Background: For many years, skill learning has been an important component of primary school physical education (PE) with most lessons focused on the teaching of fundamental movement skills (FMS) or sports techniques (Kirk 2010). Increasingly, the generalist primary school teachers who are responsible for delivering the PE curriculum are facing…

If "The New Zealand Curriculum" vision statement is aiming for students "who will work to create an Aotearoa New Zealand in which Maori and Pakeha recognise each other as full Treaty partners, and in which all cultures are valued for the contributions they bring," then we need to teach accurate understandings of historical…

The Games for Learning project set out to explore game-based learning (GBL) practices in New Zealand classrooms and build a connected community of research and practice. Our research suggests there is a mixture of curiosity, enthusiasm, and uncertainty in the sector about where games "fit" into learning. I outline some of the theoretical…

This article reflects on a school's approach to gamifying the Royal Society Te Aparangi's First CREST Award. The article explains how CREST was reconceived as a quest using elements of live action role playing (LARP) and gamification, and the tools that were used to do this. It describes how progress was measured using a points system and the…

Playful experiences provide us with the opportunity to engage with others and learn in enjoyable ways. Recognising and building on the power of playfulness and play can be a way to support more meaningful educational experiences for all, life-wide and lifelong. This "Trends Shaping Education Spotlight" touches on gamification as a…

This report follows up on the book "Leapfrogging Inequality: Remaking Education to Help Young People Thrive," published in 2018 by the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution. The book argued the importance of education leapfrogging--creating transformative shifts rather than incremental evolution by harnessing…