Reuse a resource, Reduce teacher workload, Recycle an initiative that works...

Robyn Anderson @ PBS using the Kete Talanoa's

Story-sacks-regenerated-into-kete-talanoas

I really like to be helpful and I was so humbled when one of the 2019 in-school CoL teachers spoke to me about my Kete initiative from my teacher inquiry and whether I could support her and a couple of her Samoan students with some of my Kete Talanoa's.  Reports so far indicate that they have gone down a storm, so much so, some of her Tongan students have requested their own Kete's so I shall be dropping into PBS with an array of Kete's for her students to empower their learning at an accelerated pace.

CoL meeting

WONDERINGS...

How do we identify common practises and strategies across the cluster that make a significant difference to achievement outcomes (in writing) that could and should impact on other curriculum areas (reading and maths); HOW DO YOU CHANGE TEACHING PRACTICE INSIDE OUR SCHOOL?

I have supplied x2 in-school CoL teachers (A.C 4 - increased achievement in R,W, M across years 7-10 against measured targets and  A.C 3 - lift achievement in R for all students with a particular focus on boys and ALL Maori students year 1-13) with Kete Talanoa's in support of their Teacher Inquiry for 2019 which is really humbling that after my professional T.I in 2017/2018 they have deliberately chosen this tool to aide their classroom pedagogy. 

2019

2018

2017

T2 Hui

Reading musts....

explicit teaching, mileage, differentiation to suit needs,  whanua engagement - the act of reading to achieve something,  motivation - the internal driver, knowledge driven, social, strategic - purposeful reading material.

Motivation = affirming = interest, efficacy, value and prosocial goals.
Engagement =  dedicated = purpose, effort and intention to learn.

NB. classroom practise, teaching input and classroom conditions impact motivation to read which in turn impact engagement.

Is it not the teachers who are also displaying learnt helplessness as well as their learners?
Teachers also need assurance that it is ok to take a risk if there is a high-trust model co-existing and reciprocal.

Motivation will NOT achieve progress, engagement will facilitate achievement, together the dynamic force of MOTIVATION and ENGAGEMENT will cause accelerated achievement...so what will turbo-charge this progress.

wfrc-manaiakalani-research.blogs

10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body
Source: Lana Winter-Hebert, lifehack.org

1. Mental Stimulation
Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly even prevent)
Alzheimer’s and dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power.
Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the
phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing puzzles and playing games
such as chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation.

2. Stress Reduction

No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless other issues

faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can

transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present

moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax.

3. Knowledge
Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might
come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenge you’ll
ever face. Additionally, here’s a bit of food for thought: should you ever find yourself in dire
circumstances, remember that although you might lose everything else—your job, your possessions, your
money, even your health—knowledge can never be taken from you.

4. Vocabulary Expansion

This goes with the above topic: the more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, and they’ll

inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary. Being articulate and well-spoken is of great

help in any profession, and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence can be an

enormous boost to your self-esteem. It could even aid in your career, as those who are well-read, well spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often)

than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and

global events.  Reading books is also vital for learning new languages, as non-native speakers gain exposure to words

used in context, which will ameliorate their own speaking and writing fluency.

5. Memory Improvement
When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions,
history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story.
That’s a fair bit to remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with
relative ease. Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain
pathways)and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short-term memory recall as well as stabilising
moods. How cool is that?

6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills

Have you ever read an amazing mystery novel, and solved the mystery yourself before finishing the

book? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of all the details

provided and sorting them out to determine “whodunnit”. That same ability to analyse details also comes

in handy when it comes to critiquing the plot; determining whether it was a well-written piece, if the

characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever have an

opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken

the time to really consider all the aspects involved.

7. Improved Focus and Concentration
In our internet-crazed world, attention is drawn in a million different directions at once as we multi-task
through every day. In a single 5-minute span, the average person will divide their time between working
on a task, checking email, chatting with a couple of people (via g-chat, Skype, etc.), keeping an eye on
Twitter, monitoring their smartphone, and interacting with co-workers. This type of ADD-like behaviour
causes stress levels to rise, and lowers our productivity. When you read a book, all of your attention is
focused on the story—the rest of the world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine
detail you’re absorbing. Try reading for 15-20 minutes every day and you’ll be surprised at how much
more focused you become.

8. Better Writing Skills

This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary: exposure to published, well-written work

has a noted effect on one’s own writing, as observing the cadence, fluidity, and writing styles of other

authors will invariably influence your own work. In the same way that musicians influence one another,

and painters use techniques established by previous masters, so do writers learn how to craft prose by

reading the works of others.

9. Tranquility
In addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible that the subject you read
about can bring about immense inner peace and tranquility. Reading spiritual texts can lower blood
pressure and bring about an immense sense of calm, while reading self-help books has been shown to help
people suffering from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses.

10. Free Entertainment

Though many of us like to buy books so we can annotate them and dog-ear pages for future reference,

they can be quite pricey. For low-budget entertainment, you can visit your local library and bask in the

glory of the countless tomes available there for free. Libraries have books on every subject imaginable,

and since they rotate their stock and constantly get new books, you’ll never run out of reading materials.

If you happen to live in an area that doesn’t have a local library, or if you’re mobility-impaired and can’t

get to one easily, most libraries have their books available in PDF or ePub format so you can read them

on your e-reader, iPad, or your computer screen. There are also many sources online where you can

download free e-books, so go hunting for something new to read! There’s a reading genre for every

literate person on the planet, and whether your tastes lie in classical literature, poetry, fashion magazines,

biographies, religious texts, young adult books, self-help guides, street lit, or romance novels, there’s

something out there to capture your curiosity and imagination. Step away from your computer for a little

while, crack open a book, and replenish your soul for a little while.

T3 - it's all about SHARE

Connected learners share, sharing is human nature, sharing positivity spreads positivity and contributes to overall well-being. Sharing your idea with someone else creates a new idea and generates learning.

Share the story of what we want to say rather than what we don't want to say...

DFI - at home in a digital world

Achievement = interest + confidence = Achievement

Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu

e.g. Rm 4 @ TPS

Kia tau te rangimārie ki a tātou katoa
Kia maimoa ngā mana, ngā reo o tēnā
Kia mauri tau,
Hihiritia te hinengaro
Kia ako, kia hanga, kia tohatoha
I roto i ngā mahi katoa
Kia eke pānuku kia eke tangaroa
(Tuturu whakamaua kia tina) tīna
(Haumi e hui e) Taiki e

Let peace transcend upon us all

Let us all cherish one another

Let us be calm

Awaken the mind

To learn, to create, to share

Within everything we do

To inspire and manifest success

Stand strong and true

Join and bind together, let it be done

Digital Powhiri - Te Puna Wairua reflection

Digital-powhiri-te-puna-wairua.

"All of you are members of the House of Representatives. 

The water of the ocean, the water of the night, 

let us all turn to the welcoming invitation, 

a new alternative to the natural world. 

I drink water pure water, 

the fountain of gratitude for burial, 

the fountain that flows to you from our Soul Spirit. 

Here's the new start, a new link, keep your hoe, 

the education goes on for all of us. 

We're clean, we're gonna! Latest day! 

Here is our flight away, running, running, and running.  

Be sure you are a martyr Whaea Heather. 

Here we are, of course, thank you, and thank you, the Holy Spirit. 

If not, Whaea does not have the Cybersmart vehicle moving forward. 

There are no words that express the feelings of the heart, 

the love of the Spirit Spirit, and therefore, 

O Whaea, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

Pushing the boundaries...

With round 2 of "Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu" it saw a new connection between TPS Rm 5 and Riverdale in Gisbourne - two maori immersion classes.  With a new beginning the two teachers insisted on holding a Powhiri but how with 470km between them...a virtual solution was found!

Culturally-responsive-leadership / Building-culturally-responsive-practice

Excert from Education Hub - Know your students as individuals, the cultures with which they identify and what this means for them. 

Planning interactions and behaviours without taking into account students’ social and cultural backgrounds is detrimental to student progress. However, in thinking about and preparing work for their students, teachers often draw on the identity they have constructed for their students based on their own personal beliefs and experiences about different cultural identities. Instead, get to know your students as individuals through conversation and classroom activities which enable students share their cultures and perspectives. Pasifika students want teachers who know their culture and know about them as people. They want to read, learn, and write about their own culture. They want their teachers to care about them. Research shows that more than two thirds of teachers make a point of finding out which Pasifika culture their students and families identify with (Bonne & Spiller, 2017). This is important as the label Pasifika, rather than Tongan, Samoan, Niuean, Fijian, Tokelauan or Cook Islander, may limit identity formation and disguise important differences. It also is important that teachers affirm their students’ diverse personal identities. This does not occur through the use of curriculum units or classroom celebrations that focus on different cultures, which tend to reinforce an assumed and generalised identity for Pasifika students. Instead, teachers need to recognise that students have the right to construct their own identities. These unique, personal and multi-faceted identities can be better affirmed through sensitive listening and understanding. Knowing your students’ identities refers to knowing who they are as people rather than simply which groups they belong to. Aside from an ethnic identity, Pasifika students develop multiple identities in regard to diverse contexts, including home, school, church, sports groups, music groups, part-time employment, and socialising with friends. Often these different contexts are quite separately associated with different identities: a student might be a New Zealand citizen, Samoan and German, Christian, female and an All Blacks supporter, but none of these identities is the student’s only identity. In order to present a particular identity, students may choose to conceal cultural behaviours, including the use of their own language, in the classroom. However, valuing students’ cultures and reflecting them in the curriculum and school culture will enable students to engage openly in cultural behaviours and understandings. What it looks like Finding out about and responding to the identities of your students means learning about the specific cultural practices and languages that influence students outside of school. Cultural responsiveness does not mean just learning about others. Developing an awareness of your own cultural identity is an important tool for developing cultural understandings. This means critically reflecting on and coming to understand how identity, language and culture influence your own life and your own identity. In so doing, you can develop an appreciation of complexity rather than reinforce stereotypical and essentialist understandings of cultural differences that may leave some students feeling they are not understood or accepted. Students also want to know about their teachers, and their lives outside school. • Share information about your own cultural identity and personal story. Find opportunities for self-disclosure, which encourages students to reciprocate. When you share a personal story, students believe they can reveal more about themselves by sharing their personal stories. You can also, for example, share stories about times you have made mistakes to help students feel more comfortable about making mistakes themselves. All of this supports the development of strong relationships. • Acknowledge students’ choice in the ways in which they identify themselves and are identified. Avoid inappropriate assumptions and ensure that, when you attempt to validate or affirm Pasifika identities, cultures and knowledge, this is not based on your own views of a Pasifika identity but on those of the student. To explore more research guides, visit www.theeducationhub.org.nz 6 © The Education Hub CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGIES / OVERVIEW Four strategies to effectively support Pasifika students • Set up activities that involve students in meaningful exchanges to enable the class to learn about each other. Ask students to identify similar or relevant practices in their own and others’ culture. For example, when learning French vocabulary for mealtimes, ask students to describe a typical meal in their culture/family, or, when learning about historic graves, ask how death and the dead are treated in different cultural groups. • Encourage and support students to maintain their own cultural identity. Beware of putting Pasifika students and their cultures on show, or developing a ‘tourist’ approach to diversity, in which students experience particular cultures in the same way as a tourist might, tasting foods, observing songs, music and dances, and learning a few words of the language or facts about a country. This does not help students feel understood or develop a sense of identity, and may lead to students being unwilling to identify as Pasifika in order to distance themselves from the identities promoted. • Seek professional development not from workshops or books but by participating in your local community. You might consider participating an event with your local Samoan community, for example, or attending a Tongan church service. Understanding and using the cultural knowledge and experiences of students is a vital and integral part of planning curriculum and pedagogy. Once you know your students better, you can construct relevant teaching content to capture their interest and build on their prior knowledge by developing learning situations based on what is important to students, and ensuring that texts used by students make links with students’ interests and prior knowledge. An easy way to do this is to use the free reading texts provided by the Ministry of Education about different cultural groups that incorporate most Pasifika languages and cultures.