What can InterruptED
InterruptED are dedicated to helping drive our students forward by creating a well rounded curriculum based around project based learning and structured projects. Find out more below.
Curriculum Design
InterruptED can help with curriculum design by enabling staff to use design thinking to unpack and create an authentic curriculum that enables 21st Century learners.
Project-based learning
There are three styles of project-based learning InterruptED can help you with. All three designs are suitable for year 9-13 students and processes and procedures are put in place for years 9 and 10 to align with curriculum needs, and for years 11-13 to ensure the accumulation of NCEA credits at Levels 1,2 and 3. To ensure the completion of UE at Level 3 InterruptED recommends a mixture of Structured and Guided projects. Pedagogy is built into the project design to enable both teachers and students to learn the process as they proceed through the project.
Projects are usually multi-disciplinary and cross-curricular but they can be designed for a single subject with a single theme.
Although it is recommended that students and teachers have access to digital tools which they will use for both inquiry and recording of work, it is not essential.
1.Structured Projects
Students use project-based learning to answer a teacher-led question that has a pre-designed procedure. This is a good first step for individual teachers to understand the process and to teach the students the expectations of project-based learning. We highly recommend this style of project for teaching external NCEA achievement standards.
2.Guided Projects
Students develop answers to teacher-led questions using procedures chosen by the students. This format usually requires a process of inquiry and design thinking to enable the students to create their solutions. This is not a teacher-led process and requires more teacher-student facilitation. This enables much greater student agency whilst maintaining all the structures of good teaching, such as planning and feedback. However, there is a greater emphasis on changing the style of teaching as this type of project requires less traditional teaching and more facilitation.
3.Open Project
In an Open project students continue to use the procedures developed in a guided project but they use these skills to answer questions they have developed for themselves. This gives more freedom, autonomy and agency to the student to direct and engage in their own learning path.
Pedagogy
Within the structure of the projects students will use a design thinking process to
enable them to create solutions to problems. InterruptED can aid teachers in
using and developing this tool that can match to their students, school and
community needs.