My ten cents: A new teacher’s interpretation of The New Zealand curriculum

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Exploring probability concepts in a game context

Learning about probability can pose difficulties for students at all levels. Performing probability experiments using games can encourage students to develop understandings of probability grounded in real events. In this reflective paper, we explore the thinking of a group of students and teachers as they reasoned about experimental and theoretical probabilities in a game context. We designed a probability lesson based on the game LuLu (McCoy et al., 2007). In this article we share the activity and describe the kinds of explorations that can be facilitated in any secondary school mathematics classroom. We were particularly interested in investigating whether students could construct a bi-directional link between experimental probability and theoretical probability. Overall, the lesson enabled students to gain hands-on experience in data collection and analysis and better comprehend affordances of culturally diverse games.

Problematic digital technology use in children and adolescents:Impact on physical well-being

Since the evolution of the internet in 1969 and the inception of the personal computer in the early 1970s, a significant body of research has emerged that highlights the impacts of digital technology on education, health and human development. There is extensive research examining the physical, mental, and social health effects on young people and adolescents as well as the impacts of digital technology on their educational achievements. The aim of the review reported on here was to examine the impact of digital technology, and more specifically the use of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in schools. BYOD allows students to bring phones, tablets and personal computers to school. Numerous components with a negative impact on physical health have been identified. Outcomes of this study will be of interest to school leaders as policy makers. There is a need for trustworthy information on which to base reviews and revisions of school policy to ameliorate the risks of digital technology. This research report is also of relevance for tertiary providers and the government with the implementation of more online learning in class and online distance learning during COVID-19 restrictions.

Student motivation is a system wide responsibility

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Connecting expectations of Te Whāriki and The New Zealand Curriculum: Examples of mathematical practices

The first year of primary school aims to be closely connected with early childhood education, yet this is often invisible in the curriculum of specific subjects. This paper sets out an approach that uses mathematical practices as a curriculum tool that reconceptualises school mathematics. Using the early childhood mathematics framework of Te Kākano, the strands of mathematical practices are important descriptors of mathematical activity for children. We describe examples of mathematical learning from both early childhood and the first year of school, and make a case for using mathematical practices as a conceptual tool for designing a mathematics curriculum in the first years of school.