If you think that your institution or centre could be a partner in the scheme described here, please contact Michael Matthews at m.matthews@unsw.edu.au

Please include:

Your name, current postion, address, email etc. The same information for any other colleagues and/or students who would take part in the scheme.
A brief Curriculum Vitae (past five years, plus perhaps earlier major publications). Total number of publications grouped as: books, book chapters, refereed journal articles.
A brief statement of the reciprocal support that your institution would provide, and the research facilities available.
A brief statement of what research might be done in collaboration with the UNSW pendulum project. This can range over methodological, historical, pedagogical, cognitive, curricular and teacher-developmental research. The IPP is well placed to support cross-national comparative studies.

The International Linkage Programme

The Australian Research Council provides funds through its International Linkage Programme to foster collaboration and interaction between Australian and international research centres. The scheme is applicable to established researchers, junior researchers and, importantly, postgraduate students.

The International Pendulum Project is ideally suited to benefit from this scheme, and Michael Matthews would like to put together an application for Linkage Funds hopefully involving a number of overseas research centres.

The support does not cover salary, but it does cover living expenses, assistance with travel, and research costs. It allows overseas researchers to come to UNSW and supports local researchers visiting overseas research centres.

A requirement is that overseas collaborating institutions will provide comparable levels of support.

The IPP can potentially do something significant for international primary and secondary science education. There is already a good deal of research and preparation of teaching materials going on in different centres. These Linkage Funds are a way of furthering and coordinating that work.

UNSW can offer the following:

(1) An existing ARC Large Research Grant to study the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary teaching of pendulum motion. Associated with this grant have been:

Pendulum conferences
'Time for Science Education', a book by M.R. Matthews, (Kluwer, 2000)
Bibliography of Pendulum studies by Colin Guald

(2) Some established researchers in history and philosophy of science and in cognition and instruction who have interests broadly pendulum matters. A physics school where some pendulum modules have been developed along with associated practicals.

(3) A network of participating primary and secondary schools whose staffs and principals are enthusiastic about incorporating pendulum activities and learning into their programmes. One whole school district (11 primary schools, 3 high schools) are specifically using the pendulum as the topic for transition from primary to secondary science. Staff from another three primary schools and five high schools are participating with the project. With more schools being expected to join during 2003.

(4) First class library facilities, especially in the history and philosophy of science, learning and cognition, and science education.

(4) A shared university office with computer, email, mail facilities.