Building my inquiry

As I begin the journey as a CoL Teacher in the Manaiakalani Kahui Ako I am beginning to think about Inquiry. My context is development of the NZ/Aotearoa History Curriculum - and my goal is to identify areas where my inquiry will make a powerful contribution to wider school and cluster goals.

• At this stage of My inquiry the focus is to:

• identify valued learning outcomes which include but are not limited to achievement outcomes

• Profile: Investigate the nature of the students’ strengths and gaps in relation to valued learning outcomes in detail 

• Focus on the issue of student learning

What are the key learning objectives that teachers see in respect to Aotearoa New Zealand History? How does the new Curriculum fit with the learning that has already taken place?

I am really keen to connect with teachers from across the Kahui Ako to understand what the reality is for their learners.

First I need to understand before I can create and test my hypothesis in regards to the teaching and Learning of Aotearoa History

Embracing Local Histories

 Last Friday I had the privledge of facilitating a tour of Tamaki, led by Matua Wade Harley from Ngāti Pāoa, for a Year 9 class at Tamaki College.

We travelled to five locations, Maungarei, Mokoia Pa (Panmure Bridge), Mauinaina Pa (Marist Rugby Club), Te Whanake (Point England Reserve) and Wai-o-rohe (Karaka Bay).

We learned the stories of the land, of arrival, of battles fought, the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and we looked to the future with the up coming construction of a new Marae for Ngāti Pāoa. This was the first time that Matua had taken a group of students out on such a Hikoi.

I had two main objectives of the tour. Firstly it was to listen and learn the stories of Ngāti Pāoa and the Tamaki Area. The second was to observe how learners engaged with the local histories. Can Trips to local historical sites provide valuable learning opportunities by increasing student engagement?

I have to say that the engagement levels for this class were outstanding. There were moments where the students sat silently and were moved by the stories being told. It was clear that the students enjoyed themselves.

I plan with the support of SLT to take more of these tours hopefully getting every year 9 student to attend at some point. 

 

Histories at Tamaki College

 It was great to catch up with Mr Russel Dunn, Deputy Principal of teaching and learning at Tamaki College, to discuss his vision for the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum (ANZHC) at Tamaki College.

Currently there is no seperate ANZHC at Tamaki College. History is taught within the social studies programme in years 9 and 10 and then becomes an option for NCEA at Years 11, 12 and 13.  However the introduction of this new curriculum does provide an opportunity for colleges such as Tamaki to engage with and critically evaluate stories of our past, particually in a local context. 

Russel was clear that the new ANZHC "Must be given the mana it deserves". This, from my perspective, was great to hear!. Russel was especially excited about the opportunity to embrace the new curriculum with the front half of the NZC. Relating to others, critical thinking and collaberating are all Key Competencies that can be explicitly taught using the contexts within the ANZHC.  

Russel cautioned that as we embark on the journey of embracing the ANZHC we must be mindful of the lense that we are using.  We have to be mindful for instance of the Treaty of Waitangi not just in a historical context but how it remains relevant to all New Zealanders today. 

Thank you Russel for your time - I am excited to see how we can incorporate the new ANZHC into both Tamaki College and the Manaiakalani cluster.