The online future of Science and Engineering education: The essential elements of laboratory-based learning for remote-access implementation. Laboratory classes are a critical part of science and engineering degree programs, but there has been little research into what actually takes place within them. Remote laboratories, in which students control equipment via the internet, are one potential solution for accommodating rising numbers of students, but the interfaces must be developed to effectiv ....The online future of Science and Engineering education: The essential elements of laboratory-based learning for remote-access implementation. Laboratory classes are a critical part of science and engineering degree programs, but there has been little research into what actually takes place within them. Remote laboratories, in which students control equipment via the internet, are one potential solution for accommodating rising numbers of students, but the interfaces must be developed to effectively support student learning. This project will investigate how students interact with equipment, each other, and with laboratory demonstrators in order to determine the crucial components of effective laboratory learning experiences. It will identify and characterise the interactions of students in laboratory classes, and develop mechanisms to support these interactions remotely.Read moreRead less
Out-of-field Teaching: Sustaining Quality Practices Across Subjects. Teaching out-of-field (teaching a subject without qualifications) is a rising concern internationally, and is linked to attrition, stress, and reduced student learning outcomes. With a comparatively high percentage of out-of-field teachers, Australia is exposed to significant social, economic and educational costs. Through the development of longitudinal case studies, this project investigates the changing landscape of teacher ....Out-of-field Teaching: Sustaining Quality Practices Across Subjects. Teaching out-of-field (teaching a subject without qualifications) is a rising concern internationally, and is linked to attrition, stress, and reduced student learning outcomes. With a comparatively high percentage of out-of-field teachers, Australia is exposed to significant social, economic and educational costs. Through the development of longitudinal case studies, this project investigates the changing landscape of teacher perceptions and practices over three years, within school institutional cultures relating to teacher assignment, support, and out-of-field mathematics and science teaching. Outcomes of the project will aim to inform the development of system and school policy and practice, in dealing with this internationally pervasive issue.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the quality of science learning through a representation-intensive pedagogy. This project will investigate the quality of science learning occurring through an approach to teaching that involves students generating, negotiating and evaluating representations of scientific concepts. Students will generate multi-modal representations using digital technologies, linking to the new Australian science curriculum.
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
Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This pr ....Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This project plans to identify teacher behaviours that motivate students in their first year at secondary school. Using an experimental design with a representative sample of 150 teachers and 1500 students in low socioeconomic areas across three states, the project plans to test whether an online professional learning program for teachers can improve student engagement and achievement. This cost-effective and scalable intervention is designed for widespread dissemination to Australian teachers.Read moreRead less
Social and geographical location and its impact on mathematics teaching and learning. Too many students from poor urban backgrounds or from rural communities are at risk of underperforming in school mathematics. This project identifies the critical factors that contribute to this failure and seeks to develop improved practices to enable greater access to school mathematics.
How isolated is Antarctica? Assessing past and present plant colonisations. The project aims to assess how biologically isolated Antarctica is by discovering how, when and where natural colonisations of the continent have occurred. The research will focus on mosses, the dominant plant group in the Antarctic. genomic tools will be combined with environmental, spatial, and ecological data to assess mechanisms and directions of dispersal to and around Antarctica, and to predict areas most likely to ....How isolated is Antarctica? Assessing past and present plant colonisations. The project aims to assess how biologically isolated Antarctica is by discovering how, when and where natural colonisations of the continent have occurred. The research will focus on mosses, the dominant plant group in the Antarctic. genomic tools will be combined with environmental, spatial, and ecological data to assess mechanisms and directions of dispersal to and around Antarctica, and to predict areas most likely to be colonised in the future. This will help understand the processes underpinning the evolution and diversity of Antarctic species, and the vulnerability and adaptability of Antarctic ecosystems. Read moreRead less
Managing the risks of cross-sector R&D collaboration. One of the most interesting and dynamic forms of cross-sector R&D collaboration in Australia occurs through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. This study investigates how collaboration and 'risk' is managed among CRCs and their partners. It is pioneering research bringing two aspects of cross-sector collaboration into a single, longitudinal study. The study will produce new knowledge concerning: management processes in cross-secto ....Managing the risks of cross-sector R&D collaboration. One of the most interesting and dynamic forms of cross-sector R&D collaboration in Australia occurs through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. This study investigates how collaboration and 'risk' is managed among CRCs and their partners. It is pioneering research bringing two aspects of cross-sector collaboration into a single, longitudinal study. The study will produce new knowledge concerning: management processes in cross-sector R&D, organisational change and the impact of sustained collaboration on partners, and the role of public policy on collaborative R&D in Australia.Read moreRead less
A Segmented Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Wide Field Weakening Range and its Sensorless Control using Improved Flux Estimators. Australia has the world's second largest reserve (after China) of high energy-density permanent magnet (neodymium-iron-boron) material for the IPM motor. The present limitation of the machine to be driven sensorless over a wide speed range with field weakening is believed to be holding back its widespread use in applications other than servo-type which ....A Segmented Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor for Wide Field Weakening Range and its Sensorless Control using Improved Flux Estimators. Australia has the world's second largest reserve (after China) of high energy-density permanent magnet (neodymium-iron-boron) material for the IPM motor. The present limitation of the machine to be driven sensorless over a wide speed range with field weakening is believed to be holding back its widespread use in applications other than servo-type which requires high-resolution mechanical sensors. Extension of the motor speed range by a combination of magnetic system design (for large field weakening range), and sensorless position and flux estimation with sufficient accuracy for fast dynamic control should lead to large scale adoption of this motor, and hence to significant improvement in energy efficiency and market share for Australia.Read moreRead less
Sustainable organisational change: Australian business responses to climate change. Australian businesses are expected to play a leading role in the fight against global warming. This project will generate new insights into how, though organisational change initiatives, Australian corporations are responding to the issue of climate change, as well as the sustainability of these initiatives.