Innovative Learning Environments

A common theme in Emily Nelson’s research over the years is the educator/learner dynamic and ways to improve that relationship for better outcomes in the classroom.

Emily is the programme co-ordinator for the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) at EIT and sees research as an important tool to discover innovative learning and teaching methods.

Equipping candidate teachers for their practicum in primary schools with innovative learning environments (ILEs) has been a research focus since 2015. Initial findings show that the big change for student teachers is moving from the traditional classroom setting with one supervising teacher to a collaborative environment with two or three teachers and direct responsibility for more learners.

Another of Emily’s research projects involved a case study of Richmond School, carried out in collaboration with the then principal Maurice Rehu. The whole school was set up as an innovative learning environment underpinned by kaupapa Māori and focused specifically on practices to support Māori learner success drawn from Te Ao Māori.