What next?
Tony and Matthew testing the tool
Despite the fact that his 2007 Year 13 class was much larger, with more than 20 students, Steve again offered free choice of authentic clients and suitable issues. However, a larger class meant he had to change the way he had been using the links with his industry mentors. The 2007 mentors would come into school to talk with groups of students on broad issues such as client contact, writing an initial brief and material selection. This has the added benefit of enabling Steve to extend the interaction to involve students in his Years 11 and 12 Technology classes.
"I knew the range of skills covered by our group of mentors, so I could ask a person to come along and talk about a particular thing," says Steve. "The mentors have all been more than willing to work that way. When I've had students with specific problems, I've just phoned a mentor and asked if they could help and they just say 'Bring him down'."
The larger class made it difficult for Steve to attend all of the initial meetings between the students and their clients, so he decided to focus on the students who would benefit most from his participation in the meeting. The larger class also encouraged him to consolidate the level of teacher input in the early stages of the year to ensure that every student had a firm base to build from, particularly in terms of their planning and their understanding of the step-up required in Year 13.
He also planned to implement a process which he had trialled with his Year 12 class in which students were encouraged to identify three potential issues and then go through a screening process to evaluate each and justify their final selection in terms of access to stakeholders, authenticity of the issue and the personal enjoyment factor.
Steve produced a draft booklet for his 2007 students based on material that two local firms use for their client interviews to establish their initial briefs. "It certainly helped students make initial contact with their client and get the correct information. It's also a good planning tool and I'll be developing it further for next year."
Steve has also looked to extend the opportunities for visits to places of interest and relevance to his students. The Air New Zealand Training School and Maintenance Section in Auckland is a convenient day-trip from Hamilton, and, with almost half of his class studying both Physics and Technology, Steve worked with the Science department to organise a joint class trip so students could see the range of work undertaken there.
"We need to work closer with other subjects within the school. We also have a strong link with our careers department, which actively supports our subject with funding for careers visits, etc. They get the spin-off from exposure to the links in industry that I have developed."