title: Embracing innovation and gaining ‘ownership’ of the social studies exemplars: A classroom based study

authors: Ramsbottom, Rosamund

subjects: social studies pedagogy

abstract: This research supports the on-going national research that has accompanied the
development and implementation of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social
studies curriculum exemplars (2004). A social studies exemplar is a sample of authentic
student work annotated to illustrate learning, achievement and quality in relation to levels 1-
5 of Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (SSNZC, 1997). The aim of the research
was to support teachers to implement the social studies curriculum exemplars in informed
ways by encouraging and promoting the use of the social studies exemplars as models of
 quality  social studies teaching. This small scale qualitative research was undertaken by a
syndicate of four Years 5/6 teachers and the researcher. The four primary teachers assumed
roles of teacher-researchers and worked together collegially with the researcher within a
community of practice to co-construct the research process. The research involved
incorporating aspects of the exemplars into their social studies programmes during 2006.
The community of practice engaged in regular collegial conversations relating to the
exemplars. Three of these narratives were taped semi-structured conversations captured in
situ. Transcripts of student-teacher conversations were collected, analysed and commented
upon to provide some information about student learning outcomes in relation to the
exemplars.
The notion of reciprocity underpinned this research, since it involved the researcher being
willing to contribute to the research in return for the teachers' time and involvement in the
study. The support and guidance provided by the researcher was provided as an outcome of
her experience in teaching social studies for the School of Education.
The research takes into account contemporary ideas about learning and teaching theory, as
well as the nature of social studies pedagogy. It examines the implications of sociocultural
processes for learning with its emphasis on interaction and collaborative learning
iv
environments. The research context and the methodology were informed by new
understandings about the empowerment of teachers implementing their own professional
development and conducting research into their own practice.
This research makes a contribution to the field of social studies curriculum and wider
professional contexts by informing pre-service teachers' understandings of the intent and
use of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social studies curriculum exemplars.
Additionally, it supports in-service social studies professional development, illustrates
processes around communities of practice and exemplifies social studies pedagogy.

text: Embracing innovation and gaining ‘ownership’ of the social studies exemplars: A classroom based study This research supports the on-going national research that has accompanied the
development and implementation of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social
studies curriculum exemplars (2004). A social studies exemplar is a sample of authentic
student work annotated to illustrate learning, achievement and quality in relation to levels 1-
5 of Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (SSNZC, 1997). The aim of the research
was to support teachers to implement the social studies curriculum exemplars in informed
ways by encouraging and promoting the use of the social studies exemplars as models of
 quality  social studies teaching. This small scale qualitative research was undertaken by a
syndicate of four Years 5/6 teachers and the researcher. The four primary teachers assumed
roles of teacher-researchers and worked together collegially with the researcher within a
community of practice to co-construct the research process. The research involved
incorporating aspects of the exemplars into their social studies programmes during 2006.
The community of practice engaged in regular collegial conversations relating to the
exemplars. Three of these narratives were taped semi-structured conversations captured in
situ. Transcripts of student-teacher conversations were collected, analysed and commented
upon to provide some information about student learning outcomes in relation to the
exemplars.
The notion of reciprocity underpinned this research, since it involved the researcher being
willing to contribute to the research in return for the teachers' time and involvement in the
study. The support and guidance provided by the researcher was provided as an outcome of
her experience in teaching social studies for the School of Education.
The research takes into account contemporary ideas about learning and teaching theory, as
well as the nature of social studies pedagogy. It examines the implications of sociocultural
processes for learning with its emphasis on interaction and collaborative learning
iv
environments. The research context and the methodology were informed by new
understandings about the empowerment of teachers implementing their own professional
development and conducting research into their own practice.
This research makes a contribution to the field of social studies curriculum and wider
professional contexts by informing pre-service teachers' understandings of the intent and
use of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's social studies curriculum exemplars.
Additionally, it supports in-service social studies professional development, illustrates
processes around communities of practice and exemplifies social studies pedagogy.

year: 2007

title: Development and experimental analysis of a pneumatic based dibbling machine for a forestry nursery

authors: McGuinness, Benjamin John

subjects: Automation

abstract: The rejection rate of tree stock in a forestry nursery can be as high as 35%. This is attributed to plant physiology, poorly trained seasonal workers and unsophisticated equipment. It is estimated that approximately 5% of seedling rejection in the pilot nursery (approximately 220,000 per year) is due to poorly dibbled holes. These holes are typically dibbled using a spiked wheel, which produces crooked and imprecise holes. The poor-quality holes cause bends in the stems, resulting in rejection. This article presents a tractor-drawn mechatronic dibbling machine that can produce precise vertical holes of a specified depth, spacing and diameter. Both hole quality and dibbling efficiency are greatly improved. The machine was tested at a nursery and produced 98% of the holes at the desired angle and 94% at the desired depth. The unwanted stem bends were eliminated with a subsequent reduction in rejects. Furthermore, it was found that worker productivity increased, as they did not have to spend time setting seedlings vertically.

text: Development and experimental analysis of a pneumatic based dibbling machine for a forestry nursery The rejection rate of tree stock in a forestry nursery can be as high as 35%. This is attributed to plant physiology, poorly trained seasonal workers and unsophisticated equipment. It is estimated that approximately 5% of seedling rejection in the pilot nursery (approximately 220,000 per year) is due to poorly dibbled holes. These holes are typically dibbled using a spiked wheel, which produces crooked and imprecise holes. The poor-quality holes cause bends in the stems, resulting in rejection. This article presents a tractor-drawn mechatronic dibbling machine that can produce precise vertical holes of a specified depth, spacing and diameter. Both hole quality and dibbling efficiency are greatly improved. The machine was tested at a nursery and produced 98% of the holes at the desired angle and 94% at the desired depth. The unwanted stem bends were eliminated with a subsequent reduction in rejects. Furthermore, it was found that worker productivity increased, as they did not have to spend time setting seedlings vertically.

year: 2022

title: Iwi cultural identity: The praxis of tūpuna narrative

authors: Williams, Amelia Amy Tuihana

subjects: Māori

abstract: This research is a narrative-based study of tūpuna narrative practices. As a privileged medium tūpuna narratives construct the conditions of iwi praxis which leads to mana-motuhake: the political independence and self-determination of Māori. This study explores how the Ngāti Koi applied ‘tūpuna narratives’ to challenge the hegemonic identity imposed on them that effectively alienated and silenced them erasing their memories of who they were and are. It is an auto-ethnography of an iwi, a whānau, a family it is a story about the writer. While this may seem a personal objective, the result indicates a cultural problematic in that the search for identity involves a critical kaupapa Māori investigation for an iwi to make sense of the act of colonisation, the colonial institutions that named them and the revitalization of their iwi identity in a Treaty of Waitangi context.  

This study has found that ‘tūpuna narratives’ represent identity conceptions that have implications for traditional normative practices. In narrative study there are no prescribed means for unearthing and creating meanings, research methods take the form of co-construction, the emphasis is on doing what is necessary to capture the lived experiences of iwi in terms of their particular-and-unique circumstances. Over time dominant theories have tended to align narrative practices with journalism, storytelling, myth and legend, tale and fable diminishing its conceptual role as the ‘epistemological other’ of the social sciences. 

The findings of this research illustrate the significant limitations of these theories. Narrative research is considered both a research method ‘in itself’ and also the phenomenon under study. In this study, narrative is applied as a conceptual metaphor to create interpreted descriptions, to understand and link causal historical and personal events to colonial institutional decision-making. Placed within the conceptual constellation of Kaupapa Māori narrative methodology becomes a powerful tool for change: creating the conditions of iwi praxis which is the making, the transformation and revitalisation of iwi cultural identity. 

As I write Hauraki enters a Treaty of Waitangi ‘settled world’ the settlement formulae premised on the falsified stories begat by nineteenth-century institutional decision-makers. These stories have created a legacy of unease as open inter iwi hostilities are unleashed. Treaty settlements should result in rangimarie-peace, justice and praxis for iwi both internal to, and external of its polity and cultural borders. Clearly, they do not and the need for tūpuna narratives, free of colonial-institutional storying, remains.

text: Iwi cultural identity: The praxis of tūpuna narrative This research is a narrative-based study of tūpuna narrative practices. As a privileged medium tūpuna narratives construct the conditions of iwi praxis which leads to mana-motuhake: the political independence and self-determination of Māori. This study explores how the Ngāti Koi applied ‘tūpuna narratives’ to challenge the hegemonic identity imposed on them that effectively alienated and silenced them erasing their memories of who they were and are. It is an auto-ethnography of an iwi, a whānau, a family it is a story about the writer. While this may seem a personal objective, the result indicates a cultural problematic in that the search for identity involves a critical kaupapa Māori investigation for an iwi to make sense of the act of colonisation, the colonial institutions that named them and the revitalization of their iwi identity in a Treaty of Waitangi context.  

This study has found that ‘tūpuna narratives’ represent identity conceptions that have implications for traditional normative practices. In narrative study there are no prescribed means for unearthing and creating meanings, research methods take the form of co-construction, the emphasis is on doing what is necessary to capture the lived experiences of iwi in terms of their particular-and-unique circumstances. Over time dominant theories have tended to align narrative practices with journalism, storytelling, myth and legend, tale and fable diminishing its conceptual role as the ‘epistemological other’ of the social sciences. 

The findings of this research illustrate the significant limitations of these theories. Narrative research is considered both a research method ‘in itself’ and also the phenomenon under study. In this study, narrative is applied as a conceptual metaphor to create interpreted descriptions, to understand and link causal historical and personal events to colonial institutional decision-making. Placed within the conceptual constellation of Kaupapa Māori narrative methodology becomes a powerful tool for change: creating the conditions of iwi praxis which is the making, the transformation and revitalisation of iwi cultural identity. 

As I write Hauraki enters a Treaty of Waitangi ‘settled world’ the settlement formulae premised on the falsified stories begat by nineteenth-century institutional decision-makers. These stories have created a legacy of unease as open inter iwi hostilities are unleashed. Treaty settlements should result in rangimarie-peace, justice and praxis for iwi both internal to, and external of its polity and cultural borders. Clearly, they do not and the need for tūpuna narratives, free of colonial-institutional storying, remains.

year: 2020