7 December 2021
Perry Rush
President
New Zealand Principals' Federation
By email: [FYI request #17571 email]
Tēnā koe Perry
Official information request regarding instructional hours in ITE
programme
I refer to your request for information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)
dated 15 November 2021:
“I write to request the following under the Official Information Act 1982:
(1)
The hours allocated through your one-year graduate diploma
programme for
(i)
Instructional teaching – in class taught theory
(ii)
Practice-based teaching – workshopping or experiencing the
practical aspects of the discipline (excluding practicing in schools)
For the following topics:
(a) The teaching of writing
(b) The assessment of writing
(c) The teaching of reading
(d) The assessment of reading
(e) The teaching of dance
(f) The teaching of drama
(2)
Please detail the course names for these subjects”
You have not specified which Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme you are
requesting information about, but we presume it is the primary graduate diploma
qualification that is of interest to you.
It is not possible to provide the information as it has been requested. The questions posed
rest on assumptions about how teaching is conducted in the University and in initial
teacher education that do not reflect how our courses are designed or taught. The
Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary) has a campus cohort and an online cohort and
employs blended approaches to teaching and learning that utilise digital technologies
alongside campus-based and online activities.
Similar to the way that evidence informed approaches to education in schooling have led
to inquiry-based pedagogical approaches, integrated curriculum, and holistic and
collaborative teaching and assessment, teacher education has undergone transformation
in approaches to preparing new teachers. As a result, it is not possible to give specific
hours of learning for the individual components you have listed. As such, your request is
refused in accordance with section 18(e) of the Act as the information you have requested
does not exist in a form that could answer your questions directly.
It is important to understand three (of a larger number of) aspects of our conceptual
model that inform how teaching and learning in initial teacher education is undertaken.
First is the principle of adaptive expertise, which refers to teachers’ ability to flexibly
adapt their knowledge and skills when making teaching decisions. Student Teachers are
encouraged and guided to connect their skills and learning in one discipline area to
others. The second is inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning, which are
employed in teacher education courses to encourage deep learning and connections to
practice. The third is the use of creative, relational and embodied pedagogies to
emphasise learning that includes and goes beyond ‘thinking’ and encourages imagination
and innovation.
Courses that are designed with these principles in mind focus much less on how many
hours are given over to particular topics and more on the holistic teaching and learning
experiences that are impactful for student teachers.
Outlined below is information about the core courses that relate to English and the arts in
the Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary).
TCHG326
300 hours of learning – divided evenly between the 3 disciplines (i.e. 100
English
hours each)
Drama
• direct teaching via face to face classes for campus students - 30 hours in
Science
total
• e-wananga, online lectures, Zoom hui for distance students – 30 hours
• online readings, activities, video clips, ppt presentations, websites,
supplementary materials for all students – 100 hours
• assessments – 150 hours
TCHG327
300 hours of learning– divided between the 4 disciplines (i.e. 85 hours each
Mathematics
for math, PE & music, 45 hours for dance)
Physical education
• direct teaching via face to face classes for campus students - 30 hours in
Music
total
Dance
• e-wananga, online lectures, Zoom hui for distance students – 30 hours
• online readings, activities, video clips, ppt presentations, websites,
supplementary materials for all students – 100 hours
• assessments – 150 hours
TCHG328
300 hours of learning - divided evenly between the 3 disciplines (i.e. 100
English
hours each)
Social studies
• direct teaching via face to face classes for campus students - 30 hours in
Health
total
• e-wananga, online lectures, Zoom hui for distance students – 30 hours
• online readings, activities, video clips, ppt presentations, websites,
supplementary materials for all students – 100 hours
• assessments – 150 hours
English literacy teaching is treated in a holistic way with the assessment and teaching of
oral language, reading, and writing addressed in TCHG326 and TCHG328. Specific
conceptual understandings related to theory are addressed through course materials and
experiences, as well as pedagogical approaches, including assessment, planning, and
implementing lessons. These elements are woven into and demonstrated alongside
science, drama, social studies, and health. For example, in TCHG326 students
experienced the powerful way in which English and drama can be taught together
through engaging in a drama about Parihaka, learning drama strategies and techniques,
and how reading, oral language, and writing can be authentically taught in conjunction
with drama.
The course assessments are also central to the learning of key skills and understandings
about the curriculum and practices of teaching English, drama and dance (as well as
other disciplines). For example, in TCHG326, one assignment requires students to work
in a triad to collaboratively plan a shared reading experience, a drama experience for
being in role, and a science experience with an object of curiosity. Using peer teaching in
groups of 6, each student teaches one activity to their peers (in class-time for campus
students and via Zoom for distance students), receives constructive feedback and reflects
on the teaching experience.
The learning that students engage in for English language and literacy, and for dance and
drama, is designed to accommodate campus and distance students; and to be responsive
to changes when Covid-19 disrupts plans. For example, a series of 4-hour dance
workshops for campus-based students had to be postponed and shortened as a result of
Covid alert levels that required physical distancing, the use of masks, and smaller groups
of students in a teaching space.
The Faculty of Education takes a blended approach to teaching and learning where the
whole is considered greater than the sum of the parts. This approach includes and
incorporates the strengths of real-time face to face and online teaching, asynchronous
and independent learning materials with practical activities for students to complete
individually or in small study groups, reading and viewing materials, and authentic
assessments designed to practice core skills and build core understandings about
teaching and learning.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of the
decisions made regarding this request. Information about how to make a complaint is
available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss this decision with us, please feel free to contact me at
[VUW request email]. Ngā mihi nui
Blair Doherty
Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy
Legal Services
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
