Goals
Goal 1:
I will increase my use of kupu Maori and tikanga Maori in the classroom.
MY ACTION PLAN:
I will know I am making progress/achieving this goal when I: ○
- Greet students and colleagues in Te Reo Maori every day.
- Use kupu Maori where possible including in lesson plans and class resources such as slideshows and handouts.
- Incorporate Tikanga Maori such as whakawhanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kotahitanga
RESOURCES I WILL USE ○
- Te Ara Maori Dictionary app
- Prior knowledge from my own experiences
- Te Reo Course on Massey Stream
GOAL 2:
I would like to learn new strategies from my ATs and other teachers for dealing with learners with low literacy.
MY ACTION PLAN: I will know I am making progress/achieving this goal when I:
- Ask my ATs what strategies they use when dealing with learners with low literacy
- Observe my ATs when dealing with learners that have been identified as having low literacy.
- Enquire if my practicum school has any resources for students with low literacy.
- Incorporate what I have learned into my lesson plans.
3. IDENTIFY AVAILABLE RESOURCES
- Kamar
- School Library
- Online resources
Familiarization with Setting
Characteristics of the Community
The roll at Heretaunga College is 814 19% of who are Maori and 5% are Pasifika. My AT teaches a class called Maori Voices which is a class made up of Maori and Pasifika students in the English department. She mentioned that the students in this class often face racism in the wider school and community. The result of this is that these students are particularly on edge at school and some have been involved in fights. Having a smaller Maori and Pasifika community within the school means that they face even more obstacles than similar students at other schools.
School Vision and Philosophy
The Whakatauki at the start of the school’s vision statement is
He Manu e kai ana i te miro, nona te Ngahere. He Manu e kai ana i te matauranga, nona te Ao. The bird that eats the miro berry has the forest; the bird that eats of knowledge has the whole world.
The statement is called “Our why and how” and speaks of centering students in their learning, fostering relationships within the community and building confident, resilient students who want to find their passion.
Key Documents
Ero report
Click to access Heretaunga-College-ERO-Report-2017.pdf
Our why and how – Vision statement on the website. https://www.heretaunga.school.nz/about-us/our-vision/
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Although there is multiple use of kupu Maori as well as a whakatauki, neither the strategic plan nor the school’s vision statement mentions Te Tiriti o Waitangi or connection to local iwi, Te Ati Awa.
Professional Responsibility
Heretaunga College is a PB4L school and uses restorative practice. The school uses Kamar which I will have access to. This is different from my previous practicum school where as a student teacher I didn’t have access to Kamar. This access means that I will understand the students’ needs better as things like their health and learning needs are listed. This knowledge will give me a greater understanding of my students and make Universal Design for learning better. The school also uses Google classroom.
Because of the relief ban and teacher absences, Heretaunga College has gone from 5 Spells (Periods) to 4 because the classes can’t be covered. This means that students finish for the day at 2.30. This is until the end of term 1 but may continue in term 2.
Connection with Community
Heretaunga College runs a school of hospitality which is a tertiary program open to both senior highschool students and adults. The students of this hospitality course run the school cafe which is open to both people on site and the wider community. On Wednesday mornings there is a breakfast club which gives free breakfasts to anyone in the community. This program opens the school up allowing students to connect with the Upper Hutt community.
Observation of a Junior Class
Year 10 Social Studies
Tourism in the Arctic – Extreme Environments
Teacher lets the students into the class, they don’t come in on their own, they wait outside. This shows a style of classroom management that is fairly strict. She also asks students to sit up straight when reading. Class starts with some silent reading and then moves of to an activity in which the class researches an artic country they would like to visit. The classroom is quiet during reading time with some whispered talking. After the task is explained students work silently again. Although the students are well behaved they don’t appear to be having much fun in this class nor does there seem to be a strong bond between the teacher and her students.
Week 1
Design for learning
The English department at Heretaunga College is set up in a unique way. Each class is not set by year level but by theme, meaning that each senior English class contains level 1, 2 and 3 students and they are each taking on a particular theme such as English and Film, English and Sport and English and Crime. When speaking to the teachers in the English department it seems the result of this is that students have greater engagement with English as a subject because they are choosing a subject that they are interested in. However in practice this makes teaching a class more challenging for the teachers as they have to differentiate the levels in the class more widely. They varying levels within a classroom means more individual teaching rather than whole class teaching. Because of this some students are missing out on the basics needed.
Progress towards goals
Goal 1:
As part of my observation of one of my ATs is looking at how she use kupu Maori in the classroom. The students are already familiar with a bunch of everyday kupu Maori such as patai, ka pai, mahi etc so I know that when I am teaching the class I will be able to use those as well. When coming in to a new class whakawhanaungatanga is very important to me. I went around each class and introduced myself to each student and spoke to them individually so we could get to know each other better. This way they will be more comfortable with me when I start teaching the class.
Goal 2:
I spoke to my AT about this goal and we talked about how we can implement it in the classroom. She told me that in our year 9 class there are some students who are missing literacy basics and would need extra help. We made a plan that she would point out those students to me and I would make a plan to support them specifically in the study of the upcoming novel.
EOTC
During this week I attended a house meeting run by students where we learned the words to a house song.
Week 2
Design for learning
The classroom set ups is the way with multiple levels in one class presented further challenges this week. In my year 13 film class the students are working on a close viewing assignment which means that there is a lot of individual work happening for students but it doesn’t feel like much teaching is happening. The way Heretaunga College is set up is that many senior students are out of school on a Monday and a Tuesday to study a trade such as building, engineering etc. When they are out of the classroom they miss their English classes. There is little opportunity for them to make up these missed lessons. When observing these classes it feels like many of these students are just biding there time until they can leave school. Both my ATs seem resigned to the fact that some of their students will not be getting the credits for these classes. My observation in classes like these is that the teacher sets the tone for the classroom and that if the teacher is enthusiastic about the class then the students will follow. However the way that the lessons are set up requires at lot of energy from the teachers to ensure student success and given the set up at the school and the environment for teachers nationally at the moment many teachers do not have the ability to push these students through.
Progress towards goals
Goal 1:
The upsets in timetables as well as the strikes have meant that this week I am still getting to know students so I have been focusing on whakawhanaungatanga. This means that I have been spending time in classes getting to know students. Making connections with students makes my job as a teacher easier. I find as a teacher when my students know and like me I have more buy in from them in the classroom and that it even makes classroom management easier.
Goal 2:
My AT and I discussed the ways in which I could help support learners with low literacy in the classroom. Since I will be doing most of the teaching of the year 9s in term two we discussed how we could create work specifically for those students, especially since we are reading a novel. She and I decided that I will do the differentiation for about 5 students in the class who will need extra help.
Week 3
Design for Learning
My AT did a lesson observation on my year 9 class and one of the things that came up was classroom management. She suggested that I was doing too much teacher talking and that maybe I consider some other activities. However one of the things we discussed was that this is a class with quite low emotional intelligence and so group and independent work is challenging. For example I gave them a number to tell them which group they would be in and they still struggled to get into the right groups let alone complete the group set in those groups. In order to get the groups working there needs to be a teacher next to the group pushing them through. As a teacher this presents a challenge as a teacher as you need to be in more than one place at once. She suggested that a way around this would be to set group work earlier in the lesson, as well as setting smaller individual activities so the students can do them quickly.
Progress towards goals
Goal 1
As it was the last day of term my AT for the Maori Voices English class suggested that it would be appropriate to have kai in the classroom as a way of celebrating Te whakamutunga o Wahanga 1. We said a karakia kai and then all the students had a kai before they got on with their work in class. Since it is a class of predominantly Maori students looking at predominantly Maori texts it seems the correct tikanga.
Goal 2
In 2 of my classes with students with low literacy my ATs have given their students the option of doing an interview for their assessment rather than turning in a written piece. I have been helping one of my level 1 students who is dyslexic prepare for his interview. The support him I have been questioning him about his assignments verbally as well as making notes for him in google docs so when he goes to prepare for his interview he will have something to refer back to. Taking out the challenge of writing means that he can focus on the thinking element of the task.
Week 4
Design for Learning
It is a short week because of ANZAC day but it is good being back at school. I was able to work on unit plans for the final 5 weeks with my AT over the holidays (via email) so I feel like I have a good handle on planning going forward. I am doing all of the teaching in my senior Creative Writing class, my year 13 English in Film class and my year 9 English class.
This week I was able to visit the LRC which is the equivalent of the ORS unit where I teach at my home school. It was wonderful to be able to see how it works. The unit itself is smaller than ours with only one teacher and fewer students there permanently however they also have students with low learning come in to do what is called a Steps class which is where they receive additional literacy learning until they are able to move on from that space.
Goal 1:
This term my AT and I have been making a plan to include more tikanga Maori into the Maori Voices English class so we are looking to start and end class with a karakia every day. I have been looking into appropriate karakia to use for this. We have previously used “Whakataka te hau” but it is a morning karakia and we would need to find one that is appropriate for afternoon classes. We also need to find a karakia whakamutunga to end the lessons.
Goal 2:
We are working on the novel The Porangi Boy in my year 9 class. My AT would like the majority of students to be reading the novel themselves so that they can develop self management skills. However the students who have low literacy skills will be separated out and I will read the novel aloud to them. I will also be designing 3 tiers of comprehension questions for the novel for the 3 different levels of ability in the classroom.
Week 5
Design for Learning
I have been reflecting on my Maori and Pasifika in English class and how it functions. It is a 3 level class with students who are year 11, 12 and 13. Many of these students have learning needs or have behavioural issues but there are also quite a few who don’t. It is a challenging class to teach because all the students have individual needs and are at individual levels. My AT says that whole class teaching is almost impossible with this class because in addition to their learning needs many of the students have low attendance. Instead each student works individually with assistance from the teacher or from a teacher’s aide. Many of the students don’t come to class regularly and do not turn in work if they do come. I have been thinking about the best ways that I can assist this class as well as motivate the students to keep on top of their work. My AT says that telling them off does not work as that will make them more resistant to coming to class. Instead she tries to create a positive environment so that they will feel comfortable coming to class. However there is little recourse if they do not come to class or do their work. As a teacher it presents a large challenge to get all your students in class and achieving, but it seems to me that having them in class even if they aren’t completing their work means that they are getting the pastoral benefits of being at school. They have another adult checking in to make sure they are safe. This seems to me better than pushing them so much they don’t want to attend class.
Goal 1:
As I wrote above in my design for learning paragraph, connecting with the Maori and Pasifika voices students and making sure that they feel safe in class is showing manaakitanga. It is both culturally important as well as important in terms of pastoral care.
Goal 2:
In my Year 9 class there are 2 students who have learning disabilities who work at a lower curriculum level. Then there are various students who have learning disabilities who work at a year 9 level but need extra help with reading. My AT wants the students to manage themselves by reading on their own where possible but has given students who need it the option to be read to. At the start of the novel study she said anyone who wants to be read to can come and be read aloud to. She made it clear that being read aloud to did not make you stupid it just meant that it is what you need on that day. While many students decided to be read too, the two students with the lowest reading levels in the class did not come to be read to. Later in the lesson, after the reading had finished one of those students came up to me and told me he was having issues with the mahi. At this point I said I would read to him on his own. It is interesting to me that in the effort to make him not feel stigmatized for his learning needs he had actually not got the support he needed to do his mahi. In future we will need to find a balance between making students such as him feel confident in the classroom but also to have their needs met.
Week 6
Design for learning
This week was another short week because of the strike. The whole school strike on Wednesday, Year 12s rostered home on Tuesday and Year 13s rostered home on Thursday. In addition to this at Heretaunga College had all year 13s out at an activity on Tuesday and a sports exchange on that same day. This meant that many students were out of class. The result of this is that students are particularly unengaged in classes. In my Maori Voices class, which is a particularly unengaged class, students had a deadline which many did not meet. As students are always difficult to engage, the additional missed lessons meant that most did not submit. This presents extra challenges as a teacher. Trying to engage disengaged students who are behind in their learning takes a lot of extra work.
Goal 1:
My children attend a kura kaupapa and as part of their mahi kainga their kaiako sent home a sheet with some karakia to be used at home. As my AT and I have been looking for a karakia to use in our Maori voices class I brought them into school. We have not had a chance to use them yet as it is a challenge to get all the students in class at the beginning of the class for karakia and it will be an ongoing challenge.
Goal 2:
I have been trying to get the balance of differentiation right in my year 9 English class but it has been an ongoing challenge. I have realized that in trying to create work that its suitable for students at the low level of the class, the middle level and the highest level I have been creating work that is too hard for the lowest level and too easy for those at the highest level. My AT and I have revised our approach so as to make the tasks more student driven so that they will be able to choose what level of work they are doing. That means our approach will be more one on one when assigning tasks.
EOTC
During this week I attended another house meeting where I was able to support students and teachers with the pronunciation of Maori words in the house song as the Pakeha teacher was finding it challenging.
Week 7
Progress towards goals
Goal 1:
In my year 9 class we have been experimenting with how to help a mostly pakeha class with translations of te reo from The Porangi Boy. Up to this point we have been having them look up translations of the words listed on a worksheet for each chapter. However on reading through their answers to the worksheet I could see that they were often using google translate instead of Te Aka, the Maori dictionary and were often coming up with the wrong answers. This seems to not be helping their learning as well as not upholding the Mana of te reo that they are learning. So instead I have asked them to write the words they don’t know the translations for on the whiteboard so we can look them up as a class to make sure they are getting the correct translation.
Goal 2:
In my year 13 English in Film class we have quite a few students who have been identified as not being natural writers. My AT has been experimenting with ChatGPT and ways in which it can support students instead of them using it to cheat. She has had students tell her the topic of their piece of writing and then has shown them how to use ChatGPT to help create an outline for that piece of writing and some topics that they could write on within that topic to help their writing. By giving them this they are able to have their writing scaffolded but they still have to do the writing themselves. In seeing this process I have been able to view how to use technology to help develop students writing skills.
EOTC
During this week the school had Enrichments scheduled. This is when staff provide a range of activities outside of the classroom space and students can pick which one they would like to choose. I was able to support at the crochet and knitting enrichment where students could learn to crochet or knit. If they already knew how they were given patterns to make “knitted knockers” which are padded inserts that people who have lost a breast to breast cancer can wear while waiting for their breast reconstruction. Once the knockers have been made they are given to a charity which takes them where they need to go. Since I know how to crochet I was able to help students who were still learning.
Week 8
Progress towards goals
Goal 1
In order to be inline with Tikanga in our English in Maori Voices class, my AT has been providing kai to the students on the first as last classes of the term. Since this class was in my last spell of my practicum I decided that I would provide kai for my class as well. Although the tikanga should be that my AT should provide me with kai on my last day as I am the manuhiri, I decided that I would provide it as my koha for being welcomed into the class. The students were very appreciative and all the kai was gone very fast!
Goal 2:
In English in Maori Voices the students began a new unit on speeches. The topic for their speeches in “10 ways to teach me” based on this speech by Brigham Riwai-Couch https://vimeo.com/325105212
Since it is a speech and it is a class where many of the students struggle with writing my AT decided to ask them to draw a picture of what their ideal classroom would look like rather than writing it. However in practice the majority of the students actually decided to use the place on the worksheet given for a drawing as a place to do a written brainstorm. Although they were given the option to create something visual they were more comfortable using writing as they are used to writing in an English context.
EOTC
This week I again attended the Crochet and Knitting enrichment and was able to support students learning how to crochet.
Final Goal Reflection:
Goal 1:
My goal was to introduce more te reo Maori and tikanga Maori into my mahi while on practicum. Some of the ways in which I did this was to
- Use te reo greetings with students and colleagues everyday.
- Support my AT with introducing her to a Karakia Timata, Karakia Whakamutunga and Karakia Kai which she could use in class which I had knowledge of.
- Supporting my Year 9 students with the meanings of words in te reo Maori from the novel we were studying by helping them to learn either what they mean or that they could find the meanings (ie on Te Aka the online Maori dictionary.
- Helping students and colleagues with pronunciation of Maori words while in House Meetings.
- Provide kai for students as my koha for my last day at Heretaunga College.
Although I am already somewhat comfortable using te reo Maori and tikanga Maori in my day to day life, I was able to develop this goal further while on my practicum with the support of my AT Amelia who is also an advocate for an increase in the use of te reo in the workplace. In order for te reo Maori and tikanga Maori to become more common place in our schools we need to not be whakama about using it as often as possible. Having an AT who is comfortable using te reo made me more comfortable to use te reo which in turn made my Maori students more comfortable. We need to model the behavior we want to see. My next step will be to model the use of te reo to my students as a PCT to make them more comfortable using te reo themselves.
Goal 2:
I observed on my practicum that one of the biggest challenges for teachers was dealing with the differentiation of needs in the classroom. Even since I did my practicum in 2021 there seems to have been an increase in the differentiation in the classroom due to the fact that our students have had so much time off school due to the pandemic as well as industrial action by teachers and many other factors. There are many student who are sitting at a much lower curriculum level than is being presented in their year level. I was able to observe my ATs strategies in dealing with this.
Some of the strategies I observed and will take forward into my own practice were:
- Developing resources at different levels within a class and indicating to students which resource would be an appropriate one for them individually.
- Reinforcing instructions to lower level students one on one after having given them to the whole class.
- Giving additional support to low level readers by reading aloud to them while the rest of the class is reading indepedently
- Providing visual and verbal activities as well as written ones
- Allowing students to submit assignments verbally as well as in written form.
Julia Campbell 