At the heart of my inquiry is cultural responsive teaching and specifically, how can I support and raise the achievement in writing of my Māori students. Dr Russell Bishops studies show that Māori learners believe the key to their success is the relationships that surround them and this has a direct impact on their achievement.
But that does not stand alone and his studies found that in ‘Teaching to the North-East’ is not just about creating caring relationships with student, it’s about ensuring that the relationship matches the high teaching skills provided by the teacher. This is called ‘relational pedagogy’.
In the past, I have used board theory alot and want to look at co-operative learning groups where students will discuss their learning and learn from each other. Providing relevant feedback and feedforward is important and something that I know I need to improve and is important. Allowing extra time for students to come in after school would also help. High expert teaching supports students in knowing what is going on and where they are at.
More research shows that you can't just teach a text that is specific to a people or indigenous group and expect that to be culturally responsive, but that teachers need to go know students before making judgements as to what is responsive to them.