Journal article

How do we support learning and teaching about complex issues? Researchers from the University of Auckland worked with 54 students and teachers from three Auckland secondary schools to evaluate health-science learning designed to investigate this question. The instructional strategies based on context familiarity, systems thinking, and narrative pedagogies can be adapted to support learning about other contexts involving complex issues.

Late in 2022 Julie Roberts and Jonathan Fisher caught up with Rob Proffitt-White to find out about the recent professional learning workshops he ran with teachers and school leaders around New Zealand. They asked Rob about the underlying approach to the short-term Just-in-Time Maths initiative and his thoughts about future professional learning in mathematics.

Parents of Pacific learners are clear about what they want their childrens’ teachers to know. Teachers can make good sense of such knowledge when it is gifted to them if they are well-supported. This article is a preliminary account of a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project, Learning From Each Other. The article describes an appropriate learning framework to support teachers of Pacific learners which leverages the potential of parent–teacher relationships to be the beating heart of Pacific education. The argument, driven by data from two case studies, points to the significance of a number of features as framework elements when seeking sustained positive change in Pacific education. These are: a context in which teachers see, and are motivated by, a need for change; talanoa as supportive exploratory process; exposure to resources (Pacific parent voice, Pacific origin theory, navigators); sufficient opportunity to learn; and a growth mindset. By linking these elements into a framework, we seek to support the effectiveness of activities designed to help teachers serve their Pacific (and other) learners better.

The connection between the environment and our individual wellbeing can be seen through our indigenous histories, traditional ways of living, and understanding of health benefits of living in balance with our land, water, and sky. Educational settings can be reimagined and transformed to better use outdoor spaces and build the wellbeing of our tamariki and their whānau. This article shares learnings from five communities that have been on a journey to understand how to redesign and use their educational spaces differently so that their students, and the wider communities they serve, can experience improved wellbeing.

Different terms are used to describe pedagogy that moves away from the transmission of content and moves towards teaching and learning that builds from the learner’s own experiences in a more responsive and interactive manner. We understand this as developing “cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy”. Rongohia te Hau processes were developed to understand how effectively culturally responsive pedagogy was being introduced or maintained in early childhood settings or schools. The Rongohia te Hau processes of walkthrough observations and surveys ask teachers, students, and whānau critical questions about their learning experiences. This article discusses these processes and provides examples of the data produced to help understand how the pedagogy is being understood across the setting to inform strategic direction.

This article is written in response to listening to teachers query the place of fun in learning. Students often express that learning should be fun but teachers are often unsure what they mean by this and whether fun is actually important to learning. We have drawn some relevant understandings and views together to promote further conversation and learning around these questions in support of our professional development work alongside teachers, leaders, students, and whānau to develop effective relational and responsive pedagogy.

Rangahau Mātauranga o Aotearoa / New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) is refreshing the PAT mathematics assessments. As the owners and administrators of PATs and strong proponents of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, NZCER has a responsibility to ensure our assessments evolve and reflect the unique context of Aotearoa New Zealand. The following article outlines the PAT mathematics voyage as we refresh our assessments to be more equitable, culturally relevant, authentic, and accessible for diverse learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. Concepts of whakatere tōmua—wayfinding—anchor this refresh mahi and our aspirations for this complex journey of change.