This case study involves self-study to explore one teacher's practice in regard to a particular curricular goal for early childhood education in Aotearoa, New Zealand. We combined a living theories action research methodology with grounded theory for data analysis. Studying one's own practice produced data that could be used to improve future…

This article describes the drama-based research strategy "researcher-in-role," developed during the two-year "Connecting Curriculum, Connecting Learning" project, based in New Zealand. First, a definition of researcher-in-role is offered along with a survey of relevant literature. Then the evolution and implementation of the…

This article addresses the pedagogy and practice of tertiary learning, and in particular it asks, how is there a need for culturally responsive digital learning? Research shows how, worldwide, classroom content is being delivered through shifting, digitally -infused curriculum (van Dijck, 2013; Netsafe, 2016; Orr, 2016; Revere & Kovach, 2011).…

This paper reports how New Zealand teachers used digital videos from an educational website in science classrooms and how teachers and students viewed the use of videos. The study involved lesson observations in nine different classrooms, student and teacher interviews, and teacher focus group discussions. Multiple qualitative data were analysed…

Technology is one of eight learning areas of the New Zealand national curriculum. It aims to develop a broad technological literacy through students participating in programmes in which the practice of technological development is experienced, as is knowledge informing practice, and students gain an understanding of technology as a domain in its…

This article argues that task representation should be considered as part of the construct of classroom-based academic writing. Task representation is a process that writers move through when creating a unique mental model of the requirements for each new writing task they encounter. Writers' task representations evolve throughout the composing…

Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

This article reports on an action research project in which two New Zealand classroom teachers worked with a university researcher to investigate the effects of their knowledge, thinking, and beliefs on the ways in which they mediated students' learning in teacher-student interactions. Working in a small community of practice over a two-year…

This article examines the extent to which classroom instruction conveyed challenging learning goals in writing through a range of teaching activities and how well the participating students understood those goals. We report an empirical study that examined the quality of writing instructional goals, how well they were conveyed to students through…

"Group is good, and group is good for curing all social ills" was the cynical observation of one of the lecturers in this study. Her comment reflects the uneasiness of lecturers at tertiary institutions with the notion that the educational advantages of group assessments far outweigh the disadvantages, and that such an approach promotes…

Sponsored by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative has sought to develop teachers' research capability and to build knowledge about teaching and learning with the intention of improving outcomes for learners. Fortunate to receive a two-year grant, our research collaboration investigated secondary…

This paper reviews the research carried out in New Zealand classrooms since 1967, including conference papers, theses and dissertations, published articles, and unpublished reports. Classroom research is defined as any work, irrespective of disciplinary affiliation, which is concerned with the actual day to day operation of classroom life. Review…

This project came about after discussions with the general manager of the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association and Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips (University of Waikato) about setting up a research partnership to support the teachers at Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin. The teachers were establishing an integrated community centre (the whanau…

Biotechnology is an expanding area of scientific and community interest, one that it is important students understand because of its potential to impact on them and their communities. The issue for teachers and science and technology educators is how to provide learning experiences in this area. This paper draws on classroom-based research to…

Reports on a study which viewed writing instruction as an interactive social process between the teacher and students. Written responses to student writing assignments assessed content rather than accuracy of spelling or grammar. States that written feedback encouraged greater quantity and quality of writing with spelling accuracy being maintained…