Programme information
Learning and Teaching

Learning and Teaching courses are compulsory for all three endorsements. They focus on examining the needs of diverse learners through a research informed, evidence-based approach to introduce how learning happens in its social, cultural and historical context and what this means for effective and inclusive teaching for all learners. The multiple factors shaping identity will be introduced, and kaiako pitomata will develop awareness of and reflect on diverse perspectives regarding identity. Through these courses, kaiako pitomata are guided to engage not only with one aspect of diversity (such as culture) but to consider the complexities that diversity brings to teaching. There is a deliberate repositioning from the pathologizing and deficit theorising of the child to questioning and being prepared to make changes to the education system which has marginalised diversity. Assessment helps to develop capability to think conceptually, critically and ethically about diversity. 

These courses operate on our tūāpapa of he waka eke noa, he whānau aroha noa, he kaupapa puta noa, which includes notions of: rangatira ki te rangatira, mana ōrite, and wero.

In enacting this tūāpapa, multiple factors shaping identity are explored, providing opportunities for kaiako pitomata to develop awareness of and reflect on diverse perspectives regarding identity. In addition to Identity, the concepts of culture and place are central to the Learning and Teaching courses. Developing critical, deep, and nuanced understandings of these concepts in relation to the realities of teaching and learning can be thought of as the overarching goal. These courses support kaiako pitomata in the negotiation between their own cultural identities and the demands of being a kaiako in Aotearoa New Zealand.

 

He kura tangata, he tangata kura!

We are a collective as people. We are also individuals in our collective. The collective is precious, the individual is also precious. It takes a village to raise a child

 

Kaiako pitomata are empowered to be active partners in learning by engaging with the process of learning itself and being actively involved in academic decision making. They are responsible for both their own learning and for contributing to the learning of others. The teaching staff have an important role in contributing their expertise to the learning and, to that end, we expect to work together as a community of learners. The deep and richly nuanced notion of ako provides a lens to consider shared interaction where we are all teachers and learners, all of the time.

 

Nāu te rourou

nāku te rourou

ka ora ngā tauira

 

 Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

  • Articulate an increased understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the implications for teaching and learning.
  • Critically engage with concepts of identity, inquiry and place in the context of their developing understanding of teaching and learning.
  • Critically analyse constructs of teaching and learning, and teacher and learner, that are of relevance to Aotearoa New Zealand, and explore their implications for teaching practice

 Module Content for Learning and Teaching

 

 Learning and Teaching 1 Modules

Module One: Who am I/ Nō hea ahau? Whose am I/Nō whea koe? Why does this matter?

Module Two: What does it mean to be a teacher in Aotearoa? When we “land” in this classroom, how do we know we are in Aotearoa?

Module Three: What does it mean to support all learners in education settings? Who do you need me to be?

 

 Learning and Teaching 2 Modules

Module One: What does it mean to support all learners in education settings? Who do you (student) need me (teacher) to be for you? 

Module Two: What does it mean to be a teacher in Aotearoa?

Module Three: Who am I/ Nō hea koe?/Whose am I? Nō whea ahau. Why does this matter?

 

Discussion starters

Below are some ideas for discussion starters that you might want to use with your kaiako pitomata. Through the modules across the year in L&T1 and L&T2 we return to these key discussions to develop a more in-depth and critically informed stance in relation to what it means to be a teacher Aotearoa.

  • Ask your kaiako pitomata to talk to you about their emerging philosophy of education.
  • Share your thinking about how te tiriti comes to life in your classroom
  • Ask your student to share the resource they created that will support the understanding of te tiriti o Waitangi for a specific stakeholder.
  • Talk to your kaiako pitomata about how you learn from and through your teaching.
  • Talk about how culturally sustaining practices are enacted in your setting.
  • Discuss how you authentically connect with whānau and the benefits for you and ākonga.
  • Identify and discuss current issues in education together and what they mean for ākonga and communities (eg. the curriculum refresh)
  • Discuss your beliefs about how people learn and how this then informs your actions as a teacher.

 

 An activity

Here is an example of one of the activities we do together and share with each other. You might want to do one of these together…

  • “What do you mean?” There are often many terms that we come across and may not understand - make a glossary of technical and/or unfamiliar kupu/terms/concepts. Go beyond the surface definition and provide a rich, informed (researched) explanation of each term connected with the context in which it is used.
  • “Venn that Framework” Choose two (or more for the super brave) frameworks to compare. Create a venn diagram that unpacks some of the ways the frameworks intersect.
  • “Tell Me a Story” - interpret a chosen framework as a simple picture book story told from the point of view of one of your (future) ākonga whose words and actions show you who you need to be as kaiako for them

(Note - frameworks here refer to documents such as Tapasā, Tātaiako, Te Whāriki etc. You will find links to these frameworks in the resources section).

 

 Resources:

Below are books and readings that we also recommend to Kaiako Pitomata. The books should be available in your local library and if they are not usually libraries will purchase on request:

  • Ki te Hoe: Education for Aotearoa - Pania Te Maro and Robin Averill
  • Healing our History - Robert Consedine and Joanna Consedine
  • Māori Philosophy - Georgina Tuari Stewart

Here are some links to digital resources that we use: