Transforming primary teachers' representational practices: effects on students' scientific reasoning and discourse within contemporary sciences. Training teachers to appropriately represent and communicate scientific information is critically important for promoting scientific thinking and learning in students. This research is critical to securing Australia's future interests in developing new and emerging frontier science and technologies through the engagement and retention of students.
Using generalisation to better treat poor spelling. Spelling is an important skill when expressing one's thoughts in writing and an acute challenge for at least ten per cent of Australian students, who can be years behind in their knowledge. This project will help to improve spelling training by establishing how to facilitate generalisation of spelling knowledge from a learned word to new words.
Automating real-time feedback in virtual reality training through data mining. This project will use data mining techniques to develop a real-time feedback system that can be used in virtual reality training environments. This system will not only improve trainees' learning, it will also lead to more efficient use of virtual reality training in industries such as aviation, aerospace, mining, health and emergency services.
Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the int ....Conceptualising digital play: The role of tablet technologies in the development of imaginative play of young children. Interacting with digital technologies is no longer restricted to the desktop. Portable devices have become more affordable and accessible resulting in their increased use by young children. How to optimise the influence of interactions with the devices in ways that they enrich rather than hinder child development becomes critical. The aim of this study is to investigate the inter-relationship between the technologies and imaginative play - the renowned developmental force in the early years. By utilising theoretically based criteria, and considering the perspectives of children and their families, this study will develop principles for developmentally sound use of tablet technologies in children's digital play.Read moreRead less
Solving the inert knowledge problem. A central goal of education is for students to transfer what they learn to new contexts or problems. Indeed, expert reasoning is often characterised by seeing the deep structural commonalities across seemingly disparate situations. However, the knowledge students acquire is notoriously inert, tied to the specifics of the learning examples. This project aims to move towards solving 'the inert knowledge problem' by investigating how humans learn concepts define ....Solving the inert knowledge problem. A central goal of education is for students to transfer what they learn to new contexts or problems. Indeed, expert reasoning is often characterised by seeing the deep structural commonalities across seemingly disparate situations. However, the knowledge students acquire is notoriously inert, tied to the specifics of the learning examples. This project aims to move towards solving 'the inert knowledge problem' by investigating how humans learn concepts defined by abstract relational structure, and by designing educational applications that enhance the use of relational learning mechanisms in students with a wide range of cognitive abilities.Read moreRead less
Multiliteracy testing: a criterion-referenced tool to assess secondary students’ multiliteracy learning within a technology-rich, multimodal domain. Evidence shows that while multimodal learning in schools is occurring, a valid measurement and diagnostic tool to provide reliable scores and accurate diagnostic information does not exist. This project aims to develop a criterion-referenced tool to measure students' multiliteracy learning within technology-rich, multimodal domains.
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 formation of stars and planets. This project will identify the mechanisms that create stars and planets, providing a sound basis for studying the birth of planetary systems with next-generation telescopes. It will maintain Australia's position at the forefront of astronomy and the advanced computational methods we shall develop will have applications in many other fields.
The electrophysiological signature of inner speech. This project aims to develop an objective neurophysiological marker that identifies when a person is talking silently to themselves in their head (inner speech), and what they are saying internally. Such a marker would be an important development in the field of cognitive science. It could reveal the fundamental nature of inner speech (whether inner speech is actually a special form of overt speech), and lead to ‘brain-computer interface’ techn ....The electrophysiological signature of inner speech. This project aims to develop an objective neurophysiological marker that identifies when a person is talking silently to themselves in their head (inner speech), and what they are saying internally. Such a marker would be an important development in the field of cognitive science. It could reveal the fundamental nature of inner speech (whether inner speech is actually a special form of overt speech), and lead to ‘brain-computer interface’ technologies that can decipher inner speech and communicate it with the outside world.Read moreRead less
Optimising teaching and learning with mobile-intensive pedagogies. Mobile technologies are ubiquitous in Australia but knowledge about their widespread effective application for school education is patchy. This research investigates the complex factors that promote or inhibit quality teaching and learning with mobile technologies in secondary schools. This project brings together multidisciplinary expertise to investigate mobile learning. It aims to support the development of effective teaching ....Optimising teaching and learning with mobile-intensive pedagogies. Mobile technologies are ubiquitous in Australia but knowledge about their widespread effective application for school education is patchy. This research investigates the complex factors that promote or inhibit quality teaching and learning with mobile technologies in secondary schools. This project brings together multidisciplinary expertise to investigate mobile learning. It aims to support the development of effective teaching practices and school initiatives that exploit mobile technologies to improve education outcomes in mathematics and science. The project aims to establish cutting edge instruments, validated and tested in Australian contexts, which can be adapted for future large scale work in the field of technology-enhanced learning.Read moreRead less