May 2010

Achievement Standards Consultation
Course planning for 2011
Professional Development

Hello there!
Lots going on at the moment.

Achievement Standard Consultation

It has been good to see the discussion going on through the listserv.
However it is IMPORTANT that you submit your recommendations through the official channel.
The listserv review and discussion is just that – a discussion. It cannot claim to be representative of all NZACDITT members. It is important that as many individual voices as possible send in their comments. Research NZ write:
“So far (18 May) over 250 people have responded to the consultation on the draft Technology Achievement Standards.
This is a reminder that the consultation will close on 28th May so please log in to the website and consider these materials.
Your views are very important.
You can give feedback on some aspects or answer all the questions of the consultation questionnaire by entering your login and password at:

https://surveys.researchnz.com/NCEA/Technology

Closing date is next Friday, 28 May.
I refer you to the comments made in my April newsletter about the constraints around the AS writing.
Please be aware that this is the first time we have had achievement standards, and that our fellow colleagues in other subjects have had a number of years to get them right – and are still rewriting. So it won’t be perfect next year – but will form a good basis to see what works and what needs tweaking. I am making a strong plea to MOE and NZQA that the review of the level 1 Achievement Standards for Digital Technologies is in three years time, when the level 3 have been written and are being implemented. The very nature of our subject requires a faster turn around time than in other subjects, and we are still in catch-up mode compared to other subjects. I have also attached a memorandum from Bali Haque to all principals dated 21 April, giving the timeline for Standards Review.

Course planning for 2011

This is an important topic for many of us at the moment. I refer you to the SecQual outlining the processes for course endorsements and the transition period.

S2010/014 - 22 April 2010
Course Endorsement

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/publications/circulars/secqual/2010/s2010-014.html

S2010/010 - 30 March 2010
Replacement Information and Transition Arrangements for NZ Curriculum-based Level 1 Unit and Achievement Standards

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/publications/circulars/secqual/2010/s2010-010.html

Course planning for year 11 for some of you may mean a small change in teaching to include some achievement standards for assessment; for some a complete switch to Achievement Standards and for others a decision to ‘stay as you are’ for the time being. You need to do what is best for you and your students.
Remember that credibility of Digital Technologies along with other subjects such as Maths, Science, English etc., requires us to assess at level 6 of the curriculum and with an Achievement Standard mind-set. This means that course content needs to be the focus, not the assessments. After many years of having our courses determined by what US we could use, we now need to shift our focus onto what content we are currently teaching, and what can we add to that or change to deliver exciting courses for our students.
For some of us who haven’t had a lot to do with Achievement Standard assessments, our mind-sets also need to change, as we now have to think of credit, merit and excellence grades and how do we credential student learning. There needs to be a lot of training and help for us all in this aspect of our teaching.

Professional Development

May I remind you of the DTG training days available in the next month.
Tracy Bowker writes:
“If you have not heard about the second DTG professional learning day for digital technology teachers happening around NZ, please see below. Cognition Education is organising these days as part of the DTG
project and follow on from the first professional learning day. If you did not attend the first one, you are still welcome to attend the second.

Reminder: Official DTG project schools are entitled to one day teacher release as part of the project. If you are one of these schools, please BRING your school invoice claiming this one day release with you, this is important.

If you are interested and have not already been contacted by your professional leader (or are not sure what is happening in your region), please email me (tbowker@cognition.co.nz).

The DTG contract finishes at the end of this term, but hopefully the cluster groups will continue to meet and grow and become regional groups/branches of NZACDITT. That will only happen if you work together and volunteer your help and support. Further training days in third term and collegial support in drawing up some sample assessment tasks will be up to the Regional branches to organise. For those wishing to start putting plans into action, read the rules of NZACDITT on the website, and consult the very helpful website on Incorporated Societies:
http://www.societies.govt.nz/cms/incorporated-societies/starting-an-inco...
I still need to consult with the committee but I am sure the $100 registration fee could be covered by the national NZACDITT.
There are MOE funds available for curriculum support, but there is a process to follow to access them, and having Regional groups will be a help to get the funding.

The next few years promise to be quite challenging, but exciting as we develop our skills and grow our subject. This can only benefit our students, and ultimately New Zealand.
Best wishes for the rest of the term

Vilna