Dr Rebecca Ngaire Jesson

PhD, MEd (First Class Hons), BA, DipTchg

Senior Lecturer

In: Curriculum and Pedagogy » Faculty of Education and Social Work

Biography

Dr Rebecca Jesson is the Associate Head of School: Research, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Associate Director, Woolf Fisher Research Centre, Faculty of Education. Rebecca's research is situated in schools and their communities in New Zealand and the Pacific. Her focus is on designing with teachers innovations that will improve the literacy outcomes for students.

Rebecca is an experienced primary school teacher across a number of schools and year levels, including Reading Recovery. Her Masters of Education (2001) research focussed on implementing critical thinking in the English curriculum. Her PhD (2010) research was situated in a schooling intervention, and explored differing models of professional development in writing.

Research | Current

Rebecca works with teachers, facilitators and leaders to raise student achievement in literacy. Her research interests involve applying theories learning and teaching to achieve acceleration in literacy learning. Rebecca leads Design Based Research projects with groups of schools, developing shared hypotheses to drive the development of literacy instruction that is contextually appropriate and draws on the expertise of the learners and their teachers. In her work in schools, Rebecca is committed to excellence of instruction and achievement for all communities. She works closely with teachers and schools to examine pedagogy and overcome constraints. Rebecca's current research programmes include:

Leadership and Education Authorities Programme - Solomon Islands (Principal Investigator)

Manaiakalani and Manaiakalani Outreach Research and Development Programme (Principal Investigator)

Pasifika Literacy and School Leadership Programme (Literacy leader)

Developing in Digital Worlds (Co-investigator)

Publications

Teaching | Current

Rebecca is the academic leader of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education Literacy Specialisation.

She teaches on the following courses this year:

Edprofst 702: The Challenges of Literacy Difficulties

Edcurric 102:Language and Literacy Years 1-3

Edcurric 202 and Edcurric 622: Language and Literacy Years 4-8

Postgraduate supervision

Enhancing learning using Digital Learning Objects
Whanau engagement in a digital learning environment
Inquiry-based professional development in writing
Effective dialogic teaching for Pasifika students
Found in translation: the process of teacher learning in two languages
The role of metalinguistic awareness in students' writing development
Children's development of revision skills in writing
The development of a genre based pedagogy for use with Chinese non-English majors
Leadership within communities of learning
Case studies of disciplinary literacy instruction in Secondary Schools
Teachers' approaches to teaching of writing in Years 7-8
Concept development through story book reading in Early Childhood settings

Distinctions/Honours

Group Research Excellence Award, 2015

Responsibilities

Associate Head of School: Research: School of Curriculum and Pedagogy
Associate Director: Woolf Fisher Research Centre
Curriculum Leader: Postgraduate Diploma of Education (Literacy Specialisation)

Areas of expertise

Literacy teaching and learning, teaching and learning of writing, interventions in schools, Design Based Research

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Jesson, R., & Parr, J. (2017). Teachers' selection of texts for Pasifika students in New Zealand primary schools. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 40 (2), 109-123.
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/35946
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Judy Parr
Jesson, R. N., & Spratt, R. (2017). An intervention in literacy in three Pacific nations: Implications of a context specific approach to co-design. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 16 (1), 36-49. Related URL.
Parr, J. M., & Jesson, R. (2016). Mapping the landscape of writing instruction in New Zealand primary school classrooms. Reading and Writing, 29 (5), 981-1011. 10.1007/s11145-015-9589-5
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/28788
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Judy Parr
Jesson, R., Fontich, X., & Myhill, D. (2016). Creating dialogic spaces: Talk as a mediational tool in becoming a writer. International Journal of Educational Research, 80, 155-163. 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.08.002
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/31687
Jesson, R., & Rosedale, N. (2016). How teachers might open dialogic spaces in writing instruction. International Journal of Educational Research, 80, 164-176. 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.08.003
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/31686
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Naomi Rosedale
Jesson, R., Meredith, M., & Rosedale, N. (2015). Reconsidering home learning in the digital learning environment: The perspectives of parents, students, and teachers. set: Research Information for Teachers (3), 35-42. 10.18296/set.0025
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/30827
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Naomi Rosedale
Jesson, R. N., McNaughton, S., & Wilson, A. J. (2015). Raising literacy levels using digital learning: a design-based approach in New Zealand. The Curriculum Journal, 26 (2), 198-223. 10.1080/09585176.2015.1045535
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/26624
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Stuart McNaughton
Jesson, R. N., McNaughton, S., & Kolose, T. (2014). Investigating the summer learning effect in low SES schools. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 37 (1), 45-54. Related URL.
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/26389
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Stuart McNaughton