set 2008: no. 3

This has been an excellent year for set: Research Information for Teachers. We have received positive feedback from our readers; researchers have provided us, often unsolicited, worthwhile and thought-provoking items for publication; and our reviewers have ensured that the usual high quality of articles has been maintained.

The purpose of set has always been to make academic research accessible, interesting, and relevant for… Read more

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

Contemporary understandings about health education underpin one school's response to student and community need by ensuring consistency across the school system and using external providers to enhance this synergy. Supporting student action to improve health and wellbeing can assist schools to meet the intent of the new curriculum.

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.

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.

Memorising a large repertoire of basic facts takes a significant cognitive load off the brain, allowing greater focus on the mathematics being explored. Neill outlines the benefits of having automated basic facts and advises on progressive memorisation of several key number facts.

Feedback is a key component of assessment for learning. This study explored whether a sample of students in Years 3–6 understood their teachers' feedback. The results showed some mismatch between teacher intention and student understanding.

Interviews with primary teachers revealed questions of control of operational curricula. Schools hold significant power over curricula through their organisation, planning, and assessment requirements which sometimes have little educational purpose or benefit. Implications for schools and for teacher agency are discussed.

This article explores how the key competency thinking links with 21st century views of teaching and learning.

This article focuses on planning as a strategy for enhancing teacher pedagogical content knowledge.