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Contact SPEC: phone 06 877 7410   carolyn@spec.org.nz

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NZQA Approved Programmes leading to two New Zealand Qualifications

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Ethos and Principles of the programmes

The programme provides a positive learning experience for a wide range of students, ranging from those who require additional support and adapted  teaching programmes in a supported setting, to those who are struggling to gain NCEA, and require an alternative approach to learning to achieve success.  

The programmes provide a framework for developing skills needed for ‘life-long learning’.  This approach to learning fosters personal growth, raises self esteem and ensures that each individual is valued.

The principle of inclusion applies to all students, and knowing the students is key to creating a more flexible environment that supports ALL learners, where barriers to learning are minimised by:

• building on a student’s strengths

• engaging the student in all aspects of their learning including negotiating their learning goals

• facilitating learning through different learning styles

• accommodating flexible time-frames for learning

• ensuring that learning is relevant and meaningful to the learner

• celebrating small step achievement towards the qualification outcomes

Where possible learning takes place in ‘real life’ situations with a practical application that provides more effective opportunities for developing the Core Capabilities (Key Competencies).

ETHOS AND PRINCIPLES

“For students truly to be able to take responsibility for their learning, both teacher and students need to be very clear about what is being learnt, and how they should go about it.

When learning and the path towards it are clear, research shows that there are a number of important shifts for students.  Their motivation improves, they stay on task, their behaviour improves and they are able to take more responsibility for their learning.”

Absolum, M. (2006). ‘Clarity in the Classroom’

There is a greater ownership of the lesson by students as responsibility shifts from teacher to student for learning. Content, process and choice of learning are experienced as co-constructed.

Breaking down the barriers:-

Many students are ‘reluctant writers, and we encourage learners to be creative and find other ways of evidencing what they have learned.  The written form of evidence reflects a small part of their learning,

and encouraging the use of video and audio evidence captures far more of the learning experience and can be used as authentic evidence. There is a significant New Zealand cultural perspective

with regard to the SPEC programmes, tied into the traditional Maori teaching styles.

The programmes also fit with the Ministry of Education’s principle of inclusion, differentiation, and the vision for Directions for Learning of the New Zealand Curriculum:

    “Young people who will be confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners’.