What Next?
Forming a composite class in the first term has worked very well for both students and teachers. However, continuous modification is required to better meet the needs of each successive group of students.
Jeff sees his technology programme as one which can offer students a three-year course and sees all Year 11 students as potential Year 13 students. "Continuity through Years 11-13 is really important in terms of students getting to know the teacher and what is expected of them. It means the teacher has a responsibility to always to move them on," Jeff explains.
Despite the successes of the initial 2005 programme Jeff had noted a problem with a lack of advanced practical skills. In his 2006 planning he looked to structure the programme so that he could successfully teach the range of skills identified. However he admits to having problems in achieving this goal and is looking at modifications in 2007 to better achieve his goal. Options include the inclusion of unit standards during Term 1 to provide a specific skills base to be applied in the development of the final outcomes in the second project.
"When students come out of Year 13 they should have covered every aspect of metal working. I know the skills I want to get across, its just a matter of working out the most practical way of doing it. I'm looking for continuity across Levels 1, 2 and 3 in the way that we build up the practical skills. The need at all levels is to balance the practical and process skills but the problem always seems to be a lack of time. In Year 13 we need enough time to cover the level of practical skills but still be able to model that client interaction using the common client. Basically its just continuing the process of slight changes we've been making over the last few years to refine things to find what works better for the students."
