Set 2018: no. 2

In June 2016, Paraparaumu College and Kenakena School, from the Kāpiti Coast, investigated the use of digital technology in supporting a personalised learning framework. This article presents three case studies of how personalisation was used, and explains the development of markers of personalisation for the two schools.

This article explores the experiences of Chinese international secondary school students who were in danger of not achieving NCEA credits. Research suggests schools value the income students bring, but little research has explored the nature of the support such students require. The at-risk students in this study had clear suggestions for change: classrooms where students and teachers know each other so international students do not feel as “strangers” in the classrooms; carefully structured… Read more

Building on earlier work in Set on “confusion” around the term constructivism in education, this article explores four different meanings of constructivism, looking at their very different origins and purposes. It argues that mixing up these meanings has produced the confusion identified in the earlier article. The article also suggests that constructivism has been pushed to its limits as a framework for thinking about teaching, learning and/or… Read more

There is increasing recognition that the underachievement of Māori, Pasifika, and other diverse students in New Zealand schools is in large part owing to systemic factors that disadvantage these students. Responding to the urgent need for significant change in our schools and classrooms, the developing mathematical inquiry communities model is a research-based approach to mathematics teaching involving culturally responsive and culturally sustaining pedagogical practices that reflect… Read more

The focus on teacher inquiry to enhance student learning is a key feature of The New Zealand Curriculum and in New Zealand’s approach to teacher professional learning. This article examines how a collaborative inquiry team comprising two teachers (one each from two Auckland primary schools) and a teacher educator used inquiry to address equity-linked problems of practice. The findings showed that working collaboratively on practice problems was more than sharing… Read more

This article considers the important matter of language availability in the lives of babies and children. Without this language availability, knowing, thinking, and expression cannot blossom and mature. It draws on insights gained  during a research study of 5–6-year-old children in low socioeconomic schools, designed to explore the impact of language availability on their expressive capabilities. In particular, it focuses on the demonstrable language uptake and learning potential of… Read more

In Q&A Pam Hook reflects on what drew her to SOLO taxonomy and why she is so motivated to develop its classroom-based use to enhance student learning. She explains what SOLO is and how it can help students to articulate their learning outcomes, understand the learning process, and set new learning goals over time. I also asked her to highlight some of the pitfalls that teachers may want to avoid, and to point teachers in the direction of free SOLO resources available through her… Read more

An assessment seminar series in the April 2018 school holidays saw the launch of the New Zealand Assessment Institute (NZAI), and growing excitement about innovative assessment practice across the primary and secondary school sectors. What happened at this seminar series to generate enthusiasm, especially given schools’ uncertainty about assessment in the midst of considerable change in education this year? What is NZAI? This Assessment News article informs readers about the Rethinking… Read more