Effective teaching for diverse learners
Effective teaching for diverse learners can be achieved by creating learning environments and implementing classroom practices that cater to the many individual characteristics of boys in your school.
Research tells us that effective teaching makes the biggest in-school difference in student achievement.
Being responsive to your boys’ diverse needs is a key focus of effective teaching.
This means taking into consideration the ethnicity, socio-economic background, home language, special needs, disability, and giftedness of individual boys, and adapting your teaching practice accordingly.
Explore what’s out there
There are a number of existing initiatives that are demonstrating an improvement in student outcomes by providing for diverse learners.
Best Evidence Synthesis (BES)
Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES) (December 2007)
Presents eight case studies on teacher learning that meet the needs of diverse students in your classrooms. The case studies look at how teachers apply the learning in the real contexts of their schools and classrooms.
Quality Teaching for Diverse Students in Schooling: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES) (June 2003)
Explores ten characteristics of quality teaching derived from a synthesis of research findings of evidence linked to student outcomes. The central professional challenge for teachers is to cater to the vast range of learning needs of diverse students.
Consider how you could apply the findings to your own practice.
Te Kōtahitanga
Te Kōtahitanga programme is a collaborative response to the rising problem of underachievement among Māori students in mainstream schools.
As part of this professional development research project, which began in 2001, the research team developed an effective teaching profile based on suggestions from Māori students, parents, teachers, principals, and international literature.
Te Kōtahitanga: Maintaining, Replicating and Sustaining Change (February 2021)
Documents the outcomes of the implementation of Te Kōtahitanga in Phase 3 and 4 secondary schools from 2007 to 2010
Te Kōtahitanga Phase 2: Towards a Whole School Approach
A research project that builds on the Te Kotahitanga research and professional development project. It examines what happens when the professional development project is implemented in the whole school rather than by a small number of teachers in a school.
Professional Development: Numeracy, Literacy
The Numeracy Professional Development Projects aim to improve student achievement in mathematics, by improving classroom teaching at all levels.
Annual research and evaluation reports and compendium papers
Available on nzmaths. You can read Numeracy and Development Projects report PDFs from 2002 to 2009.
Literacy Professional Development Project (LPDP): Identifying effective teaching and professional development practices for enhanced student learning
The focus of LPDP is improving teacher content knowledge in literacy, pedagogy and practice. Another key element is building effective professional learning communities.
The project, which began in March 2004, provides schools with provides schools with in-depth, school-wide professional development in literacy. Facilitators work with the literacy leaders, principals, and teachers and support them to take an inquiry and evidence-based approach to the effectiveness of literacy practices in their schools.