Melbourne Graduate School of Education - Research Publications

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    Inferring Learning from Big Data: The Importance of a Transdisciplinary and Multidimensional Approach
    Lodge, JM ; Alhadad, SSJ ; Lewis, MJ ; Gasevic, D (SPRINGER, 2017-10)
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    What data and analytics can and do say about effective learning
    Lodge, JM ; Corrin, L (SPRINGERNATURE, 2017-12-09)
    The collection and analysis of data about learning is a trend that is growing exponentially in all levels of education. Data science is poised to have a substantial influence on the understanding of learning in online and blended learning environments. The mass of data already being collected about student learning provides a source of greater insights into student learning that have not previously been available, and therefore is liable to have a substantial impact on and be impacted by the science of learning in the years ahead. However, despite the potential evident in the application of data science to education, several recent articles have pointed out that student behavioural data collected en masse do not holistically capture student learning. Rogers contends that this positivist view of analytics in education is symptomatic of issues in the social sciences more broadly. While there is undeniable merit in bringing a critical perspective to the use of data and analytics, we suggest that the power and intent of data science for understanding learning is now becoming apparent. The intersection of the science of learning with data and analytics enables more sophisticated ways of making meaning to support student learning.
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    On the Irrelevance of Neuromyths to Teacher Effectiveness: Comparing Neuro-Literacy Levels Amongst Award-Winning and Non-award Winning Teachers
    Horvath, JC ; Donoghue, GM ; Horton, AJ ; Lodge, JM ; Hattie, JAC (FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2018-09-11)
    A number of studies have recently demonstrated a high level of belief in 'neuromyths' (fallacious arguments about the brain) amongst trainee and non-award winning educators. The authors of these studies infer this to mean that acceptance of these neuromyths has a negative impact on teaching effectiveness. In this study, we explored this assumption by assessing the prevalence of neuromyth acceptance amongst a group of internationally recognized, award-winning teachers and comparing this to previously published data with trainee and non-award winning teacher populations. Results revealed the acceptance of neuromyths to be nearly identical between these two groups, with the only difference occurring on 2 (out of 15) items. These findings suggest that one cannot make simple, unqualified arguments concerning the relationship between belief in neuromyths and teacher effectiveness. In fact, the idea that neuromyths negatively impact upon teaching might, itself, be a neuromyth.
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    Exploring misconceptions as a trigger for enhancing student learning
    Verkade, H ; Lodge, JM ; Elliott, K ; Mulhern, TD ; Espinosa, AA ; Cropper, SJ ; Rubinstein, BIP ; Walker, R ; Bedford, S (Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, Inc, 2017)
    This article addresses the importance of confronting misconceptions in the teaching of the STEM disciplines. First, we review the central place for threshold concepts in many disciplines and the threat misconceptions pose to quality education. Second, approaches will be offered for confronting misconceptions in the classroom in different contexts. Finally, we discuss what we can learn about these approaches and the common threads that reveal successful approaches. These steps have been explored in relation to four case studies across diverse disciplines. From these case studies, a set of principles about how best to address misconceptions in STEM disciplines has been distilled. As conceptual knowledge increases in importance in higher education, effective strategies for helping students develop accurate conceptual understanding will also be increasingly critical.
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    Science of learning and digital learning environments
    Lodge, J ; Cooney Horvath, J ; Cooney Horvath, J ; Lodge, J ; Hattie, J (Routledge - Taylor & Francis, 2017)
    Of all areas where it is possible for the science of learning to have an impact on educational practice, it is arguably in the use of technologies where research from the laboratory can have the greatest influence. The introduction of new technologies raises profound (but also mundane) questions about education into the future. Learning occurring in digital environments also affords possibilities for personalisation and adaptive learning design that are not always possible in face-to-face educational settings. Moreover, educational technologies provide opportunities for capturing aspects of learning that are not easy to evaluate in complex, often chaotic classrooms. In this chapter we will provide an overview of some of the main research traditions underpinning the understanding of learning in digital environments with an eye to the future. While this work has been translated to real life educational settings to some degree to date, there is substantial potential for further research to have an impact on future education. We will conclude with guidance to teachers about how best to conceptualise and use educational technologies in their practice.
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    Introduction: From the Laboratory to the Classroom: Translating Science of Learning for Teachers
    Cooney Horvath, J ; LODGE, J ; Hattie, J ; Cooney Horvath, J ; Lodge, J ; Hattie, J (Routledge, 2017)
    We hope that the four primary goals of the Science of Learning field —determination of learning principles, correlation of learning principles with current practice, generation of novel practices, and elucidation of the biological processes of learning—suffuse this volume and not only serve as a source for validation and corroboration, but also inspire and empower the reader.
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    A Framework for Organizing and Translating Science of Learning Research
    Cooney Horvath, J ; LODGE, J ; Cooney Horvath, J ; Lodge, J ; Hattie, J (Routledge, 2017)
    The term science of learning (SoL) encompasses a broad range of scientific disciplines, from basic neuroscience to cognitive psychology to computer science to social theory. Despite this wide array of interests, however, the goal of many SoL programs is the same, namely to determine and develop methods that teachers and students can use to improve the learning experience. As with any multidisciplinary endeavor with the ultimate aim of “application”, an important consideration concerns how the knowledge obtained from disparate research programs fits together to form a coherent and useful whole. As can be inferred, trying to determine how data obtained at micro-scales link to data obtained at macro-scales is not a trivial task. Furthermore, it is far from clear whether these types of links are meaningful or in any way beneficial for the larger goals of classroom education. For instance, what support is there to suggest that knowledge of calcium-driven potentiation at the neural synapse can influence a typical teacher trying to help a student to differentiate between the numerator and the denominator in a fraction?