Student teachers ready to teach Water Skills for Life

A group of soon to be teachers from Bethlehem Tertiary Institute in Tauranga have been learning all about Water Skills for Life as part of their teacher qualification.

Sixteen second year sutdent teachers took part in two days of training and aquatic education with Swimming New Zealand Education Advisor Erin Fowler.

Day one involved students taking part in a classroom session that focussed on class management, ability grouping, foundation aquatic skills and the new initiative Water Skills for Life. They also prepared lesson plans to use the next day.

The second day saw the student teachers get to put their new knowledge and lesson plans into action as they took real classes of primary school students at Bethlem College.

Bethlehem Tertiary Institute and Swimming New Zealand have been working together since 2011 with Bethlehem College a Kiwi Swim Safe School also since 2011.

Bethlem College are great supporters when the student teachers come in to take their classes, assisting in their learning and often giving advice, feedback, asking questions and sharing their own experiences.

This great collaboration over the past five years has seen more teachers enter primary schools with the skills and knowledge to help the next generation stay safer in the water.