DFI - Week 2: Workflow

 I was unable to attend today's DFI as I was celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr ( a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan). 

Thank goodness for rewindable learning! I was able to access the slides and work through the items that were covered today. 

I learned that I could 'pin' tabs. This allows me to keep frequently used docs and sites open. I also tidied up my bookmarks by placing them in folders. 

     

DFI- Week 1: Core Business

This is my second time attending the DFI, I attended in 2017 and opted to do the course again as so much has changed in Google and my certification had lapsed as it is only valid for three years. I was really happy to learn how to remove the white frame and background from images using remove.bg. We also learned how to create posters using Google docs. This was really cool because creating a poster in docs gives you the freedom to choose the paper size. The only drawback was that you cannot upload a doc to you blog as it doesn't show poroperlyy, but that is easily overcome by using screen shot or snipping tool if you wish to upload it to your blog.

The Changing Face of the NZ Classroom

 

"Pasifika learners, along with Maori, continue to experience high disparities in New Zealand’s education system. Furthermore, it is predicted that over the next few decades, the majority of students in New Zealand primary schools will be Maori and Pasifika. The implications for classroom teachers are enormous." - Tute Porter-Samuels

There has been much research published about the benefits of using the students' cultural capital in the classroom, yet many teachers are reluctant to try/ implement it in their classrooms. 

Here were some of the reasons teachers gave (from the 16 April Manaiakalani TOD) for not using culturally inclusive pedagogy:

• It takes time to be inclusive. Easier to teach the way we know and were taught.
• It's scary - We feel embarrassed and inadequate, bad experience with our own schooling. Being English - it's engrained that other people speak English.
• It's not important to achievement. 
• Do not have the knowledge. 
• Uncomfortable 
• Confrontational 
• Do not want to be disrespectful - want to be culturally respectful (lots of information available but we want to ensure that we have all the right information e.g. centre pepeha which area do we serve do we have the right maunga, awa)
• Persistent ideologies, thoughts, ideas and opinions 
• Fear of getting something wrong.

These are just a few of the responses. The complete list can be viewed here.

It's probably time that we take a long, hard look at the most direct and significant influence on student achievement – the classroom teacher, us. 

We need to be honest with ourselves, encourage ourselves, challenge ourselves; do all the things we encourage our students to do in order to achieve a better educational outcome for our students. 

References:

•  Alton-Lee, A. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best evidence synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
•  Tute Porter-Samuels. Raising Pasifika Achievement: Teacher Cultural Responsiveness. retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1025674.pdf

Welcome to Term 2!

Term 2 is going to be a really busy term! I have been released from my class for two days a week to do the SENCO role and I'm really excited to be starting my DFI this Friday. I completed the DFI in 2017 but when attending toolkits I realised how much had changed. My principal has agreed to me attending the course, provided I feedback to staff during our weekly staff meetings. In this way all staff can be kept abreast of the latest Google updates.

Manaiakalani Teacher Only Day - 16 April 2021

My colleague, Hevaha, and I presented a workshop at the Manaiakalani Teacher Only Day. We discussed the importance of harnessing the wealth of knowledge and the cultural capital that students bring with them. 

Introduced by French thinker Pierre Bourdieu in the 1970s, cultural capital refers to the social and cultural knowledge that can help a student make progress. In education, cultural capital should be woven through the whole curriculum, giving context and reference points to topics that allow students to build schema.

TAI 2021- Reading

This year I am going to focus on Reading (as I did last year). It was apparent from our cluster meeting that Reading remains an area of concern. 

I was thinking of tapping into cultural capital within the classroom as a way of lifting and accelerating achievement in Reading. 

What is cultural capital?

Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a student can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence; it is one of the key ingredients a student will draw upon to be successful in society, their career and the world of work. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu coined the term in his 1973 paper "Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction". 

I have started the online 'Everyday Conversation in Lea Faka Tonga' course. It is a 10-week course and I'm hoping it will allow me to connect in a more meaningful way with some of our whanau. Right now my knowledge of the Tongan language is limited to greetings and encouraging my students to "vave". 

At my school over 95% of our students are of Pacifika descent. I believe that one way of enhancing their learning is by tapping into the cultural capital of our students and whanau. 

Evaluation of 2020 Intervention