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Learning for Life:

Cook Islands Education Master Plan –

All people in the Cook Islands will have equitable access to quality learning opportunities across the full spectrum of human endeavor from birth

Cook Islands Cook Islands –– the basic factsthe basic facts

• Land:236.7km2 (within EEZ of 2million km2)

• Language: Cook Islands Maori ( 7 dialects), English, Pukapuka language

• No of Islands: 15• Schools: 32• Children enrolled:4461• Teachers: 290

Structure of School Based Education in the Cook Islands.

Early Childhood Education(officially from 3.5 years)

Primary Education( from 4.5 years, compulsory by 6 years)

Secondary Education

Junior Secondary (Years 7 – 10 )

Senior Secondary (Year 11- 13)Compulsory until the end of the year in which a student turns 15( under review)

Tertiary Education

Technical & Vocational Education

Education Master Plan

Related Education Goals and Outcomes

• Establishing fully resourced schools to meet the teaching and learning needs of all learners

• Provide for the establishment and resourcing of specialist areas e.g. ICT

• Upskilling and resourcing of management ( Principals, teachers, parents) to meet changes in education

Education Master Plan Education Master Plan –– the the wider linkswider links

• National Sustainable Development Plan• Partnership Arrangements with Donors• Regional- PRIDE (Pacific Regional Initiative for the

Delivery of Basic Education) ICT benchmarks in relation to student learning in ICT

- FBEAP (Forum Basic Education Action Plan)• International Obligations

– Millennium Development Goals– Education For All Goals- CEDAW

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Programmes

Website Development

EMIS & Demske

Distance Education

ICT Programmes in Schools

School Management Systems –Monitoring Student Outcomes

PRIDE Projects – Policy & Training

Website Development

• Re-developed our website last year (more user friendly and meet our end users learning needs (schools, community, parents)

• Website Development Cycle (4 Phases-Requirements and Analysis, Design and testing, implementation and training, review and evaluation)

• Joomla Content Management System (open software)

EMIS/Demske• Demske:- a demographic tool that allows us to forecast

school populations for teacher, resource, funding projections.

- Reliant on valid, current census data. • EMIS:- a Ministry tool that collates annual statistics- used in turn for monitoring programmes and

providing evidence for change and recommendations.

- Reliant on schools providing valid and timely information.

- Currently being reviewed to include new indicators which reflect the EMP

Distance Education

• Issue of accessibility and time• Traditional plane/boat delivery did not

provide students with timely feedback to improve learning

• Schools can now scan student work and email directly to tutors in New Zealand.

• This has dramatically reduced response time to students and in turn keeps them more engaged in their learning

PRIDE Projects• Policy:- a project to develop a sector wide ICT policy. - Policy directives to support outcomes of EMP• Training- a project to provide capacity building for staff in

isolated schools who can then act as “trouble shooters” on that island

- Decrease reliance on technicians travelling from Rarotonga.

ICT Programmes in Schools

• At senior levels students can access programmes at NCEA L1-3

• Some schools also start students on vocational ICT qualifications eg National Certificates

• MOE provided junior secondary courses• From 2009 a Technology Curriculum will

be developed of which ICT is recognised as a key area of learning.

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School Management: Monitoring Student Outcomes

• School administrators have access to software for monitoring enrolment, attendance etc

• MOE developed tool for monitoring student outcomes across all curriculum areas, each learning criteria.

• Also provide School management to analyse on achievements

Possibilities

Interactive Whiteboard Teaching

Increase community liaison and engagement

Identified ICT learning objectives within a technology curriculum

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Information Literacy

Interactive Whiteboard

• Provide the infrastructure that will allow face to face learning interaction between teachers and students

• Allow for running same tutorial or classroom session with various groups at one particular point in time

• Student will get instant feedback

Community Engagement

• Media project that is funded by PRIDE.• Run a series of training sessions with personnel

from the Ministry of Education to increase capacity building for staff

• Training sessions will produce 10 sets of educational commercials to be broadcasted via television for nationwide coverage

• Each commercial will cover different themes ranging from early childhood education to post secondary education as covered in the education master plan

ICT Learning Objectives

• Development of Technology Curriculum in 2009.

• Recognition of ICT as a key learning area in technology

• Will develop objectives for student learning around knowledge, understanding, capability, and impact

• Will identify technology as both a problem solver and an opportunity creator.

Monitoring & Evaluation

• Expansion of EMIS• Capacity building for how to effectively use

our monitoring tool• Constant upgrade of software and taking

advantage of training opportunities

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Information Literacy

• MOE recognises that ICT as a tool provides unlimited information

• Need to build student skills in selecting, interpreting and using information

• Current Lead Teacher project building capacity in literacy, library and information literacy

Challenges & Opportunities

• Capacity of connectivity• Sustainability of institutional knowledge• Commitment to continuous upgrade • Mind sets

But the good news is……..we have an opportunity to develop structures and practices that will provide for the unique learning and community environment of the Cook Islands.

Meitaki

(Thank you!)