Kaiaua School, a small rural school nestled on the picturesque Firth of Thames, serves students from Years 0-8. Known for its nurturing environment, the school cultivates a love of learning among its students. By engaging in professional development with Code Avengers, Kaiaua School has empowered its teachers to inspire students and enhance their digital skills, preparing them for future opportunities.
Kaiaua School operates with two classrooms. The junior class, taught by Joti Kumar, includes 21 students from Years 1-5. The senior class consists of 9 students from Years 6-8.
The school's remote location offers a unique teaching environment, but also presents challenges. Jotishna Chand's class is a vibrant mix of students from five different year levels, all learning together in one room.
Jotishna noted the difficulties of isolation: “It is very hard when you are isolated. If you have a big team, you will get ideas. We hardly see any other teachers during the day. We don’t get time. We are the ones teaching in the class. We are the ones doing duty, the planning, the extra-curricular activities. There is very little sitting down and talking.”
With a background in science, Jotishna recognised the need to expand her knowledge in Digital Technologies and build her confidence in teaching this subject. Her Principal identified professional learning and development (PLD) with Code Avengers as the ideal solution to support her growth.
Throughout the PLD journey with Code Avengers, Anita, a dedicated instructor, inquired about the topics being covered in class and created activities that complemented the curriculum. When demonstrating the activities with the students, she emphasised computational thinking, making them fun and engaging.
One lesson involved students exploring their outdoor environment to identify and categorise sounds as either ‘nature’ or ‘man-made’. Anita then guided them through the Keyboard Quest course on the Code Avengers platform, which starts with identifying digital sounds then teaches students about the different parts that make up a computer system. This approach effectively demonstrated how computational thinking skills can be taught away from a computer, while the Code Avengers platform reinforced Digital Technology learning and deepened students’ understanding without additional background work from Joti.
Jotishna was impressed with how seamlessly the Code Avengers platform integrated into her lessons. She appreciated its interactive nature and the video instructions, which are beneficial for students with lower literacy levels or those who prefer audio learning. Jotishna used the platform to differentiate Digital Technologies learning in her classroom. She worked through lessons with younger students as a group, while older students independently used their own devices and headphones. Students like Komya (8) enjoyed the platform so much that they regularly use it at home. Komya (8) loves being able to choose a course all on her own to work through.
Jotishna easily accessed data to monitor each student's progress and identify areas needing further intervention through the teacher dashboard. The detailed teaching guides allowed her to connect Code Avengers lessons with core subjects and levels of the New Zealand Curriculum, such as Literacy, Maths, Social Science, and Science. With Anita’s support, Jotishna navigated the platform confidently, ensuring the continuation of Digital Technology teaching and learning beyond the PLD journey.
Through the PLD journey, Jotishna gained confidence in her knowledge of the Digital Technology curriculum, especially in incorporating computational thinking into her lessons. She regularly used the Code Avengers platform to meet the individual needs of her students. The students' excitement and smiles when asked to use Code Avengers were the best demonstration of positive learning outcomes.
PLD with Code Avengers is a bespoke service tailored to the unique needs of each school. For Kaiaua School, it meant overcoming the challenges of multi-level classrooms and supporting teachers during the school day. This approach demonstrated how seamlessly computational thinking and Digital Technology skills could be integrated into classrooms, empowering teachers and students alike.