Get real : the development, implementation and evaluation of an intervention for primary aged children with High Functioning Autism

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder experience difficulty in communication and in understanding the social world which can have negative consequences for their relationships, in managing emotions, and generally dealing with the challenges of everyday life. This thesis examines the effectiveness of the Active and Reflective components of the Get REAL program through the assessment of the detailed coding of video-recorded observations and longitudinal quantitative analysis. The aim of Get REAL is to increase the social, emotional, and cognitive learning of children with High Functioning Autism (HFA). Get REAL is a group program designed specifically for use in inclusive primary school settings. The Get REAL program was designed in response to the mixed success of generalisation of learning to new contexts of existing social skills programs. The theoretical foundation of Get REAL is based upon pedagogical theory and learning theory to facilitate transfer of learning, combined with experiential, individualised, evaluative and organisational approaches. This thesis is by publication and consists of four refereed journal papers; 1 accepted for publication and 3 that are under review. Paper 1 describes the development and theoretical basis of the Get REAL program and provides detail of the program structure and learning cycle. The focus of Paper 1 reflects the first question of interest in the thesis which is about the extent to which learning derived from participation in the program can be generalised to other contexts. Participants are 16 children with HFA ranging in age from 8-13 years. Results provided support for the generalisability of learning from Get REAL to home and school evidenced by parent and teacher data collected pre and post participation in Get REAL. Following establishment of the generalisation of learning from Get REAL, Papers 2 and 3 focus on the Active and Reflective components of the program in order to examine how individual and group learning takes place. Participants (N = 12) in the program are video-taped during the Active and Reflective Sessions. Using identical coding protocols of video data, improvements in prosocial behaviour and diminishing of inappropriate behaviours were apparent with the exception of perspective taking. Data also revealed that 2 of the participants had atypical trajectories. An in-depth case study analysis was then conducted with these 2 participants in Paper 4. Data included reports from health care and education professionals within the school and externally (e.g., paediatrician) and identified the multi-faceted nature of care needed for children with comorbid diagnoses and extremely challenging family circumstances as a complex task to effect change. Results of this research support the effectiveness of the Get REAL program in promoting pro social behaviours such as improvements in engaging with others and emotional regulation, and in diminishing unwanted behaviours such as conduct problems. Further, the gains made by the participating children were found to be generalisable beyond Get REAL to home and other school settings. The research contained in the thesis adds to current knowledge about how learning can take place for children with HFA. Results show that an experiential learning framework with a focus on social cognition, together with explicit teaching, scaffolded with video feedback, are key ingredients for the generalisation of social learning to broader contexts.

The effects of standardised assessment (NAPLAN) on teacher pedagogy at two Queensland schools

The purpose of this qualitative interpretative case study was to explore how the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) requirements may be affecting pedagogies of two Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7 teachers at two Queensland schools. The perceived problem was that standardised assessment NAPLAN practices and its growing status as a key measure of education quality throughout Australia has the potential to limit the everyday literacy and numeracy practices of teachers to instructional methods primarily focused on teaching to the test. The findings demonstrate how increased explicit teaching of NAPLAN content and procedural knowledge prior to testing has the potential to negatively impact on the teaching of everyday literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge that extend beyond those concerned with NAPLAN. Such teaching limited opportunity for what teachers reported as valued collaborative learning contexts aiming for long-term literacy and numeracy results.

Echo theatre : from experience to performance

This research project investigates the characteristics of Echo Theatre, its potential to foster performative and narrative competencies in students, and the role of the teacher in this performative and educational practice. Echo Theatre is a method devised during my storytelling practice and this research confirms that there is no identical research or teaching practice which involves students staging personal narratives in the classroom in this way. The study has been informed by crossdisciplinary theory studies from the fields of phenomenology, cognitive sciences, and theatre practice. To analyse and discuss Echo Theatre's potential contribution to the development of the child I have defined the concept of a performative competence as well as redefined the concept of a narrative competence. The situated, embodied and performative character of human cognition is emphasised as physical actions and thinking in movement is related to both gestural and conceptual understandings. Studies in philosophy and psychology confirm that narrative structure, related to identity construction and meaning-­‐making, can be attained through the performing body. We tell stories to know who we are. Telling stories then in the Echo Theatre model develops multiple competencies related to the performative aspects of theatre practice as well as the narrative aspects of storytelling. The practice-­‐led aspect of this research project includes two fieldwork projects involving a primary school class who created sixteen different Echo Theatre stories. Student participation reveals that Echo Theatre is most constructive when it moves through five phases; recalled experience, narrative, drama, performance, and evaluation. Ongoing reflection is a part of all five phases. The study also confirms that while there is potential for Echo Theatre to support the development of performative and narrative competencies in students, the effectiveness of this directly relates to the teacher's theatre knowledge and skills and his or her didactic attitude towards the students. This study confirms that the potential for learning through the moving and performing body of Echo Theatre is strengthened by working with personal narratives in the classroom and led by teachers displaying heightened skills and knowledge of the aesthetics and dynamics of theatrical form.

Student identities in a mathematical community of practice : radical visible pedagogy and the teacher collective

This study investigated the practices of two teachers in a school that was successful in enabling the mathematical learning of students in Years 1 and 2, including those from backgrounds associated with low mathematical achievement. The study explained how the practices of the teachers constituted a radical visible pedagogy that enabled equitable outcomes. The study also showed that teachers’ practices have collective power to shape students’ mathematical identities. The role of the principal in the school was pivotal because she structured curriculum delivery so that students experienced the distinct practices of both teachers.

Enhancing teacher education : the School-Community Intergrated Learning (SCIL) pathway

National Australian reviews advocate exploring new models for preservice teacher education. This study investigates the outcomes of the School-Community Integrated Learning (SCIL) pathway as a model for advancing preservice teachers’ understandings of teaching. Thirty-two final-year preservice teachers were surveyed with extended written responses on how the SCIL pathway advanced their understandings of teaching. Results indicated 100% agreement on 6 of the 27 survey items. Indeed, 78% or more preservice teachers agreed that they had a range of experiences across the five categories (i.e., personal-professional skill development, understandings of system requirements, teaching practices, student behaviour and reflective practices). Extended responses suggested they had developed understandings around setting up classrooms, whole school planning processes with professional development, the allocation of teacher responsibilities (e.g., playground duties), parent-teacher interviews, diagnostic testing for literacy and numeracy, commencing running records of students’ assessment results, and the development of relationships (students, teachers and parents). Although a longitudinal study is required to determine long-term effects, the SCIL pathway may be viewed as a positive step towards preparing final-year preservice teachers for their first year as fully-fledged teachers.

Teaching sociology within teacher education : revisiting, realigning and re-embedding

This paper uses theoretical resources from the sociology of education to consider the teaching of sociology in teacher education programs in Australia. Once a disciplinary ‘pillar’ of teacher education, sociology’s contribution has become less explicit while more integrated, with consequences for disciplinary identity. Here we explore how sociology is taught in teacher education curricula on two fronts. Firstly we outline how sociology is embedded as one of a number of competing perspectives in foundational studies, and its pedagogic consequences. Then we consider the powerful contribution of sociology in literacy studies, amidst public debate about literacy performance. The analysis draws on Bernstein’s (2000) distinction between singular disciplinary curriculum design and practically-oriented regional curriculum design. We seek to trouble the commonsense binary between theory and practice that structures debates around professional education in higher education more broadly, and to dignify service sociology as a valuable, generative site for the discipline’s future.

The recruitment of STEM-talented students into teacher education programs

This paper begins by identifying three main reasons why many of the more STEM-Talented students at our universities do not consider enrolling in STEM teacher education programs. Then based on a review of the literature, a framework for addressing this dilemma is presented and discussed. This framework consists of a set of three principles together with eleven strategies for the operationalization of these principles. During the presentation of the framework, the roles of governments and of universities at the institutional, faculty/division and departmental levels in the operationalization of the framework are examined.

Through the eyes of the mentor : framing expectations within preservice teacher and mentor relationships

Mentoring relationships during pre-service education are a significant relationship through which emerging teachers negotiate their teacher identity (Iancu-Haddad & Oplatka, 2009; Hudson, 2010). It is therefore important to understand how mentor teachers frame their expectations. This paper explores mentoring relationships established within a Queensland partnership program funded through the Federal Government’s Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership Agreement (DEEWR, 2011). Within the broader policy context, these mentoring relationships were seen as an important space for pre-service teachers to experience cultural induction into Education Queensland schooling, and be advocates for quality teaching (Willis, Bahr, Bannah, & Welch, 2012). Interview and survey data from 14 teacher mentors were analysed using a dialectic constant comparison approach (Dick 2007). Three significant themes were identified. Mentor teachers’ understanding of their roles positioned pre-service teachers as either novices or alternatively as colleagues, and these had implications for the opportunities for learning that were then made available to the pre-service teachers. The mentor teacher’s beliefs about teaching as a practical craft, and how the mentor teachers judged a pre-service teacher’s “enthusiasm” were also analysed. Understanding the factors that guide teacher mentor approaches may inform future designs of mentoring and preservice teacher preparation programs.

Troubled Times in Australian Teacher Education : 2012-2013

The 2012 OLT National Teaching Fellowship described in this report has mapped and analysed the complex and competing internal and external agencies impacting on the whole-of-curriculum design in contemporary higher education in Australia, particularly on degrees in Education with an emphasis on initial teacher education. The Fellowship was conducted at a time of both heightened public and political scrutiny of teacher education and the imposition of new nationally-consistent accreditation processes. This scrutiny culminated in a call by the previous Federal Government for TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency) to conduct a comprehensive review of teacher education beginning in 2014 and the incoming Government announcing it will establish a short term ministerial advisory group to report on the “priority issue of improving teacher quality” (Pyne, 2013).

Scaffolding techniques : a teacher training for cooperative learning in Thailand primary education

Using cooperative learning in classrooms promotes academic achievement, communication skills, problem-solving, social skills and student motivation. Yet it is reported that cooperative learning as a Western educational concept may be ineffective in Asian cultural contexts. The study aims to investigate the utilisation of scaffolding techniques for cooperative learning in Thailand primary mathematics classes. A teacher training program was designed to foster Thai primary school teachers’ cooperative learning implementation. Two teachers participated in this experimental program for one and a half weeks and then implemented cooperative learning strategies in their mathematics classes for six weeks. The data collected from teacher interviews and classroom observations indicates that the difficulty or failure of implementing cooperative learning in Thailand education may not be directly derived from cultural differences. Instead, it does indicate that Thai culture can be constructively merged with cooperative learning through a teacher training program and practices of scaffolding techniques.

Teacher Evidence Matrix : an evaluation using multiple lines of evidence

Welcome to the Teacher evidence matrix. This matrix is designed for highly qualified discipline experts to evaluate their teaching in a systematic manner. The primary purpose of the Teacher evidence matrix is to provide a tool that an academic staff member at university can annually review their teaching. The annual review will result in you being ready for performance, planning and review; promotion; awards; or employment application. This tool is designed for individual use and will lead to an action plan for implementation.

Reimagining school libraries : emerging teacher pedagogic practices

Agile learning spaces have the potential to afford flexible and innovative pedagogic practice. However there is little known about the experiences of teachers and learners in newly designed learning spaces, and whether the potential for reimagined pedagogies is being realised. This paper uses data from a recent study into the experiences of teacher-librarians, teachers, students and leaders of seven Queensland school libraries built with Building the Education Revolution (BER) funding, to explore the question, “how does the physical environment of school libraries influence pedagogic practices?” This paper proposes that teachers explored new pedagogies within the spaces when there was opportunity for flexibility and experimentation and the spaces sufficiently supported their beliefs about student learning. The perspectives of a range of library users were gathered through an innovative research design incorporating student drawings, videoed library tours and reflections, and interviews. The research team collected qualitative data from school libraries throughout 2012. The libraries represented a variety of geographic locations, socioeconomic conditions and both primary and secondary campuses. The use of multiple data sources, and also the perspectives of the multiple researchers who visited the sites and then coded the data, enabled complementary insights and synergies to emerge. Principles of effective teacher learning that can underpin school wide learning about the potential for agile learning spaces to enhance student learning, are identified. The paper concludes that widespread innovative use of the new library spaces was significantly enhanced when the school leadership fostered whole school discussions about the type of learning the spaces might provoke. This research has the potential to inform school designers, teachers and teacher-librarians to make the most of the transformative potential of next generation learning spaces.

Looking yonder : a model of arts engagement with teacher artists and professional artists in Queensland Schools

Since 2007 Kite Arts Education Program (KITE), based at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), has been engaged in delivering a series of theatre-based experiences for children in low socio-economic primary schools in Queensland. KITE @ QPAC is an early childhood arts initiative of The Queensland Department of Education that is supported by and located at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. KITE delivers relevant contemporary arts education experiences for Prep to Year 3 students and their teachers across Queensland. The theatre-based experiences form part of a three year artist-in-residency project titled Yonder that includes performances developed by the children with the support and leadership of Teacher Artists from KITE for their community and parents/carers in a peak community cultural institution. This paper provides an overview of the Yonder model and unpacks some challenges in activating the model for schools and cultural organisations.