You can contact LEARNZ, part of CORE Education, at:
Postal Address:
PO Box 13 678,
Christchurch 8141,
New Zealand
Teacher testimonials
Kōkako
This field trip inspired and educated my class about how NZ birds have been affected by introduced species and has motivated them to learn more. The extensive use of Māori kupu and links to traditions etc was an important element, and one my students found interesting.
The project itself was great. It was interesting and my science students were really engaged from the outset. The website was awesome but one of the greatest things was the communication with the organisers and scientists.
We had very little knowledge on the kōkako before but the boys will tell anyone who will listen about them now. Also, one of the biggest advantages is discussions generated from the resources for critical thinking. An amazing resource - thank you, we are all learning together!
It was good for our students to apply principles we have been learning to the kōkako and Mt Pirongia. Videos were great and also great to include a context from our local area, with corrrect pronunciation of Māori terms
Helped us engage with community - parent feedback was positive. Students engaged and study was also relevant to Treaty of Waitangi - returning taonga, plus Social Studies/Science/Technology.
I like the way that it has opened our learners' eyes to the use of experts to support your inquiry. It has also been a powerful tool for getting students used to the idea of 'actioning' something as part of an inquiry.
Very appropriate, as it linked into our theme on Change - and the students were engaged. It connected to the science curriculum - Level 3 objectives of Ecology and Evolution.
Adapting after Emergencies
We had a fantastic time. This field trip was great for leveraging digital in such a meaningful way. Students learnt a lot that they could talk about afterwards and it gave them meaning and context. They really like hearing from and seeing other children.
Love your Rubbish
As an enviroschool, we found this field trip to perfectly fit our kaupapa and our journey regarding how to deal with waste at school and at home. Also worked very well for two reading groups to engage in synthesising information appropriately.
In a very powerful way students were able to work collaboratively and at their own pace. Practical as our school is isolated rural, 40km from the nearest township and our class is mixed ability Year 6-8.
We are looking at product lifecycle in our design class and it showed what happens to the end of products when put into rubbish, and the importance of designers to design for end of life. It enabled students to critically think through what their consumption produces and it was a great way to show students something without having to physically go.
Land Sky and Space
Amazing link and overlap with Chapter Chat and interests in my students. Kept them engaged. Being in a bi-lingual class the Māori terms and definitions helped to make connections for our learners and gave them a sense of value and pride.
Well connected to the science curriculum and reading. Students found the background information easy to read and gave them lots of information. The audio was very helpful to some of my less able students.
Used with Year 10 science, and they especially enjoyed joining the live web conference. HOD was impressed with engagement.
LEARNZ is so great for Science and Technology. This field trip provided awesome help with GPS and satellites.
Motivating and inspirational for students. A really good way to get them motivated to read and write, plus they all wanted to delve deeper, based on our school-wide theme of "Learn From Yesterday / Change Tomorrow".
Students participated fully in the drone demonstration and researched after the field trip had been completed. They were able to come up with their own inquiry into a part of the topic they were interested in. It involved all the class.
Provides a genuine NZ connection to learning that the students can actually follow. Lots of relevant background information, and overall helped to tie in learning from a variety of sources to support student learning about Space.
The students really related to the modern technology like self driving cars and how this relates to them. The field trip linked to many areas of the curriculum and students enjoyed the different ways of learning (eg videos, conferences and readings).
This was fantastic, so interesting. We are a year 0-8 school and the content was at a level that challenged students. It was great to have a good cross section of students from other schools for them to listen to. Our big idea was awe and wonder, and I put that under the science lens of Space so it met our needs completely.
I enjoy the real life aspect of LEARNZ with relevant topics for our students learning across the curriculum. This was of interest to my year 7 students of all (learning) levels.
It discussed topics that were of particular interest to the boys in my class, and was effective in engaging all the students to learn through a different tool. It required the class to use the Key Competencies throughout the whole journey.
This term our focus was on Ranginui and Navigation. This field trip was perfect for connecting our focus to technology and making it relatable. The newsletters were also really helpful in providing info on how the trip would work.
Globalisation, excellence, maths, science, engineering were all supported. It helped make connections between maths and science in real world contexts.
We are currently studying Outer Space and so learning about satellites was very appropriate. Students generated great "I wonder .." questions, which led to excellent discussions.
Wetland Biodiversity
LEARNZ projects always allow me to "let go" - to let the students lead the way for their learning. Ticks all the boxes - able to use an Inquiry approach to their learning.
It was very relevant as we visited our own local Maungatautari wetland, so it was great to compare.
This field trip has helped me to step out of the classroom and look at what is on our doorstep. It is great for the children to learn about authentic contexts.
Students valued the inclusion of speakers who related the land and resources to an earlier style of living on the land by Maori, in pre-European times.
The trips are well planned and resourced - especially with the use of field experts, and provide a wealth of material students can use to aid their studies. The multi-level pitch of these field trips makes them suitable for a range of ability levels, and they can be self-paced.
Another valuable and appropriate topic from the LEARNZ team, as we knew very little beforehand about wetlands and their importance. LEARNZ is an excellent education tool.
Ability to have contact with scientists and other experts provides an authentic learning experience. We were able to learn about other wetlands and compare them to our local wetlands. Great background information and resources. Thank you!
Used to support digital devices in science at high school and an opportunity to experience the South Island. Some videos included Maori content - used as a role model for students. Pronunciation of Maori place names helped me as a teacher, as I try to improve and utilise Te Reo in the science class.
Sustainable Seas
This field trip supported all students in developing their own learning direction for this topic. Enabled students to make contact and initiate conversations with experts who do not live in their area.
Supported our study of Tangaroa, based on Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. We all learnt so much, both the students and kaiako. Very informative newsletters made using the site easy.
Great learning to be had by all children. Very engaging. We also used this field trip to prepare for an overnight trip to the Tawhiranui Open Sanctuary.
Highly effective. Year 5&6 totally engaged. The videos are gold, prompting much discussion and the kids loved being part of the webinars.
Fitted in perfectly with our school's vision, the key competencies and values. It was an excellent resource to supplement what we were doing in the classroom.
It has helped add innovative, engaging material to my teaching and further engaged my students in the issues we were already examining. Supported the principles, values and key competencies as well as LO's for NCEA Level 1 Geography.
It was perfect for our purposes. I'm looking forward to the next one!
It has given me a fantastic resource to use in the classroom to motivate and engage the students. It was perfect timing for Sea Week and it had the students participating and contributing, thinking, relating to others and making connections.
Complements classroom programmes really well. Useful for the strands in SST on Place & Environment and Continuity and Change. The trip also supported the future focus and sustainability concepts found in the front of the NZC.
The children really loved the field trip. They could relate lots of the content to our local area. We used the field trip as a supplement for our science programme in the classroom.
It has provided authentic and real contexts for teaching and learning and really engages students. It tied in with what we had been learning around Sea Week and covered all the key competencies as well as many learning areas such as Science, Health, Reading, and Oral Language.
Encouraged teaching and learning about sustainability. Very informative for students and teachers alike. I used the audio in background pages to support multi level reading in my class.
Great for literacy, using computers in a different way, introduced science thinking and specific vocabualary in Maori and English. It was effective in the sense that it gave me a framework to work within and draw ideas from, as the material was there to guide me.
This was amazing. My students could relate to it and it introduced some excellent topics such as food chains and ecosystems. My students gained a deep understanding of how fragile an ecosysytem is and that all ecosystems are under both natural and human threats.
I appreciate the support these field trips give to my broader teaching programme and the fact they are so accessible. Thank-you!
Many areas of the curriculum were covered for me during this field trip. Having the option for the children to listen to the text being read is really helpful, as it gives all children the same opportunity to access the information. The children have learnt a lot and we are now applying this knowledge in our follow up activities.
Kauri
Love the fieldtrips as a compliment or stand alone to my programme. Students engaged, differentiated material, connections to things Maori, I could work on my own or with a group.
We learnt things that were directly related to our topic of kaitiakitanga and sustainability. It is great to have the background information, videos and photographs that support a NZ topic.
Great that kauri dieback was in the news, while we were studying it on the virtual field trip. Good integration with Literacy, Te Reo, Key Competencies, Science, and Environmental Education. Wide range of topics, relevant, real life and happening now.
It gave them the sense of being there, and the children were motivated and empowered to make a difference. The children loved watching the videos, and it made the whole learning process more authentic.
It brings things alive for the kids, as many are visual learners. Fabulous to learn from experts. It covered participating and contributing beautifully, and we also connected it to "Understanding about Science".
It was a really good way for students to learn about NZ and what's happening currently and in a manner that they could choose how they participated; some were more independent and others more supported.
Children really enjoyed learning about kauri dieback. We participated in all three web conferences and I am pleasantly suprised at how much the children learned. The field trip links well to the Key Competencies as well as our school values, and was inclusive of all cultures.
It has benefited all akonga (that includes me). We knew nothing about kauri dieback disease until this field trip. Really relevant to us in Northland.
It is a highly motivating tool for learning. Children were highly engaged about kauri and continue to have discussions about their learning. Saves me as a teacher a lot of time as almost all of the planning and preparing is done for me. Great to be able to "call on the expert" from my classroom. Makes learning very accessible.
My students from this field trip are now very connected to kauri, that four weeks ago was just another native tree. Very powerful to have online learning with experts. Made a national taonga come alive and made kauri dieback real, relevant and contextual. Brings in elements of Nature of Science and the Social Science curriculum.
Was extremely motivating for our learners! Very appropriate for our "Diversity" inquiry. Supported Science: Living World but also the Key Competences of "Thinking" and "Using Language, Symbols and Text". Watch the video where our Cambridge East School students share what they learned about kauri dieback at https://vimeo.com/272665119
Kauri is one of our taonga, and this field trip supported our role as tangata whenua and kaitiaki. A great resource and easy to use with the class who learnt so much about the kauri and the disease affecting it.
Linking a community issue with young adults (in this way with LEARNZ), has been empowering for the students. They are able to contribute to conversations outside the classroom using science and cultural based knowledge.
Spirit of Adventure
The differentiated text pages and supporting photographs and videos ensured all the students had success in their learning. Students absolutely loved participating in the live webinar - the writing they produced after it was inspiring and many students reflected it was the best writing they had ever done.
The children were really engaged and being able to ask an expert made them feel like they were really on board the Spirit of New Zealand. I particularly found the easy readings great for my Year 4-5 class and used them as the reading programme. Totally satisfied with all that was offered!
We used this field trip to support our learning on hauora/wellbeing and as part of our work looking at respect, responsibility, and community participation. It also linked in with our work on Growth Mindset and goal setting.
This field trip enabled my students to explore diversity, excellence - aiming high and giving things a go and themes of working together to achieve goals. Really helped in developing a great classroom culture.
Stimulated lots of conversations about participating and contributing, managing self and taking risks. Also how people had to work together and support each other to achieve their goals.
The field trip certainly connected my students with the NZC. It was an authentic context for children to be involved in, covering all the key competencies, learning areas etc.
Encouraged students to use and manipulate technology devices to complement their learning. Especially great for the boys. Enhanced our whole school thematic topic. I look forward to the next field trip. Thank you Learnz.
Waterview Connection
High engagement in the elements presented. Great stimulation for discussion and further investigation. A powerful extension to our EOTC programme.
Really got us thinking about cars, traffic, air polution (in the tunnels) and safe alternatives like cycling. Very engaging and relevant material, presented well.
People and Water
The LEARNZ delivery method made it easier to work alongside students with their learning rather than in front of them. Students have been engaged and motivated to ask questions and wonder about things.
Marine Mammals
Fitted nicely into science. Authentic contexts. High level of engagement. Loved the Maori song and actions.
I love the links to Te Reo and the culture of the Maori people, particularly things like kaitiaki and karakias. Thank you.
I use this extensively in my reading programme - high interest content. The children love the interactives which also shows me how carefully the children have read the text.
The field trip was a great way to hook the class into our Te Moana inquiry and the children loved it! LEARNZ is a super learning tool that links well in obvious and explicit ways to many aspects of the NZ Curriculum.
I like the LEARNZ Inquiry approach, how the students read (or listen to) all the background information first and then formulate their own questions.
Great to connect with others in a real world context.
This topic of this virtual field trip study supports our values of kaitiakitanga. Very appropriate, being a school of students who are sea people, and an interesting form of learning for isolated schools like ours.
We are learning about sustainability and this was a good trip to take.
Motivating, engaging, the short video clips hold student interest and provide plenty of scope for discussion. Well supported with activities, both paper and digital.
It was really well set up with appropriate material for classroom writing and got all of my students excited about marine mammals.
It has given my predominantly Pasifika students an invaluable and accessible EOTC experience that would normally be beyond our ability to provide in real time. Oral recordings made it very accessible and having ambassador on board increased engagement further.
I felt the field trip was well done and very engaging. It supported the key competencies very well and there was a lot of thinking, cooperative learning and activities that required a lot of self-management and participation by the students.
Every time I used the support area I was able to find what I needed. The virtual field trip was very appropriate - I had to differentiate content for my littlies but it was very usable.
The field trip had a place in all areas of the NZ curriculum e.g covered reading, writing, geography, mathematics, art. Students were able to make connections to their own personal experiences.
It tied in perfectly with our focus on Toiora te Moana. Supports strongly our values at Merrin - Kaitiakitanga - guardianship especially.
Making the resources very NZ based and knowing other students were also doing it around the country was motivating for many. Having the correct pronunciation of words (Māori and English) available was valuable for the teacher, as was allowing the lower readers to listen to the text.
Integrated perfectly with our current Year 6 Living World topic about life cycles and threats to NZ marine species. Resources are fantastic! Excellent for sustainability and future focus learning.
The children enjoyed the focus on marine mammals and the field trip was a very effective, engaging way of learning. Supported the overall vision of the NZC to become confident, connected life-long learners along with Values around Community Engagement and Future Focus. Supported the Learning Areas of Social Science, Science.
Game 3, "Where have all the dolphins gone?", was so successful that we've played it with a younger class and with the new entrants, and also with the pre-school over the road! The children got a really thorough understanding of this topic through the Virtual Field trip, which tied in perfectly with our whole school topic of "The Ocean".
Met our objectives for inquiry in the social sciences and science but also gave lots of opportunities for literacy. This experience also allowed the students to feel connected, to learn new things and to take responsibility for their own learning.
The children were particularly engaged with the videos, which were easily accessible and generated a lot of group discussion. The videos were a great addition to other images, written texts and resources that we used.
It engaged the children in a different way; more authentic learning. Got students thinking about their role in our future world and how they could participate and contribute.
Fitted in well with Sea Week and had good information that suited our context for Year 9. Also provided our students of various ethnicity a good opportunity to learn associated Māori vocabulary.
The LEARNZ field trips are a fantastic way to expose students to learning that they may not otherwise have, at places they wouldn't normally go to, while giving them the opportunity to get information from experts.
Great for motivating students, relevant and NZ based. Made me more open to interactive/web conferences/real time learning.
It was related to a topic the students could branch out into/feel passionate about and the resources were suited and adaptable to our year 7 class. Engaging with an expert models the quest for knowledge and students take it more seriously/engage more when they know the expert has dedicated their life to their chosen field.
It was great to have a topic that linked into Sea Week. It clearly linked to the curriculum for social science, science, literacy, and Te Reo Māori. As a digital classroom, it was fantastic to be able to do our work through the website and access it from home so that learning could be shared with whanau.
It encouraged students to use a range of communication skills and certainly helped us to target the Living World science curriculum.