title: Designing a teacher development programme to enhance the teaching of higher order thinking and conceptual understanding in primary school social studies

authors: Barr, Hugh

abstract: While higher order thinking has always been regarded as an essential component of social studies education, personal observations over a number of years and the findings of a survey which examined New Zealand social studies between 1984 and 1986 indicated that higher order thinking skills were generally taught ineffectively in social studies classrooms in New Zealand schools. This thesis describes a small scale action research project concerned with the development of an intervention process designed to enhance the teaching of higher order thinking skills by affecting changes in teacher understanding and teacher behaviour.

The project sought to determine the extent to which teachers provided learning activities which were likely to bring about higher order thinking; the degree to which higher order thinking skills were used in activities to achieve particular goals; and those aspects of teacher behaviour or understanding which limited opportunity for students to engage in higher order thinking in primary school social studies. Once data had been obtained, the project team, the researcher and six classroom teachers, developed an intervention programme designed to encourage teachers to adopt behaviours which would lead to improved higher order thinking in social studies classrooms.

Elements of both quantitative and qualitative methodology were used in the project, but, because it was primarily concerned with the effects of intervention on the functioning of people in a particular social situation, the project followed an action research model in its structure and in most methods. 

The intervention was based on a model which grouped the individual thinking skills in the national social studies curriculum into six groups of analogous skills. The groupings were made on the assumption that one reason teachers used higher order thinking skills ineffectively in social studies, was that they found it impractical to apply the long lists of specific skills provided by the national curriculum. The model was also designed to demonstrate the relationship between specific thinking skills and conceptual understanding because, although the national curriculum emphasised the importance of both of these in classroom social studies, the relationship between the two was not made clear either in that document, or in earlier national curricula.

The model was designed to provide teachers with a representation of the thinking processes in social studies. However, it also proved useful as an analytical tool. In the observations which were a major part of the project, the model was used to identify the thinking skills dominant and evident in classroom learning activities. In a series of detailed classroom observations the researcher recorded and examined teacher questions, time allocated to classroom activities, skills emphasised and evident in learning activities, and teacher understanding of the nature and structure of social studies. In the intervention which followed the observations, members of the research team modified the original model and developed further models which related the intent of the original to the structure of the national curriculum and to classroom practice. These models were applied, and a second series of observations conducted.

At the time that this project took place New Zealand teachers were teaching social studies from the first draft of a new national curriculum. This draft has since been superseded by a further draft Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (Revised Draft) (New Zealand Ministry of Education 1996) and by the final version of the national curriculum, Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (New Zealand Ministry of Education 1997). The teaching and learning activities in the case studies in this paper are based on the first draft of the national social studies curriculum.

This project was a case study in one school, an action research model that sought to diagnose a particular problem in one setting, plan remedial action to deal with the problem and monitor the results of that action. Because the research field was limited to one setting, and because the research sample was necessarily small, it is not possible to make generalisations that can be applied to contexts wider than the one in which the research took place. In qualitative research conclusions point to possible new policies rather than to scientific generalisations and principles. Nonetheless, the project’s results suggest that when teachers understand the nature, purpose and structure of social studies education, planning and teaching are more effective. Teacher understanding can be enhanced through the use of a model when that model is simple, when it has practical classroom application and when teachers are themselves involved in its design and construction.

text: Designing a teacher development programme to enhance the teaching of higher order thinking and conceptual understanding in primary school social studies While higher order thinking has always been regarded as an essential component of social studies education, personal observations over a number of years and the findings of a survey which examined New Zealand social studies between 1984 and 1986 indicated that higher order thinking skills were generally taught ineffectively in social studies classrooms in New Zealand schools. This thesis describes a small scale action research project concerned with the development of an intervention process designed to enhance the teaching of higher order thinking skills by affecting changes in teacher understanding and teacher behaviour.

The project sought to determine the extent to which teachers provided learning activities which were likely to bring about higher order thinking; the degree to which higher order thinking skills were used in activities to achieve particular goals; and those aspects of teacher behaviour or understanding which limited opportunity for students to engage in higher order thinking in primary school social studies. Once data had been obtained, the project team, the researcher and six classroom teachers, developed an intervention programme designed to encourage teachers to adopt behaviours which would lead to improved higher order thinking in social studies classrooms.

Elements of both quantitative and qualitative methodology were used in the project, but, because it was primarily concerned with the effects of intervention on the functioning of people in a particular social situation, the project followed an action research model in its structure and in most methods. 

The intervention was based on a model which grouped the individual thinking skills in the national social studies curriculum into six groups of analogous skills. The groupings were made on the assumption that one reason teachers used higher order thinking skills ineffectively in social studies, was that they found it impractical to apply the long lists of specific skills provided by the national curriculum. The model was also designed to demonstrate the relationship between specific thinking skills and conceptual understanding because, although the national curriculum emphasised the importance of both of these in classroom social studies, the relationship between the two was not made clear either in that document, or in earlier national curricula.

The model was designed to provide teachers with a representation of the thinking processes in social studies. However, it also proved useful as an analytical tool. In the observations which were a major part of the project, the model was used to identify the thinking skills dominant and evident in classroom learning activities. In a series of detailed classroom observations the researcher recorded and examined teacher questions, time allocated to classroom activities, skills emphasised and evident in learning activities, and teacher understanding of the nature and structure of social studies. In the intervention which followed the observations, members of the research team modified the original model and developed further models which related the intent of the original to the structure of the national curriculum and to classroom practice. These models were applied, and a second series of observations conducted.

At the time that this project took place New Zealand teachers were teaching social studies from the first draft of a new national curriculum. This draft has since been superseded by a further draft Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (Revised Draft) (New Zealand Ministry of Education 1996) and by the final version of the national curriculum, Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (New Zealand Ministry of Education 1997). The teaching and learning activities in the case studies in this paper are based on the first draft of the national social studies curriculum.

This project was a case study in one school, an action research model that sought to diagnose a particular problem in one setting, plan remedial action to deal with the problem and monitor the results of that action. Because the research field was limited to one setting, and because the research sample was necessarily small, it is not possible to make generalisations that can be applied to contexts wider than the one in which the research took place. In qualitative research conclusions point to possible new policies rather than to scientific generalisations and principles. Nonetheless, the project’s results suggest that when teachers understand the nature, purpose and structure of social studies education, planning and teaching are more effective. Teacher understanding can be enhanced through the use of a model when that model is simple, when it has practical classroom application and when teachers are themselves involved in its design and construction.

year: 1998

title: The value of collective reputation for environmentally friendly production methods: the case of Val di Gresta

authors: Scarpa, Riccardo

subjects: mixed logit

abstract: This paper investigates preferences for various environment-friendly production systems using 1949 choices from a sample of 240 respondents that chose amongst different types of carrots. The and multi-attribute stated-preference data collection was based on an experimental designed tailored to identify interaction effects between production methods and place of origin we estimate the effect of collective reputations for growers of an Alpine valley known to be completely dedicated to organic production. The implied WTP distributions are positve for organic and integrated pest management and provide evidence of recognition of a collective reputation for environmentally friendly production methods. Marginal utility of income is found to be systematically linked to socio-economic covariates, while unobserved heterogeneity is found for organic and bio-dynamic production methods and for place of origin, but not for integrated pest management. WTP for organic produce from Val di Gresta is found to be around 1-2 euro/kg depending on budget constraints, and not statistically significant for bio-dynamic production. The study confirms the existence of the growers' reputation for EFPMs and provides an empirical estimate of the premium the market awards to such a reputation.

text: The value of collective reputation for environmentally friendly production methods: the case of Val di Gresta This paper investigates preferences for various environment-friendly production systems using 1949 choices from a sample of 240 respondents that chose amongst different types of carrots. The and multi-attribute stated-preference data collection was based on an experimental designed tailored to identify interaction effects between production methods and place of origin we estimate the effect of collective reputations for growers of an Alpine valley known to be completely dedicated to organic production. The implied WTP distributions are positve for organic and integrated pest management and provide evidence of recognition of a collective reputation for environmentally friendly production methods. Marginal utility of income is found to be systematically linked to socio-economic covariates, while unobserved heterogeneity is found for organic and bio-dynamic production methods and for place of origin, but not for integrated pest management. WTP for organic produce from Val di Gresta is found to be around 1-2 euro/kg depending on budget constraints, and not statistically significant for bio-dynamic production. The study confirms the existence of the growers' reputation for EFPMs and provides an empirical estimate of the premium the market awards to such a reputation.

year: 2007-09

title: Ya got ta know when ta hold ‘em: Maori women and gambling

authors: Morrison, Laurie Elena

subjects: Maori

abstract: Gambling among Maori women is under-researched. In this study, I interviewed thirty Maori
women to investigate how they got involved in gambling, what maintained their gambling and
what they thought might help to moderate their gambling. I found that the whanau was central
to understanding these issues. As children, my participants were exposed to gambling within
their whanau. As adults, whanau and other social support relationships were an integral part of
their gambling, which most commonly occurred in the context of card schools and housie. A
sense of reciprocity was important in both forms of gambling. Card schools were reported to be
close-knit groups within which the money circulated, giving all a chance to win. By playing
housie, the women felt that they were contributing to the welfare of their marae. Through the
social bonds of gambling and the acquisition of skills, gambling contributed to these women’s
sense of identity. On the other hand, financial and relationship difficulties were identified as
negative consequences of gambling. The women felt there was a need for Maori-focused
services for problem gambling.

text: Ya got ta know when ta hold ‘em: Maori women and gambling Gambling among Maori women is under-researched. In this study, I interviewed thirty Maori
women to investigate how they got involved in gambling, what maintained their gambling and
what they thought might help to moderate their gambling. I found that the whanau was central
to understanding these issues. As children, my participants were exposed to gambling within
their whanau. As adults, whanau and other social support relationships were an integral part of
their gambling, which most commonly occurred in the context of card schools and housie. A
sense of reciprocity was important in both forms of gambling. Card schools were reported to be
close-knit groups within which the money circulated, giving all a chance to win. By playing
housie, the women felt that they were contributing to the welfare of their marae. Through the
social bonds of gambling and the acquisition of skills, gambling contributed to these women’s
sense of identity. On the other hand, financial and relationship difficulties were identified as
negative consequences of gambling. The women felt there was a need for Maori-focused
services for problem gambling.

year: 1999