Christchurch Religious Studies Network

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they shall not turn from it”.

Proverbs 22:6

Today, teachers from Catholic Cathedral College, Marian College, Middleton Grange School and Villa Maria College gathered to discuss the teaching of Scripture within our Catholic and Integrated Schools. At the heart of our purpose is to engage students in education of faith and knowledge. The centre of our schools is the person of Jesus Christ who we look to share with our students through our witness as Religious Educators. 

The Why?

We began the meeting with the question of "Why are we here and what is important to us as Religious Educators".  The purpose of this was to recognize our shared values  with many outlining responsibility to the community, collaboration and learning as key reasons. By doing this we are encouraging a sense of community. We discussed how mutual trust and respect is needed to create a community that can only come by interaction and dialogue. 

 For the teachers gathered, we discussed a focus on relationships where, Jansen (2010) notes " when relationships are prominent within an organisation they promote self regulation, a process that leads to high innovation". Each member of the Network also has an equal voice with Peck (1991) suggesting, "a healthy organisation is one in which all participants have a voice".

An important aspect of this Network is to include our nation's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi as a format for engagement. This focuses on three key principles created by Janelle Riki - Waka from CORE Education. These are:

1. Partnership - Equitable, Reciprocal and Empowering
2. Participation - Inclusive, ensures accessibility and visibility, voices heard and acted upon.
3. Protection - early, authentic and meaningful, on- going.

Appreciative Inquiry

The Network is following Appreciative Inquiry a organisational development tool. Appreciative Inquiry focuses on supporting people getting together to tell stories of positive development in their work that they can build on (Reed, 2004, p.42). Information collected in this sharing is utilized in the learning space, continuing the developing knowledge of the participants and the growth of the group as a whole. Appreciative Inquiry can also include interviews, reflection on relevant literature, leadership consultants analysis of emerging themes. 

https://goo.gl/gWR5LV

The Network had previously met in Term Three where we shared our stories around what is going well in our teaching of Scripture.

For our Network Appreciative Inquiry involves:

- Discovery - Sharing our stories of what is going well and exploring reasons why it is going well.

- Dreaming - Setting a vision of what we would like to achieve. This focuses on: What might be?

- Designing -  Planning what will be according to the vision and the positive features already identified. This focuses on: What should be the ideal?

- Deliver - Creating what will be. This involves empowering each member of the Network to share their individual skills/ genius for the benefit of the Network. It involves learning, doing and adjusting based on experiences.

An Adaptive Challenge

A reason for employing this model is due to the Network discussing collaboration as an Adaptive Challenge.  An Adaptive Challenge is one in which "solutions require experiments and new discoveries" (Jansen, Cammock and Connor, 2011, p.66). We have recognized that to be truly collaborate across schools in our development of Scripture resources, we need to reconfigure our roles, relationships and approaches to work for the "slices of genius in each individual to come out"

( Hill, Brandeau, Truelove and Llneback, 2014 ,p.96).

We where aware that treating teacher collaboration across schools as a technical challenge would lead to limited success. A technical challenge is one which is often solved by authority and relatively quickly. This view of the Network's work would have limited outcomes as we are working not only across schools but across faiths. 

To explain the framework around Technical and Adaptive Challenges created by Dr. Chris Jansen click here. 

The Network then created a collective vision of what might be. We had three focusing questions that each member contributed to:

- The WHY - Developing Scripture topics for students that are..........because......

- The HOW -  Through learning experiences that are.............

- The WHAT - By implementing initiatives like..................

Due to completing this reflection we now have a Network vision and a focus that all members agree to. This vision will involve our designing phase, (occurring in Term One, 2017) where we will start planning Scripture topics and resources that align with this vision.

Informal Interactions

We also discussed providing a 'sandpit' area for the Network to have informal interactions. A Google Community has been created where before our Term One workshop teachers can ask questions, share ideas and find similar areas of interest. This operates on a Network model whereby it is fast, connected and creates innovation quickly.  As noted previously this Religious Educators Network will focus on:

Collaborating: We will work together to form solutions and incorporate advice/ recommendations to maximum extend possible.

Empowering: Working together to implement what the Network decides. 

Why should I collaborate?

It is important to note at this point why should we as educators collaborate? Dr. Cheryl Doig from Christchurch discusses the need for 'T- Shape' worker. T - Shape workers are teachers who develop a deep understanding of their practice, can collaborate with others across and outside of the education sector, and make decisions that benefit all learners. 

As teachers we are often consumed with what is happening within our own school community. A question to ask yourself is: When was the last time I talked or collaborated with someone outside of my department, school or industry?

You can read my reflection on this here. 

https://goo.gl/TFz9KU

"BY 2026 WORK WILL BE 80% COLLABORATIVE AND 20% INDIVIDUAL". (TEAM B)

Wrap Up

This Network is open to Religious Educators at any level. We see the importance of developing the capacity of teachers regardless of experience or position, as each we have slices of genius that we can share in this Network. We are having our planning meeting in Term One, 2017 and please join our Google Community to be part of a journey as a witness of Jesus Christ to create innovation and change!

Left - Right: Sylvia, Sarah, Andrea, Rosemary, Anita and Sarah. Note: Ruth and Jeremy are not in the picture.

References

Heifetz, A.R. & Laurie, L.D. (1997). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, January, 124- 134.

Hill, L., Brandeau, G., Truelove, E. & LIneback, K. (2014) Collective Genius. Harvard Business Review, June, 94-102.

Jansen, C., Cammock, P., & Conner, L. (2011). Leadership for Emergence: Exploring organisations through a living system lens. Leading & Managing, 17(1), 59-74.

Katzenbach, J., Steffen, I. & Kronley, C. (2012). Culture change that sticks: Start with what's already working. Harvard Business Review, July, 110-117.

Peck, M. (1991). A Different Drum: Community - making and peace. (New York: Simon & Schuster).

Reed, J. (2004) Appreciative Inquiry: Research for change. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage).

RE 102 & TH 101 Flipped/ Blended Learning

Today, we are wrapping up our filming for RE 102 & TH 101. Both of these papers will run in early 2017, with teachers from across the Christchurch Diocese experiencing a Flipped & Blended learning approach of TCI papers.

In this Flipped/ Blended approach  teachers are able to watch content as often as they like before they are comfortable to apply their knowledge via forums or reflections. When they have face to face time with their presenter they already have a base line understanding of content and their time can be spent discussing, applying, analyzing and evaluating content. 

To explain the shift the Christchurch Education Office has made take a look at the image of the inverted diamond of Blooms Taxonomy that Flipped & Blended learning approaches create:

Instead of students being passive receptors of information they first need to remember and understand their knowledge before face to face time which involves active learning opportunities. There is also an increase in autonomy over when the student can complete their learning and also how quickly they move through content with it being asynchronous through the Moodle Platform. To find more out about the Flipped Learning pedagogy click here.

We know that this format will provide teachers with a greater understanding of their paper and provide them with opportunities to apply this new understanding to their Religious Education class.  

A reflection on the nature and purpose of Catholic Education

As we come to the conclusion of this year we have time to reflect on what we have achieved. An important feature is to think about how we have promoted Education in faith and Education in Religion to our students.

 I was recently reading an article published by Marymount International School (Paris) which I thought I would share with you. They have written this summary which focuses on the nature and purpose of Catholic Education from their experiences.

Marymount International School, Paris is a Catholic school and as part of the network of RSHM schools we are guided in our mission by the words of Jesus “I come so that all may have life.” The words of Christ, that constitute the mission of our founding order resonate in the words of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on Christian Education, which states, “Holy Mother Church must be concerned with the whole of man’s life. … Therefore she has a role in the progress and development of education.” We at Marymount as a Catholic School, within the network of the RSHM have a duty to adhere to these words in all that we do. Self reflection is an essential part of Christianity and similarly we as an institution have a duty to reflect upon how well we are fulfilling our mission and subsequently to celebrate our success and ensure that we set targets for improvement where we have shortcomings. Strategic Planning, Target Setting and all aspects of quality assurance must be focused first and foremost upon ensuring that Marymount, Paris, is an outstanding Catholic school. After all that is our raison d’etre.

Our teachers and staff at Marymount do a wonderful job of providing holistic education for our children. Children are happy at our school. There is an atmosphere of love and joy. We are a real community. The spirit of 93 years of Marymount, Paris is evident in all our classrooms. The environment is most certainly conducive for learning! Whilst been proud of our success and our wonderful school it is imperative that at the same time we recognize that, like any other catholic school, it is essential that we articulate our philosophy of catholic education correctly and in accordance with the teachings of the Church and the goals and criteria of the RSHM. This is a duty of all members of the faculty and administration. It is our Catholic ethos and identity that makes us distinctive. It is what “Marymount” is all about. It is our history, our tradition, our culture.

Sister John Mary Fleming, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education, said “A Catholic philosophy of education deals with the essence of the human person as a child of God who is made in the image of God. One of the ends or goals of Catholic education is to teach children to live well here and now so that they can live with God in eternity. That means engaging culture and society in a specifically Christian way that contributes to the general welfare of society.”

At Marymount, Paris, we have some truly inspiring teachers. As is oft said in educational circle children may well forget whatthey were taught in school but they never forget who taught them. Many of our teachers come from communities of faith. Some are Catholic, others Christians of other denominations, some of other world faiths and others who deem themselves of no religious affiliation. This is not uncommon in a catholic school in Europe or North America and in many ways can be a positive feature of a school serving the needs of a diverse community, many of whom come from a religious background other than Catholic, or even Christian. The essential point is that all staff in a Catholic school need to have an understanding of the philosophy that underpins the nature and purpose of a catholic school. This is essential for all members of the faculty and not just those who teach Religion to our children. Anyone who has daily contact with our children at Marymount has a duty to bear witness to the values and beliefs that underpin the Catholic Church. It is for this reason that an important priority for the professional development of our staff is to ensure that all have an understanding of the nature and purpose of Catholic schools and of the mission of the RSHM.

In the secular world teachers are often feted as role models for their students but in the sphere of catholic education it is essential that a teacher go beyond being this and lives his/her life as a witness to Christ and to the living out of gospel values. It is the duty of an educator in a catholic school to instill in his/her students the values of respect, forgiveness, openness and joy and to cherish each student and to be sensitive to the diverse talents, abilities and needs of each one. In doing so we seek to create unity through diversity. This may sounds complicated but it is exemplified every minute of every day by the way our staff interact with the children in their care. Perhaps above all else that we do at Marymount it is the love that exists in our community that makes us so distinctive?

A recurring theme in documentation emulating from Conferences of Catholic Bishops across the world is the crucial nature of the relationship between School, Home and the Parish (the latter in the case of Catholic students.) The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops states that the mission of Catholic education is to provide a particular environment for New Evangelization by presenting the Gospel anew within the school and parish communities whilst providing support for parents who may not feel entirely comfortable delivering catechetical programs to their children. As a result the S. Conference of Catholic Bishops envision Catholic schools as communities of the New Evangelization. In order to make the process of New Evangelization, faith formation, catechesis, sacramental preparation and the nature and purpose of the study of Religion we at Marymount wish to work with our parental body and wider community to ensure that it is a lived reality. We recognize that we can be a vehicle for supporting some of our parents by offering more opportunities for communal prayer, holy hours, stations of the cross and the celebration of the Mass. All our celebrations, liturgies and para-liturgies are inclusive and are designed to allow children to develop their own spiritual identity whether as Catholics, Christians of other denominations and of other faiths. At Marymount we promote personal and communal prayer and reflection through multi-faith services as well as those more in keeping with our Catholic heritage. As a community of faith we seek to empower each individual to understand, live and bear witness to his/her faith whilst maintaining a respectful awareness of others’ beliefs.

We are on a journey of faith together as a community. We often talk about Student Learning Outcomes in educational circles. But what is our desired “outcome” for our children, or for that matter ourselves. For most of us that is an eschatological dimension – something beyond our current reality. In establishing our personal relationships with God we can subsequently grow as a community of faith and journey together towards passing the ultimate test and securing everlasting life.

Introduction to Religious Education NZ - UK Connection

Earlier this week we had eighteen teachers complete Introduction to Religious Education (RE 101). As part of this paper one of the questions we discussed was: 'What are the challenges of teaching in a Catholic School?'

This question prompted great reflection and discussion with many teachers identifying the practical challenges we face today. We shared this question on Twitter and were surprised with the response we got from Religious Educators in Australia and the United Kingdom.

One of the responses we received was from Andy Lewis (Director of Religious Education and Assistant Headteacher) at St Bonaventure's, London, England.

It was by chance that he himself had led a similar programme that same day for teachers new to working in Catholic schools.

Here is his reflection on working in a Catholic school below:

Imago Dei - The Foundation of Everything

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is situated in the Sistine Chapel. It documents the 

very moment of man's creation as found in the book of Genesis. It was only human kind 

that was created in the expressed image of God and the Latin phrase Imago Dei 

is used several times in the Bible: Genesis 1:26–27, 5:1, 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; 

Colossians 3:10 and James 3:9.

This week I was leading a day of inset for teachers new to working in Catholic schools. 

We looked at what it means to be Catholic, the history and politics of Catholic schools, the Mass, 

some of the challenges as well as the joys of working in a Catholic school. Towards the end of the day, 

I explained the concept of Imago Dei and how for those working in Catholic schools it is essentially 

the foundation of everything.

There can be theological discussion about Imago Dei and exactly what the term means: similarity?

 Counterpart? Dominion? Representative? Indeed the meaning is implicit and has been debated by theologians

 and scholars since the earliest of Jewish times. However the simplicity of a belief that 

all human beings are created in the image of God can help those new to, or outside of, 

the Catholic school understand what they will hopefully witness, experience and share in.

We believe that every member of our school community is created in the image of God, always.

This is incredibly powerful. Each child, each teacher, each member of support staff, each cleaner, each caretaker, 

each visitor. Every single one is created in the image of God and is a gift to the world.

 Each has a purpose, each has a role to play that no other has. Each has God given talents and skills 

that need to be discovered and developed. Every single person, all the time.

Many claim that it was the Puritan's that first developed the notion of human rights based upon Imago Dei 

some 50 years before John Locke, as during this time, some Christians were favoured over others by 

Charles I of England. Richard Overton, a founding Leveller, argued for human rights for all human persons,

 based on the idea of all men being created in the image of God: "We are delivered of God by the hand of 

nature into this world, every one with a natural, innate freedom and propriety — as it were writ in the 

table of every man's heart, never to be obliterated."

Many would argue the same basic principles exist in many schools; the Golden Rule is hardly unique

 to Catholics (see this great poster ). Indeed many secular humanists come to the same conclusions

 as Christians, that all are equal, but claim a basis of reason and belief in humanity. 

Therefore, does it matter if we base our rational on the belief in Imago Dei or simply equality and

 basic human rights? 

I think it makes a significant contribution to the ethos of a Catholic school. We treat people properly because

 it is the law, because it is right thing to do but also because we see the face of Christ within them as a 

child of God. This can often make you stop and reevaluate your position, I believe, in a positive way. 

When you stop and remind yourself that the student, colleague, parent, governor, member of the public, 

inspector, et cetera in front of you is created in the image of God, you speak a little differently. 

You might still come to the same conclusion, but you do it with love, compassion and mercy - that may well 

be a tough love though! 

Nevertheless, this is far from being easy, and can create real challenges: admissions policies, discipline 

(particularly exclusions), staff capability procedures, results/league tables, SEND etc. If all are created in 

the image of God, how can we reject or exclude anyone? How can we select? How can we stop

 offering opportunities for reconciliation? When we do we decide there is no more opportunities for improvement?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister

who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. - Matt. 18:21-22

Sometimes, the leader needs to decide when '77' is up. In the gospels, Jesus suggested some, such as
scribes and Pharisees, would be excluded from the Kingdom of God. They were given opportunities to
be reconciled, and Jesus did not cut off the relationship, yet there was an expectation that they change
their ways and conform. Jesus' inclusivity was neither simplistic nor generic. However, it was shaped by
 a clear vision of the kingdom of God and the priorities of his ministry as Messiah.

The inclusiveness of Jesus was exceptional (women, lepers, tax collectors, sinners). Yet, it wasn’t absolute.
He reached out widely to sinners, but didn’t simply accept them as they were. He invited them
to be transformed; they were forgiven and shown how to turn around their lives as they responded
to the good news of the kingdom of God.

Therefore as we consider the belief of Imago Dei, and the impact it must have on our Catholic schools
and Catholic leaders, this must be done in light of the Gospels. It's not straightforward, nor easy.
It is the everyday challenge for all those working in Catholic schools.

If you do believe each and every person is created in the image of God, let it influence you daily: 

• Smile and ask the cleaner about her day
• Ask the caretaker if he needs a hand with those boxes
• Pop into the school office and offer to man the phones so the receptionist can go to the loo
• Hold the door open for students
• Bring in biscuits to share, just because!
• Ask your colleague how their family is doing

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

RE 101 - Blended Learning - November 2016

This week we had the pleasure of working with 18 Secondary Teachers from Catholic Cathedral College, Marian College, St Thomas of Canterbury College and Villa Maria College. It was a fantastic experience to work with these passionate educators who developed their knowledge and understanding around the features of  Catholic Education. 

What are the five biggest challenges for Catholic Educators? (Discussion)

If you are interested in the experience these teachers had please watch this video. 

Christchurch Diocese Commission for Justice and Peace - Secondary School Winners

Rachael Fotu (Left) with Calais Werahiko

According to the 2014 Child Poverty Monitor, 24 per cent of New Zealand families with children experience income poverty. For these families life can become about just surviving instead of flourishing. The experience of hardship is tinged with stress and isolation.

Last Year, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand used the Social Justice Week to raise public awareness of

poverty amongst families in New Zealand and their struggles.

For its 2016 Essay and Multimedia contest, the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) invited students to write an essay or put together a multimedia presentation on poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand and to link it with Christian values that have been distilled into the many principles of the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching (CST).

This year the Commission had a record number of entries across the three categories that cover Years 7 - 13 pupils. I caught up with two of the winners today Calais Werahiko (Year 9 - 10) and Rachael Fotu (Years 11- 13) both from Catholic Cathedral College. They were inspired to participate in this competition through their English teacher Mrs.  Sharon Henderson who integrated this topic into her Religious Education and English Classes. 

Calais Werahiko, Mrs. Henderson and Rachael Fotu

You can read the fantastic essay by Calais Werahiko here.

We look forward to this competition running again in 2017 where we hope more of our young people within Catholic Schools can share their understanding of how Catholic Social Teaching can be applied in our current context.

Well done. 

Schools Collaborating - TeachMeet Christchurch

I love going to these TeachMeets. I always come away being inspired by something and getting excited by little bits of information, or a new tool, or just hearing about what others are doing in their schools. Today was certainly no different - including the awesome food put on by our host school, Villa Maria College.

These are just my notes on today and I have just done a quick summary on each presentation. You can also have a look at the tweets made today using #TMChch.

Aidan Harrison (Middleton Grange School)- Christian Bicultural Learning 

Aidan gave us a quick digital korowai before taking us through his learning as a bilingual teacher. He went through a short Cultural Narrative for Villa Maria College, reminding us all that every school should have one and we should all be aware of this. I thought at this time how lucky we are at Haeata to have had time to explore our Cultural Narrative and how much it underpins all that we will do there.  He talked about Tātaiako - Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners and I found this reinforced the learning I have been doing at Haeata over the last few weeks (see other posts on my blog for more info on this). He mentioned about the challenges for staff around not feeling confident with Bicultural learning and he offered support for anyone wanting to know more.

Schira Withers (Our Lady Star of the Sea School) - Facilitating the teaching of Character Strengths using Positive Psychology and enhancing Wellbeing

Schira spoke about promoting wellbeing though Character strengths. There are 5 schools in a cluster on the southeast of Christchurch who are using the VIA Institute Character Strengths to promote wellbeing in their schools for staff and for students. They get everyone to do a survey to start with (on the site) to help them discover what their strengths are. The school focuses on 2 strengths each term (there are 24) for example, Bravery and Persistence and they look at topics such as the Olympics or books on these topics. Their school musical production is based around Creativity and Confidence. This approach works on being comfortable with who you are which I like.

I decided to do this test and it was surprisingly correct for how I see myself so I was pleased to see my top 6 character strengths were Honesty, Kindness, Leadership, Judgement, Fairness and Perspective. 

She also told us about the World Character Day which celebrates these character strengths. This site also has a huge range of resources that can be used to develop character. I had a look at a few of these and was amazed at how many there were and how easy it was to search for one of the 24 character strengths by age and media. What a great resource.

Jenni Williams (Redcliffs School) @nzgirljen - Quick and easy collaborative online tools

Jenni took us through 4 online tools she uses.

AnswerGarden from the TeachMeet

Answer garden - She found out about this at ULearn and I must say it looks great. She asked us "What do you enjoy about being part of TeachMeet?" and we had only 20 characters to answer. A really good way of getting quick brief feedback to get the most popular theme or idea and you can also export to Tagxedo or a wordle, send to Twitter!  The About AnswerGarden page is really useful to describe this in more detail. 

Padlet - This was a reminder for me as I have used Padlet in the past, but one new thing for me was that you can now share it with a QR code. It's really good for collaboration and some of my students have also done presentations with it in the past.

Coggle - This is a simple collaborative mindmap which you can add photos and images to. She got her students (use gmail account to login) to put pictures of themselves and then add information they wanted to share. Jenni used it for students to get to know others and to put in ideas about careers. I do like how it is set out.

Trello - I have seen Trello at a TeachMeet before but this was a good reminder of this project management tool. Jenni uses it for groups of students such as the magazine team or the formal group so they can gather information in one place about what they need to get done. They then have boards for to do, doing and done lists. I want to look into this a bit more and see how it might work for projects at school for myself and ākonga.

Snippet

Just before the break we were shown nGram which shows how many times words have been used in literature over a period of time. We were challenged to think about how this could be used in a classroom. At the end of the TeachMeet, Matt Davis shared his ideas with Pauline Henderson and myself and I got very excited about how you could use this tool to ask the "what if" questions. It also got us thinking about what happened in the past and what effect it had on literature and society. It certainly created a lot of discussion with us at the end of the day. Some of the searches that had interesting results were:

• forces, energy, speed - interesting to see what happened over the 1920-1940 time period and also the 1960s when space travel changed the scientific thinking (see the image here)
• AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ethics -showed an increase in books in 1980s - why?We wondered about  the implications of Moore's law in some books and we wondered about cloning on the effect of ethics. One thing was the AI increase in the 1820's - maybe a book on the future, or maybe AI meant something different then!

Duncan Bond, Nadene Brouwer, Richard McBrearty (Burnside High School) @bondteach - Collaboration in a Secondary School Curriculum Area

This school started with single cell classrooms then cut walls so they could cater for approximately 90 students with 3 teachers.

They made it optional for their faculty to be involved. The timetable had to be changed around so that all the classes were on at the same time and they have ended up with 2 trios at yr 9 and 2 trios at yr 10 - about a 3rd of their students are going through this style of learning that has a skills emphasis rather than content focus. They meet once a fortnight to plan next fortnight and their non-contacts are aligned with each other so they have the time to do this.

There have been many positives from this including their continuous discussions around teaching and learning, and also the great relationships between both staff and students. Some of the challenges were around having conversations when the people you work with do something you don't like, the planning time and the noise in a larger environment.

Lee Nanai-Stewart (Catholic Cathedral College) @Nanaistewart - Culturally Responsive Practice

Lee introduced us to the Educultural wheel which was devised by Angus Macfarlane in 2004 which she learnt about in her Post-grad studies at the University of Canterbury. She talked about how to understand the culture of the child, you have to understand your own culture. Lee encouraged us to share our background with our students and get to know our student's background. We need to demonstrate that we care in actions, not just words. The four parts of the wheel go together to create a culture in your school but are not designed to be taken in isolation. There is a blank version to record examples of when/where the concepts have been present in your class, or not present as the case may be.

She gave us some further reading to do:

Sociocultural Realities by Macfarlane, Macfarlane and Webber

Discipline, Democracy and Diversity by Angus H Macfarlane

Kia hiwa ra / Listen to culture - Chapter 8 - strategies for teachers - by Angus H Macfarlane

Article: Creating culturally-safe schools for Māori students - Macfarlane, Glynn, Cavanagh, Bateman

I can't recommend attending these TeachMeets highly enough. It is an opportunity for teachers to share what they are doing in everyday practice and I always come away with a taonga for my kete. Exciting.

Posted by: Sue McLachlan 

Breaking down the Silos - Stephen Kennedy

  

What happens if schools stop teaching subjects and start explicitly teaching values?

What happens if ideas like ‘conscientised’ and ‘Spirit driven’ leap off the laptops?

This year Stephen Kennedy (Leader of Learning for Religious Studies) has launched “Year 12 Justice and Peace” blurring traditional subject boundaries by focusing on learners who seek a world that is conscientised, ethical, compassionate, spiritual, engaged and hopeful.

You can see more of this programme which is being extended in 2017, to include a  Year 11 Conscience and Freedom class here.

If you and your staff are interested in learning more about this programme please email Stephen Kennedy via  skennedy@stc.school.nz  who is willing to discuss this with you further. 

Filming for the Church Strand Year 7 & 8

Today Cushla, Rory and I filmed seven lessons for The Church Strand in Years 7 - 8 with the help of Jason McTeague.

Rory discussing Jesus as teacher.

We have changed the presentation of lesson content from our initial trial completed in Term Three. We originally presented content via screen casting and have since changed this to a green screen format. The reason for this change is to increase  active learning opportunities within a lesson rather than lessons being passive 'downloads' of information.

To provide more detail on the Flipped Learning pedagogy the Church Strand is using it can be summarized as:

Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach where direct instruction and homework elements of learning are reversed. Short, “concept videos are viewed by students at home/ or in class enabling class time to be used for the application of this knowledge in projects” (Bergmann & Sams, 2014, p.7) or group discussions.

To find more about the Flipped Learning pedagogy follow read this literature review.

We will continue filming over the next week and as you can see we are managing to fit in some fun too!

The beginning of a lesson.

Resident Make - up artist and presenter

Reflecting on the day.