HDR Students

HDR students are active members of the MSET-Ed research community

Melinda Kirk

Impactful Inquiry in Primary Science

Principal Supervisor: Peta White

Associate Supervisors: Joe Ferguson and Jo Raphael


The focus of this PhD research is Impactful inquiry, generative, primary student science inquiry for a solution to a matter of significance to them and the school community. A Design-Based Research micro-ethnography closely following extended school closures during the COVID-19 response, in Melbourne, Australia, focused on enabling student critical and creative thinking and collaboration is reported. Within a Community of Learners approach an intentionally supported responsive curriculum that pursued students’ inquiry questions and innovations is reported. Students, teachers and school leadership identified student voice and agency as a key outcome, as the students’ proposals were actioned in the school.

Melinda’s experience in education, primary school teaching, research and teacher education extends over 25 years. Her school experience includes regional, metro, public and private systems as a primary science specialist, class teacher, creative arts teacher and Gifted Education Mentor (GEM). In 2017 Melinda completed her Master of Education (Leadership) at UOW, where she was awarded the Education Alumni Award (2018) in recognition of her contribution to education research and school and university partnerships. Since 2018 she has been a Research Assistant at Deakin, including the Australian Research Commissioned (ARC) Interdisciplinary Maths and Science (IMS) Learning Project, and a sessional lecturer. Melinda’s PhD research focuses on meaningfully and generatively supporting students’ “general capabilities” – critical thinking, creative thinking and collaborative thinking, within a guided inquiry, interdisciplinary (STEAM) primary classroom context. Her other interests include curriculum, pedagogy, differentiation, semiotics, interdisciplinarity, classroom culture, student voice, and agency.

Kate Chealuck

‘Physicists warn that fidget spinners could affect Earth’s centre of gravity’* Preservice teachers’ decision-making about online science: examining the interplay between the individual, the online environment and behaviour

Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Linda Hobbs

Associate supervisor: Dr. John Cripps Clarke & Associate Professor Julianne Lynch

Abstract: Research in science education has tended to focus on scientific literacy as the pinnacle of a well-rounded science education (Office of the Chief Scientist 2012), but rarely has this taken into account the influences outside of formal education on individuals’ science understandings and skills. In particular, access to Internet technologies is now cheaper, easier and faster than ever before (Croucher 2016), and the impact of this unprecedented era of mass communication on the science understandings of preservice teachers is unclear.

This study will use Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory as well as elements of persuasion theory (Miller 1980) to examine how preservice primary teachers interact with, and make decisions about, online science information. An interpretive framework will allow a co-construction of understandings through a case study methodology, and utilising concurrent think-aloud verbalisations as data collection. A conceptualisation of the interaction between the preservice teacher, the online environment and the resulting behaviours has been developed to help describe the decision-making processes of preservice primary teachers engaging with online science.

Kate is a Lecturer in Education at the Institute of Koorie Education and the School of Education at Deakin University. She specialises in teaching Science, and Design and Digital Technology units within the Bachelor of Education (Primary) and Bachelor of Education (Early Years) degrees. Kate also works in science education, STEM, pedagogy and university-to-work transition programs with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pre-service teachers from all over Australia.

Elizabeth Adu

Comparative analysis of the Australian and Ghanaian early grade math curriculum and the effect of the former on Ghanaian pupils’ computational abilities

Principal Supervisors: Dr. Zara Ersozlu

Associate Supervisor: Dr. Jude Ocean

Research Abstract: The present study seeks to do a comparative analysis of the Australian and Ghanaian early grade mathematics curriculum and the effect of the former on Ghanaian children’s computational abilities. Specifically, the study focuses on using Australian early grade mathematics classroom practices and children’s computational strategies as a basis for developing of an instructional design to improve Ghanaian children’s computational competencies. In addition, the study seeks to improve pupils’ learning outcomes in mathematics by changing the way children experience mathematics in the classroom and ways teachers teach mathematics. In Ghana, research has shown that primary school pupils are not doing well in numeracy. The report of the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) has shown that pupils’ numeracy level is very low (Ministry of Education, 2014a). Other reports on national assessments conducted in the country in the last decade indicate most pupils are not developing the basics of numeracy at the primary school level (Adu, Acquaye, Buckle, & Quansah, 2009; MOE, 2000; MOE, 2014b). Also, the research carried out by FHI360/Learning-USAID, where the researcher participated, revealed that Ghanaian primary school children are weak in numeracy (FHI360-Learning, 2016). In response to these concerns, this study basically aims to determine ways to enrich early grade pupils’ computational fluency by using mental computation methods and problem-solving strategies.

Elizabeth Adu is a PhD student from Ghana.  She holds BSc. (Hon) and Master of Philosophy in Mathematics Education both from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. Her research interest is on primary school children’s improvement of numeracy. Elizabeth’s ambition is to become a PhD Mathematics Educator, help in the review of the primary mathematics curriculum, and to continue to research into issues in Mathematics Education.

Lei Bao

Using Diagnostic Assessment to Support Teaching Practice in Developing Students’ Multiplicative Thinking Skills

Executive Supervisor: Dr. Lihua Xu

Co- Supervisor: Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja

Teachers need assessment tools to identify students’ level of conceptual understanding to inform teaching. Assessment items can reveal students’ unintended conceptions are not easy to generate but they are important to improve the quality of teaching. In this research, aspects of quality diagnostic assessment practice are explored based on local and international research. This research aims to design a specific diagnostic assessment tool that can be used to identify student’s developmental stages in multiplicative thinking and their misconceptions in this domain and to provide teachers with diagnoses of their students and teaching suggestions.  The focus is to examine the benefits and challenges of implementing the diagnostic assessment tool and to determine whether information provided by this diagnostic test can support teachers not only to improve their own knowledge but also develop students’ multiplicative thinking skills.

Lei Bao graduated from Latrobe University (Melbourne) in 2004. He worked as a classroom teacher and maths Coordinator at Alvie Consolidated School.  During that time, Lei also completed his Master of Numeracy degree at the University of Melbourne under the Victorian government’s scholarship program for school leaders. Since 2011, Lei has been a member of Australian Mathematics Trust. He writes primary mathematics problems for the committee and collaborates with other maths specialist to make Australian Mathematics Competition exam papers. In 2013, Lei started teaching at Leopold Primary School. He has worked as a numeracy leader and conducted Japanese Lesson Studies as school based professional development sessions to develop teacher’s content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. In 2017, Lei was involved in the Australian government’s reSolve project on one of the topics called “Bar Model Method”. In 2012 and 2017, Lei received the State and Territory Inspirational Teaching awards. In 2020, Lei worked with other Australian mathematicians and successfully launched the Problemo Discovery Series in order to support student mathematical learning during the Covid-19.

Jodi Gordon

Beyond a Digital Education Revolution: Teacher perspectives of one-to-one technologies in K-12 schools

Principal Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Herbert
Associate Supervisors: Associate Professor Julianne Lynch & Dr. Gaelene Hope-Rowe

Research Abstract: In globalised Western societies such as Australia, governments have come to view technology as a ‘motherhood solution’ for educational reform (Buchanan 2011, p. 69). In this modern context, schools are regarded as sites where students are both educated and prepared for future work, and technology is required to mediate theses desired outcomes. As such, one-to-one computing initiatives in K-12 schools – understood to be one device per student — have risen rapidly across the globe since the early 2000s. In 2008, the Australian Government released the Digital Education Revolution (DER); a one-to-one device funding initiative for Australian high schools, with the aim to increase students’ access to technology within all Australian high schools.
Many studies examine one-to-one implementations in K-12 schools, and generally explore the specific technology implementation or the impact on students and learning outcomes. However, there is limited research regarding the impact of one-to-one device programs on teachers— who are understood to act as the agents for any educational change (Pautz & Sadera 2016; Towndrow & Vallance 2013). Moreover, it is essential to understand teachers’ perceptions and beliefs regarding their rapidly changing work context as a result of these new technology strategies, and necessary for successful educational reform and change generally (Howard et al. 2015).
This study employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to investigate teachers’ perspectives and beliefs regarding the utility and affordances of one-to-one device programs for teaching and learning, and the purported use and integration of technologies into their teaching practices and programs. Data was collected and analysed using IPA methods, including semi-structured interviews with fifteen teachers within five South Australian schools.
Through the exploration of teachers’ narratives regarding the impacts on, challenges or changes to their pedagogical practices, the study explores the pivotal factors impacting technological innovation and change in K-12 schools. The findings will allow for analysis and discussion of the impact of rapid technological change on teachers’ practice, the implications and considerations for the introduction of technology programs in schools, and reflective analysis regarding the development and implementation of educational technology policy more generally.

Jodi Gordon is a secondary school Digital Technologies teacher, Digital Learning leader and PhD candidate. Jodi’s research interests include Digital Technologies in K-12 school, Educational Technology Policy and technology strategies, also pedagogical approaches to technology integration. Jodi’s thesis investigates the impact of educational technology policy on technology implementations and pedagogical approaches in K-12 schools. In her practice, she is inspired and driven to provide STEM opportunities for girls of all ages. Jodi also believes that teachers need ongoing and authentic professional learning opportunities to apply 21st Century Learning Design with technology in their classrooms.

Rachael Hedger

 Drawing as a process for developing scientific thinking 

Principal Supervisor: Dr. Virginia Kinnear

Associate Supervisors: Professor Russell Tytler

Research Abstract: This research will investigate the role of drawing in the development of children’s scientific thinking. There is a common view that the brain leads the hand in drawing a conceptual representation (Thom & McGarvey, 2015). An alternative perspective would be that the hand leads the brain to new discoveries. As the child observes the shapes appearing on the page, features of their picture give rise to interpretation of their thinking (Freeman, 1972); the hand, body and mind work in unison in a process of drawing to learn. If this were the case, children’s ideas would progress through an embodied cognitive process allowing the practice of drawing to become an act of conceptual development with the representation as a by-product of this cognitive action.  This research will explore the process of drawing and the role it plays in supporting children in Foundation Year to develop their conceptual knowledge and understanding in science.

Rachael teaches in the Early Childhood Education degrees at Flinders University. She is Professional Experience co-ordinator for placement topics and coordinates Undergraduate and Post-graduate Play, Learning and Development topics. In 2018, Rachael worked with the Department for Education, investigating STEM play inquiry with kindergartens in South Australia. Rachael is studying a PhD at Deakin, researching drawing as a process for developing children’s scientific thinking.

John Lawton

Linear and angular measurement, and drawing, with basic tools; the tip of a mathematical iceberg

Principal Supervisor: Dr. Jill Brown

Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Andrew Skourdoumbis

Research Abstract: My study will investigate the role of tools in teaching geometry; focusing on the role of active learning in teaching for understanding in classrooms.

John Lawton is CEO of the publishing business Objective Learning Materials. OLM have a long history of innovative publishing work in mathematics education, including development of the iconic MATHOMAT geometry template. John’s early studies were in business, his interest in his work at OLM led to completion of a Master of Education degree and then to his current PhD involving research into tool mediation of the process of middle school geometry learning.

Chris Nielsen

Dimensions and pathways of teacher change and professional growth in an interdisciplinary mathematics - science innovation

Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler
Associate Supervisors: Professor Vaughan Prain, Associate Professor Peta White & Dr. Lihua Xu

Research Abstract: This doctoral study is situated within the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science Learning (IMS) research project being undertaken by Professor Russell Tytler, Professor Vaughan Prain, Dr. Peta White and Dr. Lihua Xu of Deakin University; Professor Joanne Mulligan of Macquarie University; and Professor Richard Lehrer and Professor Leona Schauble of Vanderbilt University, in conjunction with participant primary schools in Australia and the USA. The IMS project involves the development and implementation of curriculum plans, based on the epistemic practices underlying the development of conceptual learning through students’ representation construction and modelling activities within the disciplines of science and mathematics. This research aims to provide a detailed understanding of the journeys undertaken by the teachers participating in the IMS project, and how this understanding might inform future pedagogical practices to appropriately align with the epistemology of students’ constructions of representations and the processes of modelling for conceptual understanding. The chosen methodology, using qualitative ethnographic methods, will act as a means of interpreting teachers’ journeys within a model of teacher change developed by Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002), in order to determine and examine factors which might influence teachers’ decision making toward adopting an interdisciplinary, representation construction approach for the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.

Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002). Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(8), 947-967. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00053-7

Chris Nielsen has 19 years of science and mathematics teaching experience in government and Catholic education secondary schools. His teaching experience has included an interest in refining pedagogical practices for the development of students’ scientific literacy, and facilitating student learning through engagement in real world contexts. Chris completed his Master of Education Studies at Federation University Australia in 2016, which included a minor research thesis on integrating the teaching and learning of literacy skills in the secondary science classroom.

Richard Voss

Mature-aged students experience of learning mathematics in regional vocational education

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Julianne Lynch

Associate Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Herbert

Research Abstract:  Mathematics learning is recognised as a challenge for mature aged students in vocational education and training. Current research shows that these students frequently have problematic prior experiences with mathematics. The beliefs that these students hold about mathematics may influence their approach to learning, their affective response to it and ultimately their achievement. This study examines this challenge in the context of Australian vocational education and training, where teaching and learning are characterised by a competency-based approach to curriculum and assessment. Using a grounded theory approach with multiple methods, this research will use a case study approach to examine three different vocational based courses. The study adopts a holistic view of the situation to discover the main factors that influence the students’ experience, with a focus on gaining an insight of students’ perceptions regarding their learning situation.

Richard is a post graduate research student studying a PhD in education at Deakin University. He is passionate about researching educational issues in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector with the aim of improving student outcomes that meet the needs of today’s modern industry. Richard’s study involves investigating mature-aged students’ experiences of learning and using mathematics in rural TAFE Institutions as a construct in the field of educational psychology.

Amanda Peters

Amanda Peters

Problematising STEM education: Policy analysis and impact in a Victorian context

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Peta White

Associate Supervisor: Dr. Jo Raphael

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is crucial in solving global challenges and framed as the driver to national economic prosperity. Government policies highlight STEM education as key to ensuring a well-prepared future workforce. Schools are considered pivotal in realising the imperative of the STEM agenda. In the Australian context, student engagement in school-based STEM is in decline. The ongoing challenge of STEM education continues to be contested and debated emanating complexities.
To gain insight into the complexities of STEM education in an Australian secondary school context, I draw on qualitative methodologies. An innovative two-step methodology was employed to critically analyse STEM education policy in the Australian state of Victoria. The two distinct methodologies, the poststructural ‘What is the Problem Represented to be?’ (WPR) approach and an arts-based research (ABR) approach, each informed by the inadequacies of the other, were sequentially applied. The findings were diffractively read through each other, blurring boundaries between methodologies, challenging assumptions and disrupting the current rhetoric of STEM education.
The findings realise policy, fraught with contradictions, provides simple solutions to STEM education. The neoliberal agenda drives the intent of building human and non-human capital where students and teachers are viewed in deficit. The policy disregards the structures, people and power relations, inherent as the bedrock of the education system. Perspectives of stakeholders, through arts-based approaches, provide insight into their lived and living experiences and future vision for STEM education. The entwined methodologies facilitate emergence of new awareness providing opportunities for potential transformation of STEM education policy and practice.

Amanda Peters is a PhD candidate and science education lecturer at Deakin University. She is currently the Project Officer and teaching within Graduate Certificate courses designed to upskill out-of-field science, mathematics and design and technologies teachers to be in-field teachers. Her interests are in STEM education, critical policy analysis, arts-based research and teacher education. Amanda is a secondary science and mathematics teacher with extensive experience in leading and teaching in secondary schools. She is involved in VCE curriculum and assessment at the state level.

Maria Vamvakas

Representing scientists and their practices in science classrooms

AProf Peta White – Principal Supervisor; Prof Russell Tytler – Associate Supervisor

There is continuing policy interest for school science reform to re-engage students in science and develop their scientific literacy and for supporting teachers to establish new creative approaches to science teaching through connecting their students to scientists’ contemporary research and practices. Implementing design-based research methodology, I collaborated with three teachers from two different schools to adapt and refine online curriculum resources to provide students with contextual, current, and contemporary science learning experiences. Data collection involved semi structured interviews with teachers and students to describe their experiences with these resources, as well as digital video recording of classes during resource use. Findings include teacher learning and change in practice as a result of trialing and adapting the resources as well as learning opportunities afforded for students through their engagement with the resources.

Maria began her career teaching Science and Biology, having completed a Bachelor of Science and Graduate Diploma of Education at Monash University. Progressing to the position of Head of Science from 2007, her primary responsibilities included staff and curriculum leadership. Her roles have enabled her to act as a facilitator in developing students’ scientific literacy, critical thinking and passion for science.

From 2017 Maria has been working at Deakin University as a Teaching Associate and Research Assistant and recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Education Research at Deakin University, culminating in a Research Paper investigating “Contemporary Science practice in the Classroom”. She is currently enrolled to undertake PhD candidature in the Degree program, Doctor of Philosophy – Education investigating how scientists’ practices can be best represented in the classroom

Bronwyn Sutton

Towards leadership for planetary wellbeing: Reimagining practice in critical times

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Peta White

Associate Supervisor: Dr. Robin Bellingham

Following a (re)figuring self-study of practice I propose a praxis for radical reworlding to support a shift towards leadership for planetary wellbeing and offer five capacities to cultivate to enact leadership the planet needs.

Close to completion.

Bronwyn is an  activist, artist and researcher with  over 25 years’ professional experience in public sphere and community based environmental leadership settings. She uses embodied, arts-based and collaborative approaches in her practice and research. Active in community leadership roles throughout her career, Bronwyn completed Master of Education (Adult and work-based learning) in 2016 which supported her transition to education and ignited her curiosity about embodied and affective dimensions of learning. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing) from Deakin University and is an accomplished writer across a range of professional and creative genres. Bronwyn has a particular interest in environmental learning and leadership that occurs in informal, non-formal, community, and beyond school places and spaces and is currently exploring these and professional and practice transformation through her PhD at Deakin University.

Graduated Students

Once completed their post graduate studies, many have gone on to enjoy successful research careers.

Dr. Amrita Kamath

Establishing a Context-Responsive Inquiry Approach in Senior Secondary Biology

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Peta White

Associate Supervisor: Dr Piper Rodd

Completed September 2024.

Research Abstract: Guided inquiry is extensively endorsed in primary/lower secondary settings in Australia, but appears underutilised in senior biology education. A design-based study was undertaken with the following research questions; 1) How can guided inquiry be effectively enacted to enhance student learning and engagement in senior biology? 2) What cultural, technical, and political influences shape effective enactment of guided inquiry in senior biology settings? Year-11 teachers at four schools across Victoria participated as co-researchers to collaborate and implement a guided inquiry-based teaching and learning sequence. These lessons were co-designed and adapted by considering contemporary research, contextual influences, and student voice. Data was collected through teacher interviews, student focus groups, field observations, artefact documentation, and classroom recordings. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed that teacher agency with a student-centric focus was crucial in facilitating effective implementation guided inquiry through strategies that were designed in response to distinct contextual influences.

Dr. John Cripps Clark

Role of Practical Activities in Primary School Science

Co-supervisors: A/Prof Susie Groves and Prof Russell Tytler

Completed January 2006.

The roles, patterns of use and emphases of practical activities depend fundamentally on teachers’ backgrounds and beliefs. Students’ intense engagement with real objects was found to encourage exploration and enjoyment, and support recall. The study also identified the variety and value of science conducted outside the normal classroom.

https://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30027153

Dr. Joe Ferguson

A video-based analysis of science students’ computer-mediated abductive reasoning

Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

Associate Supervisors: Professor Vaughan Prain, Associate Professor Peter Hubber, Dr. George Aranda & Associate Professor Radhika Gorur.

Completed January 2017.

This research developed a framework of abductive reasoning based on detailed video-based analysis of the multimodal and distributed nature of science students’ interactions with agent-based digital simulations of the genetics of natural selection in relation to malaria and sickle cell anaemia.

https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30102716

Professor Linda Hobbs

Subject Culture and Pedagogies: Comparing mathematics and science

Supervisors: Susie Grove and Annette Gough

Completed October 2009

This research found that a teacher is both a member of a culture and an individual, building practice within parameters set by a dynamic and multifaceted subject culture. Feelings of competence and confidence grow as an aesthetic understanding of what it means to know, teach, and appreciate a subject.

Darby, L. (2009). Subject culture and pedagogies: Comparing mathematics and science. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds.

Dr. Edilson Arenas

Blended learning in a higher education multicultural environment

Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Julianne Lynch
Associate Supervisors: Dr. Elizabeth Stacey & Dr. Gail Chittleborough

Completed April 2012.

This thesis has two outcomes. First, it provides a detailed analysis of how international computing students experience a blended learning environment, identifying their perceptions of the new environment, perceptions of the use of ICT in their studies, preparedness and experiences in using ICT tools, and effective participation in ICT-mediated activities as critical aspects of teaching and learning environments that warrant particular attention by teachers of these students. The second outcome of this thesis is a set of pedagogical principles for the design and development of blended learning, contextualised in local and broader educational challenges typical of a multicultural student body, consistent with a globalised world.

https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30046139

    Dr. Edgar Caballero-Aspe

    The Mexico Alaska Youth Interchange Case Study: An Educative Experience Promoting Action and Continuity

    Principal Supervisor: Dr. Laura Barazza

    Associate Supervisors: Professor Russell Tytler & Associate Professor Peter Hubber

    Completed June 2016.

    Edgar shows the MAYI case study as a provocative experience for students with a transformational process developing self-authorship. The discussed elements determine the Action Competence of the participants. The continuity of the students’ experience and their social connections are fundamental to promote action facing our global socio-ecological crisis.

    https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30093409

      Dr. Connie Cirkony

      Students Learning Science: Representation Construction in a Digital Environment

      Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

      Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Peter Hubber

      Completed March 2019.

      Research Abstract: This research is part of an ARC Discovery project in science education through the integration of a Representation Construction Approach (RCA) and digital technologies. RCA is an interactive teaching approach where students generate, use, negotiate, and evaluate multimodal representations to explain their ideas, make claims, and solve problems. Research for this investigation took place in Melbourne, Australia and involved Year 9 science students learning about energy transfer (i.e. physics) in the socio-scientific context of sustainable housing and climate change. The research design was informed by a distributed cognition theoretical framework and followed an ethnographic methodology using multiple methods for data generation and analysis.

      The findings indicated the generative capability of digital delivery for RCA through extended flexibility and access to multimodal semiotic resources to support students’ meaning-making processes and learning pathways. The findings also indicated students’ conceptual learning was gradual and variable as a response to multiple cross-modal interactions, the timely provision of canonical resources, and the meaningful application of knowledge to new contexts. While the digital learning environment supported a high degree of student dialogue, recognised as central for the inquiry-based processes of RCA, specific opportunities to negotiate, evaluate, and refine students’ constructed representations were limited, impacting overall learning gains. The significance of this research relates to the quality of student learning and engagement in science and STEM through a more meaningful integration of digital technologies with RCA.

      Dr. Soraya Fooladi

      Factors influencing students' choice of mathematics at university

      Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Susie Groves

      Associate Supervisors: Dr. Sandra Herbert & Associate Professor Julianne Lynch

      Completed September 2014.

      This study investigated what motivated current undergraduate mathematics students to choose to study mathematics at university. It found a diverse array of factors perceived by students as having informed their decisions. These included background factors, situational factors, self-perception, and perceptions of mathematics as a discipline.

      http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30079680

        Dr. Kristoffer Greaves

        Australian PLT practitioners’ engagements with scholarship of teaching and learning

        Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Julianne Lynch

        Associate Supervisor: Dr. Shaun Rawolle

        Complete March 2013.

        Drawing on Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology and Certeau’s heterological science to investigate individual and extra-individual dimensions of Australian PLT practitioners’ engagements with scholarship of teaching and learning, this thesis identified obstacles and opportunities for recognition of professional legal education and training as emergent professional practice in law and education.

        https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30078999

          Dr. Christine Kakkinen

          Multi-dimensional assessment of student capabilities in mathematics and science

          Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Susie Groves

          Associate Supervisors: Professor Russell Tytler & Dr. Brian Doig

          Completed February 2014.

          This study investigated relationships between students’ understanding, performance, and disposition in mathematics and science. The results indicated that assessments should be used to promote all aspects of student capability. Separate frameworks of student capability in mathematics and science need to be created to capture the individual nuances within each subject.

          https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30066238

           

            Dr. Leissa Kelly

            Marine educators: Linking personal commitment, education and public policy

            Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler
            Associate Supervisors: Professor Annette Gough & Associate Professor Linda Hobbs

            Completed August 2013.

            This thesis reports on a study of the experiences and beliefs of a sample of marine educators from both Canada and Australia. It investigates the educators’ narratives in order to explore their role in regards to their interactions and relationships between and with policy, community and education within the marine education context.

            https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30062941

              Dr. Dian Anggriani

              Scaffolding Metacognitive Teaching in Biology Classroom

              Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja

              Associate Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

              Many studies in science education were conducted to develop metacognitive teaching instruction and also the instrument to assess this ability. However, there is limited research which focuses on facilitating the teachers to promote this ability on the students. Therefore, this study aims to support teachers in promoting students’ metacognitive behaviour in their classroom, particularly in Biology learning. Through a Design-Based Research framework, this study is intended to expose the challenges experienced by the teachers in promoting students’ metacognition and help them to tackle those problems. This study is also beneficial to further develop the coding framework to identify students’ metacognitive behaviour in high school level.

              Dr. Barbara Black

              Lesson Study: A School – Based Innovation for Primary Science Pre-Service Teacher Education

              Principal Supervisor: Dr. John Cripps Clark

              Associate Supervisors: Dr. Lisa Milne & Dr. Zehra Ersozlu

              Completed February 2020.

              Research Abstract: In spite of a large body of research on pre-service teacher (PST) primary science education programs, governments, the academic community and industry still express concern about the effectiveness of these programs. Recently debate has centred around providing an authentic learning experience for teachers of primary science in school-based environments and teaching science to students in the school. This study is part of a growing body of research into the use of Lesson Study in the education of PSTs. A mixed methods study approach was used to examine the role Lesson Study plays in developing PSTs’ knowledge of primary science and in the development of their pedagogical science content knowledge. The participants were two cohorts of Year 2 Bachelor of Education PSTs (n=29), mentor/classroom teachers (4) and university educators (2). In groups of three, PSTs participated in a semester long school-based university program, where they researched, planned, taught, provided feedback and re-taught a lesson known as the Research Lesson. Two case studies were used to obtain data from the case study participants: 6 PSTs, 4 mentor/classroom teachers and 2 university educators. Qualitative data consisted of individual interviews, videos, audios, transcripts, lesson plans, observation sheets, PST reflection sheets, field notes of planning meetings, Research Lessons, debriefing sessions and university curriculum documents. Further data were obtained by using a questionnaire, administered to 29 PSTs at both sites to triangulate the case study data. The qualitative case study data were analysed using an exploratory sequential mixed method approach. Findings show that the PSTs experienced a richer learning experience when the feedback given in the debriefing session was designed by the PST team, focussed on questions of science practice and was answered by the observers consisting of the mentor/classroom teacher, the university educator and the PSTs. This critical and purposeful feedback enabled the PSTs to identify changes to be made for the Repeat Research Lesson. Consequently, the PSTs improved their science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through the debriefing session and subsequent re-teaching of the Research Lesson. Pre-service teachers were able to see the improvement in their ability to judge whether the changes that were made to the Repeat Research Lesson were effective. This study contributes to our growing understanding of preparation of pre-service teachers to teach primary science, by focussing on the PSTs’ involvement in steering the direction of the feedback during the debriefing session, the importance of re-teaching the Research Lesson and the collaborative role of the PSTs, mentor/classroom teacher and university educator.

              Dr. Fabio D’Agostin

              How can elicited student emotions be associated with properties of mathematics classroom tasks?

              Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

              Associate Supervisors: Dr. Leicha Bragg

              Research Abstract: Students doing classroom mathematics often experience concurrent emotions related to their activity. Emotions such as interest and enjoyment can enhance academic performance while boredom, anger and fear can hinder learning. Experience sampling, in the form of emoticons or emojis marked at regular lesson intervals, was used as a primary data source in investigating students’ feelings while negotiating mathematics tasks. Sets of task characteristics were identified in association with the emotional outcomes of interest, enjoyment, boredom and confusion. The findings are useful to mathematics teachers seeking to assess the quality of their classroom practice.

              Dr. Rachael Hains-Wesson

              A Blended Learning Philosophy of Practice: An Auto-ethnographical Exegesis Study

              Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

              Associate Supervisors: Professor Peter Hubber & Professor Malcolm Campbell

              Research Abstract: The exegesis explores my academic work as a developing blended learning practitioner who often works in teams. The exegesis’s narrative positions four published journal papers’ findings as key elements for developing a Philosophy of Practice (PoP) to assist and guide my practice over time. I was the major contributing author of the published journal papers, which often dealt with exploring how to improve student learning and engagement as well as supporting academic teaching staff to improve practice. The exegesis’s narrative pulls the published journal papers’ findings together to construct a coherent narrative of my work and over a period of six years when investigating several problems of practice. The exegesis is presented via an auto-ethnography narrative, promoting that effort towards developing a PoP has been beneficial when trying to understand new ways of working with others as a teacher in a higher education context. Additionally, the exegesis promotes the insight that working in teams when implementing blended learning is highly beneficial when this is achieved via an inclusive, collaborative and experiential learning approach that involves the development of a PoP.

              Dr. Desiree Hernandez Ibinarriaga

              Critical Co-design methodology: The theory, practice and the journey of conceptualisation with Indigenous young women

              Principal Supervisors: Dr. Glenn Auld & Dr. Linda Hobbs

              Associate Supervisors: Dr. Coral Campbell

              Research Abstract: The research investigates Critical Co-Design methodology (CCoD): the journey and the theory. CCoD is a methodology that promotes respectful, positive, flexible, effective and pragmatic collaboration between Indigenous people and academia, integrating elements of critical theory (gender, race, decolonisation, and critical thinking) addressing the enhancement of empowerment, cultural identity and self-determination of Indigenous young women; and co-design as a facilitator of practices, co-designing biocultural projects (products and services), and exploring diverse ways of communication collaborating together, towards biocultural diversity conservation and regeneration.

              The CCoD journey has different stages, as it is informed by Indigenous students co-designing projects, teachers’ interviews from two Indigenous high schools in Australia and Mexico, and the researcher point of view. Being an iterative co-reflective process, and informing in every stage to the theory of CCoD methodology. CCoD aim to develop new knowledge, considering realities but privileging Indigenous ways of being, knowing, doing and becoming.

              CCoD acknowledges relationality between people and place in seeking practical and beneficial outcomes based on Indigenous knowledge and culture. The research design is made up by mix methods, which are applied through a case study in two sites, Australia and Mexico. CCoD aims encourage consciousness of the importance of biocultural diversity towards well-being.

              Dr. Suzanne Infantino

              Intentionally teaching or planning for play: Examining early childhood educators’ science pedagogy

              Principal Supervisor: Professor Coral Campbell

              Associate Supervisor: Dr. Wendy Jobling

              Research Abstract: The aim of the present study is to examine two constructs, intentional teaching and science in early childhood education. Intentional teaching is a pedagogical practice described within the mandatory national Australian early childhood curriculum. However, the pedagogical practice of educating young children early learning science concepts is less evident. With the increased necessity for children to acquire scientific capabilities such problem solving, critical thinking and hypothesising, it is imperative that children start learning these skills in early childhood. The research will employ a multi-site, case study methodology to answer research questions while adopting the theoretical perspective of sociocultural theory (Vygotsky). The study will utilise a mixed-methods, qualitative and quantitative approach for the research design. Qualitative data will include semi-structured interviews, field notes and content analysis. Quantitative data will include the use of two tools namely, the Active Learning Environment Scale (ALES – based on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural pedagogy) and the Science Concepts Assessment Tool (SCAT – conceived by the author).

              The phenomenon being examined in this study is educators’ perceptions, that is, their understanding and interpretation, along with their perspectives that is, their pedagogical approach and theoretical standpoint of intentional teaching, specifically in relation to science in ECE.

              Dr. Maurice Abi Raad

              A Service Oriented Framework for Evaluating Higher Education Curriculum

              Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

              Associate Supervisor: Dr. Shaun Rawolle

              Research Abstract: The work being done to evaluate higher education curriculum covers a wide area, but this study will focus on the service perspective, in which higher education organizations evaluate the important holistic factors in higher education curriculum evaluation. The aim of this research is to highlight the gap between the traditional Higher Education Evaluations practices and knowledge – including skills and abilities (both theoretical/academic) and work done on evaluating higher education curriculum – and the service oriented experiences proven to add value in other industries. The idea is to build a case for a service-oriented framework for evaluating higher education curriculum that will build on the good elements of traditional practices and see how infused curriculum evaluation in higher education from a service orientation perspective might change the nature of academic work in higher education.

              Dr. Jiqing Sun

              Beyond the shallow teaching: The Possibilities of Implementing Gamified Digital Learning Activities in Australian Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

              Principal Supervisor: Dr. Gaye Williams

              Associate Supervisor: Dr. Leicha Bragg

               

              Research Abstract: This thesis aims to discover that how gamification can be implemented in the secondary school mathematics instruction. Learning mathematics with digital games is not a new research area. However, many existing digital games used in mathematics instruction are Edutainment games which are simplistically designed and procedural-skills oriented. These games hardly address the needs of developing students’ conceptual understanding in mathematics education. Therefore, there is a limited digital game resource could be provided to mathematics teachers for conceptual learning. Given this status quo, the new game should be designed and implemented, however classroom teachers normally neither possess relevant skills nor have much time to design a fully-fledged digital game. In this sense, the gamification could be one alternative way to create a game-like environment for students’ learning.
              Many current gamification on education literature focuses on adding badges, scoreboard and points system into instruction to engage students. However, there is a critique that using badges, scoreboard and points system only can extrinsically motivate students. It also not clear how gamification can be utilised for students’ conceptual understanding building. Furthermore, the gamification platform in these research is ready-made. This is to say this literature did not show how gamification could be designed by the classroom teachers. Investigating gamification from teachers’ perspective is important because if classroom teachers can not gamifiy a learning activity by themselves, the application of gamification on learning will be restricted. Therefore, this on-going project is exploring the following three aspects:

              • In what ways that the classroom teachers can practically gamify a digital learning activity in an everyday setting?
              • Can a gamified digital learning activity intrinsically engage students in mathematics learning?
              • Can a gamified digital learning activity support students’ mathematical understanding?

              Dr. Sibeso Likando

              The implementation of lesson study in mathematics: The case of Zambia

              Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Susie Groves

              Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja and Dr Brian Doig

              Completed March 2018.

              Research Abstract: Several countries have adapted Japanese Lesson Study to improve the quality of teaching and enhance students’ learning experiences in subjects such as mathematics. However, researchers have recounted instances where adaptations have overlooked some essential features of Lesson Study. Zambia adapted Lesson Study in 2005 with the help of the Japanese International Co-operation Agency. While Lesson Study remains a voluntary activity in many countries, Zambia has a policy that requires every public school to implement Lesson Study in every subject area. This study investigated the implementation of Lesson Study in mathematics in Zambia.

              The research examined how Lesson Study is being implemented in mathematics at the secondary school level. Case studies were carried out in three secondary schools in Zambia. Data were collected over a period of six months. At each school, two Lesson Study cycles were observed and video recorded; interviews were carried out with the principal, the CPD co-ordinator, and the two teachers who taught the research lessons; and relevant documents were collected. Transana and NVivo software were used to transcribe and code the video and interview data. Analytical and theoretical framework: The study used an Onion Ring Model (comprising five rings − National policy, school culture, classroom environment, teachers’ personal characteristics, and school level implementation of Lesson Study) to frame our understanding of how Lesson Study implementation was shaped by the nested sub-set relationship of the five rings.

              It appeared that the beliefs and attitudes of Japanese teachers, that underpin the process of lesson study, had not readily transferred to teachers in Zambia. Investigating the effects of lesson study, showed that it had started helping teachers to appreciate teaching as a public activity, and that teacher collaboration, at three case schools, had improved within athematic departments, and between teachers and school administrators.

              http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30115794/likando-implementationoflesson-2018.pdf

               

                Dr. Sharyn Lee Livy

                Development and contributing factors in primary pre-service teachers' mathematical content knowledge

                Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Collen Vale
                Associate Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Herbert

                Completed June 2014.

                 

                The knowledge needed for effective mathematics teaching is specialised. It is reasonable to expect that effective mathematics teachers possess a sound understanding of the mathematics they teach, including specialised content knowledge. This study was informed by an historical overview of theoretical frameworks that included categories used to describe mathematical content knowledge (MCK). The purpose of this study was to extend understanding of the MCK that pre-service teachers enrolled in a primary to Year 12 program developed during their program experiences, identifying contributing factors that enhanced their MCK for teaching primary mathematics.

                https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30067361

                  Dr. Carmel McGrath

                  Rethinking student engagement and learning partnerships: the knowledge producing school

                  Principal Supervisor: Dr. Chris Begum
                  Associate Supervisor: Dr. Wendy Jobling

                  Completed May 2014.

                  This research folio of thesis and professional writing is based upon four years of fieldwork in an urban primary school in remote North West Queensland, Australia, at which I was the principal. The research was a study of what happens when students work on tasks that produce knowledge that has value to the local community. Schools that produce knowledge for this purpose are called knowledge producing schools (KPS). Two aspects of school-based knowledge production that are the focus of my research are student engagement and learning partnerships with the local community.

                  https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30067389

                    Dr. Meiliasari

                    Developing Pre-service Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge Through Lesson Study

                    Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja

                    Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Susie Groves and Professor Colleen Vale

                    Completed March 2018.

                    Research Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate secondary mathematics pre-service teachers’ PCK using lesson study and the characteristics of lesson study that contribute to the pre-service teachers’ PCK development. Lesson study was embedded in a teaching practicum unit at one university in Jakarta, Indonesia. It involved two lower secondary schools, ten pre-service teachers, five mentor teachers, and two university lecturers. This study found empirical evidence of the development of the pre-service teachers’ PCK during lesson study in all four KQ dimensions (Foundation, Connection, Transformation, and Contingency). Moreover, this study found that the development of the pre-service teachers’ PCK is a complex process. The development of one KQ dimension is built on other KQ dimensions. While the Foundation Knowledge underpins the Transformation, Connection and Contingency dimension (Rowland et al., 2009), this study found new interconnections. Firstly, the findings showed that the Connection dimension underpins the pre-service teachers’ Transformation Knowledge. Secondly, the Connection Knowledge also contributes to the pre-service teachers’ Foundation Knowledge. Lastly, the Contingency Knowledge contributes to the pre-service teachers’ Foundation Knowledge.

                    https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30112391

                      Dr. Thanh Van Nguyen

                      Teaching undergraduate physics: Changing practices in Australia and Vietnam

                      Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler
                      Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Peter Hubber

                      Completed January 2014.

                      The study found that notwithstanding some similarities, the teaching and learning of undergraduate physics in three Vietnamese universities and three Australian universities is significantly different in many aspects of practice. The differences in undergraduate teaching and learning of physics in particular and of other university courses in general arise mainly from differences in education systems, cultures, expectations, the views of quality and knowledge, the state of the respective economies, and the school infrastructures between the two countries.

                      https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30066365

                        Dr. Zuraini Ramli

                        Teaching and learning mathematics and science in a second or third language

                        Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

                        Associate Supervisors: Associate Professor Susie Groves & Dr. Ruth Arber

                        Competed in 2015.

                        This study investigates the interaction between languages used for particular purposes in mathematics and science classrooms and the accompanying multimodal resources that support teachers’ strategies. The dual investigation sets this study apart, and produces its originality and contribution to the field. It develops a novel multimodal description of pedagogic strategies in multilingual mathematics and science classrooms in Malaysia.

                        https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30079095

                          Dr. Kathryn Riley

                          (Re)Storying Human/Nonhuman Relationships: Posthumanist Possibilities in Researcher/Teacher/Environmental Education Worlds

                          Principal Supervisor: Dr. Peta White

                          Associate Supervisors: Dr. Claire Charles & Professor Shaun Murphy (External Associate Supervisor)

                          Completed March 2019.

                          Research Abstract: Attending to pervasive binary logics exacerbated through human exceptionalism and supremacy, Kathryn’s doctoral research was interested in relational agency to activate an intrinsic sense of responsibility for/with/in these Anthropocene times. Inspiring new and different ways of teaching in environmental education, Kathryn’s research contributed to the field through a (re)storying of human/nonhuman relationships. Enacted through posthumanist perspectives and new materialist methodologies, Kathryn explored the lively, vibrant, materiality of affects emerging from researcher/teacher/environmental education relationships. This was made possible through collaboration with an elementary school teacher in Saskatchewan, Canada, in which a series of multisensory researcher/teacher enactments were co-planned and co-implemented in land education for a Grade 4/5 class. Bringing forth a multitude of stories that demonstrated biological, spiritual, ethical, socio-cultural, political, and ecological forces imbued with material/discursive entanglements worked to (re)configure binary logics, in that difference between categories and boundaries changes from oppositional and dualistic to relationally entangled.

                          Dr. Anne Ryan

                          A Whole-School Approach to Mentoring Students: An Australian Secondary School Case Study

                          Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Coral Campbell

                          Associate Supervisor: Professor Richard Bates

                          Completed September 2017.

                          This thesis explores the experiences of students and mentors in a school-based mentoring program delivered through a whole-school approach, in an Australian secondary school. Findings indicate that infrastructural frame, frequency of contact and the development of sustainable trusting mentor/mentee relationships were fundamental to the initiative. Year 7 and non-teacher mentors experienced the program differently to their respective cohorts.

                          https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30105503

                            Dr. Rashika Sharma

                            Creating a green culture in TVET: a New Zealand perspective

                            Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Coral Campbell
                            Associate Supervisor: Dr. Lou Preston

                            Completed March 2019.

                            Research Abstract: This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of New Zealand Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in educating trade students in sustainability principles and practices. Based on Majumdar’s (2011) ‘International Framework for Greening TVET for a Green Society’ framework, the role of the explicit and implicit curriculum in educating for sustainability was examined. Using a comparative case study methodology, two New Zealand TVET institutes served as the core of this research. Research findings indicated that, while the two TVET institutes had incorporated sustainability principles and practices in some aspects of the implicit curriculum, the embedding of sustainability in the explicit TVET curriculum was minimum. Findings also suggested that, in the absence of a TVET national sustainability policy and, with no mandate for embedding sustainability concepts in the explicit curriculum, Education for Sustainability (EfS) cannot be readily accepted in the New Zealand TVET sector. It highlights the influential role of government-driven policy change in New Zealand to promote EfS and acknowledges that the successful delivery of a green curriculum, hinges on TVET lecturers’ commitment to, and understanding of, sustainability principles and practices.

                            Dr. Sri Soejatminah

                            Internationalising the Curriculum: Student Learning in the Global Experience Program

                            Principal Supervisor: Professor Ian Robottom
                            Associate Supervisors: Dr. Coral Campbell & Dr. Athena Vongalis-Macrow

                            Completed April 2012.

                             

                            Outcomes include critical analyses of student teacher learning from teaching practicum in Vanuatu; the intercultural sensitivity and competence; the notion of professional learning in the light of internationalisation of the curriculum, and the potentials and limitations of the GEP for achieving the goals of internationalisation of the curriculum.

                            https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30060443

                              Dr. Nathan Nguyen

                              Science Education Laboratory Technician

                              Teaching undergraduate physics: changing practices in Australia and Vietnam
                              Principle Supervisor: Prof Russell Tytler
                              Associate Supervisor: Assoc Prof Peter Hubber
                              Completed January 2014

                              The study found that notwithstanding some similarities, the teaching and learning of undergraduate physics in three Vietnamese universities and three Australian universities is significantly different in many aspects of practice. The differences in undergraduate teaching and learning of physics in particular and of other university courses in general arise mainly from differences in education systems, cultures, expectations, the views of quality and knowledge, the state of the respective economies, and the school infrastructures between the two countries.

                              Dr. Adam Masri

                              Discursive Practices Shaping Girls’ Physics Identity
                              Executive Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Trace Ollis
                              Principal supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler
                              Associate supervisor: Dr Cheryl Ryan
                              Completed 2022
                              Abstract: The thesis investigates factors underlying the gender imbalance in Australian high school physics. Drawing on theories of gender and a mixed methods approach, it uncovers a complex web of influences on girls’ physics identity, including biases and inconsistent support. Recommendations include increasing teacher awareness and integrating career advice.

                              Dr. Lam Pham

                              An investigation on how secondary students construct representations to enhance their problem-solving skills and conceptual knowledge in chemistry

                              Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

                              Associate Supervisor: Associate Professor Peter Hubber

                              Completed June 2020.

                              Research Abstract: Researchers have claimed that constructing representations (e.g., graphs, models, images, diagrams etc.) are a necessary and effective way to teach and learn chemistry. This is because these diverse representations help capture a learner’s interest in the learning process, engage the learner’s mind in constructive and critical thinking about what they are learning and produce more comprehensive long-term learning outcomes. Teachers using multiple representations in their teaching are likely to make abstract science concepts more accessible for students.

                              This PhD research focuses on the application of a student representation construction approach to teaching and learning chemistry at the senior school level. In details, this research aims to answer the following questions:
                              1- How can representational activities be effectively designed and implemented to support students to learn chemistry at senior schools?
                              2- How does translating across and coordinating targeted representations support students’ reasoning and problem solving in senior chemistry?

                              Dr. Saeed Salimpour

                              Visualising the Cosmos: Teaching Cosmology in High School in the era of Big Data

                              Principal Supervisor: Professor Russell Tytler

                              Associate Supervisors: Professor Vaughan Prain & Dr. Michael Fitzgerald (Associate External Supervisor)

                              Research Abstract: The Cosmos offers us curiosity piquing science and awe-inspiring beauty. Science and Art have always shared a symbiotic relationship, both providing diverse ways of understanding the Universe. This relationship owes its existence to the fact that humans are an innately visual species, capable of discerning patterns, creating representations, and extracting meaning from data.

                              The landscape in science and science education has undergone a transformation – the dawn of the “Big Data” era, large-scale international collaborations, and the embedding of topics related to Cosmology, Relativity and Quantum Physics in school curricula. The representation of these changes in school curricula implies deeper learning, and the acquisition of a diverse range of skills, allowing students to think across disciplines.

                              This multidisciplinary study aims to investigate innovative approaches to school science and highlight the potential of Representation Construction and Data Visualisation to support expanded forms of reasoning and skills, using Cosmology as the stage, and incorporating the notion of Aesthetics as experience. In doing so, this study aims to develop different tools and techniques related to education and data visualisation for use in the classroom.

                              In its extended form, this study aims to explore the pedagogical use of VR/AR in the context of Cosmology Education.

                              Dr. Christopher Speldewinde

                              STEM Teaching and Learning in Bush Kinders: An Ethnographic Study

                              Assoc Prof Anna Kilderry and Prof Coral Campbell

                              Completed November 2022

                              This thesis, a thesis by publication that comprises ten published peer-reviewed, high ranking journal articles, is influenced by past scholarship on forest schools and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in ECEC. It focuses on an Australian study that took place between 2015 and 2020 during which time, nature-based approaches to Australian ECEC were in an emergent phase. Bush kinders are nature-based ECEC programs located in outdoor nature settings, for example parklands, reserves and beaches, and are usually for three to five-year-old children who are attending preschool. Four bush kinder settings in the state of Victoria were the research field sites for the study. Research participants included educators, parents and four to five-year old children. Through play in natural surroundings and educator scaffolding, the children were observed to develop STEM understandings and knowledge. The thesis responds to the research questions that seek to understand how teachers, educators and pre-school children experience STEM in a bush kinder and the pedagogical approaches being enacted in bush kinders when teaching STEM. The thesis also contributes to the methodological discussion of the place of ethnography in allowing for deep understandings of the social interactions between educators and children in bush kinder settings.

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