What excites primary pupils about writing in school and what switches them off? This was the question explored by one Cambridgeshire primary school in a classroom-based investigation focusing on pupils’ perspectives on effective learning. The investigation gave teachers valuable insights into children’s understanding and responses to writing activities, and helped ...

The author looks at definitions of and research on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and outlines the main forms of intervention, both medical and educational. He describes how the principles of intervention can be applied, in the context of the school or the home.

CLICK!: Computers and Learning In Classrooms: K-6 is a teacher professional development resource in the effective use of technology in the primary classroom, developed by the Department of Science and Mathematics Education of the University of Melbourne, which specifically aims to support “technology leaders”. The case studies describe how primary ...

As the new Director of NZCER, I am delighted to write this editorial for set – a publication which I know very well. Louise Stoll’s metaphor of an iceberg caught my imagination as I read the articles in this issue. In her article on school culture, she argues that “as ...

Zoning was abolished in 1991 with the stated aim of increasing choice for parents. Ministry of Education data show a considerable shift of student populations between schools, leading towards a dual system of higher and middle decile schools for the (mostly Pakeha) middle classes, and lower decile schools for the ...

The Good Talk project investigated how to develop children’s skills more effectively in the Interpersonal Speaking and Listening Achievement Objectives in English, and in some of the Essential Skill areas, through strategies for improving group discussion. The results have useful implications for teaching. They show that children can reflect seriously ...

Fewer than 4% of primary and intermediate schools have half the 7.8% Pacific nations children. Only 2% of primary teachers are of similar background. A study of Pacific students at Wellington College of Education highlights some of the difficulties they face, and what colleges of education and tutors can do ...

As NZCER trials its Assessment Resource Banks for science, the patterns of student answers can help teachers to understand and address student errors and areas of difficulty. This article focuses on the ARBs for science achievement objective 3, Planet Earth and Beyond.

An effective behaviour management programme must focus on the behaviour of the whole school, not just the behaviour of students. This requires refocusing on the school’s core values, using a quality schools model developed over a number of years, ideas from the literature on quality, effective schools, school improvement and ...

Establishing credibility with a group of students for the first time is transactional and often complex. This article uses a case study of an initial classroom encounter to show how things can go wrong. Suggestions for improved classroom practice are first made from a common sense perspective, calling on classroom ...