title: Building literacy communities of practice across subject disciplines in secondary schools

authors: Wright, Noeline

subjects: literacy

abstract: This paper examines the relationship between communities of practice and literacy as a pedagogical focus in secondary schools in New Zealand in the light of Corson's arguments about critical conditions for effective language policy development in schools. It is also positioned within the current international emphasis (at least in English-speaking countries) on improving students' literacy in order to increase academic achievement. Part of this focus stems from an unbalanced relationship between learning mainly content (what) and learning processes (how and why) through content in secondary school classrooms. If teachers' work is centred on equipping students with the learning and thinking tools that allow them to navigate, make sense of and critically examine subject content, then literacy as a pedagogical focus can be seen as supporting that shift. However, shifting secondary teachers to a focus on learning and thinking processes can be difficult, because it implicates their pedagogical values, practices and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). How schools in New Zealand have developed this focus and made efforts to sustain it are examined through the concept of communities of practice.

text: Building literacy communities of practice across subject disciplines in secondary schools This paper examines the relationship between communities of practice and literacy as a pedagogical focus in secondary schools in New Zealand in the light of Corson's arguments about critical conditions for effective language policy development in schools. It is also positioned within the current international emphasis (at least in English-speaking countries) on improving students' literacy in order to increase academic achievement. Part of this focus stems from an unbalanced relationship between learning mainly content (what) and learning processes (how and why) through content in secondary school classrooms. If teachers' work is centred on equipping students with the learning and thinking tools that allow them to navigate, make sense of and critically examine subject content, then literacy as a pedagogical focus can be seen as supporting that shift. However, shifting secondary teachers to a focus on learning and thinking processes can be difficult, because it implicates their pedagogical values, practices and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). How schools in New Zealand have developed this focus and made efforts to sustain it are examined through the concept of communities of practice.

year: 2007

title: How the dragons work: searching in a web

authors: Witten, Ian H.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Search engines -- "web dragons" -- are the portals through which we access society's treasure trove of information. They do not publish the algorithms they use to sort and filter information, yet how they work is one of the most important questions of our time. Google's PageRank is a way of measuring the prestige of each web page in terms of who links to it: it reflects the experience of a surfer condemned to click randomly around the web forever. The HITS technique distinguishes "hubs" that point to reputable sources from "authorities," the sources themselves. This helps differentiate communities on the web, which in turn can tease out alternative interpretations of ambiguous query terms. RankNet uses machine learning techniques to rank documents by predicting relevance judgments based on training data. This article explains in non-technical terms how the dragons work.

text: How the dragons work: searching in a web Search engines -- "web dragons" -- are the portals through which we access society's treasure trove of information. They do not publish the algorithms they use to sort and filter information, yet how they work is one of the most important questions of our time. Google's PageRank is a way of measuring the prestige of each web page in terms of who links to it: it reflects the experience of a surfer condemned to click randomly around the web forever. The HITS technique distinguishes "hubs" that point to reputable sources from "authorities," the sources themselves. This helps differentiate communities on the web, which in turn can tease out alternative interpretations of ambiguous query terms. RankNet uses machine learning techniques to rank documents by predicting relevance judgments based on training data. This article explains in non-technical terms how the dragons work.

year: 2006

title: Ngā Ara Auaha  - Creative practice student showcase

authors: Hill, Rodrigo

abstract: Ngā Ara Auaha simply translated means 'creative pathways' and comprises a collective exhibition featuring creative works from last year's undergraduate and postgraduate students across the University and working with creative practice research and outputs.

Ngā Ara Auaha is an annual student showcase, exhibiting the creative works of University of Waikato students (both undergraduate and postgraduate). The exhibition’s title refers to the ‘creative pathways’ taken by these students who have drawn on their own various creative practices, modes, and methods to think through their respective research journeys.

The call for submissions was open to students across all faculties and divisions of the University and as such the variety of works is vast. Multiple artistic mediums are featured in the same space, including photography and film, toi Māori, augmented media, fine art, design, and creative writing.

This exhibition showcases both the artistic skill of our students and the potential of creative methodologies in research. Expanding the rigid boundaries of the academy and blurring the lines between the ‘creative and critical’, with contributors adding to an established legacy of creative practice at the University of Waikato.

text: Ngā Ara Auaha  - Creative practice student showcase Ngā Ara Auaha simply translated means 'creative pathways' and comprises a collective exhibition featuring creative works from last year's undergraduate and postgraduate students across the University and working with creative practice research and outputs.

Ngā Ara Auaha is an annual student showcase, exhibiting the creative works of University of Waikato students (both undergraduate and postgraduate). The exhibition’s title refers to the ‘creative pathways’ taken by these students who have drawn on their own various creative practices, modes, and methods to think through their respective research journeys.

The call for submissions was open to students across all faculties and divisions of the University and as such the variety of works is vast. Multiple artistic mediums are featured in the same space, including photography and film, toi Māori, augmented media, fine art, design, and creative writing.

This exhibition showcases both the artistic skill of our students and the potential of creative methodologies in research. Expanding the rigid boundaries of the academy and blurring the lines between the ‘creative and critical’, with contributors adding to an established legacy of creative practice at the University of Waikato.

year: 2024