Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori - Kura Auraki
Curriculum Guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium Schools: Years 1-13
Curriculum guidelines 521 PDF (PDF, 4 MB)
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Te ako i te reo Māori
Teaching and learning te reo Māori
Ngā āhuatanga whai hua o te ako
Characteristics of effective teaching and learning
Effective teachers focus on raising their students’ achievement. They have high yet realistic expectations for their students that are based on a deep understanding of the attitudes, talents, and prior knowledge and experience that each student brings to their learning.
Effective teachers of te reo Māori actively build strong relationships with students’ whānau and communities. They manage the classroom environment well and develop relevant and carefully sequenced learning tasks that provide multiple opportunities for learning and enable students to make links between their new learning of te reo Māori and their prior knowledge and experiences.
In effective learning programmes, many of the tasks are social. Students have opportunities to work in small groups as they practise and experiment with new and learned language in both authentic and role-playing contexts. They also have opportunities to work in pairs and individually as they prepare for, practise and reflect on their learning, and at times they engage in activities specifically tailored to their individual needs. Whole-class or group discussion and activities enable ideas, issues and misunderstandings to be brought to the surface and examined. Teachers scaffold classroom interactions to ensure that these are focused on the learning that students need in order to negotiate meanings and work towards shared learning goals. They help students to gain the skills they need to engage in learning conversations. In effective learning conversations, each person feels safe to explore and construct new ideas, and the participants challenge and support each other as appropriate. As they work and learn together, each teacher and their students build a classroom community of learners.
Students engage with a range of language learning resources that are geared to their particular needs and interests. Increasingly, these include resources using electronic technologies.
Throughout the teaching and learning process, effective teachers of te reo Māori provide constructive feedback clearly related to learning outcomes that have been shared with the students. Such feedback provides students with the information they need in order to improve while also increasing their confidence and motivation. Effective teachers prompt and question students in ways that encourage them to reflect actively on their own thinking and learning processes. At the same time, the teachers reflect on their own practice, seeking evidence about the impact of their teaching and adjusting their practice accordingly.