Piripiri School is a small, rural primary school in New Zealand, serving students from Year 1 to Year 8. The school operates mixed-level classrooms, where teachers navigate the complexities of delivering an inclusive and engaging curriculum for a diverse range of learners. With a strong commitment to innovative teaching, Piripiri School seeks to integrate digital technologies effectively.
Before engaging in Professional Learning and Development (PLD) with Code Avengers, Piripiri School faced several key challenges in incorporating digital technologies into their teaching:
Curriculum Demands: Teachers found it difficult to balance digital technology integration with the core curriculum priorities of reading, writing, and mathematics. Without clear strategies for integration, digital technology often took a backseat.
Mixed-Level Classrooms: The school’s unique structure, with students ranging from Year 1 to Year 7 in the same classroom, made differentiated instruction a challenge. Managing students' varying levels of digital literacy simultaneously was overwhelming.
Student Understanding of Digital Technology: Many students were passive users of technology—"blind consumers"—who engaged with digital tools without understanding how they worked. Initial frustration with new tools often led to students giving up quickly, and without repeated exposure, skills were not retained.
One-Off Activities vs. Sustainable Learning: Digital technology activities were often treated as isolated events rather than being embedded into the regular learning process, limiting long-term skill development.
With the guidance of Code Avengers PLD facilitator Tia Ratu, Piripiri School addressed these challenges through a structured and hands-on professional development approach. The support provided included:
Modelling Best Practices: Tia demonstrated how digital technologies could be effectively integrated into lessons, providing both teachers and students with practical examples of meaningful technology use.
Offline Activities to Support Digital Learning: The PLD emphasised that not all digital technology learning needs to be screen-based. Offline activities helped students grasp key concepts before moving into digital environments, making learning more accessible for all levels.
Alignment with a Structured Learning Platform: Instead of overwhelming teachers with various third-party tools, Code Avengers provided a well-structured platform that directly supported classroom learning. Teachers appreciated that they could easily differentiate learning experiences for students of varying abilities.
Empowering Teachers: The PLD gave teachers the confidence to go beyond basic implementation. Instead of relying solely on pre-made resources, they felt inspired to design their own lessons that complemented the Code Avengers platform.
Sustainable Learning Approach: By shifting from one-off digital technology activities to ongoing, embedded learning experiences, students developed a deeper and more confident engagement with technology. The emphasis on repeated exposure helps to reinforce skills and foster a growth mindset in students.
The PLD support from Code Avengers empowered teachers at Piripiri School to seamlessly integrate digital technologies into their lessons. What was once an occasional addition is now a regular part of the classroom experience, fostering continuous engagement with digital learning. As a result, teachers feel more confident in guiding students' digital literacy development, ensuring a lasting and meaningful impact on their learning journey.
The impact of Code Avengers' PLD delivery has been significant, bringing about positive changes across the school:
Teachers are more confident in integrating digital technologies in a way that supports the core curriculum.
Students are more engaged and willing to persevere through digital challenges instead of giving up.
Digital literacy is improving, with students developing a better understanding of how digital tools work rather than just consuming content passively.
Differentiated learning is more effective, ensuring that students of all levels can participate meaningfully in digital technology activities.
Through practical, hands-on guidance and a structured approach to learning, Code Avengers PLD has empowered Piripiri School to embrace digital technologies in a way that enhances learning outcomes and prepares students for the future.