eye test

Bright Eyes: What does it mean to have a Pasifika lens?

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eye test

Bright eyes burning like fire
Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes

(Art Garfunkel, 1978)

I’ve been working for CORE Education for about four years. Along the way, I have had the privilege and pleasure of facilitating professional learning solutions to support principals, senior leadership teams, and educators in all the different sectors that have Pasifika learners — early childhood centres, home-based child care services, primary schools, intermediate schools, secondary schools, tertiary providers, universities, and adult community education services.

But, this isn’t a blog post about how much I love working for CORE. Instead, I want to shed some light about the common thread that weaves through these different sectors. I have been working to hone my Pasifika lens — with a longitudinal view; by being cognisant of the transitions that exist in the education sectors, by building bridges to move freely and fluidly between them. This is the view that I would like to think that I impart to everyone I meet, who asks what a Pasifika lens looks like.

As a specialist in Pasifika education, it can be challenging to attempt to tackle the issues that individual educational contexts face. I may not be familiar with historical extenuating circumstances of particular Pasifika communities and how they have engaged with the formalised learning of schools. I might not be aware of what these schools have attempted to do in the past to not only increase community engagement, but also to foster connections with Pasifika parent communities that empower and embolden them to champion their children’s learning.

When I think about my work in schools, and how I can best use my skills as a specialist in Pasifika education, I see that I help schools to understand how best to use their data effectively to drive outcomes for their Pasifika students. This is a real passion of mine. You could say that I have been through lots of lenses in education — having been a product of the system myself as a student, a teacher, and now a human resource for teachers to improve their pedagogy for Pasifika learners. Having a Pasifika lens with multiple views has allowed me to experience the myriad of perspectives that I have come to know as being critically important.

I often get asked to provide a ‘Pasifika lens’ about schools’ strategic plans to increase Pasifika achievement. I do not subscribe to comparing Pasifika students by noting if their achievement results are on par, if not better than their non-Pasifika counterparts. Shouldn’t we be looking at how Pasifika learners achieve based on their own achievement, rather than in comparison to other ethnicities? It often feels, through the Pasifika lens that I was born with, that such comparison is designed to continually perpetuate this tail of underachievement rather than focus on their own achievement, their own success on their own merit.

How can I share my Pasifika lens?

How can I share my Pasifika lens with others? I have thought about this and the best analogy I can come up with is to look at the difference between an ophthalmologist and an optometrist.

An ophthalmologist is a specialist in the branch of medicine concerned with the study of disorders and diseases of the eye. They also differ from optometrists because of their different levels of training, and they’re able to practice medicine and perform surgery.

I feel that in schools I may be viewed as a Pasifika ophthalmologist, brought in because of my different levels of training in disciplines such as Music, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology, TESSOL, and Education. I might be expected to be able to provide expert advice to schools who have readily identified Pasifika achievement issues that have surfaced through their data. Schools recognise that when challenges or roadblocks start to appear in relation to Pasifika achievement, it is because they are acknowledging that low Pasifika academic results exist. Schools’ ERO reports should help to provide some key focus areas to significantly address discrepancies in their vision for Pasifika learners. Contributing factors that may have a negative impact on outcomes may lead to schools and clusters seeking to inform their pedagogies that are conducive to Pasifika excellence.

As a Pasifika ophthalmologist, I can test their vision, to test their Pasifika lens by customising and tailoring professional learning solutions that help them to understand that their actions impact on Pasifika student achievement. By catching the challenges early, schools can seek ways to foster language that can help to grow collaboration between Pasifika learners and their parents, families, and communities. By growing collaboration in this way enables the school or cluster to co-construct achievement strategies that are a main feature of the community focus of the ERO Pacific Strategy.

Do you see what I see?

A few questions come to mind when I consider how I can best assess what kind of vision schools and Communities of Learning have for their Pasifika learners:

  • How do you know that what you are doing is making learning and achievement better or worse for Pasifika learners?
  • How do you know that what you have written into your school charters, strategic plans, or Community of Learning achievement challenges that focus on Pasifika learners, have been formulated with sufficient consultation with Pasifika parents and communities?
  • How do we bring the Pasifika focus in your school charters, strategic plans, or Community of Learning achievement challenges to life in all classrooms? 

Where can I seek further assistance for my focus on Pasifika learners?

pasifika learner

CORE Education offers professional learning solutions that can address teaching as inquiry as an approach to investigate the impact of your pedagogy on your learners and community.

The courses are constructed for deep learning that will challenge your thinking while building on your prior knowledge of what already works for your Pasifika learners.

You will implement targeted actions either in your classroom or with your school community that make a meaningful difference. These actions will be decided by you, supported by evidence-based practices that you will learn within these courses. There are a range of learning tasks from face-to-face sessions, interactive webinars and online discussions.

 

Image Credit: Eye Test from Pexels CC0

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history important for learning

Our history matters to our learning

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history a part of learning

History is very much a part of any culture. It shapes the way people within that culture think about themselves and about others. It shapes the way people view the world. It stands to reason, then, that history must impact on learning. This is undoubtedly the case in Māori culture. Recently, I was involved in working with Waimirirangi Whangarei Intermediate, where this was brought home to me.

Kia Māori Mai marau ā-kura

Localised curriculum embodies and personifies the rich history and cultural location of the Waimirirangi Bilingual Unit at Whangarei Intermediate. This marau ā-kura is permeated throughout with local reo, local contexts for learning, and local history showing that the ākonga stories and their history matter. Ākonga, therefore, see themselves on a learning journey that has made their learning meaningful, and keeps them fully engaged. “This is hugely attributable to the outcomes of a sound, collectively designed and owned marau ā-kura that takes seriously the whakatauki ‘Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua”.

using historyThe exercise of designing and developing their own marau ā-kura is where I believe the greatest shifts have been made. This collaborative process acknowledges the skills and talents of the whānau on the marae and in the community. When whānau know that they have skills and talents that are valued and are recognised by their own tamariki and community, this can shift the hearts and minds of whānau, who then become contributors to the learning of their own tamariki in an authentic way. It allows for generational history to become part of a living story.

Understanding the attributes of their tīpuna and the many skills and talents those tīpuna had, helps students understand themselves. They carry many of the same attributes over generations. Huge shifts are made when students and their whānau know who they are and what they can achieve and aspire to. Identity and culture are affirmed.

Whānau, hapū and iwi knowledge is affirmed and housed within the marau ā-kura of Waimirirangi . It transcends from the past to reach out into the future. It is future-focused to meet the needs of 21st Century learners. This is a credit to its authors and a legacy of Te Iwi o te Parawhau. This indigenous curriculum supports at the highest level, the teaching and learning of ākonga of Waimirirangi o Te Kura Takawaenga o Whangarei. This is not someone else’s story — this is their story.

In this video, Matua Kara Shortland, a kaiako in Waimirirangi, explains how Kia Māori Mai, the Marau ā-kura, has used the history of the iwi and their many stories, as a foundation for learning. The mountains, rivers, and whenua provide a huge source of knowledge — “It’s their history, not someone else’s”. Ākonga see themselves on a journey that is meaningful — meaningful because it’s their journey. Explore the past to determine the future.

Where to from here?

The next steps for the kura are to confirm their history as essential scaffolding for all learning and teaching.  More discourse is needed to turn aspirations into realities. History is inescapable. History is who we are. History informs our future. Māori tribal history is Aotearoa’s history.

History is not a subject, it’s a way of being.

On reflection

When whānau engagement is authentic, it captures the hearts and minds of whānau and iwi, resulting in meaningful and comprehensive kōrero. Whānau engagement supported by tumuaki and leadership, ensures meaningful dialogue, and understanding occurs throughout the process. In addition to partnerships with whānau, a dedicated commitment of time, as well as the implementation of systematic approaches will ensure the foundation for the Marau ā-Kura is authentic, has rigour, and is sustainable.

Our history does matter to our learning; it enhances our understanding and makes sense of our world and the world around us. It is what has made us who we are as a people and as a country. Our history ignites our learning. I would invite you to share your stories that demonstrate the importance of history in your mokopuna’s education.

 

Check out the Māori-medium portal of CORE Tātai Aho Rau,
which showcases all our Māori medium people, products, and services.
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Questing: a modern approach to learning design

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How might Game Artificial Intelligence (AI) inform and influence learning experience design in the future?

What learning design used to be… and, sometimes, still is

To begin to answer that far-reaching question, let us consider what learning design or instructional design was, and in many cases still is. Before the days of learner agency, when didactic dinosaurs roamed the school corridors, lesson plans would map what had to be learned, how it would be taught, what resources would be required, and what time would be allowed. And those were the good ones; half of them didn’t even have a lesson plan. Mathematics had to be acquired in three-quarters of an hour fitted in between Geography, Gym, and lunch. A bell marked the intervals between chunks of teaching. Note: I don’t say between chunks of learning, because, in my case at least, learning didn’t happen.

Formative assessment was applied in the form of exercises and repetition, and summative assessment was made at the end with an examination. Punishment and ridicule were associated with failure as motivators. Prize giving in front of the parents distributed pride and shame in equal measure.

AI in modern learning

The game designer’s mindset — a growth mindset

To a game designer, this system seems a little odd. In games, success is rewarded by levelling up to face ever bigger challenges, and failure immediately presents other opportunities to succeed. If at first you don’t succeed explore the landscape for ways to try and try again. Players are not shown how to do that. Instead, they are presented with challenges, and the fun is in finding out for themselves how to overcome all the obstacles. Games tell you what needs to be done, they don’t tell you how. This approach ensures a high level of engagement. Challenges are often presented in the form of quests, and that in itself — like Jason and his Argonauts — suggests a big journey. If you reach Game Over, this is not the end, it’s just an opportunity to eat vegetarian pizza, drink sugar-free coke, and start over.

This is growth mindset (Carol Dweck article in Education Week), not yet-ness, and there really is no end, only opportunities for the future.

The future of learning design

To see into the future of learning design, one must see learning as a landscape. Distributed with a certain granularity in that landscape are nodes. At each node, there is a puzzle. Solving the puzzle rewards the student-player with an artefact, tool, or power that will be useful in the next part of their quest. These things they collect have value, and a collection of them is a student-player’s wealth. The quest — within the scope of the landscape — is of their choosing, but is stated at the setting forth, at the start: “Together we will travel to Mordor and destroy the One Ring”. The student-players know the objective, but they do not know how to get there, nor the struggles they will have to face along the way. They must find their way and they must find ways to defeat the bad guys, traverse the deserts, and span the canyons.

I am speaking metaphorically. I am not suggesting that the future of all e-learning is reduced to a video game. I am saying that under the hood of e-learning there will be an e-learning engine very similar to a game engine. This engine will be designed and built using Game AI techniques.

The relevance of game artificial intelligence and the future of education

Game AI is subject to various interpretations: Bartle, when he uses the term AI, means mobiles or non-playing-characters, fairies in the forest that help or taunt the traveller; Buckland describes Game AI as “the illusion of intelligence”; in its simplest form Game AI involves accessing a large database of options using if-else statements. In Vehicles, Experiments in Synthetic Psychology, Braitenberg shows how apparently complex animal and human behaviours arise out of the interaction of very simple internal structures.

Game AI also consists of several simple internal structures: databases; conditional statements; pathways, and configurable parameters. It is the putting together and the interaction between these structures that generates the underpinning intelligence commonly known as the game engine. Game engines can then support any number of modifications such as storylines, scenes, characters, graphics, music, and effects provided they remain in the genre and within the scope of the game engine. This has clear relevance to games-in-education as future teachers pour curriculum into the mixer.

Tools for the learning experience designer of the future

The learning experience designer of the future needs a tool very different to the old lesson plan. One such tool is graphing theory.

Buckman (Programming Game AI by Example) writes: “When developing the AI for games, one of the most common uses for graphs is to represent a network of paths an agent can use to navigate around its environment.” Each node has value, and each node is connected by one or more edges that have a cost. The value of the nodes along a narrative arc must eventually exceed the cost of the edges, or motivation will be lost. As the agentic student-player leaves a node, that fact is recorded in a learning record store (LRS). They solved a puzzle here, so the system knows they learned something. They proceeded along one of the edges to the next node, and they picked up embedded artefacts along the way.

Those embedded artefacts are what the didactic dinosaurs of the past used to call content. Games designers probably think more in terms of clues, tools, and powers for how to solve the next puzzle or overcome the next micro-challenge. The system records every incremental step along the way, forever. The system knows for example, that the student-player has acquired a certain tool and used it to solve a certain type of puzzle. Correctly analysed, interpreted, and presented, this data tells us a lot about the development and current state of the student-player. The system and its associated LRS is both omniscient and pervasive.

The immutable laws of nature don’t change. But the language we use to describe them, and the way in which we approach them do. The lesson plan of the past, the template, is a simplistic thing seen against a game engine. But the complexity is handled by a computer, and once built, the game engine is just a given thing. Now, the subject matter experts and the learning designers feed challenges, puzzles, and artefacts into the engine and crank her up. Employers no longer admire a candidate’s certificates, they go and look at the dashboard of the LRS and they see what strategies for effective gameplay that person has developed, and contemplate how they might apply them to new contexts of design, manufacture, distribution, retail, service, policy making, or administration.

The times are a changing — fast

The challenge for learning designers, in fact, for all educators, is to keep up with the pace of change. Noting the copyright dates of the suggested reading list (below) points up the true nature of this challenge, that time is ticking. Games-in-education conversations tend to be focused on educational value, or the lack of it, and fears around excessive screen time and isolation. The conversations learning designers need to be having are probably around theoretical underpinnings, and how they can be put into practice to create virtual world engines, incremental accreditation, and student-player profiles.

 

Suggested reading:

Bartle, R. (2004) Designing Virtual Worlds New Riders.

Braitenberg, V. (1984) Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology. A Bradford Book.

Buckland, M. (2005) Programming Game AI By Example (Wordware Game Developers Library). Wordware.

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Universal Design for Learning in curriculum planning and lesson design

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In my last few blogs, I have unpacked UDL principles and UDL thinking. Once people understand the basic principles of UDL they often ask how to use those principles in class and lesson planning.

The quick and easy answer is to consider all your learners, and use the UDL principles throughout every aspect of the design and planning process. But this advice is not always practical enough to be very helpful. In response, Linda Ojala and I have synthesised some earlier work from a variety of sources 1 into a framework to support the planning process.

planning with udl

Download this chart (PDF)

Let’s break this down…

Universal Supports

Does the everyday learning environment provide a range of supports to cater for student variability?

Universal Supports are those things that exist in the learning environment that the teacher does not have to think about or plan for daily, thus saving teachers time and energy.

They are typically supports that are common to several learning activities. Universal Supports include the physical, emotional, and learning environment in the classroom as well as well-established systems and protocols that are so embedded that they are simply ‘the way we do things around here’.

Some examples are:

  • having black pens for your whiteboard rather than green ones that are harder to see
  • daily routines and timetables (and visual displays showing these)
  • having a variety of furniture and spaces to suit different tasks and preferences
  • visuals and posters to support thinking frameworks, problem-solving, task completion etc
  • having digital technologies that students can use to personalise their learning.

Goal or Purpose

Ask: Does everyone know what they are doing and why?
Goals give us direction, so it is important that everyone is clear about the purpose of their learning and what they need to do to achieve success. Articulating goals can be as simple as stating them at the outset of a lesson, or writing them on the board, but should always be expressed in ways that are understood by all.

Group or whole-class goals should allow for student variability so that each student can see how the goal is appropriate for them. Lastly, always make sure that the means of achieving the goal is not confused with the goal itself.

For example, if students are researching content material, the means of doing the task may include reading, but, unless you are purposefully targeting reading, this should not be part of the goal. In this scenario, students who cannot read the material (such as those with dyslexia), can still successfully complete the task by using tools like text-to-speech technology.

How the goal is met should not interfere with achieving the goal of learning that content—just as a GPS doesn’t provide only one route to a destination but may offer alternative routes based on variable factors, such as traffic, non-highway options, and so forth2 .

Teaching approaches and activities

Ask: Will the teaching approaches and options for completing activities work for everyone?
When planning teaching approaches and learning activities, consider if the way you plan to do things will work for each and every student in the class.

For example, the following poster by Richard Wells may make us rethink the effectiveness of whole-class teaching.

the class a teacher talks to

If you know (or think it is likely) at the outset that it won’t work for everyone, ask:

  1. Why are we doing it this way?
  2. Is there another way of approaching the teaching and learning that is more likely to work for everyone?
  3. What extra supports are needed to ensure everyone is successful?

Co-creating with students often provides a powerful alliance as students can identify innovative ways to do things and provide ideas about the things that work for them.

Resources and Materials

Ask: What resources or materials will I need to make it work for everyone?
Supporting resources can help students to know what to do, how to do it and what success looks like.

Resources that support students to undertake the task come in a variety of formats and include:

  1. frameworks that break tasks down into steps
  2. exemplars
  3. visuals to aid comprehension
  4. cheat sheets
  5. word lists
  6. materials or multimedia resources that allow students to learn in a variety of ways.

Ask: Are the resources or materials accessible and usable by everyone?
When designing resources, consider whether they are accessible and usable by all. Worksheets and workbooks are inaccessible for students who need reading support and those who have low vision or who are blind.

By digitising content, students can personalise how they access the material. For example, the text could be read aloud using text-to-speech, enlarged for students who have low vision, or converted to Braille.

Assessment and outputs

Ask: Can the students show what they know in a way that works for them?
For some students, assessments in specific formats or under certain conditions may not provide a good gauge of their learning. A strengths-based approach with flexible assessment conditions can more accurately assess student learning.

For example, if we ask a student who has difficulty using a pen to write to show their learning and comprehension, we may learn very little about their learning and a lot about their writing ability — something it is likely we already knew.

Flexible assessments options can be achieved by:

  1. using a range of formats for evidence of learning (e.g. audio, video, and a variety of multimedia options)
  2. identifying barriers for students, and providing tools such as text-to-speech, voice typing and other reader/writer options to overcome these
  3. provide flexible timing, scheduling, and accommodations to gain the best evidence of learning.

Final word

We hope this framework helps you apply UDL principles in a class or lesson-planning context. In the end, it is really about having that important question at the heart of everything you do: Will it work for everyone?

 

Resources and further information about UDL:

 

1 Including work from CAST, Chrissie Butler, and this article by David Gordon

2 How UDL can get you to personalized learning, eSchool News, David Gordon (CAST).

Image “The class a teacher talks to”, by Richard Wells @EduWells More @Eduwells.com under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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te reo: how do you say...

Does Pronunciation Matter? Is it Māori or Maarry?

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te reo: how do you say...

Pronunciation of te reo Māori — or any language for that matter — is important, as it can change the meaning. It’s a sign of respect, too. The history behind place names is important, as it locates you, and you see, or find, the history that brought about the name. I can think of several stories relating to the pronunciation of my name; another blog post perhaps?

If you’re someone who would like to improve your pronunciation, there are some practical steps you can take:

  • Ask for help. Most people are willing to assist you if they know you are trying.
  • Make an effort; don’t give up. Make an effort, and don’t give up, as we know change often happens in small steps. Even if you ‘move closer’ to where you would like to be, people will notice the effort and admire it.
  • Find resources. Look for resources to assist you.

I was having a discussion with my colleague Te Mako Orzecki (two names that regularly get mispronounced) about the pronunciation of “Kaikōura” and the multiple ways we have heard it recently in public on T.V. and radio.

Mispronunciation can change the whole meaning of a word. I have been impressed with Radio New Zealand and the effective strategy they use. When I constantly hear te reo throughout and every name is pronounced correctly in te reo Māori, after a while I just ‘hear’ the essence of what is being said and forget whether it is in English or te reo (this is because of the repetition, and because it is mainly introductions and greetings).

I have also noticed that the uptake of macrons in the media is still very slow. Past CORE blogs have discussed the importance of macrons in te reo Māori. If you’re unsure of how to add macrons, follow these simple guides:

Without wanting to get into the many reasons why te reo Māori is mispronounced, Te Mako and I thought we would choose 15 well-known place names and offer a free course to improve your pronunciation. The course involves interactive activities to support te reo Māori pronunciation, and a one-on-one virtual session with Te Mako or Anaru. If you are interested in enrolling in this course, register here:

Ngā Ingoa Wāhi o Aotearoa

Te Mako and I would also like to continue to gather ideas on te reo Māori and kaupapa Māori ideas to support whānau, learners, and staff. If you have any questions or stories to share please leave a comment below or tweet us: @anaruwhite or @OrzeckiT, or use the hashtags #correctPronunciation and #tereo. You can also use #TransformWithCore.

 

He rauemi

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