Faculty of Education - Research Publications

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    Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change: Final Research Findings
    Imms, W ; Mahat, M (Innovative Learning Environments & Teacher Change, LEaRN, and the University of Melbourne., 2022-11-01)
    At the beginning of ILETC a clear mandate existed in government and academic conversations for these ‘innovative learning environments (ILEs) to have a primary aim of fostering students creative and critical thinking, and communicative and collaborative practices; this often was embedded in ‘21st Century Learning’ ambitions. There existed, however, a worrying paucity of quality research to act as a baseline for understanding this phenomenon. For this reason, ILETC adopted an exploratory design in seeking to document correlation between ‘good’ teacher use of ILEs and high levels of student deep learning.
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    Introduction to Part III: Measurement
    Imms, W ; Fisher, K (Springer Nature Singapore, 2020-01-01)
    Abstract ‘Measurement’ of the impact of learning environments has occurred for quite a long time, but its role in driving and guiding reforms in ILE design and use has not been as effective. This is due to a lack of common terminologies, too wide a scope of what constitutes ‘learning environments’ and too often the use of very poor methods. This section presents a number of evaluation initiatives, playing a part in exploring new approaches to ‘good’ evaluation.
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    Introduction to Part IV: Teacher Practices
    Imms, W ; Fisher, K (Springer Nature Singapore, 2020-01-01)
    Abstract This final section of Transitions focuses on arguably the most important element of ’successful’ ILEs—the teacher. Within educational research alone, and when looking at a hundred years or more of research into quality schooling, most arguments attract a counter-perspective. Interestingly, on one factor virtually everyone agrees; the teacher has the greatest positive impact on the quality of student learning. For this reason, we use the preceding sections to lead us into discussions about how teachers occupy and use the educational space.
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    Where to Now? Fourteen Characteristics of Teachers’ Transition into Innovative Learning Environments
    Imms, W ; Mahat, M (Springer Nature Singapore, 2020-01-01)
    Abstract This chapter places the preceding papers into a wider context. As part of the Innovative Learning Environment and Teacher Change (ILETC) project, seven Transitions symposia were held in five cities across Australasia, Europe and North America during 2017, 2018 and 2019. Each aimed at investigating how teachers adapt to innovative learning environments. The resulting accumulation of approximately 150 papers by graduate researchers and research groups, of which this book’s chapters are a sample, constituted a reasonable representation of international thinking on this topic. When added to three years of ILETC case studies, surveys, systematic literature reviews and teacher workshops, the project team was able to identify consistent patterns in teachers’ spatial transition actions. This chapter places the material of this book within that larger picture, specifically in terms of one project output—the development of a Spatial Transition Pathway. The Pathway emerged from these data and can be seen as an output of the material sampled in previous chapters. Certainly, the considerable work teachers had been doing to re-conceptualise their pedagogies for new spaces (done both intentionally, and at times, without realising) deserved to be mapped as a resource for others undertaking this journey. This chapter makes the case that while each teacher or school’s journey from traditional to ‘innovative’ spaces is unique, there exists some common issues that most seem to face at some time, in some way. It provides a description of fourteen ‘grand themes’ that appear commonly through the data and describes how these can be organised in a way that provides temporal and theme-based strategies and tools, developed by fellow educators to assist in this transition. This final chapter leads the reader to consider ‘where to now’? It celebrates the fact that teachers have enormous capacity to work out how to utilise innovative learning environments well and provides a framework for evidence-based actions into the future.
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    Learning environments' influence on students' learning experience in an Australian Faculty of Business and Economics
    Closs, L ; Mahat, M ; Imms, W (SPRINGERNATURE, 2022-04)
    We investigated how learning environments-involving their physical, pedagogical, and psychosocial dimensions-influence students learning experiences in an Australian Faculty of Business and Economics. Qualitative data collection involved observations of eight classrooms over a semester, four focus groups with 21 students and interviews with six educators. The study provided deeper understanding of the dynamic and complex intrinsic interrelations of learning environment dimensions over time, addressing previous gaps in research. It identified and analysed spaces and practices, educational activities, and students' subjective experiences in different learning environments to illustrate how these multiple elements intersect and influence on the students' experience. The mixed methods used in the research helped to uncover a broader view of the learning environment and its interdependent influences over time on students' learning experiences. One practical implication is that any strategies to support a more holistic student learning experience through more effective use of learning environments should be developed at an institutional level.
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    A Day in the Life of a Student: Facilitator Guide
    Mahat, M ; Imms, W (Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, 2020-12-21)
    A Day in the Life of a Student workshop is a design thinking workshop developed by DLR Group (an integrated design firm) and adapted by the Innovative Learning Environment and Teacher Change project at the University of Melbourne, Australia. The activities involve educators mapping out how one student spends his/her day in school and building a model of the learning environment based on this one student. With an emphasis on the visual learning that comes from modelling experiences, this workshop helps participants develop student-improvement focused practices in innovative learning environments.
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    Archipelago of Possibilities: Facilitator Guide
    Mahat, M ; Imms, W (Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, 2020-12-21)
    Archipelago of Possibilities is a strategy and professional development workshop created specifically to help teachers and educators uncover what they hold dear in their teaching practice and discover what they consider most important for a successful practice. This workshop uses travel as a metaphor to guide participants in reflecting on their practice, identifying successful factors for success, examining what is holding them back from achieving their ideal practice, and developing steps to create a future ideal teaching and learning space.
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    Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change Project Phase One Report 2016-2017
    Imms, W ; Mahat, M (ILETC Project, 2017)
    The ILETC project presents a unique opportunity for a team of experts in education and architecture from across governments, schools, business and academia to co-design new solutions to the challenges of delivering 21st century learning to students in Australia and New Zealand. The Innovative Learning Environments and Teacher Change project (ILETC) commenced officially in June 2016. The aim of this 4 year project is to build understanding of how physical classroom space impacts on learning and how best to support teachers in making the most of the spaces in their schools. It will develop resources and strategies to support educators, school leaders, policy makers and architects in developing and inhabiting new learning spaces. In its busy first 18 months the project has not only accomplished all planned milestones, but has achieved extensive engagement with partners, teachers, architects and researchers both within Australasia and internationally. This highly efficient and collaborative, cross-disciplinary group has maximised the expertise of the project team and partners in building a comprehensive base of evidence about teaching in innovative learning spaces in Australasia. The group has made it a priority to not only conduct their research in an open and transparent way, with regular newsletter updates, blog posts and articles, but to publish findings as soon as data is analysed and share these with an ever growing following of educators, designers and other researchers. This report provides a summary of the project’s activities, findings and engagement in the first 18 months of research. It draws together the many outputs, events, media and activities to highlight some of the key discoveries and how these inform the next stage of investigations.
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    Teacher Mind Frames and Belief Systems: Facilitator Guide
    Mahat, M ; Imms, W (Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, 2020-10-13)
    The Teacher Mind Frames and Belief Systems workshop invites participants to explore how their beliefs shape the physical and experiential elements of the learning space they practice in. The workshop is based on the premise that teachers who exhibit the teacher mind frames as conceptualised by John Hattie1 are “more likely to have major impacts on student learning” (p.182). This workshop uses design thinking activities, specifically in the form of a persona tool, to help participants reflect on their mind frames and belief systems and then identify how this shapes their professional and teaching practices in innovative learning environments.