Delivery
The Alternative class was taught as a Technology programme along the same lines as the NCEA classes and students could be assessed for Unit or Achievement Standards if they appeared likely to meet the criteria. However, the course was very teacher-directed and the class worked as a group, discussing things together with Michele, so most students were assessed by her rather than for any relevant standards.
Although students did less individual analysis than in the NCEA class, the focus throughout the year was on giving them input into the process instead of telling them what to make and how to make it. Involving students in decision-making processes added more take-home value to their final outcomes.
The programme content was not completely planned in term 1, but evolved. As the students worked through each unit Michele evaluated learning and decided what was required next. The class was Multi-materials but Michele incorporated some electrical/electronics work into it, because some students had moved to it from her Electronics class and also to satisfy her enjoyment of her own teaching area.
The year began with a preparatory lesson on working with tools, and then moved on to a Toolbox unit – an introductory/revisory unit covering safety in the workshop, cutting, filing, sanding and finishing skills. The class discussed aspects of technological practice, such as brief development, as a group and developed their brief together in class. Michele made up 'fill in the boxes' worksheets for students to complete and add their own details. Some preferred to talk to her about what they wanted and get help in writing it up as a brief.
Students were encouraged to talk to their families as stakeholders and to use any previous skills learnt out of the classroom (holiday jobs, working with Dad on a building site, trying things out at home) in their projects. She needed to ensure that skills acquired from outside experiences were accurate but didn't want to discredit student experience, so emphasised the safety aspect when reinforcing skills. "It is important to recognise skill regardless of how it is gained, and an opportunity to suggest how skills such as spray painting can be better channelled!"
In term 2 the class worked on a Stool unit which focussed on planning and in which students considered the properties of materials and the processes involved in working with them. The skills focus in this unit was construction (students learnt to make mitre joints and cut grooves for slide mechanisms), and design (focussing on decoration and symmetry).
Michele had developed the 13-week Lamps and Lighting project specifically for the Alternative programme, to use skills students already had and to introduce other skills they would need. She originally planned to incorporate some electronics, but this wasn't feasible within the time frame so Michele modified her original plan to an electrical project in which students learnt how to wire plugs for their lamps. There was a lot to get through in the unit and it continued beyond the planned 10 weeks into term 4. Some students were still working on their projects in Week 14. These students were introduced to the next project with the rest of the class, but then were allowed time to finish their lamp, so that they could start a new unit with a clear mind and sense of achievement.
At the beginning of the project students examined lamps Michele had brought in (a realisation for some that lighting can be more than bulbs in the ceiling) and took them apart to see how they worked and to discuss possibilities for their own projects. Students generated some ideas on what they'd like to make and Michele talked with them about existing class/individual skills and what was feasible in the allocated time.
Students were encouraged to think about what they needed to learn, where they could go for ideas (such as home) and to discuss their project with their families as stakeholders. In the end, although they weren't directed that way, they made similar projects because one enthusiastic boy designed particular features that the other students liked and incorporated into their individual projects, which Michele says resulted in work which was quite good.
The class was taught to use the metal lathe, to turn aluminium and nylon to make a connecting/adjustable ball joint, and the wood lathe for turning the stem of their lamps. Michele had to closely supervise some students while they operated the machinery but this was manageable because the class had been kept to a relatively small 15 students. Students enjoyed working on the wood lathes, which Michele attributes to it being more forgiving of error, as well as the satisfaction they get. They also liked the metal lathe but this required a lot more accuracy than wood, where a mistake can be fixed and retained as part of the final product.
Welding was also popular but Michele was surprised that students didn't really like using the gas cutter, perhaps because they were a little bit nervous of it as it was new to them and setting up the gas torches for cutting requires precision. Students were happier using a plasma cutter because it was easier and there weren't any flames.
Students also looked at wiring protocols, safety and codes of practice during the electrical component of the unit, and completed their lamps by decorating them - carving, staining and polishing.
Michele notes that, as in many schools, access to workshops can be problematic or some teachers may have particular skills which she wants her students to learn, so she had to teach them to work with different 'managers' in these situations. The course entailed students learning multiple skills which Michele referred to as 'testing ideas', to highlight that they wouldn't necessarily choose to incorporate all of these in their project and to ease the stress for students who couldn't manage a particular skill.
Students who attended each lesson completed their lamps well before the deadline so were able to start on an optional project in which they made a coffee table or a small tape-dispenser (which provided an opportunity to experiment with the plasma cutter, welding and turning).
Michele: "It's important that, whatever work they do, students have a wide range of skills. My philosophy is to teach them as many things as possible and over a wide range, so that when they are out on the job they can start specialising. It's not my task to teach them job skills, I teach them thinking and practising different skills. Some of them make assumptions about careers based on their father's occupation but might, for example, actually be better at welding than working in wood. You can help them identify a better direction to utilise their strengths".
