First to complete School Science Lab Technician programme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

Whangarei 12 October 2016 - Nicola Younger, the technician at Whangarei Girls’ High School is the first person to complete REAL.AC.NZ's School Science Laboratory Technician Programme. Through the programme, Younger earned the New Zealand Certificate in Applied Sciences (Level 4).

Learning in the programmes was based on REAL.AC.NZ's self-paced, interactive video lessons. Assessments included written answers, verbal answers and practical skills demonstrated through a portfolio of videos Younger submitted showing herself performing a wide range of tasks. Nicola's videos ranged from the mundane task of pipetting to the “hair-raising” repair and maintenance of a Van de Graaf generator to emergency fire extinguishing.

“Not only did Nicola's videos demonstrate her good laboratory skills, the commentary she included made it clear she understood why she was doing what she doing” said Dr Paul Demchick, who coordinates that programme.

Younger has continued study in the School Laboratory Manager Programme through which she can earn the New Zealand Diploma in Applied Sciences (Level 5).

REAL.AC.NZ (Real World Education) is a Category 1 (NZQA's highest rating) provider specialising in preparing people to start or advance laboratory careers. They offer a range of programmes aimed at the needs of testing and research laboratories, and a range of programmes aimed at the needs of school laboratories. All programmes combine learning using video lessons with practical work in real, working laboratories.

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