Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemLanguage and thinking in action: how one primary teacher supports her students to enact and articulate their thinking( 2007)This study investigated how one teacher facilitates dialogue with and between primary-aged students, to assist their thinking, at a time when the introduction of a new curriculum in Victoria is placing explicit demands on teachers to meet rigorous standards in students' thinking. Its aim was to identify exploratory (Mercer 2002) or dialogic interactions (Wells 1999) in the context of problem-based or inquiry learning, so that educators will better understand how language-based techniques and prompts promote students' thinking and learning. A review of the current and relevant literature revealed that classroom-based research focusing on the relationship between language, thinking and learning as theorised by Lev Vygotsky and Michael Halliday, emphasises the important role of the teacher in challenging and extending students' thinking. A qualitative case study of the language generated by the teacher working mainly with a small group of her students was undertaken and discourse analytic techniques were applied to the data. The main findings of the study relate to (i) the teacher's use of some dialogic techniques that supported students' thinking and learning and (ii) alternatively the teacher's under-exploitation of teachable moments to fully promote students' thinking and learning using exploratory language.
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ItemTeachers and technology: experiences and perceptions of professional development( 2001)This study investigated professional development to support teachers' use of information and communication technologies in one primary school setting. It explored teachers' attitudes and feelings towards information and communication technologies and their perceptions about professional development to support them in this area. The ways in which this group of teachers are currently utilising information and communication technologies to assist teaching and learning processes were also investigated. Current practice and professional development experiences were explored to discover links, and to investigate participants' perceptions of effective types of professional development to support their use of information and communication technologies. Other support such as access, technical assistance and support from management were also explored to discover their impact on teachers' use of information and communication technologies. An exploratory case study approach was taken and both qualitative and quantitative methods utilised to cater for the richness of the context. Data were collected from three sources; documents relating to professional development for information and communication technologies, a survey of teachers' technology skills and use, and a semi-structured interview. Data management and analysis were computer assisted. The study aimed to discover the types of professional development and the modes of presentation of this professional development that would be most effective in assisting this group of teachers with their use of information and communication technologies. This 'human dimension' is the key to appropriate use of technology, as illustrated by a working party for the Directorate of School Education: �The Working Party considers that attention should be directed to the human dimension, which promises to provide the key to more successful implementation of information technology in schools. It believes the issue should be addressed through structured professional development programs based on information technology and an understanding of such matters as learning, change and the factors that affect school culture.� Directorate of School Education, Victoria (1994, p. 2)
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ItemAn investigation into one experienced mainstream classroom teacher's implementation of the early years literacy program( 2004)Within the last decade in Australia, there has been an increased commitment to improving literacy standards with subsequent focus towards enhancing literacy education in the early years of schooling. This has led to the development of classroom-based literacy programs designed to meet the needs of all learners, including ESL learners. The Early Years Literacy Program (EYLP), a Victorian literacy initiative, was developed and is currently used by early years educators in all Victorian Government Primary Schools as a resource to plan for a strategic and comprehensive approach to early literacy achievement in the first five years of schooling (DET 2002). The study reported in this thesis investigates how one experienced mainstream classroom teacher, who does not have ESL training or receive ESL support, caters for the needs of a group of ESL learners within the Early Years writing program. An aim of this study is to build on the existing limited body of scholarship and identify areas of future research concerning the ways in which the writing component of the EYLP can be implemented to cater for the learning needs of primary ESL learners. As such, this research investigation is significant as it specifically examines the implementation of the writing component of the EYLP and explores the needs of Year One and Two primary ESL learners who entered school with limited English. This is in contrast to recent research that has focussed attention primarily on the reading component of the EYLP and young ESL learners in the early years of schooling. This investigation adopts a case study approach that allows for an in-depth exploration of one mainstream classroom teacher's implementation of the writing component of the EYLP and the detailed investigation of the needs of a group of ESL learners. As part of this study, the mainstream classroom teacher's teaching practice was observed during ten one-hour writing sessions. Other sources of data included a semi- structured interview, stimulated recall notes and samples of ESL students' written texts produced over a ten week data collection period. The findings of the study suggest that while the teacher was able to identify her ESL students areas of weakness in relation to writing, and whilst she recognised some of her students' needs, she often struggled to cater fully and effectively for her ESL students' learning requirements within the daily one hour writing program of the EYLP.