Week 28: Reflect on your inquiry so far

I have chosen Rolfe’s model of reflection to reflect on my inquiry this week.



Rolfe’s Model of Reflection (Otago Polytechnic, n.d. )

This model is simple to follow and could easily be used by my students to reflect on their own learning. I like the fact that there are three main questions with supplementary questions to guide my thinking.

What?

I introduced the 15 minutes of speaking te reo Māori only to my class in Week 1 after completing a whole class survey and oral assessment. I have been timetabling this from 9.15 - 9.30am each day to coincide with our morning mihi.

So what?

Although my class are not confident speakers most of them have embraced the challenge of attempting to communicate in te reo Māori for 15 minutes each day. The most relevant aspect of the inquiry so far is that students are interacting almost exclusively with me and not amongst themselves. Since the idea was to encourage everyday conversation I need students to be actively communicating with each other. Much of the research cited in Enhancing Student Interaction in the Language Classroom shows findings that peer interaction is integral to language learning (Adams, 2018). One of the benefits discussed in the article is that students are less anxious when communicating with each other, they can be more playful and relaxed without the pressure of being assessed.

In my class, I don’t think anxiety is the issue. As I am also learning the language and making plenty of mistakes I am modelling to my students that it is safe to take risks. I think the situation has come about because I have directed students to talk without a clear agenda. It would probably have been more successful if I had asked them to pair up and provided a topic for discussion. This could be based on what we are currently learning in our scheduled te reo Māori lesson e.g. descriptions of people. Ernst and Richard (1994) recommend books as a way to provide a shared experience, basic words and phrases, and the opportunity to hear and process language. Repeated readings of the book will increase competence and the desire to communicate. Fortunately, my school is well resourced for big shared books in te reo Māori so I can choose one each week and incorporate it in my shared reading programme.

Now What?

When I started this inquiry I was unsure about my own abilities to use te reo Māori exclusively in class. Starting in an unstructured way has given me confidence and allowed me to identify the experts in my class and the vocabulary we need for our morning routine. Although I have not made any real progress towards achieving my goal yet I have no regrets about starting the way I did.
When we return to school for Term 4 I will use a more structured approach by reading a shared book to the class and then pairing students up to talk about the book together, using vocabulary and sentence structures modelled in the text. This will move the conversation away from me and I will be able to take on the role of facilitator. As the students’ vocabulary increases they will be able to converse about a range of topics.


References: Ernst, G., & Richard, K. J. (1994). Reading and writing pathways in the ESL classroom. Reading Teacher, 48(4), 320. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9412222461&site=ehost-live

Week 27: Examine your Cultural Context (Take Action)

Blog 3: Examine your Cultural Context (Take Action)

In my class of 25 students, 22 students identify as New Zealand Māori, 1 as Cook Island Māori and 2 as New Zealand European. 23 students list Ngāpuhi as their iwi affiliation on the enrolment form. There is a strong cultural identity across the school with tikanga Māori at the forefront.

The aim of my teaching inquiry is to normalise the use of te reo Māori as a conversational language in class and out in the playground. Currently, te reo is predominantly spoken during our morning mihi and for simple commands or questions during class time. My inquiry is strongly linked to cultural responsiveness as language is a keystone of culture (Wang, 2011).

Indigenous knowledge is the unique knowledge belonging to a culture or society (Senanayake, 2006).  At the heart of Māori culture is te Ao Māori, the Māori world view (Education Review Office, 2016). It is important that te Ao Māori is acknowledged in the classroom as this will enable students to achieve as Māori. Russell Bishop supports this view when he talks about the importance of allowing Māori students to bring their experiences to learning conversations (Edtalks, 2012). According to Bishop, agentic teachers are the key to  raising achievement. An agentic teacher has a positive, non-deficit view of their students. They also need support from the school to be effective. At my school we are supported by the Māori Achievement Collaborative.

I would place myself between the blue and green boxes in this action continuum (Milne, 2017).

Our class routines are strongly based on tikanga Māori. We always start the day with himene, karakia, mihi and waiata tautoko. Karakia mō te kai is recited before all meals including our fruit at morning tea. Te reo Māori is used for classroom management throughout the day. As a school, our report to parents includes self-assessment and teacher assessment of the key competencies. Being grounded in Te Reo me ngā tikanga o Ngāpuhi is valued at school. However, many of our assessment tools still support a colonial view of success. For my inquiry, assessment will be based on observations, surveys and an oral assessment.

To move to the red box I need to develop my own knowledge and become more confident in my use of te reo Māori. Part of my inquiry includes 15 minutes of every day when the whole class communicate exclusively in te reo. This has given me an insight into the gaps in my vocabulary and sentence construction. I am learning alongside my students using the concept of ako, where the educator is also learning from the student (Ka Hikitia, 2013). Learning alongside my students, and giving them the opportunity to be the experts will acknowledge the skills and experience they bring to the classroom.

Week 26: Discuss laws, regulations or policies

As teachers we are responsible for the success and well-being of the students in our class. We make a commitment to learners, families and whānau, the teaching profession and society. We are expected to apply high professional standards and make sound ethical decisions in all of our work.

The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand (previously the Education Council) have combined the Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession into one document, Our Code, Our Standards (Education Council, 2017). This code of conduct is binding on all teachers who hold a practicing certificate under The Education Act (1989) Section 387: Code of Conduct (New Zealand Government, accessed 1 October 2019).

The main purpose of Our Code Our Standards is to set standards of  behaviour and expectations for teachers. The document is used to establish and maintain teacher certifications, and can be used to evaluate a teacher’s professional conduct if a complaint is made. In relation to teacher inquiry, Standard 2 Professional Learning is most pertinent. This standard states that teachers are expected to inquire into their practice to make sure their teaching is effective.

In the 2012 Education Review Office report Teaching as Inquiry: Responding to learners (Education Evaluation Reports, 2012), ERO stated that when inquiry is implemented well there are clear benefits for students. Teachers build on their practice to better meet the needs of all learners, but in particular priority learners. This has recently been evident at my school.

Teaching as inquiry was introduced to our school in July 2014, based on the framework in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007). However, when ERO visited in 2016 they noted in their Kaikohe West School Report that this was one of the many initiatives which were not working effectively. None of our school policies referred to teaching as inquiry.

Following this ERO report, a Limited Statutory Manager (LSM) and Student Achievement Function (SAF) practitioner were assigned to our school. In Term 2 2017 a Teacher Appraisal policy was reviewed at school. This policy states that teaching inquiry is a requirement of our teacher appraisal (Kaikohe West School, 2017).

We now have regular Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings where we share challenges and successes related to our inquiries. When ERO revisited in 2019 they noticed a significant improvement in the quality of teaching and learning. They attributed this to the ‘teaching as inquiry’ model. Teachers now regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their practise using achievement data.

Teachers in New Zealand are well supported to use teaching as inquiry through the New Zealand Curriculum and Our Code, Our Standards. Having a school appraisal policy which requires all teachers use teaching as inquiry has improved practice across my school.

Kaikohe West School (2017), Appraisal of Teaching Staff. Schooldocs Policies and Procedures.

Week 25: Consider your audiences

This is the first of 8 weekly blog posts reflecting on my inquiry, "How do I encourage my students to use te reo Māori when they interact socially?” This inquiry is relevant to the interests of local, national, and international audiences. 

The most obvious audience for my inquiry is the students themselves. I am hoping my students will take the learning home and increase the amount of te reo  Māori spoken in their household. In this way, whanau will also be part of the inquiry and many will be able to support me with their knowledge.  My school has been collecting student and whanau voice on a regular basis and one of the most pertinent comments for my inquiry from whanau has been that our school provides many opportunities for te reo, however it is not heard around the school as much as expected. Leadership and my colleagues at school will therefore also be interested in the outcomes of this inquiry.

Reaching out into the wider community, my school is part of a community of learning. The vision statement of this COL is “to create a community of learning where all students are understood, acknowledged and supported as unique, culturally confident, Ngāpuhi centered learners”. (Te Arahua Community of Learning, 2019). Language is acknowledged as an important part of achieving this vision. 

On a national level, the Ministry of Education campaign, Mōu Te Reo, is promoting the benefits of learning te reo Māori as a way of deepening the knowledge and understanding of Māori culture (Ministry of Education, 2019). They are aiming for all children and young people to be learning in and through te reo Māori by 2025.

On an international platform, 2019 is the Year of International Indigenous Languages, so  my audience could include educators and indigenous language speakers from around the world. There are 7000 different languages spoken throughout the world and 2680 of these languages are currently in danger. The United Nations declared the Year of International Indigenous languages to raise awareness of the valuable contributions languages make to our world’s rich cultural diversity (UNESCO, 2018).

With regard to future-oriented learning and teaching, the views of equity, diversity and inclusivity have changed greatly from the days of colonisation. According to the research project, Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective, the key idea in 21st century learning is that we need to take more account of our learners - who they are, where they are, and their connections with people and places (Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). 

The common perspective of my audiences is that indigenous languages should be preserved and valued. My inquiry acknowledges this and my aim is that te reo Māori is used in my classroom, in the school playground and in my students’ homes as a natural way of communication.

Google Certified Educator Level 1!

We did our exam today and I passed!

We just had a share celebratory lunch and it is almost time to say goodbye to all the awesome educators I have got to know over the last 9 weeks.
This course has been most enjoyable. It is nice to work with a group of like-minded people all keen to learn new skills and improve teaching practice. I would thoroughly recommend Digital Fluency Intensive to anybody who is given the opportunity to do it.

Computational thinking and Scratch

We have been investigating computational thinking today and had the opportunity to investigate different programmes and resources.  One of our shared activities was to write instructions for a partner to follow. It was interesting trying to break a simple activity down into individual steps.

I had lots of fun working with Michelle to create our Scratch project about Manaiakalani kaupapa. Next time I would like to use actual speech rather than text.

I have been empowered by the Digital Fluency course to try new things. We are given time to play and investigate collaboratively. Networking across the cluster has improved my teaching practice and confidence.

My first map, some blog analysis and being connected

This is my first map created from a spreadsheet. My Digital Fluency class all chose from a list of places they would like to visit. I chose San Francisco, home of my favourite author, Christopher Moore. 

We learned how to analyse the statistics on student blogs. I chose Kohl-lee's blog because I taught her as a new entrant. She is now in Year 7 at Tautoro School and has had over 2000 visitors to her blog. Click on this link to have a look.



Today we talked about the value of being connected educators. I am lucky to be part of a Manaiakalani cluster as we are given many opportunities and ways to connect with each other. Connecting with each other is a great way to share resources and ideas. It gives me the opportunity to identify new strategies and refine my practice.
I also stay connected globally through Twitter. My twitter handle is @AmandaBingham4.