Relations between academics' understanding of their subject matter and their experiences of research and teaching. This project addresses an issue of international concern for higher education. Previous studies of associations between research and teaching have focused either on direct relations between outcomes, or on faculty and administrator opinions. We mean to explain the connection using a framework from our research into academics' understanding of their subject matter and approaches to t ....Relations between academics' understanding of their subject matter and their experiences of research and teaching. This project addresses an issue of international concern for higher education. Previous studies of associations between research and teaching have focused either on direct relations between outcomes, or on faculty and administrator opinions. We mean to explain the connection using a framework from our research into academics' understanding of their subject matter and approaches to teaching. We expect the outcomes to demonstrate that the key to the research-teaching connection lies in how active researchers and teachers experience the two activities, and that the association is mediated by the way in which they understand their subject matter.Read moreRead less
Writing in the academy: the practice-based thesis as an evolving genre. National benefits of this project include:
An improvement in the quality of research higher degree scholarship in the areas of the Creative and Performing Arts in Australian universities
A greater understanding of what counts as successful writing in practice-based doctoral theses in Australian universities
A research-informed basis for the development of training initiatives which target the specific needs of stude ....Writing in the academy: the practice-based thesis as an evolving genre. National benefits of this project include:
An improvement in the quality of research higher degree scholarship in the areas of the Creative and Performing Arts in Australian universities
A greater understanding of what counts as successful writing in practice-based doctoral theses in Australian universities
A research-informed basis for the development of training initiatives which target the specific needs of students writing practice-based doctoral theses in Australian universities
A research-informed basis for improving the quality of research higher degree supervision in the areas of the Creative and Performing Arts in Australian universities
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The influence of disciplinary cultures on approaches to undergraduate teaching and learning: extending higher education theory and practice. Improving the quality of teaching in higher education is an important priority for Australian universities. There has been rapid growth in the number of training programs for university teachers. This study will directly support these efforts. It will investigate the effectiveness of the diverse approaches to teaching and learning traditionally adopted with ....The influence of disciplinary cultures on approaches to undergraduate teaching and learning: extending higher education theory and practice. Improving the quality of teaching in higher education is an important priority for Australian universities. There has been rapid growth in the number of training programs for university teachers. This study will directly support these efforts. It will investigate the effectiveness of the diverse approaches to teaching and learning traditionally adopted within different fields of study?across the sciences, the arts, the humanities and the professions. The findings will be used to develop new training programs for university teachers that are tailored towards best practice in the particular areas of knowledge in which staff are teaching. Enhanced training of university teachers will lead to better teaching and better student outcomes.Read moreRead less
Constructing a new conceptual framework for using digital technologies in achieving better arts assessment. The project aims to identify the qualities of artistic knowing across arts disciplines, identify gaps in the present approaches and discover ways that digital technologies might be used to overcome these inadequacies. This is significant because meaningful aspects of art are often lost using existing assessment. The expected outcomes will be a theoretical framework for an assessment manage ....Constructing a new conceptual framework for using digital technologies in achieving better arts assessment. The project aims to identify the qualities of artistic knowing across arts disciplines, identify gaps in the present approaches and discover ways that digital technologies might be used to overcome these inadequacies. This is significant because meaningful aspects of art are often lost using existing assessment. The expected outcomes will be a theoretical framework for an assessment management system, and a model for the use of digital media in arts assessment that can be applied to the later development of new arts assessment software and hardware tools with industry partners.Read moreRead less
Extending the capabilities of argumentative Chinese students: Enhancing Australia's pedagogical capacity for engaging China through internationalising research education. In 2007, 90,000 students from China were studying in Australia. This represents 23% of Australia's international students. This project will improve Australia's capacity for engaging China by producing an innovative framework for teaching mainland Chinese research students. It will explore the educational value of engaging thes ....Extending the capabilities of argumentative Chinese students: Enhancing Australia's pedagogical capacity for engaging China through internationalising research education. In 2007, 90,000 students from China were studying in Australia. This represents 23% of Australia's international students. This project will improve Australia's capacity for engaging China by producing an innovative framework for teaching mainland Chinese research students. It will explore the educational value of engaging these students' Chinese intellectual heritage; their communicative abilities in English and Chinese, and the knowledge they access via digital technologies. Australia's knowledge about the internationalisation of its research education and developmental, cooperative approaches to research will be increased. This will enhance Australia's capacity for research-based engagement with the educational culture of China. Read moreRead less
International student mobility and educational innovation: Chinese students and the internationalisation of Australian and American universities. Given China's entry into the WTO and building upon research into the uses of international education this project will investigate educational changes arising from Chinese students studying abroad. Its theoretical and empirical focus is the changes that the mobility of international students is effecting in the universities in which they are studying. ....International student mobility and educational innovation: Chinese students and the internationalisation of Australian and American universities. Given China's entry into the WTO and building upon research into the uses of international education this project will investigate educational changes arising from Chinese students studying abroad. Its theoretical and empirical focus is the changes that the mobility of international students is effecting in the universities in which they are studying. It will explore how Chinese students' identity formation, career trajectories and transnational relationships inform changes in Australian and American universities. The outcomes will be knowledge of the ways their presence impacts on the different historical trajectories of these university systems to produce varying possibilities for educational innovation.Read moreRead less
Modelling and validating an approach to maximise consistency in research thesis examination. Australia seeks to be a world leader in research activity including research education and training. This is evident in the establishment of National Research Priorities, the Research Quality Framework and $577m currently invested annually in research training. Thesis quality is a critical indicator of success, but universities globally have been grappling with ways to discriminate fairly and effectively ....Modelling and validating an approach to maximise consistency in research thesis examination. Australia seeks to be a world leader in research activity including research education and training. This is evident in the establishment of National Research Priorities, the Research Quality Framework and $577m currently invested annually in research training. Thesis quality is a critical indicator of success, but universities globally have been grappling with ways to discriminate fairly and effectively between different levels and types of research theses. This study rises to the challenge and will lead in building, refining and testing a framework for reporting thesis quality that will enhance our own system of research training and model best practice internationally.Read moreRead less
Design experiments in ICT in education research. How to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve teaching and learning outcomes has become a critical question for educators world-wide. Governments are investing hugely in hardware, software and infrastructure to support the use of technologies but the research conducted into their effective use in inadequate. This proposal will investigate a relatively new methodology, design experiments, that has potential to provide the b ....Design experiments in ICT in education research. How to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve teaching and learning outcomes has become a critical question for educators world-wide. Governments are investing hugely in hardware, software and infrastructure to support the use of technologies but the research conducted into their effective use in inadequate. This proposal will investigate a relatively new methodology, design experiments, that has potential to provide the basis for enhancing both pedagogy and outcomes through technology integration. The research will determine the major principles, methods and critical characteristics of design experiments, and develop guidelines for their use in ICT research.Read moreRead less
E-Learning Advocacy : Understanding Students' Experience of New Learning Environments to Promote Quality Sustainable Developments. Increasing investment in new learning environments (NLEs) including e-learning is guided by limited empirical research. Learning in NLEs involves more than a set of skills - it requires a new mindset. This project will delineate the different opportunities and demands, the nature and development of undergraduate students' experiences of NLEs and compare those with eq ....E-Learning Advocacy : Understanding Students' Experience of New Learning Environments to Promote Quality Sustainable Developments. Increasing investment in new learning environments (NLEs) including e-learning is guided by limited empirical research. Learning in NLEs involves more than a set of skills - it requires a new mindset. This project will delineate the different opportunities and demands, the nature and development of undergraduate students' experiences of NLEs and compare those with equivalent programs taught in more traditional ways. Major outcomes involve understanding learners' experiences when engaging in ICT settings, and an understanding of the mutual constructions of the experience. Such understanding will inform development of e-learning programs and the nature of support necessary for optimising learning.Read moreRead less
Internationalisation of higher education:Sociocultural dynamics of group learning. A better understanding of the challenges created by social and cultural diversity in the context of internationalisation of higher education will lead to educational and social benefits. The research will provide a conceptual basis for the development of innovative teaching practices, which address these challenges and capitalise on diversity to enrich the learning of both international and local students. It dire ....Internationalisation of higher education:Sociocultural dynamics of group learning. A better understanding of the challenges created by social and cultural diversity in the context of internationalisation of higher education will lead to educational and social benefits. The research will provide a conceptual basis for the development of innovative teaching practices, which address these challenges and capitalise on diversity to enrich the learning of both international and local students. It directly addresses the national research priority of enhancing Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its regional and global environment, through greater reciprocal understanding of the interface of diverse cultures and societies.Read moreRead less