Pre-planning
Student Matthew Baird and Director Peter Botting at RML
Steve wanted to develop a Year 13 programme where the class worked on a whole year project in which individual students select their own client-based issue.
Because of the mixed backgrounds of the class, he designed a programme that offered different levels of qualifications:
- boys who haven't done Year 12 Technology work towards internal assessment in two Achievement Standards and one Unit Standard;
- those with more experience and confidence can do an extra internally assessed Achievement Standard
- high achievers can also do externally assessed standards.
Since there were only six students in the class, Steve felt confident that he could give the support required for each student to individually select a client-based project that was personally motivating and enabled them to meet their assessment aspirations. He aimed to match each project to a local industry which would provide individual mentoring.
The prospect of approaching a range of industries would normally be daunting, but Steve was fortunate to have access to brokering help from the Waikato Engineering Careers Association (WECA). WECA works with secondary schools, raising awareness of mechanical engineering careers with teachers, career advisors and students. Students are given opportunities to visit the workplaces of WECA members, to understand roles and working environments.
"Developing a Level 3 programme has to be approached very carefully, because there are lots of places where it can all fall over and everyone loses out – the student, the school and the client. Success comes down to the level of planning you put into it."
Two of Steve's students had considerable success and received media attention with their Year 13 Bike Project. It is this type of authentic client issue that he wanted to encourage his Year 13 students to select.
