Tenei tau (this year) sees a lot of school and kura revisit and reimagine their localised curriculum. Several in-school facilitators are also supporting schools to plan and implement a tiriti-led curriculum. Over the next few months, we'll be collecting a few stories sharing how schools are developing a rich curriculum in collaboration with mana whenua (whānau, hapū, iwi) and Mātauranga Māori (rangitira, kaumatua, experts). Strengthening these partnerships in schools, backyards and beyond is exciting. It gives our taiohi a chance to be squarely located in their own cultural narratives.

For anyone interested in exploring themes in Marautanga-ā-Kura (see example from Helena Baker) and curriculum design check out the following resources. Also see Cultural capability for more CORE Education frameworks to help develop Te Tiriti rich curriculum design.

The following PDF has been shared in the Kaitiakitanga curriculum Facebook group by Celia Fleck. Her colleagues at Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti have created this resource based on the Atua Matua framework. There’s also a Te Reo version in the comments, as well as more information about Atua Matua from Dr Ihirangi Heke.

Other resources include:

Facebook groups:

Living by The Stars with Professor Rangi Matamua

Cultural narratives:

• Embracing cultural narratives
• CORE Ten Trends 2019 - Cultural narratives
• Hūmārie – an authentic response to cultural location

Cultural narratives are entwined with science and environmental studies in Earth Education at Ngunguru School

In this video from Ngunguru School we see cultural narratives are entwined with science and environmental studies in Earth Education at Ngunguru School. The EarthEd programme aims to embed the role as protectors of the environment (kaitiakitanga) into the everyday life of students, and is more than just educating about the environment. Through this school wide programme students develop meaningful and authentic connections with the local environment and local history, and with the earth.

Readings for leaders:

• Te Hurihanganui 
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 4.0 A toolkit for leaders to accelerate social progress in the future of work June 2020 World economic Forum

What localised, place-based learning opportunities do you have planned for your taiohi (young people) tenei tau?

Ten Trend: Changing role of the teacher: As we move into a more learner centred and learner driven paradigm in education, we look at the changing roles and responsibilities of teachers. http://core-ed.org/ten-trends-2019-document/

What’s this Trend all about?

A traditional view of the teacher’s role is as a giver of knowledge. Teachers share knowledge with students on a particular subject, through lessons that build on their prior knowledge and moves them toward a deeper understanding of the subject.

Today these expectations are being challenged. The fundamental premise of teachers as the ‘conduit of knowledge’ is no longer valid. This is marked by a move from a “one- size- fits-all” approach of delivering and receiving knowledge, to an approach that honours the individual and their diversity (Ten Trends 2019 PDF, p. 24).

What’s driving the change?

As outlined in the Ten Trends 2019 PDF (p. 24, 25)  there are many drivers influencing this change including:                            

• a shift from the concept of ‘delivering learning’ to ‘enabling learning to happen’

• designing learning experiences to meet the diverse and variable needs of all learners

• pedagogies that focus on engagement, inquiry and active, flexible, deep learning

thinking more of knowledge as a set of cognitive strategies, than as a ‘thing’ or as the goal of learning.

Rapid advancements in technology and the increased use of automation, including the use of robots and AI, is also changing the way learners interact with a variety of knowledge sources.

What’s this Trend all about?

Effective use of assessment data in a digital age is at the forefront of our thinking in education. For example, on-going data sharing (digitally) can provide parents and whānau access to ‘on demand’ information about their child’s learning - wherever, whenever. In a digital age, that demands more personalised experiences; it would seem a six-monthly, one-size-fits-all model for reporting needs to be revisited, so that students and their whānau can get a more accurate picture of their child’s real-time performance (Ten Trends 2019 PDF, p10).

What’s driving the change?

1. Demand for more timely, personalised feedback
2. Greater emphasis on formative assessment and reporting
3. Technological developments

There is plenty of evidence and research to show that regular connections between parents and whānau and school and kura can have a positive impact on learners. With technological advancements, anyone can receive ‘on demand’, real time, personalise feedback (how am I doing) on pretty much anything - from health records to bank records. So it would seem six-monthly reporting on student/ākonga progress is an outdated and ineffective way to provide real-time formative assessment to inform next steps in learning.

I'm sure some of you are still buzzing while others might be needing a wee break from the screen after such an amazing, invigorating online event that saw us all reflect and learn from each other about what is means to reimagine our tomorrow - Pohewatia te āpōpō.

Chat across the conference space was alive with thought-provoking rhetoric, about those things that spoke to us most. Keynote, activators and presenters supported messages about reimagining success and learning, especially in light of fairness, justice and equity in education. In addition to Janelle Riki Waaka's provocative opening keynote, Dr Pedro Noguera posed some powerful questions relevant to us in Aoteaora. 

What spoke to you most during uLearn20? What are your key take-a-ways? What are some of the first things you might do when you get back to school next week? We'd love to hear more.

No doubt when we all reached out to connect with others during COVID-19 lockdown, we could see the benefits of social technologies. Watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix is a (not so new), sobering reminder of just how far and fast we have developed and used technologies to connect with friends, whānau and strangers. Our need to connect has driven the evolution of social media technologies to a point where A.I and machine learning is modifying all the time, giving us the ultimate personalised experience – influencing how we see the world through search engines, the content we view (media and ads) through to how we think and act. Who can forget Minority Report with Tom Cruise (2002)? Powerful stuff.

The irony being while these technologies connect us more, they’re also polarising how we see and live in the world. Some (not everyone) theorise we're being manipulated to connect, like, comment, purchase –  confusing to a point of believing the lies of social conspiracy. There’s no hacking here, the tools are designed to tap into our psyche (how we tick) will little self regulation or legislation. What better way to influence and control masses of people right? But my 12yr old son isn't buying it.

The likes, comments and posts we share on social media can often seem inconsequential, but they matter. They tap into some of the very elements that make us human, our addictions, desires, anxieties and joys. The pull of social media addiction isn’t all in our heads. It’s quite real, thanks to two chemicals our brains produce, dopamine and oxytocin. The Psychology of Social Media: Why We Like, Comment, and Share Online

So, how do we teach a generation; about the pull of social media addition, how to recognise fake news (the disestablishment of democracies) or how we’re all being manipulated by profit-minded social media giants; when they think we’ve gone down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories by believing any of this is a problem in the first place? (Its intentions are good, but Netflix doc ‘The Social Dilemma’ is as manipulative as Facebook)

For instance, false news stories are 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than true stories are. Study: On Twitter, false news travels faster than true stories

If young people have a right to vote and are unable to tell fact from fake news, Reimagining Success might mean we largely need to become more informed about how social media tools work, the psychology behind how they have been developed and the affects on social behaviour (terraforming), so we can in-turn can teach our young people importance of truth and balance (mentally, socially) in an attention distraction model that is potentially anti-social by its sheer design.

Can you beat fake news at its own game? A partnership campaign by Netsafe and Facebook

What do you think? Fake or real?

What uLearn20 breakouts have you signed up for that can help grow a healthy sense of culture, identity and wellbeing?

Also see:

Kirirarautanga | Citizenship uLearn19

Maps have come a long way from flat, printed presentations using manual calculations, to precise data-driven, virtual experiences like we see in platforms like Google Maps. Now we see this data from maps and our own stories coming together to create a sense of connection, self and wellbeing. (Ten Trends 2019, P6)

Social mapping is the term given when technologies are used to aggregate geo-spatial information and blend it with local knowledge about people, places, events, and features...bringing our local stories and cultural histories to life in authentic and meaningful, valid and reliable ways. This is where multiple voices and their perspectives can be heard, enriching local and contextualised knowledge. (Ten Trends 2019, P7).

What’s driving the change?

Social mapping is making visible what has been invisible for a long time. Technologies combine big data (gathered from satellites orbiting Earth and sensors) with the data that is generated in real-time by the activities and inputs (of human interactions), enabling us to see patterns and trends. These cultural, historical and behavioural stories are represented as ‘maps’ which help us to understand histories and our sense of connection with them, and provides perspectives on the future. (Ten Trends 2019, P7).

We are increasingly seeing communities create immersive, interactive cultural experiences, such as proximity activated storytelling platforms that allows you to unlock authentic story in-location at places of cultural significance, such as the Arataki App Cultural Trails (local stories of Tauranga Moana). Now schools are increasingly using technologies (location-based mapping tools, content development apps, virtual tour creation) to tell their local stories in innovative ways.

What examples can we see?

In 2018, Ānaru White and Jason Ruakere shared their collaboratively-based research project on, E kore e pau te ika unahi nui — Restoring the holistic wellbeing of Māori boys through connection and innovation looking at how Ako is applied within ancestral spaces (mārae, awa, moana, and maunga), and enhanced through digital interaction (coding, Google Maps and virtual reality). For more on the digital tools, check out Google tools to support storytelling. Jason Ruakere has created a basic Google map and an activity for you to make a map of your own location in, How Google My Maps can help you learn about special places in your community.

LEARNZ free NZ virtual field trip experiences, also provides opportunities for teachers to see how they can connect students with their own cultural and physical landscape; using new mapping technology. In Term 2, 2019, they hosted Map my Waahi - a chance to explore local heritage journeys while creating 3D stories using digital tools like Google Earth and Tour Builder.

Check out LEARNZ diaries, photo gallery and videos for more school stories about Map my Waahi, like these students from Belmont School (above). To find out what more teachers thought about this project, check out the rich commentary in this Piktochart and find out how your students can get involved in more LEARNZ field trips.

Place-based education promotes learning that is rooted in what is local, in terms of a student's immediate schoolyard, neighbourhood, town or community - the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a particular place, especially from a tinkanga and kaupapa Māori perspective.

How might you create your own social mapping (3D stories) that highlights the history, culture and heritage of Tangata Whenua in school and/or community? Simple join the CORE Ten Trends group to contribute your ideas below.

You might also like:

• CORE Ten Trends 2019 (PDF download) 
• Map my Waahi (LEARNZ field trip, Term 2, 2019)
• Supporting place-based education with digital technologies (Enabling e-Learning, TKI)
• DISCUSSION POST: Place-based learning and culturally responsive practice in a localised curriculum (Enabling e-Learning, VLN, 28 August)
• Digital Education outside the classroom - Storytelling through maps by Anne Robertson

Now, that we're back at school, there are plenty of things we can do to enable students to have more choice, voice and flexibility in their learning. Here's one example of how this is scaffolded at Myross Bush School. Here, students are eased into driving their own learning with flexible learning spaces and learner licenses to help nurture more student-directed learning and learner agency.

EDtalks: Developing active learners Mar 28, 2014, 5 minutes
 

The team at Myross Bush School in Invercargill have been finding ways to grow the learning capabilities of all students. "It’s the excitement for the children, it’s the children driving the learning, it’s the freedom the children have, it’s the change of power."

Is there anything in this model that inspires a conversation or something to trial in your school or Kura? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Simply join EDtalks group to contribute.

• Are we expected to integrate CTDT in our specialised subjects?
• What are we doing already that reflects computational thinking in digital technologies (CTDT) in curriculum?
• How might we demonstrate/learn/use CTDT in specific learning areas?
• How do we do the 'digital' part?
• Why are we even doing this?

I recently wanted to make some gateway resources to help year 9/10 teachers think about creating opportunities in their classes to help teach/use computational thinking in their specialised learning areas, so I created a couple of simple infographics to demonstrate some cross-curricula connections.

I know Digital Technologies fit squarely in the Technology Learning area, but I also feel sometimes you have to make curriculum connections to other learning areas through authentic contexts/issues, so I've tried to create a 'conversation starter' for Health P.E and Science and Social Sciences, to show ways of making connections between curriculum areas and Computational Thinking in Digital Technologies.

• https://create.piktochart.com/output/47367952-science-and-ct-example
• https://create.piktochart.com/output/47453526-pe-and-ct-example
• https://create.piktochart.com/output/47391130-social-science-and-ct-example

I'd love your feedback - things to include, improve, other ideas? How else would you create (or have already) as a gateway resource to introduce curriculum connections? 

During the last few weeks it has been a privilege as well as a somewhat exhausting and energising experience to be part of conversations with educators, colleagues and friends across many sectors - about ways to support wellbeing.

Wellbeing for ourselves and those around us (in our own bubble and in our work & school bubbles).

These conversations, combined with the opportunity to facilitate some zoom sessions with teachers and principals around 'Supporting wellbeing as we transition back to school', has provided me with the opportunity to explore and unpack some of the amazing resources^ that have been designed to support staff, students and whānau as they return to school next week.

This overall experience has also pushed me to reflect on What really matters? What is most important? and Why??Leading me to distill my wonderings down to 'my 10c worth in a haiku'!

Supporting wellbeing for self/students/staff/whānau in a haiku...

upholding  mana

connect        be kind        values fuelled

discernment daily*

What is your '10c worth supporting wellbeing haiku'??

This one, however, really spoke to me. I don't know if it's because it started with a story - a story that educators from Aoteraoa know so well - the story of Tāne collecting the kete of knowledge and then discovering what was in them. I think of how all the baskets together provide us with a way of teaching and learning that will nurture all of us and enable us to thrive. 

We were discussing in our hui this week about how this crisis has exposed those schools who hadn't already put measures and approaches in place to prepare their students for '21st Century Learning", those schools who haven't embraced technology or who have devices but haven't developed an effective pedagogy that makes the most of them and the potential they have aligned with a collaborative, creative learning approach to support learners to be independent and self-motivated. 

We also acknowledged the many schools and individual teachers who have gone the extra mile to upskill very quickly, who have searched in their own kete for creative ways to connect with their whānau and their ākonga and support them with wrap-around care. 

But what @edK8R does is talk about the inequities which are much harder to address and which have really come to the surface as a result of COVID19 - not just for schools but across society.  In the CLA we have heard plenty about this over the last few weeks. We have had phone calls from parents which are heart-rending and make us feel so helpless. 

@edK8R provides some suggestions of what we can fill our kete with that might help to fill the empty social, emotional and educational kete of those families in need around Aoteraoa.  She talks about working together to support each other with aroha. I would strengthen her argument by adding that we listen hard and patiently to those facing inequities. Find out what they bring in terms of their cultural and philosophical knowledge, and recognise it as valuable rather than assuming we know best and imposing solutions that aren't fit for purpose

Her final challenge;

"We have the knowledge to move forward. I really believe that. We also need to remember that our amazing capability to turn a blind eye to what's uncomfortable is part of the reason why we are at this junction. What will be telling in the months to come is how we come together to create the change we need."

I agree. This is not a time to turn a blind eye. We cannot, as educators be bystanders.

Big huge, ngā mihi (thank you) to Cobden School for co-creating and sharing this remarkable story. 

Tell us what you think.

Are you interested in innovative ways to collect, present and use data to improve student outcomes? Want to find out how to create infographics to represent data and progress? Feel free to comment below or contact our PLD team to find out more.

So wonderful that these sessions are being offered by the MOE.

This webinar is focused on wellbeing for principals and teachers and will explore different dimensions of wellbeing in the context of schools and learning services.

Jane reminded us that the first Muslims came to New Zealand in the 1860s and settled in Cashmere, Christchurch which offers us a perspective and that the Muslim communities are made up of individuals from a multitude of backgrounds including Māori, Samoan, Tongan and Pākeha. My wondering is how can we raise our own awareness of the multiple spaces that our learners come from? Would love to know your thoughts on this @Chrissiebutler @LindaOjala and of course the floor is open to everyone. 

 Here we are in conversation with Adel Salmanzadeh who came to New Zealand as an unassisted minor at the age of fifteen. Adel has spent many years working with Refugee and Migrant communities which have also included Pasifika and Aboriginal whānau and communities.

We also include a link to Mooncake English which serves up lots of great ideas on how we can support ESOL learners online without a lot of English as one of the challenges faced in the online space for both learners and their whānau where English is not their home language is to be able to access learning, particularly over this lockdown. @chrissiebutler, @lindaojala, would you wonderful wāhine have any inclusive design thoughts around this?

If we look at wellbeing as a collective endeavour, what are some of the ways that you are currently considering as a teacher or a school where refugee and migrant learners are part of your community? Would love your thoughts and ideas.

Mooncake English resource

For the past 15 years, the team at CORE Education have analysed trends and influences that we anticipate will have a growing impact upon education in New Zealand into the future. This year as a result of Covid-19 global pandemic and the need to isolate ourselves in school, work and play; learning centres have had to find new ways of engaging with learners. Now we can see a real opportunity to locate the Ten Trends in the context of the conversations about the changes we're likely to see (or would like to see) in our education system moving forward.

In fact, these conversations are being had right now. Some of you have may have seen Claire Amos (Principal), on TV1 last night talking about changes to a more flexible model (and timetable) at Albany Senior High School that better supports students have more choice and control over their own learning. After all, students have been required to manage their learning remotely from a distance for the past several weeks.

All of this has brought into clear focus the five key themes (Structures, Process, Economic, Cultural, Technology) that lie at the heart of our Ten Trends framework. So this year, as well as looking forward; we’ve focused more on the themes themselves, and pulled together a view of the specific examples we’ve identified over the past 15 years within each of these.

Our intention is to promote informed discussions with you, so that we, as a profession, are equipped with the knowledge and understandings to make wise choices and decisions in our places of learning, as we look ahead. We’d love to get your feedback on how you’ve found these trends helpful – particularly in light of shifts in teaching and learning due to Covid-19.

Join the CORE Ten Trends group and tell us how you see the Ten Trends becoming part of your learning conversations and/or changes ahead as students start to resume school again soon.

Enjoy the introductory video with Derek Wenmoth (produced remotely) explaining the five key themes in context - and look out for when these trends will become available on our website. 

Megan shares her tips with us on how to support learners from a distance and also some of the challenges as a teacher when there are no devices at home. Here is the link to the community resource that Megan has created.

https://liveuptoyou.org/

What are some of the ways that you or your learning space looks after both your learners and your teachers from a distance?

The day Sparklers was officially launched back in 2017 was the day I met Anna. Anna was one of the key foundational writers for this wellbeing site. 

If you are a teacher with children at home you may also be experiencing some parent angst. This might be a double whammy as you are trying to both negotiate your own children and those that you teach.  

With this Anna offers us some soothing advice both from a personal and professional space.

If this is you, what are some of the ways of thinking or anchors in your day that support you.

Anneliese shares with us some of the ideas that her own school are considering

- around routine and ritual 

- ten minute conferencing 

- supporting connection and belonging around school and home bubbles both with learners, home teachers and supervisor teachers.

What are some of the important aspects of wellbeing are you and your school considering around wellbeing in this important next step?

The making of this particular video was prompted by the number of teachers that I have had conversations with that are either stressed or feel that they are not doing enough.

The following quick tips come from Dr Kristin Neff who is a leader in the field of self compassion.

Compassion is the emotion/feeling that arises in us when we see someone else suffering. Self-compassion is extending compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Neff does not distinguish between the two.

Self compassion is also made up of the components - Mindfulness, common humanity and self kindness which we talk about in the video.

As always, we would love to know your thoughts. Are you compassionate towards yourself during times of difficulty or are you someone that allows your inner critic to take over?

Interested in knowing more? Why not start here