Contract Research – Department of Education, Employment and Training, Victoria

Part 1 (1999-2000)

Funding: $156,089 over two years

Researchers: Prof John Loughran, Associate Prof Deborah Corrigan and Chris Penna.

Administering Institution: Faculty of Education, Monash University

Participants: Amanda Berry, Deborah Corrigan, Stephen Keast, Greg Lancaster, John Loughran, Kathy Lynch, Ian Mitchell, Kathy Smith, Chris Penna and Jo Stevens.

Summary: This program was developed in response to a DEECD tender which sought to develop teachers abilities to successfully engage their students in learning science by actively challenging them to identify common features of highly successful science lessons and to integrate these into their pedagogy. The approach required by the tender was a ‘train the trainer’ model in which teachers undertook the program to develop their professional practice and science teaching skills and strategies. These teachers then used the extensive resources and program guides to deliver the program to small groups of primary and secondary teachers in their school or region. The program consisted of 3 core modules (common to both primary and secondary) and a further 3 modules designed specifically for either primary or secondary teachers. The materials were eventually made available for distribution on a CDROM (ISBN 064374338) in 2000 as a collection of Microsoft Word documents and then later reworked and released in 2001 as a more easily navigated interactive CDROM resource.

Program modules:

• Summary of the modules below (pdf)
  • Science Learning and Teaching 1 (pdf)
  • Science Learning and Teaching 2 (pdf)
  • Learning Technologies Module (pdf)
  • Assessment in School Science (pdf)
  • Primary - Content Orientation: Physical Science (pdf)
  • Primary - Content Orientation: Chemical Science (pdf)
  • Primary - Content Orientation: Biological Science (pdf)
  • Secondary - Lab Work: Reality and Potential (pdf)
  • Secondary - Science from Context (pdf)
  • Secondary - Cutting Edge Science (pdf)

Part 2 (2001)

Funding: $51,240

Researchers: Prof John Loughran, Associate Prof Deborah Corrigan and Chris Penna.

Administering Institution: Faculty of Education, Monash University

Participants: Deborah Corrigan, Bernard Holkner, Greg Lancaster, John Loughran and Chris Penna.

Summary: This program was developed in response to a DEET tender which sought to develop an online version of the highly successful Science Extended Professional Development program for teachers developed by the Monash SERG team in 1999. The intention was for primary and secondary teachers to be able to investigate the program’s ideas and resources via a DEET portal available on the Victorian state schools dedicated ‘Ultranet’ (a Victorian school’s intranet initiative) which failed and was ultimately decommissioned in December, 2013. The approach was again a ‘train the trainer’ model in which teachers undertook the online modules to develop their professional practice and science teaching skills and strategies. Teachers who had completed a face to face version of the program were then enrolled as online program facilitators to provide forum moderation, support and feedback to new teachers enrolled to undertake the online program. The online version consisted of similar 3 core modules (common to both primary and secondary) and a further 3 modules designed specifically for either primary or secondary teachers. Little is known about the extent and impact of the online version of the program due to teachers and facilitators experiencing regular difficulties in accessing the program using the failed DEET ‘Ultranet’.

Resources:

The entire online professional development program was only made available on the DEECD Ultranet via a CDROM Resource IBSN: 064374338.