Teaching skills – Teaching & Learning Research Initiative

Teaching undergraduate mathematics: Perspectives and interactions

The high demand for mathematics in undergraduate education means that large numbers of students enrol in the subject. Lecturing remains the prime delivery mode for teaching such courses. We addressed undergraduate mathematics’ lecturing through three components: lecturers and their development; student perspectives on mathematics; and interactions in the lecturing environment. We used theoretical frameworks from secondary contexts, developing them for tertiary application. This research aimed to improve the didactics of lecturing, and builds on studies on school/university transitions. Key findings Lecturer professional development based on Schoenfeld’s framework positively influenced lecturing practice in a way acceptable to lecturers. Students believe that learning mathematics involves natural ability; and that it is a subject

What’s special about teaching and learning in the first years? Investigating the “what, hows and whys” of relational pedagogy with infants and toddlers

Introductory statement What is special about teaching infants and toddlers? How can the “what, hows and whys” of infant toddler pedagogy[1] be articulated and enhanced to support learning? These questions were at the heart of a two-year study in which researchers teamed up with teachers in five infant and toddler centres in Auckland and Wellington to gather practice-based evidence about pedagogy as the art and science of teaching and learning in this under-researched area of early childhood education and care. Key findings The study found that theorising about children’s learning through discussions of video data enabled the teachers to “really look” at their teaching and open up taken-for-granted meanings about the

Success for all: Improving Māori and Pasifika student success in degree-level studies

1. Introduction The Success for All project sought to examine the ways in which nonlecture teaching helps or hinders Māori student and Pasifika student success in preparing for or completing degree-level studies. Good practice was to be identified. This report is the final in a series of detailed technical reports from UniServices prepared by the Success for All research team. Purpose The purpose of the Success for All research was four-fold: identify international best practice in nonlecture teaching and learning in university settings deliver high-quality research on the nature of nonlecture teaching and learning practices that help or hinder Māori and Pasifika student success in preparing for or completing degree-level study

Zeroing in on quality teaching: Reducing disparities by building teachers’ capacities and capabilities with respect to integrative approaches to curriculum delivery, using appropriate pedagogies

He aha te mea nui? He tangata, he tangata What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people Introduction This research project—a collaborative venture between two primary schools and Massey University—had its origins in the experience of the principal of one school She had developed and used integrated forms of curriculum delivery and associated pedagogies in other schools she had led. She believed that integrative curriculum designs positively influenced a number of key learning and teaching conditions, especially those connected with student engagement and community involvement, and that the use of integrative designs impacted positively on the achievement of students. James Beane (1997) describes the theory and practice