Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemTeacher's management of learning in small groups in science classes( 1993)Established curriculum documents in Victoria recommend group work as an effective teaching strategy but the implementation and management of such groups is poorly understood by many teachers. This study investigated two management strategies which differed in the degree of role attribution amongst group members and the effect of the strategies on communication, behaviour patterns and achievement on a problem solving investigation. Students in three parallel year eight science classes from one school were observed over an eight week period. A low level and a high level management strategy were randomly allocated to each of two classes and used to manage group work. After four weeks the management strategies were exchanged. The third class, which was used as the control, was managed in a way which was more typical of a traditional science class. Randomly selected groups of students from each class carried out a practical problem solving investigation as a pretest, then again at the completion of the first four weeks (phase 1) and again after the completion of the second four weeks (phase 2). Student conversations within groups were recorded and coded to identify levels of communication types. Students' written reports for each test were assessed and scores analysed. Teachers completed an observation schedule to identify styles of leadership and types of group behaviour within each class. It was found that the use of the low level management strategy, in particular, did increase the relative frequency of communication at higher cognitive levels, those of conceptualisations, as compared with the control treatment. Problem solving skills as measured by achievement on the written practical investigation improved over time and there was a significant effect in the area of "making measurements" when the management strategies were used as compared to the control treatment.
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ItemClassroom management of cooperative learning : a research study of two teaching strategies( 1996)This study sought to contribute to an understanding of the social context of instruction in science classes particularly to group organisation and dialogical processes. This study investigated how two role management strategies (Strategy 1 and Strategy 2) affected communication particularly Conceptualisation in all female, all-male and mixed gender groups in three parallel Year 8 science classes from one school. It also investigated the attitudes of the female and male students towards group work, the two role management strategies and gender. There were two treatment classes and one control class. Each treatment class was observed over an eight week period under each role management treatment. For the eight week period, the control class was managed in a way considered more typical of a traditional science class (No Role Strategy). A randomly selected all-female, all-male and mixed gender group from each class was tested after each treatment phase. The test problem was a practical problem requiring each group to devise and carry out a solution for the test problem. During the testing sessions each group was audio and video taped. The level of Conceptualisation was measured by coded transcriptions of group utterances during the problem solving task. At a time after the final testing session, students in the two treatment classes were administered a Student Group Work Questionnaire to determine their attitudes towards group work, the role management strategies and gender, and, to determine their behaviour in relation to each role management strategy. A statistically significant difference was found between Strategies (No Role Strategy, Strategy 1 and Strategy 2) for the frequency of Conceptualisation utterances. Further analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between No Role Strategy and Strategy 1, and, a significant difference between No Role Strategy and Strategy 2. No statistically significant difference was found between Strategy 1 and Strategy 2. No statistically significant difference was found between Gender groups (All-female, all-male and mixed gender groups) and Phases (Phase 1 and Phase 2) for the frequency of Conceptualisation utterances. Students who received instruction with the role management strategies tended to work better as a team than students who received instruction with only No Role Strategy.
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ItemFrom I can't and I don't to I can and I want to : a study in teaching and learning( 1998)In recent years, the teaching and learning of science in primary schools has been a major concern within professional sectors and at all levels of education. This study reveals teachers' responses and personal growth within a long term professional development program. Through an analysis of workshop session transcripts the researcher identifies a range of meanings made by the participant primary teachers about the teaching and learning of science in their classrooms. The findings indicate that positive changes in the teachers' views of themselves as learners of science takes place when teachers and tertiary teacher educators work together in long term collaborative inquiry. A further outcome is that the teachers develop new confidence and abilities which inform their classroom practice.
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ItemThe effects of self-pacing and achievement grouping on student learning in middle school science( 1999)By year 10 in a non-selective school, where Science is compulsory, there is a wide spectrum of individual differences in mixed-ability Science classes. Traditional teaching by whole-class instruction usually does not permit the matching of curriculum to individual students' needs. To trial an alternative approach, I designed a five-week intervention. The students in small self-paced groups, followed a sequence of tasks, some of which involved a choice of the level of difficulty. The teacher became the facilitator. It was hoped that if students were grouped by achievement level, they would be able to work at a level and pace appropriate to their learning needs. Because I was interested in the students' cognitive and affective experiences of this intervention, I chose qualitative methods of research, using two case studies, a group of high achievers and a group of average achievers. I also studied how one solo-learner adapted to his group. I found that, unlike the high achievers, the average achievers enjoyed science classes more than usual, became more involved in their learning, and achieved a higher standard than normal. Several factors to explain these differences emerge from the study, including learning strategies, incongruent goals within the groups, and learning styles. The solo-learner's positive experience of the intervention is explained in terms of learning style and goal achievement. Because of the qualitative nature of this study, its findings are contextual and only tentative propositions are made. One such proposition is that the average achievers responded well to group-work because they had the necessary self-regulatory learning strategies to succeed, while the high achievers, previously succeeding with whole-class instruction, had not developed many self-regulatory strategies. This study also raises some issues, such as an assumption that all students, irrespective of their learning style, will learn through group-work.
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ItemTwo teaching stategies for managing learning in small groups of different gender composition in science classes( 1996)This study was conducted in three Year 8 classes in one school. It contributes to an understanding of how small groups work in classrooms and the conditions which influence their productivity. In a formal research design two teaching strategies were implemented which managed the status of individuals and the groups. Cognitive and affective learning outcomes were assessed using transcribed group interactions from recorded problem solving sessions. The collaborating teachers of two experimental classes used both management strategies, a low role structure and high role structure over an 8-week teaching period. The third class was the control in which the teachers used no role structure strategy for managing small group learning. Three groups consisting of a boys only group, a girls only group and a mixed gender group from each class were chosen to test achievement using practical investigation problems at the end of each four-week session of implementation of the two strategies. These same students maintained their groupings throughout the eight weeks period of study. Using a combination of audio and video recording, the conversation and behaviour in each group during the problem solving session was made, transcribed and coded. Other support resources used to help interpret the results were: The Learning Preference Scale - Students (LPSS) administered to the students; scripted vignettes taken from student interaction's coded results; informal interview with the teachers, student questionnaire and the author's regular observations of the three classes during the study. From the coded scores on conceptualisation in the group discussion the following propositions were investigated. a) Teaching strategies that manage social and intellectual status differences in classroom groups enhance the achievement of cognitive and affective goals. b) Achievement gains can be linked to patterns of communication in small groups. c) Meaning making is a process of social and cultural conceptualisation which used concepts and skills within small groups. Students prefer cooperative over competitive and/or individualistic learning. d) Gender composition of small groups may influence patterns of communication and hence achievement. More specifically, the non-directional and directional hypotheses tested were: 1. There are no differences between the three strategies (the alternative hypothesis was that active role management treatment will be superior to the no role management). 2. There are no differences between the three gender groups (the alternative hypothesis was that the all boys group will be superior to the all girls group and the mixed gender group). 3. There are no differences between the two treatment phases groups (the alternative hypothesis was that students' performance after phase 2 will be superior to students' performance after phase 1 of the study). While no statistically significant results were found the trends in the data have been generally interpreted as consistent with hypotheses based on the published literature.
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ItemA cognitive analysis of problem solving in examinations( 1981)The acquisition of the cognitive skill of problem solving is generally considered to be a necessary attainment for science students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the problem solving component to item difficulty. Success in this aim would enable examiners to select items which validly test for the cognitive objectives of their courses. Three schemes which can provide a hierarchical cognitive classification of items were considered (Bloom's Taxonomy, Piagetian levels, and Gagne's outcomes of learning), and a task analysis based upon Gagne's concept of the rule was chosen as the most appropriate for use with HSC physics items. From this analysis an operational definition of the higher cognitive component of item difficulty was derived: item difficulty is proportional to the number of rules involved in the solution of the problem. Two additional aspects of item construction which have been reported to affect item difficulty were also investigated: response style, and the use of certain logical connectives. Neither of these factors was associated with item difficulty after the effect of number of rules is accounted for.
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ItemTeachers' evocation of and response to children's questions in primary science( 1996)Recently some writers have advocated a reorganisation of primary science teaching based on children's questions as an extension of an inquiry based and constructivist approach to teaching and learning. This study was designed to add to recent findings on the role and place of evoking and responding to children's questions in primary science. A case study approach was used to investigate aspects of classroom interactions. Specifically, this study gathered and analysed data on the role and value of a teaching sequence known as the Interactive Teaching Approach as it was used to elicit children's questions as the basis for implementation of science curriculum units by teachers and the associated development of children's questioning skills together with the issues and difficulties which arose for the teachers as they used the approach. Results suggested that, when encouraged, children readily asked questions and asked a range of question types. However, the data gathered also explicated a number of key issues and difficulties which arose for the teachers involved. Their comments suggested that extended professional development will be necessary to implement science curriculum units with an Interactive Teaching Approach. The findings were interpreted and discussed in relation to a suggested model for the development of children as effective questioners, a framework for making sense of children's questions and, as there was some evidence for a change in the nature of children's questions as a topic is taught, a proposed model of stages of development of a curriculum unit and children's questioning skills. They were also linked to future professional development for primary teachers. The teachers in this study found the information gathered to be valuable for them as they planned their teaching and learning strategies and their involvement in the research advanced their professional development as science teachers in primary schools.
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ItemThe use of teacher written portfolios to enhance professional development, communication and appraisal( 1999)The author has taught for a total of twelve years in secondary schools, the past five years as the Head of the Science Faculty at the study school (Ladies' Catholic College). The use of teachers' portfolios was an inquiry, instigated by the author, in professional development, to improve collegial interaction as well as to record crucial information within the department. Given the exceptional diversity of structure for 'portfolios', both in the literature and in teaching situations, the reader is invited to familiarise themselves with the actual portfolios used as the basis for this study (Appendix A and B). The portfolios in this study were produced by small groups of teachers working on single units of work. These portfolios are investigated as both a product and a process in this study. The impetus for the initial portfolios was the author's concern about what Shulman (1987) and Wise (1978) describe as the "collective amnesia" that can pervade teaching and the difficulty of achieving real change through conventional professional development. While assessing the value of the portfolios, for departmental reflection and collegiality, it became clear that the role of the portfolios could be expanded. This expansion included positioning the portfolios with whole school development, enhancing communication between departments, and investigating a possible role for portfolio writing in strengthening discursive practice in schools as part of teacher appraisal. The teachers who produced the portfolios found them to be a useful process to enhance their reflection on teaching and learning. From the perspective of appraisal they gave the teachers a chance to investigate and communicate the types of knowledge they have about teaching. Teachers, who viewed the portfolios also found them useful for their own reflection, they also gave them insights into a department. The portfolios also provided a focus for teachers in different departments to discuss teaching, this discussion could be centred in a familiar school context. The educators, who collaborated in the research, were mostly members of one school community. These educators bring different perspectives to the research. These varying educational viewpoints are illuminated through the discussions of their impressions of the portfolios. The author received the enthusiastic support and co-operation of the College Principal, two Science teachers who were involved in the production of portfolios, another Science teacher, an English teacher, and the Deputy Principal of another College. Their anonymity and that of the school, which was the site of the investigation, have been protected by the use of pseudonyms. The author investigated the perceived strengths and limitations of the use of portfolios in faculty development and appraisal through the use of reflective conversations. This study has aspects of ethnography in Woods' (1994) sense of contributing to a celebration of school achievement. The conversations with a diverse group of educators, positioned at different levels in policy making, provide a clearer understanding of the scope for use of this particular form of portfolio in departmental settings in schools.