Learning to read words: Beyond alphabetic skills. Up to 20% of Australian children experience difficulties in learning to read. Many of these children are unable to sound out words, and a focus on teaching these skills in Australian classrooms was a key recommendation of the recent National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. However, some children make slow progress in reading despite having good sounding out skills, demonstrating that more than just this ability is needed for proficient rea ....Learning to read words: Beyond alphabetic skills. Up to 20% of Australian children experience difficulties in learning to read. Many of these children are unable to sound out words, and a focus on teaching these skills in Australian classrooms was a key recommendation of the recent National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. However, some children make slow progress in reading despite having good sounding out skills, demonstrating that more than just this ability is needed for proficient reading. This project explores how children progress in reading once they have learned to sound out, and examines why some poor readers have difficulty doing so. The findings will inform the teaching of reading and will assist in the development of interventions for children with reading problems.Read moreRead less
Lexical expertise and reading skill: An experimental analysis of individual differences in written language proficiency. The Federal Government's current National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy highlights the importance of an evidence-based approach to teaching and assessing literacy. Considerable research and policy effort has been directed towards early reading programs. Much less attention has been paid to evaluating children's later development of reading comprehension and spelling pr ....Lexical expertise and reading skill: An experimental analysis of individual differences in written language proficiency. The Federal Government's current National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy highlights the importance of an evidence-based approach to teaching and assessing literacy. Considerable research and policy effort has been directed towards early reading programs. Much less attention has been paid to evaluating children's later development of reading comprehension and spelling proficiency, but there is wide diversity in these skills within the adult population that influence educational and vocational opportunity. This investigation of the factors underlying expertise in reading and spelling will provide evidence that can contribute to developing educational policy and curricula for the later stages of schooling.Read moreRead less
Concept-procedure interactions in addition and subtraction development. The research explores the possibility of different pathways to mathematical knowledge by examining how key concepts and procedures interact in the course of development. Studies 1 and 2 address early addition and subtraction concepts and problem solving in the physical world, Studies 3 - 6 focus on the effects of problem-solving practice and concept-based training and Studies 7 and 8 address children's knowledge of conceptu ....Concept-procedure interactions in addition and subtraction development. The research explores the possibility of different pathways to mathematical knowledge by examining how key concepts and procedures interact in the course of development. Studies 1 and 2 address early addition and subtraction concepts and problem solving in the physical world, Studies 3 - 6 focus on the effects of problem-solving practice and concept-based training and Studies 7 and 8 address children's knowledge of conceptually advanced problem-solving procedures. The results are expected to show that addition and subtraction concepts and procedures influence each other in different ways among children, signifying different pathways of cognitive development.Read moreRead less
Category learning and conceptual change in children. Fundamental to children's cognitive development is the ability to form concepts and generalize beyond direct experience. This project examines the effect of pre-existing beliefs and new empirical observations on concept learning by children. The cognitive processes involved when children of various ages integrate these different sources of information to form new concepts will be investigated in several knowledge domains. In addition to addre ....Category learning and conceptual change in children. Fundamental to children's cognitive development is the ability to form concepts and generalize beyond direct experience. This project examines the effect of pre-existing beliefs and new empirical observations on concept learning by children. The cognitive processes involved when children of various ages integrate these different sources of information to form new concepts will be investigated in several knowledge domains. In addition to addressing key theoretical questions about the role of exemplar diversity and sub-typing processes in concept learning the project will develop and evaluate innovative techniques for teaching science concepts to young children.Read moreRead less
Memory Consolidation and Educational Achievement in Children. The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2006 reports that between 7-12% of children in Years 3 and 5 failed to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Evidence suggests that poor working memory skills may be a key feature in children's failure to achieve in school. By investigating the cognitive factors that underlie variation in working memory ability, the proposed research has the potential to improve educational outcomes in Au ....Memory Consolidation and Educational Achievement in Children. The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2006 reports that between 7-12% of children in Years 3 and 5 failed to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Evidence suggests that poor working memory skills may be a key feature in children's failure to achieve in school. By investigating the cognitive factors that underlie variation in working memory ability, the proposed research has the potential to improve educational outcomes in Australian children. If memory consolidation is found to be important, this would guide the development of effective teaching strategies and early intervention programs for 'at-risk' children in line with the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan.Read moreRead less
The efficacy of a referral and physical activity program for survivors of prostate cancer. Although survival rates of prostate cancer are approximately 83 per cent with earlier detection and improved treatment modalities, prostate cancer survivors are at an increased risk of dying from co-morbidities, which may be prevented or ameliorated through participation in physical activity. This project aims to establish an effective and sustainable referral and physical activity program to improve the ....The efficacy of a referral and physical activity program for survivors of prostate cancer. Although survival rates of prostate cancer are approximately 83 per cent with earlier detection and improved treatment modalities, prostate cancer survivors are at an increased risk of dying from co-morbidities, which may be prevented or ameliorated through participation in physical activity. This project aims to establish an effective and sustainable referral and physical activity program to improve the health outcomes of prostate cancer survivors by utilising the influence of clinicians in their delivery of information to patients. This concept of a referral and physical activity program has the potential to translate across all cancer tumour streams to reduce the physiological and psychological burden associated with living with cancer.Read moreRead less
Lexical retrieval and reading comprehension: Binding perceptual, lexical and conceptual information in on-line reading. Reading is a complex process that involves integrating sensory information extracted from text with stored memories about word meanings, syntactic structures and general knowledge. Most reading research has focused on the processing of isolated words, but normal reading requires integration processes that are not necessary to recognise single words. This research uses tasks req ....Lexical retrieval and reading comprehension: Binding perceptual, lexical and conceptual information in on-line reading. Reading is a complex process that involves integrating sensory information extracted from text with stored memories about word meanings, syntactic structures and general knowledge. Most reading research has focused on the processing of isolated words, but normal reading requires integration processes that are not necessary to recognise single words. This research uses tasks requiring sentence comprehension and measures of eye movements during reading to investigate how readers retrieve and combine information while reading to comprehend text. It will contribute to developing more comprehensive theories of normal reading that can inform methods of teaching reading and contribute to refinement of text recognition systems.Read moreRead less
The Development of Young Children's Mathematical Abilities: A Longitudinal Analysis. Many people have problems learning maths. Although maths is often seen as an esoteric subject of limited interest, poor maths skills are as great a handicap in education and employment as poor literacy, with similar costs for the individual and society. One cause of poor maths skills is developmental dyscalculia, a disability in which children's understanding of number is affected by underlying cognitive deficit ....The Development of Young Children's Mathematical Abilities: A Longitudinal Analysis. Many people have problems learning maths. Although maths is often seen as an esoteric subject of limited interest, poor maths skills are as great a handicap in education and employment as poor literacy, with similar costs for the individual and society. One cause of poor maths skills is developmental dyscalculia, a disability in which children's understanding of number is affected by underlying cognitive deficits. As yet there is no reliable way of identifying children with dyscalculia or other maths problems. Our research examines children's developing maths competencies as they enter and progress through primary school. Our aim is to develop diagnoses of different maths disabilities, so effective interventions can be implemented.Read moreRead less
Learning about social and moral values for active citizenship: Educational policy and practice in early education. It is economically sound to invest in quality early education programs to ensure productive engagement for individuals in society. In particular, the early years are considered to be a significant period for learning moral and social values necessary to ensure a tolerant and cohesive society. This study will provide an evidence base for how educational policy and practice, informed ....Learning about social and moral values for active citizenship: Educational policy and practice in early education. It is economically sound to invest in quality early education programs to ensure productive engagement for individuals in society. In particular, the early years are considered to be a significant period for learning moral and social values necessary to ensure a tolerant and cohesive society. This study will provide an evidence base for how educational policy and practice, informed by teacher beliefs, do (or do not) support children's moral and social learning about active citizenship.Read moreRead less
Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescent ....Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescents is clearly a national priority. Furthermore, rates of obesity are much higher in economically disadvantaged areas, with girls more susceptible to the SES disadvantages. This project has the potential to develop a knowledge base and improve the health behaviours of current and future Australians most at risk for the development of lifestyle diseases.Read moreRead less