A total of 15 literacy, numeracy and language teachers were observed for this study during the months of October and November. All of the observations took place at the teachers’ normal teaching locations; these locations ranged from community centres to company boardrooms. Six of the teachers were observed on a single day, although most of these observations were spread over several sessions (typically a morning and the afternoon); the other nine involved two different visits. The teachers were observed for a total of 1,963 minutes, averaging 167 minutes per teacher. The total hours for the observation of each teacher are shown in the graph below.
All of the participating CEOs, the teachers being observed, and the learners involved in the observations, signed consent forms as per the requirements of The University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee.
Most of the teachers were interviewed after the first session to clarify any issues about what was observed and to supply additional data about their backgrounds and current teaching situations. In three cases, it was not possible to complete the interview face-to-face, so these interviews were done by phone.