Transition: Exchange establishing a visual arts practice based on personal pedagogy

There is a perceived tension in the relationship between the roles of art teacher and artist that led to the question: can an art teacher use their professional training and experience to establish an authentic artistic identity? This self-study tracked and analysed how the process of making her own art enabled an art teacher to also identify as an artist. Drawing on Lamina, the public exhibition of her multimedia artworks, the final exegesis proposes five conditions for art teachers in developing their own art practice: developing an identity as artist, using time and space mindfully, tolerating uncertainty, mentoring, and privileging the process.

Inquiry-based science in a primary classroom : professional development impacting practice

The critical factor in determining students' interest and motivation to learn science is the quality of the teaching. However, science typically receives very little time in primary classrooms, with teachers often lacking the confidence to engage in inquiry-based learning because they do not have a sound understanding of science or its associated pedagogical approaches. Developing teacher knowledge in this area is a major challenge. Addressing these concerns with didactic "stand and deliver" modes of Professional Development (PD) has been shown to have little relevance or effectiveness, yet is still the predominant approach used by schools and education authorities. In response to that issue, the constructivist-inspired Primary Connections professional learning program applies contemporary theory relating to the characteristics of effective primary science teaching, the changes required for teachers to use those pedagogies, and professional learning strategies that facilitate such change. This study investigated the nature of teachers' engagement with the various elements of the program. Summative assessments of such PD programs have been undertaken previously, however there was an identified need for a detailed view of the changes in teachers' beliefs and practices during the intervention. This research was a case study of a Primary Connections implementation. PD workshops were presented to a primary school staff, then two teachers were observed as they worked in tandem to implement related curriculum units with their Year 4/5 classes over a six-month period. Data including interviews, classroom observations and written artefacts were analysed to identify common themes and develop a set of assertions related to how teachers changed their beliefs and practices for teaching science. When teachers implement Primary Connections, their students "are more frequently curious in science and more frequently learn interesting things in science" (Hackling & Prain, 2008). This study has found that teachers who observe such changes in their students consequently change their beliefs and practices about teaching science. They enhance science learning by promoting student autonomy through open-ended inquiries, and they and their students enhance their scientific literacy by jointly constructing investigations and explaining their findings. The findings have implications for teachers and for designers of PD programs. Assertions related to teaching science within a pedagogical framework consistent with the Primary Connections model are that: (1) promoting student autonomy enhances science learning; (2) student autonomy presents perceived threats to teachers but these are counteracted by enhanced student engagement and learning; (3) the structured constructivism of Primary Connections resources provides appropriate scaffolding for teachers and students to transition from didactic to inquiry-based learning modes; and (4) authentic science investigations promote understanding of scientific literacy and the "nature of science". The key messages for designers of PD programs are that: (1) effective programs model the pedagogies being promoted; (2) teachers benefit from taking the role of student and engaging in the proposed learning experiences; (3) related curriculum resources foster long-term engagement with new concepts and strategies; (4) change in beliefs and practices occurs after teachers implement the program or strategy and see positive outcomes in their students; and (5) implementing this study's PD model is efficient in terms of resources. Identified topics for further investigation relate to the role of assessment in providing evidence to support change in teachers' beliefs and practices, and of teacher reflection in making such change more sustainable.

Connecting Indigenous stories with geology : inquiry-based learning in a middle years classroom

One way to integrate indigenous perspectives in junior science is through links between indigenous stories of the local area and science concepts. Using local indigenous stories about landforms, a teacher of year 8 students designed a unit on geology that catered for the diverse student population in his class. This paper reports on the inquiry-based approach structured around the requirements of the Australian Curriculum highlighting the learning and engagement of students during the unit.

Enriching students’ intellectual diet through inquiry based learning

Traditionally, Science education has stressed the importance of teaching students to conduct ‘scientific inquiry’, with the main focus being the experimental model of inquiry used by real world scientists. Current educational approaches using constructivist pedagogy recognise the value of inquiry as a method for promoting the development of deep understanding of discipline content. A recent Information Learning Activity undertaken by a Grade Eight Science class was observed to discover how inquiry based learning is implemented in contemporary Science education. By analysing student responses to questionnaires and assessment task outcomes, the author was able to determine the level of inquiry inherent in the activity and how well the model supported student learning and the development of students’ information literacy skills. Although students achieved well overall, some recommendations are offered that may enable teachers to better exploit the learning opportunities provided by inquiry based learning. Planning interventions at key stages of the inquiry process can assist students to learn more effective strategies for dealing with cognitive and affective challenges. Allowing students greater input into the selection of topic or focus of the activity may encourage students to engage more deeply with the learning task. Students are likely to experience greater learning benefit from access to developmentally appropriate resources, increased time to explore topics and multiple opportunities to undertake information searches throughout the learning activity. Finally, increasing the cognitive challenge can enhance both the depth of students’ learning and their information literacy skills.

Communicating personal amnesty : a dismodernist approach to arts intersections between disability, personal stories and well-being

This thesis investigates the role of narrative devices in the process of improving an individual’s psychological and physiological experience of health and well-being using two methods of inquiry: a theoretical research project and a comparative analysis of two case studies. Through these two approaches the research examines how the health status of people experiencing disability can be re-positioned and re-designed to develop creative, narrative-based approaches to strengthen communication between the mainstream community and those marginalised by pathological, social and biological illness-centric policy. The theoretical section of the thesis examines two different, but complementary bodies of research: health and well-being, and narrative reconstruction. By invoking Antonovksy’s (1985a) theory of salutogenesis and Davis’s (2002) theory of dismodernism, the study examines the role of language and narrative in the defining of health in social, pathological and ableist spheres. The research positions health and well-being as disparate from historical and contemporary readings of illness and disability and presents literature to support the potential to improve health well-being through a creative re-narration of the experience of disability. The research examines the theoretical concepts of resilience, autonomy and social inclusion through a detailed examination of narratology and the amnesty narrative. The study links these theoretical approaches to a practical Arts-Health intersection program developed for the research project called Communicating Personal Amnesty. Through a comparative analysis of a Pilot Study and Major Case study, the research presents findings derived from theory-building participatory action research showing the efficacy of the program. The research provides a detailed analysis of key narrative structures through a variety of experimental methodological approaches to encourage an important dialogue between the creative components of the thesis and the more traditional health-based academic critique. The research is an example of emergent translational health methodologies, in disability studies.

How can partnerships between the universities and schools exploit new opportunities for pedagogies at the intersection of the arts/design and the sciences?

Driven by information accessibility-on-demand provided by the internet, education modes are changing from a teacher-led approach focused on content delivery and assessible outcomes, to a learner-based approach encouraging self-directed, peer-tutored, and cooperative learning. New pedagogies are required to extend learning beyond the classroom and traditional subject areas such as contemporary arts, in alignment with the cross disciplinary priorities of the Australian Curriculum and values of the International Baccalaureate Organisation. This research explores how partnerships with universities and cultural organisations are implicated in the generation of these new forms of pedagogy and contribute to the field of educational research within the context of Education Queensland’s Framework For Gifted Education. In particular, this paper explores a new pedagogical framework for highly capable year five to nine Queensland state school students at the intersection of arts, design and the sciences, which has arisen from an explicit secondary/ tertiary partnership between the Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Faculty and Precincts and the Queensland Academies Young Scholars Program. The Young Scholars Program offers experiences in the International Baccalaureate and Australian Curriculum contexts to enhance outcomes via global understanding, unique industry partnerships and 21st century pedagogical innovation based not on 'content' but tacit/experiential learning concepts including immersive, creative, intellectual and social strategies. These strategies for highly capable students are centred around authentic opportunities, primary resources, transdisciplinary learning and relationships with likeminded peers including tertiary arts, design and STEM educators and students, professionals and researchers. The presentation details case studies which are hands-on real time workshops involving inquiry based challenges in the arts, design and sciences, mathematics, history, creative writing and other disciplines, with content drawn from collections from public institutions, academic research and tertiary pedagogy. Both programs implicate student collaboration and creative production as methodology/data capture for ongoing action research, in alignment with the Framework For Gifted Education’s emphasis on evidence-based practices. They also challenge gifted students “to continue their development through curricular activities that require depth of study, complexity of thinking, fast pace of learning, high-level skills development and/or creative and critical thinking (e.g. through independent investigations, tiered tasks, diverse real-world applications, mentors)”(Education Queensland, 2011:3). This presentation highlights the strengths of the ongoing collaboration between QUT Creative industries Faculty and Queensland Academies, which not only provides successful extra curricular activities for gifted students towards a place in the International Baccalaureate Program, but also provides mentoring opportunities for tertiary students in their field of endeavor to assist with their own learning, and unique research opportunities for the Faculty as it focuses on excellence in arts, design and creative education and research. Education Queensland.(2011). Framework For Gifted Education Revised Edition 2011 (accessed Nov 19 2011)

Reflexivity and aesthetic inquiry : building dialogues between the arts and literacy

Reflection can form the basis for powerful dialogue between the arts and literacy as we seek interpretive and expressive fluency across modes. Through deep, cumulative reflection we make aspects of our world and experiences more perceivable, and open them up for artistic expression and aesthetic inquiry. Such reflections are also the catalysts for self-awareness and identity building. Theories of reflexivity offer a useful lens with which to understand our relationship with the world and the people, texts and things within it. The reflexive process can prompt us to challenge our understandings and change our representations of self and others through text. This paper offers a discussion of reflexivity and the ways in which it can be expressed and performed in discursive and non-discursive ways to develop literacies through and in the arts.

Creative arts research : a long path to acceptance

The majority of tertiary practice-led creative arts disciplines became part of the Australian university system as a result of the creation of the Unified National System of tertiary education in 1988. Over the past two decades, research has grown as the yardstick by which academic performance in the Australian university sector is recognised and rewarded. Academics in artistic disciplines, who struggled to adapt to a culture and workload expectations different from their previous, predominantly teaching based, employment, continue to see their research under-valued within the established evaluation framework. Despite a late 1990s Australian government funded inquiry, many of the inequities remain. While the Excellence in Research in Australia (ERA) exercise has acknowledged the non-text outputs of artist-academics in its evaluation of 'research outcomes', much of the process remains resolutely framed by measures that work against creative arts researchers.

Submission for the Queensland Government Parliamentary Inquiry into personal health promotion interventions using telephone and web-based technologies

Telephone and web-based technologies such as SMS, smartphone apps, gamification, online/mobile games, online quizzes and tools can be used in personal health interventions in two ways: health promotion or social marketing. In response to the Queensland government's call for submissions to the parliamentary inquiry, a social marketing and design submission from four of the faculties at Queensland University of Technology was submitted. There appears to be a great deal of confusion in government circles about the terms ‘social marketing’ and ‘health promotion’ and often they are used interchangeably when they are actually significantly different approaches. Social marketing is the science and practice of behaviour change and involves goods and services that offer a value proposition, and which incentivises citizens to change their behaviour voluntarily. However, social marketing is often mistakenly used to describe advertising and communication or social media marketing. This submission contains an overview of how technology interventions need to be implemented to be successful, provides examples of the evidence that telephone and web-based interventions can effectively influence public health outcome. This submission poses seven critical factors.

Pioneering use of narrative method in a first-year law course to provide an authentic, inquiry-based entry into the discipline of law

Law is saturated with stories. People tell their stories to lawyers; lawyers tell their client's stories to courts; and legislators develop regulation to respond to their constituent's stories of injustice or inequality. My approach to first-year legal education respects this narrative tradition. Both my curriculum design and assessment scheme in the compulsory first-year subject Australian Legal System deploy narrative methodology as the central teaching and learning device. Throughout the course, students work on resolving the problems of four hypothetical clients. Like a murder mystery, pieces of the puzzle come together as students learn more about legal institutions and the texts they produce, the process of legal research, the analysis and interpretation of primary legal sources, the steps in legal problem-solving, the genre conventions of legal writing style, the practical skills and ethical dimensions of professional practice, and critical inquiry into the normative underpinnings and impacts of the law. The assessment scheme mirrors this design. In their portfolio-based assignment, for example, students devise their own client profile, research the client's legal position and prepare a memorandum of advice.

Evaluation of a school-based creative arts therapy programme for adolescents from refugee backgrounds

Creative arts therapy programs have been identified as effective interventions with adolescents affected by adversity. The current study provided a controlled trial of creative arts therapy to address the psychosocial needs of students from refugee backgrounds. Forty-two students participated in a therapy trial, comprising an intervention and control group. Mental health and behavioural difficulties were assessed pre and post intervention. Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to assess wellbeing. Findings suggested an effect for a reduction in behavioural difficulties for the treatment group. A significant reduction in emotional symptoms was found for the treatment group. Findings provide empirical support for school-based creative arts therapy interventions specific to refugee young people.

An inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach to molecular biology for biotechnology undergraduate students

Sin índice de impacto (2013)