Student engagement

This article reports on a study of primary-aged students’ perceptions of what makes a good teacher for them. In 2012, as a result of a government directive, the three schools in this study merged into one but still operated across the three school sites. The focus of the study was on the students’ perceptions of their teachers, not the merger. Specifically, this study sought to include students’ self-reporting of how they saw good teachers and teaching.

An early warning system can draw the attention of teachers to students’ learning needs early in the course of study, allow monitoring of progress in student learning, and guide the implementation of instructional interventions. In this article we report on a study in which we examined teachers’ views on using early warning systems to identify students who are “at risk” of failing to complete their NCEA qualifications, and we describe the measures that can be put in place to better support such students to achieve their learning goals.

Student-centred approaches to learning are gaining increasing national and international attention. For many teachers, more democratic teaching  designs require a shift in thinking and practice. This article looks at how teachers unfamiliar with these approaches might transition from a position of power to empowerment by exploring small, manageable changes in practice. It draws on a 9-month participatory action-based research project on student-centred curriculum integration and the teaching practice of the author.

Student-centred curriculum positions students firmly at the centre of their learning. The democratic teaching pedagogy underpinning this approach involves co-constructed learning with students and teachers planning together. Here, planning for camp provides a practical example of student-centred integration in action.