication technology capability of students with intellectual disabilities. This project investigates strategies to build numeracy and information and communication technology capability among students with intellectual disabilities. It aims to support teachers in mainstream and special education schools as they plan and monitor personalised instruction for their students. The research combines disciplines of special schools, the state Education Depa ....Building the numeracy and information and communication technology capability of students with intellectual disabilities. This project investigates strategies to build numeracy and information and communication technology capability among students with intellectual disabilities. It aims to support teachers in mainstream and special education schools as they plan and monitor personalised instruction for their students. The research combines disciplines of special schools, the state Education Department’s Student Inclusion and Wellbeing Division, and the Assessment Research Centre. The expected outcome is an integrated program of assessment, reporting, curriculum, and instructional advice that promotes inclusive educational practices and seeks to ensure all children have improved opportunities to participate in a technology driven, emerging knowledge economy.Read moreRead less
A toolkit to build the capacity of disability staff to assist adults with intellectual disability to understand and plan for their end of life. Adults with intellectual disability lack information about death and opportunities to discuss their concerns and wishes. This project will develop and trial a toolkit about end of life to train disability staff. Trained staff will use the toolkit with adults with intellectual disability to help them to understand and plan for end of life and death.
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
Effective Teacher-Based Assessment Adjustments for Students with Disability. The Australian Curriculum and Disability Standards for Education create high expectations for education of students with disabilities. Teachers are to address the diversity of student learning needs in their classes, and make adjustments to school-based assessments that enable students with disabilities to demonstrate their learning. Recent reports identify inconsistent practice in schools and the need for evidence-base ....Effective Teacher-Based Assessment Adjustments for Students with Disability. The Australian Curriculum and Disability Standards for Education create high expectations for education of students with disabilities. Teachers are to address the diversity of student learning needs in their classes, and make adjustments to school-based assessments that enable students with disabilities to demonstrate their learning. Recent reports identify inconsistent practice in schools and the need for evidence-based guidance to inform these adjustments. This longitudinal project involves researcher-teacher collaboration and aims to identify effective assessment adjustments for secondary school students with disabilities, develop system-level protocols for adjustments, and meet national goals of improved education outcomes for these students.Read moreRead less
An investigation of school and teacher use of National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for student learning improvement. This project will examine how schools and teachers use National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) outcomes to improve student learning, the main purpose of such testing programs. The project will include the first comprehensive and large-scale State and Territory survey of school practices.
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