The author describes a study in which videotaped interviews from the NEMP project were analysed to see how children explained their answers to questions involving the commutative (“changing the order”) properties of addition, subtraction and multiplication. Many of the children, having grasped that “turn-arounds” worked in addition, incorrectly applied that ...

Earlier this year 225 primary, intermediate and secondary schools took part in a national consultation on the draft national exemplars. Schools effectively trialled the exemplars and provided feedback on their quality and usefulness. The results, though mixed, were generally positive, and have influenced the ongoing development of national exemplars. They ...

This article draws on a study of three New Zealand primary co-principalships to discuss some alternatives for re-ordering school organisational structures and power relationships. Some recommendations are made for teachers and boards considering this approach for their own schools.

This paper explores differences between scientists’ experiences of science and the investigations that are a common type of learning activity in school science. The first half of the paper makes a case for distinguishing between investigative processes that build new knowledge and those that help students learn knowledge that is ...

Spelling is an important aspect of literacy – but not something that children can “pick up” during reading or writing. Here are some practical suggestions for combining spelling with writing in the primary classroom.

Harvey McQueen reflects on the media’s lack of interest in good news in education, in light of the imminent election of four teachers to the Teachers Council. Looking at the bigger picture, he notes the widening of the learning gap at a time of rapid technological advances in education; the ...

This summary of an extensive literature review highlights the different ways in which peers influence learning, and describes classroom approaches that maximise these peer effects. Learning is enhanced when teachers structure the learning environment to allow students to develop their own knowledge and understandings collectively. The continuum of student interaction ...

Teachers are often asked to work in partnership with others to meet the educational needs of their students. If the partnership is to be successful, it is important that people are clear about why they are in that relationship and what they hope to accomplish together. The authors illustrate their ...

In three separate research projects involving Māori and Pasifika lower SES students in the Auckland region, the dominant theme to emerge is the critical importance of the relationship between teacher and learner. When a positive relationship exists, students are more motivated to learn, they participate more actively in their learning ...

In my editorial for set, Issue No.3, 2001 I wrote, “In the very first bulletin published by NZCER, Educational Research in New Zealand (1935), Dr Beeby, our first director, stated that NZCER needed to feed the curiosity of teachers in a way that acknowledged the demanding environment of the classroom.”