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Intensive Community Participation Project in Kaikohe

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Kelly Yakas

Whakawhanaungatanga – the key to the success of this early learning contract.

The Intensive Community Participation Project (ICCP) in Kaikohe applies Māori values and beliefs to support whānau and their tamariki transition into the education sector. Collaboration, connecting whānau and developing an early learning community have been vital to the success of this project.

Intensive Community Participation Project-engaging with child​

Te Kohekohe Drop in Centre

The project began in November 2012 with the opening of a drop-in centre, intended to provide a safe space for whānau and their children to play, connect with other families and learn about the importance and value of early learning. It was important to get it right for every parent, aunty, uncle, grandparent and child that came through the door. Needless to say it was about establishing meaningful relationships. This has taken time but has been the most valuable part of the project.

Since opening, we have had 278 children less than five years old attend the drop in centre. These children had not previously participated in early childhood education (ECE) but this did not mean that whānau had not considered ECE options. There are seven licensed ECE services, two Kōhanga Reo, two Playgroups, one Puna Reo and four home-based childcare services operating in Kaikohe alone. What was interesting, but not surprising, was that many whānau with children under the age of three wanted to have their tamariki close to them.

It’s important for us at the drop in centre to respect the needs of families, and provide a space that truly responds to those needs. Early learning conversations start with whānau. At the drop in centre, tamariki and whānau can participate freely in early learning activities with other children and families without having to enroll on certain days or certain times. We are open Monday to Friday from 10am – 2 pm. Participation is initiated by parents and whānau, and even though there is no obligation to participate, we have children who attend regularly, and have new whānau coming in every week.

Street Play Days

Street Play days were probably the most exciting initiative in the project. Over the past 18 months we have held 14 Street Play Days. Once a month, we load the van with our water trough, painting easels, play dough, musical instruments, books, clay, gym equipment, and barbeque, and set everything up in a different part of town every month.

Intensive Community Participation Project-Street Day

Intensive Community Participation Project-Street Day-2

Intensive Community Participation Project-Street Day-4

Collaboration

We have had support from local ECE services, home-based services, Plunket, Parents As First Teachers (PAFT), iwi providers, health providers, and many other local services that support families. Collaboration is vital in a community like Kaikohe. This has built capability, capacity, and ultimately, community. Monthly Community Action Group meetings initially contributed to the development of the action plan of ICPP initiatives, which meant initiatives were meaningful and responsive to identified needs.

Intensive Community Participation Project-Collaboration

The aims of the Kaikohe ICPP were to raise awareness of the value of ECE and increase participation in ECE. Throughout the project we have collected data that has allowed us to measure our outcomes. Based on that data we can report that we have almost doubled our target expectation. While that alone is an impressive outcome, we are even more proud of the relationships we have developed with parents, families, whānau, and every child that we have come to love.

Intensive Community Participation Project-Collaboration-2

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal (2007) explained that the purpose of education is to facilitate the flow and experience of mana in the individual and in his or her community. Our ICPP contract has engaged tamariki and their whānau in education by creating opportunities with whānau not for whānau.

'Ano me whare pungawerewere'

'It is like the house of the spider – linked by a web (of values)’

 

The ICPP team also keeps the community connected by a Facebook page Te Kohekohe Drop In. With 305 friends, this social media page informs about coming events and successes.

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Teachers’ bias against Māori pupils revealed in study

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Phoebe Davis

Teacher bias and racism

NZ Herald 12:51 PM Monday May 5, 2014
Teachers bias against Māori pupils…

“Teachers have expressed racist views of their students, including one who told a researcher that he watched a police reality TV show and, "the suspects will always be Maori".

The quote above is from Hana Turner's thesis Teacher Expectations, Ethnicity and the Achievement Gap, submitted for her Master of Education degree. She has been a teacher since 1998.

Something to ignore?

No surprise that it drew a backlash from the established order, which claimed that the study sample of just 15 mathematics teachers and 361 year 9 and year 10 students was far too small to draw any meaningful conclusions – and, contrary to the thesis findings, the article goes on to tell us this was “a small study group and the vast majority of the profession work hard to address prejudice”.

Because it’s only a minority of teachers saying this…we should not be alarmed, shocked or angry about it…just ignore it! Just let it go! All I can think of is how many of these teachers teach our Māori students? …Our mokopuna? …What does it mean for our Māori students in those classrooms?

The teachers within this small study group may be playing the blame game, it's everyone else's fault — the students, their parents, their home environment — on the low achievement rate of Māori in their classes.

Really? I would be very interested in a nationwide survey of teachers with a meaningful statistical sample. But, who has the will and wherewithal to conduct such a survey? And, if such a study were conducted…we might not like the results.

Admittedly, on first reading the headline my Ngāpuhi warrior gene surged up inside of me, once again! But I calmed down and thought …” this isn’t new”.

With the publication of the updated Ministry of Education strategy, Kā Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013-2017, the catchcry of Māori Achieving Success as Māori, and the term, Cultural Responsiveness leading thinking and initiatives in Aotearoa Education, one would imagine us a long way from comments like these. Maybe 10 years ago. But now?

Are the comments from these teachers, reported in Hana’s research, a slap in the face for the other teachers who work hard at being more culturally responsive? What about the highly respected in the secondary sector for shifting teacher practice in schools brought about by Te Kotahitanga and Te Kakano programmes? Has any of this really made a difference to the racism in some schools?

Here we are in May 2014 and the comments are still there. With Pasifika, Māori, and students with special education needs identified by the Ministry as being priority learners, one might have expected different attitudes and less vitriol from these teachers.

Is this what comes from accountability and emphasis on achievement data in schools? Teachers putting the blame elsewhere as to why Māori students in their class are failing?

We know from the evidence from: Te Kotahitanga Phase 1:

“This deficit theorising by teachers is the major impediment to Māori students' educational achievement for it results in teachers having low expectations of Māori students. This in turn creates a downward spiralling, self-fulfilling prophecy of Māori student achievement and failure” (R. Bishop, M. Berryman, S. Tiakiwai and C. Richardson, 2003).

We have the opportunity and tools to help biased teachers shift from fixity to become effective teachers

As facilitators, we all have the opportunity to work alongside teachers who are committed to working towards raising achievement for all students they teach. Once in a while you will work with a teacher that holds some of these negative assumptions. You will need to dig deep to work with that teacher. You will need to work to shift their understanding, their thinking in a culturally responsive way. You can support them to do this. You can support them to make a difference to the success of Māori students in their classes. You can support them to make the changes, to stop the blame game, to change their attitudes and take responsibility to educate our Māori students in a culturally responsive way. To shift their world of fixity to possibility. To support them to become effective teachers.

Research tells us that relationships and interactions between teachers and students in the classroom are key to effective teaching of Māori students.

So we must all be committed to shifting the thinking of those teachers to taking a non-deficit view of Māori students.

You can shift their thinking by….

  • challenging teachers’ assumptions through questioning
  • ask the teacher/s to qualify their statements, with evidence of their experiences or qualify research that informs their thinking
  • share/model with teachers what you do in a classroom that affirms the identity of Māori students, and
  • work alongside them to support their teaching of Māori students.

Call to action

We can make the difference for Māori students when working with all teachers.
A colleague from Te Arawa (Bay Of Plenty) who was also ready to go to war about this, said:

“These teachers are getting paid to give their best to Māori students and if this is all they can come up then they had better get out before the tsunami of whānau, hapu and iwi come pounding on their door!”

If only such a tidal wave of Māori outrage (like the thousands-strong ‘foreshore and seabed’ march to parliament) would happen!

I would welcome it with open arms – and ride that wave like a call to action – so that change would sweep right across the New Zealand education sector exposing attitudes of low expectation and negativity for what they truly are – the lazy way out.

Kua tawhiti ke to haerenga mai, kia kore e haere tonu…He nui rawa o mahi, kia kore e mahi tonu…
"You have come too far not to go further, you have done too much not to do more” – Sir James Henare

 

You might find these resources interesting:

  • Ka Hikitia blog series on NZC Online
  • Māori Future Makers
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More upgrade, less cost, less waste?

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Fionna Wright

Life Companion

Smartphone evolution is moving at a phenomenal pace.

Our demand for this new technology is also growing. Some statistics on the Internet show that the average lifespan of a mobile phone in the US is only 18 months. After all, emerging technologies are at our fingertips. We live in a world where technology is evolving rapidly and it seems something new and improved is released every few months.

Take the iPhone for example, after its initial release in 2007, this smartphone is already in its sixth generation of evolution. The latest smartphones have better camera quality, more storage and longer battery power. They have greater functionality to allow users to more easily consume and create content, as well as connect with other people in more accessible ways. The constant upgrading of technology seems to both meet and feed consumer demand for the ’next best thing’.

The latest iPhone, the iPhone 5s is “…not just what’s next. But what should be next” and Samsung recently released the Galaxy S4, marketed as a ‘Life Companion’ to “make your life simpler, richer and more fun”. So, not only are we buying smartphones that are more water and dust resistant than ever before, we are also purchasing ‘friendship’ and something that will make our lives better.

Wow! Who wouldn’t want that!

However, as soon as we’ve purchased the latest life changing mobile handset, something new pops its head around the corner that promises to make our lives even more fulfilling. As compelling as this allure for instant companionship and a better life is, upgrading a smartphone can be an expensive exercise. Both in terms of personal spending and the cost to our environment.

Used electronics is one of the fastest growing waste sources in the world.

Most of our discarded smartphones end up in landfill and not many actually get recycled. Those that do usually go to developing countries for recycling and many of these existing smartphones can be difficult to repair and recycle, leading to sometimes dangerous recycling practices. Nevertheless, bits and pieces from some of these phones are sold into the commodities market to be reused into something else. Otherwise, phones still deemed fit for use can be refurbished and sold back into a thriving secondary market. Both options are better than e-waste going into landfill. However, our growing consumption of mobile technology and the by-product that becomes e-waste, is now excessive. According to Gartner (2013) “Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totalled 455.6 million units in the third quarter of 2013”. That’s a lot of phones! And as a consequence, a lot of waste…

So, what if there was an affordable phone worth keeping? One that we could repair easily and upgrade with less cost and less waste?

A number of people and organisations are currently working on ideas for the next best smartphone, to address both the growing environmental issue of e-waste and the cost of upgrading entire mobile units. Many companies are also increasingly developing technologies with the principles of ‘Designing For Recycling’ (DFR) in mind.

Google recently launched Project Ara that aims to develop a free open hardware platform for creating highly module smartphones.  The project’s Module Developers kit gives developers around the world an opportunity to contribute ideas to the modular design. The intention is that the phone is basically a skeleton that a user can customise with modules based on personal requirements.  If one module needs replacing, simply replace or upgrade with another module without impacting on any of the other phone’s components.

Tablets

Google is said to be working collaboratively with Dutch designer Dave Hakkens on his Phonebloks idea which is similar in concept: 

 

Another player in the smartphone market, ZTE, is also prototyping a modular smartphone that allows users to easily upgrade their hardware.

So are we heading for a future where we replace and upgrade functions, not phones? Where we custom build our devices with lego-like pieces and save on cost and create less waste? Will our schools and students be able to create personalised functionality quickly, easily, and with less money, so that when learning requirements change we are able to match our devices to be fit for purpose?

It’s an exciting prospect. Let’s wait and see.

 

More information on Project Ara here:
http://time.com/10115/google-project-ara-modular-smartphone/#

References:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Samsung_GALAXY_S4_(White_frost).jpg

(2013). Average Life of US Mobile Phone is 18 Months – AppNewser. Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.mediabistro.com/appnewser/33775_b33775.

(2013). Apple – iPhone 5s. Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.apple.com/nz/iphone-5s/.

(2013). Samsung GALAXY S4 Smart Phone GT-I9505ZKANZC GT … Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.samsung.com/nz/consumer/mobile-phone/mobile-phone/smartphone/GT-I9505ZKANZC.

(2014). Vangel Shredding and RecyclingElectronic Waste … Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://vangelinc.com/recycling/the-state-of-escrap-recycling.

(2010). Mobile phone recycling – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_recycling.

Jessica Dolcourt (2014). Your smartphone's secret afterlife (Smartphones Unlocked … Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.cnet.com/news/your-smartphones-secret-afterlife-smartphones-unlocked/.

(2013). Gartner Says Smartphone Sales Accounted for 55 Percent … Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2623415.

Design for Recycling – Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Retrieved May 6, 2014, fromhttp://www.isri.org/about-isri/awards/design-for-recycling.

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5 different uses for podcasts and audiobooks for work, play, and school

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Rochelle Savage

Podcasts

When I was a teenager I generally couldn’t sleep until late, or what my parents defined as late. Unsurprisingly my parents didn’t agree with my suggestion that I could stay up and watch TV until I felt tired and also thought that reading, or more specifically the light being on, might keep me awake. Their suggestion? Listening to plays on the radio. This was a great option as I was immediately transported to a different world, and therefore stopped thinking about my to-do-list; now years later I’m revisiting this bedtime option with podcasts and audiobooks.

I’m always curious how teachers, adults and children use technology to fill a need. Below are five uses for podcasts and audiobooks that might be helpful and enjoyable for you or your students in your professional or personal life.

1. As a bedtime or classroom story:

Do you remember the joy of being read to? A friend of mine loves audiobooks and podcasts for this reason. ‘I hop into bed and get told a fantastic story by someone famous who is talking just to me – or so it feels like.’

Because I look at a screen all day I often end up not wanting to watch TV or a movie at night and sometimes even looking at a book can feel like more words to look at. On nights like these I listen to an audio book (Miranda Hart: Is it Just Me ; Ruby Wax, Sane New World: Taming the Mind) or a series of podcasts that I subscribe to via iTunes and Soundcloud  (This American Life ; Funny or die; Saturday Morning with Kim Hill – especially enjoyable now that Saturday morning sport has taken over my mornings with Kim). I also play podcasts for my children on a Sunday morning (Sparkle stories; Catch it by the tail) where we listen to them together. Video and audio podcasts can also be used in a classroom as another option to reading aloud or books. The idea is not for audio or video podcasts to replace reading aloud or for them to be ‘babysitters’ but as another way of presenting information and adding variety for the teacher and students.

2. As a fitness companion:

In order to exercise I need to be in a class with others and pay someone. My sister-in-law however often exercises by herself at home. In response to my bewildered admiration she told me she downloads Yoga Today podcasts and exercises along with them. She has been doing yoga for so many years she could do it herself but these podcasts excite and motivate her and she can choose one that suits what she feels like on the day: intense workout, relaxation, etc.  Other friends have replaced listening to music when they run, walk or do housework with podcast listening: Wireless nights with Jarvis Cocker; A History of the World in 100 objects; The Moth.

3. As an alternative to websites:

I live in the country and when I drive in to the city I often listen to a series of work related podcasts. A lot of people I know say they listen to podcasts in the car or on the bus or train. They enjoy such podcasts as: Tech Weekly: The Guardian; The Comedian’s Comedian; TEDTalks; 99% Invisible; The Boagworld Web Design Show. A colleague of mine mentioned that he used to read a huge amount of websites and blogs to do with work at his computer. Now, he has trimmed the list down and instead will listen to podcasts on the same topics as he drives for several hours to a meeting. It has the added bonus of giving his eyes a rest from the screen.

4. As a quick example:

There are a lot of audio and video podcasts that I watch and listen to that are under 15 minutes including CORE Education’s EDTalks and Podcasts that explain concepts that a book might take a chapter to do.  In the 2013 EMPOWER: BYOD course, teachers taking the course were asked to ‘Press Pause’ and listen to a podcast on Weaving inquiry into your teaching practice. Several of the participants asked to share the podcast at their staff meeting as a time effective option to update their colleagues on their study.

I also filmed a series of parenting videos for a parenting publication that I work for. One of the presenters, Nathan Mikaere-Wallis, mentioned that several of the ECEs and Kindergartens he works with have been showing them to parents or staff members to explain concepts that they are working on with the children. As helpful as reading a book by Magda Gerber would be for ECE teachers or parents, a more realistic or achievable option might be watching a 5 – 10 minute podcast.

5. As a gap filler:

When my children were young I permanently kept a book in my bag in case we arrived somewhere and they had fallen asleep (bonus reading time!). I think it’s important to have what my previous boss called ‘staring out the window time’, where you allow yourself enough time for your subconscious to work through problems and therefore to have eureka moments. However there are also times when you arrive somewhere early with an undefined but probably 10 – 15 minutes of extra time (hairdressers, doctor or dentist appointment) and you feel like being occupied, but with not enough time to start on work.  This is a perfect length of time to listen to a podcast and definitely more enjoyable than reading a Woman’s Weekly from 1998.

 

I encourage you to download three podcasts from either iTunes or Soundcloud to your smartphone or other device. Take your earphones when you go out, and try to listen to them next week. What to download? Search under your interests (work or personal) or have a look at the podcasts mentioned here for inspiration.

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Ten Trends 2014: Networked organisations

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Karen Spencer

Trend 5 – Networked organisations

CORE's Ten Trends for 2014 have been published. This post considers the fifth of these trends: Networked organisations. We shall be publishing posts on one of the trends approximately each month. You are encouraged to comment or provide supporting links.

What do we mean by ‘networked organisations’?

When we think about the way work is managed inside an organisation, we might imagine a clear hierarchy, perhaps, with bosses and boards, leaders and teams. There might be a vertical structure where the lines of communication are pre-defined and clear. Communication beyond the organisation might typically be one-way broadcasting, advertising, newsletter updates or pre-arranged face-to-face conversations.

This image is changing fast in the face of the adoption of social media, online networks, and personal devices. We are seeing changing ‘digital’ behaviours in which anyone with a web-capable device can communicate independently and on a global scale. In response, organisations are rapidly evolving the way they engage with customers. For example, Air NZ, ‘the flying social network’, uses its Airpoints Fairy to build relationships via Twitter. Even members of the NZ Parliament tweet from Question Time, opening new pathways so anyone can access previously ‘authorised’ information from parliament.

Such social networks create two-way, one-to-many communications enabling responsive engagement with the public in ways that are now an expected part of the way today’s organisations work.

What might networked organisations look like?

Networked organisations

  • collaborate,
  • connect across teams in its structure,
  • offer open pathways so anyone can engage,
  • make the most of cloud based, virtual platforms and
  • encourage self-selected networking and personal growth.

The value of networks lie in the potential for spreading opportunity and challenge and for joint creation and innovation by enabling the competencies, knowledge and expertise of the group. In the self-managing schools of New Zealand-Aotearoa, we are beginning to see these ideas emerge in the way schools organise teams, design professional learning, engage with their communities and whānau, and access and contribute to the wider education network.

What is driving this shift towards networked structures?

This shift from a constrained, imposed hierarchy to a fluid, more personalised network is being driven by a range of factors, from technological to social and educational:

  • Technology-driven networking: The rapid adoption of social media, mobile personal devices and ubiquitous, fast fibre wireless create conditions for increased personal demand for information and engagement. Schools and learning centres understand that modern education practices require professionals who can adapt to their communities’ and learners’ evolving needs.
  • Learner-driven networking: There are increasing expectations that schools make contributions to the wider network themselves, sharing their understandings and expertise with others, even if this collaboration rubs up against the competition for resource and students. When education, including professional learning, is wrapped around the learner, global networks can help support increased personalisation of inquiries, of programmes.

Examples of networked organisations in education

  • The fluid curriculum design at Albany Senior High, [LINK]
  • Cross-curriculum and cross-team hubs and networks being developed at Hobsonville Point Secondary School [LINK}
  • VLN Groups network: Visible learning across staff and clusters is being supported by groups dedicated to staff PD, the ICT PD clusters, the GCSN, blogging and e-portfolios that are staff wide.

We are also seeing an increasing range of examples of schools and educators forming networks to support their growth:

  • The 13,000+ educator strong VLN Groups network -a social network of educators who respond to each others’ questions and share expertise.
  • Dedicated education networks on Twitter and grassroots communities such as #edchatnz, #TeachMeetNZ, #educampnz

Challenges, opportunities and implications

Changing leadership models

It can be challenging to change prevailing models of leadership, to shift from a power-centric approach to one that acknowledges that all staff have strengths to bring to the organisation, offering real decision-making opportunities, not just delegated ones. Hierarchies can be limiting compared to a truly collaborative, networked structure:

Changing cultures

For schools to work as connected networks, leadership needs to foster a culture of trust and which is predisposed towards transparency and openness.

Changing dispositions and understandings

To make the most of networked learning, modern educators require a digital toolkit of literacies. It is helpful for educators to understand that influence in networks operates through social investment of time and effort, relationships, and recommendations. There are also challenges in the ‘default social’ disposition. Networked organisations privilege socially-adept working behaviours. By being part of quality conversations, research and relationships gain in value and more can be achieved. Such digital confidence also needs to include understanding how to filter information strategically and in ways that are manageable.

Changing perceptions of schools: From islands to archipelago

A further challenge and opportunity is for schools to see themselves as nodes on a wider network rather than isolated islands. Modern, networked schools pursue collaboration, rather than competition, and adopt Tim O’Reilly’s maxim that you should “create more value than you capture”.

Questions to consider

  • How collegial, open and distributed is your school’s internal management structure?
  • What opportunities are there to redesign professional learning and management models to encourage greater distribution of decision-making and increased control of individual inquiries?
  • How can you support those people who are keen to lead and encourage networked approaches?
  • How can digital technologies support a networked approach in your school, to ensure greater access to learning and to support a transparent, collegial approach?
  • Where do opportunities exist for your school to ‘thin the walls’ and share expertise with other educators locally/globally as part of rich, inquiry-driven professional learning?

Examples and links:

  • http://www.jarche.com/2014/06/good-leaders-connect/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-centric_organization
  • http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature/530834/The-Rise-of-the-Networked-Organization
  • http://www.jarche.com/2012/03/distributed-research-needs-collaborative-researchers/

For more about the Ten Trends:

  • Ten Trends 2014 (CORE website)
  • About the Ten Trends (CORE website)
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