The children in this learning community have a clearer sense of who they are and they see they have a lot to contribute to society. Friends and relationships are important and they show a strong independence from their parents. The process of identity formation is strong and there is experimentation with different roles including looks, sexuality, values, friendships, ethnicity, and especially occupations and future pathways. They have learnt, defined work habits, there is an increase emphasis on responsible behaviours and self-management. These students have a deeper capacity for caring and sharing, they look to understand others points of view and are becoming more open to other perspectives and ideas. They are better able to give reasons for their own choices, including what is right or wrong, and they want to make their own interpretations and develop theories based on what they see, feel and experience to explain how things happen. Thinking considers the future and concern is shown for school and work plans.
Learning in this community is focused around directing one's hopes and ambitions through achievement in NCEA. Learning is personalised and places an emphasis on directing and developing future career and educational pathways. Learning is a mix of self-directed, collaborative and enquiry-based learning utilising a range of providers and assessment opportunities. Learners have control over their own learning. Experiences and assessment that pose real-life problem solving situations are provided to allow the learners to fully discover ideas, make decisions and evaluate the outcomes. Learning experiences encourage learners to develop their 'higher order' skills of acquiring, analysing and synthesising information as well as the wider skills of commitment, problem solving, adaptability, teamwork and time management.
