Technology and financial literacy
Level: Years 7-8
School: Kelston Intermediate
Teacher: Kim Napa
Category: Teaching strategy
A new approach to raising student achievement at Kelston Intermediate in West Auckland has played a crucial role in the development of a highly successful Technology programme. A system of academies was established in 2009 as a response, explains Principal John Widdup, to the attitude of some students arriving at Kelston Intermediate. "By the time students start intermediate school many have struggled with learning and have started to turn off. The Academies programme aims to focus on learning that they are already motivated about and tries to improve their attitude towards all learning at school".
The school was already focussed on raising numeracy and literacy levels and it was hoped that the academies would complement this effort. The balance of the theoretical and practical content within the academies varies but all are required to have some academic component so, for example, the Dance students learn about physiology, nutrition and the history of dance.
The academies were initially run three afternoons a week but although teachers supported the concept they felt it was encroaching too much on their core areas of teaching, and it was cut back to two afternoons in 2010. John reports that after 18 months the overall level of achievement in the school had risen, although evidence of a link with the academies is anecdotal at this stage.
Young Entrepreneurs Academy
Design Technology Teacher Kim Napa saw the opportunity to extend her Technology students, particularly in the area of financial literacy, and established the Young Entrepreneurs Academy in which students work on a Technology project with a business focus.
Most of her students have already experienced at least one mainstream Technology class and arrive with some idea of the technological process, which Kim emphasises as an important part of their development work. When selecting an academy, the students are encouraged to draw upon their existing skills and look at how they can extend these, rather than an "I'd like to try this" basis.
The academies are run in two-term blocks and students can opt to continue in the same academy over their two years at the school. This presents a dilemma for Kim as most of her students don't want to move on after six months but John would like other students to have the opportunity of working in her academy. Because only a few students are allowed more than one block in the Young Entrepreneurs, Kim has started a lunchtime group where students can continue working on a project.
Kim's goal is to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to take an initial concept design through to a valuable and marketable product. Student learning is inquiry-based and differentiated, given that they are working at different levels of experience and expertise, and she says they manage themselves "and in some cases don't require much support. It's not step-by-step; they go away and it looks quite chaotic most days but they're producing outcomes and they can show the process they have followed."
At the beginning of each block, the students discuss what it is to be enterprising and entrepreneurial, and Kim shows how financial literacy relates to Technology. "The Technology component is huge, it's absolutely there, but these kids like 'real', and they like the idea of going out and making a sale, making a profit"
Student projects
Every block varies, as Kim tries out new ideas, but they generally involve one major project and a few minor ones. In one term, for example, the students developed wheat bags as a whole-class project in which they researched wheat bags, tested different types of wheat for how they reacted to temperature and did consumer testing. Each student was assigned a role (and interviews were held for positions such as CEO) or area of responsibility such as producing logos, looking at advertising, packaging and writing out briefs or other information to display on the school notice board. A computer and seven laptops with a range of CAD programs are available for student use in research and design work.
The students also work in small groups to develop a product, and Kim notes that the cooperation required in the group projects directly links to the Key Competencies and Values in The New Zealand Curriculum. In the Apprentice Challenge students brainstormed a product or service that they could provide within the school or local community and groups worked on:
- delivering coffee and muffins to teachers first thing in the morning
- providing baking for morning tea in the staff room
- creating a lunchtime internet cafe in the Design Technology room
- selling baking at a neighbouring primary school
- selling lemon slushies
- selling toffee apples
Accessing additional expertise
As they develop their business and marketing skills, the students learn about finance, budgeting and banking. An ASB Bank education officer had visited Kim's Year 8 Technology classes to talk to the students about finance and bank accounts, and ran a 'real-life' scenario in which students worked on budgeting, etc. Members of the Young Entrepreneurs got the benefit of this session through their Technology classes, rather than directly in the Academy. The Young Entrepreneurs' bank account has student signatories, and profits from each group's business are put there. Each student can borrow money (up to $10) from Kim and signs an agreement stating that it will be repaid when they have sold their products. After all debts are paid, a group's profit is shared between the members who can choose to take the money, use it for their next project or save it in the bank account.
Kim liaised with a Futureintech Facilitator who arranged for Futureintech Ambassador James Ledingham to visit the Academy, where he spoke to students about his job as a mechanical engineer and the Technological Practice he follows in his design work.
Developing Soap
The soap-making group exemplifies the enthusiasm within the Young Entrepreneurs. The whole group had worked on developing soap at some stages of the block, but three girls "went the extra mile" in their development and took the opportunity to work in Kim's room before school to continue their project. The girls had brainstormed a variety of ideas before deciding to make soap, then used library books and the internet to research their product line and look at the history of soap-making. They looked at soap products currently on the market, the likely needs of their stakeholders and contacted the owner of a local West Auckland soap-making factory/wholesaler who invited them to visit and gave them tips on making soap.
This relationship proved valuable for trading purposes also. The students had bought some liquid glycerine on Trade Me but found that it was quite difficult to use successfully in soap-making. All was not lost – they traded half the quantity with the soap-making factory for some 'melt and pour' glycerine.
Students had other problems to overcome as they experimented with making soap. The lemon soap, for example, didn't have much scent but they solved this by substituting lemon essence for the whole lemon they had used. They also considered people with allergies, and a lavender soap was developed to suit eczema sufferers. The students tested for any adverse skin reactions by asking a group of ten teachers to try the soap and comment on it. Each student also took a bar of soap home for family members to test, asking them to fill out a questionnaire about the product.
The students also experimented with shapes, colours and scents before making their final outcomes. They developed a logo, packaging and advertising material for their soaps which were sold at the Intermediate's open night, to Kelston students and teachers and at a neighbouring primary school. As with all the projects, the students completed their work by evaluating and reflecting on their outcomes.
Moving on
Kim's programme allows students to pursue their own ideas, and John comments, "There is so much happening in Kim's class that it's hard to keep up. There's a new idea coming through my door every day as kids dream up new things".
When considering student progression to Year 9, Kim is fortunate that the intermediate has a formally established relationship with local secondary schools – most students go on to Kelston Girls' College and Kelston Boys' High School. Together with Fruitvale School, St Leonard's Road School, Kelston Primary School and Kelston Deaf Education, they belong to Excellent Kelston Schools (EKS) and meet regularly. EKS was an initiative of the seven principals who were later joined by their respective Boards of Trustees, and now includes representatives of cultural groups, such as Māori and Pasifika parents, who attend the meetings. EKS is also involved in community trust meetings and interactions with the city council and is moving into working on curriculum links, particularly in literacy and numeracy.
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