Reflective Entry 3

Reflective Entry 3: Examine how indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness are informing the way you are taking action.
According to “Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki”, teachers are to create culturally awareness of learning by incorporating children’s and communities, funds of knowledge into the curriculum.  At OneSchool Global the student body is made up of 100% European, who are all members of the Brethren community, because of the unique nature of the culture of my school, I tried to draw similarities between my present learning community and Maori culture perspective.
Furthermore in the document states that “culturally responsive pedagogy”(CRP) is teaching professionals create learning experiences where students can express themselves in a safe environment, which encourages students to elaborate and manage their own learning pathways. Within my school there are sensitive areas around learners religious beliefs and ideals, however students are curious about how the rest of the world view them. Engaging in conversations with students about their religious beliefs is not encouraged.
There is a clear distinction of getting to know and understand your students, where they come from, the make-up of their families. Coming from teaching at a 100% Maori student school the differences between the 2 are exponential on what is appropriate knowledge about a student. For this reason learning to be culturally sensitive to all cultures/communities has been invaluable to my pedagogy.
“There is a strong link between well-being and achievement. Students’ well-being is strongly influenced by a clear sense of identity, and access and exposure to their own language and culture. Students do better in education when what and how they learn reflects and positively reinforces where they come from, what they value and what they already know. Learning needs to connect with students’ existing knowledge.5 Identity, language and culture are an asset and a foundation of knowledge on which to build.” 
(Ka Hika Tia, 2013-2017, pg 17)
What is similar between the two cultures that I have found is that the students, want their cultures valued and appreciated. They want the achievements of their people to be celebrated and shared with others. Making connections and building relations is still crucial to knowing the learner and helping students to engage in learning that is pertinent to their ideals and way of life. As a Maori I can see how “disconnects” can form between professionals and students of minorities, It is our duty to reach each student whilst managing to not step on their mana and dignity.



References:
Cowie, B., Otrel-cass, K., Glynn, T., Kara, H., Anderson, M., Doyle, J., … Te Kiri, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Teaching and Learning Research Initiative., 1–5.
Strategy, O. R. I. E. (2013). ACCELERATING success in Maori.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Entry 4

Image
Reflective entry 4: Apply a reflective model to discuss something that has happened during your Inquiry so far and how it impacts on taking action (20%) For the purpose of this blog have chosen “Rolf Et Al’s Reflective Model.” During my inquiry an issue that occurred was triangulating all of the research into one coherent thought pattern as my school has developed it;s own SDL model based on that of Malocome Knowels (1973). This year, after much discussion around the effectiveness of our SDL model, the school as a whole decided to change the model to better suit the needs of the students. Not knowing much about SDL apart from what I was given by my school gave me a narrow view on self-directed learning. In short our model was failing not all but some of the students in which they were not achieving to their full potential, also from observations from staff and by gathering student voice, many students were not confidently self-directing. As a staff we were able to crea...
Read more

Reflective Entry 8

Reflective Entry 8: Reflect on how you have changed your practice during your Postgraduate DCL journey . Digital Learning has always been a passion of mine, and I have been lucky in my teaching career to have been supported by a principal who was like-minded. In embarking on this learning journey my expectations have been exceeded with great enthusiasm. At first, I thought I’d come to classes and get some ideas on what I could use in my class to further engage my students in learning using different digital tools, platform etc. However, I found that it was all of that and much more. Throughout this course of study, I’ve garnered many eye-opening truths about the kind of classroom leader I am and the kind of classroom leader that I want to be. I have learnt that keeping a positive, agile, and flexible attitude can be interpreted as having a growth mindset which is crucial to developing into the teacher that I need to be in order to encourage and facilitate learning at a deepe...
Read more

Reflective Entry 2

Reflective Entry 2: Discuss how aspects of law, regulations and/or policy impact on teacher inquiry (20%) According to Our Codes, Our Standards (2017) there are clear expectations of all teaching professionals to provide high quality learning for all students. We can also use this document to enter into professional conversations around reflective practices. It also reminds us of our obligations and responsibilities.  As my school is made up of 100% European Plymouth Brethren, navigating the waters of what is culturally appropriate is held with utmost importance. Furthermore, “ respecting the diversity of the heritage, language, identity and culture of all learners” (Our Codes, Our Standards, 2017). Within the community of which I work, huge importance is given to upholding the communities’ standard of purity, wherein students are segregated by gender from Y7-13, within classrooms, during physical education and breaks. As an employee of OneSchool Global committed to respect ...
Read more