title: Soil-landscape modelling and soil property variability for forestry land evaluation in Longwood Forest, Southland. Phase 1: soil-landscape model development

authors: Jones, Hayden S.

abstract: Large scale, quantitative information about the variability of target soil properties is required for forest management. This project is attempting to determine whether or not the New Zealand Soil Classification system (NZSC), when used in combination with a soillandscape model, adequately communicates this information. In the first phase of this project a soil-landscape model was developed and a pilot variability study conducted. 
The soils in the study area, located in the W oodlaw Block of the Longwood Range, are formed from either Permian andesite or greywacke on moderately steep to steep hill slopes under a moist cool climate and a vegetation cover of beech and podocarp forests. 
The soil-landscape model was developed using the land systems approach. The model consists of predictive relationships between topographic features and soil classes. There is a clear relationship between slope steepness, the abundance of surface boulders and the gravel content of the soil. A soil-landscape unit map showing the distribution of predicted soil classes has been produced. 
The results of the pilot variability study have showed that the soils sampled are acidic and have moderate to high P-retention values. An analysis of variance indicated that both of these properties are significantly variable between sites and between horizons. There appears to be a relationship between land component type and the magnitude and variability of these properties. The clay mineralogical analysis revealed that the dominant clay minerals present in all the soils sampled are chlorite-vermiculite, kaolinite, sepiolite, and allophane. The presence of allophane and kaolinite may be related to the moderate to high P-retention values.

text: Soil-landscape modelling and soil property variability for forestry land evaluation in Longwood Forest, Southland. Phase 1: soil-landscape model development Large scale, quantitative information about the variability of target soil properties is required for forest management. This project is attempting to determine whether or not the New Zealand Soil Classification system (NZSC), when used in combination with a soillandscape model, adequately communicates this information. In the first phase of this project a soil-landscape model was developed and a pilot variability study conducted. 
The soils in the study area, located in the W oodlaw Block of the Longwood Range, are formed from either Permian andesite or greywacke on moderately steep to steep hill slopes under a moist cool climate and a vegetation cover of beech and podocarp forests. 
The soil-landscape model was developed using the land systems approach. The model consists of predictive relationships between topographic features and soil classes. There is a clear relationship between slope steepness, the abundance of surface boulders and the gravel content of the soil. A soil-landscape unit map showing the distribution of predicted soil classes has been produced. 
The results of the pilot variability study have showed that the soils sampled are acidic and have moderate to high P-retention values. An analysis of variance indicated that both of these properties are significantly variable between sites and between horizons. There appears to be a relationship between land component type and the magnitude and variability of these properties. The clay mineralogical analysis revealed that the dominant clay minerals present in all the soils sampled are chlorite-vermiculite, kaolinite, sepiolite, and allophane. The presence of allophane and kaolinite may be related to the moderate to high P-retention values.

year: 1997

title: Learning through 'being' and 'doing'

authors: Grant, Suzanne Lisa Parker

subjects: first-person action research

abstract: Our research may not emerge in the tidy, linear manner often described in research papers, and hoped for outcomes may never eventuate. Amid this seeming confusion, researchers may experience personal discomfort and perceptions of failure. Drawing on my experiences as a doctoral candidate I address two of the areas for which my own reading of literature left me ill-prepared. I focus first on the emergent nature of action research, and second on the contributions reflection can make to our development as action researchers. Students and teachers of action research are encouraged to appreciate the richness and variety of experiences which interaction and engagement in the research process may bring, for it is these activities which shape our development as researchers.

text: Learning through 'being' and 'doing' Our research may not emerge in the tidy, linear manner often described in research papers, and hoped for outcomes may never eventuate. Amid this seeming confusion, researchers may experience personal discomfort and perceptions of failure. Drawing on my experiences as a doctoral candidate I address two of the areas for which my own reading of literature left me ill-prepared. I focus first on the emergent nature of action research, and second on the contributions reflection can make to our development as action researchers. Students and teachers of action research are encouraged to appreciate the richness and variety of experiences which interaction and engagement in the research process may bring, for it is these activities which shape our development as researchers.

year: 2007

title: The Te Kotahitanga observation tool: Development, use, reliability and validity

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: School reform

abstract: Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

text: The Te Kotahitanga observation tool: Development, use, reliability and validity Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

year: 2015