The quantity and pace of current learning agendas for staff development mean that time is seriously limited for teachers to share ideas and concerns about their classroom practices. Eight teachers using a quality learning circle approach show how their learning is enhanced through opportunities for structured, focused and regular talk ...

Keith Ballard argues that the commitment to individualism and to a commercial market model has implications for our working lives. The ideological belief that we are primarily motivated by self-interest carries with it the implication that we are not to be trusted, but need “incentives” to make us work. Relationships ...

Two strengths of the ARBs are their links to national curriculum statements and the range and control they give teachers and schools over what is to be assessed. They include a set of 96 writing resources for English, covering poetic and transactional writing. In view of positive feedback from ARB ...

In a study based on a survey of Year 11 students, boys reported a higher level of negative writing satisfaction and less writing enjoyment in the English classroom than girls did. Boys and girls preferred different writing genres. While students did not see writing as inherently gender-biased, they did seem ...

How can research findings can be used to develop specific teaching approaches? This UK article concentrates on the potential of shared and guided writing for improving syntactical structure and grammatical awareness within particular genres, especially in the 7–13 age-range.

We know that children learn better when they are supported during new learning by someone who is more expert than they are. At a multi-cultural school in one of the five most “at risk” areas in Auckland, peer tutors were able to learn and operate paired writing techniques, with the ...

It is exciting to be looking ahead to another stimulating year in the life of set: Research Information for Teachers. This year brings two new features, as well as an improved pricing structure.

A survey of the science interests of Year 5 students was attached to Assessment Resource Bank material sent out to schools for trialling in terms 1 and 2, 2001. Overall the results show that there are clear preferences for particular topics/areas of study, though these preferences may vary by gender.

When young children move from one educational setting to another, it is important to understand the context of their prior experiences. Most children starting primary school have already experienced transition. Early childhood transitions include starting at an early childhood service or centre, and moving sequentially or concurrently from one early ...

Each year, the National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) engages teachers to work intensively with children administering a wide range of assessment tasks, and to mark children’s recorded performances. It has been found that teachers benefit enormously professionally and personally from these experiences, taking away many valuable insights about teaching, the ...