Generic versus subject specific pedagogy - should mathematics be in the centre?

Research into pedagogy and school change is a high priority in Australia and many other countries. This paper, which includes some preliminary findings from the Improving Middle Years Mathematics and Science: The role of subject cultures in school and teacher change (IMYMS) project, argues that, while there are key features that are common to quality learning environments across all subject areas, generic formulations of pedagogy fail to take account of the extent to which the disciplines being taught shape pedagogy or the contribution of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to effective teaching - i.e. that there really is a need to put "mathematics in the centre ".

Western science and Islamic learners : informing constructivism, quality learning and `internationalising the curriculum`

This presentation reports on a two-phase research program which focuses on the experiences of Islamic-background learners in science/environmental education. The research program explores perceived dissonances between western science and Islamic belief as an issue for: the highly visible discourse of constructivism in science and environmental education; the policy challenges of ‘internationalising the university curriculum’; and the pedagogical challenge of ‘Quality Learning’ – in particular responding to ‘faith-based’ commitments in education.
Conceptually, the research program is conducted within a constructivist discourse. Essentially, we are proposing that dissonances experienced by Islamic-background learners in a western science curriculum (as reported in Sharifah, 2003), and the effects of these dissonances on how learners construct meaning in science, can be understood within a constructivist discourse. Further, we believe the research has the promise of not only exploring and explicating some of the issues experienced by teachers and learners in Islamic science education contexts (and thereby contributing to our understanding of the idea of ‘quality learning’), but also expanding our grasp of the expressions, implications and limitations of the constructivist hypothesis in education. In this sense it has a transformative agenda by working to improve access to and experience in the science curriculum for Muslim students.

Sea search : a community-based citizen science monitoring program for Victoria, Australia, Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries

Community involvement in monitoring Victoria’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) engages coastal volunteers in looking after their marine ‘front yards”. The Management Strategy for Victoria’s System of Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries dedicates an entire theme to community engagement with core key performance areas. This includes community participation. The Sea Search community based monitoring program was developed in 2003 to engage volunteers in meaningful ecological data collection for future sustainability of Victoria’s MPAs. Deakin University, an academic institute, and Parks Victoria, the management agency for Victoria’s MPAs, through a research partner program, trialled three different habitat monitoring methodologies. The trails assessed volunteer ability to collect scientific data, and social science aspects for their involvement in a community-based monitoring program. Information collected by volunteers, feeds directly into their local MPA management strategies to address issues such as climate change, introduced pests and human impacts and natural ecological variation.

The Sea Search program addresses the two action programmes, Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, created at the United Nations Earth Summit, held in 1992. Both documents highlight the need for community engagement and capacity building for sustainability, health and integrity of the earth. Involvement in the Sea Search program builds the volunteer’s capacity by learning scientific skills, interacting with other like minded community members, and creating relationships with all organisations involved in the delivery of the program. In this regard, Sea Search is a citizen science program involving all sectors in society by promoting public-interest and research for decision making and planning of Victoria’s system of Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries.

Strategies to change body shape among men and women who attend fitness centre

The current study examined the association between exercise behaviors, disordered eating, and other behaviors to change body shape among fitness center attendees. The participants were 520 adults (245 men, 275 women) who attended fitness centers. Data were gathered using an anonymous questionnaire. Women who attended fitness centers were generally trying to lose weight and improve fitness; men were generally trying to increase their muscles and improve their fitness level. Reasons for exercise predicted the nature of the body change strategies adopted by respondents. Regression analyses demonstrated that exercises performed by people who attend fitness centers are a reflection of whether or not they want to lose weight, increase muscle or improve fitness. All groups were equally likely to engage in health risk behaviors, but the specific nature of these behaviors varied by group. The implications of these findings for health-related messages among people who attend fitness centers are discussed.

Technology education, science and science education : exploring the relationship

In this paper the nature of technology education in relation to science and science education is explored. Ways forward are indicated for both technology and science in the curriculum so that the two areas can be mutually supportive. In the 1990s, when curriculum writers were attempting to provide technology a unique place in the curriculum, they tended to downplay the relationship between technology and science. One reason for this tendency derives from a perception that science is an academic and elitist discipline and technology is well served by emphasizing the distance between the two. The other reason is perhaps political, that science, by virtue of its status in the community, and the status of its special type of knowledge, would be in a position, if allowed, to subsume the new subject. There are philosophical and historical precedents that justify such a concern. In tracing the historical relationships between science and technology, in professional practice, in philosophical positioning, and in school curriculum, we inevitably need to deal with the politics of school subjects.

The position taken in this paper is that science and technology are different, both in their epistemological foundations, and in the nature of the professional communities and the concerns of individual practitioners within the two areas. In clarifying these differences the essential nature of technology and of science are illuminated. The paper also explores ways in which the two areas can benefit from each other’s existence in the curriculum, and ways of approaching teaching that both clarifies the special nature of each type of knowledge, and allows them to be mutually supportive. This may necessitate a reconstruction of the nature of school science.

Management framework for corporate telecommunication and data centre information security

Network security, particularly Internet security, is at the forefront of business and government networks. This research has discovered weaknesses in current professional practice, particularly in mitigation strategies to reduce the impacts of security violations in corporate telecommunications and data centres. The importance of integrating security policies, processes and operational practice is demonstrated. Leadership models and innovation mechanisms best suited to improved security design are also identified.

Values in science, environmental education and teacher education

The aim of this chapter is to establish values as a key component of science and environmental education, consistent with the troika framework, and to explore the implications of this for teacher education. In the chapter, we review research that has increasingly placed values at the centre of the process of learning science, and central also in framing students' responses to school science. We then present findings from three projects that explore the relationship of values to teaching and learning science: first, an exploration of the pedagogies of effective teachers of science; second,an environmental education project in which students explore science and sustainability ideas in the context of a community exchange program in Mexico and Alaska; and, third, a teachcr education initiative focused on place-based education. In the chapter, we argue that learning science and engaging with the environment entails pedagogies that link conceptual learning, values and community.

The science and practice of lithium therapy

Introduction: Despite more that 60 years of clinical experience, the effective use of lithium for the treatment of mood disorder, in particular bipolarity, is in danger of becoming obsolete. In part, this is because of exaggerated fears surrounding lithium toxicity, acute and long-term tolerability and the encumbrance of life-long plasma monitoring. Recent research has once again positioned lithium centre stage and amplified the importance of understanding its science and how this translates to clinical practice.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to provide a sound knowledge base as regards the science and practice of lithium therapy.

Method: A comprehensive literature search using electronic databases was conducted along with a detailed review of articles known to the authors pertaining to the use of lithium. Studies were limited to English publications and those dealing with the management of psychiatric disorders in humans. The literature was synthesized and organized according to relevance to clinical practice and understanding.

Results: Lithium has simple pharmacokinetics that require regular dosing and monitoring. Its mechanisms of action are complex and its effects are multi-faceted, extending beyond mood stability to neuroprotective and anti-suicidal properties. Its use in bipolar disorder is under-appreciated, particularly as it has the best evidence for prophylaxis, qualifying it perhaps as the only true mood stabilizer currently available. In practice, its risks and tolerability are exaggerated and can be readily minimized with knowledge of its clinical profile and judicious application.

Conclusion: Lithium is a safe and effective agent that should, whenever indicated, be used first-line for the treatment of bipolar disorder. A better understanding of its science alongside strategic management of its plasma levels will ensure both wider utility and improved outcomes.

Starting out in STEM : a study of young men and women in first year science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses

In late 2011, first year university students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses across Australia were invited to participate in the international Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) study. IRIS investigates the influences on young people's decisions to choose university STEM courses and their subsequent experiences of these courses. The study also has a particular focus on the motivations and experiences of young women in courses such as physics, IT and engineering given the low rates of female participation in these fields. Around 3500 students from 30 Australian universities contributed their views on the relative importance of various school and non-school influences on their decisions, as well as insights into their experiences of university STEM courses so far. It is hoped that their contributions will help improve recruitment, retention and gender equity in STEM higher education and careers.

Invaders at the door : science fiction film invasion narratives of the 1950s

Public talk Warrnambool city centre campus in association with the arts centre