Designing mixed-settings learning programmes
What is 'mixed-settings' learning?
‘Mixed-settings learning’ refers to learning programmes where learners | ākonga undertake some of their learning in secondary schools as well as in formal workplace-based learning and/or in a tertiary education environment.
Providing a mix of complementary learning environments can be a great option for schools and kura that want to help their ākonga achieve NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) qualifications while working towards a tertiary or industry qualification. This can result in higher levels of retention and engagement as well as smoother transitions from school or kura.
There are several funding streams that support enrolment across multiple settings for secondary students | wharekura ākonga.
Designing mixed-settings learning programmes
Strong partnerships are essential in enabling students to successfully combine school-based NCEA learning with part-time tertiary or workplace-based learning. When these programmes work well, they help students to gain the knowledge, skills and competencies that enable them to experience success at school or kura and in further education and employment.
Building partnerships between secondary and tertiary organisations
Asking yourself the following questions can be a good starting point when designing mixed-settings learning programmes.
- What are the needs and interests of your ākonga?
- What are the existing and forecasted labour market needs in your community/region? Do your ākonga know about these and could any of their needs and interests align with these employment opportunities?
- How could any existing partnerships be strengthened?
- What possible new partnerships could be formed to deliver the programme effectively and create additional benefits for your ākonga?
- How will ākonga progress be monitored and shared across settings?
- How will ākonga pastoral care needs be supported across the different learning environments?
- Are there any resources partners can share?
- What, if any, adjustments are needed to each partner’s usual way of offering learning to maximise benefits to ākonga?
What is required for this learning to be effective?
Mixed-settings programmes are most effective when they are collaborative. Good practice includes planning the overall programme together, providing coordinated quality assurance approaches and ensuring high quality communication across learning settings and to ākonga, families and whanau. Ākonga should have good information on what they need to do to be successful in each part of their learning programme.
Formal agreements between schools | kura and employers or tertiary education organisations are required under most funding and policy settings. Although formal agreements are not mandatory for other arrangements, they can help maximise programme coherence for the learner | ākonga. All arrangements should acknowledge the different roles and responsibilities of each party.
An example of what a mixed-setting agreement could look like can be found here: Mixed settings secondary-tertiary learning agreement guide
How can mixed programmes work in a school or tertiary setting?
Partners in mixed-settings programmes should develop courses offered within the school | kura and learning outside of school. Consider how the time spent learning in each environment will be allocated. Partners need to ensure the learning across the different settings complements each other.
One approach is for ākonga to attend school | kura three days a week, and a tertiary training provider two days a week. For example, if an ākonga is doing an engineering qualification as well as NCEA, they may do mathematics with calculus and physics, plus another subject of their choice. The remaining two days could be spent at a polytechnic doing mechanical engineering. They could alternatively swap one of the days in either of those environments with learning in a workplace through the Gateway programme.
Essential components for designing an effective learning programme
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FIRST LEVEL OF PLANNING |
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Ākonga |
Engage with ākonga to identify their needs, interests, and current aspirations. |
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Current learning programmes |
Review current programmes and assess the extent to which programmes are meeting the needs of ākonga, including what additional support is available to ensure equitable outcomes. |
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Community and industry |
Collaborate with the community, strengthen partnerships, and establish new partnerships to support learning programme development. |
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Resourcing |
Assess current resources and resourcing and explore possible new options with community input. Identify educators’ and other expertise (e.g. industry, Iwi, hāpu), and source any additional expertise to support or extend ākonga. Also scope any requirements for specialist facilities, equipment, materials, and tools. |
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SECOND LEVEL OF PLANNING |
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Programme design |
Incorporate relevant industry content and from learning areas in The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa into programmes. The overall programme should incorporate essential and transferable knowledge, skills, and key competencies and provide clear opportunities for progression to further education and employment. |
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Teaching and learning delivery approaches |
Use teaching approaches that are known to have a positive impact on ākonga. (See table: Teaching and delivery approaches). |
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Location of learning |
Work with partners to identify and use the most appropriate locations for learning. |
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Connections |
Connect with, and maintain connections with, workplaces, community, and industry. |
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Assessment approaches |
Ensure assessment delivery caters for individual ākonga needs and that quality assurance processes exist and are monitored. |
Teaching and delivery approaches
Research tells us that ākonga learn best when educators:
- create a supportive learning environment
- encourage reflective thought and action
- enhance the relevance of new learning
- consistently make connections between learning and employment specifically and life generally
- facilitate shared learning
- make connections to prior learning and experience
- provide ākonga with sufficient opportunities to learn
- inquire into the teaching-learning relationship.
Successful integration of digital learning can also support and motivate ākonga to achieve.
The table below provides examples of some other teaching and delivery approaches that could be considered.
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Contextualised learning |
- real life and industry-related contexts - cultural contexts - building products or providing services for actual clients. |
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Problem solving |
- using problem-based scenarios - using actual situations in real time - using virtual simulations. |
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Skills development |
- introducing a wide range of foundational skills and competencies - regularly teaching and practising skills in a variety of situations. |
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Work-integrated learning experiences |
- visiting a range of relevant industry sites - meeting a range of industry employees across levels of the industry - using available funding mechanisms to support work-integrated learning experiences (for example, Gateway and Secondary-Tertiary Programmes [STPs]). |
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Relationship building |
- affirming the identity, language, and culture of all students - engaging ākonga interests and cultural perspectives in their learning - seeking out ākonga achievements, attitudes, personal backgrounds, and interests. |
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Learning support and inclusive education |
- modifying teaching environments to include all ākonga - providing appropriate support for any additional learning and pastoral needs the ākonga has. |
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Health and Safety |
- meeting health and safety obligations, and the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. |
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Learning and assessment feedback |
- providing formative feedback that is regular, on time, and in manageable chunks, and clearly identifying next steps - identifying next steps in all summative feedback and setting achievable challenges and goals. |
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Reflective practice |
- constantly reflecting on what is going well and not so well and making adjustments adjustments as required - encouraging ākonga to do the same. |
An example framework for planning
The following example provides a suggested framework for partners working together to develop a mixed-setting learning programme.
Graduate profileIdentify the intended attributes of graduates of the mixed-setting learning programme. |
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Broad learning outcomes Identify knowledge, skills, and capabilities valued by the sector(s) your ākonga are interested in. |
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Planning categories Plan for each of the learning outcomes using these categories: |
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1. Industry-specific content Identify the skills, capabilities, and knowledge that are valued. |
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2. Curriculum content Identify relevant content from The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa that supports development of valued knowledge, skills, and capabilities. |
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3. Key competencies and graduate capabilities Consider how the ākonga will develop the key competencies, core capabilities, and soft skills valued in your sector. |
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4. Delivery arrangements and flexible resourcing Consider appropriate resourcing to meet the needs for ākonga, for example, Secondary-Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR), or Gateway, or shared delivery arrangements between schools and tertiary providers (STPs). Identify ākonga interests and available industry, and work placement opportunities. |
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5. Assessment | Aromatawai Use an appropriate balance of recommended and sector-related achievement and unit standards to enable ākonga to achieve NCEA level 2 with a Vocational Pathway Award. |
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Progression Ensure graduates can progress to further qualifications and/or employment from this learning programme. |
Questions for self-review
These questions may help you to plan and implement your programmes.
- What are you currently doing that is working well for ākonga overall and what could be improved?
- What is working well for Pacific, Māori, and ākonga with additional educational needs and what could be improved?
- What improvements can you make today?
- What improvements can you make in the longer term?
- How do you currently allocate funding for off-site learning?
- How could funding from partner organisations be used differently to support the partnership approach?
- Who has consent to assess the assessment standards?
- Can this consent be developed across tertiary and secondary providers?
- How do you ensure you meet the requirements of The New Zealand Curriculum or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and of industry?
Can I get help creating mixed-setting programmes for ākonga?
Principal Advisors - Secondary Transitions in regional offices at the Ministry of Education are available to help with designing potential programmes.
If you haven’t already done so, also familiarise yourself with the information on Vocational Pathways.