Prof. David J. Clarke, University of Melbourne, Australia

David Clarke is a Professor at the University of Melbourne and Director of the International Centre for Classroom Research (ICCR). Over the last twenty years, his research activity has centered on capturing the complexity of classroom practice through a program of international video-based classroom research, most notably through the Learner’s Perspective Study – a project that has continued now for 15 years and engendered a research community across more than a dozen countries (of which Israel is happily one). For the last ten years, the ICCR has provided the focus for collaborative activities among researchers from more than 20 countries. Professor Clarke has also worked with school systems and teachers throughout Australia and in the USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia and the Federated States of Micronesia. Professor Clarke taught High School mathematics and physics for eight years, while also researching the mathematical modeling of proton-proton scattering – which probably explains both his interest in the learning and teaching of mathematics and science and his consistent focus on the classroom as a research site. It may also explain his enjoyment of research design and his inclination to approach every problem as an exercise in modeling.

Other significant research by Professor Clarke has addressed teacher professional learning, metacognition, problem-based learning, and assessment (particularly the use of open-ended tasks for assessment and instruction in mathematics). Current research activities involve multi-theoretic research designs, cross-cultural analyses, discourse in and about classrooms internationally, curricular alignment, and the challenge of research synthesis in education. Professor Clarke has written books on assessment and on classroom research and has published his research work in over 150 book chapters, journal articles and conference proceedings papers.