Margaret Adeane, Academic Director at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, has been selected to represent NZ on the Global Action Research Collaborative pilot programme in partnership with the
National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (US), Girls’ Schools Association and Girls’ Day School Trust (UK), and other
participating organisations and schools. This exciting initiative will involve a small pilot cohort of nine teachers
from girls’ schools from around the world undertaking action research projects on the theme: ‘Feedback to move forward, thrive and grow’.
In light of the growing stress experienced by students around the world in response to assessment, testing and
examinations, the Global Action Research Collaborative’s pilot program will investigate different modes of feedback and
assessment designed to increase girls’ confidence and resilience, while reducing anxiety and improving emotional
wellbeing.
Nine teachers from girls’ schools in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and
South Africa have been selected to form the pilot cohort.
Margaret will investigate teaching girls to fail and thrive in unstructured contexts so they develop the skillsets
needed for the technologically disruptive workplaces of the future. A key aim will be to develop the right language to
help girls learn the ‘right way to fail’ and connect these classroom lessons to learning for life. “It is exciting to be
part of the project, coming at a key moment in Marsden School’s own journey which strongly focuses on student
wellbeing”, says Margaret. “We are searching for the right way to understand and articulate learning through the lens of
today’s critical skillset so it is fantastic to be sharing learning and experience with educators of girls from around
the world”.
The nine teachers participating in the pilot program have commenced an 18-month programme of training and action
research. Online training will be delivered by lecturers from the Professional and Graduate Education faculty of Mount
Holyoke College, a liberal arts women’s college in Boston. Pilot programme teachers will also attend a training workshop
in Philadelphia in June 2020 and present their research findings at the Global Forum III on Girls’ Education in Boston
in June 2021.
Loren Bridge, Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia Executive Officer says ‘The calibre of the candidates and their
proposed action research projects is outstanding. The benefits that will accrue to the girls’ schools taking part in the
Global Action Research Collaborative cannot be understated.’
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been providing quality independent education for girls and young women for more than 140 years. While honouring
tradition it delivers a wide-ranging, modernised and future-focused curriculum, with a strong emphasis on student
wellbeing. Marsden is New Zealand’s first Visible WellbeingTM school. Marsden provides education for girls Years 1-6 and Years 7-13, and has a co-ed Preschool.
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