Professor Russell Tytler
Deakin Distinguished Professor
Russell is currently involved in a number of ARC projects involving teacher change and student learning and reasoning through a representation construction inquiry approach. His research focuses on bringing contemporary science practices into the classroom in more authentic ways, through this approach and through linking schools and community scientists. His call for a ‘re-imagining’ of science education has received considerable publicity and support across Australia.
Associate Professor Jill Brown
Mathematics Teaching Research Coordinator
Jill is internationally recognised for her research in the field of mathematics education. She has an impressive list of publications that focus on mathematical modelling, the teaching and learning of functions, and the use of digital technologies by teachers and students. Her interests include researching the teaching, learning and assessing of real world applications and mathematical modelling, mathematical thinking and reasoning, functions in technology-rich environments, affordances, zone theory, and anything that furthers our understanding of teaching and learning mathematics.
Dr. George Aranda
George is a lecturer in Science Education. Formerly a cognitive neuroscientist, he has worked on video-based research that has examined how science is taught around the world. He is interested in examining how digital/technology education can enhance learning in conjunction with concepts derived from augmented/virtual reality, coding and playing/creating games. George has an interest in STEM, examining how it can be developed to offer more authentic learning experiences.
Dr. Amrita Kamath
Amrita Kamath is a Lecturer, Education -focused, at Deakin University. She is an experienced science and environmental educator who is passionate about teaching, learning and researching in diverse contexts. Her qualifications include PhD, M.Teach (Australia); M.Ed (USA), M.Sc, B.Sc, B.Ed (India) and through her international educational background and experience, Amrita is committed to inspire and empower teachers and students to engage meaningfully with science and environmental education, through research-informed practices. Amrita is currently the Editorial Assistant for the Australian Journal of Environmental Education, co-convenor for Deakin University’s Mathematics, Science, Environmental and Technology Education (MSET-Ed) Research Group, and a researcher on the Australian Research Council Project Enacting Climate Change Education.
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. Melinda Kirk
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.
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.
Kate Chealuck
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.
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.
Dr. John Cripps Clark
John researches and teaches Design & Technologies, Physics, and Primary Science Education. He applies Vygotsky, Leontiev, Peirce and Engestöm’s work on signs, tools, dual stimulation and activity theory to research in teacher professional development programs; the pedagogy of science communication (including digital literacy); off-campus teaching and learning; professional collaboration; the role of video in learning to teach primary science; school gardens as sites of pre-service teacher professional development; and STEM outreach programs (in particular Family Science Games Nights). He coordinates the AARE Cultural-Historical and Activity Theory special interest group (including annual Summer Schools), is a member of the executive of International Society for Cultural-historical Activity Research (ISCAR) and for a quarter of a century, the Asia-Pacific CHAR reading group.
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.
Dr. Aylie Davidson
Aylie is an experienced teacher educator and educational researcher who is committed to improving educational outcomes in children and young people, with a particular interest in mathematics. Aylie is recognised for her research in mathematics planning. Her ongoing work with schools examines ways to help teachers work together to build their confidence and capability to teach mathematics and plan learning sequences and experiences that involve innovative pedagogies. Aylie is regularly engaged by teacher associations and school networks, being recognised as an educator who is able to translate research into practice in meaningful ways that inspires innovation and positively impacts student learning and engagement. Aylie writes for academic, teacher and preservice teacher audiences.
Dr. Seamus Delaney
Seamus’ research interests are chemistry education, the incorporation of augmented and virtual reality into teaching and learning, and science education in out-of-school/informal learning contexts. Previously he has designed and evaluated inquiry-focused science experiments for state-wide, large-scale assessments in Switzerland. Seamus is currently involved in an ongoing, international interdisciplinary project with chemistry and education researchers focussed on re-positioning chemistry as the sustainability science through an integrated systems thinking approach.
Dr. Kerryn Driscoll
Kerryn is a mathematics lecturer and early career researcher in the School of Education at Deakin University. Her research examined how School Mathematics Leaders’ support primary teachers professional learning and continues to evolve through various projects and opportunities to work with these leaders. Kerryn has presented and published research papers at conferences including MERGA and ICME that examined aspects of mathematics leadership. She has worked extensively in primary schools as a classroom teacher, School Mathematics Leader and STEM specialist. Kerryn was recently part of the team that implemented Leading Improvement in Mathematics’ Teaching, a course that was available through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.
Dr. Joe Ferguson
Joseph Paul Ferguson is a lecturer in science and environmental/climate education at Deakin University. He teaches and researches in primary science and technology education as well as environmental/climate education in both the primary and secondary education contexts. Joseph is committed to working with pre-service and in-service teachers to make science and environmental/climate education inclusive and transformative for all young people.
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.
Dr. Judith Gomes
Judith is a Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Deakin University. Early in her career Judith worked as a preschool teacher in Australia and worked in education programmes in Bangladesh, Norway and South Africa in various capacities. Judith is interested in researching children’s scientific conceptual development in everyday context informing new pedagogical strategies in early childhood education context. Her areas of expertise include teaching science/STEM, environmental sustainability education, teacher education and teacher professional development. Her work has been published in reputed journals and as book chapters and presented in international conferences. Judith is dedicated to generating new research ideas to strengthen pedagogical innovations in early childhood education.
Professor Linda Hobbs
Professor Linda Hobbs is a researcher and science teacher educator at Deakin University, specialising in science and STEM education, contributing to several primary science education texts over the years. Her research interests include teaching out-of-field, STEM education, gender and STEM, teacher learning and school change, partnerships in education, as well as evaluation of education-based initiatives. She has designed, implemented and evaluated professional learning for primary and secondary teachers of science and STEM for over 15 years. She currently leads the Girls As Leaders in STEM (GALS) program (funded by The Invergowrie Foundation), which provides girls in years 5-8 with an experience of solving authentic STEM-related problems while being mentored by university and industry mentors.
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.
https://figshare.com/ndownloader/files/37437460/1
Dr. Carly Sawatzki
Carly is a provocateur who challenges thinking around schooling. She wants every student to get an excellent education so they can live their best life. Working as a mathematics teacher educator and educational researcher at Deakin University, Carly designs courses that support preservice and practising teachers to teach differently, by helping them to connect students’ classroom learning with the real world. She is internationally recognised for her thought leadership on young people’s financial capability [financial literacy / financial numeracy] and her critical insights into issues of ethics and equity in education. Carly is widely published on these and other topics and has led research, curriculum and professional learning projects for education authorities across Australia. She is a dynamic and in-demand public speaker, writer, and influencer who loves exchanging ideas, sharing laughter and – above all – making a difference. To find out more, go to www.carlysawatzki.com
Associate Professor Peta White
Peta J. White is an associate professor in science and environmental education at Deakin University. She educated in classrooms, coordinated programs, supported curriculum reform, and prepared teachers in jurisdictions across Canada and Australia. Her PhD explored learning to live sustainably as a platform to educate future teachers. Peta continues her commitment to initial teacher education and in-service teacher education through research-informed professional learning programs. Peta’s current research follows three narratives: science and biology education; sustainability, environmental, and climate change education; and collaborative/activist methodologies and embodied research practice. She is committed to share research findings via accessible professional contexts.
Professor Wanty Widjaja
Wanty is the Associate Head of School International and Engagement of the School of Education. Wanty’s research focuses on understanding complexity of classroom practices and examining ways to support teacher professional learning and student mathematical reasoning. Two recent and notable Category 1 and 2 grant successes are Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Primary teachers adaptive expertise in interdisciplinary maths and science (2021-2024) and Secondary Mathematics and Science initiative for out-of-field teachers funded by Victorian Department of Education and Training (2020-current). In 2023, Wanty led a successful Australia Awards Fellowship ‘Vietnam-Australia partnership for digital transformation in higher education’ funded by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Associate Professor Lihua Xu
Lihua’s research activity has been focused upon video-based classroom research and cross-cultural comparative studies. She was involved in a number of ARC projects that investigated curriculum and instructional practices in both science and mathematics classrooms from East Asian and Western countries. Her current research explores innovative ways to improve teacher professional learning in schools and facilitate school change in the area of science education.
Dr. Nathan Nguyen
Science Education Laboratory Technician
Nathan is currently a technical officer working in science education laboratory at School of Education. Nathan’s background is a physics lecturer and his research interest is in improving teaching and learning science education at secondary school and tertiary levels.
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.
Link: https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Teaching_undergraduate_physics_changing_practices_in_Australia_and_Vietnam/21103840
Dr. Amanda Peters
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.
Professor Julianne Lynch
Julianne’s research focuses on equity and social justice in education, with a particular interest in pedagogical and curriculum innovations, educational technology, and Technologies education. Current projects focus on innovations in ongoing teacher education, teacher re-specialisation for secondary Digital Technologies, and applications of virtual reality and haptics to STEM education. Her research often produces interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary implications.