Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe ideas of covariation and rate of change in introductory calculus( 1996)This thesis is a formative evaluation of a new curriculum which has evolved at a Victorian secondary school, with the aim of better preparing students for introductory calculus than has traditionally been the case. The new curriculum focuses on the ideas of the rate of change of the dependent variable and the covariation of the variables using tables of values to examine and emphasise the way that the function changes, before moving to the graphical and algebraic representations. This approach is in contrast to the more traditional curriculum where families of functions are introduced using the algebraic representation, and where the central ideas of change and covariation may be obscured. Because of inherent limitations of this study, it was not possible to produce conclusive evidence; however, the results gave a strong indication that the new approach shows promise for an improved understanding of students studying introductory calculus.
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ItemThe construction of art in the secondary classroom: an investigation of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu( 1996)This thesis examines aspects of the theories of Pierre Bourdieu as they apply to art education. The study investigates whether Bourdieu's theories are supported by the real life histories of teachers and students. The research utilises the life history approach to investigate three factors which Bourdieu argues are significant in determining a student's chances of success in art education. The three factors are the socio-economic background of the student, the way in which art education tends to construct correct ways of making art and viewing art, and the values of art and schooling as reproduced through the family. This thesis shows how complex the structures are which construct what is taught in schools, and argues that altering the way teachers teach art does not necessarily alter what is valued by the teacher within the art classroom. The thesis discusses the way boundaries are constructed for students and that these boundaries influence the way students make and talk about art. This thesis argues, therefore, that for students to be successful within art education they must adhere to the parameters set by the teachers and the school.
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ItemFrench LogoWriter language and foreign language learning( 1996)This study examines the possible effect of the French version of LogoWriter programming language on the French language proficiency of students in year seven who are studying French as a foreign language. It adds to the computer assisted language learning (CALL) debate by studying the place of an artificial language (French LogoWriter) in the second/foreign language classroom. It also examines other possible factors which may influence language learning and suggests further areas of study in foreign language learning and computer technology.
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ItemTwo teaching stategies for managing learning in small groups of different gender composition in science classes( 1996)This study was conducted in three Year 8 classes in one school. It contributes to an understanding of how small groups work in classrooms and the conditions which influence their productivity. In a formal research design two teaching strategies were implemented which managed the status of individuals and the groups. Cognitive and affective learning outcomes were assessed using transcribed group interactions from recorded problem solving sessions. The collaborating teachers of two experimental classes used both management strategies, a low role structure and high role structure over an 8-week teaching period. The third class was the control in which the teachers used no role structure strategy for managing small group learning. Three groups consisting of a boys only group, a girls only group and a mixed gender group from each class were chosen to test achievement using practical investigation problems at the end of each four-week session of implementation of the two strategies. These same students maintained their groupings throughout the eight weeks period of study. Using a combination of audio and video recording, the conversation and behaviour in each group during the problem solving session was made, transcribed and coded. Other support resources used to help interpret the results were: The Learning Preference Scale - Students (LPSS) administered to the students; scripted vignettes taken from student interaction's coded results; informal interview with the teachers, student questionnaire and the author's regular observations of the three classes during the study. From the coded scores on conceptualisation in the group discussion the following propositions were investigated. a) Teaching strategies that manage social and intellectual status differences in classroom groups enhance the achievement of cognitive and affective goals. b) Achievement gains can be linked to patterns of communication in small groups. c) Meaning making is a process of social and cultural conceptualisation which used concepts and skills within small groups. Students prefer cooperative over competitive and/or individualistic learning. d) Gender composition of small groups may influence patterns of communication and hence achievement. More specifically, the non-directional and directional hypotheses tested were: 1. There are no differences between the three strategies (the alternative hypothesis was that active role management treatment will be superior to the no role management). 2. There are no differences between the three gender groups (the alternative hypothesis was that the all boys group will be superior to the all girls group and the mixed gender group). 3. There are no differences between the two treatment phases groups (the alternative hypothesis was that students' performance after phase 2 will be superior to students' performance after phase 1 of the study). While no statistically significant results were found the trends in the data have been generally interpreted as consistent with hypotheses based on the published literature.
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ItemMathematical modelling in the Year 9 mathematics curriculum( 1996)This thesis is a report on research conducted in relation to the introduction of mathematical modelling at the Victorian year 9 level. The research attempted to introduce educational mathematical modelling activities into what was then the normal mathematical curriculum of the secondary college and focused on changes to modelling ability, student affective variables, teacher concerns, and learning which might take place. The study was conducted over one school year at a country secondary college. Two experimental and four control classes of year 9 students completed a pre and post test consisting of an attitudinal measurement instrument and a modelling problem. As well, qualitative data was collected from class observations and discussions and interviews with the teachers. During the year, the experimental classes spent approximately 14% of their class time working on educational mathematical modelling activities. The results from the pre and post test did not produce any statistically significant changes leading to a rejection of the hypotheses of the study. However, the qualitative data collected did provide useful results. The teachers in the study reported concerns and problems similar to those reported in the literature. Observations of a class at work on a modelling activity provided insight into issues of motivation and relationships between mathematical achievement and modelling persistence. The results also highlighted a number of issues for future research. Despite the rejection of the hypotheses, this researcher and the teachers of the experimental classes concluded modelling was a worthwhile activity.
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ItemStudent learning with Internet: is it emancipatory?( 1996)Learning is regarded by some educators to be of great value only when it contributes to an enlightened, empowered and emancipated view of the student's role in their own education (Barthes, 1977, Brunner, 1994, Freire, 1972, Grundy and Henry, 1995). Internet is a relatively inexpensive computer technology which some have seen to offer a practical vision of such 'new age' learning (Goodman, 1995). The study took place at a 1500 student K-12 co-educational single campus independent school, south-east of Melbourne, at which the author is a teacher of English and Economics. Since 1994 the school has attempted to integrate Internet computing across the curriculum. One entrepreneurial curriculum investment has been the establishment of a small group of senior students whose interest and technical competence in computer based electronic communication has led the school to license it to take on a key role, with privileges, across the school's computer resources. The challenge was not to perceive the information technology as extending individual instruction, but to examine instructional reform in methods by which students learn in the context of group problem solving and how the computer would be used in this regard (Koschmann, 1994). Largely autonomous and self-evaluating, this School Internet Group (known as the SIG) provided the data for this study. Utilizing an interview based case study methodology (Scheurich, 1995) the study sought to elicit responses from five of the group members relating to their emergent understanding of their own 'SIG-thinking' and its personal significance. The subjects were asked first to characterise SIG-thinking in a metaphor which were treated as complex semantically creative 'signs' that represent a blending of imaginal and symbolic thinking. This metaphoric projection provided a narrative structuring device to each student's story. These subjects' self-defining metaphors became their psuedonyms in their stories. The study was concerned both with the public realm of social interaction and with the private realm of autonomous cognition. The students' stories were incorporated within a narrative analysis in which the concepts derived from theoretical sources and empirical possibilities were applied to the data to determine whether instances of these concepts of emancipation and empowerment were to be found (Polkinghorne, 1995). The narrative style findings of the study may inform school policy at the research site, where a number of associated staff were able to read or sense implications for a loosening of the 'straight jacket of academic success' that restricts resonant, adaptive curriculum reform. The study may be useful for schools considering different principled policies or their own action research in the educational use of computers. For the reader beyond there are four criteria for judging the emancipatory quality of the educational experience.