363 research outputs found
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The New Zealand curriculum: May the spirit of a draft always be with us
No full textThe New Zealand Curriculum: Draft for Consultation (Ministry of Education, 2006) aims to first “set the direction for learning for all students while at school and will ensure that when they leave, they are equipped for lifelong learning and for living in a world where continual change is the norm” (p. 7), and second, to enable teachers to engage in what they consider to be best practice in teaching and as teachers.This paper considers some issues with this draft concerning school-based curriculum development, enhancing opportunities for an emancipatory curriculum, the place of tikanga Mäori and te ao Mäori, specified competencies and competences, the meaning of managing self, effective pedagogy, values and what we value, and the notion of a curriculum which serves the whole person. Some cautionary notes are also sounded. Any curriculum must be necessarily tentative and flexible enough to accommodate change. The present document
The best of times and the worst of times for young people: A tale of two surveys
No full textThis paper compares information obtained from two surveys of school students. The national Youth2000 survey and the local Whatuora investigation contribute complementary quantitative data on the characteristics and behaviour of young people in New Zealand. As well, there are particular insights about students who are at risk and questions are raised relating to the delivery of human service interventions and regarding further research
Productive conjunctions the design of effective literacy and thinking tools
No full textThe application of research outcomes aligned to a single paradigm can results in the design of polarized classroom pedagogies. In contrast, the application of multi-paradigmatic perspectives can result int eh design of effective literacy and thinking tools.The research outcomes from cognitive and neuro-phychologists adopting normative perspectives, and for linguists and sociologist adopting interpretative perspectives is applied to design two research-based literacy and thinking tools. The fiction meaning grid tool, linked to the reading and writing of narrative and recounts texts, engages stuidents in what neurologists describe as a theory of mind mechanism, and what sociologists adopting a cultural critique approach refer to as the socila construction of identify through texts. The concept frame tool, linked to the reading and writing of report text, reflects the outcomes of normative reseach by cognitive psychologists who have described conceptual represention, and by sociologist who have described how knowledge in constructed. Both these tools illustrate the advantages of adopting multi-paradigmatic perspecProductive Conjunctions
Comment: Setting the standard or standards-setting for teachers in Aotearoa–New Zealand?
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High school students' understanding of sampling variability: Implications for research
No full textConcern about students' difficuluities in statistical reasoning led to a study which explored year 11 (14 to 16 year-olds) students' ideas in this area. The study focussed on sampling variability, probability, descriptive statistics and graphical representations.This paper presents and discusses the ways in which students made sense of sampling variability constructs obtained from the individual interviews. The findings revealed that many of the students used strategies based on beliefs, prior experiences and intuitive strategies.While students showed competence with probability, descritptive statistics and graphical representations tasks, they were less competent on tasks involving sampling variability. This could be due to instructional neglect of this concept or linguistic problems.The paper concludes by suggesting some implications for further reseach.
Trusting teachers: Some thoughts on the relationship between the work of teachers in schools and the national curriculum
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The voices of children in health education
No full textOne of the main objectives in health education in the New Zealand national curriculum is that students should be helped to take responisbility for their own health. However, most decisions about health programmes in primary schools are made by adults.This paper reports findings from a study which sought the views of primary children about their knowledge of helath and their preference for health educaiton content.Children knew more than adults probably realised, but had little say in what they studied. Older primary children knew about controversial topics like drugs and sexuality.However, there were many gaps in their knowledge and they wanted to cover these in health lessons.There are, therefore, implication for school health programmes
Spirit-aware teacher and learner: Relational connectedness in teaching and learning
No full textThe power of education is in its potential transformative effects on individual.Many writers suggest that the prime task of the teachers is to awaken joy and wonderment through creative expression and in the quest for understanding.If education is to be a liberating experience then its central concern must be on the holistic nature of teachers and students creating and nurturing meaningful relational connections with self, others, place and their worlds. This transcends the physical, intellectual, and social and engages the spiritual—the spirit and soul of teachers and students. Teachers are instrumental in enabling students to experience such engagement.This paper explores teachers and the curriculum, relaitonal connectedness, and what it means to be a spirit-aware teacher teaching for spirit-aware learners. Given these comments, some reflections are made on the preparation of teachers
Making links between learning in early childhood education and school using the 'key competencies' framework
No full textWhen children start school it is not just a transition to a new physical context, but also an entry point to a new 'culture' where aspects of teaching, learning and assessment are different, and hence what it means to be a learner is constructed differently. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in making links between school learning and prior to school learning, but considerabel debate about how this can be achieved, given the systemic differences between the two sectors. This paper explores som of the issues for teachers and considers the potential of the current curriculum developments to enhance these links