This monograph is designed to highlight areas of research strength found at The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education. The chosen theme of this volume, “Changing trajectories of teaching and learning”, encompasses the Faculty’s strong research presence in ongoing teacher learning and in raising student achievement, particularly in lower decile schools and in the area of literacy. It also encompasses the Faculty’s role in enhancing teaching and learning through researching quality teacher education and social work education.
How you assess partly depends on your notion of what writing is for. But the accuracy of the assessment depends on clearly distinguishing different characteristics, from planning to sensitivity.
The integrated learning system SuccessMaker is in many New Zealand schools. However, the author’s review of these systems concludes that few have proven effective in producing substantial gains in reading and language; gains in certain areas of maths do not appear to be transferred to other tasks; and system-generated progress data requires validation. Autonomous learning is not viable for many students, and curriculum integration is also an issue.
Author(s):
Pam Millward, Rose Neal, Wendy Kofoed, Judy Parr, Mei Kuin Lai, and Viviane Robinson
The researchers investigated the impact of a literacy intervention on reading and writing and the sustainability of the programme. Data on reading and writing achievement showed that while the latter was at national levels, the former was significantly below. It was concluded that the reading data collected by teachers were unreliable, and reading levels were probably comparable to writing levels.
Every school leader and teacher knows that the challenges of change are constant and ongoing. Expectations have risen. The material for Weaving Evidence, Inquiry and Standards to Build Better Schools is based on the authors’ involvement in research and development projects that have successfully accelerated students’ learning and achievement throughout the country. All the authors work closely with schools and know what it takes to tackle the tough problems involved in leading, teaching and learning.
