Biography
Dr George Aranda is a former cognitive neuroscientist who has moved from the world of brains to science education research and science communication.
Now researching and teaching at Deakin University, he has broad interests in writing, social networking modes of communication, podcasting, science communication videos and understanding how scientists and their work are perceived in the world.
He is also interested in how science books can be involved with science engagement. He has been conducting research into science book clubs, he runs Big Ideas Book Club in Melbourne and is the curator of Science Book a Day.
Read more on George's profileProjects
Current Projects:
Research Fellow:
EQUALPRIME - Exploring quality primary education in different cultures: a cross-national study of teaching and learning
Summary: This project uses video studies of primary science classrooms in Australia, Taiwan, and Germany to explore teaching and learning practices, situated in diverse cultures, which provide opportunities for quality reasoning and learning in science. The findings will inform primary science teacher education to improve student achievement.
CRISP - Creating Representations in Science Pedagogy
Summary: This is an Australian Research Council funded project which is investigating the quality of science learning occurring through a representation-construction pedagogy, supported by students’ use of digital technologies, and new approaches to assessment and teacher professional learning. The pedagogy involves students generating, negotiating and evaluating multimodal representations as resources for reasoning and learning relating to the key dimensions of the Australian Science curriculum. It will investigate re-framing assessment around students’ developing representational capabilities to support and monitor student learning. School based action-learning teams in NSW and Victoria will extend and refine the pedagogy to inform curriculum policy aimed at student engagement with science.
Recently Completed Projects:
- Learning Outcomes and Learning Spaces
- Innovative Learning Environments
- Redesigning Learning Spaces
- Collaborative Literacy Learning Communities (CLLC) Research Report
Chief Investigator:
Science Book Clubs: A Case Study
Publications
Video research: purposeful selection from rich data sets
J Ferguson, George Aranda, Russell Tytler, Radhika Gorur
(2019), pp. 124-139, Video-based research in education: cross-disciplinary perspectives, Abingdon, Eng., B1
Aligning neuroscience findings with socio-cultural perspectives on learning in science
G Aranda, R Tytler
(2017), pp. 139-154, From the laboratory to the classroom : translating science of learning for teachers, Abingdon, Eng., B1
Variation in whole class, small group and individual student work within and across cultures
M Hackling, G Aranda, I Freitag-Amtmann
(2017), pp. 79-91, Quality teaching in primary science education: cross-cultural perspectives, Cham, Switzerland, B1
Teachers from diverse cultural settings orchestrating classroom discourse
G Tytler, R Aranda, I Freitag-Amtmann
(2017), pp. 123-148, Quality teaching in primary science education : cross-cultural perspectives, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, B1
Reflections on video-based, cross-cultural classroom research methodologies
M Hackling, G Romain, G Aranda
(2017), pp. 267-289, Quality teaching in primary science education: cross-cultural perspectives, Cham, Switzerland, B1
I Freitag-Amtmann, G Chittleborough, P Hubber, G Aranda
(2016), pp. 298-309, Comparative Didactics and Curriculum Research - Comparative Research into Didactics and Curriculum, Bad Heilbrunn, Germany, B1
Three dimensional printing as a way to create an engaging and meaningful context for learning
W Jobling, G Aranda
(2016), pp. 120-126, TERC 2016: Proceedings of the 9th Biennial International Conference on Technology Education Research : Creating Contexts for Learning in Technology in Education, Adelaide, South Australia, E1
Expert teachers' discursive moves in science classroom interactive talk
R Tytler, G Aranda
(2015), Vol. 13, pp. 425-446, International journal of science and mathematics education, Berlin, Germany, C1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Other Public Sector Funding
Innovative Learning Environments Research Study
Prof Jillian Blackmore, A/Prof Mary Dixon, A/Prof Joanne O'Mara, Dr Jill Loughlin, Dr Debra Bateman, A/Prof Anne Cloonan, Dr Kim Senior, Dr Jill Bamforth, Dr George Aranda, Mr Rod Le Cudennec, Ms Kate McCulloch
- 2011: $143,524
- 2010: $54,000
Industry and Other Funding
International Baccalaureate: Assessment of Student' Aged 3-12 for Development and Learning
A/Prof Dianne Toe, A/Prof Bonnie Yim, A/Prof Josephine Lang, A/Prof Louise Paatsch, Dr Brian Doig, Dr Wendy Jobling, Dr George Aranda
- 2015: $36,586
- 2014: $17,577
3D Printing the Future (RMW)/George Aranda
Dr George Aranda
- 2014: $10,308
Supervisions
Joseph Ferguson
Thesis entitled: A Video-Based Analysis of Science Students' Computer-Mediated Abductive Reasoning
Doctor of Philosophy (Education), School of Education