Week 32 - Changes in Practice

Well…. Where do I start?....

Way back in March I was caught at a weak moment by our AP and agreed to do the Mind Lab programme that six of our staff were doing at the time.  I’m the school librarian.  Sure, I’m an educator but I’m not a teacher, so I was filled with trepidation - would I be able to keep  up?  Would it be relevant? Would the lack of teaching background be too big an obstacle to get round?  Would I even have a clue what was being discussed?  How would I cope with academic study after almost three decades away? Would I be able to manage work, hubby and kids, Board of Trustee commitments, my personal boat-floaters and study on top of that?  

The first class came, and with it words like epistemology, axiology and subjectification.  I left that night shaking my head, with a very heavy heart, vowing to send the course withdrawal email the next day. My saving graces were Lynley, lecturer and friend, and my two comrades-in-arms who, despite being experienced and well-respected teachers, were also feeling a bit like “what the heck?”  We agreed that we would give it at least another week, would work together, would never leave a sister behind, and would be happy with 51% all the way!  So, I found myself back there the following week, and then the next, and the next.  

It was the cool techy stuff that kept me there initially - making a stop motion movie with errant M&M’s being run over by dinosaurs, and playing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” on a keyboard made out of a deconstructed fruit salad! And then, suddenly, after really getting into my first Leadership assignment, it became about the other stuff - the theories, the learning, the collaboration with my colleagues, and most especially, about the possibilities for the future.  Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) describe professional growth as “an odyssey whose purpose is not knowledge in an abstract sense, but knowledge of a very personal and purposeful nature” (p.14).  I was definitely going through some major professional (and personal) growth. I wanted to put all I was learning into practice in ways that the other participants were within their classrooms.  As a school librarian I certainly used my learning as much as I possibly could - getting creative with digital tools, ensuring depth in my relationships with the children (getting to know the children has always felt right, but now I have a better understanding of why), rethinking my role within the school (yes, I am a leader!), and looking at things from a student centred perspective.   

I’m not familiar with the Practicing Teacher Criteria, but of course, I can relate it to my practice as a librarian/educator. When looking at the e-learning PTC’s it is clear that there are a number of key themes that underpin most, if not all of the criteria.  I have chosen to concentrate on relationships and collaboration.    

We all know that strong relationships are integral to learning success. In terms of e-learning, using social media is pretty much a no-brainer these days as part of a repertoire in forming and maintaining relationships.  In the past this has rarely been, for me, on a professional level.  Thanks to my learning through Mind Lab, I am currently looking at better ways to form relationships with our community, and in particular with parents and caregivers, to support them as they support their children’s learning.  I want to invite them in, make them feel welcome, at home and able to access me as the librarian, as well as the myriad of useful resources out there. I want to get to know them, and for them to know me.  Without inviting them all to my place for a cuppa, social media is clearly the way to do this en masse, so look out Facebook - here comes Mrs O’Library!  What I would love to do is something similar to connect and communicate with the children digitally.  I do have a library blog but it doesn’t seem to get out there to many of the children, and it feels as though it lacks the ability to really create connections and relationships. If only there was something with the immediacy and social nature of Facebook that was appropriate for the children at our school...  This is a work in progress.  

There is so much that I have enjoyed about my Mind Lab journey, but one thing that really stands out is the collaboration that has been so integral to the course.  Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) state “Reflective practice is a challenging, demanding, and often trying process that is most successful as a collaborative effort,”  and that’s what Mind Lab was all about for me..  I had to critically analyse  and reflect on my practice, collaborate with others and ‘put myself out there’ in online communities, all well outside my comfort zone. But, as the old saying goes, that’s where the magic happens!  Aside from becoming a learner again, collaborating with my colleagues has been the most enjoyable part of the last 32 weeks.  There have been highs and lows (literature review!) but we have drawn on each other’s strengths, pooled our resources, shared ideas and stories, and developed great friendships along the way. Imagine that in our children’s classrooms!

My dream PD?  That’s easy!  Next year, I am embarking on my training to become a teacher.  I feel that I will have one heck of a head start, thanks to my eye-opening, mind- altering, life-changing, tear/cheer-inducing journey with the Mind Lab.  “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…” (Shakespeare, Henry V, 1599).

Image from www.lovethispic.com 

References

Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from

http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 23rd Octover, 2016 from

http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf

Shakespeare, William. 1599. Henry V.  Retrieved from

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/henry-v-act-iii-scene-i-once-more-unto-breach-dear-friends  

Week 31 Interdisciplinary Connections

At the beginning of Week 31, my understanding of the area of interdisciplinary connections was not quite in focus.  Is it all about the relationships we develop throughout our practice or, as Barton and Smith contend, addressing content from several subjects simultaneously?  As the week has progressed, with time and further reading, it is now crystal clear that it actually means both of these things.

As a wannabe teacher (I start my training next year), I can see that an interdisciplinary approach in the classroom certainly provides the potential for learning to be more authentic, to reflect real life, to be more individualised, and to give students more choice about their learning.  The curriculum areas are, in reality, all interconnected, and if we want to ensure that our children gain the skills they need for the future, their learning needs to be based around real life and relevant problem solving.

The same can be said for my practice within the school library - it takes a lot of interrelated connections to ensure that we have a library that is meeting the needs of its stakeholders.  In the words of poet John Donne, “no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”.  Slam dunk, Mr Donne!

When I look at my own interdisciplinary connections map, I see that I interact with a wide range of people and organisations, and each of those relationships offers particular skills, resources and knowledge, along with differing styles of communication, thinking, problem solving and collaboration.  

I’m in an interesting place in my library at present. Buildingworks have put pressure on our school site and the library has had to move, temporarily, to make way for a couple of classes to use it as a classroom.  Of course, my initial reaction was one of horror - how will the children access books? More importantly, how will they access the books that they want to read, that speak to their hearts and minds? How do I pack up 8,500 books into boxes whilst maintaining a high quality of service? How will this affect the strong relationships I have built through regular contact with the children?  Now, a couple of months down the track, in a classroom that’s aching for renovation, surrounded by boxes of books and the varied detritus of my old premises, my mind is racing with the thought of what I can do this term, freed from the routine of class visits.   I know I need to deal with new books and old, put together a strategic plan, and further develop resources for teaching our children information literacy skills.  But I must also maintain the delivery of reading material to support the curriculum and to engage the children.

There is a lot of thought, work, research and heart that goes into ensuring that the kids are excited about reading, and I don’t want to lose the momentum that has been so hard-earned.  I may be out of my space for up to a year, and my current abode is for only one term.  Then, who knows where our library will be?  So, my near future goal is to ensure that whilst our library services are limited, the children are still getting just what they need to feed their love of books, and the teachers have access to books that support the children’s learning.  As Lyn Barrett (2010) has pointed out, numerous studies have shown the positive correlation between both an effective school library and student achievement, and also between reading enjoyment and raised student achievement.  It’s important not to drop the ball.

To do this, I will need to draw on a number of my interdisciplinary connections, all of which have a vested interest in finding solutions.  

• Firstly, the teachers at school, both to keep me informed of their curriculum and student needs and also to ensure that they continue to grow a love of reading in their children, my mission in life!  
• National Library offer a great service in supporting school librarians, and they have many resources, ideas and advice for just this sort of situation.  
• I will also call upon my Community of Practice, and the online community in offering their ideas, experiences, support and resources.  
• The District Library will be able to fill any gaps that I can’t and I will continue to push their BorrowBox service which offers children free audio and ebooks on loan.  
• I will also call upon some of my personal connections to build three ‘tiny libraries’ to enable the children to share and exchange books whenever they want to.
• Lastly, I will need the help of the children, who truly love their library, most particularly my student librarians and library leaders, to help me to get the books out into classrooms, moving them around, and being active promoters of the library, despite its temporary ethereality.  

This exercise has been of great value.  When you are neither a teacher nor a teacher aide, nor work in the school administration, working in the library can sometimes feel quite isolating. But one look at my interdisciplinary connections map, and I see that there are connections galore.  The benefits of capitalising on these connections are tremendous - relationships strengthened, an increased sense of a community contributing to a worthy goal, strong collaboration and cooperation drawing upon the varying skills of many, joint problem solving and therefore a shared vision.

I’m so glad that no man is an island!

References

Barrett, Lynn. (2010): Effective school libraries: evidence of impact on student achievement School Librarian 58,3 (2010), pp.136-13.  Retrieved from http://www.stratfordcollege.ie/content/files/sla-effective-school-libraries.pdf

Barton, K. C., & Smith, L. A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54-63.1.  Retrieved from https://app.themindlab.com/media/32978/view

Donne, John. (1624).  No Man is an Island.  Retrieved from

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/no-man-is-an-island/

Images retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Week 30 - Professional Online Social Networks

OK, here’s the thing… I have a slightly addictive personality and when something as appealing as social media comes along, I’m all in.  I love the funnies, I love the learning, I relish the mind-blowingness of it all, I’m appalled at people’s spelling and grammar, and get a lump in my throat at beautiful stories of courage and love.  I adore sitting head to head with my teenage daughter scrolling through, laughing at all the comings and goings of family and friends, and I delight in the excitement of finding a new idea or resource that will engage the kids at school.  I love the feeling that the world is not that huge after all, and that 24/7 there are people out there, that I may have never met, who can teach me, inspire me, connect, affirm and encourage.  Of course, there’s a downside to this addiction to my phone, laptop and ipad, and that is that I have become, in the last few years, eminently distractible!  This is not good, particularly when trying to write a blog post about social media and having to check it ALL out - purely for the purposes of my learning, of course!

We are a pretty connected school. As Kathy Cassidy says in the video Using Social Media in the Classroom, today’s children have used digital tools at home all their lives, so it doesn’t make sense to not let our digital natives use them at school, allowing for collaboration, connection and reflection.  

Earlier this year, our principal, created a Facebook page, on which we share events that are going on at school, weekly newsletters, and celebrations of achievements.  It’s interesting to note that in only a few months, with very little promotion, it already has almost 600 followers.  If only our school blogs could garner such an audience so quickly.  The senior management team debated the establishment of the page for some time, but it does appear to be a very effective way of connecting with parents, strengthening the home-school partnership.

I have begun to create a Facebook page for my school library.  My intention is to share with parents the myriad of wonderful ideas and resources that are out there to support them as they support their children to read.  This is to encourage a strong reading culture both within our school and at home, which really is my reason for being.  I’ve felt stifled in the past when it comes to communicating with parents about things like the summer reading slide.  Facebook gives me the platform I need.  

In order to connect with the children, I have a blog.  I use it to promote new books and inform the kids about competitions, events, and interesting things that relate to reading.  The children comment, and send book reviews, and sometimes teachers    ask their students to visit the library blog as part of their homework.  Even so, there are still children who are surprised when I talk about my blog, which of course, tells me there’s more I could do to promote the library blog.  I do love writing it, but without an audience, and without that connection, it is pointless.

In terms of my own professional learning, social media provides a great source of ideas and resources for use in my practice.  I’m part of a New Zealand librarians’ listserv which is a fantastic place to learn, share, encourage and find enlightenment, whether it be someone wanting a copy of a missing page, book recommendations for kids or a class with particular needs, or a template for a strategic plan for the library. No request is met with silence - in fact, sometimes it all gets a bit much and I need to switch off the ‘noise’.

Or, of course there is Pinterest, which for me, for a while, was the crack cocaine of the internet!  Full to bursting with creativity and amazingness!  (Yes, I know that I am making up words - it's a brave new world!) And I’ve dabbled with Twitter, but to be honest, I’m very much a lurker here.  What I find so interesting about Twitter is that it forces the mind to concentrate the message to a mere 140 characters, just like texts of old. We want instantly digestible, bite sized bits.  Less is more! Or is it more is more?  More access to the world, more connections, more personalised learning, more sharing.  If only there was more time...

And the best thing about social media is that I CAN be a connected, lifelong learner, surrounded by what Kim Sivick in the video Connected Educators, calls passionate educators, even from the comfort of my sofa, learning in my own time, at my own pace, about the things that I want to learn about.  As Melhuish (2013) noted, effective adult learning hinges on how much learners have agency over their own learning.  With social media, I can take control.

References

Connected Educators.  (2013). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8

Images retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/  

Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning.  Retrieved from

http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf   

The Conversation Prism (2013).  Retrieved from https://conversationprism.com/

Using Social Media in the Classroom. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

Week 30 - Professional Online Social Networks

OK, here’s the thing… I have a slightly addictive personality and when something as appealing as social media comes along, I’m all in.  I love the funnies, I love the learning, I relish the mind-blowingness of it all, I’m appalled at people’s spelling and grammar, and get a lump in my throat at beautiful stories of courage and love.  I adore sitting head to head with my teenage daughter scrolling through, laughing at all the comings and goings of family and friends, and I delight in the excitement of finding a new idea or resource that will engage the kids at school.  I love the feeling that the world is not that huge after all, and that 24/7 there are people out there, that I may have never met, who can teach me, inspire me, connect, affirm and encourage.  Of course, there’s a downside to this addiction to my phone, laptop and ipad, and that is that I have become, in the last few years, eminently distractible!  This is not good, particularly when trying to write a blog post about social media and having to check it ALL out - purely for the purposes of my learning, of course!

We are a pretty connected school. As Kathy Cassidy says in the video Using Social Media in the Classroom, today’s children have used digital tools at home all their lives, so it doesn’t make sense to not let our digital natives use them at school, allowing for collaboration, connection and reflection.  

Earlier this year, our principal, created a Facebook page, on which we share events that are going on at school, weekly newsletters, and celebrations of achievements.  It’s interesting to note that in only a few months, with very little promotion, it already has almost 600 followers.  If only our school blogs could garner such an audience so quickly.  The senior management team debated the establishment of the page for some time, but it does appear to be a very effective way of connecting with parents, strengthening the home-school partnership.

I have begun to create a Facebook page for my school library.  My intention is to share with parents the myriad of wonderful ideas and resources that are out there to support them as they support their children to read.  This is to encourage a strong reading culture both within our school and at home, which really is my reason for being.  I’ve felt stifled in the past when it comes to communicating with parents about things like the summer reading slide.  Facebook gives me the platform I need.  

In order to connect with the children, I have a blog.  I use it to promote new books and inform the kids about competitions, events, and interesting things that relate to reading.  The children comment, and send book reviews, and sometimes teachers    ask their students to visit the library blog as part of their homework.  Even so, there are still children who are surprised when I talk about my blog, which of course, tells me there’s more I could do to promote the library blog.  I do love writing it, but without an audience, and without that connection, it is pointless.

In terms of my own professional learning, social media provides a great source of ideas and resources for use in my practice.  I’m part of a New Zealand librarians’ listserv which is a fantastic place to learn, share, encourage and find enlightenment, whether it be someone wanting a copy of a missing page, book recommendations for kids or a class with particular needs, or a template for a strategic plan for the library. No request is met with silence - in fact, sometimes it all gets a bit much and I need to switch off the ‘noise’.

Or, of course there is Pinterest, which for me, for a while, was the crack cocaine of the internet!  Full to bursting with creativity and amazingness!  (Yes, I know that I am making up words - it's a brave new world!) And I’ve dabbled with Twitter, but to be honest, I’m very much a lurker here.  What I find so interesting about Twitter is that it forces the mind to concentrate the message to a mere 140 characters, just like texts of old. We want instantly digestible, bite sized bits.  Less is more! Or is it more is more?  More access to the world, more connections, more personalised learning, more sharing.  If only there was more time...

And the best thing about social media is that I CAN be a connected, lifelong learner, surrounded by what Kim Sivick in the video Connected Educators, calls passionate educators, even from the comfort of my sofa, learning in my own time, at my own pace, about the things that I want to learn about.  As Melhuish (2013) noted, effective adult learning hinges on how much learners have agency over their own learning.  With social media, I can take control.

References

Connected Educators.  (2013). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8

Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning.  Retrieved from

http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf   

The Conversation Prism (2013).  Retrieved from https://conversationprism.com/

Using Social Media in the Classroom. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

Week 29 - Influence of Law and Ethics

When I think back to my school days, my memories inevitably take me to some of the teachers I had - favourites - Mr Ings, who taught me to look more deeply than the surface, and about the angst of Vincent Van Gogh, and Mr May who could make his ukelele speak (we’d do anything that that ukelele asked of us!) and Mr Hessell who really taught us how to write, not what to write - and not so favourites - Mrs Thingummy who managed to make me hate school for a time, or Miss Whatsername who told me I’d never be any good at English, and to stop making up words like ‘feisty’.  They all helped to shape who I am today.  I may not remember what we did in those classes, but I can sure remember how those teachers made me feel.  Teachers can have an enormous impact on the lives of their students so we’ve got to get it right.  I didn’t do English at university as I’d intended, thanks to Miss Whatsername, who clearly didn’t like me, and who constantly berated me for copying out of books (I didn’t - she just didn’t believe that I could write like that on my own) or making up words (with the benefit of hindsight and adulthood, perhaps my vocab was a little richer than hers!).  

Now, looking back I know that Miss Whatsername didn’t act ethically in the classroom.  As outlined in the Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers, she didn’t honour my rights; she abused her power; she didn’t do good and minimise harm, and she wasn’t truthful with me or with herself.  

Ethics can be defined as “learned behaviours shaped by a range of societal influences such as school, work, community, family, church, the arts, culture and sports. Our individual interpretation of ethics helps shape our ideas about justice, morality and virtue.”  (Mindlab, 2016).

Bullying is a perennial problem for schools, and with the rise in social media use and kids’ ubiquitous online presence, the problem of cyberbullying requires our teachers to deal with this issue often and with a clear strategy of what ought to be done. It’s vital that we, as parents and teachers, teach our children what acceptable internet practice looks like.

As the mother of tween and teen daughters, I have seen the damage that aggressive (OK, downright mean) facebook posts can do, even when it's 9.00pm and the teenager is at home lying in bed about to go to sleep.  (Yep, there are reasons for the the ‘no devices in bed’ rule!) There is no safe zone now. And it brings up lots of ethical dilemmas.  As a mother, do I go against my daughter’s wishes and speak to the school?  Is that just to placate my own sense of anger and powerlessness?  What damage would this do to my relationship with my daughter?  What digital and social media limitations do I place on my daughter, even though she was not the protagonist?  Do I continue to smile at the parents of the bully, or do I let them know that their little sweetie is anything but? What do I want from the teachers and counsellors at school?  Or indeed from school management?

I’m not a teacher (yet!) so have not dealt with this issue in that capacity.  But I do know that there are several things that would help.  According to a NZ Herald article (2014), one in four teachers say students have come to them about cyber-bullying but two-thirds say they don't have the training to deal with it. Teachers need to feel safe in dealing with cyberbullying and part of that safety is knowing where they stand in terms of the law, the Code of Ethics, and their own school procedures and policies.  Professional Development in this area would be useful.  So would activities like Circle Time, and embedding the lessons of good digital citizenship.    

Once again, as with each of these areas of practice that we are looking at, it all comes back to relationships with our children, their whanau and the community, and being values driven.  I absolutely love the tactic used by Special Education teacher,  Chris Ulmer who spends ten minutes each day individually complimenting his students, telling them how terrific they are and building them up.  He has found that they are more likely to participate in activities, are more confident, help each other, actively praise one another, and celebrate each other's’ accomplishments as if they were their own.  It is creating a culture of kindness at an early age which may just make a difference in the future.  Just imagine!

OK so maybe I'm a little bit Pollyanna, but the Code of Ethics hints at the very same thing when talking of teachers’ obligations to society, when it says that teachers will strive to teach and model those positive values which are widely accepted in society and encourage learners to apply them and critically appreciate their significance.

References

Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers,  retrieved from

https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/about-code-of-ethics

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/dec/02/cyberbullying-strategies-schools-bullying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZXNqraH2Og

http://www.picturequotes.com/let-kindness-be-your-superpower-today-quote-86215

Mind Lab Class Notes, Week 29. Retrieved from

https://app.themindlab.com/course/release/664-week-29-practice-influence-of-law-and-ethics

Teachers Not Trained to Deal with Cyber-bullying Complaints - Survey. New Zealand Herald (2014).  Retrieved from

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11287621

Week 28:  Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness

Russell Bishop in his EDTalk about culturally responsive pedagogy talks not about child centred education, but relationship centred education, where the relationship is central to the educational performance of the student.  Truly and honestly caring for our children, and caring that they learn is the key.

The children at our school come from at least 21 different countries, different cultures, different languages, different lenses to the world.  Our melting pot is made up of children who  are European (45%), Maori (21%), Asian, mostly Filipino and Indian (22%), Pasifika (9%), and other ethnicities (3%).  Our school takes much pride in celebrating our cultural diversity, and in particular our Maori heritage, culture and language.

Ferguson (2010) explains how John Te Rangianiwaniwa Rangihau, a Maori scholar spoke of the importance of Te Reo as being the essence of the culture. ‘Ko te reo te poutāwha e iri ai ngā tāonga katoa ā kui mā ā koro mā’ or ‘The language is the storehouse that holds all the treasures of our ancestors’ (p. 67).

I have worked at my school for almost nine years ago, and I’m proud to say that during that time a lot of effort has gone into strengthening the focus on our Maori learners, ensuring that they have access to many opportunities to gain success.  

A quarter of our students, 110 in all, are members of the kapa haka group and practices are seen as of such importance that they occur during school time every Thursday afternoon.  The children perform at school masses, assemblies, citizenship ceremonies and at the annual Ahurei concert, and they are currently over the moon with pride about their beautiful new uniforms.

We have a very strong Whanau Roopu, who have been a tremendous support to our school leaders, staff, students and the whole community.  They have been instrumental in providing opportunities for Professional Development for staff and supporting our lead teacher in Maori, along with our kaumatua, Rangi, and Matua Koro. They have also assisted in the celebrations of Matariki and Maori Language Week.  Our Maori community have worked hard to strengthen the presence of Maori language and culture in the school, and we are blessed to have them.

We celebrate the achievement of our Maori learners, through various means such as the weekly Principal’s Award, culminating in awards for Maori Boy and Maori Girl of the Year.  Many aspire to this throughout the year.

Partnerships between whanau and school are made stronger through a variety of initiatives such as the Reading Together programme, the homework club, and of course, through school events, such as our annual cultural dinner.

All of these activities are wonderful and add to the richness of our school.  However, it is the genuine relationships that occur between students, teachers and whanau that make the most impact on our Maori learners.  It is the reciprocity of learning, where both students and teachers have something to offer each other, and feel valued by each other.  It is the chance to see through the lens of our Maori children that matters. I believe that our Special Character ensures that these things are possible.  Our school’s values and culture mean that there is a genuine caring for each other.  And our church allows us access to another part of these children’s lives, along with the opportunity to build relationships with their whanau.

As a librarian, I ensure that signage is in Te Reo, that there are Maori books galore, and that there are cultural references to ensure that the children feel ‘at home’. My student librarians are a treasure to me, my taonga, and my relationship with these children is one of respect, love, and enjoyment.  I love nothing more than to see them flourish in their roles, and most especially foster those Tuakana-teina relationships between themselves and the children they help in the library.

So, when you boil it all down, what is really important are these things:

• Knowing our kids
• Knowing their whanau
• Understanding and celebrating their culture
• Truly making an effort, and
• Caring, caring, caring.

References

Bishop. R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2009).Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5),734–742.

Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

ERO Report 2015 Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/st-marys-catholic-school-rotorua-02-03-2015/

Ferguson, S. L. (2010). Mai i te Whenua ki te Rangi-Transferring Māori pedagogical practices into cyberspace. Sites: a journal of social anthropology and cultural studies, 7(1), 65-77.