title: To share or not to share:Teachers’ use of student data for making pedagogical decisions

authors: Peter, Mira

abstract: Teachers are expected to use evidence about students’ progress to inform their teaching and account for this progress to others. These requirements emphasise the need for educators’ competence in the collection, collation, analysis, interpretation and use of a range of data. In this paper we report on the results of a one-year University of Waikato Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) research project aimed at understanding how New Zealand teachers collect student data, what data they collect, how they share the outcomes of data analysis, and how they use the data to inform their teaching.
To address these questions we collected data through an online survey, which had 311 teacher and principal respondents, and through focus group interviews with 45 participants. The survey questions explored educators’ perceptions about needed data literacy skills for pedagogical action and ways of scaffolding and developing them. The interviews focused on school’s context, content, practice and relationships when analysing student data. Quantitative and qualitative analyses explored how individual teachers and the collective generate, interpret, share and plan pedagogical actions using students’ recorded data.
The results indicate that teachers collect and collate a range of different types of data and use them for various purposes such as to identify student learning needs, help students’ transitions and work with their set targets for student learning. However, the participants raised concerns regarding their data literacy skills and the accuracy of their own interpretation and understandings of how to use the collected data to make informed decision for their teaching. The findings also suggest that teachers consider there are a number of challenges in sharing and discussing data with their colleagues within their own school and across Kāhui Ako schools. The participants raised issues around moderation, lack of validity and reliability of data, feeling uncomfortable for being judged when sharing data and/or the potential for data use for appraisal.
These findings have implications for supporting teachers’ collaborative data analysis and use, data literacy professional development of teachers/leaders, and informing the data-driven pedagogical decisions across schools.

text: To share or not to share:Teachers’ use of student data for making pedagogical decisions Teachers are expected to use evidence about students’ progress to inform their teaching and account for this progress to others. These requirements emphasise the need for educators’ competence in the collection, collation, analysis, interpretation and use of a range of data. In this paper we report on the results of a one-year University of Waikato Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) research project aimed at understanding how New Zealand teachers collect student data, what data they collect, how they share the outcomes of data analysis, and how they use the data to inform their teaching.
To address these questions we collected data through an online survey, which had 311 teacher and principal respondents, and through focus group interviews with 45 participants. The survey questions explored educators’ perceptions about needed data literacy skills for pedagogical action and ways of scaffolding and developing them. The interviews focused on school’s context, content, practice and relationships when analysing student data. Quantitative and qualitative analyses explored how individual teachers and the collective generate, interpret, share and plan pedagogical actions using students’ recorded data.
The results indicate that teachers collect and collate a range of different types of data and use them for various purposes such as to identify student learning needs, help students’ transitions and work with their set targets for student learning. However, the participants raised concerns regarding their data literacy skills and the accuracy of their own interpretation and understandings of how to use the collected data to make informed decision for their teaching. The findings also suggest that teachers consider there are a number of challenges in sharing and discussing data with their colleagues within their own school and across Kāhui Ako schools. The participants raised issues around moderation, lack of validity and reliability of data, feeling uncomfortable for being judged when sharing data and/or the potential for data use for appraisal.
These findings have implications for supporting teachers’ collaborative data analysis and use, data literacy professional development of teachers/leaders, and informing the data-driven pedagogical decisions across schools.

year: 2017

title: Using cooperative education and work-integrated education to provide career clarification

authors: Zegwaard, Karsten E.

subjects: work-integrated education

abstract: When students commence university studies they typically choose subjects that are of interest to them, and hold only vague notions of intended career paths. However, some universities offer work-integrated learning degrees (WIL), programs that require students to undertake relevant practical work experience by way of work placements, internships or sandwich degrees. The underlying notion of these degrees is that learning occurs, as Lave and Wenger (1991) argue, by way of legitimate peripheral participation, where the student as the ‘newcomer’ works alongside a practising expert (the ‘old timer’). As the student becomes more engaged with workplace practices, he or she begins to learn workplace norms by way of mediated action and situated learning. These workplace norms include things such as the use of workplace-specific language, and particular methodological techniques unique to that workplace (Eames & Cates, 2011). Past research has shown that work placements can greatly enhance career clarification for students (Dressler & Keeling, 2011), and that students gradually become enculturated into a community of practice. Recent research in our group suggests that WIL programs also allow the development greater awareness of career paths. This research indicates, for example, that for some students work placements provide clarity about skills and qualifications needed to become a research scientist – subsequently providing motivation to complete graduate studies. Several OECD reports highlight the need for more PhD level scientists and engineers, and we argue here that WIL programs provide a career clarification that is more convincing than any amount of career counselling.

text: Using cooperative education and work-integrated education to provide career clarification When students commence university studies they typically choose subjects that are of interest to them, and hold only vague notions of intended career paths. However, some universities offer work-integrated learning degrees (WIL), programs that require students to undertake relevant practical work experience by way of work placements, internships or sandwich degrees. The underlying notion of these degrees is that learning occurs, as Lave and Wenger (1991) argue, by way of legitimate peripheral participation, where the student as the ‘newcomer’ works alongside a practising expert (the ‘old timer’). As the student becomes more engaged with workplace practices, he or she begins to learn workplace norms by way of mediated action and situated learning. These workplace norms include things such as the use of workplace-specific language, and particular methodological techniques unique to that workplace (Eames & Cates, 2011). Past research has shown that work placements can greatly enhance career clarification for students (Dressler & Keeling, 2011), and that students gradually become enculturated into a community of practice. Recent research in our group suggests that WIL programs also allow the development greater awareness of career paths. This research indicates, for example, that for some students work placements provide clarity about skills and qualifications needed to become a research scientist – subsequently providing motivation to complete graduate studies. Several OECD reports highlight the need for more PhD level scientists and engineers, and we argue here that WIL programs provide a career clarification that is more convincing than any amount of career counselling.

year: 2011

title: Experiencing cultural tourism: Visitors at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, New Zealand

authors: Ryan, Chris

subjects: indigenous tourism

abstract: This study reports results derived from semistructured interviews with 40 visitors to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand. The article discusses briefly the mode of data capture used and adopts an approach of identifying classifications of a primarily functional nature to list reasons why people visit such a site and what it is they seek. In general, visitors reported high levels of satisfaction, yet the cultural component of their experience was primarily reported in terms of the visit being informative and entertaining. Additionally, whereas modest levels of interest in things Maori seemed to motivate visits to other Maori sites, the actual list of other locations being nominated was few in number. The impression results that visits are made to Maori sites because this is a "done thing" when visiting New Zealand, but overall, the level of interest shown by most visitors in indigenous culture is modest.

text: Experiencing cultural tourism: Visitors at the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, New Zealand This study reports results derived from semistructured interviews with 40 visitors to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, New Zealand. The article discusses briefly the mode of data capture used and adopts an approach of identifying classifications of a primarily functional nature to list reasons why people visit such a site and what it is they seek. In general, visitors reported high levels of satisfaction, yet the cultural component of their experience was primarily reported in terms of the visit being informative and entertaining. Additionally, whereas modest levels of interest in things Maori seemed to motivate visits to other Maori sites, the actual list of other locations being nominated was few in number. The impression results that visits are made to Maori sites because this is a "done thing" when visiting New Zealand, but overall, the level of interest shown by most visitors in indigenous culture is modest.

year: 2006