You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Following the Inquiry model for the field trip meant students were co-constructing their own learning. It provides current and informative resources. Students were able to form good research questions.
This method of learning was highly suited to a select group of my Year 9 students as it allowed them to self-manage, focus on learning, and at a later stage 'practice' through an EOTC field trip to a local freshwater stream. Excellent and most effective.
Students who watched videos were motivated to set up a fresh water tank at school. Good science, reinforcing concepts of food webs and freshwater ecosystems.
We were teaching about NZ Rivers as a module class, combining Science and Social Studies, so it fitted the achievement objectives perfectly for our subject areas. Awesome!
We use material from completed field trips (Freshwater Ecology and Whio) on school camp at Tongaririo which provides excellent, authentic, high motivation support for our Year 7 students and relates well to our similar interets in Taranaki. I certainly appreciate the quality of the online resources that LEARNZ have produced. Thanks very much to the LEARNZ team.
Our students loved being able to manage their own learning from the website and being introduced to new experiences such as the audio conferences. Great for the learners who have difficulties with literacy - easy background and listening features are excellent for them.
We particularly enjoy the videos and questions, as they are effective at any time. Followed on from our water study and reinforced our learning around water ecosystems. The field trips have relevance even when they don't exactly fit a planned topic. I am hooked!
Through the LEARNZ programme my students are developing more complex questioning skills and thinking critically about New Zealand and World issues. Lots of opportunities to gain skills in reading and writing, as well as in the Key Competencies.
LEARNZ field trips are resource rich and they are scaffolded really well. Layer upon layer of information goes on and children pick up knowledge directly and through class discussion. This field trip has motivated me to come back for more.
Students gained an appreciation of the ‘bigger picture’, of how clean water or polluted water affects so many things. Students really enjoyed it - it was aimed at their level.
Highly relevant to the students who self-regulated, worked collaboratively, and applied learnings locally. The multiliteracy approach is very engaging.
Tied into the 1.3 Geography Sustainability of tourism in Tongariro National Park. The videos gave great insight into the ecology of the area and how this ties in with all other things.
Because it was so interactive the children were 'hooked in' from the beginning. Listening comprehension was made to be fun as it was learning they were interested in. It covered everything we wanted to know and what we were learning about.
The children are completely enthralled with taking a virtual trip in their own back yard - they have taken their learning home and are working on informing others of their new knowledge. We are a Year 4 class so at the earlier stage of the Learnz system but it was really easy for the kids to get to grips with. It prompted much learned conversation and interaction from the children, excellent. Each of the Key Competencies was well covered.
It tied in with our statistics unit, collecting data and using it to make a difference and to advise. My class love when they can view things through the data projector and it was helpful to generate discussion. Students were kept motivated and were also interested in the jobs available in this field. LEARNZ fits with all learners.
We found it really interesting and helpful towards our inquiry topic "Wai Care". It gave us a whole new perspective on nature and wildlife. We enjoyed feeling like we were out there with you experiencing it. LEARNZ ... helps all learners.
Students were captivated by this context. An outstanding resource to facilitate effective learning.
We are planting our local waterway so this field trip helped the students understand why and how and where and when. "Wai Care?" was our focus for the term - used this field trip extensively.
First time we tried a field trip - so much potential - it was great. We were learning together. Great timing for Te Wiki o Te Reo - Maori place names.
My class is very multi-cultural and has a varied spread of ability. The field trip allowed an inclusive learning programme to take place where every student felt success! All students were highly engaged and motivated ... I cannot emphasise this enough as the field trip created such a buzz of excitement, they could hardly wait to see what was happening within the field trip every day. As a teacher it was an exhilarating experience to see every student caught up in the learning. The knowledge the students gained from the field trip developed critical thinking skills. Everything is available on the LEARNZ website - it's a wonderful resource that creates real life science experiences for students. As a teacher it is easy to navigate the website and use the resources available. It also enables me as a teacher to creatively adapt resources/ knowledge for the students in my class.
It gave a real context for elaborating on the aqueous chemistry we are studying. It gave a chance to explore a 'real world' environment from the comfort of our classroom, without spending the time and resources to commit to a full-blown field trip.
It is a fun and educational way for the students to learn. It gives the opportunity for students to view places they may never get the opportunity to see.
They are so relevant to the children who are at an impressionable age. They are now telling others what we should all be doing re health of our water sources. They were so focussed upon the videos and the short reading tasks held their attention and were relevant to what we were doing. The cultural component was relevant to all children, not specifically to just Maori or Pasifika ones. It is such a great resource for teachers and students alike.
Supports the school curriculum in innovative ways. We live in this area and students recognised many visual features and people interviewed. It reinforced classroom learnings as it linked to this term's curriculum studies.
It is real time, here and now as well as New Zealand info and presenters which all makes it more authentic learning for children. The field trips offer current visual, aural and authentic learning for children, without a huge amount of time and preparation on the teachers part. The teacher can learn along side the children. It's easy to access, well planned and organised and encourages a passion for our beautiful country.