ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate how primary teachers in Queensland, Australia can make use of the Internet for professional development and to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics. As a result of this study, implications for using the Internet for the professional development of Indonesian mathematics teachers in primary schools were drawn. The genesis of the study had emerged from reflecting upon my personal experiences in using the Internet for my own professional learning, by exploring education phenomena related to the Internet in Indonesia and Australia, and identifying gaps in research as a result of my literature review. I argue that the Internet has potential as a medium for professional development and for teaching and learning mathematics. However, little is known about the personal and professional characteristics of teachers who use the Internet to promote and renew their professional knowledge and to support their on-going learning process as well as to be good facilitators for ‘new learners’. The literature review establishes the need for investigating how teachers can use the Internet for professional development and for teaching and learning mathematics. The literature review also examines the characteristics of effective professional development, identifies inadequacies in existing professional development programs, and examines the potential advantages and limitations of using the Internet for professional development. The review suggests that there is a need to build a new model of professional development to shed light on how the Internet might be used to support primary mathematics teacher professional development. In this study, two case studies have been conducted. The first case study was of a ‘high use Internet (HUI) teacher’ (a teacher who intensively uses the Internet to sustain his/her professional growth as a mathematics teacher) and the second case study was of a ‘low use Internet (LUI) teacher’ (a teacher who has not made use of the Internet for those main goals but has a willingness to do so). The researcher learned from the HUI teacher and formulated ways to help the LUI teacher. An ethnographic approach was chosen for this study, as the researcher went into the field for an extended period of time. This study employed multiple data gathering methods, namely: participant-observation, interviews, questionnaires, and written and non-written sources. The research reported in this thesis investigated factors (personal and contextual) that support or inhibit mathematics teachers in making use of the Internet for teacher professional development and for teaching mathematics. The findings support the notion that teachers’ knowledge and beliefs are key determinants in embracing technology as a tool for teaching and learning. The findings are also significant in underscoring the non-linear, interactive and contingent nature of authentic professional development. The significance of this research is that it deepens our understanding about what is necessary for primary mathematics teachers to optimise the potential of the Internet for mathematics teaching and learning both for teachers and students. This study established the extent of the positive and negative potential effects of the Internet for professional development and the difficulties of using only this for professional development. Yet another significant outcome from this research is the construction of a theoretical framework for identifying the implications of using the Internet for professional development of Indonesian Primary teachers and for mathematics teaching and learning in Indonesian primary schools.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate how primary teachers in Queensland, Australia can make use of the Internet for professional development and to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics. As a result of this study, implications for using the Internet for the professional development of Indonesian mathematics teachers in primary schools were drawn. The genesis of the study had emerged from reflecting upon my personal experiences in using the Internet for my own professional learning, by exploring education phenomena related to the Internet in Indonesia and Australia, and identifying gaps in research as a result of my literature review. I argue that the Internet has potential as a medium for professional development and for teaching and learning mathematics. However, little is known about the personal and professional characteristics of teachers who use the Internet to promote and renew their professional knowledge and to support their on-going learning process as well as to be good facilitators for ‘new learners’. The literature review establishes the need for investigating how teachers can use the Internet for professional development and for teaching and learning mathematics. The literature review also examines the characteristics of effective professional development, identifies inadequacies in existing professional development programs, and examines the potential advantages and limitations of using the Internet for professional development. The review suggests that there is a need to build a new model of professional development to shed light on how the Internet might be used to support primary mathematics teacher professional development. In this study, two case studies have been conducted. The first case study was of a ‘high use Internet (HUI) teacher’ (a teacher who intensively uses the Internet to sustain his/her professional growth as a mathematics teacher) and the second case study was of a ‘low use Internet (LUI) teacher’ (a teacher who has not made use of the Internet for those main goals but has a willingness to do so). The researcher learned from the HUI teacher and formulated ways to help the LUI teacher. An ethnographic approach was chosen for this study, as the researcher went into the field for an extended period of time. This study employed multiple data gathering methods, namely: participant-observation, interviews, questionnaires, and written and non-written sources. The research reported in this thesis investigated factors (personal and contextual) that support or inhibit mathematics teachers in making use of the Internet for teacher professional development and for teaching mathematics. The findings support the notion that teachers’ knowledge and beliefs are key determinants in embracing technology as a tool for teaching and learning. The findings are also significant in underscoring the non-linear, interactive and contingent nature of authentic professional development. The significance of this research is that it deepens our understanding about what is necessary for primary mathematics teachers to optimise the potential of the Internet for mathematics teaching and learning both for teachers and students. This study established the extent of the positive and negative potential effects of the Internet for professional development and the difficulties of using only this for professional development. Yet another significant outcome from this research is the construction of a theoretical framework for identifying the implications of using the Internet for professional development of Indonesian Primary teachers and for mathematics teaching and learning in Indonesian primary schools.

International studies have shown the reading competence of Indonesian students to be relatively low compared to other countries. Considering the importance of reading comprehension, the current research has two aims. The first is to provide some insight into the identification of students’ difficulty with reading. The second is to investigate the implementation of innovative methods for teaching reading comprehension in the Indonesian educational context. Both studies were conducted in state upper grade primary schools in Urban Sub District BCL in Bandung, Indonesia. Study One profiled students’ reading performance. Five measurement instruments were developed, written in Indonesian language. The construction of mental models was also introduced. Two hundred and sixty five Grade Five students from eight schools were measured for their competence in decoding, prior knowledge, comprehension monitoring, construction of mental models, reading comprehension specifically related to a particular topic, and their general reading comprehension. The students’ reading performance profiles were very varied. They showed the importance of each component for the achievement of reading comprehension. The profiles also showed the ability for each component of reading comprehension to compensate each other’s function to enable the students to perform well in reading comprehension. The best-fit model for the data accounted for 47% of students’ performance in reading comprehension. Study Two compared instructional interventions, and examined the way each method worked in the Indonesian educational context. The three instructional intervention methods were Reciprocal Teaching (RT), Instruction prompting students to develop Mental Models (IMM), and Instruction in Question Answering (IQA). Participants were one hundred and twelve students in the Sixth Grade from three primary schools. There were three groups in each school. Group 1 received RT followed by IMM (RT-IMM), Group 2 received IMM followed by RT (IMM-RT), and Group 3 received IQA. Group 3 was considered as the control group, since IQA is the traditional method widely adopted in Indonesia. Instruction was separated into 2 phases. Each phase consisted of four sessions of 30 minutes each over a two-week period. The implementation of IMM-RT tended to improve general reading comprehension more than other methods (RT-IMM and IQA). Interestingly, individuals who had a low performance in the pre-test for construction of mental models, improved their performance in the construction of mental models following implementation of RT at the first phase. The results support a conclusion that the IMM-RT combination is potentially effective for the enhancement of students’ reading comprehension. However, further results showed that, in order to implement RT and IMM in a common state school classroom in Indonesia, the teacher’s ability to manage and organise the group becomes crucial. Study Three was designed to validate the IMM-RT instructional intervention for improving performances of students with reading comprehension inadequacies, by addressing the limitations found in Study Two. Result showed that IMM-RT had potential for improving students’ performance in reading comprehension. The findings of the current study provide some understanding of reading comprehension in an Indonesian educational context. Moreover, the findings will add to the repertoire of educators about issues that need to be considered in implementing innovative methods for enhancing Indonesian students’ reading comprehension.

International studies have shown the reading competence of Indonesian students to be relatively low compared to other countries. Considering the importance of reading comprehension, the current research has two aims. The first is to provide some insight into the identification of students’ difficulty with reading. The second is to investigate the implementation of innovative methods for teaching reading comprehension in the Indonesian educational context. Both studies were conducted in state upper grade primary schools in Urban Sub District BCL in Bandung, Indonesia. Study One profiled students’ reading performance. Five measurement instruments were developed, written in Indonesian language. The construction of mental models was also introduced. Two hundred and sixty five Grade Five students from eight schools were measured for their competence in decoding, prior knowledge, comprehension monitoring, construction of mental models, reading comprehension specifically related to a particular topic, and their general reading comprehension. The students’ reading performance profiles were very varied. They showed the importance of each component for the achievement of reading comprehension. The profiles also showed the ability for each component of reading comprehension to compensate each other’s function to enable the students to perform well in reading comprehension. The best-fit model for the data accounted for 47% of students’ performance in reading comprehension. Study Two compared instructional interventions, and examined the way each method worked in the Indonesian educational context. The three instructional intervention methods were Reciprocal Teaching (RT), Instruction prompting students to develop Mental Models (IMM), and Instruction in Question Answering (IQA). Participants were one hundred and twelve students in the Sixth Grade from three primary schools. There were three groups in each school. Group 1 received RT followed by IMM (RT-IMM), Group 2 received IMM followed by RT (IMM-RT), and Group 3 received IQA. Group 3 was considered as the control group, since IQA is the traditional method widely adopted in Indonesia. Instruction was separated into 2 phases. Each phase consisted of four sessions of 30 minutes each over a two-week period. The implementation of IMM-RT tended to improve general reading comprehension more than other methods (RT-IMM and IQA). Interestingly, individuals who had a low performance in the pre-test for construction of mental models, improved their performance in the construction of mental models following implementation of RT at the first phase. The results support a conclusion that the IMM-RT combination is potentially effective for the enhancement of students’ reading comprehension. However, further results showed that, in order to implement RT and IMM in a common state school classroom in Indonesia, the teacher’s ability to manage and organise the group becomes crucial. Study Three was designed to validate the IMM-RT instructional intervention for improving performances of students with reading comprehension inadequacies, by addressing the limitations found in Study Two. Result showed that IMM-RT had potential for improving students’ performance in reading comprehension. The findings of the current study provide some understanding of reading comprehension in an Indonesian educational context. Moreover, the findings will add to the repertoire of educators about issues that need to be considered in implementing innovative methods for enhancing Indonesian students’ reading comprehension.

International studies have shown the reading competence of Indonesian students to be relatively low compared to other countries. Considering the importance of reading comprehension, the current research has two aims. The first is to provide some insight into the identification of students’ difficulty with reading. The second is to investigate the implementation of innovative methods for teaching reading comprehension in the Indonesian educational context. Both studies were conducted in state upper grade primary schools in Urban Sub District BCL in Bandung, Indonesia. Study One profiled students’ reading performance. Five measurement instruments were developed, written in Indonesian language. The construction of mental models was also introduced. Two hundred and sixty five Grade Five students from eight schools were measured for their competence in decoding, prior knowledge, comprehension monitoring, construction of mental models, reading comprehension specifically related to a particular topic, and their general reading comprehension. The students’ reading performance profiles were very varied. They showed the importance of each component for the achievement of reading comprehension. The profiles also showed the ability for each component of reading comprehension to compensate each other’s function to enable the students to perform well in reading comprehension. The best-fit model for the data accounted for 47% of students’ performance in reading comprehension. Study Two compared instructional interventions, and examined the way each method worked in the Indonesian educational context. The three instructional intervention methods were Reciprocal Teaching (RT), Instruction prompting students to develop Mental Models (IMM), and Instruction in Question Answering (IQA). Participants were one hundred and twelve students in the Sixth Grade from three primary schools. There were three groups in each school. Group 1 received RT followed by IMM (RT-IMM), Group 2 received IMM followed by RT (IMM-RT), and Group 3 received IQA. Group 3 was considered as the control group, since IQA is the traditional method widely adopted in Indonesia. Instruction was separated into 2 phases. Each phase consisted of four sessions of 30 minutes each over a two-week period. The implementation of IMM-RT tended to improve general reading comprehension more than other methods (RT-IMM and IQA). Interestingly, individuals who had a low performance in the pre-test for construction of mental models, improved their performance in the construction of mental models following implementation of RT at the first phase. The results support a conclusion that the IMM-RT combination is potentially effective for the enhancement of students’ reading comprehension. However, further results showed that, in order to implement RT and IMM in a common state school classroom in Indonesia, the teacher’s ability to manage and organise the group becomes crucial. Study Three was designed to validate the IMM-RT instructional intervention for improving performances of students with reading comprehension inadequacies, by addressing the limitations found in Study Two. Result showed that IMM-RT had potential for improving students’ performance in reading comprehension. The findings of the current study provide some understanding of reading comprehension in an Indonesian educational context. Moreover, the findings will add to the repertoire of educators about issues that need to be considered in implementing innovative methods for enhancing Indonesian students’ reading comprehension.