MIT2021 at a Glance

This year I was very fortunate to be a part of the Manaiakalani Innovative Teachers 2021 Group. I was one of seven other teachers from around New Zealand to take part in this project this year. 

We started our project using a Design Thinking Process to help us unpack our project and to determine what we wanted to focus on for the year. As the year progressed we came together once a term in Auckland to discus our projects and receive ideas and feedback from our fellow MIT colleagues. 

We were very fortunate in the Term 3 holidays to head to Rarotonga to present our projects with teachers over there. As the year came to an end we our presented our final project at an online Wananga to our Manaiakalani Cluster Principals. 

My project is called Matauranga Pangarau and had a focus on Maths Knowledge for Levels 2-4 of the curriculum. 

Click on the light bulb colours to see my journey with my project this year.  

MIT Wananga

Friday 29 October was meant to be the day for us to share our MIT projects in person with Manakalani Principals across New Zealand. However, due to current Covid restrictions across New Zealand, it was not possible for us to all meet together in one place to share our presentations. 

Instead the Wananga went online and we shared our presentations through pre-recorded videos. I have attached my final video in this post. This video outlines my journey throughout the project and how I got to my final product. 

Please follow the following link to my final presentation. 

Matauranga Pāngarau

In the following blog post I will share my completed tool - Matauranga Pāngarau. This is the google site I have created with my MIT colleague Sarah Tuiā. 

We have accumulated all of the google sheets we have created this year and have put them on our shared site. This site has Number Knowledge resources for Levels 1-4. 

The intent of this tool is for independent student use, but directed by the teacher. Please click on the photo below or the following link to check out our tool. 

Project Update - Term 3 Hui

Our third MIT Hui was set to take place today up in Auckland, however due to New Zealand being in Level 4 lockdown, our Hui took place online. 

Reflecting on our online Hui today, we were given the chance to share where we are at with our projects but also to listen to our other MIT colleagues. It's always good listening to where each other is at and seeing the progress they are making. It was also a good time to explain our project in a succinct and clear way to everyone - this will be good practice for our final presentations. 

Despite the disruptions to our normal school routine, I am continuing to work on my project. However, I am using this time to look at how my project can be used while we are distance learning and how I can use my time to make some good gains within my project - particularly in regards to building it. 

How am I using the project with my students via Distance Learning?

During distance learning I am making the sheets a core part of my maths lessons. Students are still able to complete them and upload them to their blogs, where I can monitor their progress. 

This week I am encouraging my students to make some videos that go alongside the sheets I have created or to challenge themselves and make their own sheets based off the Number Knowledge goal we are focusing on. 

How am I working on my project independently?

As we are in lockdown, I have some more time on my hands, in particular it has given me some 'slow think' time. This has allowed me to consider what I what the end project to look like in terms of our site. 

I am continuing to create Level 4 sheets and will shortly move onto Level 3. Sarah and I have also met up via google meet and have started to build our site. We have started to think about what we want it to look like, how it will be set out and formatted and what we will include. Ideally we want it to be user friendly for children - so we are thinking about the colours we will use, fonts, images etc. 

What are my next steps?

Our next steps are to continue building the site so that ideally by Term 4 we have a site that is up and running that all of our students can access and use. It will still be a work in progress - we will continue to add content, however, we are hoping to have Level 2-4 Number Knowledge goals completed. Sarah and I will continue to met via google meet weekly to ensure we are keeping ourselves and each other accountable for our project. 

Rarotonga Trip Post #4

My project is still a work in progress. I am still in the trial stage with my students - discovering what is working well and what needs to be changed. 

Ideally, my next steps would be to create the site collaboratively with Sarah specifically for all of the knowledge tasks and have the students working off this site. I need my project to be up and running in the classroom with the students. I need to see evidence of my students using it not just when I direct them to it, but also independently. 

As this is very much a work in progress, I would continue to add to this site throughout the year and in the future ensure coverage across multiple curriculum levels. Once this site is finished it would be great to continue working with it next year and have it as a fully functioning part of my maths programme. 

Rarotonga Trip Post #3

Whilst in Rarotonga we presented our MIT projects to other teachers. We presented our projects at the Muri Beach Resort. 

The structure of our presentation was in the form of a Pechkucha format. The format of this presentation is 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary for each slide. It is a story telling format where the individual unpacks and gives a presentation on their work. 

It was a great opportunity to practice presenting our projects to an audience and to receive feedback from other teachers on our projects. 

I found it really reassuring to talk to other teachers that had listened to my project and connect with it. Listening to their feedback around how they would like to use it in their classrooms in Rarotonga was awesome to hear and made me feel great for what I am creating. 

For me personally, I found this presentation really valuable to the progress of my project. It helped to highlight to myself where I was with my project, and it made me accountable for where I was at. Putting my presentation together gave me the opportunity to look deeper into the research and it helped to outline my next steps for the project. Unpacking these next steps have helped me to see clearly what I need to do next for success and where I need to go. 

Rarotonga Trip Post #2

During my time in Rarotonga, I was fortunate to gain some professional development in regards to a cultural responsiveness perspective. 

It was really interesting to see the Rarotongan schools, to see how they are teaching their students in regards to the curriculum, but also in regards to the resources they use and have access to. I found this particularly interesting as it gave me a better perspective of where the students have come from when they come over to New Zealand from Rarotonga. 

We were very lucky to gain some cultural knowledge when looking around the different schools. 

Below are some photos of what we got to experience. 

Traditional Rarotongan Umu