hi-ako-blog

Understanding HīAko

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From a young age, Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga was a nanakia visionary, inquisitive and he accomplished a number of great feats helping others to live better lives. HīAko aims to enable Māori learners to discover their potential, ‘te pitomata’ and promote kaupapa Māori ways of engaging with self, others, and knowledge.

The HīAko challenge itself is fast paced, high energy and fun and uses kaupapa Māori approaches to find solutions to real life, localised problems that matter to ākonga and their whānau as speakers of te reo Māori. HīAko provides ākonga with the opportunity like Māui, to think, explore and find solutions to real life issues in order to enrich the lives of others. Māui was far from perfect and he was a great disruptor, which is what is needed also in this space.

HīAko

HīAko is founded within pūrākau, demonstrating a unique approach to learning based on four Māori medium learning approaches:

  • Kia hīanga te ako – discover as you play, play to learn
  • Kia tamaiti te tū, kia Māori te tū – being a child whilst standing in your Māoriness
  • Mā te tamaiti tōna ao e hanga – the child will create his or her own world
  • Ko te tamaiti ko tōna whānau, ko te whānau ko tōna tamaiti – each child brings with them whānau, whakapapa, stories and knowledge that are unique.

What is HīAko?

  • HīAko is a learning programme which believes that whilst playing, huge learning is taking place.
  • HīAko encompasses learning reciprocity, learning enjoyment, learning discovery, learning creativity, and learning collaboration.
  • HīAko endeavours to awaken the potential within, so that new ideas and innovations may occur.
  • HīAko is Māori-centric, fun, and fast paced.
  • HīAko includes time for ākonga to collaborate together in teams to inquire, uncover problems that matter to them, which they would like to try and solve.
  • HīAko encourages teams to research and query solutions to their problems and link with whānau, kura, hapū and the wider hāpori to assist ākonga with their solutions.
  • HīAko is designed so ākonga get to play, tutu, learn, create and harness transformational change within a total immersion te reo Māori environment.
HīAko – powered by CORE Education – Tātai Aho Rau is a kaupapa Māori driven event for tau 6 – 8 ākonga from Māori medium and reo rua kura. Three HīAko events will be held during 2021. More information about the upcoming HīAko events and how to enrol your ākonga coming soon. Visit the website for more!

 

We would like to acknowledge Whare and Hohepa Isaac-Sharland, past facilitators of CORE who designed and delivered the HīAko programme and this content.

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Image by CORE Education. All rights reserved.

Innovation is in our DNA: engaging Māori students in design thinking

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Te Mako Orzecki reflects on this podcast from Janelle Riki-Waaka

 

In this podcast, Janelle Riki-Waaka explains how employing the good old number 8 wire mentality is at the heart of innovation using design thinking frameworks. She draws on the experiences of Māori and Pasifika navigators who traversed the Pacific and settled throughout Te Moananui a Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean). Our ancestors used not only technologies of the time to survive but also thrive. Janelle argues that these technologies and innovations still exist within our tamariki and mokopuna of today.

Janelle draws on that old knowledge and technology to make comparison with today’s Hangarau Matihiko and Digital Technologies curriculum content. As she puts it, “The end goal is for Māori learners to not only become consumers of technology, but also creators of technology.” There is a desire for Māori ākonga to be innovative in seeking solutions to any given problems by developing a framework that sits within their cultural paradigm and more.

Image by CORE Education. All rights reserved.
Image by CORE Education. All rights reserved.

A kaiako’s job as a facilitator of learning is to provide Māori ākonga with the opportunities to pursue these types of vocations and to set themselves up in their future career pathways.
Diversification is key in making this a success. This means more wāhine, more Māori, and more people of Pacific descent working in these spaces. It is imperative that various cultural lenses can provide unique perspectives. One way of developing locally-grounded, future-focused problem solvers is through design thinking.

Design thinking is a process that requires people to find problems or challenges that affect people and places and come up with solutions. These often derive from the needs of people and/or environment. It enables a collaborative way of working.

In considering what design thinking looks like from a Te Ao Māori perspective in our CORE Education mahi, we drew on Cliff Whiting and the design process he used in his art making. Similar to Cliff we used the Māori creation story as a narrative to understand and guide our initial design thinking process. This Māori view on design thinking was further developed for Kia Takatū a-Matihiko as Te Tukunga Hoahoa Whakaaro. As a snapshot, our iterative process consisted of design, testing, feedback, reframing ideas, and reflection. Our wish is to share this process with all kaiako throughout Aotearoa who want to use it with their tamariki, knowing that it has come from an authentic, bicultural perspective that is based and grounded in Te Ao Māori and mātauranga Māori.

In recent years there has been a notable rise in the number of Māori role models in tech and innovation industries who are upheld as innovative thinkers and leaders. People like Lee Timutimu (Ko Māui Hangarau), Kendall Flutey (Ngāi Tahu) who developed an online banker tool for primary and intermediate learners to learn money skills. Nikora Ngaropo for his outstanding work with animations and Hori Te Ariki Mataki (Ariki Creative) and the boys from Māui Studio who are doing the mahi in Ōtautahi. These innovators are leading the charge for our budding future Māori digital creators and leaders.

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Gaming up your te reo Māori

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Learning a new language can be a confronting and terrifying experience for many people, and in this I am speaking from experience.

As a Māori, not knowing how to kōrero Māori confidently, there were, and still are, many barriers and anxieties when it comes to my own reo journey.

In my journey I’ve found that turning learning into games, as a whānau, has helped us to connect and grow together, building a positive and fun environment around language learning. Although we are at very different levels and stages of speaking te reo – from completely fluent to a very basic learner level, between us, we have learnt patience, grace, encouragement and that mistakes are ok. Because you’re playing a game, you’re reminded that even the very basic learner of te reo Māori can be the champion and keeps the fluent speaker both humble and hungry for success.

One way that begins to break down barriers is by making the learning fun. This is where our range of Papaki kēmu (games) were born. Our Te Arareo Māori publishing team at CORE Education scoped the range of resources available in both English and Māori-medium schools at the time, and found there was a good range of charts, posters and books, but a very small number of fun and engaging games specifically for encouraging the use of te reo Māori. Papaki were originally created for our most basic te reo Māori learners at preschool and primary schools, however we quickly realised that these kēmu (games) would be suitable for all ages and levels of te reo Māori proficiency.

 

 

The key aspects of making an effective language learning game include:

  • Being fun and entertaining
  • Using a context for the language use
  • Encouraging communication
  • Promoting participants to speak the language
  • Some strategic thinking to understand the why of the game
  • Using a range of senses (e.g. sight, sound, touch etc.)

2Papaki is a game which combines memory skills and snap skills, and adds an extra element of introducing the Māori kupu (word) for each of the individual images. Once the game begins you quickly start to recognise an image or two, and the associated Māori words, and to progress further and faster in the game. The aim is to encourage quick recognition and add extra kupu (words) to your now growing vocabulary. As you become engrossed in the game by having fun, the barriers you may have had around giving Māori a go quickly begin to decrease!

When I observe people playing this game with others who have been apprehensive about learning te reo Māori, they don’t realise the language skills they’re acquiring. Players are simply focused on doing well in the game. They have more positive feelings or emotions associated with te reo Māori rather than barriers.

Learning in this way motivates the desire to further your language skills and works as a stimulant to continue your language journey and engage with te reo Māori more frequently.

So how are you going to add a little bit of fun to your te reo journey? You might like to join me and many others by playing Papaki!

3Grow your Māori vocabulary the fun way with our Papaki card game!

Papaki is a simple pattern recognition game, designed by CORE Education, where players aim to match an image shown on two cards.

Use the kupu (word) cards included in the pack to learn the Māori names for each symbol.

Papaki can be used at home, in the classroom, in the workplace – almost anywhere.

 

All images are by CORE Education, all rights reserved.

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Growing shared leadership and bicultural understandings through whakataukī

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This blog is my story and shares some of my learning and views of leadership and about being a Tiriti partner as I navigate and make sense of the relationships, experiences and opportunities that present themselves.

Leadership can be about action, practice and being present in the moment. Many things come to mind when recalling stories of leadership in action; about being careful and deliberate and understanding that leadership requires decision making, courage and collective efforts. Pōhatu’s (1994) philosophy of Āta (“with care” and “with deliberation”) emphasises relationships and offers guidance and balance around purpose, influence and people. Āta is a philosophy embedded in Mātauranga Māori and part of a Māori world view.

The principles of Āta provide a cultural base for reflective deliberation ensuring the spiritual, emotional and intellectual levels of the education process are valued and respected. (Forsyth & Kung, 2007)

Taking care and being responsible is a constant dialogue and dance when engaging in bicultural practice. It’s a lifelong commitment and the learning happens in unexpected ways that reveal themselves at opportune times. Navigating this space with care, deep respect and reflective deliberation has supported my leadership practice.

Key responsibilities of leadership are to deeply know one’s own identity and to support others in their professional growth, creating space for their reflection, feedback and world views. As Pākehā, this also requires role modelling, advocacy and learning to walk alongside tangata whenua as a Tiriti partner. Mindful of the importance of cultural integrity, it matters to honour and valid indigenous knowledge by creating space. Understanding that everyone and everything has a whakapapa is important learning that can be enriched by reciprocity through trusting relationships.

The power of whakataukī to shape thinking and learning

Embracing Te Ao Māori as a learner and Tiriti partner can make us feel vulnerable, an example is advocating for tikanga practice whilst trying not to trample on the mana of others. One aspect of pedagogy Māori that brings inspiration is the depth and insight captured in the meaning of whakataukī (proverbs). Each whakataukī is a gift and hearing them spoken on marae and in whaikōrero (speeches) connected to the kaupapa feels like a real privilege.

Whakataukī are embedded with mātauranga and have been passed down through many generations. (Te Whāriki Whakatauki cards)

Ruru, Roche and Waitoki’s (2017) research explores the balance between Māori women’s leadership and wellbeing. Using whakataukī as overarching themes for their analysis they found that “whakataukī describe unique aspects of leadership and wellbeing from a Māori worldview. Themes include humility, collectiveness, courage, future orientations and positivity”.

The following whakataukī used in their research is about service, supporting others and harvesting an idea as an opportunity to develop a pathway for future generations (Ruru et al, 2017).

Piki kau ake te whakāro pai, hauhake tōnu iho:
When a good thought springs up, it is harvested, a good idea should be used immediately.

One particular story of leadership in action I recall is an interaction with leaders and kaiako in an early years setting, who were exploring whakataukī. As their facilitator my role was to notice, reflect, and support their professional growth and leadership in the design and implementation of their local curriculum. This example was about strengthening bicultural understandings through authentic engagement with whānau.

At the kindergarten I noticed that the teaching team had really connected with the book Mauri Ora – wisdom from the Māori world (Alsop & Kupenga, 2016). They were exploring the different proverbs and values in relation to their teaching. I could see they were thinking deeply about meaning as a way to support their developing understanding of Te Ao Māori. They began to unpack individual whakataukī and use them in their teaching staff room for reflection and inspiration. This was evident in their conversations and documentation.

whakatuaki-mauri-ora-book

Reflecting on this practice I noticed the depth of their engagement and a shift in kaupapa – the nature of their conversations was changing and enriched. I suggested that they could share the words and images out in the kindergarten where parents and whānau could see. They could even consider putting their book, Mauri Ora, close to where parents arrive or often spend time such as where children’s lunch boxes or bags are put away.

Returning to the kindergarten several weeks later, one of the first things that greeted me was the book of whakataukī open, and displayed alongside where parents and whānau sign in. Kaiako shared with me that not long after building up the practice of choosing a whakataukī for each day and sharing it with parents, families and whānau, a young parent, (a dad who was Māori) initiated taking on this leadership role in the kindergarten. Each morning, he would quietly come in, look through the book, choose a whakataukī, display it for other parents and whānau and talk to the teaching team about his understanding and interpretation of the whakataukī.

As an expression of authentic and shared leadership, this emerging practice became a routine. It was a wonderful way to demonstrate the concept of ako, the shared role of teaching and learning and maximising the gifts and contributions of whānau.

Kaiako then shared what they did with this gift. Each morning the teaching team and tamariki sat together, shared stories and talked about the day ahead. They took the whakataukī, chosen by the parent, and shared it with tamariki, talking about the meaning, and asking the children what they thought and understood. For example by breaking down the values of manaakitanga they could connect it to what children could see, feel and hear in the learning setting. Kaiako would ask tamariki “What do you notice?” “What does manaakitanga look like for you?”. In this way the whakataukī started to reflect in the programme.

I often reflect on the impact of that one action.

Enacting a bicultural curriculum requires understanding the significance of whakapapa as a taonga in Te Ao Māori. We have responsibilities and obligations to champion equity, use te reo Māori with correct pronunciation, and to create leadership opportunities for tamariki to share, learn about and connect with Te Ao Māori including from whānau (Ministry of Education, 2017).

Leadership is not about having answers and obtaining knowledge – it’s about conversations, reflection and creating space to hear and respect the legacies of others. This story highlights the importance of partnerships, relational trust and the opportunities for shared learning when designing a local curriculum through genuine engagement with whānau and conversations with tamariki mokopuna.

To affirm whakataukī is to accept the indigeneity of a Māori/iwi lens and invites the receiver to align their thought processes to this. This is biculturalism in its truest sense as one worldview interacts with another on the same level. Each Tiriti partner has equal status, their individual mana remains intact and intertwines to co-construct a collective understanding.(Te Whāriki Whakatauki cards)

whakatauki-cards

This series of cards (image above) represent the whakataukī in the early years curriculum Te Whāriki. They are available to download from Te Whāriki Online and are a great resource to support leadership practice through conversations and critical reflection.

Download the whakataukī cards >

Grow your leadership with resources, workshops and courses >

References

Alsop, P. & Kupenga, T. (2016). Mauri ora – wisdom from the Māori world. Potton & Burton

Forsyth, H. and Kung, N. (2007). Āta: A Philosophy for Relational Teaching. New Zealand Journal of Education Studies, 42 (1/2), 5-15.

Ministry of Education Te Tāhuhu o Te Mātauranga (2017). Te Whāriki He whāriki mātauranga mō nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, NZ

Ruru, S., Roche, M., & Waitoki, W. (2017). Māori women’s perspectives of leadership and wellbeing. Journal Of Indigenous Wellbeing – Te Mauri – Pimatisiwin, 2(1). Retrieved 17 July 2020, from https://journalindigenouswellbeing.com/media/2018/07/64.51.M%C4%81ori-women%E2%80%99s-perspectives-of-leadership-and-wellbeing.pdf.

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Becoming culturally courageous

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Imagine, if you will, a wee blonde-haired girl, loud as the day is long, aged seven, growing up on a farm at the farthest point of the South Island. She trails along behind family members, talking incessantly or singing enthusiastically, and learning the family business. Her usual attire is gumboots, a shirt and jeans, or a pair of overalls. She is often accompanied by a trail of animals, to which she clearly has a huge sense of responsibility. This Pākehā girl’s experience of anything Māori has been waiata sung by the Māori farm workers around the bonfire at tailing time, with spatterings of waiata sung at school.

Let’s move on nine years to find our farm girl at high school. She is attending a decile one school, where many students have dropped out, disengaged with the learning, and frustrated by the system. Her experience of Māori now extends to hearing friends use the odd word or phrase, but not the teachers. Her experience is not kapa haka – the school doesn’t offer this. It’s not tikanga being discussed – people even sit on the tables! Te reo is offered to students who are not doing English or Sciences. Timetabling discussions imply Māori is not a priority subject.

What about university you ask? Our wee farm girl takes te reo courses and her eyes are opened! The lecturer talks of the empowerment of fluency; he talks of how to prioritise tikanga. He models, he encourages, he empowers, he inspires. She questions where she sits in all of this.

Now fast-forward 35 years on from the start of our story, to find this wee farm girl sitting in her car outside a school, where she is about to facilitate a strong and passionate group of teachers in the Te Whakamānawa: developing cultural competencies in learning communities course. This course supports these classroom practitioners to question, reflect and collectively grow their cultural capabilities, to support the engagement and success of all students.

This wee farm girl is me. I’ll be honest; before I sat in the car that day I was genuinely questioning “How do I find myself here? Am I the right person to be supporting these kaiako and their tamariki?” I confess that as a Pākehā supporting the facilitation of a course about how to reflect the bi-cultural heritage of Aotearoa I was feeling very vulnerable. As Brene Brown (2010) would say though, “you need to be in a state of vulnerability before you can be in a state of courageousness.” I decided that my personal challenge as I worked with the teachers was to accept this vulnerability and lean into it, rather than run away from it.

cultural-iceberg

One of the first key discussions the group of teachers had was around the concept of the ‘cultural iceberg’. We talked about how important it is to know your own whakapapa (to recognise how where you’ve come from and how your worldview informs your teaching practice and relationships with students and their whānau). This is a perspective that helps you to understand others. I listened to teachers in this course discuss their understandings and misunderstandings of the deeper aspects of the many cultures in their school, using their own culture as a lens. We regularly reflected on how these understandings and discussions had an impact on teacher choices, for themselves, for programmes and for individual students.

As a facilitator I wanted to clarify my understanding of my whakapapa and how it was impacting on my opinions, assumptions, bias and values. How did growing up on a farm in Tiwai influence who I am, and how I think?
Co-incidentally I was spending time becoming more familiar with the Ladder of Inference. This made me reconsider that my interpretation of experiences I had at an early age had led me to, at one end of the continuum, false/skewed conclusions and beliefs, and at the other end cringe-worthy moments about other people’s. I recognised that my bias was such that I wasn’t truly walking in others’ shoes as I first thought I had been. I was intrigued to hear teachers talking of this for themselves also.

Quote from J. Riki-Waaka (2018)
Quote from J. Riki-Waaka (2018)

For example, hearing the teachers talk about how they were making changes in their programmes that came from the Wero/Challenges of the course made me reconsider what actions displayed the difference between consultation and engagement with whānau. Hearing online course facilitator, Janelle Riki-Waaka talk of cultural deprivation of generations of New Zealanders made me realise “OMG that’s me! How do I rectify this?”

we-are-dealing-with-cultural-deprived

As I sat and listened to the teachers discussing, debating and consolidating their collective thoughts and feelings about this idea I came to recognise the Pākehā influence – historically and for the future.

This is my responsibility. This is your responsibility. This is our responsibility.

Our country is founded on a partnership between Māori (as tangata whenua) and Pākehā. Aotearoa has a unique and beautiful bicultural history and one that is reflected in our wonderful New Zealand Curriculum. Our Codes and Standards clearly say that we are responsible for righting the wrongs of decolonisation (pg 4). Te Tiriti o Waitangi Articles 1 to 4 are also reflected in our responsibilities.

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It is imperative that we all commit to understanding culture (both our own and others), and that from these understandings we make changes in our schools to be responsive to cultures, therefore creating places where children recognise themselves as an important part of the school.

what-would-i-hear

As a Pākehā I now see that educating myself will have a positive impact on how I educate others to bring about change. I eagerly read and share examples of how this can be done, such as:

  • The CORE Education Ten Trends 2019 has a trend focusing on Cultural Narratives and the powerful enablers they are becoming in connecting our past to the present and acts to build a platform to a sustainable future.
    “Cultural narratives are increasingly recognised as powerful enablers in connecting our past to the present, situating us in the context of the places we co-inhabit, and recognising the influences of people, places, time and events in shaping who we are.” (CORE Education, 2019 pg 62)
  • Principal possum – challenge of bi-culturalism lies with Pakeha
  • 10 decolonisation skills for non-Māori kiwis10-decolonisation-skills

As I reflect on the impact I saw on those strong teachers who did the Te Whakamānawa course, I admire how they leaned into the discomfort of the work, faced their shame or fear, and focused on what was needed for their tamariki to be successful.
These teachers endeavoured to engage with the whānau and iwi of the area, rather than consult, and they sought reciprocal relationships.
They collaboratively worked to ensure success for their tamariki, both by identifying their student’s taonga and by seeking student, whānau and iwi voice into the life of the school.

The collective bank of resources they have from this journey is immense – the videos, learner profiles, pepeha, the mihi whakatau practices, strategic plans are astounding. I wish I had recorded their conversations for you so that you could hear the depth of care, passion, and aroha for their children and their profession. I recall a conversation when several of the teachers talked about what giftedness is for their Māori students. I felt tears welling in my eyes as they discussed child after child, and how they wanted to consolidate tikanga practices at their school for these children to ensure opportunities for success for all.

They continue to be the influencers of change as they navigate processes they began as part of their journey on this course, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.

Te Whakamānawa course has encouraged me to reconsider and truly challenge myself to grow in this area. That wee blonde haired girl seems so long ago and so naive. There is such benefit in this type of development for teachers. Specifically as a Pākehā I now recognise how I can advocate for change.

I leave you with these questions to ponder around cultural capabilities:

  • How might your culture and worldview inform your teaching practice and how you engage with others?
  • What responsibility do you have as a non-Māori/Māori educator in Aotearoa to uphold the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to contribute to the success of all your students?
  • How are you currently using your influence? And what will you do next?

Need help building cultural capabilities?
Check out these great resources
Register for Te Whakamānawa: developing cultural competencies in learning communities

 

References

Abraham, M. (2017). Challenge of Biculturalism Lies With Pakeha. Retrieved from http://principalpossum.blogspot.com/2017/03/challenge-of-biculturalism-lies-with.html 
Brown, B. (2010, June) The power of vulnerability [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en#t-1200270
CORE Education. (2019). Cultural narratives » Ten Trends 2019. Retrieved from http://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/2019/cultural-narratives/
Education Council. (2017). Our Code, Our Standards [Ebook]. Wellington: Education Council. Retrieved from https://teachingcouncil.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf
[GCPE BCGov]. (2016, April 20). Cultural Iceberg [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woP0v-2nJCU
Labrie, P. Mental Models – Ladder of Inference. Retrieved from https://artofleadershipconsulting.com/blog/leadership/mental-models-ladder-of-inference/
Ministry of Education. (2017). The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum
Sheron, L. (2013). Cultural Heritage Below the Water Line | OIC Moments. Retrieved from https://www.oh-i-see.com/blog/2013/09/12/culture-smart-3s-and-4s/

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