Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry: Journal Articles

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Open Access
Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry (2018). Volume 4
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Millin, Mark; Sato, Mistilina; Shaw, Emma; Marshall, Esther; Aleysha, Kerrigan; Moratti, David; Sally, Hayes; Caitlin, Swan; Millar, Sarah
Welcome to the fourth issue of the Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry. The journal is a celebration of inquiry-based research as undertaken by Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students completing the intensive, one-year Master of Teaching and Learning (MTchgLn) programme at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. The MTchgLn programme whakataukī (proverb) resonates the values and aspirations we hope to instill in our ITE students as they embark on their own lifelong educational journeys: Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu – Although it is small, it is greenstone.
Open Access
The Role of New Technologies: The Educational Effectiveness of Video Games, Simulations, and Virtual Reality in the Science Classroom
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Moratti, David
With the recent advancement of technology, more schools are starting to integrate ICT into their curricula. This review looks at the effectiveness of this integration regarding video games, simulations, and virtual reality, and their role in science education. Numerous benefits were found relating to student engagement, attitudes towards science and in the development of 21st-century skills such as creativity and problem-solving. However, there were inconclusive results regarding the academic potential gained from these tools compared to more traditional science teaching methods. Overall, it was found that the teacher’s pedagogy surrounding technology was the key factor in determining whether the ICT tool resulted in significant learning gains.
Open Access
From Placement to Practice: Factors Affecting the Classroom ICT Integration of Pre-Service Teachers
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Hayes, Sally
Technological progress has resulted in unprecedented access to technology in education. While this removes the age-old issue of information and communications technology (ICT) availability for pre-service teachers, it does not remove the need to meaningfully integrate technology into their practice. Three areas of influence significantly impact the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers and, therefore, their ability to effectively use technology. The first, initial teacher education, should provide technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) initiatives to prepare trainees for practice, alongside mentors who are themselves competent in ICT integration. The second, schools and school communities, must provide relevant professional development around ICT use alongside a positive and open-minded culture around ICT use in the school, as well as addressing issues of access for students in lower socioeconomic areas. Finally, the pre-service teacher themselves must maintain an open mind and a constructivist pedagogical perspective to increase their own self-efficacy and successfully integrate technology into their future practice.
Open Access
School-Community Partnerships: A Vehicle for Student Success in an Evolving World
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Shaw, Emma
What are the reasons for developing school-community partnerships in Aotearoa New Zealand and how are they best constructed to promote future-focused education? School-community partnerships are collaborative relationships that exist between schools and other stakeholders within the community. These partnerships can benefit the development of students, providing them with a broad range of opportunities and experiences, access to social capital, and often auxiliary resources in addition to what schools can provide on their own. The advantages of successful partnerships can be particularly impactful for schools in challenging circumstances in terms of providing resources and support. This review discusses the research surrounding school-community partnerships, and explores the many challenges involved in establishing and maintaining effective relationships that support future-focused education in Aotearoa New Zealand. In conclusion, it is surmised that school-community partnerships can be an effective means of providing students with opportunities for learning beyond the classroom, thus strengthening academic and social development in a rapidly changing and diversifying world.
Open Access
Parental Involvement in Schools: Who is Left Behind?
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Millar, Sarah
Parental involvement within schools has proven to be an effective mechanism for student achievement; however, full involvement of parents in schools is yet to be attained. This literature review investigates which parents are left behind within schools and offers conclusions as to why this might be. The types of parental involvement that occur within schools are considered. This is followed by an examination of the effects of parents’ socioeconomic status for educational involvement and the involvement of minority parents. Family dynamics and how familial relationships affect parental involvement are also explored. Finally, strategies to achieve universal parental involvement are proposed. Overall, the literature review reveals that, while some parents are left behind more often than others, it is ultimately up to the efforts of the school to engage all parents equally in their child’s education.
Open Access
Place-Based Learning and the Importance of Partnerships Within Schools and Communities to Foster Engagement in Education
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Kerrigan, Aleysha
Place-Based Learning (PBL) is an experiential-based pedagogy differing from the conventional text and classroom-based education. PBL uses school-wide initiatives and local communities as a primary resource for teaching and learning, and is something that can be incorporated into teaching and learning pedagogies to create positive outcomes. These initiatives are diverse, and aim to integrate learning and communities through inquiry, which in turn leads to increased student engagement, higher qualities of work and the opportunity for students to gain eye-opening experiences into the importance of the wider world. The root of PBL is enhancing learning experiences through direct engagement and inquiry into place, community and culture. These experiences can contribute to shaping ākonga into confident, connected and actively involved lifelong learners (Ministry of Education, 2007). This literature review examines the role of PBL as a platform for inclusive and community-based education, and demonstrates how PBL can be implemented in schooling contexts and the wider community to gain positive outcomes for students.
Open Access
Challenging Epistemic Racism: Incorporating Māori Knowledge into the Aotearoa New Zealand Education System
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Swan, Caitlin
The Aotearoa New Zealand education system is based largely on Western knowledge, and, consequently, all other epistemologies are silenced, which results in epistemic racism. Epistemic racism disregards certain peoples’ capacity to produce or learn knowledge, denying their full humanity. To challenge this dehumanisation, researchers argue that Indigenous Māori epistemologies need to be incorporated into the education system as equally valid to Western knowledge. Although little research has been done in this area, several frameworks and initiatives have been developed to integrate Indigenous and Western knowledge. They identify some possible supporting factors including community involvement and the availability of Indigenous knowledge resources. Several challenges are also identified, including how to remove the marginalisation from one knowledge system without subordinating another. Epistemic racism is a complex problem that will require the transformation of our education system. However, the first step is to challenge one’s ideas about what counts as valid knowledge.
Open Access
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity – Queer Theory: Gender Diversity and the Notion of Childhood Sexuality
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Marshall, Esther
Social inequalities in society are being filtered down into education, limiting the possibility for inclusion, equity, and celebration of diversity for all students (Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, 2012). One area of inclusion that limits students getting an equitable opportunity in education is that of those who perform gender and sexuality against the heteronormative society. My literature review looks at why teachers need to be aware of the social constructs of gender and childhood sexuality. Both of these elements are socially constructed, and have implications for many students’ self-identity. By understanding and implementing approaches of queer theories and other teacher practice strategies, learning environments will become more inclusive, equitable and diverse for all.
Open Access
Editorial, Volume 4, November 2018
(University of Canterbury, 2018) Millin, Mark; Sato, Mistilina
Open Access
Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry, Volume 3 November 2017
(2017) Astall, Chris
Welcome to the third issue of the Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry. The journal celebrates inquiry based research as conducted by Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students completing the intensive, one year Master of Teaching and Learning (MTchgLn) course at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Our MTchgLn programme whakatauk? (proverb) emphasises the value we place on our ITE students and their learning;
Open Access
Editorial, Volume 3, November 2017
(2017) Astall, Chris
Welcome to the third issue of the Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry. The journal celebrates inquiry based research as conducted by Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students completing the intensive, one year Master of Teaching and Learning (MTchgLn) course at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Our MTchgLn programme whakatauk? (proverb) emphasises the value we place on our ITE students and their learning;
Open Access
Growth Mindset: Trend or Real Science?
(2017) Spenner, Mindi
The following literature review begins by answering the question, �growth mindset: trend or real science?� It answers this question with a brief history of how, in the 1970s, the idea of �attribution of failure behaviour� from researcher Carol Dweck (1975) evolved to the well-known concept of growth mindset today. The discovery that the brain is elastic and intelligence can be grown led researchers to wonder the ways in which mindset could be manipulated to improve outcomes in education. The research then follows a path of growth mindset interventions in primary schools and parent guided settings as well. Finally, the review addresses cost effectiveness of growth mindset interventions and potential challenges of the studies.
Open Access
Rethinking Learner and Teacher Roles: Incorporating Student Voice and Agency into Teaching Practice
(2017) Robertson, Jessie
An increasing interest in the restructuring of teacher and student roles, with the aim of strengthening engagement, has influenced a focus on student agency in education research. Student voice involves learners and teachers sharing a narrative and working in partnership with one another to increase learning outcomes and inclusivity (Cook-Sather, 2014). Because this concept is relatively new, student voice is often perceived and implemented in a variety of differing ways. This literature review examines the current use and perspective of student voice in education and draws on a range of studies to investigate how the roles within student voice are understood, and the impact these have on effective teaching practice. In addition, the constraints brought forth by the multiple perspectives found within student voice are identified. Further recommendations for research include a focus on how these roles can be supported to best enable student agency, with the aim of producing positive learning experiences.
Open Access
Implementing Cooperative Learning: A Consideration of Barriers and Enablers
(2017) Page, Amelia
Cooperative learning (CL) is a pedagogical practice that has been shown to benefit students� social and academic abilities, yet it is not widely implemented in schools. This literature review explores current research on CL implementation in primary and secondary school settings in an endeavour to discover some of the barriers that keep teachers from implementing it in their practice. Three main barriers, discussed in this review, are teachers� understanding of CL, students� social skills, and time and organisation requirements. To counteract some of the perceived barriers of CL, enablers to CL have also been explored. Enablers discussed within this review include pre-service and continuing teacher CL training, teacher collaboration, and student social skills development. These enablers can help to counteract some of the perceived barriers in order to facilitate greater implementation of CL in the classroom.
Open Access
The Effect of Mentor Teachers on Initial Teacher Training and Emergence as a Beginner Teacher
(2017) Lawry, Robert
Since the 1990s there has been a strong movement towards mentoring induction programmes for both pre-service training and beginning teachers who are in their early years at a school. Despite the high uptake of this practice, the exact definition and nature of mentoring remains controversial. Several types of mentoring, with potentially contrasting goals exist and these can affect teacher outcomes, students and the positioning of teachers in society. Mentoring programmes also have effects on pedagogical practice, instructional effectiveness and the commitment beginning teachers feel towards teaching. Mentoring programmes are shaped by a number of interconnected issues, including dispositions of mentors and mentees, mentor training, the context in which mentoring occurs and societal expectations. Although the broad uptake of mentoring programmes appears to indicate that these programmes are beneficial, empirical evidence on the effect of mentoring is limited. The literature supports the assertion that mentoring helps reduce beginning teacher turnover, increase job satisfaction and raise student achievement. However these issues are not necessarily those novice teachers are most concerned with and few articles examine ways in which novice teachers can best utilise mentoring for their learning.
Open Access
Implementing e-Tools for Assessment
(2017) Husband, Rachelle
This literature review explores the challenges and strengths to both teachers and students in incorporating e-tools into assessments. There is conflicting research surrounding the validity between paper and computer-based assessments, which will remain a problem in determining appropriate future practice; however, research also points to possible benefits in using e-tools for both teachers and students. For teachers, e-tools ease the burden of management and marking of assessments, allowing them to focus on providing quality formative feedback. Students are more motivated and engaged in assessments when they have opportunities to interact with formative feedback, which creates a positive assessment experience. Digital assessment can be challenging for teachers who feel they do not have institutional support behind them or those who face technical difficulties in proctoring examinations. Some students also find digital assessment to be a negative experience, particularly when taking numeracy-based assessments. With conflicting research surrounding the transition from paper to computer-based assessments, various strengths and challenges for teachers and students, and an apparent gap in the integration of research into the New Zealand Ministry of Education�s assessment documents, more research may be needed to inform future digital assessment practices in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Open Access
Student Wellbeing in Educational Settings
(2017) Hooker, Amelia
Ensuring that all our children and young people are of sound wellbeing in the 21st century is of growing importance in educational settings. This literature review explores a range of primary studies to examine the contributing factors to student wellbeing in an educational setting. Student wellbeing is becoming increasingly significant when assessing school effectiveness as wellbeing directly influences social, emotional, and behavioural outcomes, as well as academic achievement. The studies examined established that classroom settings are a major site for wellbeing development. Classrooms need to be safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments to foster high levels of student wellbeing. The studies examined identified that student wellbeing is influenced by the teachers own wellbeing. If teachers have a perceived lower wellbeing, this will have a flow on effect to students, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Furthermore, the studies have highlighted the impact teacher-student relationships have on student wellbeing. It is suggested that supportive teacher-student relationships promote and develop student wellbeing effectively. In summary, this literature review reflects the significance of creating teaching and learning environments that promote student wellbeing for future health.
Open Access
Using Technology to Support the Nature of Science in the Classroom
(2017) Heath, Aaron
The purpose of this literature review is to investigate how technology can be used to encourage the presence of the nature of science in a science classroom. Within the concept of the nature of science there is a strong focus on scientific inquiry which is the basis of a lot of the literature, but other aspects of the nature of science, such as providing meaning to content outside of the classroom are also covered. The promotion of the nature of science in a science classroom is a popular topic within the science education community, as student engagement and interest in the school subject continues to steadily decrease. The reviewed literature took a range of views into consideration to outline the beneficial links between the use of technology and having the presence of the nature of science in a science classroom. This review also discusses issues of economical and functional access to technology as well as the importance of correct implementation within a science education context.
Open Access
How can Teachers put Competency-Based Curricula into Practice?
(2017) Harris, Emma
The current New Zealand Curriculum suggests a new way of thinking about student development in schools. A shift to a more future-focussed curriculum has brought a greater emphasis on supporting students to develop the key competencies outlined in the 2007 document. Consequently, teachers must learn to balance the new competency-based curriculum, with existing demands to develop student academic success. This can be challenging when ways of integrating the key competencies into teaching practices vary depending of the learning context. The reviewed literature suggests principles embraced by early-adopters of the New Zealand Curriculum can be used to direct teachers in leading their teaching focus to assist in developing students� key competencies.
Open Access
Personalised Learning: Understandings and Effectiveness in Practice
(2017) Swan, Caitlin
Personalised learning is being promoted in New Zealand and around the world as one of the key components of a future-focussed education system. Although it is conceptualised and implemented in many different ways, it appears that the common aim of personalised learning is to tailor the education system to meet all students� diverse needs. While, or possibly because, most educators would support such an aim for education, there is very little research concerning its effectiveness. Studies have also shown that personalised learning is understood and implemented by teachers in multiple different ways. This literature review examines various conceptualisations of personalised learning and their effect on students� learning. Both benefits and detriments to students� achievement and engagement are identified and discussed in this review. The inconsistent findings suggest that ambiguities in the concept of personalised learning need to be addressed and further research done into its effects on students� learning.