Opportunities for learning mathematics in a newly established Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2018
DOI
Open Access Location
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Massey University
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Abstract
There is currently an increasing movement towards the implementation of Innovative
Learning Environments (ILEs) in primary schools across New Zealand, advocated by
the Ministry of Education. This ILE implementation has been met with both support
and opposition from the public and educators alike. Simultaneously, mathematics
education in New Zealand is undergoing reform, with research informing changes
from traditional transmission-style approaches to those that place students at the centre
and promote mathematical understandings in communities of learning. Reforms in
how students learn mathematics are well-aligned to the skill sets promoted as
reflecting the competencies required of 21st century learners. However, the paucity of
research into opportunities for students learning mathematics in ILEs warrants the
need for further research.
Using a qualitative methodology and single case study design, this research explored
the opportunities afforded to Year 7 and Year 8 students when learning mathematics
in a newly established ILE. Throughout Term 2, 2018, data collected from one-to-one
teacher interviews, classroom observations, and student focus group discussions were
coded, analysed, and triangulated. Four salient themes emerged from the data: the
affordances of spatial arrangement, opportunities for student agency, students leading
the learning, and the ILE as a mathematics community of learners. Teacher and student
participants reported space within the ILE opened opportunities for individual and
collaborative mathematics learning. The increased affordance of student voice and
choice positioned students as the central drivers in both the leading and learning of
mathematics. The open, fluid, and flexible spaces within the ILE presented increased
opportunities for varied grouping structures. When combined with new co-planning
and teaching arrangements, teachers and students considered that opportunities to learn
involved greater options for mathematical challenge and multiple perspectives on
mathematics.
This research study presents mathematics learning within an ILE through the voices
of the participants, particularly the student participants. It provides insights into the set
up and spatial qualities afforded within the ILE, ways students described their mathematical learning opportunities, and comparisons they made to their previous
single-space learning environments. Teacher and student participants in this research
were very supportive of the ILE arrangement and the opportunities for learning
mathematics that it afforded.
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Keywords
Mathematics, Study and teaching (Primary), New Zealand, Curriculum enrichment, Educational innovations, Classroom environment, Student-centered learning, Case studies