Transforming primary teachers' representational practices: effects on students' scientific reasoning and discourse within contemporary sciences. Training teachers to appropriately represent and communicate scientific information is critically important for promoting scientific thinking and learning in students. This research is critical to securing Australia's future interests in developing new and emerging frontier science and technologies through the engagement and retention of students.
Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that ....Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that enables individuals to participate in interdisciplinary work. The outcomes will provide a much better understanding of the qualities that help individuals and groups to work productively across disciplinary boundaries. They will be used to create better strategies for supporting interdisciplinary learningRead moreRead less
Community-based STEM professional learning for teachers of middle years. This project aims to develop a novel community-based program that focuses on a museum-based, teacher professional development program which is based awareness and performance of middle year students in School Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Improving STEM workforce readiness is critical to producing a more creative society and a leading, dynamic economy. Building STEM education capacity th ....Community-based STEM professional learning for teachers of middle years. This project aims to develop a novel community-based program that focuses on a museum-based, teacher professional development program which is based awareness and performance of middle year students in School Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Improving STEM workforce readiness is critical to producing a more creative society and a leading, dynamic economy. Building STEM education capacity through access to professional learning and museum and STEM professional community resources is critically important for improving students’ proficiencies, attitudes, and interest in STEM. The project outcome will be to develop a STEM professional learning model that can be used to create a more skilled and educated STEM workforce. Read moreRead less
Planet Formation at Solar System Scales with the James Webb Space Telescope. Planetary systems like our own form within vast disks of primordial gas and dust around newborn stars. This project will observe such disks spanning a range of ages with the James Webb Space Telescope to reveal the detailed in-situ physics of planet-forming disks themselves. We will deliver the sharpest-ever infrared images in astronomy, exploiting the only Australian-designed instrument on the spacecraft: the Aperture ....Planet Formation at Solar System Scales with the James Webb Space Telescope. Planetary systems like our own form within vast disks of primordial gas and dust around newborn stars. This project will observe such disks spanning a range of ages with the James Webb Space Telescope to reveal the detailed in-situ physics of planet-forming disks themselves. We will deliver the sharpest-ever infrared images in astronomy, exploiting the only Australian-designed instrument on the spacecraft: the Aperture Masking Interferometer. This yields new physics for actively growing protoplanets, carved rings and gaps in disks, and gravitationally sculpted patterns of leftover cometary debris. Confronting state-of-the-art models with these data will immediately yield profound insights into planetary system formation, including our own.Read moreRead less
Ageing and self-regulation. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. Our preliminary research suggests that self-regulation may be a significant problem for older Australians. The proposed research will provide a clearer picture of when and why older adults have difficulties regulating their behaviour, and which older adults are particularly susceptible to lapses in self-control. If older adults do hav ....Ageing and self-regulation. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important national goal is ageing well and ageing productively. Our preliminary research suggests that self-regulation may be a significant problem for older Australians. The proposed research will provide a clearer picture of when and why older adults have difficulties regulating their behaviour, and which older adults are particularly susceptible to lapses in self-control. If older adults do have difficulties self-regulating, and if these self-regulation failures incur health, financial and social costs, by gaining a clearer understanding of this problem, the proposed research will take an important step in improving the lives of older Australians. Read moreRead less
Everyday cognition in older adulthood: Mechanisms contributing to the age-prospective memory paradox. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will clarify why older adults perform extremely well on prospective memory (PM) tasks based in everyday environments, but very poorly on PM tasks that take place in the controlled situation of the laboratory. Advancing our understanding of why this ....Everyday cognition in older adulthood: Mechanisms contributing to the age-prospective memory paradox. Australia is faced with an ageing population, and thus an increasingly important goal is ageing well and ageing productively. The proposed research will clarify why older adults perform extremely well on prospective memory (PM) tasks based in everyday environments, but very poorly on PM tasks that take place in the controlled situation of the laboratory. Advancing our understanding of why this 'paradoxical' pattern of age effects occurs will help clarify how other aspects of everyday cognition in older adulthood may be optimised, and consequently take an important step in improving the lives of older adults. The results will also inform development of rehabilitation strategies for clinical groups who present with PM difficulties. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,352.00
Summary
Closing the Disadvantaged Gap: Self-Beliefs and Task Value as Drivers of Educational Choices During the Post High School Transition. Australia's economic future requires education to close the gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students. Even successful interventions, however, typically increase the gap with advantaged students benefitting more. Whilst most efforts focus on test scores, evidence suggests that non-cognitive outcomes (such as, self-concept, task value, motivation and social ....Closing the Disadvantaged Gap: Self-Beliefs and Task Value as Drivers of Educational Choices During the Post High School Transition. Australia's economic future requires education to close the gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students. Even successful interventions, however, typically increase the gap with advantaged students benefitting more. Whilst most efforts focus on test scores, evidence suggests that non-cognitive outcomes (such as, self-concept, task value, motivation and social context) are critical in closing the gap. This project will test these predictions for successful educational transitions by disadvantaged students, using an innovative blend of multiple large-scale primary and secondary data sources, and new, evolving statistical models. This project will provide potential actions for strengthening the economic and social future of disadvantaged youth in Australia and beyond.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR120300015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$16,000,000.00
Summary
The Science of Learning Research Centre. In this innovative new Centre, researchers in education, neuroscience and cognitive psychology will work together with teachers to understand the learning process. This collaboration will establish new criteria to assess the impact of different types of learning and strategies to inform teaching practices of benefit to all Australians.
Indigenous persistence in formal learning. This project will improve knowledge of the learning experiences of Indigenous students transiting from TAFE to university studies. The results will have significant implications for the ways Indigenous students can be supported in their studies in order to achieve better quality learning experiences as well as learning outcomes.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882345
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-re ....A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-resolution images of the brain as healthy adults perceive, think, learn, remember and decide. The facility will enable Australian scientists to understand the complex links between brain and behaviour in health and disease.Read moreRead less