Dr Bronwyn Ewing

Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Education, Senior Lecturer

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Bronwyn Ewing is a Senior Lecturer of Mathematics Education in the QUT School of Teacher Education and Leadership. Bronwyn’s research adopts a transdisciplinary approach, addressing complex problems in pedagogy and mathematics education settings, including mainstream primary, Youth Education and Training Centre primary and secondary, Special Education primary and secondary, girls in Middle schooling and adult prisoner education.

Bronwyn has been awarded 3 major competitive research grants from the Australian Research Council and 6 industry grants, collaborating with organisations such as TAFE Queensland, Construction Skills Queensland, Education Queensland, Department of Education and Training Queensland, Justice and Attorney- General Department Queensland, Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland and Department of Education and Training Victoria.

Bronwyn has disseminated her work widely including over 40 academic journal articles and book chapters. She also communicates her research widely to non-academic audiences through media engagement and industry seminars. In the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, Bronwyn leads and manages several ongoing research projects and supervises early career academics and PhD, EdD and Masters by Research students. She leads the Master of Teaching (Primary) Program and four postgraduate and undergraduate primary mathematics education units.
Supervisors: Head of School Professor Kar-Tin Lee
Phone: +61 7 3138 3718
Address: Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia 4059

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Papers by Dr Bronwyn Ewing

Mathematics for learners who require a highly individualised curriculum

We can fly drones! Innovative learning experiences for children in special schools

Drones, otherwise known as unmanned aircrafts are becoming increasingly useful to address and sol... more Drones, otherwise known as unmanned aircrafts are becoming increasingly useful to address and solve real-world problems such as surf lifesaving patrols and rescues in Australia (cf. Australian Broadcasting Commission, 2018). As drone models have become more diverse, so too has their affordability with education and schools taking up opportunities to implement into science, technology and mathematics teaching and learning programs. The use of drones is opening up innovative learning opportunities to students who might otherwise be disengaged or experience challenges with their learning (Daponte et al., 2017; Fokides, Papadakis, & Kourtis-Kazoullis, 2017). Drones vary in models, sizes and capabilities from basic to more complex operating features. These differences and in particular the basic models such as Parrot Mambo (Parrot SA, 2017) allow students an entry point into applying their geometric understandings of direction and position so they can pilot drones. Geometry and in particular location and movement form part of the Australian Mathematics Curriculum Foundation to Year 10 (Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2018). Drawing on this knowledge and applying it to flying drones provides students with innovative experiences that are engaging. This was evidenced in the author’s previous informal trials in Year 7-9 classes (N=90) at a secondary college for females in Queensland in 2017 and with two females aged 7 and 10 in Connecticut in the United States of America in 2018. Drones open up ways to use critical thinking to investigate how to solve problems that might otherwise be complex and challenging, for example, exploring the biodiversity of water ways that are otherwise difficult to access (Sattar, Tamatea & Nawaz, 2017). This research aims to provide insights into using Parrot Mambo drones and their compatibility with teaching and learning programs for children who are enrolled in special education schools in Queensland. It focuses on the integration of drone technology and the Australian Mathematics Curriculum (2018), in particular direction and location, to create new knowledge and understanding of the application of these concepts using drones to develop students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills. The project is guided by the following research questions: 1) What opportunities can be provided to students in special school to learn about mathematics drawing on innovative technology such as drone flying? 2) What professional development is required to train teachers in the use of innovative technology such as drone technology in their teaching program? 3) How does using innovative technology enhance students’ learning of direction and position?

ARC Linkage Skilling Indigenous Australia: Effective numeracy learning for employment by regional and remote Indigenous students in vocational education and training courses

This project involved the study of mathematics teaching and learning within VET courses in TAFE C... more This project involved the study of mathematics teaching and learning within VET courses in TAFE Colleges and Secondary Schools in North West and Far North Queensland. It used the results of these studies to develop, evaluate and refine mathematics teaching and assessment resources for a variety of VET courses.

Enhancing maths teachers' pedagogy in special schools in Queensland Australia

Proceedings of the 6th International STEM in Education Conference (STEM 2021), Sep 17, 2021

Indigenous Young People in Australia’s Justice System

The Proposition: Towards Culturally Appropriate Education in Juvenile Detention

Reform of Education in Juvenile Justice: Opportunities and Obstacles

Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Juvenile Detention

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for Indigenous Students in Juvenile Detention

Culturally Responsive Pedagogies in Youth Detention in Australia: Visibility, appearance and influence

This research paper focuses on an Australian Research Council Indigenous Discovery project (2017-... more This research paper focuses on an Australian Research Council Indigenous Discovery project (2017-2020) (IN150100045) which seeks to address an important problem related to Indigenous and low Socioeconomic status (SES) disadvantage in education and the increasing numbers of Indigenous and low SES young people involved in detention in the juvenile justice system. These groups have historically underachieved in mathematics. The project draws on two conceptual frameworks to advance knowledge about mathematics teaching using culturally responsive pedagogies and incarcerated and low SES young people’s learning. It is based on decolonising methodology in that it collaborates with Indigenous and low SES young people and teachers and focuses on improving learning outcomes (ensuring that the researched benefit). The researchers conducted a cohort study involving one hundred and twenty incarcerated young people and a mathematics teaching team of ten teachers. Students were administered mathematics diagnostic tasks before and at the completion of teaching cycles, participated in focus group interviews and completed an efficacy survey. Teachers participated in lesson modelling, semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and were also administered an efficacy survey. Findings indicate that teachers struggle to draw on culturally responsive pedagogies in their teaching to ensure they met the educational needs of their students. Embedding Indigenous perspectives was found to be a challenge for teachers for a range of reasons including lack of knowledge and confidence to embed and pre-written workbooks for students not capturing Indigenous perspectives

Unlocking the learning potential of young people in youth detention

This workshop presents stage one of an ARC Discovery Project (IN150100045) that focuses on mathem... more This workshop presents stage one of an ARC Discovery Project (IN150100045) that focuses on mathematics teachers and young people in youth detention. Incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people typically have very low literacy and mathematics/numeracy skills which precludes them from future education and or employment opportunities—continuing the cycle of disadvantage, exclusion and despair. Being locked out of learning, they are stuck in a cycle of underachievement, a scenario which contributes to unacceptably high levels of recidivism. Success in education is considered an important protective factor against delinquent behaviours such as offending, substance abuse and truancy. Youth education and training centres work to provide educational opportunities for incarcerated Indigenous and low SES youth but achievement continues to be lower than expected, particularly in mathematics and numeracy.

Access to sustainable employment and productive training: Workplace participation strategies for indigenous employees

Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2017

Access to sustainable and viable employment is crucial to an individual's potential to achiev... more Access to sustainable and viable employment is crucial to an individual's potential to achieve a reasonable quality of life. Policies introduced to promote Indigenous employment in Australia, such as Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP), have had minimal impact on long-term employment outcomes and the percentage of Indigenous people in employment has barely moved in 35 years. According to statistics in the Prime Minister's Closing the Gap report, there has been no improvement in Indigenous employment targets since 2008 and the 'Indigenous employment rate fell from 53.8 per cent in 2008 to 47.5 per cent in 2012-13' (Australian Government 2016:27). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) 2014-15 data indicate that only 46 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and older were employed (ABS 2016). The purpose of this paper is to report on an investigation into employment and workplace participatio...

Educating Indigenous Children in Australian Juvenile Justice Systems

Reasonable Adjustments in Learning Programs: Teaching Length, Mass and Capacity to Students with Intellectual Disability

Universal Journal of Educational Research

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Cultural and Educational Responsibility for Indigenous Young People in Detention: Critical Reality

Educating Indigenous Children in Australian Juvenile Justice Systems

Contextualising Aboriginal faunal stories with the Linnaean taxonomy: Culturally responsive pedagogy in zoology

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education

This article explores the contextualising of local Aboriginal animal stories with the zoology cur... more This article explores the contextualising of local Aboriginal animal stories with the zoology curriculum in Queensland at one independent high school, where students’ learning potential often remains untapped. Contextualisation, encompasses heritage, cultural knowledge, country and Linnaean zoology taxonomy to form a culturally responsive pedagogy that supports students’ learning and pride in their heritage. To illustrate how students can learn in culturally responsive ways, a sinuous path encompassing six phases for collecting local faunal stories was necessary, prior to delivering the Linnaean zoology taxonomy. Elders’ animal stories were documented and then contextualised into classificatory materials to integrate local faunal knowledge. Drawing on an Indigenist Research Framework including storytelling, talking circles, interviewing and Action Research methodology, transcribing, retranscribing and restorying was used to explore the effect of a culturally responsive approach on s...

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Pirate treasure hunt : digital learning objects

Teacher, 2009

Digital learning objects can actively engage and support students in their learning, but if they ... more Digital learning objects can actively engage and support students in their learning, but if they simply replicate a transmission approach to teaching their use may well be a waste of time and money. A transmission model, whether the instruction is from the teacher or DLO, is predicated on tacit or explicit assumptions about students and the nature of knowledge. A transmission model assumes knowledge either remains fixed and external, and to be taught, not discovered, or it constitutes an essential body of facts to be transmitted to those how do not possess it. Furthermore, in this model, a collection of facts is structured into an information-transfer relationship between the teacher or DLO and the student. For undergraduate teachers to understand how to integrate DLOs into their future classrooms, they need to orient themselves with respect to their own developing pedagogy and the designed pedagogy informing the DLOs. In classroom contexts, where DLOs are largely accessed and navigated, children are expected to actively participate, negotiate meaning, how what to do and how to perform DLO tasks for their ideas to be realised. Coming to know and understand is an effect of interaction between the teacher and his/her pedagogy, and the student and the DLOs. Through such interactions students are assisted by their teachers to make sense of the learning that is present via the DLOs. [Author abstract, ed

Pirate treasure hunt : digital learning objects

Teacher, 2009

Two-way conflation of home and school realities: Local science and Linnaean language in the biology curriculum

Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2018

This paper reports on an action research study that investigated the integration of Aboriginal an... more This paper reports on an action research study that investigated the integration of Aboriginal and Western science knowledges and languages into science learning for Aboriginal adolescent students in one regional independent secondary school in Queensland. To strengthen the students' learning, the study drew on community members' local knowledge and language of fauna and integrated this understanding with the teaching of science to 12 students in Years 8-9. As part of the study, 75 lessons were conducted and included an initial short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) study and a collection of local animal narratives. It applied thematic analysis to data to explore the effect of this integrated approach on students' language use, pride in heritage, cultural knowledge, learning and the Linnaean zoology taxonomy. Results showed that to enable the flow of the science lessons, the average number of words spoken (103) at introduction times needed to remain low to facilit...

Where’s the maths in manual arts: Constructing a chair

Learning mathematical ideas when they are situated in contexts that reflect the life experiences ... more Learning mathematical ideas when they are situated in contexts that reflect the life experiences of students are more likely to be understood, because the experiences are real representations that hold a range of mathematical ideas. They serve as the starting point from which ideas can be abstracted and represented in different ways which supports the learning of mathematical symbols, signs and language. The ideas, when taught in ways that are contextualized to students’ past and present experiences, make sense and are more likely to be retained and used flexibly across a range of contexts. Key to teaching mathematics for effective learning in context includes: - Establishing expectations and making them explicit; - Teacher clarity with knowledge of contexts and how mathematical ideas are situated within them; - Knowing the language to be developed through the teaching and learning process; - Considering the cultural differences between adults and younger learn