PPTA urges teachers to give feedback

Media Release

31 July 2006

PPTA urges teachers to give feedback

PPTA is urging secondary teachers to participate in consultation around the new draft New Zealand Curriculum document launched today.

PPTA president Debbie Te Whaiti welcomed the document’s simplified, less prescriptive statements and its emphasis on developing independent learners.

“The draft document has good intentions in terms of bringing into alignment curriculum areas that were out of date.

“Its emphasis on developing skilled and independent learners with thinking and interpreting skills who progress at their own level is also consistent with the move towards a knowledge-based society.”

Mrs Te Whaiti said the more descriptive nature of the new curriculum encouraged teachers to use the statements in the various learning areas as a basis for developing their teaching and learning programmes.

However, she said it was too early to say whether the refinements would require teachers to make substantial changes to teaching programmes developed under the current curriculum.

“The new document talks about making the curriculum more manageable for teachers by clarifying expectations.

“If there is a fear in some quarters it is that it might be a rewrite of management documents to no apparent advantage to students.”

Mrs Te Whaiti said NCEA workload meant secondary teachers hadn’t been heavily involved in developing the new curriculum to date so the Association would be urging teachers to give feedback to “ensure that this document makes the curriculum more, and not less manageable.”

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