Honours Presentation Timetable

Honours Master of Teaching-Post internship
conference research descriptions 2000

Papers prepared for electronic submission

Thursday 2-3pm Rm 424

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Maxwell, Anne

Christopher: A Case Study

This project entails the study of music assisting a child's learning.

Jones, Elizabeth

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Thursday 4-5pm Rm 409

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Henry, Bernadette

Giving voice to disadvantaged boys in public education.

This project is about teenage boys who are struggling in mainstream education. The interplay of masculinity, ethnicity and socio-economic status is examined to find out reasons why mainstream schooling is not beneficial for them. First, the project looks at educational and juvenile statistics, available programs for boys, substantial research on masculinity and literature on youth. Secondly, their is a fieldwork component based at a Youth Centre. I spent a period of five weeks with six boys who were currently not at school. I utilised participant observation and semi-structured interviewing to explore why they didn't enjoy school, what they wanted to change about school, aspects of youth culture, their family and ethnic background, and their future paths.

Langley, Justin

A Comparison of Single-sex and Coeducational Students Views of the Opposite Sex

In my research I wanted to investigate the social implications involved with single-sex schooling. The academic success of single-sex schools gain a lot of attention from the media. Historically research into academic success is however hindered by the socio-economic factors that surround single-sex schooling. Therefore I wanted to avoid studying academic performance and concentrate on investigating whether students stereotypical attitudes of the opposite sex and cross-sex relations are affected by the type of schooling. Society expects children to communicate with and respect members of both sexes. I predicted that students learning who learn in a coeducational environment may be better adapted to dealing with the opposite sex in later life. Self-concept indicators (developed by Marsh) and gender-stereotyping instruments (developed by Bem) have been used to study students gender relations.A questionnaire was administered to the whole of year 10 from a school in each school type (Single-sex Boy, Single-sex Girl & Coeducational). The questionnaire was made up of questions previously devised by Marsh and Bem and took 30 minutes to complete. A small number of students will be asked to participate in a follow up interview at a later date. The study is still ongoing due to experiencing research problems, some of which were greater than expected due to this sensitive topic.

Friday 11am -12 Rm 435

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Patterson, Lisa

The Value of Investigational Tasks in Junior Secondary School Mathematics

An experimental study looking at the the effects of open-ended mathematical investigations on students' content knowledge and beliefs about mathematics.

Hewitt, Max

Cognitive Styles And Learning Strategies Of Final Year Accounting Students At Macquarie University

A study was conducted of the cognitive styles and learning strategies adopted by, final year accounting students at Macquarie University. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used as the basis for assessing respondents' learning style preferences. It was found that there was no significant association between any of the cognitive style modes and academic performance, indicating that the assessment procedures at the university are free from bias in this instance.

Friday 11am -12 Rm 434

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Dreon Olivetti

Visual Composition through Rugby Union

The study presented here resulted in a collection of written and visual texts exploring the compatible elements of Rugby Union and Visual Composition. The collection of paintings, drawings and written work defines the compatible elements of the two disciplines and explains how these elements can be used in a cross-discipline teaching technique. Action research methodologies were employed to determine the effectiveness of this technique in a year 7 visual arts class. Through the results of anonymous pre/post testing, it was determined that the students simultaneously learned about Visual Composition and Rugby Union. The results suggested that the combination of traditionally incompatible disciplines in this case Rugby Union and Visual Arts, could be used as a successful teaching technique.

Friday 3-4pm Rm 469

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Fletcher, Nanette

Families in public housing and their perceptions of education.

This study will investigate the experience of gender, ethnicity, aboriginality and disability and their relationship with educational experience for families in public housing in the suburb of Waterloo. Following previous quantitative studies that have found Waterloo to experience high levels of socio-economic disadvantage, this study will utilise a qualitative framework including participant observations and interviews with families to investigate their perceptions of marginalisation and the effects of this on the educational experiences of children. Whilst it is possible to consider the experiences of socio-economic disadvantage under the umbrella of social class, this study also intends to establish whether membership of equity groups which encompass gender, ethnicity, aboriginality and disability lead participants to experience education in different ways. Further, the study will also consider these factors in conjunction with the spatial location of public housing dwellings in the suburb of Waterloo.

Mark Talib

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Thursday 2-3pm Rm 424	.	.
Maxwell, Anne	Christopher: A Case Study	This project entails the study of music assisting a child's learning.
Jones, Elizabeth	.	.
Thursday 4-5pm Rm 409	.	.
Henry, Bernadette	Giving voice to disadvantaged boys in public education.	This project is about teenage boys who are struggling in mainstream education. The interplay of masculinity, ethnicity and socio-economic status is examined to find out reasons why mainstream schooling is not beneficial for them. First, the project looks at educational and juvenile statistics, available programs for boys, substantial research on masculinity and literature on youth. Secondly, their is a fieldwork component based at a Youth Centre. I spent a period of five weeks with six boys who were currently not at school. I utilised participant observation and semi-structured interviewing to explore why they didn't enjoy school, what they wanted to change about school, aspects of youth culture, their family and ethnic background, and their future paths.
Langley, Justin	A Comparison of Single-sex and Coeducational Students Views of the Opposite Sex	In my research I wanted to investigate the social implications involved with single-sex schooling. The academic success of single-sex schools gain a lot of attention from the media. Historically research into academic success is however hindered by the socio-economic factors that surround single-sex schooling. Therefore I wanted to avoid studying academic performance and concentrate on investigating whether students stereotypical attitudes of the opposite sex and cross-sex relations are affected by the type of schooling. Society expects children to communicate with and respect members of both sexes. I predicted that students learning who learn in a coeducational environment may be better adapted to dealing with the opposite sex in later life. Self-concept indicators (developed by Marsh) and gender-stereotyping instruments (developed by Bem) have been used to study students gender relations.A questionnaire was administered to the whole of year 10 from a school in each school type (Single-sex Boy, Single-sex Girl & Coeducational). The questionnaire was made up of questions previously devised by Marsh and Bem and took 30 minutes to complete. A small number of students will be asked to participate in a follow up interview at a later date. The study is still ongoing due to experiencing research problems, some of which were greater than expected due to this sensitive topic.
Friday 11am -12 Rm 435	.	.
Patterson, Lisa	The Value of Investigational Tasks in Junior Secondary School Mathematics	An experimental study looking at the the effects of open-ended mathematical investigations on students' content knowledge and beliefs about mathematics.
Hewitt, Max	Cognitive Styles And Learning Strategies Of Final Year Accounting Students At Macquarie University	A study was conducted of the cognitive styles and learning strategies adopted by, final year accounting students at Macquarie University. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used as the basis for assessing respondents' learning style preferences. It was found that there was no significant association between any of the cognitive style modes and academic performance, indicating that the assessment procedures at the university are free from bias in this instance.
Friday 11am -12 Rm 434	.	.
Dreon Olivetti	Visual Composition through Rugby Union	The study presented here resulted in a collection of written and visual texts exploring the compatible elements of Rugby Union and Visual Composition. The collection of paintings, drawings and written work defines the compatible elements of the two disciplines and explains how these elements can be used in a cross-discipline teaching technique. Action research methodologies were employed to determine the effectiveness of this technique in a year 7 visual arts class. Through the results of anonymous pre/post testing, it was determined that the students simultaneously learned about Visual Composition and Rugby Union. The results suggested that the combination of traditionally incompatible disciplines in this case Rugby Union and Visual Arts, could be used as a successful teaching technique.
Friday 3-4pm Rm 469	.	.
Fletcher, Nanette	Families in public housing and their perceptions of education.	This study will investigate the experience of gender, ethnicity, aboriginality and disability and their relationship with educational experience for families in public housing in the suburb of Waterloo. Following previous quantitative studies that have found Waterloo to experience high levels of socio-economic disadvantage, this study will utilise a qualitative framework including participant observations and interviews with families to investigate their perceptions of marginalisation and the effects of this on the educational experiences of children. Whilst it is possible to consider the experiences of socio-economic disadvantage under the umbrella of social class, this study also intends to establish whether membership of equity groups which encompass gender, ethnicity, aboriginality and disability lead participants to experience education in different ways. Further, the study will also consider these factors in conjunction with the spatial location of public housing dwellings in the suburb of Waterloo.
Mark Talib	.	.