Emotional learning in socioscientific issues for enhancement of scientific literacy. This project will aim to address international concerns about waning student interest and participation in science by engaging middle school students imaginatively in socioscientific issues. Expected outcomes will enhance students' scientific literacy, and the production of positive emotional energy and the classroom emotional climate.
Advancing future primary teachers' engagement in science inquiry learning. Australia's challenges in regard to scientific literacy and growth of student enrolments in science need to be addressed at multiple levels, starting with the preparation of future primary teachers. Promoting children's early interest in inquiry-based science is essential, yet a challenge for many teachers. This project examines the complex and dynamic interplay of cognitive, metacognitive and emotional processes in futur ....Advancing future primary teachers' engagement in science inquiry learning. Australia's challenges in regard to scientific literacy and growth of student enrolments in science need to be addressed at multiple levels, starting with the preparation of future primary teachers. Promoting children's early interest in inquiry-based science is essential, yet a challenge for many teachers. This project examines the complex and dynamic interplay of cognitive, metacognitive and emotional processes in future primary teachers' engagement in collaborative inquiry-based science activities. A comprehensive intervention based on these insights aims to determine how scaffolding productive engagement can improve the quality of primary teachers' preparation for inquiry-based science.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
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
The roles of scientific diagrams in contributing to science achievement and conceptual change. The project is designed to develop a body of research that facilitates excellence in teaching and in learning scientific diagrams in secondary school science. Benefits will include the dissemination of effective pedagogical strategies and improved science achievement measured by conceptual change from both cognitive and affective perspectives.
Exploring quality primary education in different cultures: a cross-national study of teaching and learning in primary science classrooms. This project uses video studies of primary science classrooms in Australia, Taiwan, and Germany to explore teaching and learning practices, situated in diverse cultures, which provide opportunities for quality reasoning and learning in science. The findings will inform primary science teacher education to improve student achievement.
Eventful learning in quality pre-service science teacher education. The study aims to build a theory that explains quality in science teacher education by identifying successful learning-teaching events across programs of university science teacher education. This theory will guide wider application of eventful learning practices at university to enhance the successful entry of new teachers to the profession.
Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by exami ....Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by examining the teaching context and the characteristics of student learning in integrated science, mathematics and technology classrooms. This project employs detailed and elaborated case studies of six middle school classrooms to develop sophisticated understandings about the connection between integrated pedagogy and student learning and motivation.Read moreRead less
Thinking Australia: A cognitive acceleration program to raise high school students' achievement in science. The outcome of the Thinking Australia project will be a cognitive acceleration program consistent with the national science curriculum, contextualised in cutting edge science and delivered with modern technologies. The program will be theory driven, evidence based and consistent with neuroscience research. The national benefit will include improved outcomes on international tests, improved ....Thinking Australia: A cognitive acceleration program to raise high school students' achievement in science. The outcome of the Thinking Australia project will be a cognitive acceleration program consistent with the national science curriculum, contextualised in cutting edge science and delivered with modern technologies. The program will be theory driven, evidence based and consistent with neuroscience research. The national benefit will include improved outcomes on international tests, improved quality of science education and thinking skills for Australia's future scientists and citizens, improved student attitudes, and increased enrolments in school science. Developing and fostering human talent is essential to promoting an innovative culture and economy.Read moreRead less
Beyond the Beaker: Maximising the Impact of a Science Careers Program on High School Students' Attitudes towards Science. The falling numbers of young people choosing to pursue the study of science has become a matter of national debate and societal concern. Australia's international competitiveness is increasingly dependent on high-level, science-based technical skills, knowledge and innovation. This research will inform the national impetus required from government, business and education sect ....Beyond the Beaker: Maximising the Impact of a Science Careers Program on High School Students' Attitudes towards Science. The falling numbers of young people choosing to pursue the study of science has become a matter of national debate and societal concern. Australia's international competitiveness is increasingly dependent on high-level, science-based technical skills, knowledge and innovation. This research will inform the national impetus required from government, business and education sectors to take action by providing research-informed models about how to positively influence students' attitudes towards science and science subject selection. These models will provide critical information about how to secure the next generation of scientists in Australia and a science skilled and knowledgeable workforce and general population.Read moreRead less