PRESENTERS
Choeda Choeda Maggie Feng Helena Granziera Aleksandr Litvinov Robin Nagy Murray Norman
Juliana Peloche Anthony Slaven Swati Suna Tatik Tatik Lorraine Wong Shengjie Zhai
Choeda Choeda Maggie Feng Helena Granziera Aleksandr Litvinov Robin Nagy Murray Norman
Juliana Peloche Anthony Slaven Swati Suna Tatik Tatik Lorraine Wong Shengjie Zhai
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Choeda Choeda
University of Technology Sydney Smartphone supported English language teaching in a teacher education college: Preliminary findings from documents |
In Bhutan, there has been a rapid expansion of ICT service in all sectors including the Ministry of Education (MoE) since the introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT. The MoE has initiated an ICT master plan to enhance ICT integrated teaching and learning, strengthen ICT infrastructure and connectivity for better learning in the schools and colleges. MOE states that enhancing teacher educators with “digital pedagogical skills” can enhance pre-service teachers’ ICT skills with which quality education can be achieved. Therefore, a research in smartphone as an ICT tool in the specific context of its potential of teaching the English language in a teacher education college is found relevant to understand the link between the teacher trainer and teacher trainee in the transfer of skills of ICT based pedagogy. The research design of this study will be qualitative which will be theoretically underpinned by constructivist theory to carry out a phenomenological study. As it will be a singular case study and is concerned with the use of a smartphone as a pedagogical tool for teaching the English language in a teacher education programme at the college, data will be drawn from multiple sources such as policy and programme documents available in the public domain, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and classroom observations. Thus, intended study will be outlined and preliminary findings of documentary analysis shared in the presentation.
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Maggie Feng
University of Sydney Investigating Students’ Engagement with Teach-first and Task-first Lesson Structures incorporating Challenging Mathematical Tasks |
There is now substantial evidence that student-centred approaches to mathematics learning, particularly when the inquiry process is guided and structured, is highly valuable to engaging students (Alfieri et al., 2011). This is because learning experiences that students find challenging are not only useful for activating prior knowledge, but also extends initial thinking to create new knowledge. It is known that high levels of student engagement correlate positively with learning – the more students are engaged, the more likely they are to persist with learning and the greater the chance of maximising their learning opportunities (Sullivan et al., 2020; Russo & Hopkins, 2019). While there is an abundance of research that supports the efficacy of teaching and learning mathematics with challenging tasks, research in how lessons incorporating challenging mathematical tasks should be structured in a primary school context is scarce. Even rarer are studies that explicitly explore the specific factors that influence primary aged students’ reactions to and engagement with a particular lesson structure. Similarly, there is a void in the potential advantages and disadvantages of either approach on engaging students of various individual or background characteristics in mathematics learning. This study is intended to address these gaps in research. As such, the aim of the study is to explore how variation in lesson structure impacts student engagement and learning of mathematics. Of particular interest is the impact on student engagement (cognitive, emotional, and behavioural) of students with diverse backgrounds or characteristics. Gauging students’ reactions to lesson structure may assist teachers with broadening their choice of pedagogy to suit various student characteristics. The findings will also have implications for supporting achievement of positive emotional and productive learning outcomes for students in their classrooms.
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Helena Granziera
University of New South Wales Teacher Wellbeing: A Job Demands-Resources Approach |
Teacher attrition and retention have emerged as issues of concern for the teaching profession, both in Australia and in other developed countries (Weldon, 2018). Though considerable research has considered teachers’ negative experiences of the workplace (e.g., stress, burnout; Chang, 2009), fewer studies have sought to understand the personal and organisational factors that promote positive workplace experiences for teachers. The present investigation harnessed the Job Demands-Resources theory to consider the interactions between job demands, job resources, and personal resources identified as salient to Australian teachers, and examined their role in facilitating burnout, engagement, and occupational outcomes. In a study of 486 primary school teachers, structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationships between job demands (role conflict), job resources (professional development usefulness and teacher collaboration), personal resources (adaptability and self-efficacy), emotional exhaustion, engagement and organisational outcomes (organisational commitment and turnover intentions). Findings indicated a strong and positive relationship between professional development usefulness and organizational commitment. Conversely, role conflict was associated with decreased organizational commitment, higher turnover intentions, and high levels of emotional exhaustion. Unique relationships existed between each of the personal resources and the substantive outcomes; while self-efficacy was found to be the most significant predictor of behavioural engagement, adaptability had a direct and positive link with organisational commitment, and direct and negative relationship with emotional exhaustion.
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Aleksandr Litvinov
University of Technology Sydney Educating Technopreneurs in Empathy |
Since software and internet-based companies play an important role in contributing to world economic growth, more attention is paid to software engineering and information technology specialists' development. It is important to mention that almost half (46,5%) of the tech startups founders had an educational background in the STEM fields (Wadhwa et al.,2010). Understanding that technical specialists are one of the main contributors to the creation of technology startups, local professional associations have made significant adjustments to the images and competencies requirements for technical specialists. For example, the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED) published a scoping study, "Engineering futures 2035", highlighting that future engineers apart from technical expertise must possess both social competencies such as emotional intelligence (EQ) and entrepreneurial skills (Crosthwaite, 2019). Currently, in academic discourses around capabilities and competencies that future engineering and IT specialists should have, empathy plays an essential role that can help to connect crucial inter-and intrapersonal skills, assist professionals to be more productive in multidisciplinary environments, communicate with clients and stakeholders more effectively and develop human-centred and ethical design solutions (Strobel et al.,2013; Necket al., 2019). However, according to Walther et al. (2020), empathy is of particular importance to technical specialists and entrepreneurs, not only as a professional skill. Simultaneously, it should also contribute to the formation of practice orientation and specific way of being that encourage technical specialists to have a holistic perception of societal problems. That is why modern educational approaches should be focused on developing all facets of empathy (skill, orientation and being). In this study, the author will explore how engineering students who are developing their own business (technopreneurs) make meanings about empathy by examining students learning experiences in accelerators. This study should help to understand how existing entrepreneurial educational approaches contribute to the development of empathy. The aim of this study is to explore the lived experiences of nascent technology entrepreneurs, focusing on empathy development processes. For this study, the researcher will employ a phenomenological perspective as a qualitative approach that should help to unpack meaning making process.
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Robin Nagy
University of New South Wales Investigating Students’ Academic Effort in High School |
Effort has been identified in many theories of educational psychology as an essential component of cognitive development and a driver of key learning processes and outcomes. Major frameworks that place effort as central to their formulations include models of engagement, cognitive load theory, social cognitive theory, goal theory, and self-regulated learning. However, effort has seldom been rigorously examined as much more than a unidimensional factor or as a construct that is somewhat assumed or “taken-for-granted” in the scholarly literature. The present research investigates effort as a multidimensional structure, subsumed under the broader umbrella of school engagement. Effort is defined here as active, purposeful and energetic investment in learning and is operationalised through cognitive, operative, and social-emotional dimensions. To measure this new conceptual framework, a 3-factor effort assessment tool (the Effort Scale) was developed that is the focus of the present investigation. The aims of this research are to: (a) test the measurement properties of the newly developed three-factor Effort Scale, (b) assess the extent to which responses on this Effort Scale vary with respect to key attributes (e.g., student gender and year group), (c) explore the relationship between the three effort factors and a set of “outcome” factors, including literacy and numeracy achievement, and (d) ascertain the extent to which key antecedents such as student motivation and teacher-student relationships predict students’ effort. Preliminary findings of confirmatory factor analysis of multidimensional effort will be presented from a study that comprised N = 2318 secondary school students in 238 English and Mathematics classes from years 7-10 in 10 NSW independent schools. The study comprised boys (N = 1285; 55%) and girls (N = 1033; 45%). Data were collected in Term 4 of 2020.
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Murray Norman
Alpha Crucis The value of religious education in a multicultural Australia. |
The increase in the multicultural fabric of Australian society has meant a corresponding increase in the variety of religious beliefs held within our society. The nature of the Australian schooling system (compulsory, government funded) means that school becomes a place where all kinds of cultures and beliefs come together, particularly in government schools (as opposed to non-government, that often have a historical faith basis), which account for 65% of all Australian school students (ABS, 2020). Although the Australian government schooling system is described as secular, this refers to the fact that it is not influenced or controlled by any one religion or denomination – not (as is a common misconception) that it is free from religion. The religious education options in government schools (both SRE and GRE) allow for people from all cultures to see that their religion is valued by Australian society (through the option for them to choose for their child a SRE class in line with their beliefs) and for their children to learn about the faith of their family throughout their schooling in a safe environment. While much research has been done into SRE and GRE, little research has looked at the synergies of both together, and the opinions and experiences of students and families, as well as school staff, into what value this brings to a multicultural society.
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Juliana Peloche
University of Wollongong Artificial Intelligence in Education: teachers' perceptions. |
Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) has gained visibility over the past years (Renz, Krishnaraja, & Gronau, 2020). However, the adoption and advancement of AI in Education have been slower than in other fields (Holmes, 2019; Luckin, Holmes, Griffiths, & Pearson, 2016). New digital technologies will only be integrated if teachers perceive their learning usefulness (Scherer, Siddiq, & Tondeur, 2019). Therefore, understanding teachers' perceptions about digital technologies' adoptions can be crucial to the advancement of AIED tools integrations in Education. Teachers may be integrating AI tools without perceiving their presence (Southgate et al., 2019). This invisibility is a key issue associated with AI research in Education. Thus, capturing teachers' perceptions about AI technologies can be difficult. We propose using scenarios to connect teachers to concrete AI application to elicit perceptions and beliefs educators have of AIED. The use of scenarios as an interview technique can serve as a concrete representation of systems' use, allowing space, time, people, and system features that might be abstract at an initial analysis (Haynes, Purao & Skattebo, 2004). When applied in interviews with teachers to grasp their understanding of AI tools' deployment, AI scenarios can elicit responses and provide a way to assess respondents' perceptions and reactions (Yukl, 1998). In this presentation, we introduce two scenarios as interview tools for exploring classroom teachers' perceptions of AIED. The AI scenarios draw on Pinkwart's (2016) utopian and dystopian visions of future uses of technology, revealing potential challenges and benefits of AIED adoption in schools and classrooms (Pinkwart, 2016). We suggest using scenarios during teachers' interviews can help the educators understand the risks and opportunities of AI when deployed in the educational context. Therefore, reflections of and engagement with the technology's authentic uses may improve teachers' critical appraisal and cause changes in practice and classroom instructions.
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Anthony Slaven
University of Notre Dame Australia Reaching New Heights: An explorative Study of achievement and engagement using differentiation methods for underachieving gifted students |
Within assessment of gifted and talented students, it is widely acknowledged that the identification of what is perceived to be gifted and talented has changed drastically throughout the last century. It is now acknowledged that it is important to look at not just the academic potential of a student, but also their abilities in multiple dominions. It is also noted that formal Federal Government policies in Australia have not addressed how to assess students of exceptional ability on either a national level or a classroom level. To accommodate gifted students atypical learning needs, various differentiation methods have been used in Australia with varied success in achieving either student engagement or increased academic potential. The aim of the proposed study is to conduct research into an educational framework that can increase engagement for gifted and talented students. It is proposed that this will be achieved by applying Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (STTI) to a range of gifted and talented students (GAT students) currently undertaking the NSW High School English Curriculum (English Curriculum). The study will utilise a Phenomenological framework to explore the engagement of 5 underachieving gifted female students through observing them undertake an STTI task against a form of a standard, non-differentiated assessment task and a post task individual interview. It is hypothesised that if STTI can engage GAT students, it will give educators a framework on how to differentiate and cater to the diverse needs of gifted and talented students.
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Saraswati Suna
The University of Sydney Experiences, Challenges and Resistance: A Study of Dalit women's Experiences in Higher Educational Institutions in Odisha (India). |
In India, education is perceived as a mechanism for the social and economic advancement of deprived sections through social mobility and guarantees equality. It is considered a means of liberation from caste shackles (Velaskar, 1990, 2012a, 2012b). However, it has become an instrument for reproducing social stratification and maintaining the dominant sections' hegemony (Chanana, 2000). Inequalities (based on caste, gender, class and region) persist in the educational system over the years with its changed forms. Dalits, for decades, are being marginalised and are educationally pushed back' by the upper castes (Krishna, 2013). With the constitutional provisions, they are gradually entering into the mainstream of higher education. The cultural practices, behaviour pattern, sex-role expectations, and association of women with the household's private domain continue to affect their higher education access (Chanana, 2000). In every sphere, Dalit women have to face it twice because of their identity and are thus- doubly Dalit (Rani, 1998). This research focuses on Dalit women of regional universities in Odisha (India). This research will explore, analyse, and understand the impact of caste and gender-based experiences on Dalit women. Further, it will analyse their adjustments and coping strategies that they adopt against these obstacles. Keeping in mind the dearth in the Dalit literature (Guru, 1995; Paik, 2014b; Patil, 2013), the theoretical framework of 'Dalit Feminist Standpoint' will focus on the everyday realities of Dalit women. In-depth Interviews and group discussions will be conducted along with literature review for this research. According to literature, Dalit students face exclusion at multiple levels based on caste, class, gender, race, religion and region. This research will underscore the nuances of Dalit women students' experiences in regional universities of Odisha (India).
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Tatik Tatik
University of New South Wales Collectivist cultural values in Indonesian new teacher mentoring: Potential and risks for professional learning |
Cultural values are one of the factors that influence mentoring practices, relationships, and successful achievement of the goals of a mentoring program. Although collegial relationships are widely regarded as a positive influence on learning, communication and support within the mentoring context, they can also present challenges to successful program outcomes. These challenges are greater in Asian countries where trust and harmony are held up as the desirable goal of relationships. The impact of the collegial relationship on new teacher mentoring practices was explored in a case study of three Indonesian schools. Data were collected from mentor-novice teacher pairs in each school and analysed using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). The findings showed that the strong collectivist values and trust among the support providers, the school community, mentors, and new teachers were an asset for the program’s successful implementation, but they also posed some unintended risks for professional learning. Collectivist values provided internal motivation for mentors, supported novice teachers’ informal learning, and fostered a sense of togetherness. However, they could also hinder the development of critical dialogue about teaching practices. These results highlight the importance of understanding community values and relationships as contextual factors that impact on the contribution of mentoring to the new teacher professional learning.
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Lorraine Wong
University of Technology Sydney Exploring students’ funds of knowledge in a multilingual mathematics classroom |
Although standardised assessments in Australia have revealed that many students of language background other than English (LBOTE) perform well in mathematics, this performance is not equally distributed across students from different cultural backgrounds. Consistent discrepancies in mathematics performance have been observed in students from different cultural backgrounds. This brings us to the question of whether mathematics is a cultural-free and linguistically-forgiving discipline, a view commonly held, or if it simply privileges those who ‘speak the language’ of school mathematics. Taking a socio-cultural perspective of mathematics learning, my study will consider the full set of students’ meaning-making repertoires that primary students bring into the mathematics classroom. The Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach will be applied to inform the theoretical understanding and methodology in this research. To date, few FoK educational studies have focused on mathematics learning in the primary years within a multicultural mainstream classroom. My project aims to investigate how multilingual students’ knowledge, skills and practices, or FoK, may or may not be recognised and drawn on in the mathematics classroom. The FoK approach comprises three components: the extraction of household knowledge, classroom observations, and teachers study groups. The methods will be altered for the Australian context, and to have a greater focus on FoK from the students’ perspective. Semi-structured interviews with teachers, students and parents; classroom observations and teacher study groups will be conducted. The data will help inform the funds of knowledge students bring to the learning of mathematics, how these FoK are recognised and acknowledged in the classroom, and how students’ linguistic resources may influence their understanding of mathematics texts. The findings from this study may shed light on the competence and resourcefulness of multilingual students, and may inform socially-just pedagogy in mathematics classrooms. My research is still in the early exploration stages, and I would welcome any questions or discussions on my topic.
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Shengjie Zhai
The University of Sydney From EGP to ESP: University EFL Teachers’ Professional Identities in China |
This study seeks to examine a team of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers based in a Chinese university during the transitional process from English for General Purposes (EGP) to English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Conceptualized within a sociocultural approach, this study is framed with four theoretical constructs: teacher’s professional identity (Barkhuizen, 2017; Kayi-Aydar, 2019; Varghese, 2017) sits in the centre, surrounded by teacher’s beliefs (Borg, 2003; Khader, 2012), teacher’s autonomy (Benson, 2001, 2017) and teacher’s practices. Informed by these theoretical constructs, a qualitative case study is adopted in this research to investigate EFL teachers’ professional identities in the curriculum transitional phase from EGP to ESP. This study endeavours to address a set of key research questions as follows: (1) What are the characteristics of EFL teachers’ professional identities in the transitional process from EGP to ESP? (2) To what extent do EFL teachers’ professional identities inform their classroom teaching practices? (3) What factors (and/or how these factors) may have or not impacted their professional identities in the transitional process for EGP to ESP? This study will offer an integrated theoretical lens to look at EFL teacher’s professional identity and guide EFL teachers confronted with the similar situations. Empirically, it will yield a set of context-specific research evidence to contribute to the existing research on teacher’s beliefs, teacher’s autonomy and teacher’s professional identity, and an empirical base to inform the development of a framework for researching teacher professional learning. Pedagogically, the empirical data and the findings will help EFL teachers in the transitional process to reflect upon their professional identities and teaching practices, thus providing an alternative approach to formulating professional development training for the EFL teachers in China or a starting point for EFL programs moving from EGP to ESP.
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