Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemPredictors of performance in arithmetic in the middle years of primary school( 2002)While the amount of research into difficulties in mathematics has increased markedly over recent years there continues to be a need for more research into mathematics in the middle years of Primary School. The present study examined the extent to which performance on various maths related processing tasks (e.g. reading numbers, reading number statements, mental arithmetic) and measures of maths understanding (e.g. numeration and counting) predicted maths computation ability as determined by performance on typical Year 3-5 un-timed pen and paper arithmetic tasks. Analysis consisted of a stepwise regression for each of the three year levels. Some of these tasks were found to be highly predictive of achievement in arithmetic. The multiple regression was not only significant at each of the three year levels but accounted for a substantial proportion of achievement criterion variance: Year 3: 61%, Year 4: 59.8% and Year 5: 61.5%. Achievement in arithmetic was best predicted by a combination of factors at each year level with some similarities occurring across levels. The most striking of these is Mental Arithmetic: multiplication which was found to be a predictive factor at all three levels. Other significant predictive factors included Mental Arithmetic: subtraction (Year 3), Numeration: tens of thousands (Years 3 & 4), Processing of 4-digit numerals (Years 4 & 5), and Mental Arithmetic: addition (Year 5).
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ItemA cross-age comparative investigation of students' attitudes towards computers as a tool to support learning in years 7-12 science classes( 2000)This thesis documents a cross-age comparative investigation of students' attitudes towards computers as a tool to support learning in Years 7 - 12 science classes. The study was set at the secondary school campus of an independent girls' school in Victoria. The secondary school is broken into three relatively autonomous groups, the Junior Secondary School (JSS), the Middle School (MS) and the Senior School (SS). Data was collected by a survey administered to 1215 students in Years 7 -12 science classes. Results of the survey were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Bonferonni analyses. This study aimed to investigate the ways computers are used in science classes. Word processing and the internet were the most common computer uses across the school. A comparison of students in JSS, MS and SS's preferred frequency of use of computers in science classes was undertaken. JSS students preferred to use their computers more frequently in science classes when compared to MS and SS students. An investigation of the uses of computers in science classes that students found beneficial to their learning of science concepts was undertaken and compared across the three school groups. Students' attitudes towards computers as tools to support learning in the science classroom was investigated. The majority of students in all school groups felt the computer was a beneficial support for learning when completing assignment work and was a beneficial tool for presentation. However, it depended on the number of years of computer experience in science classes as to whether students felt the computer was of benefit to their learning of theory or practical work. Aspects of computer use at school in general, that students liked or disliked was determined. The stage of the curriculum that students were currently in, was the major determinant for the students' attitudes towards the use of computers as a support for learning.
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ItemVietnamese readers and English reading : a survey of students' beliefs about and attitudes towards English reading( 2000)This thesis deals with the beliefs about, and attitudes to, English reading of Vietnamese students in their first year at Australian universities. Data were collected using a questionnaire, based on a review of research on second language reading in relation to affective factors, and on the concept of attitudes as a multidimensional construct. Attitude in general or attitudes to English reading in particular cannot be directly observed or measured but can only be inferred from the manner in which a reader responds to questions related to beliefs, feelings and attention regarding English reading. The theoretical background on which this study was based regards second language (L2) reading as a socially situated process. Regarding the students in this study, their English may have been influenced (i) by the first language reading instruction they had received, (ii) by their own social and cultural background, (iii) by their attitudes to the target language, its culture and its native speakers, and (iv) by previous experiences of learning to read in a new language. The findings of the questionnaire reveal that most of the 27 respondents to the questionnaire chose the culture of the target language (English) as the main factor making them want to read in it. Three other hypothesized factors - Vietnamese language reading experiences, previous experiences of learning English in Vietnam, the target language and its native speakers - did not appear as important factors in their beliefs about English reading and attitudes to it. The most interesting findings were about their attention to English reading. Although on the whole they possessed positive attitudes regarding the English academic reading process, they showed only a low level of endeavor to improve their English reading. The fact that the number of participants was so small was one of the main drawbacks with the study. However, since affective factors have not gained as much attention as other areas in L2 reading, in a way this study was a first experience. From its results some recommendations have been made regarding current practices of English teaching and learning in Vietnam in the EFL context. Further research could be built on this study.
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ItemAn investigation of change through one school's involvement in the early literacy research project( 2000)This study closely monitored one small rural school's involvement in the Early Literacy Research Project (ELRP) in order to ascertain the critical players in effecting sustained change. The literature endorses the sustainability of change within systems if it is embodied within an effective design. The ELRP used the Hill & Crevola (1997) Whole-School Design for Effective Schooling as a framework for implementing changes in literacy teaching practice. This thesis investigated, through the collection of evidence, both quantitative and qualitative, the implementation of a structured classroom literacy program set within a design model, that predicted improved literacy outcomes. This study focused on three of the nine elements within the design model, namely the multi-dimensional approach to professional development, the professional learning team as a critical vehicle in maintaining the momentum of change and the impact of changed literacy teaching on improved student literacy outcomes. This thesis identified the structures, processes and people that combined to effect sustained change. This small case study produced a substantial quantity of research data that included interviews, reflective journals, observation and surveys. Importantly, this case study used the quantitative student performance data collated as part of the ELRP to support the finding of improved student literacy outcomes. The outcome of the investigation conducted within the context of a school literacy program, supports the proposition that successful and effective change recognises the multi-dimensional characteristics of organisational change management. This study used the nine dimensions of the Hill & Crevola whole-school design as a framework for discussing the change processes observed.
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ItemThe communicative interactions of hearing impaired students with hearing peers and regular teachers( 2001)This project examined the levels of control used in interaction by regular teachers and normally hearing peers with mainstreamed hearing impaired students. The communicative interaction of thirteen students; ten normally hearing and three hearing impaired, and their teacher was observed. Observations were recorded and then analysed based on the characteristics of communication developed by Wood.D, Wood.H, Griffiths.A & Howarthl (1986). The interactions experienced by hearing impaired students are important to the development of their communicative competence. It is through interaction with more mature users of language that communicative development takes place (Wood, Wood, Griffiths & Howarth,1986). The literature suggests that the hearing-impaired student experience high levels of control in interactions with others, in particular from their parents and teachers. Webster (1986) used the expression that mothers of deaf students 'command' the child. High control does not allow the hearing-impaired child freedom in response, or the development of extended communication acts in which both partners, can participate, learn and share responsibility. Both partners, parents and children, need to search for meaning in their communication with each other (Webster, 1986). It is through accessing meaning that language makes sense. Paul (1994) suggests that hearing impaired students are exposed to a lower quality of oral communication because they are labelled as deaf. Activities, such as speech or listening training, often take the place of meaningful conversation. The data suggests little difference in the level of control used by teachers when interacting with hearing and hearing impaired students. Similarly, there was little difference found with the level of control used by hearing students in their interactions with either normally hearing of hearing impaired peers. Interactions were short involving few exchanges. The characteristics of the language used consisted of mainly wh type questions, personal contributions, instructions and gesture. The information gathered would suggest that the input to interaction in this regular mainstream setting are not consistent with research of parent -child interaction and pre-school settings and provide opportunity for interaction and promotion or development of communicative skills.
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ItemTraining for Telstra's digital video network : a story of information technology & computer literacy( 2003)This is a study of the new skills required by Telstra staff and the television Network Master Control Room (MCR) staff, to operate and maintain the Digital Video Network (DVN) efficiently, and the training program presented to assist in attaining those skills. The author was the training consultant contracted by Philips Broadcast Television Systems (now Thomson) to refine and deliver the training programs for the Telstra DVN, one of the two foci of this study. The other focus was the change or changes in work processes of staff working with the DVN for Telstra and the TV Networks. The study explored the appropriateness of the training program in transferring these required skills and the learning outcomes of training programs used. The study also evaluates the new skills that are required by Telstra and the television network MCR staff to control and operate the DVN. Telstra DVN employees and all the main television networks MCR staff were invited to take part in the study. The data collected from the study were analysed and the conclusions resulting from the analysis produced a series of recommendations that, if implemented, should improve the effectiveness of these two groups studied by increasing the learning outcome of future training programs and improving the skill levels.
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ItemTIMSS : a question of validity( 2000)The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the largest comparative study of its kind, was administered to approximately 500,000 students worldwide. In Australia, the results of this study are being used to compare our students and schools to other students and schools around the world. The results may also influence decisions about curriculum reform and allocation of educational funding within Australia. This thesis sets out to investigate the TIMSS test items for Population 2, with the objective of determining the degree of validity of these test items to Australian mathematics teachers and their students. By eliciting feedback from a sample of Australian mathematics teachers, their thoughts on the validity of the TIMSS test items were documented. This was achieved through a mail out questionnaire that included a representative sample of 32 TIMSS test items from population 2. Four review questions were developed to target teacher beliefs as to whether enough content had been taught to Australian students by the time TIMSS was administered, the validity of including such items in the TIMSS study, the usefulness of the TIMSS test items for ascertaining student competence, and student familiarity with the item styles used in TIMSS. The results from the questionnaire were used to establish the overall validity of the TIMSS test items to Australian Mathematics teachers and the students they teach. In total, 154 teachers, representing Government, Catholic and Independent schools, from around Australia replied to the questionnaire. The study found widespread variability in the type and amount of content taught by teachers to their Australian students. Consequently, differences in content validity of the TIMSS study were found to exist across Australia. These differences appeared to be more apparent between states and territories than between school sectors. Respondents also expressed concern about the general appearance and layout of the TIMSS test items. In particular, some of the language used in test items relating to Proportionality, appeared not to be used in Australian classrooms. In addition to this, teachers reported that the TIMSS test items were not particularly useful for ascertaining student competence. This casts doubt over the value of any inferences made from the results of TIMSS. Furthermore, this research found significant variability in student familiarity with the item formats used in the TIMSS study. Overall, students were found to be most familiar with the short answer format and least familiar with extended response and performance assessment formats. This is a particularly important result as the TIMSS designers placed great emphasis on the use of extended response and performance assessment formats.
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ItemSlave, master, tool, stalking horse or silver bullet? : the transformational potential of computers in English teaching( 2000)The study that follows is a 'down the track' case study of the impact on one teacher of the English/LOTE Unit of the professional development program Computers Across the Secondary Curriculum (CASC). Its aim was to examine the effect of learning technology on the teacher's pedagogic beliefs and practices. This was achieved by examination of the teacher's selection, planning, staging and scaffolding of learning and her metaphors for teaching and for technology. The effect of the introduction of the computer in the classroom on teacher student relationships was explored from the teacher's perspective. As the study developed it came also to examine the psychological relationship between teacher and computer, the potential of learning technologies to re-imagine the English curriculum and the role of human agency in transforming the structures and icons of the discipline. Data was collected through in-depth conversations and augmented by classroom observation, analysis of teacher curriculum materials, and teacher reflection. The study is highly situated. It does not seek to offer epistemic claims beyond its own setting. In this context it transfers focus from descriptive to normative research. It aims to add to the dialogue about what constitutes good English teaching through computers, and to advocate the importance of dialogic practitioner research within this quest. Finally it seeks to open a conversation to which others may choose to connect.
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ItemParamedic practice : knowledge invested in action( 2002)The ability of expert practitioners to make sound judgments when faced with non-routine situations calls on a form of tacit knowing that has been loosely branded as 'intuition', a 'sixth sense', or 'gut feeling'. The development of tacit knowledge is associated with non-formal learning that occurs in the context of the workplace; however, the elusive nature of this phenomenon has served to hamper research efforts. The focus has therefore shifted away from tacit knowledge toward the more observable concept of 'judgment'. Paramedics are called to make clinical judgments as part of their everyday practice, often unaware of the basis behind these judgments. This case study will examine the source of knowledge drawn on by experienced paramedics when making judgments, especially when faced with situations they have not previously encountered, and propose how new knowledge and meaning is constructed through such involvements. A better understanding of the relationship between knowing and judgment, and how they are developed, will have future implications for the provision of ongoing education and training programs for paramedics.
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ItemMentoring in nephrology nursing : implementation of a mentor program for clinical nurse specialists( 2001)Mentoring as an approach to workplace learning has been adopted by many organisations. It uses the skills and abilities of staff (mentors) already in the organisation to provide role development for less experienced staff (mentees). The purpose of this project was to trial a mentor model that clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) in nephrology could use to facilitate the workplace learning of less experienced nurses. This recognised the important role that CNSs fulfil in the clinical education of other nurses. Research participants completed a self administered questionnaire, were interviewed by the researcher, and took part in a two-hour workshop. Following the workshop they negotiated a mentor contract to provide workplace learning opportunities for their mentee. Regular workplace contact and support, initiated by the researcher, or at the request of the research participants, was provided. Research participants completed a second questionnaire after the contracts were completed. The CNSs were influenced by their workplace culture in the way they approached mentoring, and the use of a mentor program provided, benefits to the CNSs and their mentees. The study demonstrated that the CNSs were able to implement the mentor model to provide effective clinical education that met the needs of their mentees, and enabled them to develop their repertoire of clinical skills. This study has implications for enhancing the clinical practice of CNSs, by developing their skills in the planning and delivery of workplace education.