Education Perfect and NCEA / Year 11 Science (NZ)
EP have developed changes to our content to support the changes to NCEA Level 1 standards. This article outlines these changes, and what you can expect to see within this content.
Nau mai, haere mai! Tālofa lava. Mālō e lelei. Kia orāna. Fakaalofa lahi atu. Mālō ni.
What’s happening?
Aotearoa New Zealand is going through the biggest educational changes in a generation. School leaders are being asked to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, to lead and encourage their staff to actively protect te reo, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori.
Teachers are being asked to design and plan programmes of learning that incorporate mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori, often for the first time.
EP is here to support schools and teachers through this difficult transition. We are committed to Aotearoa’s schools, teachers, students and Te Mātaiaho’s calls to action.
What has EP done?
Consultation
We have listened and responded to teachers’ feedback and concerns. We have also consulted with the Ministry of Education, and while we have followed the progress of NCEA Science, we commited to a full rebuild only after NCEA L1 standards were finalised. Now that they have been made public, we have completed a full rebuild of approximately 64 new lessons.
Initial Release
In late 2023, we released 11 new Science lessons and investigations for you. They clearly indicate EP’s new direction toward the inclusion of mana ōrite mō te mātauranga Māori and more Aotearoa NZ contexts. We have also tried to capture the move to more holistic, thematic teaching and learning - and away from an assessment-driven focus.
For the first phase of our build, we are excited to share lessons on maramataka and micro-organisms, including rongoā Māori and traditional food preservation.
Full Release
We are excited to now release the remaining 53 lessons across the topics of Mammalian Biology, Plant Biology, Genetics, Soil Science, Waves, Heat, Electricity, Water Cycle, Rock Cycle, and a series of overarching lessons labelled Te Muriwai - where we explore the intersection of Mātauranga Māori and Western Science knowledge systems and worldviews.
As such, we believe our new Year 11 Science resources will cater to all schools, whether you choose to follow the new NCEA Level 1 immediately or not.
Writers
We included mātanga and kaiako Māori as writers of our content and have used cultural advisors for quality assurance at every step. We make every endeavour to assure cultural safety for our team and writers as well as the teachers and students who will use these rauemi / resources.
We are grateful to the mātanga for sharing their mātauranga. We share these lessons with pride but also with care. If you have specific concerns, please let us know.
Teacher Guide
Curriculum Alignment
We have presented the NCEA Level 1 content within the relevant strands, making it easy for kaiako and tauira to navigate. We understand that schools are approaching the planning of their Year 11 programmes in various ways.
To assist, we have included a map to allow kaiako to see how EP’s Year 11 Science content aligns to each of the new Nature of Science, Physics, Earth & Space Science and Chemistry & Biology standards.
Thematic
The new EP Science lessons are symbolised by the theme, Te Muriwai, the confluence of two streams (of knowledge). We and our writers understand the importance and challenge of presenting mātauranga Māori alongside Western Science. We present them as complementary knowledge and practice systems that allow our young people to enhance their understanding and explore their place and identity in the natural world through both of these lenses.
These Science themes ask kaiako and tauira to draw on both the strengths of science and mātauranga to understand te taiao and how we live within it.
Lesson Structure
Our Learning Objectives are structured using the SOLO taxonomy, adding another level of differentiation within the lessons. This structural design also helps students progress from an introductory to a deeper understanding.
Localisation
Remember EP is also fully customisable. You can create and edit your own content for your local context and students.
For example, you could create an assessment on a topic relevant to your area to investigate or model a situation, such as different methods of preservation or more localised rongoā knowledge and local flora. You can swap out contexts to localise them e.g. the application of maramataka to your iwi and the impacts on your region.
Where to find the lessons
Please click on the links below to take you directly to the new lessons.
Education Perfect NZ > Science > Featured > 2024 NEW Year 11 Science Lessons
