Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemGetting IT together: the integration of IT into a humanities subject in a pre-service teaching degree( 2001)This research examines the extent to which an academic uses the support of an Educational IT Consultant to assist with the integration of some simple information technologies (IT) into an existing humanities (English Method) subject of a pre-service teacher education degree in an Australian university. The thesis briefly examines the debate for integration of IT across the curriculum against stand-alone IT courses and establishes, from the literature, that integration generally seems to be the preferred method for ensuring that newly graduated teachers use IT in the classroom. The thesis then attempts to ascertain the environmental elements that would be conducive to the integration of IT across the pre-service curriculum, and examines whether this environment was present in the Faculty where the case study took place. The research took the form of a qualitative ethnographic case study using multiple methods of data collection. Detailed descriptions of the characteristics and role of the Educational IT Consultant, along with a description of the subject and academic are also included should anyone wish to repeat the study. The findings suggest that adoption of IT is hastened into humanities areas of the pre-service curriculum with the assistance of an Educational IT Consultant approach to staff development.
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ItemThe learning of fundamental accounting concepts( 2001)In this thesis, as a teacher-researcher, I explored the difficulties many students, who were non accounting majors, experienced in learning accountancy. I chose as main research questions: � What are the specific difficulties encountered by students in learning accounting? � How do I teach accounting differently so that students may learn and understand more effectively? The outcome I was seeking was the development of a method of teaching and learning that would improve student understanding of the subject. I could not identify any problems peculiar to accounting as a subject, although I established by experience that some accounting concepts were `complex' as seen by students. I came to the realisation that if the subject - accountancy - was not the cause of the problem (difficulties in learning) then the problem must reside in me as teacher and / or students as learners. My research was both quantitative and qualitative and involved The University of Melbourne, RMIT University and, to a lesser extent, Goulburn Ovens Institute of Technical and Further Education. My method of data collection involved questionnaires, interviews, an assignment, informal tests and formal examinations. My review of the literature suggested several areas where I could strengthen my teaching for more effective learning and three of these: � Spend additional time on known complex issues � Set appropriate tasks to test understanding (using formative tests) � Seek to increase students' metacognitive skills I incorporated in my subsequent qualitative research when I set about attempting to improve student learning through a metalearning approach involving exploration of poor learning tendencies. Using summative examinations as a test of more effective learning, I concluded that setting frequent informal tests - not forming part of assessment - improved students' learning. However, the attempt to improve student learning through minimising poor learning tendencies was not successful or was at best inconclusive. It appeared that success here would take a much greater lead time than was available to me.
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ItemNegotiating and enabling change in a primary school: identifying strategies that assist classroom teachers with the teaching and learning of science( 2006)The purpose of this research was to investigate strategies that assist classroom teachers with the teaching and learning of science. The researcher, a classroom teacher and science coordinator at Karingal Heights Primary School (KHPS), decided to conduct the study because of the researcher's desire to improve current practices at KHPS. The researcher's belief that, examining current practices, investigating alternatives and documenting what works for individual teachers are essential elements for successful teaching and learning. The methodology of action research was the most appropriate tool because it allowed for collaboration and reflection. The research period was ten months and involved classroom teachers at KHPS in a process of inquiry and. reflection. Classroom teachers became active participants in identifying strategies that assisted.them with the teaching and learning of science. Finding links to science across the curriculum led to a wider vision of what constituted science and resulted in more science happening at KHPS. Action Research became a strategy that promoted science teaching and learning because it provided classroom teachers with a focused process of investigation and reflection. What emerged was a broader view of science, linked more to the lives and interests of the school community and the conclusion that, although a variety of strategies assist classroom teachers with the teaching and learning of science, collaborative work practices emerged as the most valuable strategy for the classroom teachers at KHPS.
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ItemAn investigation of the effect of teachers' reflection on their development of pedagogical content knowledge for teaching primary mathematics( 2008)In recent years, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has become the subject of an increasing volume of research. Another body of literature has grown around the subject of reflection, and its effect on practice. Although a link between the two has often been assumed, few have attempted to map this link explicitly. This study investigates the possibility of such a link, and explores possible descriptions of the link. This case study compared two primary (elementary) teachers, investigating both their PCK and their reflection. The teachers were asked to complete a written questionnaire about mathematics teaching, including some questions requiring a response to hypothetical classroom situations. They were then interviewed about the questionnaire. The teachers were observed as they taught, and interviewed about those lessons. The questionnaire and first interview were used to investigate the teachers' PCK, and all interviews were used to investigate the teachers' reflection. One teacher was found to have both rich and well-connected PCK, and a strong tendency to reflect. The second teacher was found to have much weaker PCK than the first, and also demonstrated less reflection. Some examples of the first teacher's reflection were examined, to investigate the possibility that the teacher's reflection had an influence on the development of PCK. PCK was observed to develop during reflection, suggesting that reflection influences the development of PCK.