Teacher Learning and Innovations in Practice Research Hub
The Teacher Learning and Innovations in Practice Research Hub leads research and inquiry around key problems of practice in order to identify and foster innovative and leading-edge approaches in teaching and learning in all sectors and in teacher education, both preservice and inservice. The Hub provides a site for collegial engagement in support of practice-focused research relating to teacher education and teacher professional learning.
A particular focus of the research hub’s inquiry work is the identification and enhancement of culturally responsive practices. These are practices that positively address the learning and development needs and aspirations of linguistically and culturally diverse children and youth and extend our collective understanding of the bilingual/bicultural learning contexts in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Other areas of interest include: praxis-related research into teacher leadership, curriculum leadership, teacher and teacher educator identity and professional learning, professional learning communities, and school-university collaboration.
In support of our work, we are developing communities of practice around key shared interests:
- Teacher Professional Learning & Induction
- Teacher-Researcher Partnerships to Develop Intercultural Capabilities
- Reggio Inspired Practice
- Inquiry into Initial Teacher Education:
- Blended learning in ITE
- Mentoring and Coaching
- Culturally Responsive Practice
- Pre-service teacher learning and identity
- Inclusive Practice
Professional Organisation Memberships
- American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Australasian Science Education Research Association (ASERA)
- Canterbury branch of the TESOL Association of Aotearoa New Zealand (CANTESOL)
- Canterbury Mathematical Association (CMA)
- Canterbury Primary School Mathematics Group
- Canterbury Science Teachers' Association (CSTA)
- Community Languages and English for Speakers of Other Languages (CLESOL)
- Global Network for Learning Equity and the Common Good
- International Organisation of Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME)
- Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (KOTESOL)
- Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU)
- New Zealand Association for Research in Education (NZARE)
- New Zealand Association for the Teaching of English (NZATE)
- New Zealand Association of Classical Teachers (NZACT)
- New Zealand Association of Language Teachers (NZALT)
- New Zealand Association of Mathematics Teachers (NZAMT)
- New Zealand Association of Science Educators (NZASE)
- New Zealand Educational Administration Leadership Society (NZEALS)
- New Zealand History Teachers' Association (NZHTA)
- Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ)
- Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Special Interest Group (S-STEP SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand (TEFANZ)
- Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages, Aotearoa, New Zealand (TESOLANZ)
- The Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand (ALANZ)
- The Centre for Science & Technology Education Research (CSTER)
- World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP)
Editorial/Reviewer Affiliations
- Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education
- Australian Journal of Teacher Education
- Curriculum Matters
- Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice
- Journal of Initial Teacher Inquiry
- Leading & Managing
- New Zealand Language Teacher
- New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics
- School Leadership & Management
- Teachers and Teaching
Project |
Lead Investigators |
Enhancing the intercultural capability of students of additional languages in New Zealand intermediate schools. In this TLRI funded project, three intersecting groups (university partners, academic research partners, and teachers) are investigating how teachers can be supported, through a teaching as inquiry approach, to help students develop intercultural capability through language learning. |
Assoc Prof Martin East (University of Auckland), Jocelyn Howard, Dr Constanza Tolosa (University of Auckland) |
Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) and Mathematics. The main research questions for this project are how do preservice teachers plan and prepare to teach mathematics in the school setting, and what are their concerns about implementing their planned lessons? |
Sue Wilson and Dr Jane McChesney |
Māori-Medium PRT Pilot Programme. This project is evaluating the provision of the Retention Pilot Programme for Māori Medium Beginnning Teachers. | Prof Letitia Fickel |
Reframing Teacher Education for Learning Equity and the Common Good: This international project aims to synthesize learning education into a set of cloud-hosted frameworks and resources that can be accessed and utilized internationally by universities, educational policy-makers, teachers, and leaders. |
Prof Letitia Fickel (UC representative to the international network) |
Programme Evaluation: UC College of Education, Health and Human Development MTchgLn – Evaluation of an innovative post graduate programme in initial teacher education (ITE) |
Prof Niki Davis |
Programme Evaluation: EdPlus South Island Consortium’s blended PLD approach to literacy and English Language Learners | Prof Letitia Fickel |
Past Projects |
|
Inclusion of Māori and Romany Students in the Education System: International Comparative Analysis of Slovakia and New Zealand | Katarina Kanova (Comenius University, Bratislava ) Prof Letitia Fickel |
Griffith University sub-contract with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. |
Dr Susan Lovett |
Griffith University sub-contract with Queensland Educational Leadership Institute (QELI) developing and analysing an on-line survey instrument to evaluate the emerging principals' leadership programme. |
Dr Susan Lovett |
Strategies to develop school leadership. A select literature review, AITSL |
Dr Susan Lovett |
Griffith University sub-contract with the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA): Principals as literacy leaders with indigenous communities. |
Dr. Susan Lovett |
Alaska Educational Innovations Network: School-capacity building through networked learning and school-university partnership |
Prof Letitia Fickel |
School-University Collaboration in Initial Teacher Education: Annotated Bibliography of promising-practices from both the international and New Zealand contexts. |
Prof Letitia Fickel |
Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers: Preservice teacher candidates’ experiences and learning during field placements in rural Alaska Native communities |
Dr. Tim Jester (University of Alaska Anchorage) |
Shifting the conceptualisation of knowledge and learning in the integration of the new NZ curriculum in initial and continuing teacher education (TRLI project) |
Dr Jane Abbiss,
|
Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd March 2017
Collaborative Masterclass:
Putting Sociocultural Activity Theory to Work in Teacher Education
With Associate Professor Ian Thompson, Joint Convener of the Oxford Centre for Sociocultural and Activity Theory Research Oxford University
Cost: $60 at University of Canterbury
Co-conveners: Prof. Letitia Fickel and Dr. Alex Gunn
We are pleased to invite you to join us for a collaborative masterclass focussing on research into teacher education practice. This is an opportunity for us as teacher educators, to collaboratively learn from and with each other and Ian as we consider how sociocultural and cultural historical activity theory can be put to work in ITE.
We will kick off on the evening of Thurs 2 March at 4:30 pm with a Public Lecture/Keynote by Associate Professor Ian Thompson.
We will then continue on Friday 3 March in a Masterclass from 9:00-4:00.
- Participants will have a shared reading ahead of the session to orient themselves to the major concepts, and will also choose among a selection of articles that put the theory to practice in Teacher Education based research.
- Participants will be asked to bring a ‘snippet’ of their own research to interrogate with colleagues. The snippet can be an empirical, theoretical, or conceptual piece, in writing, of 1-2 pages in length – for sharing with others and critical peer conversation.
Putting Sociocultural Activity Theory to Work in Teacher Education
Past events
- 2016, 19 October
Teaching for deep-seated and value-based pedagogical change: some provocations - 2016, 19 October
Third UC Learning & Teaching Languages Symposium: From Ideas to Action - 2016, 31 May
Researching teacher learning: Puzzles and possibilities by Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser - 2016, 19 May
Research Symposium: Inquiring into Teacher Professional Learning: Mentoring, Induction and Beyond - 2016, 19 May
Prestige Lecture by Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser: Foundations of Mentoring: Promoting Learning in the Service of Student Learning - 2016, 20 May
Interactive Workshop on Mentoring and Induction with Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser - 2016, March
- 2015, November
Exploring teachers lives: A conversation on methodological opportunities and challenges - 2015, October
Using Technology: The Second Learning and Teaching Languages Symposium - 2015, August
Professor Barbara Comber: Approaches, opportunities, and challenges of researching place-based pedagogies. - 2015, August
Associate Professor Dorothy Andrews: Building capacity to improve classroom pedagogy: a school wide approach. - 2015, May
Juliet Fry, Susan Lovett, Jane Abbiss, Letitia Fickel, Lia de Vocht, and Chris Henderson: Research seminar, Exploring teacher learning – learning about teaching and teachers’ lives. - 2015, March
Professor Jeffrey Wilhelm: Let them read TRASH: Reading Unbound: the powers and pleasures of reading marginalised text. - 2014, October
Learning and Teaching Languages Symposium - 2014, May
Carolina Nieto: Educational quality and peaceful coexistence: Can both occur in schools today? - 2014, January
Brenda Overturf: Teaching vocabulary so students will beg for more.
For advice
