set 2009: no. 3

We are at the end of another year and this brings the final issue of set: Research Information for Teachers for 2009.

The topics covered during the year have been wide ranging and varied, reflecting the depth of educational research that is happening in New Zealand. Research has kept pace with new developments, particularly in assessing the use and value of technology in the classroom; uncovering insights into science education; and exploring the… Read more

Key messages:

• The need to identify students’ language, phonic and alphabet knowledge early on, and to systematically teach those skills in the early years.
• Schools need more support from reading specialists, and access to it needs to be easier.
• Prereading skills should be taught at preschool.

From 2005–8 Mangere Bridge Kindergarten carried out a Centre of Innovation research project exploring the transition between early childhood education and school. Three teacher researchers, supported by two university research associates, developed and researched a range of strategies for supporting children’s learning as the children and their families “crossed the border” between sectors. This article summarises some of the key findings from the project and provides insights into the ways… Read more

The skills of oral narrative and phonological awareness are seen as precursors and predictors of reading development. In this study of bilingual Māori primary school students, Fleur Harris found that current methods of assessing these skills are based on the English language and Western modes of storytelling, and cast these students as “deficit”, instead of uncovering the complex, sophisticated and promising language skills they bring to reading.

Schools and teachers are expected to respond appropriately when they encounter children acting sexually. This article describes the literature on child sexual development and behaviour and the responses of Waikato primary school principals to a questionnaire. Specific issues for New Zealand primary schools and teachers are investigated, with suggestions for child educators to develop relational and collaborative approaches to support children and families.

Several years ago I was awestruck by the bold vision of Wellington’s Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. Their strategic plan has a 500-year time frame. This is, of course, entirely appropriate when you’re seeking to restore a landlocked “island” to its natural state. Setting an inspirational vision—and in time achieving it—requires a deep knowledge of the business, a clarity of purpose and well-articulated values that guide the collective endeavour.

2009 is the 75th anniversary for the New… Read more

When a teacher let her Years 4 and 5 class chose their own science topic to study, they settled on—what else?—farting. This article shows how letting students pursue their own interests led them to real science learning.

This article makes connections between the findings from an evaluation of the Ministry of Health’s Fruit in Schools (FiS) initiative and recent changes in the New Zealand curriculum, in particular in the Health and Physical Education (PE) learning area. It explores the rationale for actively involving students in health promotion at school and describes a range of student-led activities that are connected to the Health and PE learning area. It also explores some of the benefits and… Read more

This companion article to “Enabling students to lead the way” explores the rationale for using a whole-school approach to health and wellbeing, and the connection between this approach and the revised curriculum. Some possible changes that could occur to school actions in regard to health and wellbeing are discussed. The article also explores some of the benefits and challenges of whole-school approaches.

This article explores what a group of Years 11 and 13 students think about history, how they talk about it and what they are interested in studying. It suggests that being aware of student interests and considering how the key competencies relate to history as a subject could open the way for professional conversations about different ways to approach teaching history in high school.