My latest EdTalks: Developing cultural responsiveness in schools

Developing cultural responsiveness at Cobham Intermediate from EDtalks on Vimeo.


Last year when I was the Deputy Principal at Cobham Intermediate, I was asked to be filmed for an EdTalks special on cultural responsive practice and what this can look like in action in a school setting and how we were going about developing a culturally responsive environment. 

I focused my discussion on the way this happens from a relational position and how the staff at Cobham Intermediate began this journey together working on their practice, and then spread that learning to their classrooms. I tried to outline how important it has been for staff to consider the tikanga in the school and that the values they are developing around this practice will be beneficial for all, while reminding us all that the kaupapa of a school is developed as part of a school’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and being part of a bicultural nation, and that this is an important position for all schools.

New waiata possibility for next year

As part of our mihi whakatau process and work on a school graduate profile, we have been discussing what we feel is important for our Cobham graduates to have in their kete when they leave us to move onto high school.

We have now embedded tikanga and te reo practices across our whole school that means our kids know two karakia tīmatanga (starting blessings) and two karakia whakamutunga (ending blessings) as well as waiata Manu Tiria, a Ngāi Tahu waiata, who are mana whenua here.

I saw this waiata shared on Youtube by a fellow teacher colleague that is part of my Twitter and Flipped Classroom practitioners network and thought it might be a great one for our kids to learn too - he aha ou koutou whakaaro e hoa mā? (What are your thoughts my friends?)

Matariki - what do you know about this time of year?

Kua puta Matariki ka rere Whānui.

Ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e!

I have been thrilled to have my babies come home from their school this week excitedly talking about Matariki.  They are proud to tell me they "know lot's about Matariki" and we have been getting up early to go outside to try and find ngā whetu o Matariki (the Matariki stars).

Matariki is the Māori name for a group of stars known as the Pleiades star cluster. Contrary to popular belief, there are nine stars in the Matariki constellation instead of seven. The Māori New Year is marked by the rise of this star cluster and the sighting of the next new moon. This year, 2016, Matariki started on 6 June.

There are some amazing resources out there to support teachers sharing the kōrero and importance of Matariki. Firstly, try to connect to your local Māori community to find out if there are any events or local tikanga or history you should know about Matariki (like this awesome Matariki celebration happening locally where I live).

All teachers should check out this webpage on New Zealand Curriculum Online too which has an abundance of great links to YouTube clips and supporting websites and resources:
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/National-events-and-the-NZC/Matariki 

And if none of that helps you learn about the Matariki story, here is one of my daughters telling you what she has learned about Matariki so far...DISCLAIMER: please don't take it as gospel but rather a super cute version of a 5 year old from Aotearoa trying to summarise all the cool new things they have learned about Matariki this week!  :)

My recommendations for colleagues considering transformation in education

EDEM682 - Transforming Education in Canterbury

The following review is a synthesis of key understandings and learning experiences that have emerged throughout the year that I would recommend to my colleagues considering transformation in education.

Exploring transformation and scoping educational change
Change can be difficult and stressful as it often stems from a ‘shifting context’, where the status quo is no longer the best way forward. For positive and sustainable change to occur, a ‘road map for leading change’ (Jansen, 2015) is important and must start with the why (Sinek, 2009). This not only supports leaders to understand the why but also to consider the key elements that will need to be explored while working through the change process, like the where, how, who and what. Once leaders have this roadmap in place, they can and should share it with all participants to ensure a shared understanding of the context for change and what elements will need to be explored when moving from the business as usual or ‘current state’, to the new business as usual or ‘future state’ (Jansen, 2015).
When scoping for change, the drivers for educational transformation should be identified. These are the things that are pushing or pulling your school towards the need to make changes. I would recommend that all key stakeholders have the opportunity to identify what external factors e.g. the global impact of technology or the identified new skills necessary for the jobs of tomorrow (OECD, 2012) and what internal factors, for example at my school, a whole school re­build due to earthquake damage, are influencing or already changing your educational context. Once these factors have been identified by all key stakeholders, you can then begin to see what potential risks/threats and what potential opportunities there are as a result of these drivers of change in action.

Visioning and systemic thinking in strategic planning
Strategic thinking must be systemic, in that we need to be able to see the big picture before we can understand the parts within it. To be able to make considerate and effective decisions around whole school change, understanding the whole comes before understanding the parts but the key element is actually in the interaction. If we do not consider the way in which decisions or change in one area can impact on another, we can be left with ‘unintended consequences’. An example of this could be where a school decides to change the hours of instruction, starting and finishing earlier in the day. This is based on good research that children will learn better in those hours but the unintended consequences could be huge e.g. increase of parents in need of after school childcare or out of sync timetables for siblings at different schools. I would recommend using key questions, relevant to your context, to create conversations and a shared understanding of the bigger picture, the parts within it and how the interact or influence each other. These questions could be used as a framework when working with staff, leaders, governance, whānau and students, “what does a successful school look like?” and “what are the factors that contribute to this and how do they influence each other?” Another reputable change model I would recommend schools research and apply to their own context by having staff collaboratively map out the change arena applied to their kura, would be Davis’ ‘Arena of Change’ (2008), a model that applies an ecological perspective to understand how teacher learning may be promoted for educational renewal, and clearly identifies that “teachers are the k​eystone species​in the education ecologies of the twenty-­first century world”.

Pedagogical shifts
Successful change to better meet the needs of modern learners in today's and tomorrow's schools will require some dramatic shifts to traditional methods and practice of teaching. ‘New pedagogies’ (Fullan & Langworthy, 2014) will present plenty of challenges but excitingly, lots of opportunities to better engage and prepare our students for a world that requires people with inquiry and problem solving skills, who can effectively collaborate, innovate, create and communicate and who are culturally responsive, digitally literate and globally aware. Derek Wenmoth (2013) from CORE Education talks about the drivers for change being agency, connectedness and ubiquity and these are driving some of the pedagogical changes that need to occur so that schools become an environment that values and fosters student agency, collaboration, co­-teaching, self regulated and personalised learning. I would recommend that when schools are considering pedagogical shifts, they need to begin with their students ­ what do they need to know, understand and do to be successful? Secondly ­ what does our learning practices and environments need to look like to accomplish this? Finally ­ how will we know what impact this is having on student engagement, enjoyment and achievement?

Community, whānau and iwi engagement
When considering transforming education in your school context, it is imperative that all members of your school community are included on this journey and can participate in the decision making process ­ h​e waka eke noa:​a canoe on which everyone can embark. One of the first steps needs to be identifying all key stakeholders ­ students, whānau, staff and Board of Trustees. As I identified earlier in the scoping process, it would also be recommendable to reach further abroad and look for other potential partners that could bring added value and richness to the transformation and future of the school through ‘civic engagement ­ t​he action through which citizens join in new conversations that have the capacity to alter the future’​, for example, libraries, community services­health, police, social services, local community businesses or other educational institutions e.g. Polytechnic or Universities.

Iwi engagement is also critical for all New Zealand educational settings. We know that traditionally we have not met the needs of many of our priority learners, specifically Māori and Pasifika tamariki and their whānau (MoE, 2013). Culturally responsive practices embedded into the culture of our schools will ensure that schools are upholding their obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and are providing educational experiences that are authentic, meaningful and relevant for all learners, that build on their prior knowledge and cultural connections and acknowledges and celebrates diversity and the potential each child has within them to succeed. I would recommend that schools reach out to iwi and build a reciprocal and meaningful relationship with them. You will need their input and guidance around what culturally responsive practices should be normalised in your school setting and perhaps even establishing a ‘cultural narrative’ for your school, where schools can ensure design and practice will reflect the rich history of your local iwi and whenua. More importantly, schools need to address will be their tamariki, whānau and staff can support the iwi. A reciprocal relationship built on respect and ongoing support for each other will reap rewards for all and ensure the vision for Ka Hikitia (2013) of ‘Māori enjoying educational success as Māori’ becomes a reality in your kura.

References
Davis, N.E. (2008). How may teacher learning be promoted for educational renewal with IT? In J. Voogt & G. Knezek (eds.), I​nternational Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, (​507­520) Amsterdam: Springer

Fullan, M., & Langworthy. (2014).​​A Rich Seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. R​etrieved from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp­content/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf

Jansen, C. (2015). Road map for change: presentation at lecture #1 of EDEM630 course. University of Canterbury.

Ministry of Education. (2013). K​a Hikitia­Accelerating Success 2013­2017.​Wellington, New Zealand:Learning Media.

OECD (2012). Education Today 2013: The OECD Perspective. Retrieved from
http://abdigm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2013_12/20023619_educationtoday2013the oecdperspective.pdf

Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: H​ow great leaders inspire everyone to take action.​ New York: Portfolio.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840)

Wenmoth, D., (2012) EdTalks; Ubiquity, agency and connectedness. Retreived from
http://edtalks.org/video/ubiquity­agency­and­connectedness 

Celebrate and communicate Māori success!

One thing I have learned throughout my years in education is open and regular communication with your Māori community is a must if you want to establish a positive and meaningful relationship with them.

I strongly encourage schools to take up this wero but many ask for examples of this in action - so here is one we are trying at the moment.

As part of our commitment to increased and improved communication with our Māori community, this year at Cobham Intermediate, we have created 'Pānui Ako', a term report sent out to all of our parents via the school newsletter and our Facebook page and emailed directly to all Māori whānau. We also send copies to all school whanaunga e.g. Burnside Primary, our MoE Senior Advisor, BoT, our local hapū-Ngāi Tūāhuriri, our cluster co-ordinator and other members of our wider school community.

Pānui Ako is designed and written by members of our whānau advisory group, which is made up of several staff, Māori students and some of their parents.

We hope you enjoy learning more about Cobham and our amazing tamariki -koia kei a rātou!

Whakanuia te wiki o te reo Māori 

Celebrate Māori language week

The kaupapa for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2015 is ‘Whāngaihia te reo Māori ki ngā mātua,' with the aim to encourage and support the language development of parents who can then whāngai the language to their children.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Greetings to you all.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori /Māori Language Week takes place this year between Monday 27 July and Sunday 2 August. This special week provides an opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori, helping to secure its future as a living, dynamic, and rich language.

I strongly urge and encourage you to really step it up and promote the use of te reo Māori at school during this week and hopefully beyond. 

Here are some practical ideas that I know all of you can try next week with your class & around home and school:

- Greet everyone in person, everyday in te reo Māori (kia ora, tēnā koe/kōrua/koutou, mōrena, ata mārie, ka kite anō, haere rā, e noho rā) &/or change your email greetings/signature to te reo Māori using these google doc ‘Useful Phrases in te reo Māori' - https://goo.gl/ZgB0hH
- Always start & end the day/session with our school karakia
- Sing a Māori waiata everyday http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Reo-Maori-resources/Hei-Waiata
- Learn these classroom kupu-https://quizlet.com/subject/classroom-kupu/ & then create labels to stick them to the relevant objects in your class, use the Māori names of the objects when possible
- Sign up to Te Kupu o te Wiki http://kupu.maori.nz/
- Share with your class everyday a different Whakataukī - https://goo.gl/QEqJOAor Kīwaha-https://quizlet.com/subject/maori-kiwaha/ 
- Ensure you and your kids know how to pronounce Māori names correctly (people e.g. Anaru, Hurihia, Awanui, Ngāriki and places e.g. Akaroa, Rangiora, Ōtautahi)
- Celebrate all the Māori words you & your kids know already, you might be surprised - make a class list & identify them all e.g. kai, marae, mana, kaupapa, whānau. Discuss their meaning, practice pronunciation but most importantly, commit to using the kupu/words you already know in your everyday conversations

- Know these two documents inside out & use them as key resources for
planning, teaching and assessing te reo Māori at school 
          1) Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te ako i te reo Māori Kura Auraki http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines 
          2) He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora http://hereoora.tki.org.nz/
- Get to know your kids better by learning & sharing your own and as well as their own mihi
- Identify & discuss important Māori values - http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines/The-importance-of-learning-te-reo-Maori/Exploring-shared-values. Decide as a class how we can demonstrate, celebrate & promote these values at school
- Share some of the articles, videos, stories from the links below with your whole class
- If you need help, please just ask. I am always happy to help with pronunciation, support & encouragement!

Don’t just think about it - commit to it, kōrero Māori e! 

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui!

Resource page offering links, ideas and stories
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/National-events-and-the-NZC/Maori-language-Week

Te Kupu o te Wiki
http://kupu.maori.nz/kupu-o-te-wiki

Virtual Learning Network Discussion
http://www.vln.school.nz/discussion/view/933809

A digital kit of resources for Māori Language week – resources, websites, blog posts, you tube clips of waiata, lang, video, photos, Edtalks, whakataukī. Collaboratively put together by educators across NZ led by Tania Coutts (CORE Education) https://docs.google.com/a/core-ed.ac.nz/presentation/d/1yCWb__TzLsCzcF6QS2u8Z6yf3M5_8eGLl-Vy6rVZ1f8/edit#slide=id.p

Ngāi Tahu Resources & Downloads
http://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/culture/kotahi-mano-kaika/resources/downloads/