Education and Pedagogy Research Group

Our experts in the Education and Pedagogy Research Group engage in a wide range of research and project work. The following highlight several of these. For more detailed information concerning research activities, projects and tenders please visit our academic staff list or register of supervisors.

 

Making Music Work: Sustainable Portfolio Careers for Australian Musicians

The Making Music Work project involves a major national survey of musicians from around the country, as well as a dozen in-depth case studies, in order to create a comprehensive and detailed picture of the working lives, career trajectories, and economic circumstances of portfolio musicians in Australia. This research not only looks at how long musicians have been working in the sector, but – most critically – the diversification of roles that they hold, the ways in which they balance doing so, and ultimately how they sustain their livelihoods.

Curtin Investigator: John Curtin Distinguished Professor Dawn Bennett

Funded by the Australian Research Council (Linkage Grant) [$222,515]

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Learn2Analyze (L2A): An Academia-Industry Knowledge Alliance for enhancing Online Training Professionals’ Instructional Designers and e-Trainers) Competences in Educational Data Analytics

The scope of the Learn2Analyze project is (i) to enhance existing competence frameworks for instructional designers and e-trainers of online and blended courses with new Educational Data Literacy competences for using emerging Educational Data Analytics methods and tools and (ii) to develop and evaluate a series of professional development Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for cultivating these competences with emphasis on combining theory and practice through authentic work-oriented tasks. The Learn2Analyze international consortium comprises six organisations from five European Union countries (Greece, Norway, Germany, Italy and Ireland) and one partner from Australia.

Curtin Investigators: Prof Demetrios Sampson & Prof Lina Pelliccione

Funded by European Commission, Erasmus+ Program, Knowledge Alliances Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices Program [Curtin’s funding: $156,000]

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STORIES: Stories of Tomorrow – Students Visions on the Future of Space Exploration

Stories of Tomorrow is a European research and development project designed for teaching professionals in STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). It introduces teachers to the concept of digital storytelling and inquiry-based science teaching techniques to develop, improve and enhance teaching practices. The STORIES international consortium consists of 15 universities, research centers, science centers, policy makers and e-learning service providers, as well as a network of K12 schools.

Curtin Investigator: Prof Demetrios Sampson

Funded by European Commission, European Commission, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme [2,703,375 EUR]

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Open Schools for the Open Society (OSOS)

The Open Schools for the Open Society (OSOS) is a European research and development project designed for school leaders to explore opportunities for transformative school leadership through the Open School model. It aims to connects K-12 schools with their local communities and to engage students in responsible citizenship development. The international OSOS consortium consists of 19 universities, research centers, science centers, policy makers and e-learning service providers, as well as a network of K12 schools.

Curtin Investigator: Prof Demetrios Sampson

Funded by European Commission, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Science with and for Society: Open Schooling and Collaboration on Science Education [3,042,250 EUR]

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Early Childhood iSTEM Numeracy Project: Grant/Funded by Department of Education – Budget $72,800

In this research and development project, early childhood educators engage in a 6-month action research project. The educators are supported with professional learning workshops and other resources to increase their understanding of key mathematical concepts relevant to young children (aged 3 to 7 years), and to identify the mathematical demands and opportunities of young children’s STEM experiences.

Investigators: Dr Karen Murcia and Dr Sharon Davies

Funded by the Department of Education (14 DoE Primary Schools) [$72,800]

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Mentoring Programs and Equity Groups: The Australian Story

This project mapped the extent to which mentoring programs are used in Australian universities to support students from the different equity groups during the different phases of university life: enabling, engagement and employment. It examined the extent to which features of a cross-section of programs aligned with existing best practice in mentoring guidelines and benchmarks, and resulted in a map of mentoring programs in Australian universities that included or targeted students from underrepresented groups.

Investigators: Associate Prof Susan Beltman, Dr Shamim Samani, Kate Ala’i

Funded by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education Research Grants Program [$39,285]

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iSTEM Numeracy for infants and young children under 5 years old. Goodstart Early Learning

Goodstart Early Learning educators participated in a 6-month action research project. Educators were supported with professional learning workshops to increase their understanding of key mathematical concepts relevant to young children (aged birth to 5 years). The research provided opportunities for educators to engage in professional development to enhance skills in developing effective ‘Learning Stories’ – observing, recording and evaluating children’s learning.

Investigator: Dr Sharon Davies

Funded by Goodstart Early Learning [$18,054]

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Managers’ Perspectives of the Suitability of CELTA in a Changing Australian TESOL Environment: An Exploratory Study

This study sought to investigate the perceived effectiveness of a pre-service Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) qualification called CELTA which is provided in the private English language teaching sector and taken prior to Curtin’s Graduate Certificate in TESOL.

Investigator: Dr Toni Dobinson and Dr Paul Mercieca

Funded by Cambridge English Funded Research Programme (Round 7) [$10.000]

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Developing Digital Literacies and Using Digital Technologies in the Montessori Classroom

This project involves observing the actions of children as meaning makers to map how digital literacies are developed. Observations are used to identify a methods for using digital technologies in the Montessori classroom and embedding the development of digital literacies.

Investigators: Dr Sharon Davies, Dr Samantha Owen and Sarah Thomas

Funded by The Beehive Montessori School, Perth Western Australia [$8000]

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The employABILITY Initiative

The employability of the 21st century worker is developed and sustained through explicit, career- and life-long identity and employability work. The Initiative is underpinned by EmployABILITY thinking, which is a strength-based, metacognitive approach delivered in the existing curriculum. The approach prompts students to understand why they think the way they think, how to critique and learn the unfamiliar, and how their values, beliefs and assumptions can inform and be informed by their learning, lives and careers. The Initiative involves 28 institutions worldwide.

Investigator: Professor Dawn Bennett

Funded by the Department of Training

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