Changes in my practice

Activity 8: Changes in my practice

After reading the Class Notes, create a blog post where you evaluate the impact of issues on your practice and plan for the future.

Firstly, reflect on your personal 32 week learning journey through the whole postgraduate programme and provide a critical discussion of two key changes in your own research informed practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.

My 32 weeks on the programme have been stimulating and rich. I studied my Bachelor of Education within a māori setting and I have never came accross all the readings information and citations that was necessary towards this post-graduate diploma. The discussions and the language was very difficult for me on the program, there were times where I could not understand new words, so I would google them, and still the definition made no sense to me. Luckily my community of practice was on board the mindlab waka for support and guidance. We have introduced new forms of technology learning in to our practice and the learning has enhanced innovative ways to teach and learn. 

• Criteria 2: Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga
• Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.

In terms of a key change, I can now understand and implement the values of Te Aho Matua within my planning/evaluation and reflections. I have a commitment to my ākonga where I will  contribute my knowledge and offer supporting agencies when needed. Within my setting I am confident and have a great support for my practice. There is much more for me to learn as I commit myself to ongoing professional learning and development.

"Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe me he maunga teitei"

Pursue that which is precious, and do not be deterred by anything less than a lofty mountain

A strong whakatauki the represents my passion and commitment for what I do.

Below is evident that Mindlab has successfully influenced our new innovative practice within the classrooom

Activity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map

After reading the Class Notes, create a blog post where you first draw a map which demonstrates your current and potential interdisciplinary connections. You can choose to create your map with a digital tool (for example: bubbl.us, coggle, popplet.com...) or draw with pen and paper and submit a picture to the portal.

Identify two of the potential connections from your map as your near future goal(s). Then critically discuss the benefits and challenges of working in a more interdisciplinary environment.

Goal 1: My passion is te reo māori and tikanga māori, I love to walk talk breathe tikanga and kaupapa māori. As a former student of my primary school I feel I need to bring and implement my knowledge to the next generation. So my goal is to feed our next generation in the language that I was taught at primary school. To uphold the strong traditions of our school culture and generate relationships and partnerships with wider whānau of our region.

Goal 2: My next goal is to consistently create innovative ways to stimulate my practice that best fits myself and my students. Introducing technology and Ipads to our classroom have proved to be successful, the ipads enhances learning activities and disciplines. Consistent reflection and readings will represent the avenue that will produce the outcome to stimulate my practice.

Critically discuss the benefits and challenges of working in a more interdisciplinary environment

Jacobs (1989) defines an interdisciplinary curriculum as "a knowledge view and curriculum approach that consciously applies methodology and language from more than one discipline to examine a central theme, issue, problem, topic, or experience" (p. 8). Te Aho Matua the founding documents of kura kaupapa māori is driven by interdisciplinary connections and how discipilnes meet. Māori theories are articulated by the same being and can interrelate and link with more than other theories. Interdisciplinary connections are evident with kura kaupapa māori as we protect and nurture the knowledge passed down. 

Marsden, Maori (1988) The Natural World and Natural Resources: Maori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington Mead, H. (1998). The Development of Wananga: Politics and Vision., Sound Recording, the University of Auckland, Auckland Mead, H. (2003). Tikanga Maori: Living by Maori Values. Huia Publishers, Wellington Mikaere, Ani (1995) The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for Maori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga Maori, Unpublished Master of Jurisprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton 

Using social online networks in teaching and/or professional development

Activity 6: Using social online networks in teaching and/or professional development

After reading the Class Notes, create a blog post where you critically discuss the use of social media in teaching and/or in professional development in relation to any two of the following questions:

1. What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning? Why?

In the New Zealand context, the Ministry of Education has introduced an initiative to enhance professional development via online social networking. The Virtual Learning Network is a platform where educators can engage in professional conversations. Melhuish's (2013) study has suggested that VLN Groups can enable an informal type of professional learning for teachers. This forum is an open collaborative online learning tool specialising in NZ education. Advice and reflections shared openly to help other NZ Primary School teachers. The features of virtual learning network offers group discussions, blogs, lesson plans and assessments, resources and more. Theres a help and support link where you can ask about how to blog or copy work. It is a means in which teachers can collaborate and share learning journeys as a way of support and encouragement.

2. How do/would you use social media to enhance your professional development? Why?

I utilise the The NZ Primary School facebook page and its features at least twice a week. This page is private and all members are associated to a primary school sector. Created by Amber Mattsson and Rachael Sprosen as a tool of collaboration, they quote “we do our best to screen the ‘less desirable‘ people who request to join our amazing, collaborative group. However, we need everyone to help us find the rest. Please report all spam to admin and if you have another concerns about members please PM us”, as a means of protection of our privacy as NZ primary school teachers. I would use this forum for questions or any relevant information to any given topic. As a beginner teacher you research all features of your practice, how best to improve and advice from experienced teachers. I like reading topics of interest, example Matariki unit just finished and on the NZ Primary teachers page were numerous unit plans and activities for implementation in to your own plans. They would share links and technology knowledge to help enhance our chosen topic or unit.

Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning (Thesis, Master of Education (MEd)). University of Waikato. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/8482

Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

Identifying your personal ethics

Activity 5: Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

After reading the Class Notes, create a blog post where you identify an ethical dilemma in your own practice linked to digital or online access or activity.

Explain the dilemma and discuss either:

How you would address a potential issue if it occurred in your own practice?

My co teacher and I implemented the popular class management app called Class Dojo in to our classroom environment. It is a 3 way system where teachers can post in a closed forum about daily activities, student achievements, progression, upcoming events or any pānui we wish to inform whānau. Whānau will get instant messages and notifications when their tamaiti/tamariki have uploaded mahi or been awarded stickers. The stickers are used to help encourage positive behaviour.

My co teacher and myself were promoting the app to the children and 90% adapted swiftly, the other 10% did not. The other children did not care for stickers or rewards and would continue to misbehave which usually would create a chain reaction. One particular girl pushed the boundaries and we decided to deduct points from her Class Dojo avator. Her father saw how we had deducted a point and was quick to message both teachers for an explanation. We advised him to meet with us in our class after school and he agreed. He mentioned how  he was upset that we had no explanation as to why his daughter points were being deducted, then we were pleased with his feedback. In reality we were reaching out to parents for support through the app to help manage their behaviour at school. “Henderson (2014) refers “in the context of teaching with social media we need to draw on a broader, and less defined, set of ethical guidelines. We argue that from an ethical perspective classrooms are synonymous with the culture of care the teacher brings to the classroom.” We are sharing this app with whānau so they can support us where we need. They can also see they developments and progression of their child or children. We practice safe social media so when they are of age, they too will practice safe social media.

Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved fromhttp://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf:

Aotearoa New Zealand Today

Activities 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

After reading the Class Notes, create a blog post where you first share your own views on the indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Then critically reflect on how you or your school addresses cultural responsiveness in practice in two of the following areas (preferably you would evaluate one that is done well and another which needs improvement):

vision, mission, and core values

Te Aho Matua

Evidence of Te Aho Matua can be seen during waiata, mihimihi, whakataukī, oriori and how stimulated and focused tamariki are during kura. Learning outcomes linking Te Aho Matua to curriculum can be evidentual and interpreted in the appropriate form. TKKM o Te Atihau give back to the community by picking up rubbish every month around the papakāinga.

In Pa Wharariki we are Co-Teaching. Co-Teaching is a form where there are two teachers in the classroom collaborating on a teaching program. One teacher will either present the program where the other preps activity or we cater to the appropriate year levels and split the class accordingly. This teaching proves to be successfull when accommodating all learning styles and pushing them towards their goals.

planning and assessment,

 “Te Aho Matua is intended for inclusion in the charters of kura kaupapa māori as the means by which their special nature can be clearly identified from mainstream kura” (TAM doc) Te Aho Matua is the guiding document that sets out a schools objectives and goals. It models teaching programs and its associated activities. Within the document are roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders within the kura community and their associated goals and targets. All of these roles are based around the learning environment and the learning journey of the tamariki involved. Programs are encouraged and aligned to all the characteristics of the guiding principles to enhance kaupapa māori worldview. Te Aho Matua ensures that the practices of Kura reflect the cultural diversity and the unique position of the māori culture in Aotearoa.

Marsden, Maori (1988) The Natural World and Natural Resources: Maori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington Mead, H. (1998). The Development of Wananga: Politics and Vision., Sound Recording, the University of Auckland, Auckland Mead, H. (2003). Tikanga Maori: Living by Maori Values. Huia Publishers, Wellington Mikaere, Ani (1995) The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for Maori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga Maori, Unpublished Master of Jurisprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton 

Contemporary issues or trends in New Zealand or internationally

Activity 3: Contemporary issues or trends in New Zealand or internationally

Identify and evaluate two contemporary issues or trends that are influencing or shaping NZ or international education, which you find most relevant to your practice.

Elaborate in your own words how you would address those issues or trends in your context within your learning community or professional context.

Te Puni Rumaki: Strengthening the preparation, capability and retention of Māori-medium teacher trainees (2014)

The main aim of the research project Te Puni Rumaki was to gather information about practices and strategies that successfully prepare and retain Māori-medium initial teacher education students so that they are well equipped to teach in Māori-medium contexts. It also aimed to gather information about how practices and strategies might be further strengthened and improved.

Author(s): Margie Hōhepa, Ngārewa Hāwera, Karaitiana Tamatea & Sharyn Heaton. Report Commissioned by the Ministry of Education.

Date Published: June 2014

As part of a targeted strategy to grow the number of Māori medium teachers, the Ministry of Education launched the TeachNZ Career Changer Māori medium Scholarships in 2005. These are aimed at those who are highly proficient or fluent speakers of te reo Māori and who have a depth of life and work experience in a particular field—not teaching—who want to retrain to become a teacher at primary/Kura Kaupapa or secondary/Wharekura levels.

I applied to Massey University in the year 2007 for the four years Bachelor of Education Māori Medium. I was in a class of 12 and one of six that came from a Kura Kaupapa setting. With the same goal we all had plans to return to our primary kura kaupapa and teach what was given to us by our former teachers. The scholarship proved to be an essential part of why we wanted to enter education and in the māori medium. To become eligible you must partake in a language test provided by te taura whir ii te reo māori. Once completed, your responsibility was a B average. This proved to be successful amongst my friends and I as we were accountale to Teach Nz.

“Māori medium teacher trainees and beginning teachers are the future of the Māori medium workforce.” I  and the relationships that they as teachers have with their Māori students will have the greatest effect on those students’ achievement” (Ministry of Education, 2008). I believe māori alone will impact the education of māori.

Marsden, Maori (1988) The Natural World and Natural Resources: Maori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington Mead, H. (1998). The Development of Wananga: Politics and Vision., Sound Recording, the University of Auckland, Auckland Mead, H. (2003). Tikanga Maori: Living by Maori Values. Huia Publishers, Wellington Mikaere, Ani (1995) The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for Maori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga Maori, Unpublished Master of Jurisprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton 

Marsden, Maori (1988) The Natural World and Natural Resources: Maori Value Systems and Perspectives, in Resource Management Law Reform, Vol. 29A. Ministry for the Environment, Wellington Mead, H. (1998). The Development of Wananga: Politics and Vision., Sound Recording, the University of Auckland, Auckland Mead, H. (2003). Tikanga Maori: Living by Maori Values. Huia Publishers, Wellington Mikaere, Ani (1995) The Balance Destroyed: The Consequences for Maori Women of the Colonisation of Tikanga Maori, Unpublished Master of Jurisprudence thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton 

Community of Practice and Situated Learning

What is the organisational culture (collective values/principles) that underpins your practice? How would you contribute to fostering a positive professional environment in your community of practice?

Our kura is proud of the implementation of a behaviour incentive programme that is based on our core values of PUMAU, (Harmer, 2010). This acronym stands for P: Pai Rawa Atu - Trying our absolute best. This is evident in the key competency of Managing Self where every child takes ownership of the quality of their work and behaviour. U: Whakaute - Respect, which is to be reciprocated, and can be seen in the key competency of Relating to Others. M: Mana - Maintaining and Upholding your Wellbeing, an obvious component of the key competency of Participating and Contributing. A: Aheia - To show resilience and determination, which is an expectation of the key competency Understanding Language, Symbols and Texts. U: Ngakau Manawa Reka - To enjoy the learning journey, which can be achieved when you are engaging in the key competency of Thinking.

What are the current issues in your community of practice? How would your community of practice address them?

“Te Reo Maori enables the student to access the depth of matauranga Maori in order to conceptualise and understand fully the implications of the knowledge at hand. Te Reo Maori and Kaupapa Maori knowledge are inextricably bound (Nepe 1991).” There have been issues on which language we are promoting in our school setting. Kura Kaupapa Māori “have placed Maori in a position where not only the definitions of what is Kaupapa Maori have been important but the richness of the language is also considered.” (Smith, 1990) There are a number of staff members and board of trustee members that will often speak English in our māori medium school. The issue was, how are we promoting that only te reo māori is to be spoken on school grounds where there are several staff members that no little māori. It is argued that the language proficiency of teachers affects the language proficiency of students. At the same time, no universal definition of te reo Māori ‘proficiency’ for teaching through the language has been agreed upon (Skerrett, 2011). In Kane’s (2005) study of a sample of ITE providers of Māoricentred or Māori medium teacher qualifications, all the programmes had “some expectation of bilingualism” and expected “a level of competency in te reo Māori for staff and students” (p. 202). As noted by Skerrett (2011, p. 133), however, the terms ‘competency’ and ‘bilingual’/‘bilingualism’ are difficult to define and are highly controversial in pedagogical terms.  We have requested and engaged in programs which focus on language strengthening and how to best implement within our class or school grounds. We meet with a school specialist with Te Reo o te Kaiako every fortnight to learn new language structures and dynamics. We meet with other means to develop language and are taught how best to stimulate students with language and technology features.

Nepe, T. M. (1991). Te Toi Huarewa Tipuna: Kaupapa Maori, an Educational Intervention System. Department of Education. The University of Auckland, Auckland

Pere, Rangimarie, (1991) Te Wheke: A Celebration of Infinite Wisdom, Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand, Gisborne

Smith, G. H. (1997). The Development of Kaupapa Maori: Theory and Praxis. Department of Education. The University of Auckland, Auckland.

Community of Practice

1. What is the purpose and function of your practice? In what ways do you contribute to the community of your practice?

I am a new entrant teacher at my first primary school. This school is special to my family as both my younger siblings and I attended. My maternal grandfather’s sister was the first principal. Many of my relatives and extended families of my community were all part or attended this special school. I became passionate about tikanga māori and the māori language during my tertiary university time. When I was offered the opportunity to return and teach I humbly accepted. I accepted to create a collaborative and innovative learning environment while sustaining our iwi customs, policies and beliefs.  Smith (1990) suggests “Mana (power and prestige) of each iwi was dependent on the way in which the knowledge of each group was protected, developed and practiced”. The purpose of my practice is to develop the practice of tribal knowledge customs and language. “To transmit the knowledge by means of ako” (Nepe,1991) through karakia, whakapapa, waiata, whakatauki, pūrākau. The school offers me the setting to create a bubbly colourful classroom equipped with the age appropriate resources.

2. What are the core values that underpin your profession? Evaluate your practice with regard to these values.

Te Aho Matua is a vital philosophical foundation for the unique schooling system of Kura Kaupapa māori. “Te Aho Matua provides a source from which curriculum planning and design can evolve, allowing for diversity while maintaining an integral unity”. (Pere, 1991) Te Aho Matua is an avenue for whanau of the kura to teach disciplines of the curriculum in te reo maori while creating a holistic view of the knowledge and history from which maori descend from. This knowledge will be expressed through whakapapa (ancestral links), waiata (songs), oriori (lullabies), whakatauki (learning proverbs), purakau (local legends) and tikanga (customs). It balances the requirements of the New Zealand Ministry of Education system and the science and theories of maori tupuna ancestors. My practice is based on the principles of te aho matua providing the wellbeing first and foremost to the ākonga. Nepe (1991) suggests “Te Ira Tangata, Te Reo, Nga Iwi, Te Ao, Ahuatanga Ako and Te Tino Uaratanga are connected in a philosophy that comprises a holistic perception of Maori children and their education.” These values are natural when raising and nurturing māori children.

Nepe, T. M. (1991). Te Toi Huarewa Tipuna: Kaupapa Maori, an Educational Intervention System. Department of Education. The University of Auckland, Auckland

Pere, Rangimarie, (1991) Te Wheke: A Celebration of Infinite Wisdom, Ao Ako Global Learning New Zealand, Gisborne

Smith, G. H. (1997). The Development of Kaupapa Maori: Theory and Praxis. Department of Education. The University of Auckland, Auckland.