Teaching as Inquiry and Maori Achievment
A suggested teaching as inquiry cycle
At the heart of these curriculum guidelines is an emphasis on the importance of meeting the diverse learning needs of all students of te reo Māori. Page 35 of The New Zealand Curriculumdescribes teaching as a process of inquiry. In this ongoing, cyclical process, teachers constantly ask themselves where their students are in their learning, how they can help them progress, and how their teaching impacts on the students’ learning. The diagram below adapts the New Zealand Curriculum’s teaching as inquiry cycle for teachers of te reo Māori.
The diagram can be summed up like this:
What should I teach next, how should I teach it, and what do I base those decisions on?
The questions below relate to the headings in the diagram and are based on the questions in The New Zealand Curriculum. They are examples of the kinds of questions that teachers may ask themselves as they move around the cycle in their teaching.
Teaching inquiry: Pedagogy choices
Ask:
- How can I teach my next te reo Māori lesson most effectively?
- What language learning tasks and approaches are most likely to help my students progress?
Learning inquiry: Outcomes for students
Ask:
- What happened as a result of the teaching?
- What are the implications for future teaching?
Focusing inquiry: Curriculum choices
Ask:
- What is important and worth spending time on, given where my students are at?
Is there something I need to change about how I teach this?
Ask:
- How can I teach more effectively?
- How can I maintain a communicative approach?
- How can I incorporate tikanga into my teaching?
- How can I involve whānau in my teaching?
What are the next steps for my students’ learning?
Ask:
- What language needs to be reinforced or introduced next?
- What different contexts might my students need to use this language in?
Video of Teaching as Inquiry
School stories
Source: http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/School-stories
These success stories from the New Zealand Curriculum Online website provide examples of ideas and approaches of teaching and learning te reo and tikanga Māori that have been used to help raise Māori student achievement. Each example includes a brief movie clip and some background information.
Developing whānau priorities at Te Kura o Hiruharama
Through the partnership of students, whānau, and staff at Te Kura o Hiruharama, key priorities have been identified and translated into school and classroom practice.
Introducing Taihape School (external link)
School leaders, teachers, students, and parents/whānau/iwi at Taihape Area School have partnered to undertake an extensive programme of change.
Exploring parallel documents at Merivale and Maungatapu Schools
Jan Tinetti from Merivale School and Sue Horne from Maungatapu School have been looking at using both The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aoteoroa in their schools.
Te reo Māori at Three Kings School
Learn about this school’s commitment to implementing programmes that include the teaching and learning of te reo and tikanga Māori. The te reo Māori lead teacher worked alongside the Team Solutions te reo Māori advisor exploring the curriculum document and beginning the journey towards planning a te reo Māori programme in the school.
St Joseph's School Onehunga - Te reo Māori curriculum change
At the beginning of 2008 St Joseph’s School began working through the process of developing their school wide te reo Māori programme.
Living the principle - Te reo me ōna tikanga at Rotorua Boys' High
Rotorua Boys’ High School illustrates how embedding te reo me ōna tikanga Māori throughout the school provides a framework for successful teaching and learning. The teaching of te reo Māori is inseparable from tikanga, and other programmes being offered by the school are Māori centered.
Opportunities for Māori student success at Chisnallwood School
The Chisnallwood Intermediate staff and community decided one of their key goals would be to ensure the school and its programmes were providing best opportunities for Māori students to succeed.
Learning stories
The seven learning stories illustrate parts of the learning journeys of seven teachers. Each teacher grappled with the concepts of collaborative inquiry, cultural responsiveness, and pedagogical content knowledge and with how they could better enable their Māori and Pasifika students to achieve success.
Story 1: Improving Pasifika students' conceptual understandings of government
What impact do language fluency strategies, such as concept circles, have on Pasifika students' conceptual understanding of systems of government?
Story 2: Tama ‘A Le ‘Ele‘ele, Sa‘ili Mālō: Enhancing Samoan students’ comprehension of written texts
What impact would the use of high-level questions in the Samoan language have on students' understanding of texts written in English?
Story 3: Exploring culturally responsive pedagogies in science
Does teaching science using the Māori metaphor of ako as a teaching pedagogy help year 8 students understand scientific concepts?
Story 4: Using explicit instructional strategies to teach narrative writing
Will incorporating explicit instructional strategies when teaching narrative writing have a positive impact on students' writing?
Story 5: Constructing knowledge through mathematical discourse
Will introducing problem-based tasks improve the mathematics achievement of lower-performing students?
Story 6: Using family stories in learning about cultural identity and cultural transmission
How can I use Māori and Pasifika students' past experiences, knowledge, and culture to enhance their achievement and learning?
Kōrero 7: Te Whakapai ake i te Whai Wāhi me ngā Paetae mā te Aromatawai Whakawhanake
Mā te toha i ngā whāinga ako me te hanga tahi i ngā paearu angitu ka piki ake i taku akomanga te whai wāhi me ngā whāinga paetae o te tikanga ā-iwi?
Story 7: Improving participation and achievement through formative assessment
Will sharing learning intentions and co-constructing success criteria raise participation and achievement levels in tikanga ā-iwi in my class?
