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Student Attendance - A Unique New Zealand Problem?

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As teachers, we are acutely aware of the importance of student attendance for academic success and overall well-being. In recent times, the New Zealand government has taken a keen interest in this issue, acknowledging a concerning trend in declining school attendance rates. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has set forth an ambitious goal to have 80% of students attend school for 90% of the term, highlighting the government’s commitment to reversing this downward trajectory . The government’s Attendance Action Plan emphasizes the significance of attendance and proposes initiatives to address the root causes of absenteeism. But is this absenteeism a local or global phenomenon? and how can it be solved? Global Trends in Student Attendance Globally, the picture of student attendance is complex and multifaceted. While there is a surge in demand for higher education, with projections of an additional one billion post-secondary graduates by 2050 , the scenario at the primary and secondary lev
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Promptly Educated: Crafting the Future of Learning with Effective Prompts

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As a teacher passionate about integrating AI into education, I’m excited to share the PREPARE model , developed by Dan Fitzpatrick. This model is a fantastic tool for crafting prompts that yield creative and effective assessment and learning tasks. Let’s dive into each component of the PREPARE model and explore how to apply it to a senior physics creative learning task. Prompt: Setting the Stage Begin with a clear, concise command. For a senior physics task, you might say, “Create a lesson plan that explores the concept of quantum mechanics through interactive simulations.” Role: Defining the AI’s Identity Assign a role to the AI to provide context. For instance, “You are a virtual teaching assistant experienced in physics education and student engagement.” Explicit: Clear Instructions Be specific about your expectations. “Include objectives, activities, and assessment methods that align with the Next Generation Science Standards.” Parameters: Establishing Boundaries Set the scope
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The Secrets of SHM: The Importance of Understanding and Physics Formulae.

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Physics is a fascinating subject that reveals the secrets of nature and the principles of motion. To describe the physical phenomena and the relationships between different quantities, physics uses a lot of formulae. However, learning physics is not just about memorizing these formulae and plugging in numbers. It is also about internalizing these formulae, which means understanding their origin, derivation, and interpretation. Internalizing formulae can help you to apply them more effectively, solve problems more creatively, and appreciate the beauty of physics more deeply. In this blog post, I will show you how to internalize physics formulae better, using the example of simple harmonic motion. What is simple harmonic motion? Simple harmonic motion (SHM) is a type of motion that happens when something moves back and forth around a fixed point, and the force that makes it move is always pointing towards that point, so the displacement from that point is always in the opposite direction
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How to Assess Learning in the Age of AI

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As a physics teacher in New Zealand, I have recently used the level 3 NCEA physics standard 3.2: Demonstrate an understanding of the application of physics to a selected context as a way to assess my students’ learning of physics concepts involved in electronic circuits. Generally, this standard requires students to research a particular physics context by applying the ideas previously taught for the external assessments in the Level 3 physics course. This is a challenging task that involves not only understanding the physics concepts, but also applying them to a real-world situation, synthesising information from various sources, and communicating it effectively. However, I have also noticed from conversations with my colleagues, that some students are tempted to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as large language models like Chat GPT to generate their responses and paste them into their assignments. This is a serious issue that undermines the integrity and validity of the a
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