Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemMaking connections from the classroom to professional context : using problem-based learning to enhance engineering education( 2000)Problem-based learning (PBL) is presented as an educational reform that is particularly relevant for professional education programs. This study investigated the use of PBL to enhance the quality of students' learning in Professional Skills, a first year engineering subject at Swinburne University of Technology. The major aims for Professional Skills are to develop students' communication skills and to provide them with an introduction to the engineering profession. PBL was selected because of the use of a professional context to demonstrate the relevance of learning and the approach to developing students' abilities for self-directed and life-long learning. PBL requires different understandings and approaches to teaching and learning than are typical of existing practices in engineering education. An action research method was used to guide the development of curriculum and teaching practices because of the role of action research in providing support for teachers to improve their educational understandings and practices. The study examines two action research cycles of curriculum development, teaching and learning during 1995. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate teachers' and students' experiences of teaching and learning to inform the progressive curriculum improvement and evaluation. The findings from the study provide insight into both the characteristics of PBL that enhance the quality of students' learning and strategies that contribute to an on-going process of supporting change and improvement in curriculum and teaching practices. Students identified four thematic issues that were central to their motivation and engagement in learning. These issues were: being able to see the relevance of their learning to their future careers, collaborative learning in class and their project teams, their opportunities for active involvement and input into learning decisions, and a supportive learning environment in which they received guidance and feedback on their progress. Teaching and learning in the PBL curriculum was a new and challenging experience for both engineering teachers and students. The collaborative action research process assisted teachers to develop the skills and confidence to utilise new approaches to teaching and learning. The relevance of these findings to achieving the cultural change advocated by the 1996 Review of Engineering Education (lEAust 1996) is examined.
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ItemProfessional development as work-based, collective learning : a study of curriculum implementation and change( 1997)Change is now synonymous with education. Curriculum and school organisational reform currently infiltrate every aspect of school life, with teachers in many instances expected to take on myriad initiatives and school improvement proposals. This study, of curriculum change and implementation, was designed to gain insight into effective change processes and the learning opportunities provided to support teachers as significant curriculum reforms were introduced. The Early Literacy Research Project (ELRP) was used as vehicle for this study. Schools participating in the ELRP were to implement a comprehensive approach to literacy teaching and learning for students in the early years of schooling with the design of the project providing significant support for teaching teams as changes were introduced. A selective and focussed review of literature relating to the process of change in schools has been completed. This is discussed in relation to Matthew Mile's Triple I Model which outlines stages and factors in the change process. Particular emphasis has been given to literature which links teacher learning to the process of change, focussing on teacher collaboration and collective, work-embedded learning. The aim of the study was to monitor the process of change in ELRP schools and to identify the factors which supported teachers as they endeavoured to make significant and sustainable changes to their teaching programs. The study was seen as an opportunity to consider the relevance of the Triple I Model as a means of interpreting change in schools. A case study approach to the research task, using observations, interviews, document analysis and questionnaires, facilitated the monitoring of the process of curriculum implementation in ELRP schools. Throughout the study the intention was to record the 'teacher voice' during the change process to ensure the validity and authenticity of insights gained throughout this dissertation. The results indicated that change is far from a linear process. Stages and factors within the change process were seen to overlap and occur simultaneously as changes were implemented. The study highlighted the importance of specific change factors and in particular those which related to teacher learning and collaboration. It emphasised the key role personnel responsible for change can play when this role is well resourced and linked to the provision of work-based professional development. The study also promoted discussion in relation to placement of a number of factors within the change model. This led to the development of an adaptation of the Triple I Model. It is suggested that this revised model provides a conceptual frame which may be used to assist schools in planning, monitoring and explaining authentic school reform projects. iv
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ItemCurriculum policy in the crucible of change: implementing curriculum policy (the Curriculum & Standards Framework) in state schools in Victoria in a time of rapid change, 1995 to 1999( 2001)"When I became Minister for Education, there was no common curriculum for Victorian schools for students in years Prep through 10. In effect, schools taught what they liked." This was Minister Don Hayward's view of what he found when he became Minister for Education in Victoria in 1992. His response was a sweeping reform of Victorian education which included the Curriculum and Standards Framework. This thesis examines the question, "What factors affect the ways in which the Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) has been implemented in Victorian state schools since 1995?" It presents findings which indicate that teachers in schools did not wholeheartedly embrace the CSF as a curriculum policy. The perceptions, attitudes and actions of teachers have significant effects upon the Victorian Government's desire to reform education in line with national and international trends towards outcomes-based curricula and as part of a move to centralised control of curriculum which paralleled a movement to the devolution of control of resources within the Schools of the Future initiative. The attitudes, perceptions and actions of the teachers in the schools in the study are seen to have lessened the effectiveness of the implementation of the CSF in those schools. Drawing upon the work of a number of authorities on the implementation of public policy, the study reveals the success of the implementation of the CSF to be mixed. The study further reveals lessons which, if learned from the implementation of the CSF in its first form, will be useful in the implementation of CSFII from 2001 and in the implementation of other curriculum policies in the future.
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ItemTeachers, change and integrated curriculum( 1992)This study describes and analyses a process of change sought through a professional development program about integrated curriculum. A yearlong, school-based program was planned and carried out by the staff of one school in conjunction with the researcher who acted as an outside agent of change. The study had a number of purposes: (1) to explore the roles developed by an outside agent of change in assisting teachers' planning and teaching of integrated curriculum; (2) to examine the way in which teachers developed and changed in relation to integrated curriculum; and (3) to examine factors which appeared to facilitate the process of change towards the planning and implementation of integrated curriculum. The research design drew from ethnographic and action research methodologies and was based on a naturalistic paradigm. Several data sources were used. Extensive data were gathered from four teachers through interviews, written document analysis and participant observation. Three key informants including teachers and observers of the program provided additional data through interview. The remaining staff presented a third source of data through observation, written responses and self- evaluations. A detailed journal, kept by the researcher throughout the study, served a range of important functions including the diversification and triangulation of data. Final analysis of the data provided insight into the nature. of the role of the outside agent of change. In providing input, facilitating the process of change, responding to and challenging teachers, aspects of this role emerged as multidimensional and interdependent. Success in this role depended on a close understanding of individual teachers; the culture of the school; and the nature of integrated curriculum. Teacher change in relation to the implementation of integrated curriculum varied amongst individuals. Collectively, however, teachers developed a clearer conceptual framework in which to plan. They fine-tuned or re-examined their use of resources, selection of content and attention to children's prior and developing understandings. In facilitating the change process, integrated curriculum emerged as a powerful vehicle through which acknowledged characteristics of effective professional development could be fostered in a purposeful way.
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ItemImplementing a curriculum change: extending the school day( 1994)The use of time as a flexible resource in education is an important element in the future direction of Australian schools. This particular research examines the feasibility of implementing an extended hours program at an independent school in Southern Tasmania; St.Michael's Collegiate School, Hobart. The study then continues to apply the findings in a broader context. The report shows that at St. Michael's Collegiate School, student and staff support for the current after hours program is high. Indeed, students identified a large number of advantages for the formalization and extension of the current program. These advantages included an improved learning environment, the potential for a broader subject range and the perceived advantage of covering the curriculum more effectively. Staff also noted the potential for a reduction in stress levels, and the possibility for co-curricular activities to be scheduled. The research did find, however, that many staff were sceptical about the formalization of the extended hours program. Concerns included the method of compensation for staff, the availability of preparation and correction time, and the potential for students and teachers to become tired. The research shows that an extended school day would be a valid method of increasing time on task at St. Michael's Collegiate School, although several issues would need to be addressed. These issues would pertain to any school considering the extension of the school day. Firstly, it would be necessary to promote and develop general staff acceptance of the proposal, consulting with each staff member, and determining individual roles with the implementation of the program. The research also found that an increase in the length of the school day would not be successful without the introduction of a comprehensive staff development program investigating methods of using time in the classroom more effectively. The extended day program should consist of a combination of co-curricular activities, a broader subject range and increased time for current subject offerings. A further consideration would be the introduction of new techniques to offset the costs incurred with the extension of time. Finally, as a result of the research, a model specific to the needs of staff and students at Collegiate was devised, with implications for all schools preparing to extend contemporary time limits in the classroom.
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ItemAn action research approach to introducing problem-based learning in a higher education setting: a study in a School of Dental Science( 2001)This study employed an action research approach to curriculum change in the School of Dental Science at The University of Melbourne. The curriculum change involved the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) in a number of subjects in the Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc) degree course. The impetus for this change arose from a 1997 curriculum review as well as wider changes in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences of which the School is a part. Action research provided a means of involving academic staff in the planning and implementation of curriculum change. The appropriateness and effectiveness of action research as an approach in this context is fully discussed. Key issues in the study were the nature of the educational change in this particular situation; the manner in which change was implemented; the reactions of both staff and students to change and the way in which the PBL curriculum evolved. The process of educational change is rarely a straightforward one and this study reinforces this view. A complex and powerful mix of individual beliefs about teaching and learning, organisational structures, tradition, professional values and a diverse student body all combined to make the change process in this setting demanding and challenging. It is the response to this challenge by this group of educators that this study illustrates.