Happy Kiribati language week, I hope you have managed to attend the many events around Aotearoa to celebrate this great language and culture.
I'm pleased to share our latest news and activities here, following a busy period for the team with three successful regional forums. Many thanks to the 288 of you who attended across the three events. Read more about them below.
An exciting announcement - our Manako team has been awarded a new two-year contract with the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). This news is extremely welcome for the team, and I am delighted to see TEC's commitment continue supporting this amazing work within the sector.
The Ako Aotearoa Manako Team.
From left to right: Dr Damon Whitten, Dr Mei Winitana, Pale Sauni, Michael Grawe. Annette Tofaeono, Annette van Lamoen, Helen Lomax, Graeme Read
Absent in photo: Dr Joeseph Te Ritio, Vicky Beckwith, Saylene Ulberg, Graeme Smith, Barrie Vigar
Fresh PLD
The newest online professional learning to join our PLD programme is the workshop series 'Exploring Ako | Six steps to success'. Developed and facilitated by Jane Terell, this work is based on the project Linda Keesing-Styles completed for Ako Aotearoa last year. There are valuable tips and teaching strategies for all educators to guide them in achieving greater akonga (learner) success and we believe it will prove to be an enormous asset for individuals and organisations alike. Read more below.
Our facilitators also delivered in-house PLD to 120 staff across five organisations in areas such as private training establishments (PTEs), construction and justice. Topics included Pacific cultural centredness, literacy, numeracy, and Māori cultural capability.
I invite you to have a read of the Ako Aotearoa submissions to the University Advisory Group (UAG) as a response to Phase One of the consultation. Submissions like this reflect our commitment to good teaching and learning practice in tertiary education and consider how the proposed changes will affect the tertiary system's ability to achieve the best educational outcomes for its learners.
2024 Te Whatu Kairangi | Aotearoa Tertiary Educator Awards update
An enormous amount of work has been underway for the 2024 Te Whatu Kairangi awards, with much more to come! Nominations closed at the end of June with 32 coming forward from a range of universities, ITO's and PTE's. I am particularly excited to see nine nominations coming through for our new Te Tohu Reo Māori award that recognises exceptional kaiako teaching te reo Māori.
I wish the attendees a wonderful fono this week at the Ako Aotearoa-sponsored Association of Pasifika Staff in Tertiary Education (APSTE) Conference in Dunedin at Otago University. APSTE has been supporting Pasifika staff for over 30 years, and we are proud to support their mahi (work).
Ti a bo, goodbye
Helen Lomax and the Ako Aotearoa team
Pacific PD Scholarships - 2024 round opens 19 July
The Ako Aotearoa Pacific PD Scholarship Fund opens for nominations on 19 July. Each of these scholarships are worth up to $5,000, with matching co-funding from the nominee's institution. Keep an eye on our website for further information and forms coming within the week.
We recently worked with our 2022 Pacific PD Scholarship cohort to assess the impact of the scholarships on their leadership career pathways. This group emphasised the usefulness of this scholarship, as it enabled them to upskill and gain new accreditations.
We were thrilled to host Dr Ngaroma M. Williams and her team for an online launch celebrating the release of the Ki te hoe | Indigenising Spaces resources. The set of 17 te reo Māori resource pukapuka (books) includes ngā huinga reo (vocabulary lists) and ngā rerenga (sentence structures) for Levels 1 to 3 of the recommended teaching and learning te reo Māori curriculum, set by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
We were honoured to have Deputy Chief Executive Māori of the Teaching Council, Tamahau Rowe attend the launch and endorse Dr Ngaroma's work. Around 100 people from a wide range of organisations around the country also attended online.
Our Manako team has created an Error Analysis Resource Collection for tertiary educators which aims to help educators identify common learner mistakes, and plan learning sessions to help their learners overcome these challenges.
The first two sets of resources are about reading a tape measure and return on investment. Each set has a description of a common mistake learners make, an explanation of the conceptual misunderstanding behind the mistake, a research-based approach for teaching the concept, and links to research and resources. More sets on a range of numeracy topics will be added to the collection soon.
New PLD workshops - Exploring Ako | Six Steps to Success
"Jane has such a great way of easing you into each component"
Pilot workshop participant, 6 May 2024
Exploring Ako | Six steps to success. Facilitator Jane Terrell describes why she developed the workshop series and what she believes participants will learn from it to enhance their own practice.
Facilitator: Jane Terrell
“This workshop series is a great chance for us all to dive into this new resource which covers everything close to my heart about learning-centred teaching. Together we’ll explore “ako” using interactive, dialogue approaches, and uncover ways to facilitate deep learning that transforms both teacher and learner."
This series starts with a 2-hour overview workshop, followed by further 1-hour elective session on the six principles. Book the entire series or find out more by visiting our website below.
The Ako Aotearoa team at the Northern Hub Regional forum in Hamilton
We were delighted to meet with 288 people across this year's regional forums. Here is some of the feedback we received:
“The calibre of the chosen speakers was exceptional. The way they engaged the audience, were able to think on their feet, embedded humour and passion, and shared relevant, helpful insights, was something special."
"I really appreciated getting a wider sense of the different projects that Ako Aotearoa is spearheading and a better understanding of the broader tertiary sector.”
I am pleased to welcomeHato Hone St Johns | PTE and Number 10 | Southland Youth One Stop Shopto the growing cohort of amazing tertiary organisations accredited with the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark (DFQM). This brings the national total to 14, with another intake starting this September. Our congratulations go to the staff of these two amazing organisations.
From left to right: Dr Joe Te Rito (Ako Aotearoa), Naomi Manu (Auraki Group), Hagen Tautari (Hanga Aro Rau), and Saul Roberts (Tāmaki Makaurau Office Architecture Ltd).
Our Deputy Director, Dr Joe Te Rito, attended the launch event of the TOHU app, a collaborative project between Auraki Group, HERA, and Manu Group Ltd. The TOHU app is a culturally anchored career mapping tool designed to help Māori youth find potential careers and identify the associated STEMM subjects needed to enter these professions. It aims to stimulate interest and understanding among Māori of the possibilities within these sectors.
Dr Te Rito was particularly impressed with the app's relevance and creativity. He believes this app is a game changer and he was thrilled to meet the creator, Naomi Manu along with some of the team behind its launch. With Māori youth projected to make up 20% of the future workforce in Aotearoa, it is encouraging to see more efforts directed towards aiding these learners. The TOHU app is set to be released on the following website soon.
Ako Aotearoa, 119 Tasman Street, Mt Cook, Wellington 6021, New Zealand, 0800 692 566
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