Preparatory School Annual Report | 2019
Curriculum/Teaching and Learning
The Preparatory School curriculum is developed under the guidelines and philosophy of the New Zealand Curriculum and takes into consideration the special nature of St Andrew’s College. It takes, as its starting point, a vision of our young people as lifelong learners who are confident and creative, connected, and actively involved. It includes a clear set of principles on which to base curriculum decision making. It sets out values that are to be encouraged, modelled, and explored. It defines five Key Competencies that are critical to sustained learning and effective participation in society, and that underline the emphasis on lifelong learning. Literacy remains the largest and most important learning area (includes Reading, Writing, Spelling, Visual and Oral Language). Literacy accounts for 60–65 percent of the weekly timetable. Numeracy (Mathematics), Enrichment (specialist areas), and Units of Inquiry make up most of the remaining time in the timetable. 6
The school is committed to enhancing strategies and skills for learning and high levels of understanding. A quality learning environment encourages discussion and questioning, and for the student is engaging, differentiated, and meaningful. It also develops interpersonal skills. During 2019, the Preparatory School continued to spend time unpacking the ‘Visible Learning’ model, which formed part of a College-wide goal around the implementation of John Hattie’s research into what works best in teaching and learning. Staff reviewed and extended their understanding around the use of learning intentions and success criteria. Considerable time was also spent delving into feedback research and a model of feedback through targeted professional development sessions with experts in this area. Staff developed a next step action plan for their own practice, which saw significant improvements for learners in how feedback was given and received.
