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Short introduction
Graeme Aitken it the Associate Dean Academic in the Faculty of Education. He has a background of 14 years secondary teaching in geography, history and social studies. He has held various leadership roles in initial teacher education since 1992 and established the inaugural secondary teacher initial teacher education programme at The University of Auckland in 1996. He won a Distinguished Teaching Award at the university for his role in establishing and leading this programme. Graeme has also presented many hundreds of workshops at conferences and to schools on teaching effectiveness, classroom management, and student motivation.
Educational history
EdD, MA (Hons) Geography, DipTchgAreas of expertise
- Curriculum design
- Pedagogy
- Teaching effectiveness
Research and professional interest
- Curriculum history, development and design especially in relation to social studies, history and geography
- Student conceptual development in social sciences
- Citizenship education
- Initial teacher education programme design and evaluation
- Nature and evaluation of teaching effectiveness
I am currently completing a contract for the Ministry of Education
Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration - characteristics of pedagogical approaches that facilitate learning for students in early childhood and schooling in Tikanga-a-iwi/social studies/social sciences diverse learners. Ministry of Education: Wellington (Co-researcher: Claire Sinnema).
Current teaching
- EDUC 283 Pedagogy - Beyond Skills and Methods
- EDPROFST 762 Mentoring Teachers
Recent publications
Article
Aitken, G. (2006). Signalling Shifts in Meaning - The Experience of Social Studies Curriculum Design. Curriculum Matters (in press)
This article argues the view that curriculum policy is an educative resource for teachers and that this view imposes certain design considerations on policy. Foremost among these is the need to signal shifts in meaning in ways that enable teachers to better understand what the reform is requiring of them and how this is different from existing practice. Past curriculum designs in New Zealand social studies are analysed and patterns of signalling shifts in curriculum intention are illustrated. The article emphasises the importance of design that acknowledges existing understandings, that alerts teachers to possible misconceptions, and that shows how the reform builds on, and changes, past practice.
Conference presentation
Aitken, G. and Sinnema, C. (2006). Communicating the Findings of a Best Evidence Synthesis to Multiple Audiences. Presentation to The Invisible College for Research on Teaching, San Francisco, 6 April
The presentation outlined the process the authors had used to enhance the reporting of research findings to teachers and the challenges and unresolved issues associated with this process.
Conference paper
Aitken, G. and Sinnema, C. (2006). Understanding connections between pedagogical approaches and outcomes for diverse learners in the social sciences curriculum domain. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 7th April 2006
This paper reports on the process of developing a Best Evidence Synthesis (BES) aimed at understanding the connections between pedagogy and student outcomes in the social sciences curriculum domain. It begins by describing the nature and scope of the task, and then outlines aspects of the methodology used to develop the synthesis. The final section of the paper focuses on a dilemma that the BES writers are facing with respect to the requirement to communicate their findings to multiple audiences.
Book chapter
Aitken, G. (2005). The purpose and substance of social studies: citizenship education possibilities. In R. Openshaw & P. Benson (Eds.), Towards Effective Social Studies (pp 83-110) Massey University, Palmerston North: Kanuka Grove Press.
This chapter argues that citizenship education provides a reference point for establishing a more distinctive purpose for social studies within the New Zealand curriculum. Citizenship education is defined, and a conceptual basis is established, with reference to theoretical commentaries and to existing curriculum in three Western democracies. The value of this conceptual base for New Zealand secondary school students is then justified with reference to the twin dimensions of civic participation and civic literacy. Finally the study examines the implications for New Zealand social studies of directing it through a citizenship education aim. The findings reveal that citizenship education skills and concepts have the potential to provide a much clearer organising framework for New Zealand social studies education.
Doctor of Education Thesis
Aitken, G. (2005). Curriculum Design in New Zealand Social Studies: Learning from the Past. Doctor of Education thesis. School of Education: The University of Auckland
This 80,000 word thesis examined the history of social studies curriculum design in New Zealand and developed and justified a new curriculum framework for social studies based on citizenship education. The framework drew on theoretical work in the field of citizenship education and on international examples of citizenship education curriculum design. One of the main conclusions of the thesis was that social studies curriculum design needs to pay much greater attention to the need for an internally coherent structure based on a defensible and theoretically-derived curriculum purpose sourced in citizenship education.
