Wednesday, June 9, 2010

AngusMcFarlanePD4Jun2010

Today all the ICT Clusters assembled at our school for professional development with Angus Macfarlane. Dr Macfarlane is a Professor in Maori Research at the University of Canterbury.

I really enjoyed the day because it was a timely reminder of what I should be doing to improve achievement with our Maori students, as well as reinforcing behaviour strategies that I could use in the classroom.

Angus covered: Culturally responsive pedagogies, Moair experiences of success, The educultural Wheel, The Hikairo Rationale and Angents of Change - Leadership in Educultural Communities.

Some of the ideas I took away from the day were:

To greet the children individually in the morning.
Let the children know you like being a teacher and love being with the kids.
Marking their work and giving feedback.
When disciplining a student, never say please, say thank you at the end of the request.
Don't just describe what you want the children to do, always manifest a model.
Share my own stories and life experiences with the children (I always do!)
Smile more, be humorous and add a lot more laughter. A warm smile is a human touch!
Make contact with parents of children who are doing well at school.
Encourage the children to set high goals - Where are our scientists and engineers?

The Hikairo Rationale is based on concepts about culturally responsive teaching and learning approaches by Angus Macfarlane.

Huakina Mai - Opening Doorways - greeting the children in the morning
Ihi -- Demonstrating Assertiveness - no nonsense is accepted, discipline handled in
an appropriate manner.
Kotahitanga - Establishing Inclusion - the teacher gets on with students, warm manner
humour, teaching practice makes connections with the real world
Awhinatia - Regulating Fluidity - transitions are smooth, uses proximity control
I Runga I te Manaaki - Engendering Care - showing fairness, gentle care
Rangatiratanga - Enhancing Meaning - asking thought provoking questions, insisting on
emphasis on thinking, critical thinking, providing feedback
Orangatanga - Maintaining Pulse - an atmospher where culture matters, relevance in
the curriculum and the pedagogies, offering choice

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