Learning to grow and growing to learn with OfficeMax STEAM range
Baverstock Oaks School, based in Flat Bush, Auckland, has been welcoming students to learn and grow since 2005.
Their vision "Learning to grow; growing to learn", along with their 6 Core Values, has been driving the school to constantly develop and grow their curriculum.
In 2020, this included embracing the new Digital Technologies Curriculum. All they needed was some extra gear to help their students learn with a hands-on approach.
We spoke to Sarah Baleicakau, Associate Principal, and Sally Shabbot, Technology Curriculum Leader, about their experience getting set up with the OfficeMax Digital Technology range. Read how they approached the learning objectives, collaborating with our Digital Technologies Specialist, Natalie Tubman, and set their staff and students up for success.
"Natalie was second to none. She was incredibly conscientious! She answered every email, she was good to our staff and had a real platform of knowledge to talk from. It was never like talking to a sales person, she really understands schools. When someone comes in like that from somewhere like OfficeMax, that is absolute gold." — Sarah Baleicakau
Baverstock Oaks School
6 Core Values
The sense of family and learning partnerships
A high quality of learning environment
The power of thinking and reflection
Questions, feedback and feedforward
The diversity of our community
The well-being of the whole person
The Challenge: Introducing the new Digital Technology Curriculum
The introduction of the new Digital Technology Curriculum to New Zealand has come as a challenge to many schools. This new approach isn't just about teaching students how to use these devices, but helping them understand how these devices work and giving them the skills to become the creators of new technologies.
Baverstock Oaks School wanted to create a learning programme that helped their students engage with technology in an authentic way.
"For learning to take place with any student, you need engagement. And while we were very aware of the two new streams in the Technology Curriculum, to successfully teach these, we needed to have equipment that helped make these meaningful and engaging to our students." — Sally Shabbot
The Solution: Tailored equipment and support for teachers
Tailored equipment
Sarah and Sally approached approached OfficeMax Digital Technologies Specialist, Natalie Tubman. After learning about Baverstock Oaks School values and their goals for implementing Digital Learning, Natalie put together two proposals:
- A school-wide "shared" system: In this case, the school would have several "big ticket" items such as laser cutters and 3D printers. These would be put on a bookable system for students and teachers to share across the whole school.
- A targeted Year Level approach: For this, Natalie put together a list of products and gear specifically targeted to each Year Level. The products were smaller classroom sets designed for specific age ranges.
Rather than choosing one, Baverstock Oaks School decided to blend the two approaches together. Their mainstream programme uses targeted Year Level gear. Each Year Level has access to products that are suited to their age. From Learning Resources Code & Go Mouse Activity Sets for Year 1 to Strawbees Coding & Robotics Kits for Year 6. They have also implemented a "STEAM Extension" programme for Year Three and Four students. There is gear marked for these classes, and bookable items such as a laser cutter. There are also "share packs" which cater to different year levels as well, i.e. Years 1-2 share pack, Years 3-4 share pack etc.
Support for teachers
While Baverstock Oaks School already had some bubbles of digital knowledge within their staff, there was still a gap where some of the equipment was concerned. To help, Natalie ran Personal Development sessions with teachers and students. She targeted these to each Year Level, using the same gear they would be using in class.
Teachers were able to quickly see how easy and intuitive the equipment was to learn and teach with.
The Result: Introducing the new Digital Technology Curriculum
The school's approach to learning and teaching is that it is a constantly evolving thing. The teachers know they're never just going to "arrive" at a final curriculum solution. Instead, it's an on-going development process. Through the introduction of new STEAM gear, Baverstock Oaks School has started seeing some of their teachers develop into experts. As the teachers discover new gear and new technology, they develop their knowledge and interest, and take on the role of subject-matter expert naturally.
"The students love it. They take it on and they absolutely love challenges and trying new things. I think it has really helped with their understanding, because they know the gear is there to support them." — Sarah Baleicakau
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