Liz Oldridge
“The teachers feel positive and that’s critical. The fact that they believe in the
approach has an impact on how the students view the teaching and their learning. It’s catching! ”
As a facilitator Liz Oldridge’s role is to support teachers in their delivery of the Better Start Literacy Approach. Thanks to the microcredential course, Liz says she couldn’t be more supported to do this.
“The microcredential course is extremely relevant and it gives all the information and skills required to perform the facilitator role with confidence and credibility. The learning is pitched well and none of it is extraneous or irrelevant.
Liz has a mentor assigned to her and she says Microcredential Programme Coordinator, Dr Amy Scott, is accessible to all and communicates regularly and clearly, answering any questions promptly.
“There is a weekly Zoom session with new little bits of supportive training and plenty of time for questions; these are available to both teachers and facilitators.
“The resources are extremely helpful and well-made. It’s a paint-by-numbers approach which I think enables teachers to start confidently because the approach is so well supported with lesson plans and resources.
“As people gain confidence, the support of lesson plans diminish and by then teachers will be well-placed to create their own.
Liz says the games are popular with teachers and tamariki alike.
“They are paced well for that part of the lesson and totally reinforce the teaching. It’s fabulous watching students transfer that new learning so quickly.
Liz says the teachers she is working with now have the expert knowledge to teach small groups using the new texts to ensure readiness and future acceleration.
“The Ministry of Education has collaborated closely with UC and the BSLA team to provide nationwide PD that comes from a sound research base and has the capacity to have us all on the same page,” says Liz.
“I have never observed any other programme or resource that has such a focus on vocabulary building. I think that is such a strength of this approach and something all teachers would benefit from building into their literacy teaching practice.”