Activity 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Activity 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy- The importance 

It is so important to have a culturally responsive pedagogy. The typical New Zealand classroom is no longer one specific culture. There are a wide range of cultures that are present. In my classroom alone I have NZ European, Chinese, Tamil, Indian, Tongan and Melanesian. My school has a wide variety of cultures and it is important to recognise every one. By providing learning experiences which relate to how students perceive the world through their own cultures you are able to create a sense of motivation and of engagement that connects with the students on a different level. Russell Bishop in Edtalks (2012) discusses the educational disparities in New Zealand. He states that "economically, socially and politically it is vital as a society we understand the need to address these education disparities"  and he asks the question- how can Maori achieve at the highest territory level but not get through secondary school? 

To address this there needs to be teachers who are willing to create a learning context where the students can bring them selves, their own cultural understandings (the way they make sense of the world),  bring themselves to the learning conversations, bring their own experiences where their knowledge is official and legitimate (Edtalks, 2012). This not only works for Maori students but every student. For example choosing an article in a reading work shop that caters for the culture of those students while activate their prior knowledge and will help them to feel empowered because they may even know more about the context than the article or it is something new that they are learning about in their own culture. Having a culturally responsive pedagogy is a key aspect of being a "good educator", knowing what engages and motivate students to want to learn more!

School wide activities are things that my school does well in terms of having a culturally responsive pedagogy. In the senior school team (Matauranga Team), this term we are doing a Matariki Celebration which will involve the schools Kapa Haka Groups and the Indian Dance group performing for a night where parents and children can come watch without the pressure of fundraising for the school. We are also doing a Maori Focus week where each teacher becomes an expert at teaching a certain aspect of the Maori Culture i.e. I am going to do Maori Games and I will provide the history and background of where the games game from and play the games with the children who want to come to the class. This engages the students as they want to learn something new and exciting.

Learning activities are something that we could work on. There is a range of expertise at our school and it is important to tap into those experts. To get more knowledge on areas where I can engage my students through a culturally responsive pedagogy. Especially having a diverse classroom such as mine with a wide range of cultures. It is hard to target any one particular. Having a resource bank would be a good way to start addressing the needs of a culturally responsive pedagogy. Where teachers could access information and learning experiences which have been successful in the past for other teachers. It is important to network, and make things easier on each teacher. 

As teachers, it is key to address the cultural needs of the classroom. To increase engagement and motivation. The trick is finding those learning experiences which hook students in.

Reference:

Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994