Create - Innovate - Responding to Student Voice

Design of the new Year 10 curriculum has begun and I'm proud to report that one of the five responses from students has now been incorporated, within two of four 'themes' that classes could select to learn for the year. 

The first theme is called Survival (see below) and focusses on designing houses using sustainable materials. It features a reading about the Te Kura Whare by Tuhoe, as well as a Living Building competition, which could stimulate further research and reading (as there are many similar competitions around the world, with some in America focussing on withstanding tornados as the student suggested).

The new survival theme in the year 10 curriculum.

Te Kura Whare Green Building design reading by Tuhoe

The Living Building reading by the Living Building Initiative

The second theme is Building to Live.  In this theme there are two readings - the first is about traditional Maori Architecture by Te Ara (see below) which could prompt students to think about traditional building styles and how they could continue to be incorporated into future designs.

The new building to live theme in the year 10 curriculum

The Te Ara reading that tells the story of Maori buildings from more traditional to contemporary.

Other things that I will try to incorporate into the year 9 or 10 curriculum (based on student voice) are Maori technology - I don't know anything about this and will have to research it! Running a study on something in culture - I feel this could be left quite open-ended and student-centred. Students also mentioned learning about the history and things Polynesian people discovered or invented - this could be tools again but I'm thinking more about the navigation of ancestors to NZ and around the Pacific using stars.

The last idea that students offered up was to include Maori and Pacific scientists or inventors in the curriculum and it got me thinking - all of the scientists we traditionally talk about are old, stuffy, white men. They're not really role models for the students at Tamaki College. We SHOULD be including successful Maori and Pacific academics, scientists and inventors into our junior curriculum so students see that science IS for them, CAN be part of their future and is entirely achievable for them.

So.. stay posted!

Student Voice and Agency

It's Wednesday afternoon at uLearn and I'm two thirds of the way through my presentations!

 

Right now I'm sitting in a presentation about student voice and agency.

Here are some things I took away from the session today: 

~  Student voice needs to be recorded to have agency.

~  Never ask "are there any questions?" - because there won't be. Rather say "what IS your question?" It tells student's it's about personalised learning, and that we need them to think. And it's ok to have a think, and then have a question.

~  If it's free, it's for me. 

~  Twitter and https://twitterfall.com/ to quickly gain student voice, then get them to reply to each other's tweets online too. 

~  Every Thursday period one Stuart starts the lesson with everyone dancing, to a different song each week. Why? Certainly not his idea. He asked the class how to revitalise them and get them ready for class on a Thursday morning - the class said they want to have a boogie. Kids run to class for it! Two rules only: no mocking, and no sitting out - dance to the best of your ability. 

~  Student voice and agency allows teachers to get out of the way of learning. 

And finally, here's the Padlet of everyone who was in the session today, Padlets are so easily embedded!

Created with Padlet