Dr Ian Mitchell - Researcher Profile

Ian Mitchell

Address

Faculty of Education
Building 6, Clayton

Biography

Tracking a better way to learn

When his school science class ignored the lunchtime bell, Dr Ian Mitchell knew he was on to something. He had experimented for the first time with two changes to his teaching style: he did not immediately correct wrong answers, and he allowed the students more time to think about their responses to questions. The result? “A quite extraordinary lesson where I had kids leaping out of their seats to offer and defend their ideas.”  

The students may only have missed lunch once, but for Ian that 1981 class was just the beginning of a lasting involvement in the search for better ways of both learning and teaching.

 

Ian co-founded the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) at Laverton Secondary College in 1985. The same kind of teacher-led collaborative research it used is still going strong, in hundreds of schools in seven countries. 

“It’s still throwing up interesting new challenges,” says Ian, who received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2011 in recognition of his PEEL work.

For 13 years, he taught school part-time while also working at Monash. Having an active classroom role was vital, he says: his research greatly relies on being done “in situ” and he stresses that it is done with teachers, rather than on them.

His early interest was in the idea of bringing out the views students already held, and helping reconcile that understanding with what they learned in class. This evolved into an interest in metacognition, or knowing about one’s own knowing. In the mid-`80s, that was a novel idea in education -- now it’s a mainstream concept.

Over the years, the “informal network of groups throughout the world” that are interested in the PEEL approach have learned much about the strategies and techniques teachers can use to improve learning. 

This knowledge in turn has invited attention to such matters as how to codify and discuss the ideas and approaches that lie behind good teaching, and how to achieve useful collaboration between teachers and academics.

“All these things by their very nature are messy and complex,” Ian says.  

Anyone wanting to convey sophisticated knowledge about teaching has to steer a delicate course between over-simplification and over-specification. “A good narrative story from the classroom will not be something that is an example of any one point; it will exemplify a number of possibly quite different things.”

Questions about classroom change emerged early as a critical issue. “This was not really well understood before we started,” says Ian. “There was an assumption that if a teacher started teaching in different ways, students would learn in different ways, but it’s not like that.” 

Students have strong beliefs about not only their role in the classroom, but also the teacher’s role. 

“Those beliefs are not going to be overturned by a teacher just saying: ‘I want you to stop seeing the classroom as somewhere where I give you the right answers and you learn those; it’s going to be different’,” Ian says. 

“That is a singularly useless statement to make. You need a great deal more to change and you need to see change as an evolutionary process. Mapping that journey and change is an area that we are currently actively working on.”

 

Qualifications

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 2004
MASTER OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 1985

Publications

Books

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., Lumb, D.C., 2009, Principles of Teaching for Effective Learning: The Voice of the Teacher, PEEL Publishing, Melbourne Victoria Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2009, Teaching for Effective Learning. The complete book of PEEL teaching procedures, PEEL Publishing, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2007, Teaching for Effective Learning. The Complete book of PEEL teaching procedures., PEEL Publishing, Clayton Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2006, Teaching for Effective Learning - The Complete Book of PEEL Teaching Procedures, PEEL publications, Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2005, Teaching for effective learning. The complete book of PEEL teaching procedures, PEEL, Clayton Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2004, More Teaching Procedures II, PEEL Publishing, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Loughran, J.J., Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.M. (eds), 2002, Learning from teacher research, Teachers College Press, New York NY USA.

Mitchell, I., Smith, K.V., 1999, Science Extended Professional Development and Research Project, Monash University & Department of Education, Clayton Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I., Mitchell, J. (eds), 1997, Stories of reflective teaching: a book of PEEL cases, PEEL Publications, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Book Chapters

Kang, C., Erickson, G., Ryan, J., Mitchell, I., 2011, Constructing a cross-cultural teacher professional learning community in the context of China's basic education curriculum, in Education Reform in China: Changing concepts, contexts & practices, eds Janette Ryan, Routledge, New York, pp. 41-60.

Mitchell, I.J., 2010, Section 7: Working from and/or valuing student questions, in Looking into Practice. Cases of Science Teachers' Professional Growth, eds Amanda Berry and Stephen Keast, Monash University and The Catholic Education Office, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 85-87.

Erickson, G.L., Kang, C., Mitchell, I.J., Ryan, J.M., 2008, Role of teacher research communities and cross-culture collaboration in the context of curriculum reform in China, in Learning Communities In Practice., eds Anastasia P. Samaras, Anne R. Freese, Clare Kosnik, Clive Beck, Springer, USA, pp. 179-191.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., 2008, The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL): 22 Years of Praxis, in Learning Communities In Practice., eds Anastasia P. Samaras, Anne R. Freese, Clare Kosnik, Clive Beck, Springer, USA, pp. 7-18.

Mitchell, I.J., 2007, Professional learning. Moving from professional talk to teacher research, in Dimensions of Professional Learning. Professionalism, Practice and Identity, eds Amanda Berry, Allie Clemans, Alexander Kostogriz, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam The Netherlands, pp. 105-119.

Mitchell, I.J., 2007, Some themes and issues, in Looking into Practice. Cases of Science Teaching and Learning. Volume Two, eds John Loughran and Amanda Berry, Monash University, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 125-127.

Mitchell, I.J., 2006, Using these cases to stimulate new and further journeys, in Looking Into Practice - Cases of Science Teaching and Learning, eds John Loughran, Amanda Berry, Faculty of Education, Monash University and the Catholic Education Office - Archdiocese of Melbourne, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 101-104.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J., 2005, What do we mean by career-long professional growth and how can we get it?, in Teacher Professional Development in Changing Conditions, eds Douwe Beijaard, Paulien C Meijer, Greta Morine-Dershimer and Harm Tillema, Springer, Dordrecht Netherland, pp. 291-307.

Mitchell, I.J., 2004, Identifying ethical issues in self-study proposals, in International Handbook of Self-study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices, eds John Loughran, Mary Lynn Hamilton, Vicki Kubler LaBoskey and Tom Russell, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht Netherland, pp. 1393-1442.

Burke, D., Mitchell, I.J., 2004, Reflections on practice: an administrator's 16-year journey to promote teacher leadership and learning, in Learning to Lead Together: the promise and challenge of sharing leadership, eds Janet H Chrispeels, SAGE Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks USA, pp. 80-103.

Mitchell, I.J., 2003, Why do teacher research? Perspectives from four stakeholders, in Teacher Inquiry. Living the Research in Everyday Practice, eds Anthony Clarke and Gaalen Erickson, RoutledgeFalmer, London and New York, pp. 199-208.

Mitchell, I., 2002, Learning from teacher research for teacher research, in Learning from Teacher Research, eds John Loughran, Ian Mitchell, Judie Mitchell, Allen & Unwin, Sydney NSW Australia, pp. 249-266.

Keast, S., Loughran, J., Mitchell, I., 1999, Science teaching and learning 1, in Science extended professional development and research project, Victoria. Department of Education, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Gunstone, R., Mitchell, I., 1998, Metacognition and Conceptual Change, in Teaching Science for Understanding, Academic Press, San Diego USA, pp. 134-163.

Meyer-Smith, J.A., Mitchell, I., 1997, Teaching about Constructivism: using approaches informed by constructivism, in Constructivist Teacher Education: building new understandings, Falmer Press, London UK, pp. 129-153.

Journal Articles

Mitchell, I., Carbone, A., 2011, A typology of task characteristics and their effects on student engagement, International Journal of Educational Research [E], vol 50, Elsevier, United Kingdom, pp. 257-270.

Mitchell, I., 2010, The relationship between teacher behaviours and student talk in promoting quality learning in science classrooms, Research in Science Education [E], vol 40, issue 2, Spinger, Netherlands, pp. 171-186.

Ryan, J.M., Kang, C., Mitchell, I.J., Erickson, G., 2009, China's basic education reform: an account of an international collaborative research and development project, Asia Pacific Journal of Education [P], vol 29, issue 4, Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 427-441.

Mitchell, I.J., Baird, J., Flack, J., Russell, T., Hynes, D., Abrahamson, L., Smith, C., 2005, 20 years of PEEL - from a teaching and research perspective, PEEL SEEDS, vol 80, PEEL, Clayton Vic Australia, pp. 7-18.

Erickson, G., Minnes Brandes, G., Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J., 2005, Collaborative teacher learning: findings from two professional development projects, Teaching and Teacher Education, vol 21, issue 7, Pergamon, UK, pp. 787-798.

Loughran, J.J., Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J., 2003, Attempting to document teachers' professional knowledge, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol 16, issue 6, Taylor & Francis Ltd, UK, pp. 853-873.

Boyle, S., Fahey, E., Loughran, J., Mitchell, I., 2001, Classroom research into good learning behaviours, Educational Action Research, vol 9, issue 2, Triangle Journals Ltd, Oxford UK, pp. 199-223.

Loughran, J., Mitchell, I., Neale, R.K., Toussaint, A.D., 2001, PEEL and the beginning teacher, The Australian Educational Researcher, vol 28, issue 2, Australian Association for Research in Education, Inc., Camberwell Vic Australia, pp. 29-52.

Conference Proceedings

Corrigan, D., Mitchell, I., Lancaster, G., Isaacs, M., 2010, Leading innovative in the classroom: Professional learning in primary science., 2nd World Congress if the International Council of Associations of Science Education, 28 June - 2 July 2010, ICASE, Estonia, p. 1.

Carbone, A., Hurst, A.J., Mitchell, I.J., Gunstone, R., 2009, An exploration of internal factors influencing student learning of programming, Proceedings of the Eleventh Australasian Computing Education Conference, 19 January 2009 to 23 January 2009, Australian Computer Society Inc, Sydney NSW Australia, pp. 25-34.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., 2008, L comes before T: How having a formal learning agenda can improve teaching, Proceedings of 14th International Conference of Teacher Research (ICTR) 2008, 28-29 March 2008, ICTR, USA, pp. 1-17.

Isaacs, M., Corrigan, D.J., Mitchell, I.J., 2008, Science curriculum resources: The interface between policy, research and practice, Proceedings of 39th Annual Conference (2008) of Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA), 2-5 July 2008, ASERA, Australia, pp. 1-17.

Corrigan, D.J., Mitchell, I.J., Lancaster, G.R., 2008, Sustaining a disperse network of science teacher researchers, Proceedings of the XIII IOSTE Symposium, 21-26 September 2008, Palme Publications and Bookshops Ltd. Co., Turkey, pp. 171-178.

Mitchell, I.J., Lancaster, G.R., Corrigan, D.J., 2007, Sustaining a dispersed network of teacher researchers, ASERA 2007, 11 July 2007 to 14 July 2007, Australasian Science Education Research Association Ltd, Perth WA Australia, p. 49.

Swaminathan, C., Corrigan, D.J., Mitchell, I.J., Andrews, J.R.G., 2005, An ethnographic study of engineering students using Hysys in an introductory mass & energy balances subject, Conference Proceedings - Chemeca 2005, 25/09/2005 to 28/09/2005, Institution of Engineers, IChemE, SCENZ and RACI in Association with University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 1-6.

Mitchell, I.J., 2004, The roles of student talk and teacher behaviours in promoting quality learning in science classrooms, 35th Annual Australasian Science Education Research Association, 07/07/2004 to 10/07/2004, ASERA, pp. 1-11.

Carbone, A., Mitchell, I., Gunstone, D., Hurst J., 2002, Designing programming tasks to elicit self-management metacognitive behaviour, Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education, 03 December 2002 to 06 December 2002, IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos USA, pp. 533-534.

Carbone, A., Hurst J., Mitchell, I.W., Gunstone, D., 2001, Characteristics of programming exercises that lead to poor learning tendencies: Part II, Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 25 June 2001 to 27 June 2001, ACM Order Department, New York NY USA, pp. 93-96.

Carbone, A., Hurst, A.J., Mitchell, I., Gunstone, R., 2000, Principles for Designing Programming Exercises to Minimise Poor Learning Behaviours in Students, The Proceedings of the Fourth Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE 2000), Melbourne VIC Australia, 4-6 December 2000, The Association for Computing Machinery, New York NY USA, pp. 26-33.

Carbone, A., Hurst, A.J., Mitchell, I., Gunstone, D., 1999, The Student Learning Experience: Characteristics of Programming Tasks that Lead to the Poor Learning Behaviours, 1999 HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne VIC, 12-15 July 1999, p. 45.

Northfield, J., Mitchell, I., Mitchell, J., 1997, It is interesting.... but is it research?, ASERA 97, Adelaide, 4 - 7 July, ASERA, Adelaide SA Australia, p. 24.

Carbone, A., Drago, M., Mitchell, I., 1997, Web based tools for tertiary teachers, ASCILITE'97 What Works and Why, Perth Australia, 8-10 December 1997, Academic Computing Services, Perth WA Australia, pp. 101-110.

Other

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S., Lumb, D.C., 2010, PEEL in Practice. 1550 Ideas for quality teaching, PEEL Publishing, Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S., Lumb, D.C., 2009, PEEL in Practice 2009. 1500 ideas for quality teaching, PEEL Publishing, Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2009, Reflections, In 'Looking Into Practice: Cases of Science Teachers' Professional Growth' (Volume 1), Faculty of Education, Monash University and The Catholic Education Office - Archdiocese of Melbourne, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., McKinnon, R.A., Scheele, S.K., Lumb, D.C., 2008, Peel in Practice 2008 (Project for Enhanced Effective Learning) - 1450 ideas for quality teaching, PEEL Publishing, Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.M., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S.K., Lumb, D.C., 2007, 2007 Peel in Practice. PEEL Project of Enhanced Effective Learning, PEEL Publishing, Clayton Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., Ryan, J.M., Kang, C., Erickson, G.L., 2007, Role of Teacher Research and Cross-cultural Collaboration in the Context of Curriculum Reform in China., Symposium presentation at International Conference on Teacher Research, 'From Theory to Advocacy: Using Practitioner Research as a Catalyst for Change', Chicago 13 - 14 April 2007, National - Louis University, Chicago.

Mitchell, I.J., Lancaster, G.R., Bull, L., Berry, A.K., Corrigan, D.J., Gunstone, R.F., Keast, S., Loughran, J.J., 2006, Engaging Students in Secondary Science. An ASISTM Project 2006, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton Victoria.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J.A., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S.K., Lumb, D.C., Brown, H.M., Hoareau, R., Holkner, B.J., Phillips, L., 2006, PEEL 20 Years, PEEL Publishing, Clayton Victoria.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S.K., 2005, 1200 ideas for quality teaching. PEEL in Practice, PEEL Publishing, Clayton Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2005, Theory, practice and policy: how can teacher research help bridge the divides, Invited Keynote address to the DE&T Office of Learning and Teaching's Research Highlights Conference on "Research: Informing Policy and Supporting Practice", Dallas Brookes Centre, Melbourne, 25 November 2005, Department of Education & Training, http://www.det.vic.gov.au/det/about/research/research_conference.htm.

Mitchell, I.J., Berry, A.K., Mitchell, J.M., Mitchell, J.A., Parr, G.B., 2004, An introduction and background to the principles of learning and teaching P-12, Monash University, Melbourne, pp. 1-9.

Mitchell, I.J., Mitchell, J., McKinnon, R.T., Scheele, S.K., 2004, PEEL in Practice: 1100 Ideas for Quality Teaching, PEEL Publishing, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., Parr, G.B., Berry, A.K., Mitchell, J., Mitchell, J., 2004, Principles of learning and teaching: draft 12, A background paper for the Department of Education and Training (DE&T), Faculty of Education, Monash University, DE&T, http://www.sofweb.vic.edu/pedagogy/pdfs/bgpaper1.pdf.

Parr, G.B., Mitchell, I.J., Berry, A.K., 2004, Steering, rowing, or swimming with the tide: tensions in Victorian secondary school education, In Loughran J. & Doecke B. (EDS) Environmental scan of learning and teaching: a report for the department of education and training, Vol 2, DE&T, Australia.

Mitchell, I.J., 2004, Teaching for quality learning in science, Keynote address to the Annual Conference of the Tasmanian Science Teachers Association, Devonport, April 2004.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Metacognitive processes in second language teaching and learning.
Supervisors:
Filipi, A (Main), Mitchell, I (Associate).
Program of Study:
(MASTER'S BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
TBC.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).

Completed Supervision

Student:
Anderson, J.
Program of Study:
PROMOTING & STIMULATING ACHEIVEMENT IN YEAR 7 SCIENCE STUDENTS. 2001.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).
Student:
Carbone, A.
Program of Study:
Principles for desiging programming tasks: how task characteristics influence student learning of programming. (PHD) 2007.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main), Hurst, A (Associate).
Student:
Dutt, A.
Program of Study:
Making the transition from classical to quantum physics. (PHD) 2009.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main), Bishop, A (Associate).
Student:
Feteris, S.
Program of Study:
Student learning in undergraduate laboratories. (PHD) 2007.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main), Mills, D (Associate).
Student:
Flack, J.
Program of Study:
LEARNING TOGETHER: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS SHARING THE CLASSROOM. 2000.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).
Student:
Gomez, M.
Program of Study:
Metacognition in Teaching. (Masters) 2012.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).
Student:
Keast, S.
Program of Study:
Professional development and teacher change in Mathematics classrooms. (PHD) 2011.
Supervisors:
Clarke, B (Main), Mitchell, I (Associate).
Student:
Mac Eoin, M.
Program of Study:
MAKING INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS WORK: THE EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN REGULAR CLASSROOMS. 2000.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).
Student:
Osler, J.
Program of Study:
LEARNING TOGETHER: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS SHARING THE CLASSROOM. 2000.
Supervisors:
Mitchell, I (Main).
Student:
Swaminathan, C.
Program of Study:
Student learning approaches and meta-cognition during an introductory chemical engineering subject, comparing traditional hand calculations with use of simulation software: a qualitative analysis. (PHD) 2009.
Supervisors:
Corrigan, D (Joint-Co), Mitchell, I (Joint).
Student:
Whiteside, T.
Program of Study:
THINKING THROUGH PLAY. (Masters) 2010.
Supervisors:
Robbins, J (Main), Mitchell, I (Associate).