On the edge: Shifting teachers' paradigms for the future
Project Dates: 2013 - 2014
Partnerships: NZCER
This action research project was jointly led by Dr Margaret Franken (The University of Waikato) and Dr Jane Gilbert (NZCER) in partnership with a number of schools.
The last 15 years or so had seen a paradigm shift in international thinking about education. To thrive in today's world, people needed new kinds of knowledge and skills. While there was some work on how to support students' learning in the new context, there was little knowledge of how best to support the significant changes in teachers' thinking that are required for our schools to meet future needs.
The project studied the way several cohorts of teachers think, and followed any changes in their thinking as they participate in a specially designed professional learning programme, and as they sought to implement change in their school contexts. The project's aimed to understand the contexts and conditions teachers need to begin to think in "21st century" ways.
The project is funded through the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI).