Pre-planning
Chris has long been interested in film and film-making – as a 20-year-old he worked at the New Zealand Film Commission – and so it was a natural step to capitalise on this personal enthusiasm when creating a new teaching unit. When he began planning the film-making unit, Peter Jackson's much anticipated remake of the classic action thriller and special-effects-fest King Kong was about to be released. Peter Jackson, Weta Workshop and Weta Digital are based in a neighbouring suburb of the school, and Chris was pleased that this timing would give the unit an attractive topicality. (Chris notes that some students at St Pat's were starting to recognise Technology classes as a possible pathway into careers in the creative industries.)
Because the unit would precede a Term 4 control/mechatronics unit, Chris decided to use robotics as an additional context. Animated puppets could serve as characters, and stop-motion film techniques would enable students to experiment with special effects.
St Pat's is a Catholic school and the strong values it espouses made the choice of subject a logical one: a biblical parable. Targeting Year 8 students from feeder schools, their parents and caregivers, and the wider community of the school itself, the project seemed like a good way of both communicating the school's values and involving students and teachers from other curriculum areas.
Chris is a great believer in the value of Technology teachers establishing links with other subjects, not only to because it offers students advantages but because it also reinforces the holistic, multi-disciplinary nature of the modern workplace – an integral aspect of the Technology curriculum. As Chris envisaged it, the project would require his students to seek expert advice and help, and to reflect on the special character of their school as they developed their scripts and storyboards. For help with the storyline, they could consult the school's religious education teachers. For help with the script, the school's English department could become involved. For the film's score, the Music department may wish to contribute. (Chris says that staff at his school get on well and are keen to help each other out wherever possible.)
A primary focus for St Pat's is teaching students to apply Christian values to their daily lives. Chris chose parables as the storylines for the films to help students reflect on the values of the College in a context other than Religious Education classes or Mass. He also hoped to reinforce the sense of community – a strong feature of St Patrick's – through planning an authentic client/designer relationship between the class and Year 12 and 13 Graphics and Technology students who would be asked to design and build puppets and vehicles for the project.
Chris planned the unit using the department's planning format. He planned for learning outcomes, teaching points, associated activities, assessment plans, and assessment criteria. He also planned to ensure delivery of the unit was responsive and flexible. Although the unit was carefully planned in terms of what was important for the school, curriculum expectations, expected learning outcomes, assessment opportunities etc, Chris wanted to ensure delivery of the unit was responsive to individual student/class needs.
