Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand welcomes the support and efforts of the government and their commitment to the tertiary sector under these unprecedented times. We would particularly like to acknowledge the Minister and Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Commission, New Zealand Qualifications Authority and the Teaching Council.
“Even though Te Rito Maioha has a blended delivery model, we already offer a significant amount of our teaching online because our students are spread across the country, often in rural communities. The Teaching Council and NZQA have enabled and approved some adaptations for face to face aspects of our qualifications so that they can also be offered online”, says Chief Executive Kathy Wolfe.
“We have been able to provide our students with a lot of certainty that their programme of study will continue, and that their qualification will be robust”.
For example, recently lecturers responsible for teaching our Graduate Diploma of Teaching (ECE) block course adapted the content into online delivery. As well as ensuring academic rigour, they were guided by our principles of manaakitanga (caring and connecting) and whakawhanaungatanga (including everyone) which are so important at this time. They worked collectively and collegially to ensure a consistent and high-quality approach to the online block course that retained the values of the teaching profession and our values at Te Rito Maioha.
There was 100% attendance in the online block course which is testament to both the teaching team and students at this challenging time. Feedback from students has been fabulous including the fact that they are saying it is helping with their wellbeing during lockdown.
“It is important for us to remain connected to our students and help them stay engaged with their learning journey. Our teaching staff are in constant contact through social media, collaborative chatrooms and online teaching. We are able to give our students the required amount of attention which helps to lessen the potential drawbacks of lockdown. Further support from other government agencies for students and their employers has enabled all of us to support them to stay the course.
“Our midyear applications are tracking really well – people are still thinking and planning for their futures which is really encouraging, more so now than ever”, says Ms Wolfe.
“It is still important that we are producing high-quality teachers for our youngest citizens, and our role is to provide manaaki and support to student teachers and postgrads who also aspire to that goal.”