Culture counts in the classroom

One way to make a difference would be to open the pathways to invite their culture into the classroom.

What strategies do you use to create those pathways in your classroom, school or kura? Is this something you do as a big celebration or a little a lot? We'd love to hear, or even see what this looks like at your place. Feel free to add your ideas (photos) or wonderings here .

How does Ako in ancestral spaces enhance the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys?

Ānaru White and Jason Ruakere are using their CORE-provided pro-bono research grant for restoring the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys through connection and innovation. They have begun this exciting and revealing investigation and trialing of how Ako is applied within ancestral spaces (marae, awa, moana, and maunga), and enhanced through digital interaction (e.g., coding, Google Maps and virtual reality).

Ānaru provides the first in a series of reports on their research findings, where he writes, new and innovative approaches to supporting Māori boys is needed.

Kaupapa Māori stories of localised learning are increasing. Are there any exciting initiatives in your school, kura or backyard? We'd love to hear more.

http://bit.ly/2Jw66H5

Image source: Puniho Pā, Taranaki

First up, in this 3min video Janelle Riki-Waaka discusses how focusing on what it means to be a school unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and reflecting our bicultural heritage gives mana to Tiriti o Waitangi.

Giving mana to Tiriti o Waitangi in our schools

Janelle asks, how would we know we're in Aotearoa when standing in our school? What would we see/hear in your school?

We'd love to hear how your own thoughts and practice has been impacted in this series of EDtalks whether you've been prompted to question/investigate ideas further or validated/enriched some processes you've already adopted. Either way, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the discussion thread below.

In this 2min video, Janelle Riki talks about the Treaty of Waitangi - New Zealand's founding document and acknowledges how some schools may find it hard to know where to start, and also offers some suggestions about unpacking what the three principles of the Treaty: participation, protection and partnership mean for our Māori students and their whānau.

The Treaty of Waitangi as a curriculum principle

Schools are doing some magic things in regards to honouring the articles and principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi, as previously shared in this crowd-sourced presentation, but we'd love to hear from you.

What one strategy do you bring to your teaching or leadership, that helps to keep the treaty alive? Please feel free to drop some ideas/experiences below.

Keep an eye out, as we continue to bring you a collection of short videos (interview, presentations) from thought leaders and innovative educators about ideas, concepts and frameworks for ensuring our practice in schools is inclusive and culturally responsive.

In the latest CORE blog, Lynne Silcock writes about the The Catch 22 of targeted support, where the best intentions were to target support where a student most needed it; however this also resulted in an unintended consequence - where the student felt different to their peers, as someone with "additional" learning needs. http://bit.ly/2xaqVTQ

It's a tricky dilemma. Without targeted support, students might not have their learning needs addressed, so how can be best meet the needs of our diverse learners without falling into the trap of singling out or labelling students?

How does (or might) this look in your classroom or school/kura?

Image attribution: Pixabay

Register now to save with the earlybird rate and secure your seat to see Hana O'Regan, Pasi Sahlberg and Mike Walsh deliver their thought-provoking keynote presentations. http://bit.ly/2s1XCwG

If you had a chance to sit down and chat with Hana, Pasi or Mike, one to one, what would you want to ask them?

In this CORE blog, Jerome Cargill shares his eFellowship project in 2017 when he worked with a small group of teachers to develop their inclusive practices to ensure gender-minority students felt welcome, included and accepted at school. You can read more and download his report @ http://bit.ly/2I1QPOh.

What conversations are happening at your school or kura that acknowledges these students and their very personal and diverse needs?

While one media article reports that, Parents are ditching schools with modern classrooms another reports 94% parents feel their children are in ILEs without concrete evidence that this way of learning will improve their education or wellbeing. ('My child is not a guinea pig': Parents want proof 'experimental' classrooms work). One article attempts to provide a balanced view about, How modern learning environments work, and what parents' options are, while another article shares how parents view the misconceptions of ILEs played out online and in the media (Parents get behind teachers adapting to 'modern learning environment' classes). Somewhere in there, is an article about what students want for their education.

I wonder what's really going on here. As educators, we know the learning theory (and process) about how MLEs can create exciting opportunities (when done well) where learners are more engaged, invested, self motivated, with a strong sense of identity and developing every important skills needed to be able to thrive in a digital future. But do our parents, whānau and wider community know this too? 

Reading Ānaru White's blog post on HANGARAU MATIHIKO — E TIPU E REA shows just how important it is for kura to engage with whānau and iwi with all things educational - especially when there's rapid changes on the horizon; and while our schools may do this well and bring their parent community on the MLE/ILE/FLE journey, do we make that story known wider? 

Having a say about education publicly in NZ is incredibly important. When they screened the What next TV series that looked at looked at what NZ will look like in 2037 there was some real food for thought, while the current Education conversation 2018 is giving everyone an opportunity to feed into a future-focused view of education. There are challenges for teachers when trying to meet the needs of all learners (including those who might not respond well to larger group settings), but the benefits for learners is this environment is also something not to be ignored. Maybe we should be promoting more good news stories about MLEs, as well as the research behind what makes them successful - beyond ourselves?

What do you think? What else needs to happen for our parents to be:

• more informed
• consulted with
• invited to participate/collaborate 

in order to debunk some myths and create exciting learning partnerships with our communities going forward?

CC image source: Flickr

FaceBook Group "Digital Technologies Hub NZ - https://www.facebook.com/groups/173010156767857/

FlipBoard magazine - http://flip.it/OnNUSn

DTTA (Digital Technology Teachers Aotearoa) website: http://dtta.org.nz/     #Free membership for primary school teachers - membership gives you access to very active forums on Mobilize

Last weekend saw the successful launch of ‘Education Conversation 2018’, a nationwide initiative that asks New Zealanders what they want to see in their education system. This is the first step to fulfilling the coalition agreement between New Zealand First and Labour to develop a 30 year strategic plan for New Zealand education. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1805/S00075/status-of-teachers-raised-with-education-conversation-2018.htm

This is your chance to have your say on the future of New Zealand education, for all our children and young people, for the next 30 years or more.

If you haven't already, why not have your say... in Education Conversation Kōrero Māruatanga...(closes 31st May)

1. If you were the boss of education in New Zealand, what would you do first?
2. What does a successful student of the future look like to you?
3. What will they need to know and be able to do?
4. What things need to be in place to make sure every learner is successful?

There's another summit in Auckland this coming weekend. What would your messages be for the future?

Cross posted from Enabling e-Learning in the VLN.

Start play from 1.03 - 1.28

Binary

Dr Tim goes on to talk about every type of image, text, smell,  DNA and even smell can be presented in a binary form. We can represent numbers using binary or two different values like light/dark high or low etc. We can also represent this without using computers as these students demonstrate so well in this video clip.

Another key idea is - the more bits we have, the more accurately we can represent them – ie: colours, sounds. For example, the more resolution of bits or data, gives us more detailed information. We need to have enough bits to present different ‘languages’, so that people can present themselves properly in their own culture.

Unplugged

In this video, the students also demonstrate Computer Science (unplugged) by creating instructions (programming), testing to see if the programme worked and fixing any errors (debugging). Ie: kids are now kidbots (in the large) instead of robots. Tim then demonstrates the equivalent thinking using digital robots.

Cultural contexts

Amazing what cultural attachment/assumptions we give to colours and instructions. This is where Tim demonstrates the importance of what programmers need to consider, in regards to designing for the human users (from different countries). Tim also shares another simple unplugged activity, that demonstrates the processing of multiple information in a short amount of time.

Take-a-ways

Big idea: Our students need to learn to be citizens in a digital world. It's not always about the devices, bits, bytes - the most important component is the humans in this equation.

Like a magician revealing his tricks, how fun does this look?

The “unsolicited” comments of children about the racist language and practice they experience in school, “surprised” the interviewers in the research carried out jointly by the Children’s Commission and the Schools’ Trustees Association. The Ministry of Education has been reported just last week as advocating that a “bold step” that would make a difference for Maori learners would be to address teachers’ “unconscious bias” towards Maori children. They are right – it would – but I find that hypocritical if we are not going to address the institutional racism endemic in our education policy and practice.

We cannot continue to fudge this issue by using what Kegler calls the “sugar-coated language of White fragility” – using words that let us off the hook, trying to describe racism, “nicely” in ways that are more palatable to us. Unless we are actually unconscious, as in out cold, we cannot be oblivious to the fact that our system only works for some of our children and we can predict who will be at the bottom of our achievement data, with absolute accuracy, before the school year even begins. That’s a rigged game.

Might be some gems for us in here too, as we begin to learn more about ways to implement Digital Technologies (draft) and Hangarau Matihiko in our classrooms in Aotearoa.

Play from 28.43mins - 51.16mins

Some key ideas:

• Bigger picture thinking - this is really about students having an ability to impact their communities and solve real world problems.
• Anyone can be a Digital Scientist, anyone can find a problem they are passionate about and find solutions to solve that problem.
• Solving higher order thinking problems together and that in this process it’s ok to fail.
• This is really what teachers do well already - just need to look at how we can use technologies in the problem solving process, where students can create the technologies and create the solutions.

• This is an opportunity to light a fire where we can let our kids know that we don’t everything, we’re not all experts and don’t have to be.

• There is no stereotypical Computer Science teacher – they come in all shapes and sizes.

• Teachers don’t have to know everything but can use strategies to help with that - like using students as experts, accessing resources and each other. 

• We can all step outside our comfort zone a little bit and try this together. Build a network, start a movement help overcome the fear.

• Connect, connect connect and share, share, share.

• Just have a go! Have the courage to try one thing. This is about our students.

  Most enlightening is how one student, Claire shares her Reading Republic app she built to help kids engage in reading more. Claire's advice to teachers:

​​Remember that your students want to work with you and learn with you too, failing will always eventually lead to succeeding, so this is a useful lesson to learn from you. Having technology in the room makes learning more exciting for us kids.

Do you think this applies to us as well?

More children than ever are staying on at pre-school after they've turned five, Ministry of Education data shows. In 2017, 2491 five-year-olds were enrolled in early childhood education (ECE) - a 17 percent increase since 2015.

I really hadn't considered staying on at pre-school could be an option.

Is there a movement happening where parents see the value of less formalised learning in the early years at school? No doubt there some junior teachers (@keryndavis) who will be celebrating 'play-based learning' has finally hit the news. What do you think, is this nothing new? Are children staying at your centres longer or are schools adapting and providing more play-based learning opportunities for juniors? Love to hear more...

Image source CC 

https://www.curriculumpathways.com/portal/#info/2750 

Here's the printable code blocks

Brief description:

CodeSnaps is a collaborative coding environment requiring only one robot and one iPad. You'll take advantage of tangible, printed coding blocks to prepare programs together on a work surface without a device. When blocks are scanned with the CodeSnaps app, the program is then executed on the connected robot. Supported robots include Sphero, SPRK, SPRK+, and Ollie. 

This quick video shows code snaps in action

Has anybody used this yet?

Alan starts by sharing a portion of a Dr Martin Luther King quote, We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. This was the segway into his presentation on how we (as educators) can create a climate and culture that will nurture bonds between ourselves in our communities.

His ideas for creating conditions for innovation and ideation, by creating new ways of engaging through social networks; are relevant to us all as we work in and between schools, CoLs and Kāhui Ako. For example, forming strong relationships to generate intellectual capital within and between our communities.

For more summary notes on Alan’s presentation and additional resources visit Enabling e-Learning, Creating and nurturing social networks for leveraging improvements in Kāhui Ako.

How is your learning community using social networks to help bring about high quality impact on educational systems? Perhaps an edSpace group could help meet these needs?

One of the first steps was to understand and research further into the local history of the school. The land the school sits on and the burgeoning historical landmarks are what the staff and Board of Trustess are keen to delve deeper into, to strengthen their Culturally Responsive Practice.

On Saturday March 3rd, teachers and BOT members met for the day to start their journey on strengthening ties with local tangata whenua while aligning their knowledge building with some key Ministry documents;

• Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• Ka Hikitia

• Te Kotahitanga

• Tātaiako

After a day of unpacking and making sense of Tātaiako, a draft Culturally Responsive self review tool was authored. Aligning with the five cultural competences in Tātaiako, the schools crafting of the Tangata Whenuatanga competency,  is shared below. (A mere ‘snippet’ of the full self review tool)

What other journeys are schools on to progress their culturally responsive practice?

How will we sign off our teachers, school, communities standard around…Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership?

Over recent years I have been supporting schools with digital technologies and culturally responsive practice. When discussing culturally responsive practice with leaders and teachers in many cases they want to know more about significant places to tangata whenua in their backyards.

I enjoy working with google maps and have found that you don’t need to be an expert to create your own. Mapping provides opportunities for educators and students to connect to narratives of their local whānau, hapū and iwi in ways that were not possible 5-10 years ago.

In 2017 I created a basic google map of place names for staff at Oakura school to help them with pronunciation and to provide some context about their meanings.

This is a link to that map which includes the following attributes: place name and location, audio of pronunciation, explanation, image and URL links.

My Maps works together with Google Earth Pro allowing you to download your data to create a stunning interactive virtual tour.

Working with Google My Maps has many benefits for schools. They are easy to create, teachers and students can build map narratives together, maps can be shared with others, maps can easily be changed into a virtual tour with Google Earth and maps provide fun and creative ways for learners to share about their experiences

Here is an Activity to help you can create a basic google map.

Please start creating magic maps about some of the rich narratives in your community. Please share your mapping experiences in this space.

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou

PLD in a school is different - people don’t usually choose to be there. For many, it’s a ‘must do’ as part of their professional standards, it is another thing on top of a very busy workload. And just like National Standards and NCEA credits, doing something because you have to leads to ‘ticking the box’, compliance, low-level thinking and no improvement to pedagogy and learner outcomes.

So, how do we make the PLD pill palatable? Even more how can we make the PLD pill into an exciting and mouthwatering feast? OK, maybe I’m getting carried away….

How can we support schools to align the differing PLD initiatives - PB4L, Digital Technologies, Change Leadership, Culturally Sustainable Pedagogy, Health and Wellbeing, and so on...  so that teachers can see the connections, workload is not massively impacted and that they build sustainability and it leads to improved pedagogy and happy, successful teachers and learners.

Many schools want their ‘PLD in a Box’. ‘What sort of package can you deliver?’ they ask.  ‘We have an hour every Monday morning. That’s our slot. What do you have that fits in there?’ they say. And what do they do with the PD in a box?  Unwrap it, enjoy it for an hour or so, then put it on the shelf and forget about it. Box ticked!

Why do schools have a “PLD in a box” approach?

Is it because they don’t have a big picture vision?

Is it because they don’t have a plan?

Is it because of a lack of SLT engagement? - e.g. one DP given the PLD portfolio and the rest just checking out?

Is it because SLT have different portfolios and they don’t work as a team to align them? - each initiative is separate and piled on top rather than overlapping and enhancing?

Is it because of failing relationships, high staff turnover, unstable rolls?

Is it because they don’t get the WHY?

I think it is some of all of those things and maybe many more as well. But let’s take the last one.  I think lots of schools do get the WHY, what they lack is the ability to fit the WHAT into the HOW given all the other constraints and competing imperatives they have. It’s very difficult to see the wood from the trees when you are lost in the forest.

How can we help to get them from opening the 'PLD Box' to building the “The PLD Puzzle”?

They have the picture on the box lid - so now, how do they go about fitting all the puzzle pieces of PLD to make it?