How Education Perfect aligns with NZ Professional Teaching Standards

Aotearoa Histories Lessons:
Experienced History teachers and experts in Te Ao Māori produced a package of 24 introductory lessons covering key moments and significant events in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Spanning Ngā Hekenga - the migration across the Pacific 3,000 years ago and the arrival of tūpuna Māori to Aotearoa, life in pre-colonial Aotearoa, to the signing of Te Tiriti and its impact on us today.

Series of 8 Skills Lessons that introduces students to the idea of Being a Historian. Some of the skills and concepts covered include:

• Critical Thinking
• How to Use Historical Sources
• Sequencing 
• Considering Te Ao Māori

Primary core text library:
EP has partnered with some of Aotearoa’s best writers to bring a range of diverse voices to the classroom. These lessons include Samoan legends from NZ Book Award winner Tusiata Avia, poetry from Serie Barford, Apirana Taylor and Hone Tūwhare, and junior fiction from Steph Matuku and Fraser Smith.

These resources consist of 7 Modules containing 10 lessons each, covering the key areas of Narrative, Poetry, Persuasive Language, Information Reports and Explanation Writing. Complementing the Contextual modules, we have produced 58 brand new Skills Lessons (and 25 Spelling Lists) spanning Punctuation, Spelling Strategies, Skimming & Scanning and Sentence Structure, so students can put into practice what they learn when they need it.

Mō ā tātou tamariki – Te Ao Māori for Students course: 
Ākonga develop a deeper understanding and working knowledge of Te Reo Māori while exploring general tikanga and kaupapa māori with lessons, Assessments, Vocab lists, authentic language tasks. All with teacher support for teachers to teach te reo and te Ao māori from the basics to more advanced levels. 

Te Ao Māori for Educators course:
In this course, teachers engage in course material during class time or on the go. Explore specific topics and language within Te Ao Māori. Develop your understanding and confidence within kaupapa Māori settings. With Kete Kōrero – Course Learning Modules in:

• Te Whakahuatanga: Pronunciation
• He Mihi: General greetings and Introductions
• Ngā Ritenga: General Etiquette
• Ngā Kare ā-roto: Feelings and Asking How Someone Is
• Mihimihi: Speeches of Greeting & Interrelationships
• Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau: Formal & Informal Encounters
• Te Reo o te Akomanga: Language for the Teaching Space
• Aotearoa NZ Histories: Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Matariki etc
• Te Kāinga me te Whānau: Home and Family
• Wetereo: Grammar
• Te Wā me te Huarere: Time and Weather
• Te Reo o te Tari: Office Language (for educators)
• Intermediate Course & NCEA Practice Material (for students)

Each Kete Kōrero contains vocabulary, comprehension, writing and speaking activities. The lessons are broken up into scaffolded blocks so that they are appropriate for beginner and intermediate level learners, without the need for an expert in Te Reo and Te Ao Māori to guide them

EP makes it easy to comply with curriculum, system, and school assessment requirements to effectively prepare students for external tests and examinations. This includes NCEA senior external exams, with past exam papers available in our fully NZ curriculum aligned Content Library. 

Analysis tags can be used to assess student work in line with marking criteria such as NZC Levels.

Individual student assessment reports inform teaching and learning experiences to progress students' learning.  Enabling multiple attempts in Assessments allows students to see their growth over time.

Regular and varied professional development options by way of webinars, podcasts, thought leadership articles, conferences, social media groups, online courses and in-school or online visits are just some of the ways in which EP provides opportunities for teachers to address professional goals.

Opportunities exist for teachers to present at EP events as guest/keynote speakers and contribute to professional development activities rather than simply attending and/or being passive.

Social media groups enable teachers to engage in professional discussions, establish rapport and share new knowledge with colleagues and report back to colleagues about professional learning activities.

We support our platform with research based innovations. Teachers can view our various resources on topics such as different pedagogical approaches.

Automatic marking of Assessment questions ensures prompt assessment of and timely feedback on student work.

Individual student assessment reports indicate the level of achievement as well as how to improve their learning outcomes with automatically recommended next steps, providing students with an individualised learning plan.

In-platform feedback options provide opportunities for teachers to give constructive, thoughtful feedback, which is specific to the learner’s needs, is learning focused and linked to learning goals and success criteria. Individual student assessment reports highlight positive achievement and areas for improvement, which can be accompanied by individual teacher comments. Use of various forms of feedback, including marks, comments, verbal feedback, peer feedback, and self-reflection. 

Moderation between teaching colleagues is also possible.

Parents/caregivers can be kept informed of assigned work using the option provided when setting a Task or Assessment. This will notify the parent/caregiver via email of the work that has been set and the due date for completion. They will receive reminders ahead of the due date that outline the progress made by the student on tasks and will also be notified if the student submits work late. In the case of Assessments, parents will be notified of the student’s final result.

Detailed student reports assist teachers in planning for parent/carer and teacher interviews.

The Compare Results option assists discussions with parents/carers by providing quantitative evidence of improvement or areas for improvement.

Detailed, individual records of student activity and engagement through Tasks, Assessments and Insights areas of the platform can be used to establish, build on, and maintain respectful collaborative relationships with parents/carers regarding their children’s learning and wellbeing.

Data collected in the Insights area can help inform reporting to parents and areas for student improvement.

Estimated completion times on all Tasks and Assessments gives teachers the ability to effectively manage time and lesson sequence.

Clearly set out lesson objectives listed at the start of most lessons enables teachers to articulate the content of the lesson to students in advance.

Live monitoring of student engagement and in-platform messaging can assist teachers to proactively manage their classroom and address issues before they escalate or become problems. 

Positively reinforcing good behaviour can be done using Cheers and in-platform messaging.

Immediate feedback on answers provided through Tasks and Assessments leads to better engaged students thus impacting positively on behaviour management.

EP’s DECODE Mental Health and Wellbeing resources provide students with the tools to be resilient, empathetic, and aware. The resources also include a Teacher PD program.

HPE resources encourage safe decision-making and healthy relationships through topics such as Harm Minimisation, Mental Health and Relationship Building.

Every investigation in the EP Science Content Library is linked to a RiskAssess proforma. RiskAssess is a web-based tool that makes performing risk assessments for Science investigations quick and easy for teachers and laboratory technicians.

Summary data following completion of Tasks and/or Assessments can be shared with students as a means of encouragement and support, as well as holding students accountable for their learning.

The ability to lock/pause or end online assessments gives teachers complete control over the learning environment, especially in the case of unforeseen lesson interruptions.

In-platform feedback options allow for use of various forms of feedback, including marks, comments, verbal feedback, peer feedback, and self-reflection.

The Assessments platform can be used to create ‘exit tickets’ to check for understanding at the end of a lesson.

Students can view Assessments on their home screen using their Learning Record and get all of the information, including the date, length and included content.

Teachers are able to export Assessment data and post-process to set the curriculum level and report to whanau on Student Management Data Systems for reporting.

Encourage students to use their voice via Responses, Voice and Video recording options. Use EP with variety that allows learners to share, such as creating their own resources.

Peer Review is a powerful tool for co-operation between learners with the safety to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions, perspectives and writing anonymously for feedback and feedforward (with the safety net of the teachers view being de-anonymised). This allows a model for safe risk taking and learning about working safely online. Opportunities for teachers to explicitly teach about safe working spaces and online spaces with a supported online environment.

Teachers are able to view single student information about a student's experience on EP through Insights. They can see their Task and Assessment information, especially any ratings or feedback to see which aspects of EP are working well for them or may not fit the best and could be adjusted.

Teachers can also edit and customise existing lessons if they want to get feedback and get students to actively participate in the types of EP lessons they are assigned.

 EP caters to various learning needs through Accessibility options.

The Assign specific sections and Assign to specific students features enable teachers to differentiate activities for students to address their physical, social or intellectual learning needs and characteristics.

EP supports a wide range of teaching strategies that can be selected based on students’ physical, social or intellectual development to target the different areas of student learning requiring improvement. Students can be grouped according to their learning needs.

Differentiation options allow for varying time on Tasks for different student levels and abilities. It also frees up teacher time to develop learning-focused relationships.

Supporting students from an ESOL/EAL background.

EP makes it easy to comply with curriculum, system, and school assessment requirements to effectively prepare students for external tests and examinations such as NCEA senior external exams with past exam papers available in the Content Library.

EP can be used for a range of purposes within a range of lessons; including content delivery, assessment, remediation and gamification of learning. The File Uploader option allows students to combine the use of EP with other software tools by submitting their projects through the portal.

EP can be used across most pedagogical approaches, including student-centred learning and self-directed work. Students can access the content at their own leisure without requiring teacher intervention. They can also access content from Years 7-13, allowing self-assessment and catering to individual interests.

The Assign specific sections and Assign to specific students features enable teachers to differentiate activities for students to address their physical, social or intellectual learning needs and characteristics.

EP supports a wide range of teaching strategies that can be selected based on students’ physical, social or intellectual development to target the different areas of student learning requiring improvement. Students can also be grouped according to their learning needs.

Full screen mode allows teachers to model a new concept or approach. EP can be used across most pedagogical approaches to support student literacy and numeracy, including explicit or direct instruction and small group instruction to allow for collaboration or independent work.

Comprehensive reporting and analysis tools allow teachers to digitally track student progress and achievement across a class, cohort or whole-school.

A program of continuous and varied assessment – both formative and summative - can be completed using the Assessments feature.

Content authoring tools within EP Studio allow for customisation and adjustments to activities and resources.

Vertical access to level-appropriate content across Years 7-13 to meet the physical, social and intellectual needs of individual students and groups of students, including the provision of modified tasks or enrichment and/or acceleration, where appropriate.

Formative, diagnostic, pre- and post-testing enables teachers to assess student needs in order to determine appropriate content and activities for each student and enables teachers to utilise and build upon students’ prior knowledge of content, skills and capabilities.

The Assessments feature can be used to differentiate easily and diagnose individual student learning needs and next steps. Assessments can be customised to address a range of levels, learning needs, skills and assessment strategies and styles to suit the student learning outcome being assessed. Data obtained from assessments can be used to inform future approaches to assessment to suit the student learning outcome being assessed.

EP is curriculum-aligned to ensure ICT resources are relevant and meaningful to students’ learning needs and interests. This also ensures a discerning learning focus in the use of ICT.

Literacy and Numeracy:

• The Text Types Library in English & Literature provides opportunities for students to read both factual and fiction texts. 
• All EP lessons provide opportunities for students to talk, listen, read and write or can be adapted to do so. Lessons accommodate the need for students to have regular opportunities for independent reading and writing.
• Spelling list and glossary activities are included across subjects, supporting the development of student literacy skills.
• The Contextual Activities folder in Maths provides connections between content and numeracy skills to support learning, along with the use of graphs and tables, statistics, symbols and analytical processes in lessons across subjects.
• Differentiation options provide opportunities for flexibly sequenced lessons to cater to students’ learning needs, including needs-based learning groups.

EP recognises the importance of our audience being able to see themselves in our learning resources. We promote diversity and inclusion throughout our resources by including diverse representation in examples, question contexts and illustrations, and through instructional resources on diverse communities where appropriate in the New Zealand Curriculum. We support all schools to create and deliver content that represents their community.

All content is aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum
Curriculum Maps link syllabus descriptors to EP lessons to assist with lesson planning, organisation and sequencing.

Lessons include model answers and explanations for immediate student feedback, which can also be utilised by teachers unfamiliar with content.

Comprehensive customisation options within EP Studio enable teachers to make identified adjustments to strategies or language in a lesson to address the characteristics of students.

Data from the Assessments feature can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the selected teaching strategies in meeting student learning strengths and needs.

EP supports a wide range of teaching strategies that can be selected based on students’ physical, social or intellectual development to target the different areas of student learning requiring improvement.

EP allows teachers to design teaching and learning programs based on information gathered about their students’ learning styles in order to include relevant learning experiences and cater to the different learning needs of students in a variety of ways:

• Access to level-appropriate content for differentiation.
• Formative, diagnostic, pre- and post-testing with personalised next steps.
• Assigning specific content to specific students.
• Content authoring tools for customisation and adjustments to content.
• Combining a variety of question types with scaffolded content.
• Fostering peer interaction with Peer Review and Cheers.
• Helping with time management with a clear due date.
• Boosting motivation through a diverse range of content and competitions.

The Assessments feature and Compare Results option enables analysis of student data to identify learning improvement resulting from changing teaching practice.

Vertical access to level-appropriate content across Years 7-13 to meet the physical, social and intellectual characteristics of individual students and groups of students.

Task progress and Assessment reports assist teachers to develop teaching programs that are appropriately structured and based on evidence of prior learning of students.

EP provides real-time learning data for every student. Teachers can immediately see when a student is struggling with sections of a lesson. Teachers can also see student accuracy and the time taken to complete activities to get a full picture of how each student is learning.

Estimated completion times provided on activities ensures the appropriate length and appropriate pacing of student learning. EP provides opportunities for students to demonstrate evidence of engagement with the content covered through Extended Response questions and Peer Review features.