Monday 25th was a work day – some connections from home and email in the morning with meetings with e-learning team in the afternoon over coffee in the sun on campus. Good discussion and exchange of ideas. Singing praises of Martin Tim and Kit and the move to Moodle2 back home.
Tuesday 26th – was another of our days out with Garry generously covering huge distances in the Waikato car to ensure we got a good picture of the country’s educational institutions as well as some of its great scenery. So we had a great day at a school in the morning, a university campus in the afternoon and then a paddle in the Pacific at the end of it.
The school was Stanley Avenue School at Te Aroha under the leadership of Stuart Armistead for the past 4 years or so…really fabulous place. Similar to Leamington in some ways and also as great in different ways. Again, consensus and a concern for learner-centred dispositions are driving the curriculum here. Being child-centred and achieving highly can sit side by side. Let’s hope – as I said before – that they resist the relentless and senseless political interference that makes things not so great for teachers back home. We saw classes in which things were in balance with the new technologies and media integrated well. Traditionalists and evangelists for phonics back home would have been pleased by the focus on the basics on the walls. But those same consultants simply would not understand some of the other things going on. Children taking control of their learning, respect for teachers as learning professionals, that kind of thing. They seem to have things in balance here. Teaching “the basics” and innovating as well. You can do both and adopt the radical position in the middle. We saw two boys reading about Anzac Day and deciding to record themselves and upload it to their portfolio via an iPod touch. You could take the view that I am being a techno enthusiast in reporting this. But actually, no. This is not so much to do with the technology. The whole process is about learning to read, to evaluate reading performance and to store that – this actually works and has become a part of the lived experience of the school. It’s not an extra. Neither is it something that determines agency. They just do it! No drama.
But, speaking of drama, the school is, of course, in a truly dramatic setting below a mountain. Landscaped grounds have a swimming pool, a recreation centre, two climbing frames, a mini rugby pitch, a growing area…an enthusiastic staff which is blended together from older teachers and younger teachers – a new deputy principal who lived and worked in Bromley for two years and also knew Lee Manor from some supply work…all in all a great visit and lots to think about in terms of curriculum, media and tech use and whatnot.
We stopped for lunch in Matamata, near to Hobbiton the Lord of the Rings themed visitor centre but this being a work day we carried on up over the Kaimai mountain range and down to Tauranga, a small city on the East Coast with a campus of Waikato University. Once there we met with inspiring early years lecturers, Clare and Gill and Paora a man doing wonderful work on culture and identity, partly based around digital media but working in 87 schools throughout the country. Another great and inspiring conversation and more contacts to take home.
From there at the end of the day we pushed on to Mount Maunganui, a small settlement just across from Tauranga with a lovely beach just south of the centre. Here we paddled and Caroline got to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. A busy and hectic day with some wonderful sights and memories.
Wednesday 27th was spent mainly on campus – again with inspiring people, including Sara who had emigrated from Lee Green, very near where I live, some 12 years previously. Had not looked back!
Long meeting and chat with her and colleague Rosina about areas of mutual interest…followed by a working spell in the library (for me) and catching up with Noelline (Caroline) and then an inspiring chat with Paul and Steve in the tech support/e-learning team – this is a complete “can-do” service, listening to what lecturers and students want for research and teaching. Unbelievable really, student centred at this level. It follows a philosophy of teaching and learning we’ve seen out in the schools too…