The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learn... more The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learning science. Most learning theories applied to science pedagogy take either a psychological or a sociocultural perspective and hence ignore either sociocultural or motivational factors when considering classroom learning. Based on my own research studies, as well as on a complex of theories from a range of disciplines, I propose including psychological, psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives in a more holistic perspective-a biosocial system perspective. Because it allows for the interdependence of the various levels of the ecological system in which learning takes place, I believe it has considerable potential to advance knowledge about teaching and learning. This biosocial system perspective focuses in particular on how the mind is affected both by the way the embodied human brain functions and by its sociocultural context. As applied to science pedagogy, it highlights neglected subconscious processes involved in interpersonal communication at both levels of activity. On the one hand, it accords a significant role in learning to intuitive processes and feelings, and interpersonal relationships, and on the other hand, addresses 'the potentially problematic nature of classroom discourse in science. Such a perspective grew as I carried out several research studies in science education in Brisbane, Australia, including a study that explored ways of helping disadvantaged Year 8 students engage in learning science. (Contains 68 references.) (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document
Given the view presented in this paper, that knowledge is "effective action" (Maturana & Varela, ... more Given the view presented in this paper, that knowledge is "effective action" (Maturana & Varela, 1992) or "practice" (Lemke, 1995), rather than something which can be represented once and for all, I wish this to be an evolving, dialogical document, and I reserve the right to update and annotate it on my own web site
To our knowledge the SPACE: Queer Allies Network is the only network of its kind in Victoria. T... more To our knowledge the SPACE: Queer Allies Network is the only network of its kind in Victoria. The group started in November 2006 and aims to support gender and sexual diversity in the School of Education here at RMIT. This essay outlines some of the ...
Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education, Jan 22, 2009
Whereas science teachers in the last century were trained to place empirical activities at the he... more Whereas science teachers in the last century were trained to place empirical activities at the heart of school science (Yore, Bisanz & Hand, 2003) and give relatively less attention to language issues, fundamental literacy (as defined by Norris & Phillips, 2003) is now recognised as having a crucial role in learning science. However, there have been few research reports detailing just how experienced secondary science teachers go about teaching the language and literacies necessary for school science, especially for students who have low literacy skills. This paper explores the literacy-teaching practices of a teacher of "learning support" students during a double-period Earth science class. While the focus was on the science content, many reading and writing skills were taught either as part of the lesson plan or incidentally, thus ensuring that all students could participate more fully. Implications for science teaching and teacher professional development are discussed.
International Journal for Academic Development, 2001
The current imperatives at work in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of ... more The current imperatives at work in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics (cf. the "early adopters") using on-line technologies in their teaching. This has provided universities with a considerable professional staff development challenge just when university budgets are shrinking. This paper briefly reviews traditional professional development models involving centralised PD units and proposes an alternative model of "professional engagement". We reconceptualise the challenge as one of building on existing workplace structures, including recruiting academic on-line teaching advisers for each School in the Faculty, showcasing existing exemplary practice, and setting up Professional Engagement Groups with a support team. Once underway, we can focus on other challenges such as the design of flexible on-line courses, addressing graduate attributes, experimenting with interactive multi-media technologies, etc. These second-order enhancements however are dependent on a robust and effective professional engagement model.
Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training pro... more Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training program or other information technology (IT) projects more successful and sustainable? Would you like to do this without wasting valuable time and resources? EvaluateIT is the online resource kit you need. EvaluateIT simplifies the task of reviewing or evaluating your IT project. It does this by leading you through four steps that help you decide how to begin, how to involve other people, how to do the review, and how to make the changes that will improve your IT project. As well as this process, this kit contains links to many additional resources, including more help with each step. EvaluateIT can be used by any group who wants to work together to review their own community IT projects. It encourages involvement in the review by all groups in a community that could benefit from the IT project.
My research focuses on problems of interest and engagement in science education at the junior sec... more My research focuses on problems of interest and engagement in science education at the junior secondary level where the literature indicates they begin to become problematic for the majority of students (Goodrum, Hackling and Rennie 2001; Osborne, Simon and Collins 2003). While major curricular reforms designed to arrest and reverse the declining interest in (school) science in recent years seemed to have generally failed to make much impression (cf. Lyons 2003), my research indicates that some science teachers are successful in engaging and motivating a diverse range of students at this level of schooling (Hanrahan 2002). Based on a cross-disciplinary model of literacy teaching (Hanrahan 1999), I suggest that this has as much to do with the implicit messages these teachers convey to their students as with their explicit handling of the disciplinary content of the curriculum. Using increasingly discourse-focused methods, I have found that these teachers break free of the restrictive...
Current developments in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics u... more Current developments in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics using on-line technologies in their teaching, providing universities with a considerable professional staff development challenge. The case study presented here illustrates one way of responding to this challenge. Overall, the literature suggests that professional development that is discipline-specific and located in a community-of-practice is more likely to be relevant and productive than a centralized, decontextualized approach. We propose an alternative hybrid model of 'professional engagement' for on-line teaching that attempts to build on existing discipline-specific workplace structures. This includes recruiting academic on-line teaching advisers for each school in the faculty, showcasing existing exemplary practice, and setting up 'professional engagement groups' with a support team. The main advantages of the model are its responsiveness to patterns of academic wo...
Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training pro... more Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training program or other information technology (IT) projects more successful and sustainable? Would you like to do this without wasting valuable time and resources? EvaluateIT is the online resource kit you need. EvaluateIT simplifies the task of reviewing or evaluating your IT project. It does this by leading you through four steps that help you decide how to begin, how to involve other people, how to do the review, and how to make the changes that will improve your IT project. As well as this process, this kit contains links to many additional resources, including more help with each step. EvaluateIT can be used by any group who wants to work together to review their own community IT projects. It encourages involvement in the review by all groups in a community that could benefit from the IT project.
This paper reports on a particular approach to doing a doctorate in which the first author has us... more This paper reports on a particular approach to doing a doctorate in which the first author has used personal writing to increase the relevance, autonomy and quality of her learning and to allow her to present her study, her personal reactions to the study and the experiences that have led her to the study in one thesis. The personal writing consisted of reflective and critical journal and letter writing through which Mary dealt with the affective, social and moral factors she believed to be an integral part of deep learning in a social science. The paper describes how, as well as having consequences for her research on improving autonomy, motivation and learning in Year 8 science students, this has led her to present her PhD thesis on two levels: science education and narrative. The PhD serves two main objectives. The first is made quite explicit by PhD Handbooks (e.g., QUT, 1993, p. 2): the student researcher is
Building community capacity in evaluating IT projects Contents Acknowledgements vi Research team ... more Building community capacity in evaluating IT projects Contents Acknowledgements vi Research team profiles viii Other publications and papers x Glossary of key concepts and abbreviations xii Executive summary and recommendations xiv Chapter 1 Introduction: Participatory evaluation of C&IT projects and rural sustainability
Abstract: This article will address the tensions between dualistic traditions of our culture (cf.... more Abstract: This article will address the tensions between dualistic traditions of our culture (cf. WERTHEIM, 1999) and new ways of understanding how people come to know what they know through embodied practice within biological and social ecosystems (e.g., DAMASIO, 1994; LEAR, 1998; LEMKE, 1995; MATURANA & VARELA, 1992). It will also raise implications of a biosocial system model for research methodology and academic writing. In my Ph.D. thesis in education I demonstrated that a significant role was played in the construction of my knowledge by my body[-mind], much of it initially outside my awareness. However, I found that theses were still expected to support the myth that learning which will advance knowledge about education is almost exclusively the product of abstract and systematic logical processes, of a disembodied spirit. Key words: epistemology, dualism, emotions, research methodology, embodied mind, thesis writing, poststructuralism, tacit knowledge, biosocial system, educ...
Engaging with difference in science classrooms: Using CDA to identify interpersonal aspects of in... more Engaging with difference in science classrooms: Using CDA to identify interpersonal aspects of inclusive pedagogy
In an environment where QUT promotes alignment of courses with desired professional outcomes in t... more In an environment where QUT promotes alignment of courses with desired professional outcomes in terms of graduate attributes, and prompted by critical reviews of Bachelor of Education courses, a new project team responded with a pilot action research project. With contributions from a range of stakeholders we drew up a list of the attributes, called "teacher practitioner attributes " that attempted to describe what an ideal teacher should possess at the start of their professional life. Significantly, this list was re-worked into a four-part structure describing the attributes in terms of beginning teacher's relationships with their peers, their 'clients ' (eg. students and surrounding communities), their core discipline (Education) and, most importantly, themselves (as continuous, reflective learners). We then used this framework for involving students and core subject coordinators in identifying the attributes currently being addressed and how well courses...
The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learn... more The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learning science. Most learning theories applied to science pedagogy take either a psychological or a sociocultural perspective and hence ignore either sociocultural or motivational factors when considering classroom learning. Based on my own research studies, as well as on a complex of theories from a range of disciplines, I propose including psychological, psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives in a more holistic perspective-a biosocial system perspective. Because it allows for the interdependence of the various levels of the ecological system in which learning takes place, I believe it has considerable potential to advance knowledge about teaching and learning. This biosocial system perspective focuses in particular on how the mind is affected both by the way the embodied human brain functions and by its sociocultural context. As applied to science pedagogy, it highlights neglected su...
Action research in practice: partnerships for social …, 1998
15 ACADEMIC GROWTH THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH A doctoral student's narrative Mary Hanrahan When... more 15 ACADEMIC GROWTH THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH A doctoral student's narrative Mary Hanrahan When I began my PhD, I still had a lot to learn about research, but I thought that there were some things I could take for granted: what research was, how best to do it, and who ...
There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of s... more There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving towards more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes.
The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learn... more The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learning science. Most learning theories applied to science pedagogy take either a psychological or a sociocultural perspective and hence ignore either sociocultural or motivational factors when considering classroom learning. Based on my own research studies, as well as on a complex of theories from a range of disciplines, I propose including psychological, psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives in a more holistic perspective-a biosocial system perspective. Because it allows for the interdependence of the various levels of the ecological system in which learning takes place, I believe it has considerable potential to advance knowledge about teaching and learning. This biosocial system perspective focuses in particular on how the mind is affected both by the way the embodied human brain functions and by its sociocultural context. As applied to science pedagogy, it highlights neglected subconscious processes involved in interpersonal communication at both levels of activity. On the one hand, it accords a significant role in learning to intuitive processes and feelings, and interpersonal relationships, and on the other hand, addresses 'the potentially problematic nature of classroom discourse in science. Such a perspective grew as I carried out several research studies in science education in Brisbane, Australia, including a study that explored ways of helping disadvantaged Year 8 students engage in learning science. (Contains 68 references.) (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document
Given the view presented in this paper, that knowledge is "effective action" (Maturana & Varela, ... more Given the view presented in this paper, that knowledge is "effective action" (Maturana & Varela, 1992) or "practice" (Lemke, 1995), rather than something which can be represented once and for all, I wish this to be an evolving, dialogical document, and I reserve the right to update and annotate it on my own web site
To our knowledge the SPACE: Queer Allies Network is the only network of its kind in Victoria. T... more To our knowledge the SPACE: Queer Allies Network is the only network of its kind in Victoria. The group started in November 2006 and aims to support gender and sexual diversity in the School of Education here at RMIT. This essay outlines some of the ...
Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education, Jan 22, 2009
Whereas science teachers in the last century were trained to place empirical activities at the he... more Whereas science teachers in the last century were trained to place empirical activities at the heart of school science (Yore, Bisanz & Hand, 2003) and give relatively less attention to language issues, fundamental literacy (as defined by Norris & Phillips, 2003) is now recognised as having a crucial role in learning science. However, there have been few research reports detailing just how experienced secondary science teachers go about teaching the language and literacies necessary for school science, especially for students who have low literacy skills. This paper explores the literacy-teaching practices of a teacher of "learning support" students during a double-period Earth science class. While the focus was on the science content, many reading and writing skills were taught either as part of the lesson plan or incidentally, thus ensuring that all students could participate more fully. Implications for science teaching and teacher professional development are discussed.
International Journal for Academic Development, 2001
The current imperatives at work in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of ... more The current imperatives at work in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics (cf. the "early adopters") using on-line technologies in their teaching. This has provided universities with a considerable professional staff development challenge just when university budgets are shrinking. This paper briefly reviews traditional professional development models involving centralised PD units and proposes an alternative model of "professional engagement". We reconceptualise the challenge as one of building on existing workplace structures, including recruiting academic on-line teaching advisers for each School in the Faculty, showcasing existing exemplary practice, and setting up Professional Engagement Groups with a support team. Once underway, we can focus on other challenges such as the design of flexible on-line courses, addressing graduate attributes, experimenting with interactive multi-media technologies, etc. These second-order enhancements however are dependent on a robust and effective professional engagement model.
Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training pro... more Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training program or other information technology (IT) projects more successful and sustainable? Would you like to do this without wasting valuable time and resources? EvaluateIT is the online resource kit you need. EvaluateIT simplifies the task of reviewing or evaluating your IT project. It does this by leading you through four steps that help you decide how to begin, how to involve other people, how to do the review, and how to make the changes that will improve your IT project. As well as this process, this kit contains links to many additional resources, including more help with each step. EvaluateIT can be used by any group who wants to work together to review their own community IT projects. It encourages involvement in the review by all groups in a community that could benefit from the IT project.
My research focuses on problems of interest and engagement in science education at the junior sec... more My research focuses on problems of interest and engagement in science education at the junior secondary level where the literature indicates they begin to become problematic for the majority of students (Goodrum, Hackling and Rennie 2001; Osborne, Simon and Collins 2003). While major curricular reforms designed to arrest and reverse the declining interest in (school) science in recent years seemed to have generally failed to make much impression (cf. Lyons 2003), my research indicates that some science teachers are successful in engaging and motivating a diverse range of students at this level of schooling (Hanrahan 2002). Based on a cross-disciplinary model of literacy teaching (Hanrahan 1999), I suggest that this has as much to do with the implicit messages these teachers convey to their students as with their explicit handling of the disciplinary content of the curriculum. Using increasingly discourse-focused methods, I have found that these teachers break free of the restrictive...
Current developments in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics u... more Current developments in tertiary education settings are resulting in a second wave of academics using on-line technologies in their teaching, providing universities with a considerable professional staff development challenge. The case study presented here illustrates one way of responding to this challenge. Overall, the literature suggests that professional development that is discipline-specific and located in a community-of-practice is more likely to be relevant and productive than a centralized, decontextualized approach. We propose an alternative hybrid model of 'professional engagement' for on-line teaching that attempts to build on existing discipline-specific workplace structures. This includes recruiting academic on-line teaching advisers for each school in the faculty, showcasing existing exemplary practice, and setting up 'professional engagement groups' with a support team. The main advantages of the model are its responsiveness to patterns of academic wo...
Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training pro... more Are you interested in making your community website, online interest group, Internet training program or other information technology (IT) projects more successful and sustainable? Would you like to do this without wasting valuable time and resources? EvaluateIT is the online resource kit you need. EvaluateIT simplifies the task of reviewing or evaluating your IT project. It does this by leading you through four steps that help you decide how to begin, how to involve other people, how to do the review, and how to make the changes that will improve your IT project. As well as this process, this kit contains links to many additional resources, including more help with each step. EvaluateIT can be used by any group who wants to work together to review their own community IT projects. It encourages involvement in the review by all groups in a community that could benefit from the IT project.
This paper reports on a particular approach to doing a doctorate in which the first author has us... more This paper reports on a particular approach to doing a doctorate in which the first author has used personal writing to increase the relevance, autonomy and quality of her learning and to allow her to present her study, her personal reactions to the study and the experiences that have led her to the study in one thesis. The personal writing consisted of reflective and critical journal and letter writing through which Mary dealt with the affective, social and moral factors she believed to be an integral part of deep learning in a social science. The paper describes how, as well as having consequences for her research on improving autonomy, motivation and learning in Year 8 science students, this has led her to present her PhD thesis on two levels: science education and narrative. The PhD serves two main objectives. The first is made quite explicit by PhD Handbooks (e.g., QUT, 1993, p. 2): the student researcher is
Building community capacity in evaluating IT projects Contents Acknowledgements vi Research team ... more Building community capacity in evaluating IT projects Contents Acknowledgements vi Research team profiles viii Other publications and papers x Glossary of key concepts and abbreviations xii Executive summary and recommendations xiv Chapter 1 Introduction: Participatory evaluation of C&IT projects and rural sustainability
Abstract: This article will address the tensions between dualistic traditions of our culture (cf.... more Abstract: This article will address the tensions between dualistic traditions of our culture (cf. WERTHEIM, 1999) and new ways of understanding how people come to know what they know through embodied practice within biological and social ecosystems (e.g., DAMASIO, 1994; LEAR, 1998; LEMKE, 1995; MATURANA & VARELA, 1992). It will also raise implications of a biosocial system model for research methodology and academic writing. In my Ph.D. thesis in education I demonstrated that a significant role was played in the construction of my knowledge by my body[-mind], much of it initially outside my awareness. However, I found that theses were still expected to support the myth that learning which will advance knowledge about education is almost exclusively the product of abstract and systematic logical processes, of a disembodied spirit. Key words: epistemology, dualism, emotions, research methodology, embodied mind, thesis writing, poststructuralism, tacit knowledge, biosocial system, educ...
Engaging with difference in science classrooms: Using CDA to identify interpersonal aspects of in... more Engaging with difference in science classrooms: Using CDA to identify interpersonal aspects of inclusive pedagogy
In an environment where QUT promotes alignment of courses with desired professional outcomes in t... more In an environment where QUT promotes alignment of courses with desired professional outcomes in terms of graduate attributes, and prompted by critical reviews of Bachelor of Education courses, a new project team responded with a pilot action research project. With contributions from a range of stakeholders we drew up a list of the attributes, called "teacher practitioner attributes " that attempted to describe what an ideal teacher should possess at the start of their professional life. Significantly, this list was re-worked into a four-part structure describing the attributes in terms of beginning teacher's relationships with their peers, their 'clients ' (eg. students and surrounding communities), their core discipline (Education) and, most importantly, themselves (as continuous, reflective learners). We then used this framework for involving students and core subject coordinators in identifying the attributes currently being addressed and how well courses...
The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learn... more The goal of my multi-study research program has been to learn how to engage all students in learning science. Most learning theories applied to science pedagogy take either a psychological or a sociocultural perspective and hence ignore either sociocultural or motivational factors when considering classroom learning. Based on my own research studies, as well as on a complex of theories from a range of disciplines, I propose including psychological, psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives in a more holistic perspective-a biosocial system perspective. Because it allows for the interdependence of the various levels of the ecological system in which learning takes place, I believe it has considerable potential to advance knowledge about teaching and learning. This biosocial system perspective focuses in particular on how the mind is affected both by the way the embodied human brain functions and by its sociocultural context. As applied to science pedagogy, it highlights neglected su...
Action research in practice: partnerships for social …, 1998
15 ACADEMIC GROWTH THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH A doctoral student's narrative Mary Hanrahan When... more 15 ACADEMIC GROWTH THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH A doctoral student's narrative Mary Hanrahan When I began my PhD, I still had a lot to learn about research, but I thought that there were some things I could take for granted: what research was, how best to do it, and who ...
There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of s... more There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving towards more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes.
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Papers by Mary Hanrahan