Engaging science students' hearts and minds: Researching science teachers' professional learning in the development of contemporary understandings of scientific literacy. This project will develop, support and value the work of science teachers in developing students' scientific literacy and share the subsequent knowledge gains in the educational community to positively advance quality teaching and learning in school science. Improving science teaching and learning hinges on offering new ways of ....Engaging science students' hearts and minds: Researching science teachers' professional learning in the development of contemporary understandings of scientific literacy. This project will develop, support and value the work of science teachers in developing students' scientific literacy and share the subsequent knowledge gains in the educational community to positively advance quality teaching and learning in school science. Improving science teaching and learning hinges on offering new ways of responding to the problems inherent in teaching science in the 21st century. By supporting and encouraging the creative and innovative ideas, concepts and approaches to quality science teaching and learning embedded in teachers' professional learning the development of the critical knowledge for challenging the status-quo will be advanced.Read moreRead less
The role of subject-matter knowledge in teaching science and mathematics: Practices of teachers with advanced qualifications in the sciences. High quality science and mathematics education is central to economic prosperity. This study will achieve two outcomes. Firstly it explores the importance of subject matter knowledge in teaching. Much has been studied about the knowledge of teachers but limited research has been conducted with teachers who have substantial subject-matter knowledge. These f ....The role of subject-matter knowledge in teaching science and mathematics: Practices of teachers with advanced qualifications in the sciences. High quality science and mathematics education is central to economic prosperity. This study will achieve two outcomes. Firstly it explores the importance of subject matter knowledge in teaching. Much has been studied about the knowledge of teachers but limited research has been conducted with teachers who have substantial subject-matter knowledge. These findings will inform the current debate about the appropriate models of teacher education and the balance of emphasis on content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. Secondly, given a number of attempts to attract mid career professionals with high qualifications to teaching, the study will provide evidence on how these people transition to their new careers and what support is needed.Read moreRead less
ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is signifi ....ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is significant in providing an innovative way to engage upper primary and junior secondary students in regional and rural Australian contexts in learning science, and is expected to promote more effective learning and more positive student attitudes to the subject.Read moreRead less
Examining the relationship between the documented curriculum, classroom tasks, and the learning of mathematics. There is an obvious connection between maximizing mathematics learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning mathematics at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, but also increases their risk of long term dependence on government services. At the same time, mathematics is increasingly necessary f ....Examining the relationship between the documented curriculum, classroom tasks, and the learning of mathematics. There is an obvious connection between maximizing mathematics learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning mathematics at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, but also increases their risk of long term dependence on government services. At the same time, mathematics is increasingly necessary for tertiary study in a range of fields, and the number of students choosing the highest level of mathematics is declining. The project will evaluate the types of tasks that teachers can use to engage all students in learning mathematics effectively, while preserving options for those students who may choose to specialise in tertiary mathematics study.Read moreRead less
Generating Science Content Knowledge through Digital Animation in a Knowledge-building Community of Preservice Teachers. Sustaining Australia's growth and prosperity is dependent on continuous innovation in the teaching of science. Yet science is one of the least taught subjects in the primary curriculum because teachers lack content knowledge and confidence. This research engages preservice primary teachers in using new technologies to develop their understanding of science content knowledge th ....Generating Science Content Knowledge through Digital Animation in a Knowledge-building Community of Preservice Teachers. Sustaining Australia's growth and prosperity is dependent on continuous innovation in the teaching of science. Yet science is one of the least taught subjects in the primary curriculum because teachers lack content knowledge and confidence. This research engages preservice primary teachers in using new technologies to develop their understanding of science content knowledge through digital animation and to collaborate with other preservice teachers interstate and internationally. The products and processes of digital animation will help maintain and expand Australia's base as a knowledge economy as well as provide a social benefit of improved science teaching in schools. Read moreRead less
Promoting Mathematical Development through Model-Eliciting Case Studies. Rapid changes in the way mathematics is being used in the workplace means that workers now require diverse profiles of mathematical and scientific abililites, the development of which has to begin in the school years. Building on our existing democratic access to powerful mathematics that will enable all students to develop the conceptual tools needed for success beyond school. Working with teachers and graduate students, ....Promoting Mathematical Development through Model-Eliciting Case Studies. Rapid changes in the way mathematics is being used in the workplace means that workers now require diverse profiles of mathematical and scientific abililites, the development of which has to begin in the school years. Building on our existing democratic access to powerful mathematics that will enable all students to develop the conceptual tools needed for success beyond school. Working with teachers and graduate students, we will implement semester-long sequences of model-eliciting activities (authentic case studies) that will develop students' higher-order mathematical understandings and abilities, especially those whose outstanding abilities in complex real-world situations often go undetected in the classroom.Read moreRead less
Motivations for choosing teaching as a career and development in the profession: A multicohort longitudinal study of beginning teachers. Schooling contributes significantly to the preparation of young people for citizenship so it is essential for the social infrastructure of the country that State Governments, employing authorities, teacher educators, the Federal Government and recruitment bodies better understanding the different motivational profiles of those entering teacher education now and ....Motivations for choosing teaching as a career and development in the profession: A multicohort longitudinal study of beginning teachers. Schooling contributes significantly to the preparation of young people for citizenship so it is essential for the social infrastructure of the country that State Governments, employing authorities, teacher educators, the Federal Government and recruitment bodies better understanding the different motivational profiles of those entering teacher education now and why people are not retained in the profession, suffer burnout or become disgruntled less effective teachers. It is also critical that we better understand the link between motivations, self-efficacies and the support networks and strategies needed to sustain teachers in the profession, particularly in difficult to staff regions, districts and schools. Read moreRead less
Learning by Design: Creating pedagogical frameworks for knowledge building in the 21st century. Our aim is to facilitate and support a generational change of teachers precipitated by the departure of the baby-boomers. The research will investigate the ways in which 'middle-years' teachers design, record and enact their curriculum, searching for evidence of a relationship between pedagogical choices and learner outcomes. From these investigations, and drawing on the theory of Multiliteracies, a t ....Learning by Design: Creating pedagogical frameworks for knowledge building in the 21st century. Our aim is to facilitate and support a generational change of teachers precipitated by the departure of the baby-boomers. The research will investigate the ways in which 'middle-years' teachers design, record and enact their curriculum, searching for evidence of a relationship between pedagogical choices and learner outcomes. From these investigations, and drawing on the theory of Multiliteracies, a tool will be developed to prompt more mindful and context-appropriate pedagogical choices, while encouraging teachers to document and share their practices. This will result in a body of rigorous and shareable knowledge and know-how, potentially improving opportunities and educational outcomes for all Australian students.Read moreRead less
Challenging Pedagogies: Engaging ESL students in intellectual quality. This project will investigate the potential and meaning of intellectual challenge in the enacted curriculum of middle year classes with signficant numbers of English as a second language (ESL) students. It will build on outcomes of our previous research on scaffolding and on productive pedagogies to articulate the nature of linguistic and conceptual support necessary for ESL students to engage successfully with high challeng ....Challenging Pedagogies: Engaging ESL students in intellectual quality. This project will investigate the potential and meaning of intellectual challenge in the enacted curriculum of middle year classes with signficant numbers of English as a second language (ESL) students. It will build on outcomes of our previous research on scaffolding and on productive pedagogies to articulate the nature of linguistic and conceptual support necessary for ESL students to engage successfully with high challenge tasks. In doing so, it will address the priority area of quality teaching in public schools from a classroom prespective and from the perspective of ESL students. The project has implications for teacher education and professional development.Read moreRead less
Evaluating professional experience and mentoring in the preparation and induction of teachers for the teaching profession. ? Quality teachers make a difference? (DEST Report, 2003, p1). Possible strategies for the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers to the profession include providing a high quality professional experience component together with effective mentoring for beginning teachers in induction programs. The outcomes of this project will include the articulation of ?high qu ....Evaluating professional experience and mentoring in the preparation and induction of teachers for the teaching profession. ? Quality teachers make a difference? (DEST Report, 2003, p1). Possible strategies for the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers to the profession include providing a high quality professional experience component together with effective mentoring for beginning teachers in induction programs. The outcomes of this project will include the articulation of ?high quality? professional experiences, the development of an instrument for evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring in programs such as induction programs and provide evidence on the effectiveness of such programs.Read moreRead less