title: “The experiences I give them, that is going to be their opinion” : Formative assessment through dialogue in Technology Education

authors: Rangarajan, Swathi Rama

subjects: Interactive Formative Assessment

abstract: The purpose of the formative assessment is for the teacher to recognise the student’s learning and guide the student to the next step in their learning. This study focuses on Interactive Formative Assessment (IFA), which is formative assessment through dialogue. IFA through dialogue is especially critical in a subject like Technology Education (TE) where students design and develop products based on a given design brief. As every student is developing something independently, formal whole-class test may not be effective for formative assessment. Formative assessment in TE is carried out mainly through dialogue. However, to participate in a dialogue, the teacher needs to plan open, high-cognitive questions that can encourage dialogue. Technology Observation and Conversation Framework (TOCF) (Fox-Turnbull, 2018) was identified as a framework of high-cognitive questions specially designed for a technology classroom. In this study, the TOCF was modified for use as a formative assessment tool and is called Questioning
Framework for Technology - Primary (QFT-P). This study, thus, contributes to the research in formative assessment and dialogue in TE in primary schools - two areas that have limited research to date. This research addresses the research gap in the process of IFA in TE, teacher beliefs and knowledge for conducting IFA, and student learning through participating in the IFA dialogue.
In this qualitative, pragmatic, design-based research, the QFT-P was aligned with the New Zealand curriculum and provided to two primary teachers teaching Year 5-6 (ages 9-10). Design-based research has dual aims - implementing a resource in a naturalistic environment and understanding the theory behind the implementation process. In this research, 175 hours of classroom observations and 35 hours of audio-recording of teacher-student dialogue were the main sources of data. Interviews, video-recording,and photographs of classroom artefacts and student work were other sources of data. Teacher’s experiences with using the QFT-P dictated the iterations of the formative assessment tool.
The findings showed that the teachers used the QFT-P as a formative assessment tool and were able to have a deep and rich dialogue with the students. Through the dialogue, teachers were able to recognise student learning and guide them to the next step in their learning. Based on analysis of dialogue in the classroom, the existing model of IFA was expanded by the addition of two steps - Student action and Teacher follow-up and conceptualised as a spiral. IFA is recognised to be a complex process due to the teacher managing the spiral for multiple students at the same time. Teachers showed implicit knowledge about TE that they were not always able to translate into teaching TE. Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of student’s voice and teachers’ content knowledge of TE were important to conduct an effective IFA. When participating in IFA, students showed concrete learning in many of the curriculum objectives and teacher’s priority objectives. However, students did not always implement their feedback and it was seen in this study that if the feedback was not implemented within the next lesson, there was a loss of opportunity for the associated learning.
This thesis brings new insights in the field of IFA and formative assessment in TE and offers a formative assessment tool in the form of the QFT-P for primary, technology teachers.

text: “The experiences I give them, that is going to be their opinion” : Formative assessment through dialogue in Technology Education The purpose of the formative assessment is for the teacher to recognise the student’s learning and guide the student to the next step in their learning. This study focuses on Interactive Formative Assessment (IFA), which is formative assessment through dialogue. IFA through dialogue is especially critical in a subject like Technology Education (TE) where students design and develop products based on a given design brief. As every student is developing something independently, formal whole-class test may not be effective for formative assessment. Formative assessment in TE is carried out mainly through dialogue. However, to participate in a dialogue, the teacher needs to plan open, high-cognitive questions that can encourage dialogue. Technology Observation and Conversation Framework (TOCF) (Fox-Turnbull, 2018) was identified as a framework of high-cognitive questions specially designed for a technology classroom. In this study, the TOCF was modified for use as a formative assessment tool and is called Questioning
Framework for Technology - Primary (QFT-P). This study, thus, contributes to the research in formative assessment and dialogue in TE in primary schools - two areas that have limited research to date. This research addresses the research gap in the process of IFA in TE, teacher beliefs and knowledge for conducting IFA, and student learning through participating in the IFA dialogue.
In this qualitative, pragmatic, design-based research, the QFT-P was aligned with the New Zealand curriculum and provided to two primary teachers teaching Year 5-6 (ages 9-10). Design-based research has dual aims - implementing a resource in a naturalistic environment and understanding the theory behind the implementation process. In this research, 175 hours of classroom observations and 35 hours of audio-recording of teacher-student dialogue were the main sources of data. Interviews, video-recording,and photographs of classroom artefacts and student work were other sources of data. Teacher’s experiences with using the QFT-P dictated the iterations of the formative assessment tool.
The findings showed that the teachers used the QFT-P as a formative assessment tool and were able to have a deep and rich dialogue with the students. Through the dialogue, teachers were able to recognise student learning and guide them to the next step in their learning. Based on analysis of dialogue in the classroom, the existing model of IFA was expanded by the addition of two steps - Student action and Teacher follow-up and conceptualised as a spiral. IFA is recognised to be a complex process due to the teacher managing the spiral for multiple students at the same time. Teachers showed implicit knowledge about TE that they were not always able to translate into teaching TE. Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of student’s voice and teachers’ content knowledge of TE were important to conduct an effective IFA. When participating in IFA, students showed concrete learning in many of the curriculum objectives and teacher’s priority objectives. However, students did not always implement their feedback and it was seen in this study that if the feedback was not implemented within the next lesson, there was a loss of opportunity for the associated learning.
This thesis brings new insights in the field of IFA and formative assessment in TE and offers a formative assessment tool in the form of the QFT-P for primary, technology teachers.

year: 2022

title: The role of thermal tolerance in biological invasion

authors: Wilde, Margot

abstract: Biological invasion and climate change are among the greatest threats to biodiversity currently. Several factors influence what makes a successful invasive species. Among these is the thermal tolerance of the invasive species. An organism’s thermal physiology underpins many aspects of its life, including the habitats in which it can survive, its reproduction and its development. Climate change is increasing global average temperatures at an unprecedented pace, which is increasing thermal stress on virtually all life around the world. These effects are particularly pronounced in ectotherms, which are reliant on environmental temperature to set their body temperature and drive their metabolism. Insects comprise a significant proportion of globally important invasive species. As well as being ectothermic, they have a complex life cycle with a number of developmental stages, all of which may be influenced by environmental temperatures. Invasive species can often tolerate or adapt to a broad range of environmental conditions. They may therefore be expected to have a broader thermal tolerance than their native counterparts, and than other invasives that have a narrower invaded range.  

This research used a blowfly model to investigate how thermal tolerance differed across temperatures, using a static temperature assay to measure thermal knockdown time. Key foci included the effects of both developmental heat acclimation and adult heat tolerance on thermal performance.  In Chapter 2, variation in adult heat tolerance was assessed across three temperatures (41℃, 42℃, 43℃) in five blowfly species invasive to New Zealand. I found that the two more globally invasive species in the study exhibited higher heat tolerance than the three less invasive Calliphora species, whose native ranges are generally more temperate. In Chapter 3, the effect of developmental temperature on adult knockdown time in a single species (Calliphora stygia) was assessed. I showed that C. stygia reared at the lowest temperature (18℃) had the highest knockdown time and the smallest body size, while those reared at 26℃ 1 exhibited  the shortest knockdown time and an intermediate body size, with those reared at 22℃ being the largest.   

Collectively, my results indicate that adult heat tolerance varies between invasive blowfly species, but that developmental acclimation temperature may not have a significant effect on adult heat tolerance. Given the increasing global temperatures seen with climate change, the effects of invasive species are likely to increase, with some species likely to do better than others in a warming world. Thermal performance will undoubtedly play a role in filtering out the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, therefore further research into both heat and cold tolerance in both laboratory and field settings are crucial.

text: The role of thermal tolerance in biological invasion Biological invasion and climate change are among the greatest threats to biodiversity currently. Several factors influence what makes a successful invasive species. Among these is the thermal tolerance of the invasive species. An organism’s thermal physiology underpins many aspects of its life, including the habitats in which it can survive, its reproduction and its development. Climate change is increasing global average temperatures at an unprecedented pace, which is increasing thermal stress on virtually all life around the world. These effects are particularly pronounced in ectotherms, which are reliant on environmental temperature to set their body temperature and drive their metabolism. Insects comprise a significant proportion of globally important invasive species. As well as being ectothermic, they have a complex life cycle with a number of developmental stages, all of which may be influenced by environmental temperatures. Invasive species can often tolerate or adapt to a broad range of environmental conditions. They may therefore be expected to have a broader thermal tolerance than their native counterparts, and than other invasives that have a narrower invaded range.  

This research used a blowfly model to investigate how thermal tolerance differed across temperatures, using a static temperature assay to measure thermal knockdown time. Key foci included the effects of both developmental heat acclimation and adult heat tolerance on thermal performance.  In Chapter 2, variation in adult heat tolerance was assessed across three temperatures (41℃, 42℃, 43℃) in five blowfly species invasive to New Zealand. I found that the two more globally invasive species in the study exhibited higher heat tolerance than the three less invasive Calliphora species, whose native ranges are generally more temperate. In Chapter 3, the effect of developmental temperature on adult knockdown time in a single species (Calliphora stygia) was assessed. I showed that C. stygia reared at the lowest temperature (18℃) had the highest knockdown time and the smallest body size, while those reared at 26℃ 1 exhibited  the shortest knockdown time and an intermediate body size, with those reared at 22℃ being the largest.   

Collectively, my results indicate that adult heat tolerance varies between invasive blowfly species, but that developmental acclimation temperature may not have a significant effect on adult heat tolerance. Given the increasing global temperatures seen with climate change, the effects of invasive species are likely to increase, with some species likely to do better than others in a warming world. Thermal performance will undoubtedly play a role in filtering out the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, therefore further research into both heat and cold tolerance in both laboratory and field settings are crucial.

year: 2025

title: Nga taonga o Te Urewera

authors: Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia

subjects: Maori

abstract: This report sets out to establish that Te Urewera and Tuhoe - the place, the people -
are synonymous. It is argued by two discrete approaches - cultural property and the
significance of place. These are both enmeshed in the Tuhoe concept of
matemateaone, which is defined and demonstrated throughout the text. Issues of
Tuhoe heritage and cultural property are positioned within the international
indigenous context, and considered in detail with reference to the United Nations
Report on the Protection of the Heritage of Indigenous Peoples tabled in June 1995.
A Tuhoe response to the nine sections of this document form the basis of this
submission, as they clearly reflect the intentions and principles that configure the
articles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

text: Nga taonga o Te Urewera This report sets out to establish that Te Urewera and Tuhoe - the place, the people -
are synonymous. It is argued by two discrete approaches - cultural property and the
significance of place. These are both enmeshed in the Tuhoe concept of
matemateaone, which is defined and demonstrated throughout the text. Issues of
Tuhoe heritage and cultural property are positioned within the international
indigenous context, and considered in detail with reference to the United Nations
Report on the Protection of the Heritage of Indigenous Peoples tabled in June 1995.
A Tuhoe response to the nine sections of this document form the basis of this
submission, as they clearly reflect the intentions and principles that configure the
articles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

year: 2003-08