Teachers in change : an evaluation of the implementation of collaborative teaching in a New Zealand year 7-13 school
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Authors
O'Donnell, Frances
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Master of Applied Practice
Grantor
Unitec Institute of Technology
Date
2018-01-28
Supervisors
Maurice-Takerei, Lisa
Mane, Jo
Mane, Jo
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
New Zealand
middle schools
secondary schools
Innovative Learning Environments (ILE)
collaborative teaching
organisational change
change management
information and communications technology (ICT)
middle schools
secondary schools
Innovative Learning Environments (ILE)
collaborative teaching
organisational change
change management
information and communications technology (ICT)
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
O'Donnell, F. (2018). Teachers in change : an evaluation of the implementation of collaborative teaching in a New Zealand year 7-13 school. An unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Practice, Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand.
Abstract
It is widely argued that educational change is needed to meet the needs of all learners in the 21st century. This project explores one school's implementation of collaborative teaching in a newly built Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) from the perspective of teachers. The study also investigated how a resource developed using a model of collaboration can support the implementation of such a change initiative.
The study draws on the tradition of practitioner research. The data gathering methods used to collect qualitative data were interviews and a focus group. The focus group discussion investigated the aspects of implementation that supported or hindered teachers' adjustment to collaborative teaching and the new ILE, and their views on what could be improved to further support teachers to adapt to the new way of working at this school. Four semi-structured interviews were also conducted with teachers who partook in the development of the collaborative teaching resource to ascertain if this process of collaborative resource development can be beneficial.
The key findings of the study highlighted the benefits and challenges of implementing change and of collaboration in this school. The findings were established through teachers' views and opinions on:
a) the implementation process, including the collaboratively developed resource and
b) teachers' experience of collaboration, either through their teaching or their involvement in the construction of the developed resource.
The recommendations of the study are that the challenges teachers are experiencing in this change initiative could be alleviated through:
school timetabling to allow teachers adequate time to collaboratively plan and form common goals; the aligning of new and old initiatives; the development of a collaborative problem solving approach between senior leaders and staff, and; a focus on practical strategy based professional development, including the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to aid collaboration.
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