title: The Innovative Learning Environment in New Zealand: Supporting Teacher Transition

authors: Jensen, Rochelle Jane

subjects: ILE

abstract: The surge of teachers transitioning to innovative learning environments (ILEs), together with the knowledge that teachers have a large impact on student achievement, has prompted this study. Shifts to ILEs are supported by the Ministry of Education (2014b) building policy and aspirations for 21st Century learners (Ministry of Education, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2016). However, very little guidance exists to aid successful transition. Thus, this study adopts an interpretive, case study approach and uses mixed methods to examine the key question of how teachers can be supported to transition from single-cell classrooms to ILEs.
The experiences of six New Zealand-based intermediate teachers are examined in detail. They see a need for transition processes to include all staff, regardless of the physical environment in which they teach. Feedback suggests transitions should be based on a whole-school vision that aligns with the principles of modern learning practice (MLP). A need for school management to lead the process and ensure systems are aligned to enable desired pedagogy is also emphasised. Well-planned professional learning development (PLD) grounded in dialogic sense-making can be personalised and can include a focus on interpersonal skills, MLP and developing student agency. The careful selection of teaching teams, and the implementation of evaluation systems to monitor the impacts of MLP and the physical environment, are also key to successful transition. When transition includes ILE design, architects and practitioners must work closely together to create a well-designed physical space that fosters desired practice. Findings from this study can be used to inform transition processes for policy makers, school leaders and practitioners.

text: The Innovative Learning Environment in New Zealand: Supporting Teacher Transition The surge of teachers transitioning to innovative learning environments (ILEs), together with the knowledge that teachers have a large impact on student achievement, has prompted this study. Shifts to ILEs are supported by the Ministry of Education (2014b) building policy and aspirations for 21st Century learners (Ministry of Education, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2016). However, very little guidance exists to aid successful transition. Thus, this study adopts an interpretive, case study approach and uses mixed methods to examine the key question of how teachers can be supported to transition from single-cell classrooms to ILEs.
The experiences of six New Zealand-based intermediate teachers are examined in detail. They see a need for transition processes to include all staff, regardless of the physical environment in which they teach. Feedback suggests transitions should be based on a whole-school vision that aligns with the principles of modern learning practice (MLP). A need for school management to lead the process and ensure systems are aligned to enable desired pedagogy is also emphasised. Well-planned professional learning development (PLD) grounded in dialogic sense-making can be personalised and can include a focus on interpersonal skills, MLP and developing student agency. The careful selection of teaching teams, and the implementation of evaluation systems to monitor the impacts of MLP and the physical environment, are also key to successful transition. When transition includes ILE design, architects and practitioners must work closely together to create a well-designed physical space that fosters desired practice. Findings from this study can be used to inform transition processes for policy makers, school leaders and practitioners.

year: 2019

title: Literature review: Transition from early childhood education to school

authors: Peters, Sally

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The review’s purpose was to deepen understanding of transition to school by critically analysing research literature. The focus was on what successful transitions to school look like, the factors that play a role in how well children transition from ECE to school, and the ways in which children can be supported by teachers and families to transition as successfully as possible.

text: Literature review: Transition from early childhood education to school The review’s purpose was to deepen understanding of transition to school by critically analysing research literature. The focus was on what successful transitions to school look like, the factors that play a role in how well children transition from ECE to school, and the ways in which children can be supported by teachers and families to transition as successfully as possible.

year: 2010-07

title: Civilisation, settlers and wanderers: Law, politics and mobility in nineteenth century New Zealand and Australia

authors: Seuffert, Nan

subjects: colonization

abstract: Mobility was constitutive of the 19th century British colonial period in the Pacific. The circulation of capital and commodities, technologies of transportation and communication, travelling ideologies and systems of governance and surveillance, as well as the movement of explorers, whalers, labourers, settlers, missionaries, colonial administrators, convicts, soldiers, sojourners, immigrants, and transnational and displaced indigenous peoples, all shaped the politics and the period (see Ballantyne 2009: 7-8; Seuffert 2006: 7-8; Arrighi 1994: 48-58). Highly mobile British and European immigrants with money or skills were termed 'settlers', with associated connotations of stabilising and civilising influences. Missionaries and colonial officials who were integral to colonisation were also often highly mobile, carrying policies and regulatory regimes with them, and their colonial roles as 'civilising' influences included 'settling' and advancing the position of indigenous and other colonised peoples. In contrast, the mobility of poor whites and racialised populations - such as 'Melanesian' indentured labourers (Banivanua-Mar 2007: 3-4)2, Indian workers, displaced indigenous peoples and 'sojourner' Chinese - attracted the attention of law (and policy) makers and institutional authorities and were subjected to various forms of surveillance, regulation and policing designed to constrain and contain them.

text: Civilisation, settlers and wanderers: Law, politics and mobility in nineteenth century New Zealand and Australia Mobility was constitutive of the 19th century British colonial period in the Pacific. The circulation of capital and commodities, technologies of transportation and communication, travelling ideologies and systems of governance and surveillance, as well as the movement of explorers, whalers, labourers, settlers, missionaries, colonial administrators, convicts, soldiers, sojourners, immigrants, and transnational and displaced indigenous peoples, all shaped the politics and the period (see Ballantyne 2009: 7-8; Seuffert 2006: 7-8; Arrighi 1994: 48-58). Highly mobile British and European immigrants with money or skills were termed 'settlers', with associated connotations of stabilising and civilising influences. Missionaries and colonial officials who were integral to colonisation were also often highly mobile, carrying policies and regulatory regimes with them, and their colonial roles as 'civilising' influences included 'settling' and advancing the position of indigenous and other colonised peoples. In contrast, the mobility of poor whites and racialised populations - such as 'Melanesian' indentured labourers (Banivanua-Mar 2007: 3-4)2, Indian workers, displaced indigenous peoples and 'sojourner' Chinese - attracted the attention of law (and policy) makers and institutional authorities and were subjected to various forms of surveillance, regulation and policing designed to constrain and contain them.

year: 2011