Visual Communication Research 2019

I’m looking to design teacher resources that help the process of planning coursework. I want to improve student engagement by helping teachers provide more diverse and effectively planned coursework. Context Questions: How long have you been teaching? 2 years Details on school + level + courses teaching? High school visual design teacher, personal interest in level 1 (year 11) Does your school teach with NCEA? Yes, decile 2 school, so more funding and smaller classes, but much much harder students to work with. Are you aware of the current situation with the NCEA review? What’re you’re your experiences and opinions working with this system, are there any changes you believe need to be made?  What’s the process when it comes to teacher resources- are they provided by the school, or do you have to source them yourself (is there freedom) (is there support) Curriculum requirements are given with NCEA, however creative freedom for how you want to teach, and...

'The diversity in how people think- and therefore learn. An individual’s learning style refers to the preferential way in which they absorb, process, comprehend, and retain information. Individual learning styles depend on cognitive, emotional and environmental factors, as well as prior experience.' ‘Learning Styles: All Students are Created Equally, and Differently.’ Teach: Make a difference, n.d. teach.com/what/teachers-know/learning-styles/ External link Swot Strategies Referred to as SWOT (“Study Without Tears”), Flemings provides advice on how students can use their learning modalities and skills to their advantage when studying for an upcoming test or assignment. Visual SWOT Strategies Utilize graphic organizers such as charts, graphs, and diagrams. Redraw your pages from memory. Replace important words with symbols or initials. Highlight important key terms in corresponding colors. Aural SWOT Strategies Record your summarized notes and ...

Source: Harris, Morgan. “Teaching High School Adolescents: Chapter 4 Intelligence Theory.” EDPR Morgan Harris, n.d. https://sites.google.com/site/edrpmorganharris/home/chapter-4-intelligence-theory "Intelligence Development:  Whenever we think intelligence, we think of how levels of intelligence are determined. At different points throughout history, particular psychological theorists have suggested that intelligence is primarily an inherited quality or, instead, primarily something influenced by children's environment. Both of these views have merit, as it turns out. Currently, most researchers agree that a combination of both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of intelligence." "One of the more recent ideas to emerge is Howard Gardner's theory of intelligence. Instead of focusing on the analysis of test scores, Gardner proposed that numerical expressions of human intelligence are not a full and accurate depiction...

Communication design can be used to improve student engagement by creating teacher resources that encourage a diverse and creative learning environment. (Secondary level) A recent NCEA review by the Ministry of Education has highlighted a number of issues, the need for greater teacher support among them. It’s well known (and researched) that teachers can make or break classroom atmospheres, yet many NZ teachers are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. So how can we expect teachers to create positive learning spaces under this immense workload and pressure?  The children of today, are the changemakers of tomorrow. But are New Zealand students being adequately prepared for the future?  Teachers aren’t being given the opportunity to teach to their full potential. They don’t have the time to pay attention to individual students differing needs, meaning that many students are slipping through cracks in the system, being forgotten and left behind with handicapp...

Key problems: Many students and teachers are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Key aims: Improving student engagement through teacher/ student support. The theory: If teachers are better supported, they'll have more time and energy to spend on their students, therefore students will have a better classroom environment, which will lead to better student engagement and more effective learning overall. But how???... A manifesto for change. Outlining all my research, promoting my findings in a clear, succinct, and actionable way. Provide templates for change- taking the next step from just words. A template resource. (Eg using English/ maths and SHOW how to incorporate diversity into teaching.) Teachers are feeling overloaded, so what parts of their job could be made easier? How can we make the pedagogy process easier, faster, simpler, and more fair/ equal across schools and subjects. What to do when just designing an app/ poster/ website etc just doesn't feel right? ...

The feedback session from the 1-2-1 this Friday was awesome. I talked with Lee Jensen about how stuck I was feeling with the final 'outcome' and how the idea of an app or website just really wasn't inspiring me, and just doesn't feel right for me or this project. We talked about how my research has (despite my attempts to specify down) remained quite broad and focused on education as a system. Lee was able to validate my hunch that tackling this issue in it's broader sense is probably the most justified approach for this project. However going down this route will be difficult. I'll need to upskill and do a lot of research going deep into this topic. But this will allow me to explore what got me interested in education in the first place. I'll be able to study it as a system, challenging what education is, and why it's currently so restrictive. I could write a manifesto uprooting the traditional expectations of school- why we learn- where we learn...

aitsl. “Engagement in Australian Schools.” Austrailian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, n.d. http://www.centralrangesllen.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Engagement_in_Australian_Schools-Background_Paper.pdf “Student Engagement: Overview” Educational Leaders, Ministry of Education, 1 May 2019. http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Pedagogy-and-assessment/Building-effective-learning-environments/Student-engagement “Student Engagement.” The Glossary of: Education reform, 28 Feb. 2016 . Student Engagement Definition - The Glossary of Education Reformhttps://www.edglossary.org/student-engagement/ (1) "What is engagement? Engagement is an ambiguous term; poorly defined and difficult to measure. Engagement is not simply about good classroom behaviour or attendance, but a connection with learning. 2 The student who is quietly sitting at the back of the classroom not participating in discussions or completing their work is as disengaged as a child who i...

There are definitely some overlaps between what I've found in my own primary research, and to what the Ministry of Education has identified as their key issues. So this brings me to ask, should I be focusing on the issues that might be slipping under the ministries priorities, or choosing what is clearly the most urgent problems validated by both myself and MoE? Overlaps:  Support beyond schooling, I.E life skills and workforce preparation. Structural change of curriculum. New, more diverse teaching resources. Support for teachers and students to change attitudes. Stopping abuse of the credit system, getting the purpose back to learning, not passing. Differences:  Focus on individual learning styles/ specific class teaching approaches. Subject prejudice (STEM) Propose idea of making credits achievable through different avenues, IE, you have to get x literacy, x numeracy, x arts, x life skills (could be problem solving, could be ) x physical ...

I've summarised key findings into what I believe needs to change in order to 'fix' the current education system in NZ: Societal and ministry attitudes towards 'higher education'. Societal attitudes to how we see different talents/ skills/ aptitudes. Student attitudes towards school. Education -> workforce navigation. How classes are divided (learning styles) Subject prejudice (STEM). Testing methods + purpose. Legislative change of curriculum. Recognition and support for teachers.

Contact info with Ed Strafford: Notes from conversation + context of event On Thursday I went to the NZ GovTech Hub launch party at Creative HQ, there I had the good fortune to bump into Ed Strafford from the Ministry of Education. We had a great chat about how entrepreneurs can fit into the education space. Ed was an excellent connection to make. I also passed on some details from my peers also working with projects in education, and he's been able to link them up with colleagues from his network too. I plan to keep in touch, and will be having another quick chat with Ed next week.