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Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Mind The Gap: Unexpected Pitfalls In Doing Classroom Research, Amanda A. Baker, Joseph Lee Jan 2011

Mind The Gap: Unexpected Pitfalls In Doing Classroom Research, Amanda A. Baker, Joseph Lee

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

unanticipated, challenges experienced by researchers. This article moves beyond the main issues highlighted in the literature and identifies some of the problems the authors encountered when conducting two common methodological procedures, classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews (SRIs), as part of our dissertation research investigations. The paper first surveys what the literature describes as the main areas of concern with these two procedures. It then pulls away from these resources to explore actual difficulties we experienced that we believe are inadequately addressed in the literature. Using illustrations from our dissertation projects, we examined several recurring challenges we faced, including participant …


Vygotsky In Twenty-First-Century Research, Irina M. Verenikina Jan 2010

Vygotsky In Twenty-First-Century Research, Irina M. Verenikina

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

At the 2008 Ed-Media conference, a list of most often cited papers in Ed-Media 2004-2008 was revealed (Ochoa, Mendez & Duval, 2009). Vygotsky’s theoretical work, originally published in Russia in the 1930s, came top of the list by a large margin. This paper examines why, and how this theory still can be relevant to twenty-first-century research. It is argued that an effective use of modern educational technologies calls for the use of advanced pedagogies. Vygotsky’s theory provides a profound understanding of teaching and learning that reflect the complexity of social and cultural contexts in the modern learner. The most frequently …


A Journey Through A Design-Based Research Project, Wayne Cotton, Lori Lockyer, Gwyn J. Brickell Jan 2009

A Journey Through A Design-Based Research Project, Wayne Cotton, Lori Lockyer, Gwyn J. Brickell

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper discusses how Design-Based Research was utilised to inform the methodological design of a completed project conducted at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. The project focused on the systematic development of an Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) to assist K-12 teachers as they incorporated learning objects into a pedagogically effective learning design – a WebQuest. The paper specifically details the background of the project, the history of Design-Based research, why a Design-Based Research approach was adopted and how the approach was implemented. The paper also includes a discussion about the practical problems, issues and advantages …


Examining The Gender Gap In Educational Outcomes In Public Education: Involving Pre-Service School Counsellors And Teachers In Cross-Cultural And Interdisciplinary Research, Wilhelmina J. Vialle, Paul Thompson, Mary Ann Clark Jan 2008

Examining The Gender Gap In Educational Outcomes In Public Education: Involving Pre-Service School Counsellors And Teachers In Cross-Cultural And Interdisciplinary Research, Wilhelmina J. Vialle, Paul Thompson, Mary Ann Clark

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

International educational statistics have reported a gender gap in educational outcomes, with boys falling behind girls in regard to grades, high school graduation and university enrollment and retention. This study involved pre-service teachers and school counsellors in Colleges of Education at three universities on three continents carrying out focus groups with public school students, interviews with educators, and examining national and international quantitative data to investigate this issue from a local and a cross cultural perspective. Common themes were found in each country and implications for addressing the problem considered.


Key Issues And Future Directions In The Nexus Of Literacy Research, Policy And Practice., Pauline J. Harris Jan 2008

Key Issues And Future Directions In The Nexus Of Literacy Research, Policy And Practice., Pauline J. Harris

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Relationships among literacy research, policy and practice continue to constitute a contentious issue in the context of literacy policy reforms in Australia and overseas. Referring to these relationships as the Literacy Nexus, this paper explores the nexus in terms of research/policy relationships; policy/practice relationships; and practice/research relationships. The paper provides a review of related literature on these relationships, based on Australian and U.S. research studies and reports published since 2000; and highlights key issues inherent in these relationships. These issues include ways in which literacy research is used in literacy policy and the consequences of this use for the fields …


Utility As A First Principle For Education Research: Reworking Autonomy In Australian Higher Education, Jan Wright, Trevor Gale Jan 2008

Utility As A First Principle For Education Research: Reworking Autonomy In Australian Higher Education, Jan Wright, Trevor Gale

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The focus of this paper is on the community impact of education research, specifically as this is conceived within a changing context of research assessment in Australia, first mooted by the previous Federal Coalition (conservative) Government within a new Research Quality Framework (RQF), and now to be reworked by the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative by the incoming Federal Labor (progressive) Government. Convinced that a penchant for the utility of research will not go away, irrespective of the political orientations of government, our interest is in exploring: the assumption that research, particularly in areas such as education, should …


Design-Based Research And Doctoral Students: Guidelines For Preparing A Dissertation Proposal, Janice A. Herrington, Susan Mckenney, Thomas C. Reeves, Ron Oliver Jan 2007

Design-Based Research And Doctoral Students: Guidelines For Preparing A Dissertation Proposal, Janice A. Herrington, Susan Mckenney, Thomas C. Reeves, Ron Oliver

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

At first glance, design-based research may appear to be such a long-term and intensive approach to educational inquiry that doctoral students, most of whom expect to complete their Ph.D. degree in 4-5 years, should not attempt to adopt this approach for their doctoral dissertations. In this paper, we argue that design-based research is feasible for doctoral students, andthat candidates should be encouraged to engage in it. More specifically, we describe the components of a dissertation proposal or prospectus that utilizes design-based research methods in the context of educational technology research.


Investigating Relationships Between Literacy Research, Policy And Practice: A Critical Review Of The Related Literature, Pauline J. Harris, Barbra Mckenzie, Honglin Chen, Lisa K. Kervin, Philip R. Fitzsimmons Jan 2007

Investigating Relationships Between Literacy Research, Policy And Practice: A Critical Review Of The Related Literature, Pauline J. Harris, Barbra Mckenzie, Honglin Chen, Lisa K. Kervin, Philip R. Fitzsimmons

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper is driven by concern that the fields of literacy research, policy and practice do not interact with one another in ways that are congruent or productive, as evidenced in recent government literacy reports in Australia and overseas. This concern leads us to interrogate the nature of the relationship between literacy research, policy development and classroom practice. With a view to understanding how this relationship might be enhanced, this paper provides a literature review of the nexus between literacy research, policy and practice, the issues that arise therein, and directions for further investigation, including our ARC Discovery Nexus Project …


Design-Based Research And The Learning Designer, Deidre Seeto, Janice A. Herrington Jan 2006

Design-Based Research And The Learning Designer, Deidre Seeto, Janice A. Herrington

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The role of the learning designer has expanded from the commonly known activities of an instructional designer to incorporate a range of new roles, largely prompted by new technologies. In this paper, we articulate an approach that further extends the role of the learning designer to encompass evaluation and design-based research, in collaboration with the subject matter expert. Such collaboration is professionally enhancing for both parties, and adds to the sum of knowledge on the effective design of learning environments, by documenting and disseminating the learning design process.


Physical Education Research From Postmodern, Poststructural And Postcolonial Perspectives, Jan Wright Jan 2006

Physical Education Research From Postmodern, Poststructural And Postcolonial Perspectives, Jan Wright

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Physical education research drawing on poststructuralist and postmodernist approaches is relatively new. At this point in time there seems to be a notable absence of research in physical education drawing on postcolonial theory and agendas, although the relevance of such an approach to research in the field is one that will be argued in this chapter. Whether researchers describe their work as postmodern or poststructural tends to be determined by whether they are researching in a North American context or UK, European, Australian and New Zealand context. In many cases, there is no explicit indication as to whether researchers identify …


We Know Best : A Critique Of Youth Research Directions, Judith Laverty Jan 2005

We Know Best : A Critique Of Youth Research Directions, Judith Laverty

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper looks at the problematising of young people in relation to existing literature on health and the portrayal of young people experiencing homelessness. It reviews this literature with the view to understanding interconnections between research agendas and the positioning of young people as a problem group within society, based on adult and institutional definitions.


Mindful Classrooms: A Synthesis Of Research On Multiple Intelligences Theory In Cross-Cultural Contexts, Wilhelmina J. Vialle Jan 2005

Mindful Classrooms: A Synthesis Of Research On Multiple Intelligences Theory In Cross-Cultural Contexts, Wilhelmina J. Vialle

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The scene is a primary school in regional Australia that has a large proportion of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB). In one of these culturally diverse classrooms, I observed the following exchange at the beginning of a blustery Thursday with the students gathered together on the front mat. The teacher was quizzing her Grade 1 class on the days of the week. She held up flashcards and the children were asked to read the day. When she held up ‘Thursday’, she drew attention to the ‘ur’ sound and asked which other day also included the ‘ur’ sound. After a few …


Inducting Pre-Service Teachers Into Reflective Inquiry And Research Methods: Contested Curriculum And Pedagogical Spaces, Ted Booth Jan 2005

Inducting Pre-Service Teachers Into Reflective Inquiry And Research Methods: Contested Curriculum And Pedagogical Spaces, Ted Booth

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The location of research methods within the pre-service teacher education curriculum has been a contentious debate within the writer's Faculty of Education for many years. Concurrently the scope and sequence of the major concepts and skills to be taught in inquiry and research methods and the related pedagogy has also been contentious. This paper attempts to chart some of the dimensions and contentions within these spaces, and links this critique to a discussion about changes in the structure and implementation of new four year Bachelor of Primary Education at the University of Wollongong. A self-study methodology is utilised in conjunction …