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
The sociocultural construction of early childhood science learning: Learning of scientific concepts within situated playful encounters in early childhood contexts. As a result of large-scale international and intensive neuroscientific research, it is now widely recognized that the early childhood period is one of the most critical periods of a child's development and education. Quality educational input within the first five years of a child's life has been shown to have sustained long term so ....The sociocultural construction of early childhood science learning: Learning of scientific concepts within situated playful encounters in early childhood contexts. As a result of large-scale international and intensive neuroscientific research, it is now widely recognized that the early childhood period is one of the most critical periods of a child's development and education. Quality educational input within the first five years of a child's life has been shown to have sustained long term social and emotional outcomes, and to result in improved educational opportunities and life chances for all children. Gaining a better understanding about how scientific learning can be organized within playful early childhood contexts would lead to more appropriate models for science teaching for Australian early childhood teachers, more science being taught, and a more scientific literate population. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354538
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across ....Enabling Sciences Education (EnSE) Research Network. The Network aims to ensure the long-term ability of Australians to excel in scientific and technological innovation at all levels of community activity. This will be achieved by establishing significant and ambitious research agendas for improving the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology in primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors. Of significance will be the productive synergies flowing from uniting, across the three disciplines, Australia's most outstanding, experienced and dedicated researchers with new and mid-career colleagues. Expected outcomes include a diverse but cohesive and collaborative research community that provides international leadership in helping students achieve their full potential. Read moreRead less
Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without ....Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without losing sight of current educational approaches such as middle years of schooling. The project will explore research-based, integrated pedagogies, content and assessment to provide Australian teachers with new ways of engaging students with the mathematics and science curricula.Read moreRead less
Restructuring Statistical Reasoning in the Early School Years: A Longitudinal Study of Data Modelling. Research Priority 2 (the goal, Strengthening Australia's Social and Economic Fabric) is targeted. By providing young learners with the foundations of data modelling, which has been ignored in early curricula, the study will sow the seeds for productive participation in a data-driven society and effective use of its increasingly complex economic and social systems. The foundational statistical i ....Restructuring Statistical Reasoning in the Early School Years: A Longitudinal Study of Data Modelling. Research Priority 2 (the goal, Strengthening Australia's Social and Economic Fabric) is targeted. By providing young learners with the foundations of data modelling, which has been ignored in early curricula, the study will sow the seeds for productive participation in a data-driven society and effective use of its increasingly complex economic and social systems. The foundational statistical ideas and processes to be developed will lay the groundwork for further studies in the key curriculum areas, 'chance and data,' 'probability and statistics,' 'science and society,' and 'life and living.' Professional gains include knowledge of ways to implement mathematical and scientific experiences that capitalise on young children's potential.Read moreRead less
Investigating ways to enhance teachers' science explanations and students' concept learning using cycles of reflective explanations. Explanation is central to learning because teachers explain phenomena to students and students are assessed on their explanations to other students and the teacher. Teacher explanations are not always effective and many lower secondary students provide descriptions when an explanation is needed. This projects aims for three outcomes: first, it researches teacher ....Investigating ways to enhance teachers' science explanations and students' concept learning using cycles of reflective explanations. Explanation is central to learning because teachers explain phenomena to students and students are assessed on their explanations to other students and the teacher. Teacher explanations are not always effective and many lower secondary students provide descriptions when an explanation is needed. This projects aims for three outcomes: first, it researches teacher explanations for teachers. Second, it researches student-student and student-teacher explanations to find which explanatory types maximise concept learning; and third, it evaluates a cycle of reflective explanations model for enhancing science teacher explanations.Read moreRead less
Conceptual complexity and student engagement with science in secondary school. Research demonstrates that negative student attitudes to school science are associated with the subject's difficulty and its lack of relevance to real-world experience. However, teachers who link learning to students' experience may exacerbate the difficulty of science, because real-world applications of concepts are complex. This study will initially investigate teachers' perceptions of this dilemma, and then focus ....Conceptual complexity and student engagement with science in secondary school. Research demonstrates that negative student attitudes to school science are associated with the subject's difficulty and its lack of relevance to real-world experience. However, teachers who link learning to students' experience may exacerbate the difficulty of science, because real-world applications of concepts are complex. This study will initially investigate teachers' perceptions of this dilemma, and then focus on two classrooms where teachers acknowledge the complexity involved. Using a novel conceptual framework and an innovative data collection technique the study will explore how the students? experiences of complexity shape their attitudes to science. The findings will help improve student engagement with science.Read moreRead less
The Effect of Historical-Investigative Teaching about Pendulum Motion on High School Students Understanding of the Nature of Science. This project will investigate the impact of historical investigative teaching about pendulum motion on students understanding of the nature of science - its methodology, its relationship to technology, and its interrelationship with society and culture. The project emerges from my well-reviewed book "Time for Science Education" (Kluwer,2000) that discusses the his ....The Effect of Historical-Investigative Teaching about Pendulum Motion on High School Students Understanding of the Nature of Science. This project will investigate the impact of historical investigative teaching about pendulum motion on students understanding of the nature of science - its methodology, its relationship to technology, and its interrelationship with society and culture. The project emerges from my well-reviewed book "Time for Science Education" (Kluwer,2000) that discusses the historical, methodological, technical and social aspects of the discovery of the laws of pendulum motion in the 17th Century. As the pendulum is a ubiquitous topic in primary and secondary school science programmes, the approach could make a significant contribution to raising public understanding of science.Read moreRead less