NZ Vocational Education and Training (VET) Research Forum - DAY 1

 Notes from the various keynotes and presentations at the annual NZ VET Research Forum - in its 20th year.

The conference opened with Mihi Whakatau from the BCITO (Building and contruction industry training orgainsation) Waiata group. An uplifting welcome to the conference. 

Jane Kennelly from Skills offered the conference welcome. Being the 20th conference, a short retrospective was undertaken to celebrate the milestone. 

Minister for Tertiary Education, Honourable Penny Simmonds, then officially opened and addressed the conference. Thank the particants for their contributions across the last three years as policies were worked through. Getting VET right requires, government, industry, employers, educators to work together. Both industry and regions need stronger voice in VET. Updated the outcomes of the reversal of of RoVE including almost all ITPs standing alone by January 2027, the formation of ISBs and ITOs shifting across to becoming PTEs. 2026 is therefore a year of building the post RoVE VET system. Strong parterships required to meet the objectives. Future of apprentices summarised, including supporting industries' productivity enhancement. Apprentices move towards industry leadership with employers having an increased role. Regional connections are important along with bringing schools and industry together. Career decisions can be better connected. School subjects that provide clearer pathways will also help. Increased range of occupations that offer apprenticeships signalled. Encouraged the 'building of bridges' across all the VET to ensure that all gain better outcomes. Q&A followed. 

International and opening keynote was presented by Dr. Tom Bewick, Editor in chief of The Skills Agenda. Spoke on 'skills policy in a changing world: old orthodoxies and new solutions.' Tom was here 17 years ago. In that time there has been huge increase in the digital economy and the advent of AI. Theme is one of repeated transitions, not just initial preparation. Education has shifted even more from being a scheme (conditional access, separate eligibility and funding, learning across institutional boundaries) to an entitlement (a pathway people count on, coordinated funding and recognition, options stay open). Need to think through the whole learning cycle. Went through research/policy informing VET. Becker (1964) education and training as an investment. Golding & Katz(2008) & Autor, Golding & Katz (2020) race between education and technology. Tertiary education participation has increased markedly but productivity growth has not been present. 

Do skills demand derive from economic demand? How can the low-skill equilibrium be broken? perhaps through product/service strategy, job design and discretion, wage setting and progression, investment and collective coordination. 

Posits that skill shortages are caused by poor coodination and a lack of investment in the workforce. Perhaps changing the incentives may be the way to to? What is asked - collaboration across institutions, put the learner pathwat first, recognise learning wherever it happens. Reorganisation is not distribution of power. 

AI: an outcome to shape, not a fate to accept. 1 in 4 workers likely to be exposed - either positively or negatively. Shared the Dystopian displacement, concentrated power, diminished agency), Utopian (abundance, release from work drugery, a difference working life) and Rational optimist (good outcomes depend on ownership, invesment and regulation) perspectives. Getting strategic and policies right, now even more important. Proposed the rise of the 'new artisans' with autonomy from a more complete job - to research, design, prototype and deliver. This integrated skills which were previously dispersed across specialists. 

Therefore, need to move from human capital to human capability, Skills formation is through learning people can access. Work needs to use those capabilities, and rewards are shared through fair share and progression. Therefore people are the source of progress and not simply outputs of productivity. 

Need to have 3 interpendent strands - instituional (authority), fiscal (resources) and democratic (voice) along with national guarantees for these to occur. The right to learn needs time (protected leave, paid learning time, employer release), money (portable entitlement, income support, public/employer funding), recognition (prior learning counts, credit transfer, standards remain credible) and support (independent guidance, learning representatives, accessible provision). Skills-first provide some ideas, but need to be carefully contextualised. Advocated that a workforce investment fund (joint government and public audit) is one way to make the entitlement to learning portable, funded and enforcable. Better technology must mean better care and pay. For exampler more carers needed. Their tasks change with new technology and skills. It is important to provide a right to learn and share). Augmentation is not the whole story. Some occupations will be replaced eg. robotaxis. Others will have their capabilities augmented. 

Therefore old orthodoxies (expand qualification, trust market incentives, reorganise from the top) need to be supported by new solutions, new relationships and improved access through additional investments. Encouraged research and for researchers to be free to report failure. So in 2043 - still learning and still questioning with the point of education to be to acquire a love of learning. There is no perfect system and it is up to each country to find one that will work for them. 

Parallel sessions across 3 streams commenced after morning tea.

Attended two sessions from Scarlatti.

- Hannah Knighton (associate) on 'what happens after learners complete pre-trade training?' - Measuring the impact of pre-trades training: looking beyond completion to what learners do next. Presented the case with electrical trades learners (but project also included plumbing/gasfitting).

Between 2000-2500 learners each year. End up in apprenticeship, relevant employer, other work, other education, or overseas. Does completing change the destination. Are skill trades training following the pathways like everyone else. Best outcome is for pre-trades to move into apprenticeship, complete and move into career. Used Stats NZ integrated data infrastucture, to link education, apprenticeship and employment records. Checked within 3 months, a year, 2 years and 5 years. After 3 months, 12% in apprenticeship, 11% in relevant industry. 46% in unrelated and 29% in other. after a year, 40% who completed moved into apprenticeship with 52% in relevant industry as an apprenticehip. After 2 years, 27% in apprenticehsip and 45% in relevant industry - non- completers of pre trade also reenter.

This means, looking at completion could miss the pathway, completing is associated with a faster transition into apprenticeship, timing matters when measuring training outcomes, linked data can shor where differences exist, but not necessarily why. However, what drives faster transitions? and does earlier apprenticeship lead to better outcomes, 

- Dr. Adam Barker (Director) on 'Beyonf EPIs: Linking vocational training investment with productivity'. Measuring how VET contributes to industry to productivity. Asked whether a certificate level 3 of 60 credits should be funded over a 25 credit leavel 5 microcredential. Tend to only measure enrolment and completion. Impact on productivity includes learner lifetime income, current employer profits and future employer profits. For training providers, ISBs and YEC, helop prioritise investment in trainng that has the most impact, make s stronger case to employers to train and inform the debate on who should pay for training. Briefly reviewed past projects on impact of training on wages and salaries and training on business profits. Useful data available on variation in productivity by industry, profitability within an industry, empoyers vies on training and experience, pay rates for different roles and occupaitons, emplyee income expectations, Shared design principles of the project being broad / holistic, useful rather than right, model first/ data second, and evolve in improve over time. 

Explained the economic equation to work out individual's personal productivity. Then summarised some results in the primary industry context. Calculations across industry (dairy, fruit, arable, grapes and others), role level (semi-autonomous, managed, manager) experience and prior training (90% no post secondary to level 4), Then compared across programmes from microcredentials L3 - L5 agricultural management and certificate / apprenticehip at L3 and 4. 

I then faciliate a workshop on 'personalised learning with AI: human-led cognitive apprenticeship'. Mostly around the need for self-direction and a good grounding in how AI works. Then encouraging everyone to work towards using AI, self-directed learning through AI, without AI and against AI.

After lunch, Dr. Veronica Tawhai presents on 'Equity and Te Tiriti in VET'. Reviewed the 4 articles in Te Tirit Waitangi - Kāwanatanga (governorship), Tino rangatiratanga (independence - for whenua (land), kainga (homes) taonga (treasure), Ngā tikanga katoa rite tahi (all the rights) and Mgā whakapono katoa (all faiths)/ Tde rtienga Māori (Māori practices). Aligned these to how Te Tiriti has been expressed and then discussed relevance to VET and especially equity and action. 

Reflected on how Māori were active in marine commerce, had settled in many seaports in the Americas, and brought back many of the skills and knowledge from the Western canon, BEFORE the Te Tiriti was signed. The early Māori schools had academic learning in the morning, with vocational training in the afternoon. Therefore, Te Tiriti was strategised to provide a way forward for cooperative statehood for Aotearoa NZ. 

Discussion on how the British envisioned Te Tiriti and how Māori wrote in the 4 principles to enshrine a reciprocal relationship. At the beginning, with Māori in the majority, commerce owned and administered thrived. 2/3 of vessels registered in Auckland in 1858 were Māori and these exported agricultural goods internationally. All of these involved VET. 

As more settlers arrived, the first legislatures started to put up barriers to Māori enterprise. Instead, education and other social organisations, along with disease, war and lost of land, caused a decline in Māori status and outcomes. Only in the 1970s were Māori able to push back through urban activism. 

Te Tiriti still sets up the way forward towards success equity. Encouraged everyone to understand where they have come from, how they can support the principles and to speak up when required. A thought-provoking presentation :)

Following on I attend the session on 'Cognify: A teaching for learning framework: connecting learner voice, learning theory and vocational teaching practice with Kathy Quayle, teaching and learning coach from Wintec. Began with a few questions establish audience understanding of cognition. The brain able to process vast amounts of information and only a small amount required for us to work out what is of relevance. When we try ot recall information, it helps us learn it better. 

Summarised Cognify - a process that outlines five stages for any teaching session, supported by practical resources for planning and facilitation. Akonga engagement increased along wiht knowledge and skill retention. Practical planning and teaching resources supported. Came through ākonga voice - desirale practice statement developed. Applied theory and neuroscience including adult and student-centred learning. Skills valued by employers alsoincluded. 

Steps are establish, recall, engage (try, find out, make, recieve, discuss), reflect and evaluate. Establish a welcoming environment, relationships, class culture and foundations. Engage ākonga in learning, recall prior knowledge and experiences, reflect on what has been learnt, and evaluate through feedback from ākonga and kaiako review. Provided examples of how each can be enacted. 

Cognify supported by resources for the process (what it is, rationale and literature), planning (course/semester planning template, weekly/individual sessions) and resources (writing sessions, strategies to engage and focus ākonga, micro activities, and ākonga-centred list. Outlined the research project to support kaiako in the effective implementaion of Cognify. 9 kaiako across 18 months and 3 interviews. Shared findings on adopting cognify (used in different ways, new kaiako to plan, experienced for writing session plans for new kaiako, overlaid onto sessions plans for experienced kaiako, applied to break up long sessions etc. ); adapting Cognify (adapted in 2nd and 3rd year, informal evaluations to avoid evaluation fatique). Main challenge was time to follow the process through. Summarised changes made following feedback - microsoft guides kaiako through the 5 stages, automated workflow formats to plan, automating to lower administration load. Shared feedback. 

The afternoon plenary is with Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist for Simplicity. Focused on construction and training. Why are young people finding it difficult to get into work when there are large shortage of skills in many industries. Began with the cycles - construction rose all the way to 2024, before dropping sharply and is currently rising slowly; house sales also dropped off 2020 but again getting up again. Still not enough homes due to 46 years of underinvestment - roughly short of 100000 homes! Also there is the infrastructure need across the country due again to 40 years plus of underinvestment. Industry still not confident that although there is lots of work funding is uncertain. Stop-start of projects leads again to difficulty to forecast forward and reluctance to train/develop skills. Productivity penalty is therefore high and wages and profit again are affected. Explained the business language of productivity. Observed that businesses spent lots recruiting and training but very little retaining employees. In construction, most workers only work 1 to 5 years. 65% entry in to construction do not have qualifications. Highest source is from 'industry changers' (50%) and not in work (20%). Most skilled trades wages have risen, but retention of apprentices on completion is very low and the 'pay-back' from training apprentices is therefore low. Completion rates of trainees and apprentices across construction has trended down. This is across all ethnicities and gender. If 100 apprentices started, after 10 years, 36 in construction, and 17 to other industries. 6 never finish, 24 leave unqualificed, 9 overseas. Suggested the need to invest in individuals (leadershipl management and culture), in the people (informal/formal training, recruite for attributes, not just qualifications and experience, retention is crucial) and broader settings to be focused on include stable funding envelope, Learning (not just qualifications), skills need to be appropriate, useful and up to date, and delivered right. Officially 90,000 NEETs but definitely larger number - 130000 at least! A one size fits all education system does not work for all. Need to do better to provide opportunities for all. In workplace learning, employers and learners need to be at the centre. Q & A followed.

After afternoon tea, a keynote from Honourable Erica Stanford, Minister of Education is followed on by a panel. Began with a tribute to ex-CE of NZQA, Dr. Grant Kinkum who passed on recently who was a good supporter of VET. Equity of outcomes in Aotearoa education is still challenging. Rationalised the recent reforms across all education sectors from early childhood and formal schooling. Checkpoints now in place are to provide better feedback to parents, teachers and students. Retention through school also a challenge as students disengage if they have low literacy/numeracy or are unable to see the relevance of school. The total change to NZQA was not in the plan, but had to be worked through to try to create clearer and usable subjects to pathway students to help them meet their potential. ISBs now tasked with working on the curriculum of the nine industry subjects that will be launched in 2028. 

Presented the election policy to have students stay in school to the end of year 11, rather than being able to leave school as soon as they turned 16. 

The panel is facilitated by Rosanne Graham (CE of Skills Group),  and the panel includes Peter Couchman (GM, Seven Electrical), Mark Oldershaw, (CE, Wellington NZ) and Brad Olsen (Principal economist, Infometrics) along with Hon Erica Stanford. 

Apprenticeship are declining accompanied by skills shortages. How important are apprenticeships, how they can be supported better, and what happens if they do not increase? Brad brought up the bust/boom construction levels, end of free fees for students have acerbated the challenge. Erica explained how the average age of apprenticeship commencement is in the 20s, new industry subject will help increase the profile of apprenticeships for students. Trades academy funding has also increased and these both may help increase young people's entry into apprenticeship. What needs to addressed to take people on and retain them through difficult times when the economy slows. Transportability of NZ qualifications where the pay is more attractive help some re-enter the trade if they are made redundant. Future of apprenticeships and for young people based on understanding of regional needs is important. Apprenticeships need to be extended in range to help support industries needing specialised skills - especially in the tech. sector. Lower time to complete an apprenticeship should also be considered. Bridging Year 12 of school into apprenticeship or workplace training needs to be better structured. Could apprenticeship be thought of as a mode of delivery and workplace learning contributes to the completion of degrees. Equity is also a challenge, Māori and Pacificic peoples need support and encouragemtn to consider apprenticeships. Starting earlier, whilst still at school, is one way to engage all students. 

Employers also need to be more 'learning-centred' and to consider different ways to engage and retain young people into their industries. Good employers should be recognised so that their apprentices are not poached (usually through offering better pay) and apprentices complete qualifications. Funding for employers needs to also be reviewed as the apprentices is a cost (although they are paid below minimum wage). Perhaps incentive take on Māori/Pacific or women into apprenticeships and perhaps also a 'reward' for apprenticeship completions. 

Some regions are undergoing significant restructure in the types of industries that are located there. Education and VET is slow to shift to meet these needs. In many trades, apprentices enter older and often with another tertiary qualification. Upskilling for people in the 40s and 50s is also required. Funding is always a challenge. Funding for apprenticeship stops at Level 4 and this makes it difficult for degree apprenticeship options.

Industry subjects at school need to also be bridged with access to facilities like specialised workshops in polytechs and PTEs, so that there is no duplication of facilities. There will be an increase in specialised teachers at schools to also support learners. 

Rosanne provided the overview on the work that needs to be undertaken to provide support to schools for the future roll-out of the industry subjects. Q & A collated on Slido. 

A good discussion on the challenges and some possible solutions to support apprenticeships.

A networking function to launch the Skills Organisation white paper on the future  of apprenticeship closes the day.

FLANZ day 2

 Day two beings with the third keynote from Dr, Mark Nicols. He introduces 'Blendalogy: designing learning opportunities', a book just published as open access. Introduced International Council of Open and Distance Association( ICDE)  and its objectives. Blendagogy came about through Mark's participation with the Commonwealth of Learning. A hui was held at the National Library early in 2026 and the chapters were workshopped, tightened and the book structured.

An overview of his involvement with blended learning - starting with a share material in the mid-1990s via the emergent WWW. He has now worked across many other programmes that are designed as blended learning. At the beginning, there was a steep learning curve and there was not much to guide the process. Although, technologies have moved on, the basic premise of blended learning are similar. Distance education is now flexible learning - open, inclusive and flexible. Teachers often have to work harder in blended learning. Almost everyone now practices some form of blended learning. Blended learning is not just an add on, but a more holistic system needs to support it. Blended learning includes bichronous, distance, hyflex and online.

Introduced the 4 objectives, 6 factors and 3 levels of Blendalogy. What should education models aim for? How de we describe educaitonal models? Which context should models be concerned with? Community of Inquiry model often used to anchor blended learning but application of the principles often challenging as the concepts can be difficult to define. 

Summarised the art and science of design - the art (applying judgement, claiming your designer and teacher's voice, engagin ākonga, giving life to your subject, situating passion, releasing innovative ideas) and the science (align with your organisation, its context and efficacies, draw on evidence-based pracrice, optimise the four blendology objectives applying the 6 factors and across the 3 levels, recognise the constraints and opportunities). 

Each of the objectives, factors and levels then presented, detailed and examples provided.

Objectives -  ākonga facing acvailability & inclusivity), institution facing (scalability & sustainable), 

Factors include ākonga activity, kaimahi activity, resources, assessment, timetable and success services. These factors help when comparing diffierent blended learning models.

Levels are the macro (institutional policies, central funding, budget, timetabling convventions etc.), meso (school, department, qualifications which define the programme, qualifications standards, workload and role expectations, assessment practices) and micro (direct teaching and learning, course level teaching activities, group dynamics, resource prepartation, day to day facilitation).

Shared some of the observations from across the case studies in the book. There are no 'frankencourses' in the book. ākonga may need support to engage in different ways to learn. To do blendology well - the institution needs to be deliberate; be curious about dynamics; seek alignment through sound meso-level practices and tailor success services to complement the model/s. Encouraged the need to blendology - to critique and validation the framework; a(synchronicity is a basic distinction and undertake thought experiments (how to optimise the macro and meso) and what is the perfect 'blend'? and AI?? 

Stressed the importance of planning/designing a blended course. Models are highly variable, may be compared, and best when carefully designed,

Following on I contribute to Mark's panel to support the launch of the Blendalogy book. The panel also includes Dr. Kathryn MacCullum and Trish Chaplin-Cheyne and is faciliated by Danny Friberg. Each contexturalised the framwork to their context and work. Danny introduced the speakers, along with an overview of how the panel will progress. 

Mark began with providing more details of the book, how it evolved and his role as editor. Then each panelist contributed on how blendalogy works in their context, implementations and learnings. Mark wrote the introduction, under took the case study comparisons and summarised the findings in the concluding chapter. 

Kathryn provided examples of blended learning from her career spanning the PTE, polytechnics and now the university (University of Canterbury). How does technology provide the opportunity to 'blend'. Blending should bring together the best of campus-based/f2f with distance/online etc. 

I brought the VET context into the discussion. Especially the changes wrought by the recent reform of vocational education. Te Pukenga brought together the two strands of VET - work based (looked after by the industry training organisations (ITOs) and the polytechnics. Divorcing both work-based and campus based leads to lack of coordination, synchronisation and pedagogy. However, reversals of the reforms have caused both strands to separate again. However, ITOs are now shifting to become PTEs, so keeping the workplace-based learning and the off-job components consolidated.

Trish introduced the work of her unit, supporting teaching and learning across the institution. Looked at the books as a framework a a design model, and an evaluative model. The book provided a higher level and wider/broader macro and meso level implications on the micro practice. The post-graduate programme in learning design an example which meets many of the factors at the meso and micro levels but important to acknowledge the ākonga need for student success support. 

Trish asked the question about the role of AI on Blendagogy. Mark considered that AI could be thought of in a similar way to the objectives, focus and levels withing the Blendagogy framework.

Q & A followed. 

After lunch, I follow a few presentations before leaving for the airport and returning to Otautahi.

- "A motivaitonal ecology of gamified Guqin learning: visible progress, human support and cultural practice with Xin Huang from Manxuetang Research and Open Polytechnic. Began with the design mechanisms and how they become continued learning activity. How does learning can self-regulated be supported with gamification. Draws on gamified mechanisms, self-regulated practice and feedback, and situated participation and culture. There is a gap on how gamified visibility, self-regulated practice, feedback uptake and social participation interact. Demonstrated the gamified interface, what the learner sees and also what is 'beyond screen' - teacher feedback. Progress is visible as long horizon, intermediate target and practice log. Study on 21 learners across 42 days. Shared some of the quantitative learning analytics and qualitative data from wechat practice support group. Game currency encouraged engagement with practice. Gamified visibility makes practice and progress traceable. Findings include linking game elements to a concrete, learning relevant action. Make progress signals interpretable, actionable and timely. Design feedback uptake, only feedback delivery. Support social participation without making competition compulsory, Responsive human support useful. Proposed and presented a framework with purposeful learning and practice at the centre. 

- 'navigating shifting student engagement in online secondary psychology' with Grant Collie.  A practitioner reflection on NCEA 2 & 3 at Kōtui Ako virtual learning network. Provided a background and rationale for the study. Both synchronous and asynchronous with students from across the country. The course requires critical inquiry, human connection , and the discussion of human behaviour. In general, there is a progressive reluctance in 'live engagement amongst students. Passive observation, growing non-attendance and reluctance to engage in collaborative tasks expressed across student cohorts. Chat used for out of class catch up and not showing on video. However, there is something in this course which is different.

Literature on diagnosing digtal fatique shared - cognitive overload, social anxiety, digital equality are factors. Also the cognitive drain of hy-invisibility through prolonged screen exposure, absences of non-verbal cues, informaiton overlad and cognitive saturation and passitivity. Resulting a paadoxical state of hyper-visibility and extreme social isolation. Intersectig fatigue with the NCEA curriculum include research methodologies - collaborative design tasks fail when students refuse to unmute in breakout rooms. Individual behaviour with deep cognitive inquiry requires self regulation, destroyed by screen-induced cyberloafing; and psychological theories - debating ethics without discussion. Therefore teacher needs to change. Recommended, complete micro-task asynchronously, submit pre-reading reflection, log in live, apply theory to specific case studies with a result of targeted engagement. This moves learners from passive listening and open-ended forums. Pre-loading cognitive work mitigates live anxiety and anchors the synchronous session. Gamication is not about points, it operationises flow theory (Cskiszentmihalyi). Learners are incentivised. Modern online NCEA learner requires a highly intentional, highly engaging environment.

FLANZ - Day 1 afternoon

 After lunch, a series of short presentations.

'Beyond the AI image: making design reasoning visible in online architecture studio - a process based framework for teaching, feedback and assessment' with Masoumeh Shiran (and Professor Brenda Vale & Professor Nigel Isaacs) from Open Polytechnic. Presented the rationale as AI not only affects what architects produce, but also how design work is organised, judged and communicated. Students now need to also know how decisions made by AI occur, and evaluate these. Summarised the many ways AI permeates the profession. Ai widens possibilities but can hide reasoning. Issue is not use of AI but whether learning is visible. The studio process needs to be designed to provide visibility for reasoning, critical judgement and authorship. Shared lit review to connect literature to the online studio challenge. Themes identified and these contribute to the eight stage framework. At each of the 8 stages, AI use was evaluated. For the first 4 stages of framing, research, ideation, evaluation and selection, there was less challenge with the use of AI. In levels 5 - 7 and 8, it becomes more difficult to unpack and track AI use. Key is to trace human judgement throughout. Important to move from just detecting AI toward assessing the reasoning process - why, how, what was learned and what changed. Recommended a staged assessment process to evidence and capture visible reasoning. 

'From wheel to matrix: developing capacities by levels framework for distinctive learning in the age of AI' with Simon Atkinson. It is not about equating task complexity to human capacity. Not so much what can AI do but what it actually is. Five human capacities -authentic empathy, situated creative judgment, high context tacit knowledge, somatosensory and embodied cognition, moral and existential agency. Last two especially difficult to have AI simulate. Within each, one progresses from encounter, guided practice, integrated practice, supervised placement and autonomous consequence. Framework formed which shifts accountability. The online, flexible distance learning challenge is how to design assessments. Mediated dialogue works, physical acts are non-negotiable, assess the human relationship, not the response,

'Online practice: supporting secondary teachers navigating AI in assessment' with Lucie Lindsay and Katherine O'Brien from Kotuitui Online Teachers NEX. Outlined the challenges from the school sector. In July 2026, reported that over 1000 students caught AI-based cheating in NCEA exams. Schools responding by a variety of means, Ministry of Education has provided some guidance including considering the whole process, defining AI boundaries, ensuring authentic, human-centred tasks and preserving the student voice. Shared discussion points from NZ online teacher. NZQA encourages shift from 'catching the cheaters' to 'rethinking the assessment; phase out high-risk formats; and the assessor role is to find sufficient evidence that learning has occurred. Therefore, supporting an open but cautious approach, stance on maintaining academic integrity, rewarding ākonga actual learning and 'process over product', MOE advices to design highly contextualised activities, draw on situations that require reference to personal experience, unique and local content, multi-part assessments. Especially where AI not able to replicate knowledge of hyper-local settings, personal contexts, highly evaluative contexts, ethical reasoning and use critical frameworks for reasoning. Reference to Ako Aotearoa project on AI assessments. 

After afternoon tea, I present the second keynote - 'The role of the educator in supporting the learning of 'wisdom' in the age of AI'. My central argument is that human learning is complex and highly individual as it draws on life experiences attained over a period of time, through effortful and productive learning. Using AI to replace learning is counter-productive and will not support learners, especially novices to a field, to learn the key attributes required for them to become expert practitioners. Thinking through how to encourage learners' to 'do the learning' requires effective learning design, sound AI literacy and teaching practice which provides models on how AI can be used to be 'thinking partners'. AI can be used to support the process but its use must be carefully thought through. Educators need to understand how AI works, so that pedagogical support using AI is effective. Therefore, wise educators are important. They model and nurture the development of wisdom for their learners.

FLANZ (Flexible Learning Association NZ) - Conference - Day 1 morning

 At the FLANZ conference in Dunedin today and part of tomorrow.

The day begins with opening, greetings and housekeeping From Ralph Springett who is the present president of FLANZ. Set the scene, with FLANZ members being the advance guard and change agents as both society and education works through rapid change. Sharing practice and research supports the journey of practitioners, helping ground their efforts and endeavours.

Andrew McSweeney, Otago Polytechnic' new CEO extended a welcome to all. Supported the conference theme of 'He Tangata' (the people) as a foundation for teaching and learning. Stressed the importance in humans on education especially in the absence of a clear direction or policy nationally. 

The first keynote is with Dr. Adrian Woodhouse (Otago Polytechnic) with 'When education demands a trade-off". Flexible learning becoming more common across many educational sectors. Yet, flexible learning itself is difficult to pin down. Is it just timetabling?? Flexible learning is not only about when but where. Flexible learning can occur in workplaces, communities and in learners' lives. It is already there for many. Ordinary people already do extraordinary but the assumption that learning only occurs in formalised education. 

Used his ontology to explain how his concepts of flexible learning are informed. Challenged at 19 whilst doing his final year at polytech which he had end to take up a sous chef position. The programme prepared for the opportunity but did not allow for another way to complete. The workplace became his classroom, workmates his teachers, an education that contributed to the making of a chef. As a 'dropout' be gained many opportunities and five years of master classes.

Offered opportunity to complete his qualification but found it did not fit, as his capabilities, did not match what the 'competencies' required! Therefore, where does learning reside, is it mobile? Entered education as a chef tutor. 2007 and 2008 started to experiment with ipods to provide mobile resources. A start at providing flexible learning for their learners, who were often also working part-time (some full-time!). Therefore, could the curriculum move closer to learners context.

Project-based learning adopted to provide better relevance so that learners could apply knowledge to their own contexts. Presented the evolution of the Bachelor of Culinary Arts  (BCA) - a design-thinking culinary degree. The first students, came through assessment of prior learning, challenging the curriculum. Usually the student comes to learn something they do not know, however, BCA students often came with many experiences. Sometimes the institution cannot see what the learner comes. Knowledge that is visible often becomes invisible when it enters an institution. Why is knowledge developed beyond the institution become so difficult to recognise once it enters the institution. 

The BCA helped experienced practitioners person to unpack their knowledge, which has become tacit and implicit. However, learners still had to come to a campus. However, Covid caused a shift online and the experience was still the same. Educators needed to go to the learner, not the learner to Otago :) 

Work-integrated learning came about when a BCA second year student went into entrepreneurial mode. This helped students complete, through the work he is undertaking. Need to align what the student was doing, and the requirements for the programme. This was then formalised in 2022 with BCA also availed through work-integrated learning. Challenges abound, but first student graduated last year. 

Encouraged the conference participants to ask 'what becomes possible when education stops defining the boundaries of learning and begins listening for where learning takes place?

After morning tea, three streams of sessions begin.

First up, Simon Atkinson on 'operationalising multi-domain taxonomies for course design and teaching practice'. . Began with providing a context for the workshop. Explore 5 taxonomies to inform course design. Examples provided as a model of how to apply the taxonomy but participants encouraged to bring one from their own context. Overall objective, to see how learning outcomes can move beyond the 'measurable'. Argued the need to move from Bloom's taxonomy towards one which balance cognitive (conceptual analysis), affective (values), psychomotor (applied motor competencies), interpersonal (collaborative), and metacognitive (self-regulation, reflective practice). Sector and qualifications requirements constrain the domains. Vocational tend to have cognitive, psychomotor, interpersonal but limited metacognitive and often no affective domains. Currently, the 3-element learning outcome formula as active verb + subject + context = well-formed learning outcome favoured. Standardised workflow for outcome redesign. Encouraged to move from assessed intended learning outcomes to non-assessed objectives. 

Designing curricula for learner autonomy and engagement: Connecting notional hours, blended learning and self-regulated learning - book overview

 This book written by A. Bollas (Ireland) and C. Bennett (US of A) provides a contemporary review of the concept of notional hours in learning design and its role in encouraging learner self efficacy and learner engagement.  

Accessed the ebook through our library and read using the Thorium reader.

The book is published 2026. It is not too long, 187 pages across 7 chapters. It is well structured, with relevant diagrams summarising key concepts and written for accessibility by practitioners. The chapter cover the following:

- Understanding learner autonomy and self-regulation - introduces the precepts and direction of the book

- the role of notional hours in curriculum design - unpacks the notion of notional hours, especially since it is not always well understood or applied.

- rethinking notional hours for greater learner autonomy and engagement - repackages notional hours with a learning and learner focused objective

- principles and learning theories behind blended learning - presents the challenges and recommends some ways to design blended learning that maximises notional hours which make sense to learners.

- designing interactive and engaging learning experiences - ideas and case studies.

- assessing and enhancing student engagement - assessments FOR learning anchor this chapter.

- policy and institutional support for innovative education - discusses the many facets in the educational ecosystem to support better learning and learner-centred education.

A good resource for teachers, learner designers and academic/educational developers. 

 

Cogniti - webinar - Student engagement with an Ai agent

 Notes taken at this month's Cogniti Connect. (the second session)

 Notes and video of the first session found HERE -  'when a tool meets a community'

This month's topic is 'what makes students engage with an AI agent or not?'  aka 'built it and they will come!' The session is facilitated by Olga Kozar.

A survey on the webinar indicated the majority of attendees have poor Agent usage rates.

Three case studies are presented:

- the 10% to 60% engagement shift Cogniti in chemistry: student engagement across different implementations. Presented by Dr. Pierre Naeyaert from the University of Sydney. Students access the Cogniti agent Canvas LMS. Pierre does not have physical access to the students! Agent available since August 2024 with 3,5000 students enrolled. By the start of the year, only 180 students have accessed. From start of this year, Pierre worked towards increasing engagement. A report helper agent was developed for 71 students have to access this before they can submit the report. 11 students engaged. Another agent developed in semester 1 2026 for 140 students. Agent focused on practicing their viva. 50 students used this agent. An embedded video to provide support for how to use the agent may have been useful in bringing students in.

First year survey on AI indicate students use AI 2/5 and 3/5 responded that they did not. Chem1 Cogniti agent was rolled out to 1900 students. 1280 students used. Again a video was used to show students how to use the agent. 

Q&A followed. Ideas on providing information to students to encourage using agents shared (posters, naming the agent with a friendly name, 'how to use' video)

- Design dilemma: How to 'use it to leverage it' with Robert Annabel from University of Sydney on 'to and through the door: the question generator in ECON6021'. This writes practice questions and is available to 143 Masters students from the first week of the course. Access through Canvas and information also on the course outline. Students reminded about the agent during lectures. 

24 days (7 weeks) there were 41 conversations, 88 messages. Postulated that students had high workload and concerns on the reliability of the agent. A conversation starter could be useful to get them going. Worked through several system prompt redesigns including - agent to ask for missing topic. Allow one question at a time. Solution to be provided after an attempt. 

In week 12 tutorial taken to do a live demo of the tool. Information on the pedagogical purpose of the agent. Class discussion was useful. Students provided feedback. This session helped increase conversations to 109 and messages to 833. 

Discussion on how much reminder and time need to put into encouraging students to use the agent. Comments in the chat revolved around how students 'want the answer' and not willing to engage with 'Socratic' style conversations. 

Dr. Carrie Falling from University of Otago shared that first impressions are important. Short time window to obtain their attention and to see the advantages for using the agent. Agent performance has to align with the learning outcome, be easy to use and concise feedback (not long screes of text). Well-designed agents are therefore important to ensure that the user experience is encouraging further use.

- Cogniti sand boxes: 'Sandboxes for critical AI literacy and graduate attributes' with Dr. Carmen Vallis from the University of Sydney. The course Business consulting practicum simulates a project, with industry input. AI changes what 'professional' and 'authentic' mean. The AI agent is an 'AI consultant'.

Cogniti sandbox used to have students create their own agents (with speech and avatars). A safe space to experiment, with secure data and Canvas access. Students could select their own AI models For teachers, a sandbox is easy to set up and they can see agents and conversations in one place. Teachers can share editing.

A 2 hour workshop helped students write a professional profile, choose the info to share (or withhold), built an agent and add to their profile. The then tested their agent (and their values) against real scenarios. Then debriefed in groups on personal, professional and ethical implications.

Small cohort of 24 students. There were 104 conversations across 1 workshop and 2 sessions. Students needed more time and some did not create one. It was messy but the students were engaged. 6 students returned, unprompted to use the AI more. Language shifted between informal to formal. Reflected that next time, they would create a future consultant persona instead of students' professional profile. The sandbox needs to be simplified to have less strict prompt control, use new in-build features and provide more time for students to work on the AI agent.

Q & A followed. 

Olga introduced the next session in October - Bendigo Kangan Institute on Cogniti AI tutors and Manakau Institue of Technology and Unitec on their bespoke platform for end to end AI agent governance and oversight. Also call for presentations on this year's Cogniti Symposium. 

UNESCO report - An algorithm in the room

UNESCO report 2026 on AI in education - The algorithm in the room : seeing and confronting the implications of AI for the future of education. 

Similar to the four scenarios from Singapore, summarised recently in this blog, this report collates 26 think pieces organised into 6 sections.  

After an introduction on the concept of 'algorithms everywhere' along with a discussion on educational purposes and the difficulties of aligning these algorithms with these. Each section presents several think pieces. 

Part one asks 'who will hold agency, autonomy and oversight'?

Part two on 'How will young people develop relationally, emotionally and cognitively?

Part three goes into 'what will be meaningful and relevant for pedagogy and assessment?

Part four moves in 'how will we think, question and express ourselves?

Part five poses the challenges on 'how will we govern education for the common good?

Part six closes with 'how might AI affect imagination about the future?

Each section has several articles, many speculative case studies. Topics discussed provide food for thought. They also provide good conversation starters and work well as thought provokers. 

The conclusion discusses the 3 horizons to empower education in algorithmic times - to see, to steer and to rewrite the algorithm.

Many of the key ethical and educational challenges are discussed through the report. Overall, a report to dip in and out of as interests in each topic arises.

ATAIN - Using LMS 'Nuku' to read and engage with policy - Dr. Lorena Gibson

An AI policy was designed for the Cultural Anthropology programme at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington. The presentation, hosted by ATAIN is provided by Dr. Lorena Gibson - lecturer in cultural anthropology.

The presentation is on 'Discussing AI use with cultural anthropology students'. Shared the guidelines for using AI - AI assessment scale (Perkins, Furze, Roe & MacVaugh, 2024) and how this has been used with her colleagues and students.

Her students work through the guidelines through a LMS module. There are 6 modules and students have to complete a quiz. Modules on [ need to complete before assessment!, AI, how and why to use, how to use AI in assessments, acknowledging Ai use, what not to do with AI, lecturer's own practice with AI.

Shared content of some modules which provide not only links and information but also examples which are of relevance to their context. Modeling by Lorena, and transparency from her examples, set up good practice and show authentic use of AI. 

Shared the section on using AI with course tutors. A pragmatic approach and for them to reinforce the advice provided through the AI modules. Good to see this as well as most of the time, teachers do not access information provided to students.

Interesting Q & A followed.

Important to also ensure students understand the difference between various assistive technologies and AI. Students are embarrassed or ashamed of using AI and clear, visible and educative information is always good practice. AI anxiety is very real and reported in a recent 2026 report on NZ students well-being.

Discussion on the challenges encountered in academic settings. In all, educators need to be sensitive to learners' difficulties. However, students need to engage in 'productive struggle', otherwise, they do not actually attain academic writing skills. 

Ai agents - use in education - Sacha Garrity from Unitec

Sacha Garrity, academic advisor in digital learning from Unitec, presents on how AI agents are used to support learning. The event is convened by Whitirea/Weltec. The work has received national recognition through the Tertiary ICT Association. 

Lee Smith from Whitirea/Weltec welcomed everyone. A karakia was offered before introductions to Sacha and Sharnell Aumua. Their presentation is on the Ako AI agents project: Nursing.

Agents have been used for about a year. The Ako AI agents project involved supporting kaiako to customise mini ChatCPTs, hosted on Cogniti to be used by ākonga anytime when required, help to be responsive to ākonga needs and provide additional support to kaiako. Agents are embedded in Moodle so students do not have to move between two platforms.

An overview of Cogniti provided. Agent development informed by design-based research and Te Tiriti o Waitangi health principles. Agent developed with kaiako through co-design.

Quality assuring the agent is important. Testing undertaken through a broader group of kaiako. Follow a test protocol - does it do what is intended, promote learning, avoid unwanted responses. Then test with ākonga and gain feedback.

In short - interative design and test, extended test by kaiako, followed by student test and final Q & A. 

Shared the nursing Ako AI. 3 nursing kaiako for each agent - (de-escalation agent, deteriorating patient and drug calculations. 4 developers and technical support. Stressed importance of drawing from and integrating Te Tiriti o Waitangi health principles.

Evaluation involved questionnaire, focus groups. Two iterations of testing and data collection for each agent. 

Went through the drug calculation agent capabilities - providing fomulae for conversions/rations and calculations. Provide tutorial support. A demo ensued - basically a quiz, providing support when the student is unsure or unable to do the calculation. 

ākonga feedback indicated that their learning confidence and competence was enhanced; user experience and design interactivity was appreciated; future AI tools and expanded learning support indicated - better integrations between LMS and Cogniti, videos to do revision, gamification / progress bar useful.

Demonstrated the deteriorating patient agent. A scenario agent. Two scenarios - hospital and community. Agent generates verbal and non-verbal behaviours, reactions based on student's response. New patient profiles generated at each use along with clinical/vitals. Feedback involved debrief, reflection and overall feedback - a challenge to build.

The agent has a 'toolbox' which is a link to 'help' in using the agent. Demo of agent in role as patient, perceptor and going through the debrief loop. 

Overall, positive responses from students. Students trusted using the agents as they were developed by their tutors. Interest in having a range of agents to support learning across the nursing curriculum. Support for more clinical scenarios prior to going out to clinical.

Q & A 

Oral responses - challenge with Te Reo Māori as pronunciation not the best. 

24/7 support useful. Agents able to provide more in-depth feedback when they have time or need to undertake practice. A safe place to practice or clarify concepts etc. can be done. 

Intentional learning is a key to developing how the AI agent is structured. Cogniti is user friendly and does not need IT degree to set up. 

Volume of use brought up. Currently Cogniti coping but not sure of maximum number if a agent is open to entire institution e.g. for learning, academic or library support.

Toolbox discussed and how it can be used intentionally. Access to documents supporting the learning can also be accessed through the toolbox.

Security aspects discussed. Important to only provide resources which are relevant and Cogniti itself should not have access to internal organisational data. 

Time from start to implementation averaged 3 - 4 weeks - mostly for SMEs to test, run staff test groups and gather feedback etc. 

Four future scenarios for training and adult education in Singapore - horizon 2035

This report - Four future scenarios for training and adult education in Singapore - Horizon 2035, is written by Ang, B.J., Huang, M. & Chen, Z., the Institute of Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. 

The horizon in the report is less than a decade away. For some, a long way off, but with AI, perhaps a shorter window may apply. The report is also deeply integrated into the Singapore training and adult education ecosystem, Therefore, the report needs to be read with the context in mind.

After a preamble section, explaining the approach, philosophies and methodology for the report, the future scenarios are presented. These are:

- the trusted system - very much based on the current system whereby national standards and skilled educators provide and enable completion of qualifications. Currency is the main challenge as technology moves quickly and standards and educators struggle to keep up.

- AI skills network - based in AI being used to provide personalised, continuous and 24/7 available training. Human support and accountability become difficult to built in when required.

- the reputation economy - draws on expertise of trainers but depends on reputation and networks.

- skills market - AI is used to build capability but visibility and trust on credentials is uneven.

The scenarios are of interest as they show how difficult it is to see into the future, given the pace of change and the many challenges related to shifting an embedded credentialling system. Each country will need to undertake similar exercises, to test the efficacy and flexibility of their current training and qualification system and to think through implications, challenges and solutions from within their own contexts.