Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemScaffolding practices in ESL writing classes in Zanzibar(University of Melbourne, 2009)
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ItemMore than music : freely painting in glorious sound(University of Melbourne, 2009)The study consisted of the design and implementation of a course of musical instruction based on the teachings of Carl Orff (1895-1982), specifically through an approach based on improvisation. Twenty six participants volunteered to take part in a 25 contact hour course run over seven weeks. All had at least a rudimentary knowledge of improvisation and all but one (a music therapist) were actively teaching music in a classroom or studio setting prior to the course. The main aim of the course was to instil a sense of confidence in the participants in relation to musical improvisation, a determinate of self that has been lacking in many teachers, according to anecdotal evidence. It was not a jazz or piano based course and was 'More than Music', as it aimed to teach values and life skills as well as music skills. The course consisted of a series of activities that included practical music-making in small and large groups, discussion and reflection, and special guests that culminated in a recording studio experience. Data was collected through questionnaires, both pre-course and post-course, mid-course evaluations, reflective journals, interviews, video-tapes and photographs, and analysed for themes and content. Results of the investigation showed that most participants felt their confidence in improvising had increased and that, following the completion of the course of instruction, most were using the Orff approach in their teaching. A further outcome of the course was the production of a teaching manual and three CDs that have been used in further courses of instruction.
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ItemLined scaffolding : mediating the learning of early writing(University of Melbourne, 2008)
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ItemThe influences of learning and change on primary physical education teachers(University of Melbourne, 2008)With the familiar call for reform in physical education (PE), more needs to be known about factors that promote or inhibit change. Increasing the ability of primary PE teachers to learn and adapt to change is one way of improving the current situation of PE. Teachers' capacity to change, and learn is influenced by their personal experiences, school organisations, professional development experiences and communities of practice. Using a collective case study methodology, this thesis explores the experiences of four primary PE teachers in order to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that have influenced their values, beliefs and practices. The experiences of each teacher are compared and discussed with the other participants in the study, using a process of identifying general themes from the literature and the data. The experiences of each teacher are used to generate discussion about their influences on the teachers' ability to learn and adapt to change. The concept of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) is used to reflect on how to create more effective learning opportunities for primary PE teachers. There were two key findings to this thesis: firstly, teachers' personal experiences in PE and sport, together with organizational factors, have a significant influence over the teachers' values and practices and their ability to adapt to change; secondly, teachers who work in thriving communities of practice have greater opportunities to learn and cope with change.
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ItemTeachers' perceptions and expectations of religious and lay principals in Catholic secondary schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area(University of Melbourne, 2004)Catholic education is in the middle of a time of change, as the Religious, who have led Catholic schools throughout Australia for over a century, now pass on the leadership of the majority of Catholic schools to Lay teachers. The role of Catholic Principal needs to be reconsidered, especially with reference to the Religious role. This research explored teachers' perceptions of Religious and Lay Principals by exploring three research questions: 1. What do teachers value in a Catholic secondary school Principal? 2. How do teachers see the role of a Catholic secondary school Principal? 3. Are the answers to Questions One and Two different depending on whether teachers are considering a Religious or a Lay Principal? A survey of the teaching staff of five Catholic secondary schools in metropolitan Melbourne was conducted. There were 262 surveys returned for a response rate of approximately 65 percent. Results indicated that overall teachers value strong leadership, approachability and a humanness in Principals. Teachers see the main role of a Principal as creating a culture of learning within the school, and value a Principal who has contact with students both inside and outside the classroom. Overall, there were very few differences in the expectations teachers have of Religious and Lay Principals, with the exception of religious leadership, religious knowledge and experience. While most teachers believe it is quite desirable, the majority of teachers felt it was neither important nor unimportant for a school to have a Religious Principal.
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ItemWhich students may benefit from talking computers : an investigation of the effect of a computer text reader on reading comprehension(University of Melbourne, 2003)This study investigated the use of a computer text reader with speech output as support for the reading comprehension of secondary school students. Synthesised speech reading of text by a computer allows users to access information aurally as well as, or instead of, reading it. The students in the study were not previously , identified as having reading difficulties. Secondary students who experience reading difficulties are likely to be disadvantaged in all subjects that require the reading of texts. Computer text reading programs may be valuable in an assistive role, in that they may provide an alternative method of independent access to more complex texts than would be possible without such assistance. The process of selecting assistive technology, should include the gathering of information about the individual learner, the task, and the technology under consideration, as the suitability of a particular technology varies among individuals and contexts of use. The characteristics of the learner in this study were examined through a general reading assessment using the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (Neale, 1999). A trial of the task and technology was conducted in which measurements were made of the students' reading comprehension with and without the use of the text reader feature of the software Read and Write, Version 5.0. (textHELP, 2001).
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ItemGender specificity of mathematical test item types : a comparison between the Netherlands and Australia(University of Melbourne, 2004)Gender differences in performance have been reported for Dutch students, both in their. national testing and in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. These differences have been evident for grade 6 Dutch students both in overall performance, with boys outperforming girls, and for particular item types. Similar gender differences have not been reported for Australian students. The rationale of this study was to compare the gender specificity of types of mathematical test items in the performance of a sample of grade 6 Australian students with that reported for students from the Netherlands. Whilst the results of other testing seem to indicate otherwise, findings from this study suggest that gender equality in performance may not be able to be assumed for Australian students completing primary school. The markedly better performance of boys on a measurement question involving the change of units, and the better performance of girls on questions involving the accurate use of algorithms seem to indicate that there are types of items which function differently for girls and boys in Australia as well as in the Netherlands. The importance of this study lies in this unexpected difference in performance of Australian boys and girls on these item types as. well as the marked similarities found with the gender specificity of item types reported in the Netherlands. It may be that the gender differences in mathematical achievements reported for Dutch primary school students are not unusual, but may reflect gender-specific tendencies in mathematical thinking from a wider international perspective.
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ItemThe piano accordion in music education in China(University of Melbourne, 2003)Musical learning on the accordion has been well established in China over the last fifty years. Although it is not a national instrument, the accordion was once the most popular instrument in China. However, music education literature has neglected the importance of the accordion. Little research on the instrument, and its education in China can be found in the literature and the descriptions of accordion found in many musical encyclopaedias and dictionaries are severely lacking in detail. Although the accordion has been one of the instruments for study within the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) for many years, most school teachers have little or no understanding of the instrument. There are few music schools in Australia offering a course teaching students the art of playing the accordion. As a result of this, the current generation of music students is especially ignorant of the importance and capabilities of the instrument, and the accordion has not received its proper status as a truly special instrument. As an accordion player I find this situation disappointing, therefore, it is my intention to provide an insight into the role the accordion has played in modern Chinese society. Hopefully, this might assist the accordion to become more recognised in Australia.
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ItemFactors that constrain and enable a teacher's ability to encourage the use of thinking skills in the science classroom(University of Melbourne, 2006)Thinking Skills are strategies that assist people to understand the learning process and that provide techniques for assessing ones understanding and solving problems. Research has established that it is beneficial for students if they are taught how to use, and encouraged to use, Thinking Skills throughout their education. However, little research is available on the thoughts of teachers involved in using Thinking Skills in their classes. Mount Waverley Secondary College (MWSC), a large government school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, commenced an infusion based program that involves the teaching of a variety of Thinking Skills as part of the normal curriculum. All teachers have been involved in an extensive PD program (up to 10 hours) on the use of Thinking Skills in the classroom. Two years into this program, it became clear that there were a number of factors that facilitate or constrain a teacher's ability to encourage the use of Thinking Skills in their classes. However, there was no research available on these factors. It therefore become desirable to conduct a research project that identifies these factors and provides some information for other schools that maybe in the process of implementing such a program. This project researched the factors that constrain and enable a teacher's ability to encourage the use of Thinking Skills in their science classes. The research involved interviewing year 7 and 8 science teachers at MWSC about their thoughts on the Thinking Skills program and the various factors that affect their ability to encourage students to use Thinking Skills in their science classes. The results indicated that there are a wide range of factors that affect a teacher's ability to encourage the use of Thinking Skills in their classes. The most common constraining factor was limited time for the planning and preparation of Thinking Skills lessons. Throughout the research it became apparent that many of the factors were applicable to the implementation of any educational change. Therefore, the research will not only allow other schools to learn from the experiences at MWSC in the development of their own Thinking Skills programs, but it will assist leaders of educational change to implement new programs in ways that best support the teachers.