Literacy support and intervention can occur effectively within secondary social studies classes, rather than withdrawing students from regular instruction, by focusing on the literacy skills and knowledge relevant to
that subject. Collaboration between literacy leaders, teachers, and facilitator supports the design and implementation of a coherent literacy intervention, and builds ...

Current national and international research indicates the summer break can negatively affect students’ reading achievement. To counter this effect, our primary school with a range of students worked in collaboration with our local public library to plan and implement a summer reading programme. The purpose of the programme was to ...

This article, based on an 18-month study of effective writing instruction amongst Year 5 to 8 students, concludes that effective implementation of three dimensions of effective practice (learning tasks; direct instruction; self regulation) are probable key levers in generating greater than expected learner gains in writing. It further concludes that ...

The learner-centred and experiential pedagogical approach encouraged by the revised New Zealand Curriculum can be problematic for teachers who are used to delivering courses in teacher-fronted ways. Using the Learning Languages learning area as the context, this article presents the case of one New Zealand teacher who completed an initial ...

Is reading on screen is the same as reading on paper? Is reading comprehension the same in both media? After reviewing relevant research, the article describes and reports the results of an NZCER research project that compared data records from online and paper-based versions of the assessment tool PAT:Reading Comprehension.

The advent of innovation as a privileged policy priority—in New Zealand as in the rest of the world—illustrates the power of the single narrative as a covert advocacy tool for the promotion of an ideology. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a shifting conception of innovation has been used to reinforce the ...

Keynote opening speech

Kia ora. Although I am standing here at an evaluation conference, about to talk about evaluation, I don’t think of myself solely, and possibly not even primarily, as an evaluator. Let me give you a sense of the journey that led me to being here ...

Evaluating the outcomes of social-change initiatives is often conceptualised as a long-term endeavour, where the impacts take some years to assess. This is feasible for large-scale, multiyear initiatives, but challenging for relatively small-scale, community-based projects with short-term funding cycles. This article discusses the evaluation techniques developed to work with a range of short-term community projects funded ...

Based on a keynote presentation to The convergence of evaluation and impact measurement, Annual Conference of the Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association.

“Why does everyone seem unhappy about how the evaluation system works? And if we are all unhappy, why can’t we do something about it?” This question came from a conversation with impact measurement and ...

To feel a sense of place is a fundamental human need and in order to understand people’s experiences, it is critical to understand their place. This article reflects on the findings of the author’s
2014 literature review, which focused on the concept of place and its implications for evaluation design. The author promotes a place-conscious approach ...