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    The use of horses for undergraduate practical teaching : animal welfare and teaching implications : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Sciences at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Guinnefollau, Lauréline
    Teaching horses are used at Massey University, New Zealand during practical classes for equine and veterinary science students to develop, improve and refine their skills. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the management and use for teaching of these horses and to assess the potential impact of the teaching-related activities on the horses’ behaviour and welfare. The knowledge and competency of students in the veterinary programme at entry level and later in their programme were studied using a questionnaire to provide information on the level of competency of students at entry to the qualification and later after exposure to horses during teaching. The results confirmed previous findings about these students’ background (i.e. mostly urban upbringing, mostly female). Confidence around horses and experience with horses were limited for most students entering the veterinary programme. First-year students had greater difficulty in interpreting a horse’s behaviour, less understanding of equine learning mechanisms and poorer self-assessed equine handling skills compared to 4th-year students. The students’ correct interpretation of equine behaviour was associated with a history of pet ownership, the presence of horses on the students’ family property while growing up and the year of study (i.e. students’ advancement in the programme). The use of the horses kept at Massey University for teaching was studied retrospectively over a calendar year. There were seven different types of equine practical teaching classes but each of the three teaching herds was used only for a specific subset of practical class types. A relatively low frequency of teaching-related activities was reported, although there was some variation in the type and number of student interactions and frequency of use of individual herds and horses. The behavioural activities, i.e. time budgets and herd dynamics, of the teaching horses at pasture were explored at the beginning, during and at the end of a semester of practical teaching. The horses’ time budgets were similar to that of free-ranging populations with a majority of feeding and resting behaviours. Social interactions were mostly submissive, and of mild intensity when agonistic. In addition, hierarchies were relatively linear and stable across time, and a high behavioural synchronisation was reported between pairs of nearest neighbours. The teaching horses’ perception of humans was investigated at the beginning, during and at the end of a semester of practical teaching, through a human-approach test. Horses’ positive responses to human approach and contact were associated with a slow pace, straight arms and gaze directed at the horse’s shoulder. Horses were significantly less likely to accept human contact if they had been used for teaching more often in the weeks prior to the test. The behavioural and physiological responses of the horses were evaluated during three types of practical teaching classes (i.e. animal handling, medical rectal- and mare reproductive rectal examinations). Heart rates during practical teaching classes were consistent and in the range of a resting horse. Horses spent most of the time eating hay but ate less during an interaction with students in the mare reproductive rectal examination class compared to being in stocks with no interaction. No change in behaviour was reported in medical rectal examination classes. The results reported in this thesis provide significant insight about the use for teaching of horses in equine and veterinary science degree programmes. The findings suggest that the teaching horses experienced limited physical, physiological and behavioural stress due to their use for practical teaching classes. Therefore, there may be an opportunity to increase the horses’ use for teaching to enhance equine and veterinary students’ learning outcomes. Additional work, however, is required to identify other equine welfare indicators that could be applied during equine practical teaching classes to further evaluate the impact of the student-horse interaction. In order to optimise the horses’ use for teaching, more research is also warranted to identify the most efficient practice to teach students safe and appropriate equine handling skills and to improve their confidence around horses.
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    Pedagogies of presence : contemplative education across the disciplines in Aotearoa New Zealand : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Thomas, Heather
    This study investigated contemplative pedagogy and practice within New Zealand universities, in the form of both mindfulness interventions targeting wellness and connection, and classroom pedagogy fostering attentional, critical, and creative thinking. Little previous research had been undertaken on the topic in this country. The integrated research design developed for the project - Critical Realist Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Design (CRMMSED) - included two phases, an extensive exploratory survey phase (n = 258), and an intensive, in-depth interview phase (n = 22). Critical Realist abductive and dialectical analyses took place alongside statistical and thematic analyses. The findings show that educators incorporate contemplative methods to address pressing issues ranging from student stress to climate change. Most contemplative teaching takes place within extant disciplinary framings. Key entry points into academia are through reflective practice in the contexts of professional education, critical social justice teaching, and creative projects. The study suggests that contemplative education arises in response to complex social factors involving several disconnects - with nature, people, the self, and the capacity for self-transcendence. This emergence is an outworking of historical forces and a response to research showing the potential of contemplative education for ameliorating difficult problems.
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    Picture perfect : the potential of photos in the tertiary classroom : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Adult Education, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Haultain, Adrianne Maree
    Photos are taken in order to capture a moment in time. Their very nature inspires a desire to share that moment in time. Mystery surrounds the participants involved: Who took this photo? Who are the people in the photo? Why was the photo taken and what is the story they have to tell? Emotions are ignited and remembered every time we glance at a photo. Something so small, that can stir such power, deserves to be exploited as much as possible in the very visual world in which we live today. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways in which photos were currently being used by a group of tertiary teachers in an Institute of Technology and Polytechnic in New Zealand. The study was exploratory in nature examining reasons why teachers were using photos and investigating the benefits of doing so. Additionally, this study deliberated ways photos could be utilised more to encourage interactive use of photos in tertiary contexts, in order to enrich teachers’ and students’ educational experiences. A survey, interviews and classroom observations were carried out in data collection to help gain an insight. Results showed many benefits in using photos to promote ‘Huakina’, the opening of the door to learning. These included encouraging student engagement, bridging knowledge gaps, enhancing and developing critical thinking, building relationships and social learning, and highlighted benefits for assessment purposes. The benefits of using photos in an interactive manner through the use of open-ended questions, as in the Huakina approach, was found to foster deep learning. The study revealed the need for teachers to carefully plan their use of photos emphasising the need for clear scaffolding and modelling of tasks, along with the need to ensure constructive alignment with the intended learning outcomes. A prominence was placed on the necessity for visual literacy guidelines to be delineated in order to utilise photos more, along with an emphasis for further professional development for teachers. The role of institutional sponsorship comes into play with staff requiring time and knowledge to plan for the better use of photos to enhance teaching and learning.
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    Why do we teach the way we do? : the relationship between tutors' conceptions of teaching and learning, the design/teaching of their online courses and effecive online teaching principles : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Horrell, Toni
    There is an increase in the use of e-learning within tertiary institutions and many courses are moving to online learning as the means to deliver all or part of courses that were previously delivered face-to-face. Online delivery, primarily through the internet, provides new challenges for tutors in delivering courses that demonstrate effective teaching principles. This study researched the perspectives and practice of twelve tutors from three different New Zealand polytechnics via a multiple case study. It investigated how tutors’ conceptions of teaching and learning aligned with the design and teaching of their online courses, and with effective online teaching principles. Enablers and barriers to tutors using effective online teaching principles were also examined. Interaction between students, between tutor and student and between tutor and content were all found to be important conceptions of teaching and learning shared by the participants. It appeared that an understanding of learning theory was related to tutors’ conceptions of teaching and learning aligning with the design of their courses. In addition, this understanding influenced tutors’ use of effective online teaching principles. The research identified that all tutors’ courses aligned with the effective online teaching principles of constructive alignment, the chunking of content and tasks into appropriate sizes, and scaffolding of information. The principles related to student interactivity with content, between students and with the tutor were evidenced on two of the polytechnics’ courses with limited evidence on the third polytechnics’ site. The effective online teaching principles of promoting student ownership of the learning process, and interaction with a larger learning environment was demonstrated on few of the tutors’ online courses in this study. The enablers and barriers experienced by tutors played a key role in the extent to which tutors implemented effective online teaching principles in their courses. Institutional processes related to course design, and tutor professional learning and support played a critical role in providing tutors with the knowledge and time they needed to effectively teach online.
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    Experiences of early adopters in changing their thinking regarding teaching practices for the online environment in a New Zealand university : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Education in Adult Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2005) Hallas, Julia Leah
    The aim of this thesis was to investigate how early adopters changed their thinking regarding teaching practices for the online environment. The study investigated how early adopters adapted and developed their classroom based teaching practices for the online environment, the effect of online teaching practices on their students' learning, and the types of professional development lecturers engaged in to learn about online teaching practices. A mainly qualitative approach, within a case study method, was used to undertake the research in a medium sized, New Zealand university, where the researcher is an academic developer in the centralised professional development unit, jointly responsible for supporting staff in online teaching practices. Written informed consent was obtained from lecturers participating in this study. A mail-in survey, individual interviews and online course observations were used to gather data for the research questions. This is a limited case study owing to the small size of the sample. The study concluded that early adopters changed their thinking about teaching practices over time, adapting and developing student-centred approaches to learning for the online environment. The study found that early adopters' perceptions of student learning was of a higher quality online, than in the classroom, owing to student learning approaches being deeper, more interactive and collaborative. Finally, the study showed that a majority of early adopters did not engage in research based professional development activities, which made changing their thinking from teacher-centred to student-centred online teaching practices, difficult and stressful.
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    An evaluation of traditional staff development practices for implementing change in university teaching : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Faculty of Education,
    (Massey University, 1987) Ashcroft, Eric Robert
    This study examined the effectiveness of different staff development practices in implementing change in tertiary teaching. It assessed the effects of participation in three modes of staff development on staff attitudes, knowledge and teaching behaviours relevant to the teaching role. In particular, the research investigated effects of traditional and alternative modes of staff development operating in a New Zealand university for the five year period from 1979 to 1983. A new four variable model of implementation composed of interdependent influencing factors, the learning process, system components and an innovation, was used. Specified change in an instructional role was defined as the criteria of success. Changes were grouped within the three interrelated categories of attitudes, knowledge and behaviour. This research indicates the efficacy of Inner-directed methods for implementing change in attitudes. Even marked changes in attitudes however were not accompanied by changes to knowledge or instructional behaviour. For acquisition of new knowledge and implementation of new behaviours it is proposed that specific training, based on individually relevant goals, effects and involvements is necessary. Finally it is proposed that consistent application of the principles of learning is necessary for implementation of innovations in the instructional role of academic staff.
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    Teaching groups as contexts for learning about teaching in higher education : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2013) Heinrich, Eva
    This research proposes a new concept, called teaching groups, as approach to learning about teaching for academics in higher education. Teaching groups are defined at the outset of the research as groups of academics who have, based on their positions in their institutions, shared responsibilities in teaching. To build a theoretical foundation, the community-based approaches of communities of practice and (faculty) learning communities are investigated and links to teaching groups established. In an important departure from existing community-based approaches, the idea of voluntary participation is abandoned and, in contrast, membership in teaching groups is by default. The motivation for this step is to overcome the low participation rates in activities related to learning about teaching, ultimately aiming at participation of the vast majority of academics. An exploratory mixed-methods research design was employed. The first, qualitative research phase was conducted using focus groups. The aim of this research phase was to explore how academics relate to the concept of teaching groups, what interactions take place in these groups and how engagement with teaching, and learning about teaching, might be facilitated in the groups. Based on the results of the focus group research, hypotheses and goals for investigation in the second, quantitative research phase were developed. A survey was conducted via a questionnaire, aiming at confirmation of key findings of the first research phase. The findings across both research phases show that nearly all participants could identify and describe their teaching groups. Characteristics of teaching groups were determined and a classification into a scale from tight-knit to individualistic teaching groups was derived. The results show that tight-knit teaching groups provide academics with a community environment highly supportive of learning about teaching, whereas members of individualistic teaching groups miss out on valuable opportunities for learning from and with each other. About 40% of the teaching groups discussed in this research were classified as tight-knit,indicating that the remaining majority of teaching groups would benefit from improvements. Setting the findings in context to the situation of teaching in higher education, recommendations were made to strengthen line management with regard to teaching and to officially acknowledge the existence of teaching groups. The research comes to the conclusion that teaching groups form a promising concept for learning about teaching in higher education. Future research will need to investigate the reasons why teaching groups develop certain characteristics and what could be done to help teaching groups to move along the scale from individualistic to tight-knit teaching groups.