Developing a technology facility at Tangiteroria School

Setting

Tangiteroria School lies in the heart of rural Northland half way between Dargaville and Whangarei. In the past this school was a thriving district high school, serving a number of the farming communities in the area. Now this school serves the local community by offering education to students from years 1 to 8. The three classes work in rooms which have been built at various times to cater for the fluctuations in the roll (currently standing at 55) and the educational requirements of the times.

One large room stands apart from the rest. Originally built as the cooking room to support the learning of the young women at the district high school, it was stripped of most of its facilities and even the water supply which once ran to it. Over the years this room has served many purposes. It has been a convenient room for holding assemblies, storing equipment, or just being another space for groups of students to work in. It has also been well utilised as a community room.

Motivation

During 1999, the school principal and one staff member undertook a technology professional development course with a facilitator from Education Advisory Services. Much of this professional development was undertaken in the school staffroom and was based around learning about technology through experiences of technological practice. One practical experience had a food focus. Issues were raised during this session about health and safety. How could this sort of experience be undertaken within such a tiny space with a whole class of students? How could the practice take into account health and hygiene requirements? What was necessary in the way of equipment, facilities, and consumable resources? It was at this stage that the wistful comment "If only we still had the old cooking room in working order" was first heard.

Subsequent sessions of the professional development focused on the development of an action plan for the implementation of technology education in the school. The action plan was developed to bring together curriculum, budget, and property requirements which would all focus on developing the food technology facilities and resources for the following year, with emphasis on a different technological area the following year. This plan meant that a majority of energy, thought, and funding could be concentrated each year in order to have a rolling development thus allowing full involvement and resourcing in each area over a period of time. At this stage the principal was appointed to another position and the second teacher involved in the professional development was appointed as Principal at Tangiteroria. Kim Sidwell as a new principal, had a vision and already had a plan of action to work upon.

We decided that we would go ahead and do it – because if you don't go ahead and action the new and innovative ideas pretty quickly then you never get started. We wanted to comply with the curriculum but also wanted to make use of this as a good resource. Kim Sidwell

Scoping

Kim worked with the staff and with the community to find out what their ideas of technology were. Many community members immediately thought of computers. With input from Kim a broader understanding of technology began to develop especially when she showed them the development plan focussing on the different technological areas.

When the plan of action was presented to the board of trustees and the curriculum issues explained, they approved the reconnection of the water line to the old cooking room and explored a range of ideas to make the room safe.

At first glance this was going to be expensive and require a great deal of time and effort. The room had been used as a community room and the locked cupboards were full of old cups and tennis balls. The old kauri bench top was dried out, with gaps between it and the sink. The cupboards underneath showed signs of vermin infestation. The floors had recently been replaced with particle board but would need to be inspected to see if they were up to standard. The old hot water cylinder was in a questionable state and the walls were in need of a repaint. The oven was of an ageing vintage but still in good condition, just needing a good clean.

Old rimu tables which had been a part of the school for many years were viewed critically as potential work tables for students which could be lowered by cutting the legs down to accommodate the junior students. This dramatic move was staved off when it was suggested that the school might be better to sell the tables as complete pieces and use the money to purchase tables which may be more appropriate.

Consultation with the Safety in Technology Handbook, the Ministry of Education property officer, board of trustees, and other community members was pushed as quickly as possible by Kim as she explored a range of opportunities that were opening up with the revamp of the room. This project had a changed vision – to reform the room as a multi purpose room, with a technology focus. This meant that it had to be flexible, easy to reorganise, and keep clean but providing the essential elements for quality learning in technology. The approval of the community and board of trustees was quickly demonstrated as a working bee was organised.

Sleeves up

Community members arrived with their sleeves rolled up, sand paper, rat poison, and paintbrushes at hand. People stripped and re-varnished surfaces; sealed around the sink; and scrubbed, sanded, and polished cupboards, surfaces and drawers. Board of trustees members carried out the reconnection of the water line to the room. The Ministry of Education was about to complete its final property maintenance responsibilities and the interior of the room was completely painted a cheerful sunny colour. The community paid for the re-roofing of the building prior to it being painted. Businesses from the local rural centre of Dargaville contributed with the Dargaville Plumbing and Heating Centre providing a discounted installation of a new hot water cylinder and plumbing and Hubbards promising to supply a second hand fridge in good condition free of charge.

No one wanted to buy the kauri bench and the cost of purchasing a new bench top was beyond the budget. Kim checked with the Miinistry to see what could be done to ensure that it was safe and, after it was sanded and scrubbed, coats of paint were layered over the bare timber surface.

Board of trustee members undertook a vermin programme to clear the area, and they continue to monitor the situation using methods that ensure students are safe from possible harm. As part of their technological practice students now carefully bag their food scraps and these are taken home to feed chooks and pigs. Other community members checked out their cupboards at home to see what useful equipment related to food storage, preparation, and handling they could donate to make the room more useful. Existing cabinets from within the school had been brought into the room to house much of this equipment.

The tables in the junior room had been replaced during this time and the old tables made very workable spaces for students to use in undertaking their practical work.

The school started with $800 in their technology budget and have managed to work within that budget by shopping carefully and with the assistance of the community. Funding in the school's Telecom account which had built up over a period of time was used along with an injection of extra funding from the BOT to provide a range of consumable resources suitable for the food technology programme for the year and ensure an ongoing supply of long term staples.

Benefits

Since the room has been in use, parents and community members have been invited to share the learning along with the students. This assists in developing their ideas about the breadth of technology education and maintains a bond with the room. Community members continue to use it for other purposes. This has caused some interesting challenges for teachers. The local playgroup not only uses it but also stores the children's toys there. One teacher noticed students who should have been excitedly watching the yeast make their dough rise, finding the fairy costume in the toy box far more important to their visit to the room.

Teachers in this school have in the past had to gather all their equipment, food stuffs, and other resources from home and carry it to school, involving a great deal of extra time and energy. The staffroom and classrooms were the only spaces available to work in – and each time teachers and students had to bring everything into the classroom, get water to the rooms, foods from the fridge in the staffroom, and spend considerable time at the end of the lesson cleaning up. Staff feel that the use of the staffroom as a teaching space was inappropriate as it displaced them, it was too small, and it meant that teachers could not be in all action areas at once. Beverley Davie, a teacher and mother of children at the school, finds the new space very large and spread out, "It takes time to get used to." She also feels that it would be good to have another look at the layout of the room in light of modern kitchen plans and see how to best maximise the space.

A key plus for the teachers is the aspect of hygiene, which is far more easily dealt with in this room than it could be dealt with in classrooms. Kim Sidwell would like to have a large separate cupboard built to house a range of cleaning equipment and chemicals. At this stage the students undertake a major part of the clean up process at the end of a lesson but she feels that if they are to develop a full understanding of technological practice they need to be able to see the whole task through.

Ahead

She also sees a need for a small fire extinguisher which can be easily accessed and handled as they are a long way from fire services. Recently the large water filled fire extinguisher was accidentally knocked over. This brought home the reality of handling an extinguisher of that size. The fire safety officers are about to install a smoke alarm free of charge to the school.

There are exiting times ahead for the staff and students at the school. Next years technology funding and development has been tagged through the action plan – with a focus on structures and mechanisms – both for student learning and resource development. Students have already asked for picnic tables and the Auckland Savings Bank has funding available for outdoor equipment for the school. Students may be involved in the design of the outdoor area with an outdoor eating area and access to the room. With overarching shade this development provide links with the health and physical education curriculum.

Kim sees a need for better shelving and storage and dreams of a microwave, kitchen whiz, toaster, and other electrical gear, tiling for putting hot pots and pans, a whiteboard, and always more equipment. She would like to access older equipment such as griddle irons, and some outdoor food equipment.

Spin-offs

Already the room has provide opportunities for community members to share their knowledge and expertise. Recently a local grandmother came in and showed students how she used to make pikelets using a fork to whisk the mixture, and the griddle for cooking.

A further plus for staff and community members is the spin-off into home life. "It is exciting seeing students learn the language of the food equipment and processes."

A Nestlé Kids like to Cook book chosen by a student to add to the school library during the purchasing of resources has provided a wonderful opportunity for students to further explore the interest they have in foods. The book is often out on loan and has already been well used by students.

One year 6 student enthusiastically commented on the new facility saying that it was fun to be out of the classroom working in a different space. She enjoyed learning how to weigh ingredients and particularly loves the making and eating part of the technology programme. She also added that it was important to have this special space as it meant that all the students could work properly as the classroom was unhygienic and this new room has everything they need, "like sinks".

As exciting as this development is for staff, students, and community members Kim Sidwell is keen to continue the movement ahead. "We can always improve on what we have got."

Setting | Motivation | Scoping | Sleeves up | Benefits | Ahead | Spin-offs

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