Purpose:
For most learners (and teachers) in Māori medium programmes, Māori is a second language. Therefore, development of bilingual language initiatives requires knowledge of second language acquisition theory and practice. This body of knowledge is not widely known or practiced in senior wharekura but is essential, particularly as students and teachers are required to access high level content material written in English (and Māori) across the breadth of subjects in the curriculum learning areas.
Outcomes sought through this procurement in Māori medium settings:
- Increased student progress and achievement.
- Developed in-school pedagogy and content knowledge to enable effective bilingual language leadership within each school.
- Developed teacher pedagogy and content knowledge to enable effective teaching of language (bilingual) within all subject areas.
- Enhanced school language learning leadership.
- Development of effective professional learning communities that promote enhanced language learning across all curriculum learning contexts.
Notes:
- Language programmes in wharekura are unique in that they need to acknowledge that learners are neither strictly second or first language learners but a representation of a diverse range of levels, so theory and pedagogical practices that cater for this uniqueness need to be shaped.
- The increasingly specialised demands of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, along with teaching and learning resources that are bilingual, require students to have increasingly sophisticated reading and writing knowledge, language skills, and competencies.
- To ensure these outcomes are met, facilitators require appropriate expertise and knowledge of bilingual Māori medium settings.
- Many of the resources and materials to support and extend the developing pedagogical knowledge of teachers in Māori medium have yet to be developed. Some of these will be produced as a result of professional development; others will be drawn from literature and materials designed for (monolingual) English literacy practices and other second language learning contexts located internationally.
- Filtering through, transferring, and reshaping pedagogical information to support English language learning programmes is a necessity in senior wharekura. There must be a more direct alignment with English literacy learning prgrammes as this task is time consuming and demanding for wharekura teachers, but this process is knowledge creating within itself and should be incorporated within wharekura.
- Wharekura teachers may be isolated in their specific subject and/or positions of responsibility, so innovative approaches to connecting them to other wharekura and/or acknowledged Māori medium experts needs to be considered (for example, e-learning).
- Te Rūnanga Nui o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa and Kura ā-Iwi Incorporated Society are engaged to complement PLD provision in kura they are responsible for.
- Principles of Professional Development (special notes) in Māori medium need to be taken into account by PLD providers.
Published on: 01 Jun 2011
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