Developing Teacher–Researcher Partnerships to Investigate Best Practices: Literacy Learning and Teaching in Content Areas of the Secondary School

2006–2007
Dr Trevor McDonald, Education Associates Ltd.

Project aim

This project aims to identify a range of literacy teaching approaches for use in secondary content area classrooms that will positively impact on the achievement of a wide range of students through focusing on the following issues:

• the extent to which a focus on improving literacy teaching practice lead to increased student achievement
• the extent to which research partnerships can support the professional learning needs of teachers in relation to advancing student knowledge and skills to meet content area literacy challenges and assessment demands
• the identification of which elements of current pedagogical practice positively impact on student achievement
• the identification of ways in which research partnerships can enhance our understanding of the practices that will positively affect the learning outcomes of a wider range of students
• an analysis of how and which teaching approaches can lead to long term changes in student literacy behaviours.

  
Project plan

This research partnership project seeks to identify the extent to which:

• Assessment driven and evaluated teaching approaches that reduce disparities and lift literacy achievement across the curriculum can be developed and adopted within the constraints of the school, classroom and curriculum
• The learning needs of students (in all their diversity) can efficiently be recognised and represented within school, curriculum and literacy learning contexts
• The concept of research partnerships that focus on pedagogical knowledge, literacy learning and achievement can facilitate the development of semi-autonomous professional learning communities.

In order to achieve these ends the following steps are necessary:

• collection of student assessment data collection, student focus group interviews, teacher concept map development and individual interview and group analysis of findings by involved teachers and researchers
• identification of teaching and learning goals arising from the above
• teacher trial of goals, reflection, researcher support
• collaborative review of findings by all involved teachers and researchers
• repeated student assessments and review after one and two years
• collaborative review of findings by all involved teachers and researchers
• dissemination of results.

  
Partnerships involved

Education Associates Ltd., Teulia Consultancies, Auckland SDA High School, Roxburgh Area School, Waitaki Girls’ High School.

Expected outcomes

Increased student achievement and participation in the learning activities of the school; greater teacher and researcher knowledge and understanding of the complexities of literacy learning in secondary classrooms; explanation and elaboration of effective literacy learning for diverse secondary students; greater knowledge of the “teacher-researcher” partnership as a tool for professional learning.
  

Selected Publications

Download the summary of the project report [pdf, 112 KB]
Download the full text of the project report [pdf, 537 KB]

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