Programme besed at Awatapu College and at Palmerston North Boys High School

The first part of the programme;

In the first week, October 29^th to November 2^nd  : focus on the similarities and differences between what I see Awatapu College and  what happens in schools in Jambi Province.

In the second week, November 5^th to 9^th : focus on how teachers plan, how they motivate their students and the classroom management strategies they use.

In the third week, November 11^th to 16^th : focus on assessment. 

I think, this is a very interesting time to visit because the formal national assessment for senior students is about to begin. This begins in mid November and by this time the teaching year is nearly over. I hope they will us to make the most of this interesting three weeks in schools.We will be thinking very carefully about what we see and about ideas that might be useful in our teaching at home. It is most important that we keep a journal so that they can follow up on our observation in schools in the second part of the programme.

The second part of the programme;

The second part of programme will start on November 19^th and occupy the second three weeks of our programme until December 7^th. There are four main parts to this.

The first will be to review our school observations and to provide an overview of education in New Zealand and a summary of some of the factors that influence what happens in schools. The second thing is to provide a clear focus what we want to take home from our experience here. The other two parts link to our Ministry’s expectations. And they promise, will be working with us to develop our skill and confidence in English language and also provide some insights into working with students in English.They will also spend some time on practically based activities and learning in science. There may be other things we would like to add to this list if time allows.

In this second part of the programme, they will also all be working together and there will be many activities for us to become involved in. While they have many ideas, they will share with us. They have to work together to understand which ideas might helpful in the situations we teach in. We have an important part to play here because they have not been into schools in Jambi.  

With that thought in mind, they think it is important to remember that education and schools are not separate from the societies in which the work. Indonesian society and New Zealand society are very different. Also, here in New Zealand what happens in schools is the subject of criticism and debate. Their system has many strengths but they also have problems that they have not yet solved. Education is seldom simple and ideas that work in one place may not always work in another because the conditions are different.