EOTC Guidelines: Bringing the Curriculum Alive
These guidelines were developed to help schools provide curriculum- based experiences outside the classroom. They use plain language and clear design to outline the legal issues and best practice for schools.
We were contracted to review existing EOTC (Education outside the Classroom) material and develop new guidelines that support key sector resources and the curriculum (The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium Teaching and Learning in Years 1–13 and Te Maurautanga o Aotearoa).
To develop these guidelines, we worked closely with parents, students, teachers, principals, the Ministry of Education, and people from the sector.
Our project team took on a wide variety of feedback to develop simple, useful guidelines.
The health and safety messages needed to be clear. The design supports this by breaking text into numbered sections for easy reference. Each chapter starts with a large image and a whakataukī (proverb). Relevant quotes are set in bright, bold text, creating a visual “hook” into the subject matter.
The colours create a fresh, outdoor feel. The line-art graphics and dotted lines and arrows suggest getting outside the four walls of the classroom.
The final resource is available as a 72-page handbook with a CD of resources and templates. It can also be downloaded from Te Kete Ipurangi – The Online Learning Centre.
The Ministry of Education spoke highly of the skills we brought to this project, acknowledging our design and publishing expertise. “It's been a great journey, and I've loved working with your team at Learning Media. You are all so professional and responsive to our needs. And the guidelines are a knock out – the feedback has been awesome!”