Damian Blake | Deakin University (original) (raw)

Papers by Damian Blake

BRILL eBooks, Oct 5, 2022

ASCILITE 2018 : Open oceans: learning without borders : Proceedings of the 35th International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education, 2018

$Research paper thumbnail of Improving secondary school students\u27 engagement in science: case studies of doing authentic science in schools from across South East Asia$

European Journal of Educational Research

Mathematics anxiety in initial teacher education is a growing issue that reflects on teacher qual... more Mathematics anxiety in initial teacher education is a growing issue that reflects on teacher quality and their student’s maths anxiety and abilities. Previous studies have presented a range of different perspectives to mathematics anxiety. We aimed to explore further the reasons of mathematics anxiety in preservice teachers and suggest some intervention strategies in reducing maths anxiety for initial teacher education systems. We used a mixed methodology in this research analysing both qualitative data along with some quantified data derived from qualitative data sources. The findings provide insights to causes of maths and test anxiety along with some intervention strategies that teacher educators can use in their future teaching.

$Research paper thumbnail of Re-thinking students \u27at risk\u27$

There are some students in the secondary schools who are considered to be \u27at risk\u27 and mor... more There are some students in the secondary schools who are considered to be \u27at risk\u27 and more likely to fail in the future simply because they do not accept traditional school-based modes of learning as being relevant. However, recent applied learning initiatives in the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) have re-engaged many of these young people in schooling by treating them more like young adults and recognising that secondary schools must now cater for a greater diversity of career pathways.<br /

Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, 2019

Facilitating learning through effective teaching There has been a strong shift in what research a... more Facilitating learning through effective teaching There has been a strong shift in what research and practice tells us is good teaching and learning in vocational education and training (VET). Making this shift can be a substantial challenge for some VET teachers but many are now moving to facilitating learning through effective teaching. Useful strategies and models are included in this publication. Key messages The shift in teaching practice can be summarised as moving away from: a teacher-centred and supplier-driven approach

Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 2021

Mathematics anxiety is well known and studied concept. Most of the studies have been focused on t... more Mathematics anxiety is well known and studied concept. Most of the studies have been focused on the effects of mathematical anxiety on students’ academic achievement, especially from the viewpoint of analysing large national and international data sets. We aim to bring a different perspective to the existing research on mathematics anxiety and resilience by considering the measurement equivalence across cultures, so they can be compared fairly. We used Multi Group Invariance analysis with this purpose. Our findings suggested that full metric and partial scalar model invariance were confirmed which advise that the mathematics anxiety scale can be compared across two countries. We also ran multiple regression using Fisher’s Z to understand the reciprocal relationship among the variables across two samples. Preliminary results revealed that the perceived mathematics anxiety and perceived mathematics ability predict the measured mathematics anxiety equally well for both Australia and Ru...

Cogent Education, 2021

Increasing complexity towards harnessing the power of ICT on all levels has created uncertainty a... more Increasing complexity towards harnessing the power of ICT on all levels has created uncertainty about higher educational technological capabilities and adequate strategies to develop e-readiness. I...

Young people living across the six local government areas of Victoria’s Great South Coast region ... more Young people living across the six local government areas of Victoria’s Great South Coast region have voiced their thoughts and expectations about their communities, education, training, and future employment through the Youth Conversations initiative. The findings of this report highlight what young people have said about being connected to their communities, their experiences of staying at school, aspirations for education and training pathways leading to future work, and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nine key recommendations arising from this report address opportunities to act on young people’s voices to strengthen the foundations of what connects them to their communities and significantly improve the need for more equitable participation in education and training pathways leading to their aspirations for future employment. It is timely to be listening very closely to what our young people are saying, particularly in the context of COVID- 19’s continuing i...

Teaching Science, 2009

Abstract: The Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has ... more Abstract: The Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has funded a rollout of the STELR (Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance) Stage One Project to 150 secondary schools in 2010. ...

Executive Summary The Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance (STELR) program is an... more Executive Summary The Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance (STELR) program is an initiative of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and was designed in response to secondary school students' ...

… of the AARE International Education Research …, 2011

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a very successful senior secondary school... more The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a very successful senior secondary school qualification introduced in the Australian state of Victoria in 2002. Applied learning in the VCAL engages senior students in a combination of work-based learning, service-learning, and project-based learning and aims to provide them with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to make informed choices regarding pathways to work and further education. The program has enjoyed rapid growth and its system-wide adoption by Victorian secondary schools, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, Registered Training Organizations (RTOs), and Adult and Community Education (ACE) providers has broadened significantly the range of senior schooling pathway options for young people. This paper will examine reasons for developing an applied learning senior secondary certificate and its rapid growth in Victoria since 2002. The authors draw on a number of case studies to profile the unique natur...