Engaging junior learners and whānau from home

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A joint blog by Anne Kenneally and Rachel McNamara

Ko koe ki tēna, ko āhau, ki tēnei kiwai o te kete.
You take that handle of the kete and I’ll take this one.

junior-primary-puzzle
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Teaching and learning is all a bit of a puzzle right now; not a simple child’s one with only one place where each piece fits, but more like a Wasgij puzzles where we can’t see the finished picture and are unsure how long it will take to complete.

Thankfully we do have many clues:

  • We can draw on our understanding of how our junior primary ākonga learn, our knowledge of effective teaching practices, and what has worked well in the past.
  • We are learning through being in lockdown ourselves what support we value as parents and for our tamariki.
  • Our networks of friends, whānau and colleagues are sharing stories.
  • The internet is bustling with recommendations.

We also have a challenge. How do we sift through this multitude of clues to ensure we can contribute to the puzzle unique to our learning community here in Aotearoa?

Finding a way forward

We would like to share with you a philosophy or practice known as Āta: An Indigenous Knowledge Based Pedagogical Approach to Teaching (Forsyth & Kung, 2017), which focuses on growing respectful relationships. It is a teaching philosophy grounded in Te Ao Māori.
As you journey into your first weeks of ‘learning from home’, we would like to share some observations aligned to three of Āta’s guidelines:

  • Āta-whakarongo – to listen with reflective deliberation
  • Āta-noho – giving quality time, to be with people and their issues.
  • Āta whakaaro – to think with deliberation, considering possibilities

PUZZLE PIECE 1: Focusing and reflection on the relationship between whānau, ākonga, and kaiako

RACHEL: Andrew, a 6-year-old, was in my class a few years ago. He had Cystic Fibrosis. For periods of time, due to the bugs going about the school, Andrew and his whānau, would self isolate, to ensure his health wasn’t compromised. When this happened I would put together a pack of things for him to have at home. It would include books he could read independently, books Mum could read to him, activities I thought might interest him, and topic related work. I would check in with Mum and Andrew regularly by phone and take around new packs as needed.

teaching-relationships-image-for-junior-primary-blogpost-1I look back now and reflect on how I would do things differently in light of new technologies available now. Really, the only difference is that Andrew’s beloved PS4 would connect to the internet, as would Mum’s cell phone. I can imagine, after discussion with Andrew and his mum, we would have been collaborating online.

The word I want to draw your attention to is “discussion” not the internet.

Making multiple, ongoing opportunities to connect and listen to our whānau and ākonga is what will create the weave that supports ako. This is the puzzle piece.

As educators, there is a pressing need to “get something out” to whānau and ākonga. But maybe think of the first offerings, like the nibbles before a meal. Let’s koha something light to help us all settle in. And let whānau know that is what we are doing.

Now as we prepare for the ongoing “main meal” of teaching and learning together, let’s begin with Āta-whakarongo – making time and opportunity to listen with reflective deliberation.

 

Here are some questions we might ask whānau and ākonga to help us understand what’s on top and how we can usefully support collaboration, taking the handles of the kete together:

  • I’d like to be able to touch base with you and your child on a regular basis. What are the best ways for us to connect: email, txt, phone, skype, social media?
  • We are keen for tamariki to stay connected with their friends and classmates. How is your tamariki staying connected currently? What might work for you?
  • We want to be able to continue to support your child in their learning, but we want it to be manageable for you. We are keen for this to be fun and supportive, not stressful. What kinds of learning activities do you think would work best in your household?
  • Some learning activities may need the support of an adult. Is there anyone in your household who will be able to listen to your child read or help with a learning activity?

 

As we make time for Āta-whakarongo – time and opportunity to listen with reflective deliberation – we learn about what is important for whānau and their tamariki at this time. We then can allow the preferences, needs and sensitivities of our whānau and ākonga to guide our decision making about what teaching practices and learning activities might be useful and of value. This gives us a puzzle piece, unique to our community.

PUZZLE PIECE 2: Learning from the stories of others

ANNE: Āta-noho – giving quality time, to be with people and their issues is our common thread here. The explosion of learning and innovation is remarkable and deeply heartening.

online-story-readingMy first learning is marvelling at the way leaders and teachers are prioritising connection and the value this has for both whānau and ākonga.

Here’s an example from parent Eloise Sime:
“A big shout out to the principal of Grant’s Braes School in Dunedin, Gareth Taylor. He’s organised a Zoom meeting to read stories to the kids at 9am on weekdays.It’s such a special way for him to connect with the kids and they love it. 85 families joined the read aloud Zoom on the first morning.”

For our very junior ākonga, technology offers opportunities for continuity of reading aloud. If you are using the Google Suite for education you may want to explore reading online using voice typing. Some kaiako are setting up Google Slides to allow whānau to drop in video of learners reading aloud, creating a resource for ākonga to not only share their reading but connect with classmates, hearing each other’s voices. This could also be extended to allow ākonga and whānau to share oral histories.

Arts n craft morning paper mache
‘Arts and craft morning paper mache’

My second learning comes from watching our ākonga learning with whānau in their bubbles, and it is inspired by colleagues and communities in the Chatham and Pitt islands.

Already the schools I work alongside are brimming with stories of whānau; making kai, setting building challenges, indoor and outdoor treasure hunts, storytelling, viewing and explaining whānau photos and gardening with their tamariki.

‘Waiting to see what direction the wasp takes off’.
‘Waiting to see what direction the wasp takes off’.

Now is the time for Āta-noho, quality time to be with our people and their issues. How we connect with ākonga now will be more important than what we ‘teach’ (taking the handle of the kete together). Palmer (2007) affirms that “the connections made by good teachers are held not in methods but in their hearts – meaning heart in its ancient sense, as the place where intellect and emotion and spirit converge in this human self.” (11). We are seeing ‘heart’ in action in current sharing. This is the second puzzle piece.

PUZZLE PIECE 3: Recognising, valuing, and supporting the awesome capabilities of our junior ākonga

RACHEL: Āta whakaaro – to think with deliberation, considering possibilities is the focus of our last puzzle piece

Tamariki in the junior years are quick to play and often soak up new learning quickly; they will take risks with tools, and are often keen to show whānau (and possibly you) how to do new things.

As we design learning activities for our learning from home curriculum, we want to ensure that we create opportunities where ākonga can stretch out and expand their capabilities. Let’s not limit opportunities for learning.

journal-photoFor example, a school we are working with is focusing on using photos because their ākonga are familiar with taking and editing photos.

Their first project is the creation of a class photo journal of learning from home. Whānau have been invited to take and upload/send photos of their tamariki creating things, both the product and the process, online and offline.

Here is an example photo for the journal.

ANNE: I’d also like to add that sometimes the learning we plan, isn’t the learning that happens, and that’s OK.

paintingHere’s an example from my own whānau. My daughter-in-law set up a stone painting activity for our mokopuna. She imagined some colour mixing exploration. Instead Sam was fascinated with matching the lids and colours and painting himself.

Thankfully our daughter-in-law could see the value of the exploration. A space was made for Sam to determine his own pathway and no limitations were set.

Life is offering us new opportunities right now. Taking time to thoughtfully support whānau to recognise open-ended play as valued learning will take skilful communication. Āta whakaaro – to think with deliberation, considering possibilities is our guide here and our last puzzle piece.

 Finding our unique puzzle piece

We have shared some of our new learnings as facilitators working alongside learning communities as they move to “learning from home”.

We are seeing such incredible innovation in our sector and are also very aware that many kaiako are looking for guidance at this time.

Our aim in introducing Āta is to encourage you to work closely with the whānau and tamariki of your communities and allow their needs, preferences and innovations to guide your teaching and learning decisions. Perhaps in giving yourself permission to focus on the practice of Āta, you will find a strong way forward for you, your ākonga, and their whānau.
NB. The tamariki’s names have been fictionalised for this post

Join our He Kohinga Rauemi Tautoko – Support Resources for Schools, Kura and EY Centres group on edSpace

Note: To contribute to this discussion you will need to signup to edSpace and join the group.

References

All images supplied by authors unless stated.

Forsyth, H. and Kung, N., 2007. ĀTA: A Philosophy for Relational Teaching. New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 42(1-2).

Ministry of Education, n.d. Universal Design For Learning. [online] Inclusive Education. Available at: https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/universal-design-for-learning/ [Accessed 30 March 2020].

Palmer, P., 2007. The Courage To Teach Guide For Reflection And Renewal, 10th Anniversary Edi. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

Sime, E., March, 2020. A big shout out to the principal Grant’s Braes School in Dunedin, Gareth Taylor. He’s organised a Zoom meeting to read stories to the kids at 9am on weekdays.It’s such a special way for him to connect with the… [Facebook post] [Accessed 30 March 2020]

Walker, W and E., March, 2020. [Images provided] [Facebook post] [Accessed 30 March 2020]

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Learning at home: start with relationships

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He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka. 

A choppy sea can be navigated.

learning-at-home-relationships

Firstly a huge mihi to all educators for everything you are doing for ākonga and communities as you prepare to teach in different ways. Ākonga and whānau will look to you for guidance and support as they adjust to thinking about learning at home, and what this means. Complex, we know, especially as you prepare for changes in the day to day lives of your own whānau too.

CORE Education is publishing a series of blog posts to help you with the planning and preparation you’ll be doing. These will be underpinned by our commitment to Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as our expertise and knowledge in online learning, effective pedagogy, and Universal Design for Learning.

Published over the next two weeks, the blogs present a chance to step back, reflect, and anticipate some of the things leaders and kaiako could consider now that learning has shifted to home. They cover considerations that are applicable to early learning services, kura and schools and Māori medium settings. Also, please let us know if you have areas you would like us to focus on.

In this first blog, as you move from your workplace to home, we offer four key points focused on building and strengthening relationships.

  1. Keep relationships at the centre
  2. Invest in the wellbeing of kaiako
  3. Empower and affirm ākonga
  4. Remove barriers to staying connected

Relationships at the centre

Begin with the people. Focus your initial thinking on building connection. Relationships will be more important now than they ever have been. We all need to find ways to ensure the virtual components of our programmes include opportunities to simply connect in personal and meaningful ways. Children in isolation overseas are saying that they really miss their friends.  Kaiako used to collaborating may also find job satisfaction is harder to achieve with less day to day human contact. So, how can you put relationships at the centre of what you do?

Suggestion: Have a plan that everyone is a part of to reach and engage all ākonga.

“Connecting with people who make you feel safe and loved is the most important thing you can do to look after your mental health and the mental health of people around you.”
Looking after mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19.

Invest in the wellbeing of kaiako

Collaborating and working as a team will ease the pressure on individual kaiako. No one should feel alone. Keep the connections strong so that you can listen to diverse perspectives, agree on ways forward together and overcome any obstacles you encounter.

It may also help to create an agreed set of expectations in our new reality. Keep it broad, but with enough structure to provide a framework for planning. It is not going to be possible to simply move what you do face-to-face into an online environment. Albany Senior High School recently sent these guidelines to their staff, and have made them available for everyone. Consider if they are a useful reference point for your own communities.

Suggestion: As a learning community, have a plan for mutual support and keeping an eye on each others’ wellbeing. Ensure each kaiako has a colleague or friend they can lean on, be in regular contact with. Create regular opportunities for simply connecting and checking in.

Empower and affirm ākonga

Empowering the wairua and enhancing the wellbeing of ākonga is paramount. It’s what teaching and learning are founded on. Learning from home will present a new and unexpected set of challenges for ākonga, and they’ll need our support to navigate these successfully. Ensuring that ākonga thrive, are connected to their language, culture and identity and have all aspects of their hauora balanced will be a challenge for a kaiako to consider thoughtfully.

“Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear, take care of what they see, take care of what they feel. For how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa” – Dame Whina Cooper

Suggestion: in a planning meeting, ask yourselves these questions:

  • How will we share with ākonga and whānau our ongoing commitment to their learning and wellbeing?
  • How might we continue to strengthen our learning relationship with ākonga and whānau in online environments?
  • How will we ensure all ākonga are well supported during this transition?
  • What are the cyber-safety and digital citizenship considerations of having ākonga online?
  • What safety protocols do we need to put in place before bringing ākonga into virtual meetings or conference calls? For example, one protocol might be that before they activate their cameras in a video conference, everyone has “video off” as the session starts, and then mindfully starts their video when it’s OK to do so.

Remove barriers to staying connected

Our schools, kura and early learning settings have closed this week. We do not know how long we all might need to engage in learning from home. Access to connection options will vary across your community. It is important that we steer away from single, one size fits all solutions and work to find individualised solutions for all ākonga and their whānau. This will require us to identify the barriers and the access constraints within our communities, and create innovative solutions that will be inclusive and responsive to everyone’s needs.

Suggestion: Check in with ākonga and their whānau to identify their current accessibility status and explore all possible solutions to empower them to engage in distance learning.

  • Explore opportunities for ākonga to work in ways that can be supported by occasional internet access.
  • Provide ways for ākonga and their whānau to confidentially contact someone they feel comfortable speaking with if they have an equity or access concern.
  • Find out if whānau or members of your community have old, unused smartphones with no SIM card that will still be useful on a family wireless connection.

How can we help?

CORE Education’s facilitation team can help you or your learning community transition to teaching and learning from home. We are committed to a people-first approach and will work alongside you to find solutions that will work for you.

Please get in touch if you need any kind of support or guidance, email learning@core-ed.ac.nz

Acknowledgements

Albany Senior High School Instructions for Going Remote. Accessed from DisruptEd Facebook Group. Google Doc (March 2020).

Mental Health Foundation Looking after Health and Wellbeing During Covid-19. Accessed from Mental Health Foundation website (March 2020).

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Children’s agency, a champion, and a model for advocacy

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childrens-agency

When I first heard the word “agency” applied to children, I naively thought that it must refer to child actors. Well, in a way it does, but not in the way I thought. Agency is a word I struggled with. For a long time I found it hard to use – do you grant agency? Allow agency? Provide scope for agency? Deny agency? Is agency the same as choice? Is it voice?

For me, the concept of agency for children makes most sense when thought about in terms of children’s rights (no surprises there), and in particular, their rights to express an opinion. All too often though, the one right which talks about children’s entitlement to a point of view, Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is taken out of context. In this blog, I want to put some context around children’s rights to a voice, to be consulted, informed and to express their point of view and their right to say “No, I don’t want to tell you”. I also want to talk about champions – specifically my child’s right hero – Professor Laura Lundy.

Two big ideas – agency and voice

At the moment, there is an unprecedented interest in two big ideas – child agency and child voice. Both these ideas are about children’s rights to participate in all decisions that affect them – their Article 12 rights – the ones most often quoted when it comes to voice. However, unfortunately, the other Articles about children’s rights to a point of view are less well known. These, arguably, concern the ‘agency’ part. Agency is about the ability of the child to actively influence their environment – as a learner, a player, singer, an artist – whatever – and for children, voice is the way they exercise their agency.

But, and it’s a big but, because voice means much, much more than just listening to children. For example, in the table below are all the rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – the Children’s Convention which, in theory, should support children to take part in matters that concern them.

Articles that support children’s rights to express a point of view

12 Children have the right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into account.
13 Children have the right to get and to share information, as long as the information is not damaging to them or others.
14 Children have the right to think and believe what they want, and to practice their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights. Parents should guide children in these matters.
15 Children have the right to meet together and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.
16 Children have the right to privacy. The law should protect them from attacks against their way of life, their good name, their families, and their homes


(Adapted from Unicef NZ (2011) For each and every child. He taonga tonu te tamariki. Wellington, NZ: Learning Media. Available from https://www.unicef.org.nz/teaching-resources)

What facilitates a rights-based learning setting? What constrains it?

In my work at CORE, across the early years, primary and the secondary sector, I have heard many kaiako equate agency with voice and in so doing, assume that voice means children’s participation rights are fulfilled. But are they? Scratch the surface and you reveal some really interesting assumptions that I think are worth questioning. This is where my hero, and internationally renowned children’s champion, makes her entrance.

Children’s champion and a model for advocacy

In 2007, Laura Lundy wrote one of the most widely cited articles about children’s participation rights – “Voice is not enough: Conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child “. Like many child rights advocates, she was concerned that equating children’s agency to voice was limiting. She started asking questions like “where do you listen to children?” and, “who is listening to children?” and, “once you have heard from children, what are you going to do about it?” (Lundy 2007).

Her intention was to broaden the adult assumption that listening to the child’s voice is one-dimensional and to do this she identified four spheres, elements, aspects, as a way to deeply understand (first stage of CORE’s theory of Action He Ariā Kōkirikiri) what it takes to really listen to what children have to say.

 

laura_lundy

Source: https://www.tusla.ie/uploads/content/Laura_Lundy_Slides.pdf 

This model has been used by some of us at CORE. I think it has enormous potential as an advocacy tool for all learners, (no matter the shoe size), and that includes us as kaiako, as facilitators of learning, and as researchers. The main point here is that children’s agency consists of more than one element – all the participation rights need to be considered to authentically hear what children have to say. To make this a reality for all children, we need to be advocates (and champions too). Part of our role as professionals is to advocate for socially just outcomes and, as Judge Becroft, our current Children’s Commissioner and chief advocate for children once observed: the Children’s Convention offers “unequivocal international commitment to protect, nurture and further the interests of what is potentially one of the most marginalised and abused groups in our community – our children”. Sobering thoughts.

Be an advocate

The education sector is not alone when it comes to genuinely respecting children’s rights to say what they think, see, and feel. The roll out of the Child Wellbeing Strategy promotes a joined-up approach to the way government plans and resources services for children. That strategy foregrounds a child-rights approach. In education, we have extraordinary potential to enact these rights every day, and for each and every child. And we do. But, maybe we can do better? As Laura Lundy says, we have made huge progress with space, voice and audience, but the influence sphere is still hitting barriers. Therein lies a challenge for us: What more could we do? How can we advocate for sustained support for children’s rights to be heard across our sector and beyond?

If not you, who? If not now, when?

Listen to Sarah’s podcast discussion about learner agency here.

For more information about children’s rights visit:

Education matters to me https://www.occ.org.nz/publications/reports/education-matters-to-me-key-insights/

Children’s Rights Alliance Aotearoa (NB – this website has not been updated to reflect the new name for the organisation so don’t be confused by landing on Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa. The website houses the latest reports and submissions about children’s rights.)

References

Lundy, L. (2007). ‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. British Educational Research Journal. Vol 33 (6) 947-942
Unicef NZ (2011) For each and every child. He taonga tonu te tamariki. Wellington, NZ: Learning Media. Available from https://www.unicef.org.nz/teaching-resources

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Future Ready – bringing your graduate profile to life!

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graduate-profile

Beginning the year provides a great opportunity to ‘start fresh’ with our thinking, individually and as a staff. It’s a time where we can take a moment to reflect on what’s really important and what the key drivers are for our work.

For schools and kura this thinking is revealed in mission and vision statements.. These make explicit the aspirations they, and their community, have for learners in their care.

A really good mission and vision statement is grounded in beliefs about teaching and learning that are held by the staff and the community. These in turn reveal a lot about what they believe to be the purpose of schooling, what is expected of it by the community and society more generally.

I’m writing this as I reflect on three recent experiences:

  1. A camping holiday with my entire family during which we spent time sharing some of our dreams and thoughts about what’s happening in our lives and the hopes we have for the six grandchildren in particular.
  2. A day working with the staff of a large primary school in Auckland where we explored the implications of a ‘future focused’ perspective on all aspects of the school’s planning and activity, and how this is reflected in their statement of intent, vision and mission.
  3. The release earlier in the week of a new report from the OECD on Teenagers’ Career Aspirations and the Future of Work, and the headline in local papers telling us that half of Kiwi 15-year-olds expect to work in one of just 10 occupations.

The questions about ‘What is school for?’ and the ‘purpose of education’ are the common thread in these experiences. Whether a parent making decisions about a place of learning for their child; an educator making curriculum planning decisions for the year ahead; or a national or international policy body researching these things, we can’t avoid the reality that the most significant measure of success of our endeavours is the ‘product’ at the end of the line – in education’s case, the confident, connected, life-long learner who is able to thrive in a world where the future is uncertain and changing.

Considering how well school contributes to the preparation of our young people as future citizens, and how well they then contribute to society in the workforce is a key indicator of success. The journey towards this goal starts well before they get to the senior secondary years when the careers guidance programmes kick in.

The foundations that prepare young people for their futures, including work, are established early in life when parents and whānau begin asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Once they make their way to school or kura our children and tamariki encounter the curriculum with an initial emphasis on literacy and numeracy, gradually expanding to other domains of knowledge and the skills associated with them. The design of the curriculum is influenced by our beliefs (as society, communities, educators) about what they need to be able to know and do that will prepare them for what they do in the future.

All good so far, except that when it comes to what actually happens in school, it appears (in some cases at least) that this connection isn’t made. According to a 2018 article in Stuff, while we may consider our school graduates to be educated, tech savvy and enthusiastic, only half of 16- to 23-year-olds feel their education has prepared them well for the future. In that article, Massey University Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Paul Spoonley, is reported as saying that there has been a disconnect between employers’ expectations and the secondary and tertiary curriculum for some time.

The more recent OECD findings reinforce this earlier report, with the list of ten occupations identified through their research looking very similar to the list I would have made when I was at school, more than 40 years ago. None of the occupations identified in the World Economic Forum’s list of top ten skills you will need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, appear in the OECD list for example.

However, I’d suggest that the ‘disconnect’ should be considered more widely than simply being between what employers expect and the what is in the school curriculum – or perhaps more correctly, how it is taught.

Many schools and kura have made explicit the aspirations they have for their learners, in the form of a graduate profile. In almost every case, these profiles describe a wide range of competencies and dispositions that places of learning want to see developed in young people during the time they are with them. These are based on beliefs about what is important in terms of character, including the ability to adapt and cope with change, and not narrowly defined in terms of specific skills or knowledge outcomes.

Again, this is a really valuable exercise and one that I’d strongly support. Once developed, the graduate profile must remain a ‘living document’, not something that is filed away and used as a point of reference for achievement when learners reach their final year.

As the new year begins, I encourage you to revisit your graduate profile (if you have one) and reflect on the extent to which the programmes, themes, activities and topics planned for this term or year will provide opportunities for your learners to develop the characteristics you’ve identified. What measures will you take to so that you can confidently say these things are being or have been achieved? Moreover, as the characteristics described in a good graduate profile likely to develop, what strategies and measures do you have in your school, kura or centre to monitor and track this development over time?

Let’s make 2020 the year we shift our emphasis to be truly ‘future focused’, and take steps to ensure that there is no longer any gap between what we say we aspire to see learners achieve and what they report as their experience when they leave you to participate as contributing members of society – including in the world of work.

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