Professional development – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

Learning From Each Other: A final report

Introduction Pacific parents and community members have much to contribute to teacher learning and thus to the education of Pacific students. Although the concept of Pacific success, through the education of Pacific students, has become ubiquitous as an aspiration, there has so far been limited research that has conceptualised Pacific education success in community terms. This is especially true in relation to teacher learning, teacher theorising, and changed practice. Understanding how to socialise teachers to generate and sustain new practice possibilities, informed by appreciation of the values, aspirations, and critiques of the Pacific parents and students they seek to serve, is therefore a priority. Learning From Each Other is a Teaching

Enhancing capacity to analyse students’ writing

1. Introduction 1.1 Aims The research, practice, and partnership goals of the Teaching & Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) provided the framework for this project. The aims were aligned to all the principles of TLRI[1] and in particular to Principle One: a strategic principle that aims to reduce inequalities and address diversity, understand the processes of teaching and learning, and, to some extent, explore future possibilities. It also has strong links with the practice goals of Principles Five and Six. These demand that projects should contribute to practice and lead to significant improvements and outcomes for learners. As stated below, this was the guiding principle for this project. Principle Six also states

CoRe: A way to build pedagogical content knowledge for beginning teachers

Research has shown that one of the factors which enables teachers to be effective is their rich pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Beginning teachers need support to develop this PCK and recent research in the field has proposed a conceptual tool known as “content representations”, or CoRes, as a model for doing this. The study reported here brought together science and technology experts in content and pedagogy, early career secondary teachers, and researchers to design a CoRe to assist development of teacher PCK. The study then researched the early career teachers’ use of the CoRe in their planning and delivery of a unit in their classrooms to examine the effect of the

Teachers Learning Mathematics: Professional development research

Introduction The issue of mathematical knowledge of teachers has been documented in New Zealand for 80 years, but no effective long-term solution has been found; indeed, the situation has worsened. For example, the 2004 New Zealand Ministry of Education Teacher Census (Ministry of Education, 2005) showed that 25 percent of secondary school mathematics teachers had no university mathematics qualification—a rise from 21 percent in 1977. This one-year research study, undertaken in 2007, aimed to investigate the development of teachers’ own mathematical knowledge for teaching. Seven secondary teachers used action research methodology to investigate, develop and evaluate some aspect of their mathematical knowledge, completing two cycles over the year. In addition, the

TLRI Mathematics Enhancement Project: Professional Development Research

1. Introduction The research project on professional development reported here was conducted within the context of the Mathematics Enhancement Project. The Mathematics Enhancement Project involves the Mathematics Education Unit of the Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland, working with senior mathematics teachers in low decile secondary schools in the Manukau region. It was the result of a needs analysis conducted in 1999–2000 and is an ongoing development and research endeavour that aims to enhance mathematics achievement at a time when students are making the transition from secondary school to tertiary education. The project works at the student level, at the teacher level, and at the school and parent community level. The

‘Write-on!’: Investigations into relationships between teacher learning and student achievement through writing

1. Aims and objectives The context of the project The original proposal for a research project to address student writing literacy was developed by a group of heads of departments at Kakariki College, (a decile 2 co-educational ethnically diverse suburban secondary school in a main urban centre) who were concerned at the level of students’ achievement in writing within their school. The teachers recognised that NCEA assessment has increased the significance of written language within the senior secondary curriculum, making attaining national qualifications, regardless of subject specialisation, dependent upon competency in writing. This shift is reflected in the national initiatives for building the literacy capability of teachers and learners, such as