Rangitāmiro in Science

A Manaiakalani Pilot Project

Strengthening learning through connection

Shared Practice Inspires Rangitāmiro

The Rangitāmiro Science Pilot grew from an established classroom practice at Bay of Islands College, where senior leader Ruth Hills has used class discussion forums to encourage student reflection, discussion and subject-specific writing since 2022.

Across six student cohorts, Ruth's class blog has generated 776 comments and replies, demonstrating how regular opportunities to articulate ideas, respond to others and share thinking can become part of everyday learning.

FROM ONE CLASSROOM TO FIVE SCHOOLS

One teacher's practice sparked a shared exploration of how writing and online discussion forums can deepen students' scientific understanding, strengthen their use of subject-specific language and develop their confidence in writing like scientists.

An example of student reflection and discussion from Ruth Hills' Level 1 Physical Education class at Bay of Islands College.

The Challenge: Writing Like a Scientist

Writing like a scientist doesn't happen by accident. For senior secondary students preparing for NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 external examinations, success requires more than knowing scientific facts. Students need to communicate their understanding, use subject-specific terminology and make connections between complex scientific concepts. Science teachers recognised that students needed more opportunities to practise explaining their thinking in writing, particularly as they prepared for their assessments.

The question was: How could regular opportunities to write, share and respond to scientific ideas help students develop greater confidence and depth in their explanations?

Manaiakalani Research Facilitator, Janet Lee, helped guide the initial discussions, drawing on her extensive background in science education, assessment and educational research. A qualified teacher in both the UK and New Zealand, Janet has specialised in senior secondary science, particularly Biology, and has worked as an NZQA marker and examiner. Her experience also includes assessment and education reform projects with Cambridge University Press & Assessment in the UK, alongside literacy and educational research with NZCER.

Janet helped teachers explore how online discussion forums could strengthen students' scientific literacy, moving beyond simply recalling facts to constructing explanations that demonstrate deeper conceptual understanding — essential for achieving Merit and Excellence in NCEA assessments. By designing purposeful questions aligned with assessment criteria, teachers could create collaborative, accessible and *rewindable* learning spaces where students revisit scientific concepts, learn from their peers and receive constructive feedback to extend their thinking.

Collaboration: Learning From One Another

Eight secondary science kaiako from five schools across Aotearoa joined the Rangitāmiro Science Pilot, representing Bay of Islands College, Ōtaki College, Papakura High School, Greymouth High School and John Paul II High School.

At the heart of Rangitāmiro was the opportunity for teachers to learn alongside one another. Through regular online hui, kaiako shared classroom experiences, developed discussion prompts and feedback strategies, and explored how the approach could be adapted across Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

These conversations sparked new ideas and encouraged teachers to build on each other's expertise. Rather than following a prescribed approach, teachers designed learning experiences for their own students, with a shared goal of strengthening scientific writing and helping students construct well-reasoned scientific explanations.

Making Thinking Visible

Using class blogs as online discussion forums, teachers introduced thought-provoking questions and real-world scenarios that invited students to share their understanding, explain their reasoning and respond to one another. These regular opportunities to read and write in a scientific context helped students practise using subject-specific vocabulary, connect ideas and develop more detailed explanations relevant to their learning and assessments. The asynchronous nature of the forums also created space for students to consider their responses before contributing, while giving teachers valuable insights into their developing understanding. Importantly, the online discussion forums provided opportunities for teachers to model effective feedback, identify misconceptions and ask questions that encouraged students to revisit and extend their scientific thinking.

Exploring AI to Support Scientific Feedback

Teachers also explored how customised Gemini Gems could support the feedback process. Designed around NCEA assessment expectations and subject-specific scientific knowledge, these AI tools offered opportunities to help teachers identify misconceptions, recognise developing understanding and generate thoughtful feedback and feedforward questions.

The focus remained firmly on teacher expertise, with AI providing a starting point for personalised responses that encourage students to revisit, clarify and extend their scientific explanations.

Rangitāmiro recognises that writing is not simply preparation for an assessment. It is an important part of the learning process itself. When students explain a concept in their own words, consider another student's reasoning or respond to a thoughtful question, they have opportunities to clarify and deepen their understanding. Through Learn–Create–Share, writing becomes an active process of constructing knowledge together.

Cybersmart Meets Senior Science

Peer commenting works best when students know what to look for. By adapting our familiar Manaiakalani Positive, Thoughtful, Helpful framework into an academic critique rubric, commenting moved far beyond simple encouragement:

‘Positive’ became: What is scientifically sound in this explanation?

What evidence, calculation or chemical principle supports it?
What have they explained particularly clearly?

‘Thoughtful’ became: Can I test or question their reasoning?

What assumption are they making?
Would their reasoning still hold if the conditions changed?
Is there anything missing or scientifically inaccurate?

‘Helpful’: What can I contribute that takes their thinking further?

Add relevant chemical knowledge.
Suggest evidence they could use.
Connect their thinking to another chemistry concept.

The Power of Authentic Sharing

Rangitāmiro demonstrates that Share Share isn't simply about putting learning somewhere others can see it. It's about creating opportunities for learners to connect their thinking with the thinking of others — questioning, contributing and building on ideas in ways that strengthen their understanding together.

And the same has been true for our teachers. This work has grown through teachers sharing their practice, trying ideas, adapting them for their learners and sharing what they've learned with others.

As we look toward 2027 and the expansion of connected learning across all subject areas with Pitomata, the Rangitāmiro network continues to show the value of teachers learning and innovating together.

Diagnostic Hooks:

Ashneel Chand, Physics teacher at Bay of Islands College, used forums to gauge prior understanding of Newton's Laws before launching into The Bus Stop Struggle, a real-world scenario challenging students to link physics principles to passenger safety.

Inclusive Collective Learning:

At Greymouth High School, Bernice Smit used discussion forums in Level 12 Biology (Genetic Variation and Change) to create an inclusive environment where students of diverse abilities pooled their knowledge and sharpened each other's critical thinking.

"The class discussion forum provides an including learning environment in which students of diverse abilities can share knowledge, broaden their understanding and contribute to collective learning. It serves as a safe space and supporting platform for developing deeper understanding of complex concepts, fostering critical thinking and facilitating meaningful academic engagement. Furthermore, it encourages peer-to-peer learning, enabling students to support one another and contribute to each other's ongoing learning and academic effort."

Low-Stakes, High-Impact Writing:

At Ōtaki College, Head of Science Dawn Hirschberg, observed that online discussion forums built a safe on-ramp for quieter, less confident students, scaffolding them toward complex chemical explanations.

“One of the things I have noticed is how the class encourages some of the less confident students to contribute.”

Embedding Learn–Create–Share

Support secondary school teachers to contextualise Learn, Create, Share and strengthen Cybersmart practice within their subject area.

Connecting Expertise Across Schools

Grow professional networks across schools with specialist colleagues

Developing Professional Capacity

Strengthen teachers’ digital fluency to enhance their practice and thus students’ digital competency

How it works

Small cohorts of teachers within the same subject specialist area
Collaborative hui (online and/or in person) across a term
In-class facilitation and remote ICF support as required
Access to subject specialists and Curriculum Advisors
Opportunities to engage industry experts where appropriate

Rangitāmiro will support the development of resources like infographics as part of teaching and learning — a powerful critical literacy tool. Creating infographics helps students analyse information, clarify ideas, and communicate their understanding in meaningful ways.

An introduction to Manaiakalani's Rangitimiro Pilot Project - 2026/03/05 15:16 NZDT - Recording

Rangitāmiro Pilot Project for Science Teachers Initial Meeting - 2026/04/30 15:23 NZST - Recording

Tahi: Rangitāmiro Planning Meeting

Rangitāmiro is a collaborative professional learning initiative designed to connect secondary teachers within their specialist areas. Bringing together small groups of teachers teaching the same topic or standard, Rangitimiro creates space to co-design, trial, and refine learning in response to student needs. Grounded in Universal Design for Learning, the approach values strong relationships, clear expectations, and iterative improvement to support engagement, achievement, and shared capability across schools.

In our first meeting, a primary focus for teachers was the urgent need for learning opportunities that bolster student literacy within scientific contexts. There was significant concern regarding the demanding literacy requirements of NCEA Level 2 and 3 science. Students frequently struggle to unpack complex contexts, establish links between questions, and effectively utilise specific scientific terminology int their assessments. Teachers are keen to explore how the class discussion forums might support this.

Rangitāmiro Science Pilot Project - Rua meeting - 2026/05/14 15:21 NZST - Recording

Our second Rangitāmiro Science Pilot meeting brought together teachers from Ōtaki College, Bay of Islands College, Papakura High School, and John Paul II High School. Participants explored how Gemini Gems can be designed to support teachers in providing effective feedback and feedforward that deepens students’ understanding and strengthens scientific thinking.

We also discussed the development of a collaborative feedback framework for discussion threads. Drawing on the Cybersmart commenting model of being positive, thoughtful, and helpful, the group explored ways to support students in demonstrating deeper conceptual understanding while confidently integrating appropriate scientific terminology into their writing.

Rangitāmiro Science Pilot Project - Wha - 2026/07/30 15:18 NZST - Recording

At our recent Rangitāmiro meeting, Science teacher, Ashneel Chand from Bay of Islands College, shared how the discussion forum helped him to guage students' prior knowledge on Newton's Laws . His following provocation invited students to apply problem solving using Newton's Laws to passenger safety The Bus Stop Struggle.

We discussed ideas to aid students' exam preparation;

Consistent practice identified as the primary method to build student confidence and analytical skills.
Excellence-level questions typically require making complex, significant links or applying knowledge to new contexts.
Pre-set "gems" confirmed as highly effective for providing timely and comprehensive student feedback from teachers

If you'd like to get involved and see how Class Discussion Threads can work for your class contact Kerry Boyde-Preece for more details.

kerry.boyde-preece@manaiakalani.org

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