What's the challenge? What's my challenge?

Every document that is available and related to Pasifika and Maori learning is focused on Teacher Practice. This is the heart of the matter. Until teachers change their attitudes and practice student learning will stagnate. My focus is on teacher practice looking at Cultural Responsiveness.  Do teachers know their students' cultures? Where they were born? Language spoken at home? Who they live with?  What their students’ home responsibilities are? Is there evidence of each child’s culture in the classrooms? Beyond that - do teachers know their students’ stories? And what to do with that gold? Without this crucial information and a change in attitudes and practice, our tamariki will struggle to make connections, stay connected and be confident, all of which are outcomes of student learning. 

Bishop et al (2014) expresses that new cultures or ethnicities require teachers to engage quickly and positively with learners from any culture and background so that their learners can progress, regardless of ability or ethnicity.  Bishop (2011) also stresses the importance of having “agentic teachers who reject deficit theorising…. And they care for Māori students as Maori - they have high expectations for Maori”, or for any other student, from anywhere in the world, who lands in their classrooms. Being culturally responsive, a term I feel is often thrown around in conversations but the heart of it all being missed. Tali, age 12  in a classroom discussion of Culturally Responsive Practice “Miss, it’s how good the culture is in the learning” (personal communication, February 11, 2021). Take a moment to reflect on your own classroom and teaching practice, your own environment, and think about how the culture in the learning is being brought to life? How evident is it ... or not?

He waka eke noa. We are all in this together. As teachers, we are here for many reasons. Raising student achievement. In order to raise student achievement - our students need to be learning. Simple, huh. I pose this question to you, my readers - Who is responsible for student learning? I’ll let that sit with you for a bit.  Student achievement and learning requires us, as teachers, to engage and activate students’ frame of reference, life experiences and cultural values as foundations for building meaningful learning. 

In a recent talanoa with our Leadership team, there was rich dialogue about what our strategic goals are. We really want to influence and make an impact in student learning, therefore we must inquire into our own teaching practice. As explained in 'Teaching as Inquiry' (2004), professional inquiry is a process through which "teachers can identify key problems and issues that need to be addressed in order to help improve teaching and learning in their classrooms and schools".  This inquiry allows "teachers to make sense of their experiences in their classroom, learn from those experiences, and draw upon the perspectives of colleagues to enhance their teaching and their students' learning." 

This then, for my AS CoL role, in a nutshell is my challenge for student learning - how can I support teachers to make the relevant changes in their practice. A practice that promotes being culturally responsive to student learning and engagement, empowering students to be connected, confident life long learners. 

Bishop, Russell. (2011, EDTalks). https://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Science/Pedagogy/Culturally-responsive 

Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., & Teddy, L. (2014). Facing the Big Questions in Teaching: Purpose, Power and Learning. Chapter 16. 

Allen, B., Blythe, T., Rubin, C., Seidel, S., Simon, K., Weinbaum, A. (2004). Teaching as Inquiry: Asking hard questions to improve practice and student achievement. 

The Education Hub. (2019). Culturally Responsive Pedagogies / Overview. What is culturally responsive teaching? https://theeducationhub.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/What-is-culturally-responsive-teaching.pdf