Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemA terrible honesty : the development of a personal voice in musical improvisation(University of Melbourne, 1996)
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ItemClinical teaching : an exploration in three health professions(University of Melbourne, 1996)
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ItemThe influence of the ideas of progressive education on teacher training in Victoria, c.1920 to c.1950(University of Melbourne, 1996)To what extent did 'progressivism' influence Victorian teacher training, 1920-1950? The thesis examines the various contributions of such figures as George Browne and Dorothy Ross and the role of the directors of education, Tate, Hansen and McRae. Among the events discussed are the re-opening of the Psychological Laboratory at the Teachers' College, the revision of the primary curriculum in 1934, the influence of the 1929 Elsinore Conference of the New Education Fellowship and the 1937 international conference of the NEF in Australia. The acceptance or rejection of progressive ideas in teacher training in the State, and the reasons for this, are a binding theme in the investigation. When the new education' was introduced at the turn of the century, the educational debate in Victoria became largely an argument between those who considered that all children should have the benefit of a liberal, though academic education and those who considered that education should be vocational. Both sides ignored the reformers' advocacy of a new way of looking at the all-round development of the child being educated. When progressive education was introduced by George Browne in the early 1920s some attention was paid to its ideas and its practice, but it was generally ignored in favour of the orthodox transmission model of teaching, learning and schooling. Teacher training reflected this and wider social values that were dominant. In the State system, the relative rejection of innovation was based on apparently entrenched cultural and educational ideas and practices, ministerial intransigence, the timidity or indifference of some in official positions and, more generally, the inertia inherent in the maintenance functions of a large public system. There was some teacher training based on progressive ideas at the Associated Teachers' Training Institution under Catherine Remington and Dorothy Ross. The relative smallness of this operation left it open to the personal influence of innovative individuals. Ross became Headmistress of Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School in 1939 and George Browne used the school extensively as a practical example of the progressive ideas promoted in the School of Education at the University of Melbourne. By the 1950s the progressive movement had lost much of its momentum world-wide. Victoria was no exception. Coincidentally, both Ross and Browne retired from their formal educational positions at this time. In a different form, progressivism re-surfaced in the late sixties and early seventies, i
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ItemThe rapid characterisation of pulpwood quality of plantation eucalypts using near-infrared spectroscopy( 1996)Chemical pulp yield is a tree breeding trait of great importance to the pulp and paper industry. Small improvements in pulp yield can provide large economic benefits for forest owners with a successful breeding program. Laborious and expensive methods of direct measurement for pulp yield presently limit the number of trees that are tested and therefore hinder potential improvement. A method that provides a rapid, cheap measure of yield is required. Attempts to do so through correlating easily measured parameters such as hot water extractives and basic density with yield have been unsuccessful. Recent studies have indicated that vibrational spectroscopic methods such as near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS and MIRS) have the potential to predict pulp yield. The major objective of this study is to determine whether near-infrared spectroscopy could be used to predict the pulpwood quality, specifically pulp yield, of plantation eucalypts with sufficient accuracy to be of use in evaluating woods from tree improvement programs. Analysis of any product by NIRS is subject to several sources of error. A review of the agricultural industry literature identifies several important sources of error in NIRS analysis. Important factors include: the particle size distribution and mean particle size of the sample; the type of mill used for grinding; the moisture content of the sample; the sample temperature at the time of testing; the basic density of the sample and the species. In this thesis, the influence of a number of these factors on the NIRS analysis of wood is examined and a protocol for the analysis of wood using NIRS developed. Initially, NIRS is used to model and predict pulp yield in thirty samples of native forest E. globulus woods that gave a very wide range of pulp yields (37.6 % to 60.2 %). Regions of the second derivative NIR spectra display variation that could be directly related to variations in pulp yield. Calibration models are developed using simple linear regression and partial least squares (PLS) regression on data from both normal NIR spectra and second derivative NIR spectra. The model developed by using PLS regression with second derivative NIR spectra demonstrates the best predictive ability (R-value = 0.983, standard error of calibration (SEC) = 1.34 and standard error of prediction (SEP) = 1.65). However, the SEP is too high for practical purposes. The errors are high because insufficient samples were available to represent the extreme variation. Calibration models are also developed with regions of the NIR spectrum removed. Removal of the water bands (1350-1450 and 1848-1968 nm) improves the SEP only marginally. It was decided that future models would be developed with full spectrum second derivative spectra and PLS regression. Twelve models for the prediction of kraft pulp yield are developed using plantation grown E. globulus and E. nitens from sites in Tasmania and Victoria. R-values range from 0.892 to 0.963, SEC values range from 0.32 to 0.92 and SEP values range from 0.63 to 1.46. Seven models have SEP values of less than one. The low SEP values of several of the models indicate that NIRS could be used as a practical alternative to laboratory pulping. The improvement is attributed to having larger sample sets and samples that were able to better represent the narrower range of environmental and genetic variation found in plantation forests. The chemical components of eucalypt woods that influence pulp yield are modelled and predicted using NIRS analysis. Eleven E. globulus and twenty-one E. nitens samples are used. The chemical components modelled include: cellulose, glucan, hemicellulose and xylan. Models for E. globulus have R-values ranging from 0.995 to 0.731 and SEC values ranging from 0.04 to 1.64. The qualities of the models were judged by cross validation procedures as there were too few samples to reserve a separate test set. Models for E. nitens have R-values ranging from 0.988 to 0.894, SEC values that range from 0.19 to 0.93 and SEP values that range from 0.78 to 1.85. The use of larger sample sets should improve the models and reduce errors. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to classify samples based on their NIR spectra. PCA is a data decomposition technique that can be used to extract the systematic variation that exists in a single data set. Two-dimensional PCA scores plots can be used to examine how a number of samples relate to each other. Such plots are used to distinguish between woods of high and low pulp yield; between hardwoods and softwoods; between eucalypt species (E. globulus, E. grandis and E. nitens) and between sites the trees of specific species were grown on (Tasmania and Victoria). PCA could be a very useful tool for breeding programs, perhaps providing a simple means of eliminating poor performing trees. The within-tree variation of pulp yield is also examined using NIRS. If trees are to be sampled non-destructively, ie. by cores, an understanding of within-tree variation is necessary for the identification of representative sampling points. Individual ring samples have different NIR spectra. The spectra of rings 5 and 6 (where the heartwood-sapwood boundary is located) demonstrate the greatest differences. Patterns of radial and longitudinal variation are different for each tree. Radial variation of pulp yield at 5, 20 and 60 % of total tree height is basically linear (average of 15 trees). Longitudinal variation (average of 3 trees) of pulp yield is not linear, the model used to describe it is of the form y = a + bx + cxA. Maps of withintree variation demonstrate that yield is variable within trees and that each tree has a different pattern of variation. The outer region of the tree between 15 and 40 % of total tree height has wood giving the highest pulp yield. Samples from 10 % of total tree height (2.2 m) gives the best correlation with whole tree pulp yield. The north and south hemispheres of a single tree are examined. Within this tree the yield variation is found to be symmetrical. The heritability (h2) of pulp yield for 7 year old E. nitens is estimated using 588 samples whose yield has been estimated using NIRS. Heritability estimates of 0.34 and 0.31 are obtained for the inner and outer rings respectively. The estimates are lower than expected based on previous estimates. PCA is used to examine the variation present in the calibration and the unknown data sets. It is found that the calibration data derived from whole-tree average samples do not contain all the variation present in the unknown data obtained from within the inner and outer rings. Improved heritability estimates are expected to be obtained by adding data to the calibration obtained from within the rings. It is demonstrated that NIRS can successfully predict pulp yield and a number of other chemical components of wood. The success of several models indicates that NIRS has the potential to be a very important tool for tree breeding programs. Consistency in sample preparation and presentation is important. Care must be taken that the proper samples are selected for calibration.
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ItemThe role of an early childhood educator in children's emerging literacy( 1996)During the two years of this semi longitudinal study, one early childhood educator reflected on and developed her practice. The particular focus of this study was the pre-school children's literacy development and how best this could be facilitated and supported. Action Research was chosen as the most suitable research methodology which enabled the investigation to develop in an iterative manner. In the first instance an analysis of the literature concerning children's early learning, their literacy development and the role of the adult during these early years was reviewed. The next stage involved a critical evaluation of both the provisions and resources for literacy in the pre-school classroom under investigation and also the most appropriate role for the teacher in relation to these children's emerging literacy. While the focus of this study has been the development of the teacher's knowledge base and practice, it was also possible to monitor the literacy development of the children from ages three to six years. In addition, highly favourable results were obtained by those children who took part in the study when they were compared with others who did not after the start of formal schooling. Consideration has also been given to the role of parents of these children in the pre-school environment and their role with respect to childrens emerging literacy.
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ItemThe utility of Schoenfeld's protocol parsing technique for detecting and illustrating control-based behaviour in non-routine problem solving episodes( 1996)A non-routine mathematical problem was used to gather case studies of problem solving behaviour of undergraduate and postgraduate mathematics students observed working individually or in groups during a thirty minute think aloud problem solving session. A component of each of the case studies was a parsed representation of the participants' solution developed using a technique devised by Schoenfeld which highlights aspects of control-related problem solving behaviour. A series of questions relating to the utility of Schoenfeld's parsing technique, aspects of its validity, and the source difficulty of the problem are considered through the analysis of the ten protocols. Solutions from three protocols all relate to the "deep structure" of the problem. The remaining seven protocols generally had solutions that concentrated on "surface features" of the problem. The protocols provided no evidence that control, on its own, can necessarily promote the solution of a non-routine problem. Effective control behaviour relies on the problem solvers' knowledge of the problem solving strategies or heuristics available. In general, only a combination of deep structural investigation, the targeted use of examples and appropriately placed global solution assessments assisted significantly with solution progress. Where examples were specifically chosen to illuminate insights or confirm or refute assertions, they could effectively be used as a way of advancing in the problem. This use of examples was not seen in solutions that focused on surface features of the problem. There was little difference in the way that local solution assessments were made or acted upon by participants and such assessments did not generally assist solution progress. Schoenfeld's parsing process does not necessarily produce an accurate narrative of a solution-the episodes reflect "surface level" decisions and actions and often cannot indicate the quality and depth of thinking. No one graphical form of a parsed protocol was able to represent a successful solution to the problem used in this study, or control-related behaviour on the part of the problem solver.
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ItemThe educational theory of Dmitri Kabalevsky in relation to his piano music for children( 1996)This study investigates the educational theories and beliefs of the Russian composer and educator Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky as they relate to his piano music for children. A biographical sketch of the composer’s public life was developed incorporating the significant events in his life as they relate to the compositions, and in particular, his work with children. The primary sources for this study are the composer’s own writings - some of which were specially translated from Russian into English for the purpose of this study. Kabalevsky offered an alternative philosophy to that of many Western educators and musicians. His educational and musical views are discussed in the context of the overriding political philosophy to which he adhered throughout his life. The clearest expression of his educational views is seen in his book A Story of Three Whales and Many Other Things and the recorded talks with children entitled What Music Says, both of which were translated from the Russian for this study. An overview of Kabalevsky’s music was developed, with particular reference to his music for children. Kabalevsky’s piano music for children is discussed in the larger context of his output for the instrument. Particular emphasis is placed on the use he made of the song, the dance and the march - the three major genres that are the basis of the small character pieces which constitute the majority of his works for children. Five sets of music, from the twelve-volume collection entitled Piano Music for Children and Young People, have been selected for investigation in this study. The sets are In the Pioneer Camp Op. 3/86 (127/1968), From Pioneer Life Op. 14 (1931/1968), Thirty Children’s Pieces Op. 27 (1937-38), Twenty-Four Easy Pieces Op. 39 (1943) and Thirty-Five Easy Pieces Op. 89 (1972). A descriptive analysis of each of the 100 pieces (under set criteria) was carried out, highlighting the major focus of the piece as well as the important pedagogical elements. An important aspect of this study was the identification and classification of the piano pieces in terms of the genre or style of the song, the dance or the march; only some were identified as such by the composer. The classification of pieces provided an important link between Kabalesky’s educational philosophy and his piano music for children.
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Item"A terrible honesty": the development of a personal voice in musical improvisation( 1996-06)Australia mostly with a focus on the performance of African-American music or jazz. In this majority of these the emphasis is on the performance of those styles which were conceived and developed up to the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the free jazz era. However, there is one course which, although it is rooted in African-American music, promulgates the notion that Australian students in the 1990s should endeavour to develop a personal musical “voice”. This is Improvisation Studies, a three year degree program at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia. This study sought to clarify what was meant by a personal voice by monitoring the development of selected students. Given that the notion of a personal voice as an outcome is a novel one, the study adopted an investigatory discovery-based approach. This required intensive study of selected students on the grounds that the development of a personal voice manifests itself in different ways. A second major purpose of the study was to investigate factors which affected the development of the personal voice. Key factors included the ways in which the VCA course encouraged the development of this voice, as well as the characteristics that students brought to the course and which possibly reflected their musical educational background.