Week 28 APC Activities 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

When I first arrived in New Zealand I don't think I really considered the implications of not being a 'native' of the land. In my naivety and ignorance I thought, New Zealanders speak English, so it will be pretty similar, in comparison to maybe moving to Spain or Sweden to teach, both of which were on my 'crazy idea' list of things to do. I had been living in Wales for a few years beforehand and had become aware of some of the cultural issues and native knowledge barriers of living in a country that you had not been born in or were not fluent in the native tongue. 

                                                    Source: https://tackk.com/9made4

I have always been keen to learn and develop my understanding of New Zealand and the people within it, I have often struggled with my lack of knowledge and understanding of Maori protocols, Te Reo and the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi. Even now, 11 years later I still lack knowledge, understanding and answers to some basic questions that I feel I should know. My pronunciation of Te Reo is weak and however much I desire, practice and try, I often fail at getting the correct sounds out  of my mouth to pronounce the words correctly. This presents a big stumbling block, especially with regards to my desire to pronounce all students names correctly. This frustrates me as I feel like I am letting the student down by not being able to correct pronounce their name consistently and with ease.

I often wonder if more support should be available to enable a firmer understanding of the indigenous knowledge in New Zealand, would this have enabled me to have a better grasp of how to provide learning opportunities and programs that better embraces my individual students culture?  And would this help to decrease the achievement gap between Maaori and Non-Maari students? I suppose it depends upon what school you go into, I have suggested a few times that the students could offer lessons to the non-Maaori teachers who would like to learn more.

                                     Source:http://interculturalism.blogspot.co.nz

Gay (2000) defines culturally responsive teaching as "using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively. It is based on the assumption that when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference of students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly. As a result, the academic achievement of ethnically diverse students will improve when they are taught through their own cultural and experiential filters".

In my classroom, I spend time trying to get to know each student and creating a learning environment that is caring and tries to embraces all students individual learning styles and the individual cultures they may have or be a part of. Culture includes ethnicity, beliefs, age, gender and sexual orientation. As with many countries, New Zealand is culturally diverse and I think it is important that we celebrate and support all students in an equal and non-bias way. During lesson time, we often talk about our different cultures and often try to celebrate and  learn something from other students in the class. Often the board is full of strange words from a whole host of different countries and we can be seen to be trying to learn the new words individual students have written up. I think it is important to try to make learning relevant to a student own culture. By getting to know the student I can use this information to make my learning programs more relevant to the individual student. When the students are given time to discuss things like what country someone is from, family history or traditions they may have in their own cultures this also allows other students to learn each other and also build positive relationships with each other. When program building, I reflect on ways that I can develop and involve the learner within the community, to further enhance their learning about culture diversity and embrace their own ways of learning and succeeding at school. For example, inquiry learning project of Matariki and students planting in the school garden.

Savage et al (2011) states that there is agreement that teaching practices should be responsive to the cultural identities of their students. However, the report also highlights effective strategies for implementation is less defined. A point Bishop et al (2012) also focuses upon and the fact he states that change will be limited if only relying upon individual teacher actions, instead reform initiatives need to be school-wide and involve all stakeholder for maximum effect to occur. 

Source: https://www.tes.com/lessons/ktVzK03Wq9c8GA/culturally-responsive-teaching

We have recently had a change of leadership at our school and I have notice some changes in some of the initiative that are taking places with regards to culturally responsive practices. School-wide culturally responsive practices have started to increase, we have increase the amount of Te Reo Maaori that is spoken during our assembly and there are plans to increase the signage around the school to include more Te Reo Maaori. We have also appointed a Dean that is responsible for students who are in the Te Puawai group and also students who may need further support in school. This has also provided a more central point for parent contact and enables further support for both Whanau and students. In our morning notices, we now have a weekly Kiwaha. During PD sessions we also incorporate a Whakatauki that relates to the Kapapa. Communication has begun to improve between our community, teachers, students and college, we have a selection of presentation evening where students perform and sing and we shared a meal and relationships are beginning to improve. I think further time and effort are needed to make sure we embrace all cultures and provide responsive practices for all students. Improvement could also be made with regards planning and assessment. Little focus is spent on the students culture when a student is 'below' an expected level. Maybe by focusing on this and trying to provide opportunities and resources to classroom teachers, we may be able to encourage learning programs that take into consideration students culture, and this may improve student achievement levels. I think that often it is not linked during PD sessions how the way we are assessing is difficult or at odds with a specific students culture. Thus making it hard for some students to succeed. 

References

Bishop, (2012). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations.

http://www.edtalks.org/video/culturally-responsive-pedagogy-relations

Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.

Gutschlag, A.(2007). Some implications of the Te Kotahitanga. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 4(1), 3-10.

Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum .Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198