Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga - Ministry of Education ~ He Wānanga

Ministry of Education -L1 and L2 provisions - Te kaupapa mō te wānanga nei.

There are 6 taumata for Māori Immmersion.

Funding no long involves verification visits to check taumata. This was not the right approach.  Things changed in 2022 to a roll return.  We now report on percentage of te reo being taught in the school. 

There can be a conglomerate of levels within one setting. The pūtea comes into the general pool of funds. Tūmuaki and and BOT can ultimately make the decisions on how that pūtea gets distributed!!! Argh!! Very high trust model. Kaiako in akomanga reorua should be apart of the roll return (saying where children sit with their reo).

In 2-3 years time, ERO/Ministry will come up with another plan to work with schools to support them with roll returns/level/ percentage of reo being spoken. Check with Educational Advisor or MIS - Manager of Integrated Services- they will tautoko.

Old Ministry Message - Level 1 and 2 - needed to use Te Marautanga, Level 3-4a, 4b used NZC.  Level 1 and 2 tamariki bring in more pūtea.

What does each level generate in funding? Check!

Cultivating the Literacy Landscape - Bridging research to practice in reading instruction and support

2023 is the first year of our Structured Literacy journey.  It comes after many, many years of not quite feeling like we had a good grasp on what quality teaching of reading really looked like. We dabbled and we played. A little bit of this with a little bit of that. The 'and + and' approach whereby we wanted to do everything. 'Let's not throw the baby away with the bath water' kinda thinking. We believed that quality reading was a whole language approach, sprinkled with a little of that ever-controversial phonics teaching. 

Today's symposium addressed why this approach is far from ideal. It was an absolutely invaluable session to attend. The day comprised of 3 wonderfully articulate wāhine who led us through some thought provoking stuff as follows. 

My takings from these wāhine...

Keynotes speaker 1 - Emily Hanford

• Sold a Story blog
• Reading is a rich man's game. How many families can afford the interventions?
• Phonics skills are a critical starting point for reading.
• Reading for meaning (and the reading cues that came with this approach) was a theory that came far before science. Old school reading strategies are from the 1960s. Scientific studies are more recent - 1990s.  Code is science based! 
• A wondering of mine - Does inability to read contribute to a lagging skill, or that a lagging skill in itself?
• Reading to children in the younger years is not enough - immersing a young child in books is not enough.
• The Ladder of Reading and Writing by Nancy Young - see below.

• The Simple View of Reading by Gough and Tunmer - see below It is the product, not the sum! Anything multiplied by 0 equals 0. So if one side is lacking, it's all wasted.

• Language comprehension can be strengthened with aural processing - reading to tamariki. vocabulary exposure around the akomanga. Lots of exposure means when they're able to decode, they'll already have some meaning behind the kupu.
• Written English is one of the trickiest reo to learn.
• Memorising words is not a good strategy - I'm cringing thinking of all the years we'd recite sight words each day!
• We need to be consciously aware of what needs to go.
• Equity education = begins with good phonics teaching, but does not end there.
•  Skilled readers do not use the cues that poor readers do! Reading recovery teachers the skills poor readers use! Skilled readers process the word faster than the picture. 
• Orthographic Mapping - Links phonemic awareness, 

• Teachers are good at employing the 'and + and' strategy. We want to do this AND that.
• Balanced literacy teaches the strategies of struggling readers. It is slow and taxing. The brain is busy guessing and therefore does not have the ability to focus on comprehension.  

Keynote speaker 2 - Pamela Snow

• Blog
• What is reading? A biological secondary skill. It does not come naturally, it needs to be taught. It draws heavily on oral language.
• To people who say children learn to read in many different ways - rubbish! There is only one form of reading, but many forms of literacy. Because of this we have created confusions - reading, writing, viewing, presenting - too much.
• Our brains are not evolved to read/write automatically - humans have only been reading/writing for 3000-5000 years. Whereas spoken language has been around for 100,000s+ years.
• English language has appropriated kupu from so many other reo.
• Pronunciation is the problem, not spelling.
• Reading =  cognitive and linguistic. Meaning = morphemes.
• Structured literacy is a complete 180 from Balanced Literacy. BL = eclecticism. SL = systematic approaches. 
• Instruction needs to be informed by neuroscience.
• There is no robust evidence that says BL is worthwhile.
• Teachers don't need to begin with motivating children to read. It's not our job to make kids love reading. Skills proceed enjoyment. It's our job to develop proficient readers.
• For the people who think we ONLY want phonics - phonics is necessary but not sufficient.
• Conveyor belt towards reading comprehension = word identification, word meaning, sentence level, text level, background knowledge. 
• Teachers need to be help to a very high level of accountability - pilot analogy - imagine if the pilot on your flight said, "I'm just going to try out something new here..." They don't get to try new things.

• Teacher autonomy is a crock of s#@t!
• Teaching reading is a public health imperative.
• Pseudoscience/fads/fashions tend to get the red carpet in education
• Reading needs to be taught, not caught.
• Reading is like launching a rocket, if you're a few mm out at take off, you'll be miles off out there in space.
• It's time to respectfully bury Balanced Literacy.
• Knowledge is like velcro, it sticks to other knowledge.            

Keynote speaker 3 - Dr Lorraine Hammond 

• Twitter Handle
  
• Kids do not learn to read in different ways, there are different methodologies. 
• Low curriculum variance - a deliberate effort by schools to create a scope and sequence (a highly detailed plan of what will be taught and when) for the subject areas and to work extremely hard to ensure that kids are being taught the same content, to the same expected standards at the same year level.
• Teach simultaneously not sequentially.
• Examples of teaching in the Kimberly - 20minute session, must be done at pace! Don't allow a void to exist. Lots of physical movement, eg, clapping phonemes, standing up to do so. That becomes the break.
• Teach more in less time with a sense of urgency. Rapid fire. Short and sharp.
• Set the norms.
• High fidelity = high quality.
• Kids need to be busy, they need to respond a lot.
• Explicit Direct Instruction - need more information on this!
• Spelling mastery - the goal is to break down any word (possible) into phonemes.
• See slides shared for notes to explain following - Kids repeat back in full sentences, "malevolent means ..."  "Track with me, read with me." Little writing often, long writing seldom. Revisit key vocab at the end of the session/day - we could do this with DMIC vocab. 
• The Valley of Despair - things will go down before they go up!

• Learning is not a spectator sport.

Key points from the Panel of Speakers towards the end of the day

•  Ask the nay-sayers "How open would you be..." "Are you happy with our/your data?"
• Some of the panel discussed only focusing on Structured Literacy pld for a number of years - no other pld was put on the table. A sustained approach. The principal was there every step of the way.
• Use the same language across the school.
• If in doubt, come back to the 'why?' The research! The science!
• We need a scripted approach for staff. Like Heggerty!
• Consistent practice is key. We need literacy coaches - a small team to drive us forward.
• You shouldn't be focusing on vocab if a child can't decode.
• Structured Literacy is a pedagogy - it's the how and what.
• Tier 1 kids - the normal teaching range. Tier 2 kids - need the normal range plus 1-2 more teaching exposures. Tier 3 kids - need tier 1 and 2, plus 3+ more exposures. 
• Don't get too comfortable! 

Seesaw Ambassador Mandatory Refresh 2023

I'm not sure if completing this course allows me anymore benefits than those our kura already have using the paid school version.

However I didn't want to loose status incase we ever revert back to the free version. 

A question I now have that's worth investigating - can I access activities I have created if I leave my current workplace?   

 

The Incredible Years - Session 3 - Motivating through Incentives

Some interesting conversations around rewards and incentives at this session. There was a lot to think about coming off Marg's Restorative Practice PLD last week, and the difference in philosophies with PB4L, behaviour conditioning, and Ross Greene 'Lost At School'.

Thoughts from Restorative Practice and clash with  PB4L (and IYT) Philosophy -

• PB4L is contingent on 'good behaviour.' It's reward for compliance. Extrinsically motivated. Think Skinner (human behaviour conditioning) and Pavolv (animals for goodness sake!)

• "Kids with trauma history (behaviour needs??) don't need more punishment. And quite frankly, they don't need more stickers." - Dr Ross Greene  

'Hard Wax' children - challenging kids. Praise and attention might not be enough.

Take aways from the day - 

• Concrete evidence (sticker charts, tangible rewards) can work UNTIL praise and attention are enough on their own.
• Affirmed my personal philosophy on rewards - it needs to lead to intrinsic motivation. Long term extrinsic rewards are not ideal.
• Incentives need to be consistent, achievable, define targeted behaviour,  deliberate.

An interesting graphic around equity and equality that I'd not seen before.

Was really encouraging to note 'Cultural Considerations' on todays agenda. Unfortunately this turned out to be a whakataukī shared with English translation. Really? 

More terrible vignettes. But lots of really good conversation today around what we would do differently.

Just as I am about to press Publish, up pops a perfectly timed article from Margaret Thorsborne and Associates's Facebook page - The Dark Side of rewards and punishments in the classroom. Timely.

CPPA Middle Leaders Programme 2023

I was given a wonderful opportunity to attend a 4 day course on Middle Leadership. 

This was my first experience getting alongside other team leaders. 

My highlights from the 4 days

Day 1

Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
Tātaiako - Cultural Competence for Teachers of Māori Learners. 

"10 ways to teach me" - Brigham Riwai-Couch
A wonderfully thought provoking kiriata about what it means to be a tamaiti Māori.  

My Culturally Responsive goals (taken from Niho Taniwha)

1. Use correct namings and support colleagues with their pronunciation.
2. Know better, do better. Constantly seek knowledge and ways to improve. Challenge, question, grow.Best Evidence Synthesis
3. Give equal weight to Te Māhuri Mānuka naming as we do to Hornby Primary School. 

Leading from the Middle & Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES).

I need to delve more deeply into these 2 documents at a later time. BES has been referred to with some reverence.  We didn't revisit in session 3 or 4 - might have been useful.

2 quotes that really resonated with me - 

"What you focus on flourishes"

"People don't resist change, they resist being changed." 

Day 2

Leadership Capabilities Framework & Action Plan
This was a really worthwhile opportunity to set some goals around my own leadership practice. 

Action Plan - 2023

Day 3

Effective Adult Dialogue

David Anderson 
Dialogue is where you reach understandings, not necessarily decisions.

Discussion is when you make a decision.

Inquiry - what are the ramifications and implications down the track?

Advocacy - Putting things clearly on the table.

Show me a team with no conflict and I'll show you it's not really a team!

Can't attribute this to anyone

Ladder of Inference

Day 4
What is data - raw numbers and OTJ's
Where can our data come from? 

The purpose of Data Meetings
Identifying gaps
Looking to make accelerated progress
Knowing what next steps are
Challenging assumptions
Identifying children that are plateauing
Collective responsibility

Pitfalls of Data Conversations - Tendencies
Jump to conclusions

Making judgements rather than describing.

Generalised comments - focusing on outside elements we can't control

Data Conversation Protocol

1. Select and Describe

What are we seeing in our data? Just the facts, no judgements. Mine the data, look for patterns. Stay at evidence letter. What might we have missed?

2. Interpret and Conclude 
Was our assessment fair and valid? What might have led to these results. Other possibilities. Assumptions/evidence. Seek multiple perspectives and interpretations. Uncover assumptions and evaluate against the evidence. 

3. Beliefs/Decisions/Actions - 

Now what? Implications? Raise questions and explore implications and actions for classroom practise. 

What have we learned from the conversation? What questions arise. What is our plan going forward? Next steps.

4. Update profile

Can we move any children off the list? What are the next SMART goals we can implement?  Are there any additions? 

Good ideas

- Send out the questions/wonderings to staff prior to session. 

- Teaching the skills of silent reading to kids.

- When we're making our staff actions - how do we know they are going to be successful? When and when will our actions happen? What am I going to do for that child when i walk in to the classroom tomorrow? How do I know a child is working

Critical Friends Protocol 

The process - developing collegial realtionships, encouraging reflective practice, and rethinking leadership. 

Critical meaning - key, important, necessary.

Elements - careful description, enforced and thoughtful listening, and questioning feedback.

Types of feedback - 

"Warm" feedback is supportive, appreciative statements about what is presented. Pinpoints what is working and what should be continued.

"Cool"  feedback is more distanced, offers different ways to think about what was presented and/or raise questions. Does not criticise. Suggests, through questions and wonderings, what could be improved.

"Hard" feedback challenges and extends the presenters thinking and/or raises concerns.

Group members

Facilitator - sets limits, keeps time, reviews the process.

Presenter - Person with the issue for consultancy.

Discussants - Address the issue.

Step 1 - Facilitator reviews purpose of the group, agreed norms, time limits. 

Step 2 - Presenter presents the issue/goal.Share background info and context. Pose 1-2 questions for the group. Use Inquiry questions.  Group is silent, takes notes.

Step 3 - Team members ask clarifying questions to seek more info.

Step 4 - Group members reflect. Presenter moves out of the circle. Can hear, but not participate. 

Step 5 - Group members share warm and cool feedback. Presenter - no interaction with the group.

Step 6 - Presenter chooses pertinent information they heard. Reflects. Team members are silent. 

Step 7 - Debrief the session. Validate contributions. 

Open to Learning Conversations - Issue of Concern

Restorative Practice PLD with Marg Thorsborne

Restorative Practice is a waka we're currently boarding at Te Māhuri Mānuka. As with any school, some staff are already seated and ready to go, others are tentatively finding their spot, and some are possibly hanging at the back of the line deciding if this is a journey they want to embark on.

Two day PLD sessions can be long and tiresome, often only made bearable with a good lunchtime spread and strong coffee. While the coffee on offer was devastatingly instant, the knowledge, skills, and absolute conviction with which this content was offered was the best I've seen in a long time. 

Marg Thorsborne is the Restorative Practice guru, and an incredibly powerful facilitator. If ever you are offered the opportunity to listen to this wahine toa, take it.  I was absolutely hooked from the moment Marg stood and acknowledged mana whenua, throughout all the quirky anecdotes from the coal face of her experiences, to the final moments when she sent us away to go forth and restore the ruptures. 

Ideas taken from the day

                        CONNECT BEFORE CONTENT!

• Kids need to recognise their own feelings too.
• Interoception - sensing internal signals from your body. Helps you understand what's going on inside you.
• We need to move away from behaviourism - that behaviours are acquired through conditioning.
• Zero tolerance is nonsense. 
• There is no 'one size fits all' model
• Stand downs allow breathing time and a break/reset (I don't see a problem with this if all other avenues have been exhausted).
• PB4L - contingent on 'good behaviour.' It's reward for compliance. Extrinsically motivated. Think Skinner (human behaviour conditioning) and Pavolv (animals for goodness sake!)
• If we're going to use PB4L, let's call it PC4L - Positive Culture or Climate for Learning.
• We are trying to create good habits in our young people. Neuroscience - practise literally changes your brain. "Perfect practice makes perfect!"
• It can take 28 focused repetitions to unconsciously competent at something. Nathan Wallace says 90!
•  We want to bridge the gap between home and school. Expectations can narrow the gap. Kids learn 'code switching' - learn the rules and play by the rules.
• For teachers - Be authentic, be genuine. Allow vulnerability. 
• Unattended ruptures cause the erosion of trust.
• Teach what shame and pride are in class!
• When the brain is in cognitive shock the rational brain shuts down, leaving the limbic (emotional brain) to say 'piss off' and the reptilian brain (stem) to go into fight/flight/freeze mode. 
  

Very interesting to note when I think of some of our cherubs.  

Bruce Perry

• Shame is feeling bad about yourself as a person.
• An acronym for easy relationship building 
  T - Touch (a pat on the back, for example)
  U - Use the child's name
  M - Make eye contact
  S - Smile!
• Use a check in system when kids arrive at school. Zones of Regulation is too broad! 
  

Key - 1. Great, 2. Okay, 3. Meh, 4. Struggling, 5. I'm having a tough time (need a check-in), 6. Not doing good.

Fabulous Quotes

• "Kids with trauma history don't need more punishment. And quite frankly, they don't need more stickers." - Dr Ross Greene    
• Perfect practice makes perfect.
• Be curious, not furious!

Great names & reads I need to check out

• Bruce Perry - "States of Cognition" 
• Lawrence Steinberg - neuro-science specialist
• Ross Greene - laggin skills - (already on that waka!)
• Marconi Union - "Weightless" Calming waiata - proven to decrease anxiety.
• "The boy who was raised as a dog." Brain function and trauma
• Brenē Brown - Ideas on shame.
• St Luke's Innovative resources
• Bruce Perry short clips from the handouts.

Restorative Practice - What does it look like?

The purpose of Restorative Practice is to

restore the ruptured relationship

Basic Sequence 

1. Telling the story of what happened (explanation).
2. Hearing about the harm (and reaching a shared understanding).
3. Acknowledgement of the harm.
4. Making a plan to make things right (including follow-up).

Use the scripts - don't be afraid to have them with you if you are facilitating. You can say, "there are a lot of important questions I need to ask so we can make sure we have all the information needed to restore this relationship. I don't want to miss anything out..."

Pre-conference Interview 

Show people involved a map of the seating plan.

Check the facts - chat 1:1 with people involved.

Hand out briefing sheet Student guide & parent guide. Use one from Marg with our school stamp on it.  

Introduction -
Thank people for coming.

"We're here to talk about ... which happened yesterday, when ... happened."

"We're going to talk about the incident in a moment, but right now let's go back to the beginning. What led up to that incident?"

Telling the story/Exploring the harm -

The person responsible always goes first. 

"Tell us what happened. How did this unfold?

"What were you thinking?"

"What have you thought about since?"

What do you think it was like for...?"

"Anyone else effected? In what way?"
"What was going on for you when you did that?" (the person responsible)

"What does ... look like?" Eg. 'He's always picking on me', 'She's mean to me.'

"What has stopped you from saying how you feel/speaking out?" (if someone has acted in revenge for a 'wrong' done to them)

"How do you think this is impacting on your friends in the class?"

Check for story sanitisation by the child (when a parent is involved).

Person harmed

"What did you think when ... happened?"

"What have you thought about since?" 

"How has this effected you? What has changed for you?"

"How did ... react when you told them?"

"What was the worst of it?"

Support person

Person harmed supporter goes first, then supporters of person responsible. 

"What did you think when you heard/saw?"

"How do you feel about what happened?"

"What changes have you seen in ...?"

"What's it been like for you?"

"What's been the hardest/worst part for you?"

During Acknowledgement and Apology -

"Now that you've heard from everyone, what do you think about your role in all this?"

"What do you now understand?"

"How can you let ... know that you now understand?"

"Is there anything you could say at this point that might begin to make things right?"

Developing the plan - 

Person harmed goes first.

"What would you like to see happen to repair the harm to you?"

"What suggestions do you have that might address the issues you've mentioned?" 

Does the plan need to be in writing?

As a facilitator - 

Don't make suggestions!

If people are interrupting - use a talking rākau.

If someone is fibbing - "I hear the words. But I have a sense they're not genuine."

Don't say

- What happened?

- What rule was broken?

- Who's to blame?

- What punishment is deserved?

Ask the questions and then shut up.

It is ok to come back to an incident that occurred a few days prior - "Can we talk for a few moments about something that was said yesterday?"

Follow up must happen!

Questions I have going forward for RP at Te Māhuri Mānuka

1. What is the pastoral nature of Team Leaders?
2. Are we at risk of staff becoming neglectful? (indifferent/disengaged?)
3. Do we need a Te Māhuri Mānuka brief sheet for parents and students (for more serious issues)?
4. What warrants parent participation? Do we need a severity scale?
5. Who is on the facilitation team? Are staff able to sit in on a RP hui? Who will run the hui?
6. How can we ensure staff are getting info on what when down at a RP hui?
7. What's our school vision for RP?

Incredible Years - Session 2 - Giving Attention - Encouragement & Praise

Today's session was on the next tier of the ITY pyramid, titled Giving Attention - Encouragement & Praise.

There was lots of discussion around praise, teacher attention and interaction, academic, social, persistence, and emotional coaching. Today's session caused me to reflect on the spicy cherubs we currently have at our kura. Particularly this statement: "Emotional literacy is the foundation for being able to self regulate."

The praise section of the session really got me thinking about my own personal philosophy on praise. My thoughts in recent years as a parent and an educator have been shaped by wāhine like Janet Landsbury and Carol Dweck (avoid 'you're so clever' type statements and promote growth mindset). I want children to feel intrinsic motivation - the desire to act for the fun, challenge, or personal satisfaction rather than because of external feedback, pressures, or rewards. This did not seem to align completely with the key ideas I got from today's session.

I've borrowed from 'The Way we Praise Matters' by Janet Lansbury - “Instead of praise, acknowledgements. Let’s acknowledge what children are doing. It’s all about being real with them...The thing about children is they’re so intuitive. They know when we’re gushing and it’s not quite anchored in sincerity."

The Way we Praise Matters has some really good thoughts around ensuring praise is authentic. It's written from a parenting perspective but it is completely transferrable.

A good reminder - Children learn what is 'valued' by the teacher by what they comment on (positive and negative reinforcement).

Positive forecasting - recognising the end product you want to see. Promotes self belief and self efficacy. Using statements like, "I can see you have learned ... if you keep working on it imagine how much more you will know next ... " or "I love hearing your ideas, and i know next time you are going to put your hand up."

We discussed the 4:1 rule around commenting - 4 comments before asking a question (based on the bucket filler idea). Children can become overwhelmed when hit with too many questions. We can get around this and still build strong relationships by noticing what tamariki are doing. Descriptive commenting can strengthen social skills, academic skills/language, and emotional literacy. We can use, "Tell me more." if we need to. This is something I will work on!

Examples -

"I can see you are grouping the blocks by colours" - academic skills

"You waited your turn, nice." social/friendship skills

"I can see you are feeling really frustrated and you're staying calm. Ngā mihi."

There were many more awful out-dated vignettes which makes it really hard to get behind the kaupapa with great enthusiasm, however I did find some good reminders and set a few goals to work on. I'm going to be more mindful about comments instead of questions and the 4:1 ratio.

The Incredible Years - Session 1 - Building Postive Relationships & Proactive Teaching

 I have been wanting to do this course for a number of years but the opportunity never really presented itself until this year. After teaching for 20 years some people were curious as to why I wanted to participate at this stage of my career.

My reasons - Why not!? I've heard great things about it for over 15 years. My brain can take a punitive stance at times and this is something I've worked hard to change. Being the parent of an almost 7 year old has also given me much to reflect on when it comes to managing a child's behaviour.  I'm doing the course alongside a beginning teacher I am currently mentoring - I thought this was a great opportunity to work more closely with him and other professionals at different stages in their careers, and share our thoughts on effective classroom practice.  We also have some challenging behaviours in our kura at the moment so I was keen to take on anything that might challenge my own beliefs about behaviour management help me to better support my team. With our change in tumuaki, we have recently introduced restorative practice - this seems to align nicely with what I knew about IYT.

Our first session covered Building Positive Relationships and Proactive Teaching - the bottom 2 tiers of the pyramid below. There were definitely some great reminders for myself here.

Some key takings from these 2 tiers -

• Relationships are key! With the tamaiti, and the whānau. 
• Position yourself at the level of the learner.
• Hold space.
• Be available and present - little things like eye contact when taking the roll, smiling, acknowledging, making connections, asking questions that show you know them or have remembered something they've shared.
• Make the day predictable and explicit - kids love routine! 

During the Proactive Teaching portion of the day we looked at Behaviour Management plans. These covered what we know about the learner, how they might see themselves, their whānau support, their current needs, extra support they might need and steps/strategies that we know can help calm and de-escalate.  They are for tamariki who are not in the top tier by any means, but who fall slightly below - they still need lots of support but don't attract funding/ta support. I thought these would be a great support system to implement for our tier 2 kids. How helpful would this be for a reliever to pick up, someone like myself or SENCO to be able to read to make ourselves familiar with these cherubs. I am keen to sit down with my team and look at creating these for tamariki who need in school support. I think sitting down and completing them as team brings another layer of support and understanding - everyone can be onboard in supporting the child. Watch this space.   

I must point out my disappointment with the extremely dated vignettes that are still used in IYT. Each one comes from the 80s and is so very outdated. After viewing each one we were asked to discuss the positive interactions we noted - I found it really hard to do so due to negative interactions I saw - Standing over kids, leaning over them from above, touching... so awful! I can not understand why these have not been updated!! As pointed out this is an American company.  So far this is the only serious flaw I have noted - but it has definitely reduced my excitement about taking part. 

 

All in all, a full on day. Lots of reminders and refreshers about good practise strategies that can sometimes be forgotten/put aside in a teachers already overloaded brain! Looking forward to session 2 with a little less enthusiasm than before, but nonetheless keen to see what's on offer.