As part of a large research and professional development project funded by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne (CEOM), called "Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics," the ACU team has been leading demonstration lessons. There is certainly not universal agreement on the worth of demonstration lessons in the mathematics…

There is little doubt that the findings of research in science education can be depressing at times. The literature is replete with reports and research findings which highlight problems and shortcomings associated with the teaching and learning of science. In order to provide a refreshing alternative to the majority of research reports which…

An Amiga 500 microcomputer with a talking word processor was used by an Australian visually impaired elementary school pupil, to provide an alternative to braille in using text and writing. This article reviews the relevant literature, explores the challenges and limitations posed by the technology, and offers a case study of the student and her…

In a response to lower test scores in science and mathematics in Australia, the Western Australian Institute of Technology conducted a study to identify high quality science and mathematics teachers in Western Australian schools. This paper describes the teaching practices of one male and one female teacher of biology from two different schools.…

Active literacy is the ability to inject one's own thoughts and intentions into messages received and sent, the ability to transform and to act upon aspects of the world via the written word. Five things are not working for literacy in Australia; formularistic exercise texts and kits, the media, experts with solutions, habits, and national…

A description is given of an exemplary program, developed by Claremont Teachers College in West Australia, that involved on-site teacher development to help introduce children in grades 1-4 to historical thinking. The College provided academic staff for the project and assisted teachers by providing advice and materials. The long term objectives…

This second report covers the activities of the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project during 1976. The project emphasizes a model that develops children's abilities to use particular skills to learn: making decisions, using resources, evaluating themselves, becoming more self reliant and developing a healthy self concept. The report is arranged into…

This paper investigates the correlation between the quality of instructional design and learning outcomes for early childhood students in the online synchronous cyber classroom. Today's generation of e-learners has access to highly engaging and well-designed multi-media synchronous classrooms. However little data exists on what constitutes…