2007: Consolidation
In 2007, 17 students opted for the Year 13 Materials Technology programme – a testament to the success of the preceding year.
"That was a good number for a Year 13 class," says Jean. But she was disappointed in the relatively small number of girls coming through. "Most of those students had come through the Level 2 soft and Hard Materials courses, but a lot of my girls tend to leave school at the end of Year 12 – that's just the reality with the students we have tended to attract into the subject. But it does show that progression through the levels was starting to build up."
After two years in which the outcomes from the major project had been presented in the form of conceptual designs, Jean and Graham decided that a 'refocussing' should occur.
"For the first time, most of our Level 3 students had come through Level 1 and Level 2 Technology courses, so had built up a better skill base than in previous years. They were in the class because they enjoyed working with materials and we wanted to give them more opportunity to develop high quality outcomes."
The course was divided into two parts: a minor skills-building project with unit standard assessment followed by a major project in which students had the opportunity to develop an outcome through the use of advanced materials skills using achievement standard assessment.
"Students had free choice of materials with which to work, based on the facilities we've got and the expertise of the staff – between the two of us, they get a good range of options. For their minor project some of the boys opted for textiles, quite happy to cross over and pick up some new skills in that area. In order to exhibit advanced skills, they all went back to more familiar materials for their major project. But it did give them that opportunity to work in a different area, and students who were not familiar with using machinery adapted pretty quickly, which was good for their self confidence."
The aim in the major project was for students to find clients outside of the school, but it was recognised that some students may still be uncomfortable with this aspect of the coursework. "Students need to feel comfortable with a client and it was obvious some of them weren't quite mature enough. So we also needed to provide a range of client-related options for them to choose from."
"By the end of the year class numbers had dropped to 10 of which seven completed the main achievements standards project and the remaining three gaining the appropriate unit standards on offer. So it was a two tier course really."
Jean noted that the quality of the student outcomes was matched by the success of students working collaboratively in a co-educational environment.
"I've had Year 13 students for years, but its not really the same as having a Year 13 class where they're actually working together in a co-ed environment. That's what the real world is like, so it's much better socially. Also they can work together, examine each other's projects and bounce ideas off each other. I like that team approach and it's good to see it in the classroom as, again, it reflects what happens in the real world. There were two or three that just floated in and out but the majority were good at helping one another and working together."
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