Middle school students – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

The Apiscope Buzz: A mixed methods action research project investigating STEM to STEAM using the Apiscope as a tool for differentiated teaching and learning

Introduction This Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) project was a 2-year exploratory study focusing on differentiating the curriculum in response to individual learner differences. The project was designed to explore learning and teaching of differentiated scientific content through observational processes and the expression of that learning through the creative arts. This exploration was undertaken in two classrooms at Avalon Intermediate School and Newlands Intermediate School that were each provided with an observational beehive called an Apiscope. These observational beehives were central to the project, which explored how the study of bees can be used to facilitate the teaching of key concepts related to living systems—sustainability, work, survival, structures, patterns—that, in

Leading effective goal-setting to improve school outcomes

Introduction Our study highlights how principal leadership of goal-directed practices impacts outcomes. Over 2 years, three academics partnered with three principals and a small “project team” comprising one or more teachers, and one or more middle or senior leaders. All principals were relatively new to their schools; one had been there 2 years, and the other two had been there 12 months prior to the beginning of the project. Two schools were secondary schools (Schools A and C) serving low socioeconomic communities. The other school was a primary school (School B) serving a high socioeconomic community which was challenged by having large numbers of new immigrants—particularly from Asia—and with students with