Audio Visual Achievement in Literacy, Language and Learning (AVAILLL), an innovative reading programme that supplements normal classroom literacy programmes, has proved to be extremely effective in classrooms within selected schools in Christchurch. Surprisingly, the AVAILLL programme uses popular movies to engage students with quality literature. Struggling readers from both ...

At the beginning of 2005, Red Beach School staff and community began a re-visioning process. We took the time to ask such questions as “What do we believe our school stands for?” Four years down the track, the staff have more clarity about what we believe our students should leave ...

These days, everyone has a mobile phone, even if they might not have a landline. Vardon School recognised the potential for texting to be an effective way to give parents regular feedback on their children’s behaviour in the school playground. By using texts as part of a carefully planned strategy ...

Teachers are keen to adopt new ICTs to support student learning. This article looks at one example—interactive whiteboards. Skilfully used by the teacher, sequences of magnified images wowed students and engaged their interest. The students enjoyed—and learnt from—interacting with the whiteboard and creating animations of their own.

A group of Waikato University researchers watched as a Year 6 class experimented with Scratch, a child-oriented programming language. The software is designed for children to explore programming—it is easy to “tinker” with but also allows sophisticated programs to be created. Set the task of creating a maths addition game ...

NZCER is committed to developing new assessment tools for use by New Zealand schools. Here we describe three of the development projects that are currently underway that may be of interest to teachers and school managers.

We’ve taken a longer time than usual to prepare this issue of set: Research Information for Teachers because we have been working on updating its look so that the articles are more accessible and readable. We hope you think it has been worth the effort. Key information now appears at ...

Student-centred curriculum positions students firmly at the centre of their learning. The democratic teaching pedagogy underpinning this approach involves co-constructed learning with students and teachers planning together. Here, planning for camp provides a practical example of student-centred integration in action.

A series in which we ask a leading researcher to distil three key ideas from their work over the years.

Awatapu College's new Te Pikinga programme supports senior Māori students to realise their potential for tertiary studies. It aims to broaden students' options, encourage their engagement with learning, and increase their presence in senior academic classes. Promising results are emerging.