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Introduction to Focus / Forum

He Whakaputanga Whakaaro –
Introduction for Mäori Medium forums

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Forums for Mäori Medium
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 Science
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 Music
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(2005)
(2001)
 Information Skills
Social Studies
Mathematics
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Health & Phys. Ed.
Writing
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National Education Monitoring
ISSN 1174 - 247X
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Contact details:
Email : earu@otago.ac.nz  
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Last updated October 2008

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FORUM
PARTICIPANTS

Sandra Aikin
Glenda Anthony
Susan Apathy
Simon Beitchef
Diana Caird
Michael Christensen
Linda Clouston
Cedric Croft
Pauline Donaldson
Alison Dow
Warwick Elley
Val Fergusson
Gwen Gawith
Alison Gilmore
Ngarewa Hawera
Julie Hepburn
Peter Hughes
James Irving
Frances Kelly
Mate Kite
Judine Knowles
Virginia Kung
Ian Livingstone
Kim Millwood
Tim Newman
Te Aroha Paenga
Liz Patara
Craig Paterson
Bernard Peterson
Rob Petrie
Vikki Pink
Gillian Shortcliffe
Gloria Takuira
Martin Te Moni
Deidre Vercauteren
Helen Walters
Christina Ward
Pippa Young





Within repeating four-yearly cycles, NEMP monitors student achievement at two key levels, year 4 and year 8, in all of the essential curriculum areas. The second four-year cycle of NEMP started in 1999. Results from this second cycle allowed reporting of achievement trends over a four-year interval, by comparing performances on tasks used in both the first and second cycles.

The three reports on 2001 assessment results were considered by a national forum of curriculum and assessment specialists, teachers and representatives of national educational organisation, in June of 2002. Their comments highlight good news and point to areas where improvements are desirable.

The help of principals, teachers and Boards of Trustees in making NEMP reports and the subsequent Forum Comments widely known is encouraged and appreciated.

. Click the Access Task icon for more information about those tasks which have been made available to schools since 2001.
INFORMATION SKILLS 2001
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.CLICK for full report
 GOOD NEWS
• There was a modest improvement between 1997 and 2001 in the ability of Year 4 students to find and gather information. Five percent more students, on average, succeeded with these tasks.

• Most Year 4 and Year 8 students used dictionaries effectively for checking spelling.

• Most students had reasonable success in locating specific information in well-structured resources.

• Year 4 boys and girls achieved at similar levels on all tasks. Four years earlier, girls performed better than boys on 30 percent of tasks.
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CONCERNS
• The enthusiasm shown by Year 4 students for ‘research’ type work has declined by Year 8. This form of classroom activity could be overdone at this level or topics may not sufficiently engage student interest.

• Although students were able to make superficial use of reference tools, including the internet, more strategic and more flexible use of these tools was not in evidence.

• Few students demonstrated adequate note-taking and summarising skills.

• The skills of analysing, synthesising and summarising information have not improved since 1997.

• Many students did not understand ways in which libraries are organised.

• Year 4 and Year 8 students lacked appreciation of the wider functions of the dictionary, and at Year 8 level, thesaurus skills were weak.

..MOVING FORWARD –
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRESS
• Teachers need to teach and give students guidance and plenty of practice in basic information skills such as key word searching, alphabetising and efficient use of libraries.

• Most students would benefit from specific teaching of internet search strategies.

• With the ‘information revolution’ placing more and more emphasis on ability to make selective and discriminating use of information, and with the relevance of these abilities to all curriculum areas, all teachers need to contribute to the development of these skills.

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SOCIAL STUDIES 2001
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.CLICK for full report
 GOOD NEWS 
• Between 1997 and 2001, Year 4 students showed an improvement in knowledge of New Zealand history.

• Students were able to recognise distinctive New Zealand symbols and showed an improved ability to identify and match significant features of different countries.

• Both Year 4 and Year 8 students were positive about learning about the future.

• Students showed a good understanding of the roles of people working successfully in groups.

• Students were well informed about ANZAC Day and its associated link with Australia.
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.CONCERNS
• Students showed a lack of understanding of the parliamentary process, elections and the role of MPs.

• While many students had some knowledge of New Zealand’s historical events, they need to develop better understanding of their significance.

• Although Year 8 students knew and understood more about the Treaty of Waitangi and its significance than Year 4 students, there is still substantial room for improvement for all students.

• Students showed limited understanding of immigrant cultural features and elements of New Zealand culture and identity.

• Students did not rate Social Studies as one of their favourite subjects and there has been a decrease in how much they think they learn in Social Studies. This could be because students do not always recognise when Social Studies is occurring in the classroom programme.

MOVING FORWARD –
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRESS
• There needs to be a refocus and greater emphasis in Social Studies as a curriculum area in its own right.

• Teacher professional development needs to extend awareness and use of the language of Social Studies. This could help students to recognise the meaning and place of Social Studies.

.• There is a need for opportunities for teachers to develop their own knowledge and understandings about New Zealand history and social organisation to help strengthen the content and delivery of Social Studies programmes.

• More emphasis needs to be placed on Social Studies processes which promote critical and analytic thinking about issues and situations. There is also scope for giving greater attention to the importance of content knowledge in Social Studies programmes.
MATHEMATICS 2001
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.CLICK for full report
 GOOD NEWS 
• Selecting from 12 subject areas, Year 4 students chose mathematics as their third favourite subject and Year 8 students chose mathematics as their fourth favourite subject. These high rankings are unchanged from 1997.

• Averaged across all of the tasks used both in 1997 and 2001, about 5 percent more Year 4 students were successful in 2001 than in 1997.

• In both Year 4 and Year 8, higher percentages of students than in 1997 perceived that their teachers and parents knew their capabilities in mathematics.

• Year 8 students showed good knowledge of addition, subtraction, and multiplication basic facts.

• There was little difference between the performance of boys and girls.
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CONCERNS 
• As in the 1997 assessments, students at both levels performed poorly on tasks involving estimation, in both number and measurement.

..• A similar lack of improvement is evident for work with fractions.

• Most students do not demonstrate ability to use a variety of effective strategies when completing mathematical tasks.

• Students displayed limited ability to explain processes and strategies used in mathematical tasks.

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MOVING FORWARD –
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROGRESS
• The use of estimation is important for checking the reasonableness of mathematical calculations. This should be a focus for teaching and learning.

• Addition and subtraction, as opposite operations, need to be taught together. This applies also to the teaching of division and multiplication.

• Students need to be encouraged to explore a range of strategies for solving mathematical tasks, so that they can learn to select the most efficient method.

• Students need practice in describing the strategies and processes they use for mathematical tasks.

• Programmes and learning opportunities need to help students become aware of how they can incorporate mathematical thinking into everyday life.
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CLICK for
Assessment Results for Mäori Students 2001
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CLICK for
Te Whakaputanga
Whakaaro –
Mäori Forum Comment 2001

 INFORMATION SKILLS
• Year 4 Mäori students achieved at a similar level to non-Mäori students on 69 percent of Information Skills tasks, up 24 percent since 1997.

• Year 8 Mäori students achieved at a similar level to non-Mäori students on tasks involving clarifying information.

• At least two-thirds of Mäori students enjoyed searching for information and sharing it with others, and also thought that they were good at it.

• Year 8 Mäori students performed as well as non-Mäori students on only 36 percent of the tasks involving finding, gathering, analysing and using information.
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SOCIAL STUDIES
• Year 4 Mäori students were more positive about Social Studies than other Year 4 students.

• Year 8 Mäori students improved their achievement relative to other students. In 1997, they were on a par with other students for only 32 percent of tasks. In 2001, they were achieving on a par with other students on 60 percent of tasks.
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MATHEMATICS 
 • Between 1997 and 2001, Year 4 and Year 8 Mäori students made larger gains than non-Mäori in knowledge of basic number facts.

. • There are indications of improvement over time for Mäori Year 4 students.
In 2001, they performed comparably with non-Mäori students on 34 percent of tasks, up 14 percent from four years earlier.

• In 1997, Year 4 Mäori students were more positive than non-Mäori about doing maths at school and in their own time, tackling new mathematics areas, and their ability in maths. By 2001, the only difference on survey questions was that Mäori students were less positive about their ability in maths. This decline in enthusiasm and confidence could have a negative impact on their further progress in maths.

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ISSN 1174-247X
 
Contact Details:   Email : earu@otago.ac.nz   |   Freephone 0800 808 561   |   Fax 64 3 479 8561   |   October 2008
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