Past projects
Projects and their leaders (listed in alphabetical order)
Montessori Australia Foundation (MAF) Curriculum Project
Chief Investigator: Susan Feez
This research has been commissioned by the Montessori Australia Foundation. The project has involved working collaboratively with senior curriculum advisors and teacher educators from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) to research, gather and collate Montessori curriculum material for students from birth to 18 years, i.e., early childhood, primary and secondary school. This material is then being used to prepare the Australian National Montessori Curriculum for presentation to Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority for endorsement as a recognised alternative curriculum document. Phase 1 of the project, preparing the curriculum from birth to 12 years is now complete. Phase 2, preparing the secondary school curriculum, is due for completion in May 2011.
Specialised literacy demands of multimodal and digital texts
School of Education Internal Research Grant [$4000]
Chief Investigator: Eveline Chan
This research relates to the ongoing collaborative work resulting from an ARC Discovery ProjectTransforming the technologies and modalities of learning: The case of the New Life Sciences in secondary schooling (ARC DP0772550) led by Prof. Peter Freebody (USyd), with Prof. John Hedberg (MQ), Dr Kim Nichols (UQ), Dr Wilhelmina Van Rooy (MQ) and Dr Penny Van Bergen (MQ). The work focuses on classroom and assessment video data from senior biology classrooms, examining the specialised literacy demands in topics that are distinctively dependent on digital technologies and multimodal texts for representing and communicating information.
Teaching effective 3D authoring in the middle school years: Multimedia grammatical design and multimedia authoring pedagogy
2008–2011 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant ($195,000)
Chief Investigators: Len Unsworth, Angela Thomas, Mr P. Maggs
Research Fellow: Paul Chandler
PhD Candidate: Annemarree O'Brien
This project addresses the National Research Priorities goal 'promoting an innovative culture and economy'. It provides radical re thinking of literacy pedagogy essential in globalised knowledge based economies mediated by digital multimedia literacies. 3D multimedia authoring pedagogy, emphasizing playful innovation and explicit knowledge of multimedia design, will increase digital age student engagement in learning. The Australian Children's Television Foundations' Kahootz is uniquely effective, highly motivating authoring software for schools. What is needed is a thoroughly researched multimedia authoring pedagogy to fully realise Australian leadership potential in renovating literacy pedagogy for the digital multimedia age.
Administering Organisation: University of New England
Partner Organisations: Australian Children's Television Foundation, University of Tasmania
The impact of NAPLAN on the teaching of English in the New England Region
School of Education Internal Research Grant [$4000]
Chief Investigator: Mutuota Kigotho
This research project investigates the impact NAPLAN tests have on English teaching in the New England region. Teachers of English will be requested to complete an on-line survey that seeks to establish in what ways the introduction of the NAPLAN tests may have affected the content that the teachers opt to teach as compared to what they would do in the absence of such a test. Further, the teachers will be asked to give their views regarding how the MySchool website handles the data received and how such data may affect the teaching of English. This project has the potential to be developed into a larger grant application.
New dimensions of group literacy tests for schools: Multimodal reading comprehension in conventional and computer-based formats
2006–2008 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant ($192,764)
Chief Investigators: Len Unsworth, Ms K. O'Donnell, Dr G.R. Barnes
Research Fellow: Eveline Chan
PhD Cadidate: Ms A. Daly
Today's texts require readers to comprehend information from an extensive range of images integrated with print material. No assessment currently exists to test what new reading strategies students require to interpret the meanings made jointly through images and print in contemporary texts. To address this problem, this research will develop a model of image/text relations. Such a model is foundational to the development of effective assessment tools, particularly group tests. For the first time, such tests will incorporate the comprehension strategies that students require to understand conventional and computer-based texts with their increased integration of images and print.
Administering Institution: University of New England
Partner Organisation: NSW Department of Education and Training (Educational Measurement and School Accountability Directorate)
