Te Kura students on new pathway to achieve

Some have been inspired to fund-raise for charity; others have been motivated to get their lives back on track and re-engage with learning.

In either case, Te Kura – The Correspondence School’s new integrated programme of learning, Te Ara Hou, is helping students in years 7-10 to make positive changes in their lives.

Meaning ‘new pathways’, Te Ara Hou is a personalised learning programme tailored to students’ needs, interests and goals.

It was developed as a way to excite and engage students, many of whom were referred to Te Kura after becoming disengaged from learning at their face-to-face school.

Curriculum leader, Diane Wilkins, says the programme has so far seen increased levels of engagement with students since it was launched one year ago.

“For this age group it’s a really pivotal time as to whether they engage with education or not. We want to help them develop the right attitude and a desire to stay in school,” she says.

Each Te Ara Hou unit focuses on a specific topic, integrating a number of learning areas.

A parallel programme of learning, which accounts for about 50 per cent of the student programme, is taught in conjunction with the unit to ensure the full curriculum is covered.

“We want students to think about what their study means to them and put themselves in the centre of each learning concept,” says Ms Wilkins.

One student, who lives in Cambodia, has done just that by developing an action plan to raise money for a local orphanage by cycling 43km to the Vietnamese border. She was able to buy 15 orphans necessities like bedding, bikes, school uniforms, books and pencils.

Reuben Hill, a year nine Te Ara Hou student, says learning with the programme has been much easier than learning at a face-to-face school.

“I’ve learnt more during my time with Te Kura than I ever learnt before at school – it wasn’t the right place for me; the structure was too strict.

“It is a really good programme to learn from because it sets the goals you need to achieve and gives an easy method to achieve them,” says Reuben.

Another student has been motivated to re-engage with learning and is working toward NCEA credits to help her build a better future for herself, and her young child.

“Because the student only has one person [their learning advisor] to contact for all their learning needs they are more likely to engage and achieve,” says Ms Wilkins.

“Our learning advisors don’t just deliver learning materials; they think about the student’s future subject choices and career paths so they are ready for years 11-13,” she says.

Support for teachers

Processes are in place to support delivery of the units. All learning advisors have input to new resources and are briefed on each resource before it is delivered to students, so they understand the resource’s key purpose and content. Subject-based professional development is also provided for all learning advisors.

The modular design of the Te Ara Hou units provides learning advisors options for delivery for their students and the parallel programme allows them to extend and enhance the units to address students’ particular interests, skills and needs.

Te Ara Hou teacher, Nathaniel Louwrens, has been working with the Te Ara Hou programme since the beginning of 2009 having come from a face-to-face secondary school.

“It has been challenging at times but overall it has been very rewarding professionally,” he says.

“I’ve had to branch out into a lot of different curriculum areas but in doing this I’ve learnt a number of new skills and better understand what other teachers are teaching and why.

“The programme allows you to add that personal touch; you can choose resources that are appropriate to the level and interests of students – they are not prescribed like at a face-to-face school,’ says Mr Louwrens.

He says he has seen positive changes in some of his students over the past year, with them becoming more engaged and interested in their work.

“I feel like I am helping them not only with their learning but also with their day to day life; because they only have one teacher to deal with they feel a lot more comfortable to open up with you,” he says.