UCOL BLOG

Bonnie’s Blog

On 17^th September I dropped into the Certificate of Adult Teaching Advanced in the classroom carefully configured for interactive learning. The students, all of whom are teachers at UCOL, were participating in a session on classroom management.  Their task was to use techniques and strategies that were based on student-centred, cooperative and collaborative learning approaches.  Students should be actively involved in the learning process. Janet Walke was ‘teaching’ this class, but all the teaching came from the students.

If I hoped to hang out down the back and just watch, I had picked the wrong class.  The two groups of teachers/learners had approached the topic of student centred, collaborative and interactive learning differently, but both used a range of resources and approaches.  I found myself on a “bus”, not even at the back of the bus, but joining in when my number came up and I had to make a contribution. The learning drew out good practice and learner participation. We were on a journey, a learning journey, and there were no passengers. 

I was at a function, the Mid Central Health DHB Health Awards last week. Mike King was the guest speaker.  At one point he tried to get a bit of audience participation going but there was a weak response.  He stopped, told each of us to look around us at the people around us.  Then he said “So, here I am and when you look around you can be pretty sure that you are the people I am speaking to. So when I ask you a question, you are the ones who need to reply”.  He led us back into the question and got a resounding reply. 

Teaching can be a bit like that. Getting the students to realise that they are participating not just watching can take some doing. It helps if you are funny, like Mike King, but there are other ways to get people active in class.  The group responsible for the bus trip in Janet’s class had some pretty good ideas about how to make that happen, including handing out a written question to be answered aloud, using the InterActive whiteboard to produce vehicle noises to simulate the bus in action, directive driving from the teachers who worked cooperatively..

The second group had worked out a sequence of teaching which included an assessment of the audience level, difficulty of task.  We had to produce a sequence for kicking a ball and consider the body, the shift in weight, balance, and how to communicate this.  The group had gathered a range of materials, banners, felts for drawing, paper that we, the students would use.  This was well organised and well thought out.

This was a lively session. While we were sitting in rows on the ‘bus’ the person doing room utilisation came along. I think she wondered what the heck she’d struck, but then that is probably the nature of a good classroom: looks strange from the outside but lots going on and noisy on the inside. Good to be part of the class, so thanks for having me.

Thirty UCOL Hairdressing students presented styles from the fifties to the Victorian era and from Egypt to Japan in their annual pre-apprentice competition this week.

Eleven students from the UCOL Wairarapa and seven from Whanganui UCOL joined twelve Palmerston North students to compete for prizes for Best Style on the Day and the Best Overall History project.

It is the first time students from the Whanganui hairdressing programme have competed in the annual UCOL History of Hair event.

As part of their programme, the Certificate in Hairdressing students were required to research a culture or era of their choice and depict it in a hair style.

The students had one hour to recreate the style they had practiced dozens of times on their mannequins.

The competition was held amidst the busy lunchtime buzz in UCOL’s Learning Hub and attracted plenty of interest from onlookers.

The styles and research portfolios were judged by local senior stylists Rebekah Hoskin (The Hair Company) and Bessie Quigley (Beauty Electric).

UCOL Hairdressing Lecturer Gillian Gosper says the competition is the culmination of months of research and practice by the students. She was particularly excited to host the Whanganui UCOL contingent for the first time. “It has been great to have all three campuses represented,” says Gillian.

UCOL’s Certificate in Hairdressing (Salon Support) Level 3 is a one year, full time programme and is the equivalent of the first year of a hairdressing apprenticeship.

Best Style on the Day: 1^st Jean Sturn (PN), 2^nd Sherie Hudson (Whanganui), 3^rd Sarah Lewis (PN).

Best Project: Jean Sturn (PN).

“Practical Application, engaging students through literacy and numeracy”

Graeme Read and Brett Tickner presented a seminar on August 11^th in Palmerston North.  Brett earlier delivered the seminar in Masterton and Graeme joined him for the second presentation.  Graeme teaches in the National Certificate in Computing and the foundation  programme Certificate Tertiary Skills Level 1 in Palmerston North; Brett teaches in Masterton in both  the Joinery, Carpentry and is Programme Leader for Youth Tec in Certificate Tertiary Skills level 1.  The teaching teams have consulted each other, which has included site visits.  Their programmes have quite a bit in common, especially the demographic of their students. Brett and Graeme presented a seminar full of the practical ways they engage the interest of their students with learning tied to “real life”.  Brett use “Bob” and “Bob’s experience and approaches to provide meaningful learning, so the presentation was subtitled “How does Bob build it?”  This was a lively, well planned and delivered, practically illustrated seminar.

Both these teachers have achieved the Certificate Adult Teaching Advanced (CATA) and National Certificate Adult Literacy Education (NCALE).   Both acknowledged the positive effect this had on their understanding and practice.  Graeme and Brett attended the symposium at the National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults (NCLANA)  in Hamilton earlier this year.  They found this inspirational and very practically useful as they were exposed to some great teaching practice and tools for teaching. They also met some fired up teachers who wanted to share their practice and their materials.  The symposium fuelled their own passion for teaching numbers, numeracy and maths’ skills in order to achieve good results with students.

This was the first joint presentation for Brett and Graeme; Brett had previously given a presentation on this theme as part of AIC in Wairarapa.  The two men described a little of their own learning journeys which enabled them to understand where their students were coming from.  Brett said working with youth he was teaching “the me’s”, as they were rather like he was at 16.  Graeme’s decision to come to UCOL as a student at the time his son started school had been the best one he could have made.  His learning journey had equipped him with several qualifications and eventually a lecturing role.  Neither of these people could have told you back then that they would become teachers with a real passion for engaging students in meaningful learning, but this is where  they are today.

They described and demonstrated teaching that is not based on any assumptions about the learner. This might mean that in maths, the students might not be able to read a ruler or have a concept of something basic like what a metre is.    Learning starts with building a relationship with each student in the early days of class.  This allows the teacher to understand the barriers to learning that exist and work with the student to establish trust and then find out how to reach the person by finding the best way for each student to learn the individual’s own way.

Graeme and Brett described times when they learned another way to do something or see things from students. Both worked to help students see the patterns in number.  For example, Brett used “Rainbow Maths” to boost students’ confidence with numbers:

 415 people lined up to go into a nightclub but 96 of them were turned away.  How many people got in?

There are several ways to do this (e.g. round up to 100, then add 4 to the answer or straight subtraction) but Brett showed his students another way:

           4                       300                          15

96          100                              400                     415

_______________________________________

Put the two figures at either end of the line or spectrum; pick two other numbers in between.  Write the difference between the numbers (3 new numbers) above.  Add the three new numbers together (4, 300, 15).  This gives the same answer as the subtraction (415-96), but   students like this because it is fun and they become very confident about their ability to problem solve using this method.

Confidence is the key to learning for everyone but especially those who have bad learning experiences in the past.  Brett and Graeme saw connecting with students in terms of what the students bring to the learning as vital for successful teaching. They use the students’ interests to generate examples and engage the knowledge students bring to the classroom.

While this presentation focussed on students who may have had some barriers to learning in the past, the application of the principles of good teaching apply to all students. It was clear to everyone present that Graeme and Brett love teaching.  They continue to grow and learn in their own practice and   seize on new materials that bring life into the classroom.  They are not afraid to borrow from the past, as in the use of “old fashioned” individual slate mini-whiteboards for each student to use in a variety of ways. They use technology with their students, through www.khanacademy.org , for example, which is an online repository for thousands of maths problems and solutions that students love to use.

Good teaching is about all the things demonstrated in the seminar: curiosity, patience, inventive thinking, paying attention to what students can do, and working through what they can’t. 

Graeme and Brett provide excellent examples of good teaching and what good teaching can achieve.

Students improve their learning and create new asset for UCOL

 In March of this year a new course called Certificate in Trade Skills   started in the Trades areas.  This level 1 programme offered students the chance to experience a range of trades’ experience and improve their readiness for further study.  

 We had seen how much a “home room” space contributed to a good learning environment for the Tertiary Study Skills Level 1 programme, so it was intended to provide a similar home room space for the trades students.  Three weeks into the course, the staff and students were given block 16,  the old BP garage on Grey St, for use in the programme.  The building had been repainted but was empty.

 As part of their engineering training the students took on the responsibility to fit out the entire building, this included fabricating everything required from scratch.  They worked on engineering benches, woodworking benches, welding bays and safety curtains.  They fabricated welding regulator mounts, gas bottle mounts and broom holders.  They also had to modify the new MIG welders so they could fit under the benches.

 These students were working with a purpose:  their practical skills were given a work out and their study benefited from the finished workshops. The students enthusiastically carried out this work.  They not only fitted out this resource but also created all the other projects required of them to complete their course, including four go-karts. 

 Brent Kennard is the main lecturer working with this programme.  He has tried to give students opportunities that are meaningful for their learning and supports them to achieve.  The second semester intake for this programme has just  started and the students will face new challenges  but the first student cohort have left a fine facility as a result of their work and growing skills.

 This is a good example of project or job based learning that encompasses unit standards, literacy and numeracy and programme requirements.  The students get a chance to do learning in the way it works best for them—hands on, task focussed, with learning coming from the doing.

Wairarapa Classroom Visits 16 June

I travelled over to Masterton on 16^th June. I don’t know why it has taken so long to write up what I saw because it was a really good day and I was able to see a number of classes in action. 

We are pretty aware that this campus is operating really well, with good student satisfaction and very good course completions.  Spending the day here reinforces this view and I was able to see some of the reasons those good results are achieved.  I spent time in: 

• National Certificate Early Childhood Education and Care L3 taught by Maryanne Corrigan
• YouthTec, Trish Morison was working with these students on the day
• Certificate in Business Administration L3 with Deborah Rolston
• Certificate in Exercise Sport Performance, L4 with Jon Bailey
• Certificate in Automotive Engineering L3 with Gary Esler
• Certificate in Hairdressing (Salon Support) L3  with Simone Hewson
• Certificate in Beauty Services (Cosmetology) L3 with Angela Ashby
• Certificate in Professional Cookery L3 with Carmel Hughes
• UCOL Kids staff and students

 The day had its surprises and mostly what I experienced was very good teaching, very intelligent teaching practice, and engaged students. I did get a bit more of an opportunity to talk to students than I have so far, that that was very useful for me as well. Because I make it a practice not to take pen or paper in to the class, I have to rely on memory and any brief note I scribbled down before I headed back to Palmy. But the highlights are pretty clear in my head.  

National Certificate Early Childhood Education and Care L3, Maryanne Corrigan

 Students were working in small groups, in tables clustered to promote this. These students were clearly focussed on their goals near the end of the one semester programme. One student had enrolled in the degree programme through the Open Polytechnic. One student was a refugee from Christchurch and came to complete her qualification, bravely leaving members of her family behind. The students were articulate, evidence of their work, research, writing and art was everywhere in the classroom. The students identified that they had gained skills and confidence in the course and were looking to continue or to find work. Maryanne had made the learning that much easier by supplying necessary set up things such as felts, scissors so when students arrived, they could get on with the learning.  

Certificate in Exercise Sport Performance  L4, Jon Bailey

Jon Bailey is a new lecturer, a tall rugby player, who has the street creds to work with sport mad students. I caught up with this class twice, once doing research in the computer lab and at the end of the day, in the Sport and Fitness Centre which the students use for part of their practical work.

The research work was well under way and I didn’t want to disturb the good work going on for long. The students were focussed on their work, mostly working on their own. Jon guides them and supports them but by June they know their way around the computer.  Jon has a quiet, friendly approach that seems to go well with his students. I think he said he had lost a good student recently who joined the army. Another TEC non-completion but a success story for the student.

One other student has left to play rugby in Australia but everyone else is set to come back for Semester 2.  Some students are completing placements in the two gyms in Masterton whilst one has gone further afield and is undergoing a placement in Lower Hutt.  Other students have lined up some sports coaching work with Sports Wairarapa over the 2 week break.

When I saw them at the end of the day, they were hard at work in the fitness centre. Jon makes it possible for students who might have missed an element to catch that up. He seems to have a Coach’s approach to teaching which works anywhere but especially well with his youthful students.

As I left the centre, I caught up with one of our graduates from the programme who in a very short time has become the manager of the centre. He is very positive about what the course did for him.  He is there as a role model for our current students.

Certificate in Hairdressing (Salon Support) L3, Simone Hewson   

Simone Hewson manages a very professional salon with a great student team.

This was one of my surprises.  I went in to watch, but one of the student’s clients had failed to show up, so my head was on the line or in the wash basin not long after I entered the room! I wrote later to  compliment Simone and her team of hairdressers on the friendly and professional treatment I had.  My student did a great job from start to finish, the ‘student hairdressers’ looked smart and professional in their uniforms, and the salon was a lively and fun place to be. 

I noticed the teaching mnemonics around the room.  I heard good things from the students about the learning they have and how much they enjoy the programme. My student mentioned how useful it was to take the “head” home and when I came back to leave later that day, I saw a few students head off with the mannequin head under their arms. The ‘client skills’ the students demonstrate are mature and professional.  I know good teaching plays an important role in this.

I was  very impressed with Simone’s teaching,  commitment and  willingness to adapt the programme to the needs of the learners.   I will certainly be up for a return visit if I should be so lucky to strike the right time on the day.  I left feeling relaxed and pampered.

Youth Tec , Certificate in Tertiary Skills,  AMP’D, Trish Morrison

This programme is specifically for students who are at risk, who have stopped fitting into the secondary system and who usually have not achieved much in the way of credits. This was probably the most structured session I saw. Trish explained that choice didn’t always work well with this group of people. They actually preferred structure, a set task, and support in the task.

 The work they were doing was quite specific in terms of language and worksheets. But the students were well engaged and wanted to complete the task. They stuck to it even when they were told they could take a break.

 This programme is constructed as a sort of taster course and it vastly different than it used to look two years ago. One of the outcomes of the broadening of this I saw in the posters for the event of the day before.  The students had done a lot of baking, as part of their work, then they held a stall with baking and coffee which was available for staff and students to purchase.  The students had to organise the whole event, make posters and do publicity, do the baking, set up and clear up. They were earning unit standards as they did this. It had been a big success.  Too big for some. One student had eaten so much cake that that night he felt pretty ill and had a sort of cake hangover the next morning in class. Life can be tough.

 Certificate in Business Administration L3, Deborah Rolston 

 This class was totally focussed on the task, students working in small pods or on their own. Deborah Rolston uses the systems such as Moodle, websites, to enable students to submit work, have it marked, and eliminate paper.  These students, thanks to Deborah’s teaching, were functioning as independent learners, getting through the work, preparing themselves for the next challenge such as more study or looking for a job.  I spoke with several who had no computing skills or experience when they started the course. They were now confident users of Moodle, the internet, and were working to develop their own websites. I had a look at some of the websites they developed. They were purposeful and well designed. The students, all women, showed pride in their achievement and a number said they had come a long way in a short time.

 This was a very impressive classroom with some great teaching and learning going on. Deb has put thought and challenge into the teaching and she is always there to support the students. The students showed very good independence and confidence but this was not where they started. Deb is able to track each student’s progress in real time in the class and later look at completed work.  There is direct teaching as well, but it is the springboard for the student to then experience what the learning from this will be.

 Certificate in Automotive Engineering L3 with Gary Esler

 Most of Gary’s students had gone for the day, but three were taking the opportunity of the peace in the workshop to complete assessments.  I chatted with a couple who said they really enjoyed the course and like the support they got from their lecturers. Gary has a lot of teaching experience and his work with students shows he has a patient and student focussed approach, with high expectations for his students’ learning outcomes. He takes pride in the facility and is adapting it to make it even more useful for students and staff.

 Certificate in Relaxation Massage L4 with Angela Ashby

 I will need to pay another visit to take in the work going on here. I left the salon with my newly washed and blow-dried hair and went into the massage room, but there were a lot of bodies there, getting massage and treatment.  So I will come back (and book in!) to experience the students’ work.  

Certificate in Professional Cookery L3 with Carmel Hughes

 I went to the kitchens after the students had finished though three students were cleaning up after the day. There was a STAR class next door and I took the opportunity to have a conversation with Carmel about her programme. Carmel receives consistently good feedback from her students and her work has really turned this programme around when it looked like Wairarapa might lose this programme.

Carmel had some concerns about some student behaviour that created issues in the kitchens.  I have spoken with some of the people who could help at enrolment if there are concerns from the past that need to be clarified before a student starts class.

 UCOL Kids staff and students

 To round out my day I dropped in on UCOL Kids.  Carolyn and her staff and the little people were having their afternoon tea.  I noticed a set of miniature rugby uprights and a rugby ball on the ground when I came through the play area.  All was revealed as staff told me the early education centre was organising a Rugby World Cup Day called Rippa Rugby for a number of centres, children and staff. The kids knew all about it and are using the uprights to practice their skills.

 This centre is a delight. The staff, it seems all of them are artistic and have used their design and art skills to create an attractive place where children are happy. I am going back in September to see the Rippa Rugby. These littlies will be showing the All Blacks the way. 

 Thanks Wairarapa for a good day with lots of good things happening with students. Before leaving, I said good bye to Angela Hewitt, Campus Manager and then drove back on the Track to Palmy.

Bonnies Blog

BICT interviews

You have to be cruel to be kind! Well, not really cruel but the recent invitation to attend the mock interviews being held for year 3, soon to graduate, BICT students gave me an insight into the lengths staff will go to get their students ready for that all important first “real job” interview. 

Picture this: the room is full of fairly nervous senior students. Soon they will have their own interview with three people, Pat Debney from Fujitsu and Carol McGillivray from Advantage Computing, as well as Catherine Snell-Siddle, Head of School.  Pat and Carol give the students a warm up, a presentation about what employers are looking for and how to best prepare for an interview and present yourself. They go into detail about CVs, handshakes, standard of dress, speaking clearly.  I’m feeling a bit nervous myself by now and I am not the one with the sword of Damocles suspended over my head!   

Now, this is not “The Apprentice”, no bad comb overs, no shouting.  But it is demanding. The judges, I mean interviewers, ask some curly questions.  Like, “What would you do if your office mate was clearly contravening work policy?”  The candidate gave a thoughtful, intelligent response.  Or “Paint me a picture, use a big brush and let me see what sort of person you are.” Or “Tell me about yourself, what gets you out of bed in the morning?”  The answer, intended to be funny,   “My alarm clock” was then fleshed out with motivation and main IT interests.  There were hard questions and easier ones, but the nerves of candidates made some harder than intended. Three questions were asked of each candidate, then on to the next person.

It is hard being a self-booster, especially when your peers are behind you knowing when you are gilding the picture.  Each of the students gets personal feedback later from their lecturers.  Turning up, surviving and being there for this morning is brave and all the students should be proud of their performance. They can also learn from what others do and how they might handle things a bit differently next time.

 It was a fascinating to watch this and the day was very well set up so that people can be supported if they need that in order to give this a go.  I thought the students did very well. They managed to be articulate and intelligent even in this pressure cooker.   I thought all the interviewers played their parts well.  Congratulations to the lecturer, Joanne Cleland for setting this up so professionally and preparing the students for this experience, here, with a safety net and useful feedback.