RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO
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MOVING from early childhood learning to
primary school can be a challenge for some
children. A three-year study at the University
of Waikato has been looking at ways of
understanding that transition and working
with early childhood and school teachers to
support children’s learning at this time. The
study was funded by the TLRI (Teaching
Learning and Research Initiative) and is part
of a wider international study of transitions
in education called POET, Pedagogies of
Educational Transitions, involving researchers
from New Zealand, Sweden, Scotland, Iceland
and Australia.
The Waikato researchers worked closely
with two schools and three early childhood
centres. They talked to children, teachers
and parents, observed classroom activity and
examined assessment records, in some cases
monitoring the children for two years.
The study was led by Associate Professor
Sally Peters and Vanessa Paki. Dr Peters says
the teachers have become quite nuanced in
the way they respond to individuals, paying
attention to the strengths and interests
children bring with them and offering support
where they notice challenges. “This can be
quite subtle such as providing toys and a quiet
place to play in a busy playground.”
The researchers worked with a new
school and a new early learning centre
in Hamilton’s northern suburbs, and
within a more established community in
Te Awamutu, including a Māori early
childhood centre. They addressed learning,
play, and socialising activities.
“It may sound simple, but if a child comes
from a centre where the children all sit inside
at tables to eat, preceded by a karakia, usually
said by one of the children, then the school
experience of rushing outside with a lunchbox
can be confusing or overwhelming,” says
Dr Peters.
A CHILDHOOD in Northland fishing in the
Kaipara Harbour gave Ray Tana (Ng¯ati Wh¯atua
and Ng¯a Puhi) an appetite for learning more about
fish later in life.
After a decade of working as a butcher, Ray
reached a turning point. He decided it was time to
follow his interests in environmental science and
fishing, enrolling in a Diploma of Environmental
Management and Conservation at NorthTec,
followed by a Bachelor of Science at AUT and a
Master of Science majoring in biological science at
the University of Waikato. He is now finishing a
PhD at Waikato.
Ray’s PhD research is based on expanding the
current understanding of Antarctic toothfish life-
history and population structuring throughout
the Southern Ocean. Specifically, he has been
using chemical markers in toothfish otoliths (ear
bones) collected by long-line vessels operating in
areas around Antarctica and using these chemical
markers for stock assessment purposes.
“Because otoliths have growth rings that
incorporate trace elements from the water relating
to where fish lived, we can extract chemical markers
from a particular stage of the fish’s life, which can
tell us a lot about the environments or habitats it
previously used, and population structure.”
All fishing operations in Antarctic waters are
managed annually under the Commission for
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources (CCAMLR) which is made up of 24
member countries. Each of the four New Zealand
vessels that fish for toothfish in the Ross Sea have
two onboard scientific observers who monitor
vessel compliance to strict CCAMLR regulations
and protocols, and also collect biological
samples such as otoliths and tissue samples
including recording catch data for research and
management. Observers also conduct ongoing
tagging work so when fish are re-caught at a later
date, their growth can be measured and their
FISHY STORIES:
Ray Tana is researching
populations of
Antarctic toothfish
(Dissostichus mawsoni).
movements to other areas around Antarctica can
be tracked.
“Genetic markers traditionally tell us whether
populations are connected over evolutionary
timescales,” says Ray. “In contrast, if we focus on
specific growth rings in otoliths, we can extract
trace element information taken up from the
water that reflects the environments fish inhabited
throughout their entire life.”
Otoliths are analysed at Waikato University’s
Mass Spectrometry Suite using laser ablation
ICP-MS. Results from the analyses will determine
if fish have utilised the same spawning areas which
will help to establish how populations maybe
structured within the Ross Sea and throughout
greater Antarctica.
“Based on chemical markers in otoliths, if
there are distinct differences between toothfish
populations around Antarctica, these populations
may need to be managed separately to prevent over-
fishing so this information will have important
implications in the future management of
this fishery.”
Ray, heading to Chile in June, will present his
research as a New Zealand delegate to CCAMLR
fisheries managers at the annual Working Group
on Statistics, Assessments and Modelling (WG-
SAM) meeting in Punta Arenas.
Throughout his study, Ray has received
funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment of $25,000 a year for three years,
a Rona Scholarship of $10,000 and a Ng¯a Puhi
scholarship of $4,000.
The life and times of
Antarctic toothfish
Moving up in the system
CHILDREN and young men are some of
the major sufferers of traumatic brain
injury (TBI) – usually caused by falls, head
knocks in contact sports, violence or motor
vehicle accidents.
Sometimes TBI goes undiagnosed,
while for others, the effects can be ongoing.
Effects can be physical, cognitive, social,
emotional and behavioural.
Researchers from the University
of Waikato, AUT, Otago and Auckland
universities and the Waikato District Health
Board are working on ways to identify people
most likely to suffer ongoing symptoms
of TBI and what treatments or actions are
most helpful for sufferers to make the best
possible recovery.
The National Institute for Stroke and
Applied Neurosciences, based at AUT,
has offices on the University of Waikato
campus in Hamilton. Associate Professor
Nicola Starkey from Waikato University is
one of the project leaders for a number of
different but inter-related studies, working
closely with neuropsychologist Dr Kelly
Jones of AUT.
Their first study, funded by the Health
Research Council, looked at recurrent
traumatic brain injury and, identified 1369
people in the Waikato who had a TBI over
a one-year period. All were interviewed
shortly after they had their injury, and again
after one, six and 12 months. Four years
later, they are following up that cohort,
re-interviewing 628 from the first study. In
between times they have also completed
a separate study looking at brain injury
among children only.
The long-lasting
effects of TBI
“We followed up children two years after
their first injury and found as many as a third
were still struggling, with problem-solving
issues, behavioural difficulties and poor quality
of life,” says Dr Starkey. “Their injuries were
mostly as a result of mild TBI – they hadn’t
been knocked out.”
Dr Jones says sometimes children and their
families don’t know they’ve had TBI, and that
makes it difficult for families when a child’s
behaviour suddenly changes. Typical signs of
mild TBI are seeing stars, loss of consciousness
and not remembering what happened. Mild
TBI can lead to fatigue, poor memory, long-
lasting headaches, irritability and inability
to concentrate.
In adults, TBI can show up in different
ways. “We’re starting to look at levels of post-
traumatic stress disorder in adults. It’s a big
area for concern,” says Dr Starkey. “It seems
TBI can almost be a trigger or stressor for a
pre-existing illness, such as depression; it can
reactivate previous problems.”
Dr Jones says you can’t stop most head
injuries. “But for adults and children who do
suffer TBI, we want to find out who amongst
them are most likely to have ongoing
symptoms and what treatments or behaviours
have helped others to recover successfully.”
At Learning Links childcare centre, they
introduced lunch box Friday so the children
became familiar with the school way of eating.
They got the children signing in each day so
they got used to writing their names.
“That seemed to give them confidence
and the children learnt quickly with the
repeated action,” says Learning Links’ Julia
Tilley, a primary-trained teacher working in
early childhood. “Having been involved in the
transitions study, we’ve introduced a transition
programme which will be ongoing.” The big
thing is familiarity, she says.
The transition can sometimes be more
difficult for children coming into mainstream
from Māori early learning centres. “The
children have expertise and valuable skills
in the Māori medium, and that’s often
not acknowledged when they move into
mainstream schools,” says Dr Peters.
Ms Paki says the transition of culture,
language and identity of the child must be
supported across each sector and woven within
the organisation of settings, their curriculum
and how relationships are formed. “There
must be a commitment and responsibility
from early childhood and schools to deepen
their connection of understanding with the
desire to continue to work with and alongside
each other as a way forward.”
POET extends on this work, looking at
a range of educational transitions within the
five countries involved. In April this year Dr
Peters and Ms Paki with their team hosted
POET delegates from overseas. At a one-day
symposium the different researchers presented
aspects of their studies, and then in a three-
day research conference, the focus was very
much on indigenous research, the methods
and ethics of working with indigenous
communities.
