title: New teachers respond to curriculum policy in a Master of Teaching and Learning Programme: A collection of working papers

authors: Hunter, Philippa Anne

abstract: How do new teachers in a Master of Teaching and Learning [MTchgLn] programme read, make sense of, and reflect on The New Zealand Curriculum [NZC] as policy intent, implementation and outcomes? (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2007). Why is scrutiny of educational policy an essential dimension of pedagogy in teacher education? And, what can new teachers’ analyses and responses to the NZC teach us in light of the profession’s powerful discourse of experience? This collection of working papers is shared by a group of Waikato University MTchgLn (2017) new teachers of primary and secondary curriculum. The writing evolved from an assignment to a publication opportunity. When we discussed the group’s professional identity as writers for the journal, it was agreed that the identity of ‘new teachers’ felt like a comfortable naming of initial teacher positioning and role. My involvement in introducing this collection of papers is grounded in the co-ordination and design of an MTchgLn curriculum paper, and my professional identities as teacher, assessor, researcher, mentor, professional colleague and advocate (Alsup, 2006; Britzman, 2003; Danielewicz, 2001; Hunter, 2013; Kincheloe, 2003). My work in teacher education in the fields of history, social sciences, and curriculum studies is shaped by a critical pedagogy stance (Apple, 1982, 1990; Giroux, 1988, 1996; Kincheloe, 2003, 2004). I am interested in problematising pedagogy and asking questions of why we do the things we do as teachers (Hunter, 2013).

text: New teachers respond to curriculum policy in a Master of Teaching and Learning Programme: A collection of working papers How do new teachers in a Master of Teaching and Learning [MTchgLn] programme read, make sense of, and reflect on The New Zealand Curriculum [NZC] as policy intent, implementation and outcomes? (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2007). Why is scrutiny of educational policy an essential dimension of pedagogy in teacher education? And, what can new teachers’ analyses and responses to the NZC teach us in light of the profession’s powerful discourse of experience? This collection of working papers is shared by a group of Waikato University MTchgLn (2017) new teachers of primary and secondary curriculum. The writing evolved from an assignment to a publication opportunity. When we discussed the group’s professional identity as writers for the journal, it was agreed that the identity of ‘new teachers’ felt like a comfortable naming of initial teacher positioning and role. My involvement in introducing this collection of papers is grounded in the co-ordination and design of an MTchgLn curriculum paper, and my professional identities as teacher, assessor, researcher, mentor, professional colleague and advocate (Alsup, 2006; Britzman, 2003; Danielewicz, 2001; Hunter, 2013; Kincheloe, 2003). My work in teacher education in the fields of history, social sciences, and curriculum studies is shaped by a critical pedagogy stance (Apple, 1982, 1990; Giroux, 1988, 1996; Kincheloe, 2003, 2004). I am interested in problematising pedagogy and asking questions of why we do the things we do as teachers (Hunter, 2013).

year: 2017

title: Does Training Improve Performance on a Perspective-taking Task?

authors: Baker, Laura Maree

subjects: perspective-taking

abstract: This study investigated the effect of training on perspective-taking with 22 normally developed adults. The perspective-taking task, similar to that used by McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, Whelan, and Stewart (2007), required the participants read two related statements per trial presented on a computer screen. They pressed one of two keys to indicate if they thought the second statement was true or false. The statements differed along three dimensions, perspective (Self, Other, or Photo), belief (true- or false- belief), and correct response (true or false). Latency to respond, timed from the end of the statement presentation, and accuracy were recorded. A reaction time task, that requiring participants to indicate if a statement ( This is (colour name) ) about a coloured square was true or false, was included to assess the effect of task repetition on response latencies. There were four blocks of reaction time trials alternating with three blocks of perspective-taking trials (Pre-test, Training, and Post-test). During the Training phase there was feedback on the accuracy of each response. Feedback was not given in the Pre-test, Post-test, or reaction time trials. Extended training on the perspective-taking task reduced latencies on this task over and above the decreases seen in the latencies on the reaction time tests, and this reduction generalized to a novel stimulus set.  The Self and Other questions resulted in longer latencies than the Photo questions (both before and after the removal of reaction time) as predicted by Relational Frame Theory. The longer latencies were associated with greater relational complexity and partially replicated the results of McHugh et al. (2007a). These results suggest that training with multiple exemplars can be used to decrease response latencies, and so to improving performance, on a perspective-taking task.

text: Does Training Improve Performance on a Perspective-taking Task? This study investigated the effect of training on perspective-taking with 22 normally developed adults. The perspective-taking task, similar to that used by McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, Whelan, and Stewart (2007), required the participants read two related statements per trial presented on a computer screen. They pressed one of two keys to indicate if they thought the second statement was true or false. The statements differed along three dimensions, perspective (Self, Other, or Photo), belief (true- or false- belief), and correct response (true or false). Latency to respond, timed from the end of the statement presentation, and accuracy were recorded. A reaction time task, that requiring participants to indicate if a statement ( This is (colour name) ) about a coloured square was true or false, was included to assess the effect of task repetition on response latencies. There were four blocks of reaction time trials alternating with three blocks of perspective-taking trials (Pre-test, Training, and Post-test). During the Training phase there was feedback on the accuracy of each response. Feedback was not given in the Pre-test, Post-test, or reaction time trials. Extended training on the perspective-taking task reduced latencies on this task over and above the decreases seen in the latencies on the reaction time tests, and this reduction generalized to a novel stimulus set.  The Self and Other questions resulted in longer latencies than the Photo questions (both before and after the removal of reaction time) as predicted by Relational Frame Theory. The longer latencies were associated with greater relational complexity and partially replicated the results of McHugh et al. (2007a). These results suggest that training with multiple exemplars can be used to decrease response latencies, and so to improving performance, on a perspective-taking task.

year: 2009

title: Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au  – I am the land, the land is me: An autoethnographic investigation of a secondary school teacher’s experience seeking to enrich learning in outdoor  education for Māori students.

authors: Townsend, Jane Emma

subjects: place-responsive

abstract: This thesis is my story as an outdoor educator, as a researcher, and a co-participant reflecting on my own actions and experiences as well as those of my students. In this autoethnography I share my revelations and tensions in my role as an outdoor education teacher seeking to enrich the experiences of Māori students.  Māori culture and history have largely been ignored in the outdoor education classrooms and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand. After teaching the subject for ten years I didn’t perceive that I was perpetuating the same invisibility in my own outdoor education course. Over this time a number of questions that had fermented at the back of my mind came to the fore; ‘why are so few Māori students opting to take outdoor education as a senior secondary school subject?’ and ‘how can I make the subject of outdoor education more desirable and appealing to Māori?’ A place-responsive approach incorporates and values traditional ways of learning through the notion of place and the stories attached to them. The cultural context of learning about and through place has the potential to provide learning opportunities that are relevant and meaningful to all learners but particularly Māori. Place-responsive pedagogies allow outdoor educators to create an environment where language, knowledge, culture and values are normal, valid and legitimate – contexts where Māori students can be themselves. Through this research I have found that the implementation of a place responsive approach has had significant implications for Year twelve outdoor education at Mount Maunganui College. The improvement in Māori student achievement and numbers selecting the subject have  been affirming.

Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au – I am the land, the land is me

text: Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au  – I am the land, the land is me: An autoethnographic investigation of a secondary school teacher’s experience seeking to enrich learning in outdoor  education for Māori students. This thesis is my story as an outdoor educator, as a researcher, and a co-participant reflecting on my own actions and experiences as well as those of my students. In this autoethnography I share my revelations and tensions in my role as an outdoor education teacher seeking to enrich the experiences of Māori students.  Māori culture and history have largely been ignored in the outdoor education classrooms and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand. After teaching the subject for ten years I didn’t perceive that I was perpetuating the same invisibility in my own outdoor education course. Over this time a number of questions that had fermented at the back of my mind came to the fore; ‘why are so few Māori students opting to take outdoor education as a senior secondary school subject?’ and ‘how can I make the subject of outdoor education more desirable and appealing to Māori?’ A place-responsive approach incorporates and values traditional ways of learning through the notion of place and the stories attached to them. The cultural context of learning about and through place has the potential to provide learning opportunities that are relevant and meaningful to all learners but particularly Māori. Place-responsive pedagogies allow outdoor educators to create an environment where language, knowledge, culture and values are normal, valid and legitimate – contexts where Māori students can be themselves. Through this research I have found that the implementation of a place responsive approach has had significant implications for Year twelve outdoor education at Mount Maunganui College. The improvement in Māori student achievement and numbers selecting the subject have  been affirming.

Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au – I am the land, the land is me

year: 2014