Last Thursday 29th July, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu launched a pilot post-graduate level course for teachers in Te Hiku o Te Ika to help them understand and effectively teach our histories from the book Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation.
In 2017, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu and Huia Publishers published Ngāti Kahu: Portrait of a Sovereign Nation. We have since gifted copies to all mainstream schools and kura kaupapa Māori as a resource to support quality education to Māori learners and their whānau. To that end, we are now teaching the teachers so they UNDERSTAND our hapū histories and are equipped with knowledge on HOW to teach them.
The pilot is funded by the Ministry of Education and is being delivered online every Thursday evening via zoom. It opens with an hour long lecture by Lead Lecturer, Professor Margaret Mutu. After a five minute comfort and kai break, it closes with an hour of open tutorial and Q&A led by Assistant Lecturer, Te Ikanui Kingi-Waiaua.
The course was initially opened to all kaiako/teachers with a teaching qualification working at any Kura Kaupapa Māori and Kura Auraki in the Ngati Kahu rohe. However, due to the level of interest, it was quickly opened to allow teachers with a connection to Ngati Kahu to also apply.
The Rūnanga had expected about 30 applications but ended up with 43 teachers from 10 kura auraki (mainstream schools – 2 of them outside the rohe), 2 kura kaupapa Māori, 2 kohanga reo and one university as well as one government department. Most of the teachers connect to the weekly zoom from their own homes. However, some are gathering at their schools to listen and take part.
The online sessions are also open to all Ngāti Kahu iwi members who wish to observe. However, unlike the teachers, they just have to email nkregistrar@ngatikahu.iwi.nz or call 4083013 and ask to be added to the mailout group who receive the weekly zoom link. Alternatively, they can come to the Rūnanga each Thursday evening and observe the weekly lecture and tutorial from there.
The course is running for 10 weeks during term three and participating teachers will be assessed via two take home tests, worth 25% and 35% respectively, as well as a lesson plan assignment worth 40%. The assessments are to let them know how well they have understood the book.
Lecture outlines are sent to everyone (teachers and observors) the week before each zoom to guide the required reading for the week. The lecture and tutorial are then delivered by the Lecturers and recorded separately by Te Hiku Media, who are providing technical support to the pilot.
Two days after each zoom ends, links to the separate recordings are sent to all participants so they can watch them on demand. They are also posted to the websites and social media platforms of the Rūnanga and Te Hiku Media for public viewing. Last Thursday’s zoom can be viewed on these links:
https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-radio/ngati-kahu-show/20229/ngati-kahu-histori... - LECTURE 1
https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-radio/ngati-kahu-show/20230/ngati-kahu-histori... - TUTORIAL 1
While this pilot is being run at a university level, it is an indigenous course of study run by the Rūnanga and is not constrained by the administrative rules of a university. However, because it is a pilot, we have yet to see if the Ministry of Education will continue to fund it. Ma te wa.
ENDS..
CONTACT: Ānahera Herbert-Graves
027 6960930
nkceo@ngatikahu.iwi.nz
