Dr Richard Walker
|
PhD(Sydney) Senior Lecturer Associate Dean, Postgraduate Coursework and Professional Education |
Email: Phone: +61 2 9351 6274 Fax: +61 2 9351 2606 Building.Room: A35.523 |
Research interests
Learning sciences; psychology of education
- Learning, cognition and motivation
Keywords
sociocultural, motivation, learning, identity, achievement
Professional biography
Richard teaches educational psychology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has been awarded several Excellence in Teaching Awards for his teaching in this field.
Richard's research interests have centred on ways of enhancing the learning, motivation and academic achievement of students at all levels of education. His early investigations into the effects of training in metacognitive skills and motivation with primary students were followed by research at tertiary level into autonomous and controlled motivation, as well as investigations into student motivation across a number of faculties at the University of Sydney.
An interest in sociocultural theory has led Richard to investigate student learning in electronic learning environments designed to support collaborative and cooperative interactions amongst students; the use of textbooks and other learning resources; after-school homework support; and identity formation. His most recent research has focussed on the development of a sociocultural approach to the understanding of motivation, identity formation, and learning through homework activities.
Awards
University of Sydney Excellence in Teaching Award 1998
Faculty of Education Excellence in Teaching Award 1994
Current research students
| Project title | Degree | Research student |
|---|---|---|
| Willingness to communicate in a second language: Issues affecting Thai EFL learners at tertiary level. | PhD | Kamlaitip Pattapong |
| A sense of self within a World Heritage Area: Education about place and children's identity in attitude-behaviour models | PhD | Annette Sartor |
| Identity, psychological adaptation, and socio-cultural adaptation among Australian adolescent Muslims. | PhD | Maram Abu-Rayya |
| Transfer of academic regulatory abilities between problem-based and clinical contexts. A longitudinal study of medical students. | PhD | Sarah Hyde |
| Learner development within Japanese teriary education. | PhD | Luke Fryer |
| Teachers' awareness and understanding of the metacognitive strategies they use when reading and the impact this has on their reading instruction. | EdD | Amanda Kane |
| Monitoring the influence of organizational environment factors on the transfer of learning achieved during an initial training program in university education. | MEd | Carolina Matheson |
| The use of metacognitive, self-regulatory and other musical practice strategies in instrumental musicians: Their relation to motivation and their development over time. | PhD | Katherine Moore |
| Towards a sociocultural theory of interest development. | PhD | Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn |
| How do teachers foster resiliencein students in the infants years of school? | EdD | Joanne M Smith |
Selected publications
Books
- Horsley, M., & Walker, R. A. (in press). Reforming homework: Practices, learning and policies. Palgrave Macmillan.
Book chapters
- Walker, R., Pressick-Kilborn, K., Sainsbury, E., & MacCallum, J . (in press). A sociocultural approach to motivation: A long time coming but here at last. In T. Urdan, S. Karabenick & F. Pajares (Ed.), Advances in motivation and achievement: The next decade of research in motivation and achievement (Vol. 16,), .
- Burridge, N., & Walker, R . (in press). Teaching within diversity. In R. Cantwell & J. Scevak (Ed.), An Academic Life: A Handbook for New Academics Melbourne: ACER Press.
- Walker, R. A. (in press). Sociocultural issues in motivation. In In E. Baker, B McGaw & P. Peterson (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education (3rd Ed) Amsterdam: Elsevier.
- Arnold, L, Walker, R. (2008). Co-constructing classroom environments that improve academic outcomes. In Towndrow P, Koh C, Soon TH (Ed.), Motivation and practice for the classroom (pp. 165–184), Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
- Horsley, M, Walker, R. (2008). Best practice in designing and managing after school homework support: A sociocultural interpretation of homework and affording learning through homework practices. In McInerney D, Liem A (Ed.), Teaching and learning: International best practice (Vol. 8, pp. 79–109), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
- Sainsbury, E, Walker, R. (2007). Same words, different meanings: Learning to talk the scientific language of pharmacy. In Angela Brew & Judyth Sachs (Ed.), Transforming a university: the scholarship of teaching and learning in practice (pp. 13–25), NSW, Australia: University of Sydney Press.
- Walker, R, Horsley, M. (2006). Textbook pedagogy: a sociocultural analysis of effective teaching and learning. In D M McInerney;M Dowson;S Van Etten (Ed.), Effective Schools (Vol. 6, pp. 105–133), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
- Horsley, M, Walker, R. (2005). Pasifika Australia: Culturally responsive curriculum and teaching. In D. M. McInerney and S. Van Etten (Eds.), Focus on Curriculum (pp. 327–352), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
- Walker, R. (2003). Teacher development through communities of learning. In McInerney, Van Etten (Ed.), Sociocultural Influences and Teacher Education Programs (pp. 223–246), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
- Pressick-Kilborn, K, Walker, R,. (2002). The social construction of interest in a learning community. In McInerney, D.M.&Van Etten, S. (Ed.), Research on Sociocultural Influences on Learning and Motivation (pp. 153–182), Greenwich, Contecticut: Information Age Publishers.
- Walker, R. (2001). Social and cultural perspectives on professional knowledge and expertise. In Joy Higgs & Angie Titchen (Ed.), Practice Knowledge and Expertise in the Health Professions (pp. 22–28), Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Journal articles
- Sainsbury, E, Walker, R. (2008). Assessment as a vehicle for learning: Extending collaboration into testing. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(2), 103–117.
- Pressick-Kilborn, K, Sainsbury, E, Walker, R. (2005). Making sense of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches: Exploring conceptual change and interest in learning from a socio-cultural perspective. Australian Educational Researcher, 32(2), 25–48.
- Marsh, H, Dowson, M, Pietsch, J, Walker, R. (2004). Why Multicollinearity Matters: A Reexamination Of Relations Between Self-Efficacy, Self-Concept, And Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(3), 518–522.
- Walker, R. A., Pressick-Kilborn, K., Arnold, L. S., & Sainsbury, E . (2004). Investigating motivation in context: Developing sociocultural perspectives. European Psychologist, 9, 245–256.
- Pietsch, J, Walker, R, Chapman, E. (2003). The relationship among self-concept, self-efficacy and performance in Mathematics during secondary school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3), 589–603.
- Walker, R, Debus, R. (2002). Educational Psychology: Advances in learning, cognition and motivation. Change: Transformations in Education, 5(1), 1–25.