Update on strengthening Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko in the curriculum

Curriculum content

The Ministry will gazette and release the new Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum content, learning progressions and exemplars in December.

The goal of these curriculum changes is to ensure that all learners have the opportunity to develop the confidence and skills they need to use digital technologies and to design and build digital systems. It’s important that young people are digitally capable in all aspects of their lives and careers, whatever pathways they choose. 

Strengthening Digital Technologies within the Technology Learning Area of The New Zealand Curriculum and Hangarau Matihiko within the Hangarau Wāhanga Ako of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa signals the need for greater focus on our students so they can use, create and develop digital technologies. 

Our journey to date

Last July, after then Education Minister, Hekia Parata, announced that Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko would be strengthened within the Technology Learning Area and the Hangarau Wāhanga Ako, we began working with curriculum experts and designers, teachers and industry partners to start drafting new curriculum content.

In June of this year, Education Minister Nikki Kaye launched the Creating a Digitally Fluent Nation initiative. She also opened a nationwide public consultation on the draft proposed new curriculum content which ran from 28 June to 3 September.

The aim of the consultation was to ensure we heard from a wide range of voices – teachers, education leaders, students, parents and whānau, business and the technology sector. During this consultation we held 53 face-to-face workshops across 19 locations which attracted 2,381 attendees. We also ran an online survey which attracted 655 responses, and we received 33 emailed submissions.

To close off the consultation process, a range of reports have been published to: reiterate the rationale for the new curriculum content; advise you of the changes we’ve made to the curriculum content as a result of the feedback we heard; and discuss the resources and support that will be available to teachers and kaiako to help you make use of the new curriculum content and introduce it into your teaching and learning programmes. There are three reports:

• Summary Report: this outlines; a) the process we have followed in developing the new curriculum content, in conjunction with our partners, b) the changes noted, and responded to, on the curriculum content after considering submissions received, and c) the next steps for the sector as the new curriculum content is introduced into The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa);
• Consultation Feedback Report: this summarises and collates feedback received from the public consultation;
• Curriculum Advisory Group Report: this Group was established as an independent panel of experts commissioned to advise the Ministry on the draft curriculum content and provide recommendations on feedback received during consultation as collated in the Consultation Feedback Report.

A fourth report, The Ministry of Education’s response to the Curriculum Advisory Group Report, is available on request.

Supporting teachers and kaiako

We are now seeking partners to work with the Ministry to deliver key outcomes and services to support Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko teaching and learning and provide the expertise and resources needed to ensure equity of learning for all students and improve the digital readiness and capability of teachers and kaiako.

We realise that some teachers and kaiako will be more confident than others about engaging with the new curriculum content and including it in their teaching and learning programmes. These initiatives are intended to develop resources and supports to build teachers’ digital capabilities and confidence, and to show how the new content can be covered as part of integrated curriculum delivery in Years 1–10.

This could include:

• examples of teaching and learning plans for Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko as both a discrete body of knowledge and contextualised across the curriculum;
• annotated examples of student work exemplifying progression from curriculum levels 1-5 and NCEA levels 1-3; and
• teaching and learning resources for schools and kura to adapt to their local community.

From 2018-2019 we will be providing a comprehensive and cohesive support package of initiatives to assist the implementation of the new content into local curriculum teaching and learning programmes by 2020.

The package of support will include a Nationwide Digital Readiness Programme that all teachers and kaiako can access. The Readiness programme will introduce them to the new curriculum content and help them to get the fundamentals in place. In addition, in-depth Professional Learning and Development will be available to meet the needs and aspirations of teachers and leaders in schools, kura and Kāhui Ako as they incorporate the new content into their curriculum programmes. 

Other supports and initiatives will be aimed at raising awareness about and engagement with the new curriculum content and support teachers, kaiako and their learners as they incorporate it in their curriculum programmes including:

• curriculum support resources;
• limited learning opportunities for students in digital technologies, this initiative will provide learning programmes for up to 12,500 students per annum; a National Digital Championship;
• online services to support the delivery of the new curriculum content;
• youth digital enterprise awards; and teaching and learning modules for teachers building courses at NCEA Levels 1 to 3.

We will continue to keep you updated on developments via our Twitter account,
https://goo.gl/ad8BLg(external link), and Facebook page, https://goo.gl/71SjG6(external link)

For more information, go to https://education.govt.nz/digitech(external link), or get in touch with us directly at digi.tech@education.nz