NZC and NCEA

The curriculum-based NCEA standards are fully aligned with the NZC. For Dio, the alignment of curriculum and assessment means that we can assess less in some instances, and focus more on learning and experiencing than on assessment.

Teaching and Learning with the NZ Curriculum
The NZC provides schools and teachers with the opportunity to explore different ways of engaging with learning material. Some initiatives that you can expect to see, and that may be different from the education you received, include:

• Future-focused themes:  The curriculum identifies issues that today’s young people may need to grapple with in their futures, and that can be a context for learning in order to prepare them to think critically and solve problems in the future. These future-focused themes include sustainability, citizenship, enterprise and globalisation.

• Inter-curricular studies:  In several instances, including in the junior curriculum, teachers are collaborating in their planning to teach common topics or themes across subjects. This gives students an understanding of different ways in which knowledge and ideas can be applied, and gives them a thorough insight into an issue. In the senior school, some traditional ‘subjects’ may take on different names to indicate their shift in focus to a broader concept-based programme where students are able to customise their learning and assessment from a range of domains.

• Teachers as facilitators: The NZC recommends that teachers work in a way that is different from the traditional lecturing style of teaching. Teachers are encouraged to create a supportive learning environment; encourage reflective thought and action; enhance the relevance of new learning; facilitate shared learning; make connections to prior learning and experience; provide sufficient opportunities to learn; and use an inquiry model for teaching. In practice, at Dio, this means a lot less lecturing and a lot more group work, student research (inquiry), individual learning programmes, engagement with experts from beyond the classroom, and many different resources and topics.

• Real learning experiences: We are fortunate to have the expertise and location to provide our students with many learning experiences that see their new knowledge applied in real life contexts. Examples of real learning contexts that we currently provide are the Young Enterprise programme, Science Fair, an inter-curricular sustainability study, student leadership initiatives, field trips, Culinary Fare, and service trips such as the Habitat for Humanity programme, to name a few.

• Learning with technology: e-learning (learning supported or facilitated by ICT) is an important element of the education provided in New Zealand schools. In keeping with the NZC, e-learning enables students to learn in applied contexts, with more personalised programmes, and with access to global connections. Dio went wireless and became a ‘Bring Your Own Devices’ (BYOD) school in 2012, in order to maximise opportunities for using ICT in our programmes. Effectively integrating online learning tools and technological tools into the classroom is an ongoing professional learning focus for our teaching staff. Our programmes support students in increasing their awareness of what it means to be a good digital citizen in an ever-changing landscape.