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EDITED: Disappointingly, Conference 2021 did not eventuate. But we are all set to see you all for Conference 2022 Latest news from your conference committee PSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCE 2021 – We are postponing not cancelling Kia ora e hoa mai Your conference committee has unfortunately made the tough decision to postpone the 2021 Psychology Conference which was due to be held in November. The committee's preference is to hold a face-to-face conference to maximise participant engagement and overall experience, which is the reason for the decision to postpone rather than move to a virtual format. We are keen to get your feedback for preferred dates and preferred venue ( to be held in 2022). Please help our planning and fill out this short two question form with your preferences. https://forms.gle/j5i8Yp62nNJgjzbM7 Please note, you will still be able to apply for the ‘subject association grant’ for other opportunities in 2022. If you have already been granted pre-approval for the Psychology Conference you will receive a communication from PPTA directly with additional instructions. We wish you all a healthy and safe term 4, and we are really looking forward to seeing you in the first half of 2022. Oh, and keep an eye on your inbox for our Term 4 newsletter - we've got some ideas brewing. A special mention to our members in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland: We think you are fabulous. Kia Kaha. Ngā mihi nui Your NZAPT committee Initial post: After what was a year of ups and lockdowns, we are super excited to be able to meet face to face once again with our colleagues across the nation on Auckland’s North Shore. Massey University (Albany) are hosting us this year and our speaker line-up is looking fabulous. With a focus on current research, indigenous psychological practices and real world applications, along with the collegiality that comes from sharing of good practice, we hope conference this year will not only be insightful, it will also give you some wonderful tools to use in your own classroom practice. There is no registration fee for the conference, and if you are a PPTA member and need help with travel and accommodation, a reminder that this is eligible for the PPTA Subject Association grant (up to $700). We look forward to seeing you all in Auckland for what will be a fantastic two days of professional and personal development. The dates for conference are: 18-19 November. So, what are you waiting for? REGISTER HERE Have your say on the proposed subject list for NCEA Level 2 and 3
https://ncea.education.govt.nz/have-your-say Closes 13 August NZQA are looking for another moderator for Psychology
Due to the increased workload with the review of achievement standards, NZQA are advertising for another psychology moderator. Another sure sign that the subject is growing! This is the link to the advertisement: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/about-us/working-at-nzqa/contract-vacancies/contract-for-service-moderators-secondary-subjects/ Introducing a new subject into a school is always going to be a challenge. There is no doubt that psychology is an incredibly popular area of study with both students and increasingly parents as it becomes essential knowledge in an ever-growing range of professions. It has been an extremely popular subject for many years at tertiary level here in New Zealand and has been one of the most popular subjects at secondary school in comparable cultures such as the UK, US and Australia. Implementing psychology within your school can help enhance the understanding of the scientific method by engaging students in critical analysis of historical as well as contemporary research from a range of cultures identifying the many issues that are at the forefront of current scientific research such as ethics, the replication crisis, cultural as well as gender bias and issues around socially sensitive research. Psychology is directly relevant to both the students as individuals, and their understanding of the social dynamics and stereotypes as they view the world around them. When planning to introduce psychology there are many options to consider. You may wish to enhance an existing course with specific standards. Schools have introduced relevant standards within their senior Social Studies courses, Health, P.E., Business and Science courses. Psychology has also been included within junior Social Science programmes for example when trying to understand the social conformity and obedience exhibited in Europe during the Holocaust. If you are planning a full psychology course it is important to lay out the standards matrix for the levels that you plan to teach. Against these standards identify the contexts and key areas of study that you wish to share with your students. Researching current courses at tertiary level and also knowing your students can be especially helpful in this process. When considering which topics would fit best with which standards, consider looking at the achievement criteria of the standards. For example, if are going to teach the Approaches standards at level 2 and 3 be aware that a focus at level 3 is how the Approaches interact. This may mean some topics where the theories of the different approaches integrate in a given context will be more suitable, this doesn’t need to be a restriction at level 2. A further tip is to think about combining standards within one topic. This might be from other subject areas such as Statistics within the psychology research unit or assessing multiple psychology standards within one topic. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach but worth considering when planning a new course or improving an existing one. If you would like support in developing your course NZAPT, with the help of submissions from its membership, have developed a bank of moderation which gives examples and feedback for assessments across the range of standards. There are also resources for a range of possible teaching topics within the members area of the website. Further to this we will be running workshops in course planning and assessment design in our annual NZAPT conference which is a fantastic opportunity to discuss ideas with teachers with experience from a wide range of schools implementing psychology standards in a variety of ways, a great way to learn from our collective experience. As always questions are warmly welcomed on our Facebook page throughout the year! AuthorEric Wheater .Moderation of assessments continues to be an area that members would like assistance with. There are now two ways you can get assessments moderated. NZAPT moderation service If you would like to have your work moderated, at no cost, you can contact us via nzapt@hotmail.com and we will allocate your moderation to one of our committee members. On return of your moderated scripts we would ask your permission to share non-identifying samples of work in the shared drive. Essentially, we would like to crowdsource a bank of exemplars in the shared drive. A key issue highlighted was that many markschemes/judgement statements are not specifically linked to the context used for the assessment. Whilst exemplar Judgement statements are given on TKI for each standard it is important that teachers have tailored statements for the expected responses of the specific context the learners will be assessed on. This will enable accurate and consistent assessment of the students for the criteria in the specific context assessed. NZQA external moderation The second is via NZQA. Did you know you can send tasks and/or samples of work to be looked at by the national moderation panel at any time. This is in addition to your annual moderation requirement. We would encourage schools where there is only one teacher to make use of this free service in order to gain clarity over the grade boundary and your task design. You can submit work at any time during the year and this can sit outside of your usual moderation cycle. AuthorSally Bowden PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME Psychology continues to grow as a modern and dynamic subject option across many schools in New Zealand. As schools show a greater willingness to embrace Psychology either as a subject in its own right or as part of an existing programme there is increasing demand for the support of teachers who are looking to implement or enhance their programmes. For the first time in New Zealand we have piloted a mentorship programme which seeks to build new connections and relationships between teachers of Psychology and increase understanding of the Psychology curriculum including ways to kickstart a Psychology course. Tracy from Wairarapa College spent the day at Feilding High School to meet with Megan Liddy and Sarah Norman who are both members of the Psychology Network of Expertise. She was able to observe one Level 3 Psychology class and two Level 2 Psychology classes in action as well as being able to discuss existing programmes, best practice and opportunities for future growth or changes in Tracy’s Psychology courses. In this first pilot the NZAPT has offered the following services: 1x full day visit to Feilding High School 3 x Zoom calls to discuss unit planning and assessment moderation Email contact to easily ask questions How did we get here - A word from Tracy: I joined the NZAPT in Term One 2021 following a request from my school that we offer Level Two and Level Three Psychology due to student demand. I took note that they offered moderation. As I am completely new to teaching Psychology, have no other colleagues or schools in the region that offer Psychology as a subject, and had just completed marking first Level Two assessment, I utilized the service offered. Moderation was completed promptly and gave me guidance in teaching and assessment design. I decided to request more ongoing support in the form of a mentor and NZAPT came back to me with a programme. I visited Fielding High School which was invaluable. It was great to spend a day observing classes in action, discussing planning, assessment design and practices and to have those professional conversations face to face. Megan and Sarah’s depth of knowledge and experience, openness and sharing enabled me to feel confident moving forward with my own programme. What next? From here, Megan and Sarah have offered mentoring in response to needs I identify next. At this stage, planning and preparing an annual programme at each level in advance, changes coming to standards I am just beginning to work with and delving further into the breakdown of the standards and student responses are key foci. I highly recommend approaching NZAPT for this support and am very grateful that such professional development by supportive, experienced and collegial teachers can be accessed. Ngā mihi nui Tracy AuthorsMegan Liddy and Sarah Norman The 2021 external examination at Level 3 has undergone a substantial format change. You can see the sample assessment material here: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/psychology/levels/ Examination date: Monday 22 November 9.30am In addition to the Term 2 Hubs slideshow, there is now a ready-to-print resource booklet to support teachers in preparing students for the Level 3 2021 external exam. These resources include exam tips, in-class revision tasks and a derived grade exam. The slideshow and resource booklet is available via our members only page Why do the exam? As a student: Endorse in Psychology Passing an external helps your resume to stand out from others Reading Literacy credits ESA have published a workbook to assist with preparing for the external: $8.95 (or $7 for 2+ copies) https://esa.co.nz/collections/ame-workbooks/subject_psychology This resource contains revision notes on significant issues and prepares students for extended written responses with practice questions.  AuthorGaye Bloomfield Haere rā e hoa ma Last term the NZAPT and Cambridge High School, said farewell to a stalwart of Psychology teaching in New Zealand. Sarah Monkley has moved her family halfway across the world to join her husband in Denver, Colorado. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah for her many years of service to Psychology and express our appreciation for all the blood, sweat and tears she poured into a subject she is extremely passionate about. Sarah has been a member of the NZAPT committee for 10 years, and she has also taught Psychology at Cambridge High School for more than 20 years. This is a daunting legacy to follow in the footsteps of; Sarah leaves behind a flourishing department which she built from the ground up. This thriving department now boasts a four-teacher team and is one of the most popular options for senior students at Cambridge High School, this is very much a credit to her hard work and dedication as well as the warm and engaging person she is. We will dearly miss her and hope that once her adventures are done, she will return home and pick up where she has left off. We wish her all the best for her travels and look forward to seeing how she brings Psychology to the Americans. AuthorSarah Douglas |
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December 2021
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