Integrating concrete and virtual materials in an elementary mathematics classroom : a case study of success with fractions

This paper describes an approach to introducing fraction concepts using generic software tools such as Microsoft Office's PowerPoint to create "virtual" materials for mathematics teaching and learning. This approach replicates existing concrete materials and integrates virtual materials with current non-computer methods of teaching primary students about fractions. The paper reports a case study of a 12-year-old student, Frank, who had an extremely limited understanding of fractions. Frank also lacked motivation for learning mathematics in general and interacted with his peers in a negative way during mathematics lessons. In just one classroom session involving the seamless integration of off-computer and on-computer activities, Frank acquired a basic understanding of simple common equivalent fractions. Further, he was observed as the session progressed to be an enthusiastic learner who offered to share his learning with his peers. The study's "virtual replication" approach for fractions involves the manipulation of concrete materials (folding paper regions) alongside the manipulation of their virtual equivalent (shading screen regions). As researchers have pointed out, the emergence of new technologies does not mean old technologies become redundant. Learning technologies have not replaced print and oral language or basic mathematical understanding. Instead, they are modifying, reshaping, and blending the ways in which humankind speaks, reads, writes, and works mathematically. Constructivist theories of learning and teaching argue that mathematics understanding is developed from concrete to pictorial to abstract and that, ultimately, mathematics learning and teaching is about refinement and expression of ideas and concepts. Therefore, by seamlessly integrating the use of concrete materials and virtual materials generated by computer software applications, an opportunity arises to enhance the teaching and learning value of both materials.

Being and Living in an Australian Urban Community

There is a limited evidence base which highlights the plight of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations living in urban areas and the issues that impact on Indigenous achievements in education, health status, housing needs, rates of incarceration and the struggle for cultural recognition. This is despite over 70 % of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia now living in urban or regional urban areas (ABS 2008). The statistics demonstrate that living in urban centres is as much part of reality for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as living in a remote discrete community. Using the capital city of Brisbane, Queensland as a case study, this paper will explore some of the issues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face against a backdrop of the statistics and some of the current literature. It will additionally explore why there has been limited research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in urban areas and highlight some of the innovative research taking place which will begin to redress this gap. The research issues presented within this paper will resonate with some of the Native American and Indigenous movement patterns and associated issues additionally occurring in the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

Case study of collaborative learning in two contexts : what do English language learners gain?

This chapter describes the use of collaborative learning as an approach to enhance English language learning by students from non-English speaking backgrounds. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) principles were applied to two case studies, one comprising of undergraduate English as Foreign Language Learners in Turkey and the other involved English as Second Language learners in Australia. Social constructivism inspired communicative language teaching using collaborative learning activities such as team work, interactive peer-based learning, and iterative stages of learning matrix were incorporated to enhance students' learning outcomes. Data collected after the CLT intervention was made up of field notes, reflective logs and focus group interviews which revealed complementarities, as well as subtle differences between the two cases. The findings were summarized as learning dispositions; speaking fluency and confidence; learning diagnostics and completion deficiencies; task engagement, flow theory and higher order thinking skills; in addition to self efficacy and development of student identity. CLT has the potential to provide a more inclusive and dynamic education for diverse learners through vital outcomes and benefits which resonate with the real world.

Researching with and for young children : congruence and authenticity in methodology

Early childhood educators insist on recognition of young children’s personal agency and have identified that young children experience life more holistically than any other age group. This paper identifies the irony that, despite clear evidence that artistic expression is essential to development in young children, to date, the field of art in early childhood education has rarely embraced phenomenology which would appear to be an ideal means of illuminating young children’s experiences. We exemplify the importance of congruence and authentic artistic experience with a study into young children’s experiences of displaying their art. We describe the central features of Giorgi’s (1985a, 1985b) approach to phenomenological psychology and assert its appropriateness not only on the grounds that it is an empirical, clear and concise way of uncovering human experience, but also because it is congruent with current understandings of early childhood and reveals the children’s authentic experiences of themselves as artists.

Language and Inclusion in Mainstream Classrooms

Understanding what the teacher says or what is written in texts used in class is a key to academic engagement. Yet, for students who are learning the medium of instruction as an additional language, understanding is often elusive. The study reported in this chapter looked at how African middle school students and parents, and educators in Australian schools, talked about problems of understanding, and responsibility for redressing these, at intensive language school and in transition to a mainstream Australian high school. In general, participants assumed students should signal confusion and teachers should resolve it. However, student talk of current and past anxiety about asking for help in class warrants attention. Challenges include: (1) the need to create receptive peer environments for asking questions; and (2) to recognise when it is inappropriate to rely on students signalling confusion.

An in-depth study of a teacher engaged in an innovative primary science trial professional development project

The implementation of effective science programmes in primary schools is of continuing interest and concern for professional developers. As part of the Australian Academy of Science's approach to creating an awareness of Primary Investigations, a project team trialled a series of satellite television broadcasts of lessons related to two units of the curriculum for Year 3 and 4 children in 48 participating schools. The professional development project entitled Simply Science, included a focused component for the respective classroom teachers, which was also conducted by satellite. This paper reports the involvement of a Year 4 teacher in the project and describes her professional growth. Already an experienced and confident teacher, no quantitative changes in science teaching self efficacy were detected. However, her pedagogical content knowledge and confidence to teach science in the concept areas of matter and energy were enhanced. Changes in the teacher's views about the co-operative learning strategies espoused by Primary Investigations were also evident. Implications for the design of professional development programmes for primary science teachers are discussed.

Transformational learning in the workplace

Although transformative learning theory remains one of the most influential theories in the field of adult education, studies on fostering transformative learning, particularly in groups and in the workplace, remain sparse. This article summarises some evidence of transformational learning that influenced changes to practice, processes, and the organisational culture in a case study. It is based on a cohort of 12 worker-learners enrolled in a Graduate Certificate in Education (Executive Leadership) course offered by an Australian university (Queensland University of Technology). Data for this article were drawn from interviews with 10 participants, a focus group with 6 of them, their assessment presentations, and reflective notes of the course facilitators. Also included here are the effects on transformational learning of Taylor’s five elements of work-based learning design, Fuller and Unwins’ features of expansive learning, and Billett’s workplace pedagogies.

Measuring school-related stressors in adolescents

Some 1620 high school students responded to 68 items that measure adolescent stressors. Thirty-five of the items were based on J. P. Kohn and G. H. Frazer's Academic Stress Scale [1(1986) An Academic Stress Scale: Identification and Rated Importance of Academic Stressors, Psychological Reports, Vol. 59, pp. 415–426] developed in the United States, while the remaining 33 items were developed from P. Strutynski's [(1985) A Survey of Queensland Year 10, 11 and 12 Student Attitudes to Schools and Schooling, State Planning Committee, International Youth Year, Brisbane] lists of the most frequently named problems of 2336 Australian high school students. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test and develop a measurement model developed from an extensive review of previous scales. The High School Stressors Scale emerged from the analytic process and measures nine school-related stressors. For researchers focusing on school-related problems and stressors among adolescents, the HSSS promises to be a very useful instrument. It has sound construct and predictive validity and adequate reliability, as demonstrated by the goodness-of-fit indices the squared multiple correlations.

Maltreated children in the early years : international perspectives on the teacher’s role

Child abuse and neglect is a significant health and social problem with serious consequences for children, families and communities. This chapter provides students, early childhood teachers, and administrators with an evidence base for understanding their role in relation to child abuse and neglect. The chapter draws from international and interdisciplinary research to address four key areas of responsibility: i) recognising signs of child abuse and neglect; ii) reporting child abuse and neglect; iii) supporting children in the classroom; and iv) teaching children to protect themselves (Watts, 1997).

“I am a secondary teacher and I teach history and SOSE” : negotiating pre-service teacher identities in times of curriculum change

Secondary social education in Australia is set to change with the new national history curriculum but integrated social education will continue in the middle years of schooling. Competing discourses of disciplinary and integrated social education approaches create new challenges for pre-service teachers as identification with a teaching area is an important aspect of developing a broader teacher identity. Feedback on a compulsory, final year curriculum studies unit revealed the majority of secondary pre-service teachers identified with at least one social science discipline. However, only a small number listed the integrated social education curriculum of Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE), even though SOSE was an essential part of their brief. More complex identities were revealed in post-teaching practice interviews. In times of curriculum change, attention to pre-service teachers’ disciplinary knowledge is critical in developing a stable subject identity.

Role of libraries in building research endeavours

The research landscape is changing rapidly, and as a consequence the roles of libraries and librarians in supporting and working with researchers is also changing. Some of the drivers behind the changes in research practices and culture include: new technologies, government funding and measurement of research impact, and the importance of open access to data. In Australia, librarians work with researchers to help them identify high quality resources, increase their publication rate and manage and promote access to their research. QUT Library has established a number of initiatives to support researchers, including: establishment of the QUT digital repository ‘ePrints’; purchase of electronic books and electronic journals; programmes of workshops for researchers ; redesign of Library space and, and the creation of new staffing positions. The creation of the QUT ePrints repository was a major new initiative for the QUT Library. ePrints is a web-accessible repository of research outputs created for QUT staff and postgraduate students. The ePrints information is harvested by Google, and anyone searching for a QUT staff member on Google can find their publications listed in ePrints. This keynote address will discuss the context for the role of libraries in building research endeavours, highlight some examples of strategies and resources to supporting researchers. It will conclude with an outline of some key online resources for researchers in education. This presentation should be relevant for both individual researchers interested in conducting and promoting their own research, and for staff and organisations focused on building their support for research.

Aligning ICT in assessment with teaching and learning : enhancing student achievement in the middle years

Student underachievement in the middle years (typically Years 4 to 9) is a concern in education. Incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in assessment that is aligned to teaching and learning has the potential to engage students in higher cognitive processes that lead to increased student achievement. To examine this proposition an investigation was undertaken into teachers’ perceptions of alignment and the implications of those for student achievement in ICT enhanced middle years assessment tasks. This investigation used a collective case study design underpinned by socio-cultural theory. Two methods were used for data collection, namely, semi-structured interviews with individual teachers and a focus group discussion with teachers and another with students. Findings revealed teachers’ perceptions that alignment: assists in mediating achievement of learning outcomes in quality middle years assessment tasks, assists in creating a challenging but supportive environment in which positive learning dispositions and success is encouraged for all students, and contributes to more rigorous use of ICT in assessment. The process of implementing alignment was found to be complex but assisted through prioritising particular practices. These findings enabled the development of eight steps which serve as a guide to the effective implementation of alignment in middle years assessment tasks.

Young children enacting governance : child’s play?

Schools, homes and communities are increasingly perceived as risky spaces for children. This concern is a driving force behind many forms of governance imposed upon Australian children by well-meaning adults. Children are more and more the subjects of both overt and covert regulation by teachers and other adults in school contexts. Are children, though, passive in this process of governance? It is this issue that is the focus of this paper. In order to respond to the question of how young children enact governance in their everyday lives, video-recorded episodes of naturally occurring interactions among children in a preparatory classroom were captured. These data were then transcribed and analysed using the methods of conversation analysis and membership categorisation analysis. This paper shows a number of strategies that the children used when enacting governance within their peer cultures in the classroom. It focuses specifically on how adult and child-formulated rules and social orders of the classroom were drawn upon and developed in order to control and govern during the interaction. This paper illustrates that children are not passive in enacting governance, but actively and competently enact governance through their peer cultures. These findings are significant for educators to consider, as they help to develop an understanding of the complex social orders that children are continually constructing in the early childhood classroom.

Exploring the resistance : an Australian perspective on educating for sustainability in early childhood

Climate change and sustainability are issues of global significance. While other education sectors have implemented education for sustainability for many years, the early childhood sector has been slow to take up this challenge. This position paper poses the question: Why has this sector been so slow to engage with sustainability? Explanations are proposed based on a review of research literature and the authors’ long engagement in seeking to bring early childhood education and education for sustainability together. The imperative is for the early childhood sector to engage in education for sustainability without delay and to ‘get active’ for a sustainable future.