Shifting practice? Exploring how teaching practice develops in new classroom spaces

Abstract

A number of institutions in New Zealand have developed new formal learning spaces with the intention of engaging students in more active learning, often with the availability of supportive technologies. While some teachers adapt easily to teaching in such environments, others may find a new space or the new technologies it contains more challenging.

This presentation reports on two iterations of research into teachers’ perceptions of their developing practice in new collaborative spaces at a large polytech in Auckland. Data was collected over a period of two separate years (2014 and 2018) with different teachers at the same institution. Methodology used in the first round of research was weekly journalling (32 participants) followed up with focus groups at the end of each semester (22 participants) while in the second iteration, individual interviews were held with 13 participants.

Findings identify aspects of change in relation to classroom management, teaching style and pedagogical intentions. The opportunity to work in new spaces afforded a shift in teacher practice to be more facilitative and learning-centred. The second round of research described will give a more nuanced perspective on changes in individual practice, with a focus on teachers’ use of the affordances of a space to respond to their diverse learners, and their sense of agency in matching practice to their personal pedagogical intentions.