Zeroing
in on quality teaching
January –
December 2005
Christina Harwood, Massey University College of Education
Project Aim
Zeroing in
on Quality Teaching: reducing disparities by building teachers’
capacities/ capabilities with respect to integrative approaches
to curriculum delivery using allied pedagogies.
Project
Plan
The project
is a collaborative venture between two primary schools and Massey
University, initiated in the first instance by the principals
of the two schools.
The schools have embarked on a collaborative and intensive year
of professional development during 2004 focused on implementing
integrative approaches to curriculum design with associated pedagogies.
The schools believed that by implementing curriculum integration
as described by Beane (1997), the room for potential disconnection
of curriculum from student’s lives would be minimised. In
addition, it was anticipated that teachers would be more likely
to incorporate pedagogical methodologies and practices that focused
on students taking charge of their own learning (Alton-Lee, 2003)
and thus, learning outcomes (academic, social and cognitive) would
be enhanced. While the ‘content’ of the professional
development was related to developing specific forms of curriculum
delivery and related pedagogies, the substance of the professional
development twofold:
1. To
raise the achievement of all students in the schools with a particular
focus on the achievement of Mäori students; and
2. To develop communities of practice to enable a proactive and
sustained focus on learning.
Partnerships involved
- Opunake
Primary School
- Eltham
Primary School
Expected Outcomes
The overall
aims of the research project are to collaboratively explore and
identify the multiple impacts of curriculum and pedagogical innovation
on learning outcomes for students, and especially Mäori students.
The research will examine how changes implemented as a result
of professional development initiatives in 2004 have influenced:
- Individual
teacher practice and the practice of professional learning communities
within and between the schools
- Student
engagement in learning
- Community
involvement and participation
- The relationship
of these factors with student achievement, especially for Mäori
students.
Selected Publications
Download
the summary report [pdf, 89 KB]
Download
the full report (part1) [pdf, 308KB]
Back
to 2004 Projects
For more information email
us or contact us at: PO Box 3237, Wellington, New Zealand.
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