Waikato Cluster
Work of the Waikato Cluster schools can be seen in the following case studies:
The Waikato cluster schools – Hamilton Girls' High School, Tauranga Boys' College and St John's College (Hamilton) – worked together as a cluster during Phase 2 of the Beacon Practice initiative to improve learning outcomes mainly in the areas of Food and Materials Technology. One goal was to develop systems of evidence gathering that effectively support student learning and that are appropriate for national assessment purposes.
St John's College
In 2006, teacher Steve Andrew experimented with evidence recording, identified and implemented domain skills progression in materials technology and implemented a Year 13 mentoring programme.
In 2007 the area of mentoring was further developed and a the way evidence is gathered simplified.
"One of my goals was to simplify the evidence required and methods used for recording progression of domain skills," says Steve. "This should started to have a positive effect on our Year 10 and 11 classes in 2007. The Year 9 technology programme was also further developed and assistance provided to teachers of junior classes to implement extension activities for high achieving students."
Techlink case studies:
Classroom Practice: BP621 Industry Mentors
Student Showcases: Disability 'Grabber' | Mini-golf putting green | Non-ice curling stone | Surfboard carry-bag | 4WD bike bracket
Enterprise Links: The St John's College / RML Link
Hamilton Girls' High School
In 2006, teacher Jenny Mangan trialled evidence-gathering techniques and has begun to identify the essential requirements to improve student enjoyment, achievement and ongoing participation.
"We made a lot of progress in developing teaching, learning and assessment materials," she says. "This has improved our own knowledge and resulted in ongoing improvements to programmes and student outcomes both at junior and senior level. There were also spin-off benefits for wider department staff in terms of PD and support. We have made a start and will continue to work on progression and recording strategies.
"A major focus for us in 2007 was to establish several classes in Technology at the senior level including Food Technology and a generic Technology programme. We established some industry /professional links in 2006 and continued to expand on these in 2007 especially to include more contacts to support the Food area."
Techlink case studies:
Student Showcases: Student bag | Citrus body care products | Wearable art
Tauranga Boys College
Over the first year of the project a new approach has been tried in the Year 11 Technology programme, giving students more choice in the context they wish to practice in. This worked well in terms of the diversity and complexity of the solutions produced and also raised some management issues which were addressed in 2007.
Significant progress was also made to create a scaffolding document for all levels that includes components of practice and domain knowledge descriptors.
"One of the key aims for us was the development of smarter strategies for the collection of evidence," says teacher Steve Ronowicz. "This has been achieved through better use of CAD and the school ICT suite. All senior programmes are now digitally formatted from day one and linked to the school's website. Web resources are linked to this and students have 24 hour access to all resources, support and other possible research sites."
Techlink case studies:
Classroom Practice: BP638 Product Technology Course | BP639 Product Development Technology
Student Showcases: Possum plucker | Wind generator