Benefits of teaching from multiple knowledge systems

Kaiako and ākonga from Arataki School, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School and Pāpāmoa Primary School explain how they have used multiple knowledge systems and the value this has added to their teaching and learning.

Kupu Māori

• Akomanga – class or classroom.

• Maramataka – Māori lunar calendar.

• Whakaute – respect or care.

Questions for discussion

• How might using multiple knowledge systems enhance critical thinking and creativity?

• How might using multiple knowledge systems enhance classroom relationships and bring out the best in students?

• What is one statement that stands out for you?

• What is one piece of advice that you would like to try in your own teaching?

Transcript

Frankie

Dual knowledge systems is two ways of knowing the same thing, basically.

Fynn

Cause there’s different ways of knowing.

Sheryl Helleur

When you’re learning different knowledge systems, then they’re able to respect other people, have more empathy, form different connections to different areas because they feel that they can understand.

Simone Marsters

Inclusive practice is important in the classroom because it helps kids connect with each other. They’re seen and heard as individuals, and their whānau, their culture is acknowledged.

Sheryl Helleur

The benefits are that they have an understanding of all the knowledge systems, and then they’re able to understand how they fit in those knowledge systems and then they can adapt them into their own lives.

Kupa-Tāne

If you were just having one view of what you think maramataka is, you could get some stuff wrong and you might be doing other things, which might result in you not feeling the best. But if you look at lots of multiple and different ways and you see which one that you think is right for you and you go with that one, that probably would be the best option for your health and your hauora.

Sheryl Helleur

When you have an akomanga that has a lot of tamariki from different places, you’re learning about all the different cultures.

Simone Marsters

We have tamariki from India, we have tamariki from Asia, also tauiwi and iwi Māori. People have come from different backgrounds – they have different ideas, different whakaaro, different stories. The benefits of using multiple knowledge systems is that our tamariki get a broader range of knowledge.

Sheryl Helleur

Using a dual learning system enhances their critical thinking and creativity. They dive deeper into the knowledge systems and then their understanding develops, and then they become more curious, and then they want to find out more, and then their understanding broadens again and then they want to share their knowledge.

Simone Marsters

Our kids, they’re naturally enquiring about the world around them, and if they’re only presented one perspective all their lives, they couldn’t possibly broaden their way of thinking. So when we weave that approach into our classroom teaching, acknowledging that they bring with them not just themselves, but their identity and of their whanau, of their culture, it’s a really powerful learning tool.

Luka

Learning from different perspectives is, even though our perspective might be a very privileged one, we, we would like to see how other people would see it from their point of view.

Jonty

There’s like heaps of perspectives about like kī-o-rahi, and when we went to the science fair, if people know about this, they could have their own meaning of this sport.

Simone Marsters

In education we can clearly see where a bicultural approach has improved relationships with our tamariki because they’re respectful of one another, respecting difference, but also respecting similarities. We call it whakaute or respect for others, showing manaaki for other people’s feelings – for the way they think, the way they are.

Fynn

It’s good to know like multiple stories of what people think.

Skyla

It makes me feel good because I can talk about my perspective and they can understand or don’t understand, but at least I get to tell them what I know.

Amelia

Different ideas have different ways. The different things that we used were different ways of doing it and any of them could have worked better than the others. And the more ideas, the more chances of succeeding.

Mikaela

Everybody has a different idea on how to solve things. And we listened to them all and we put them all down and made ideas of our own.

Arna-Maria

It also brung together a bond between us all.

Simone Marsters

The advice I give to teachers who are unsure of whether or not to use a multiple knowledge learning system in their classroom is to trust the process, trust our kids. But also trust in knowing that, every time we’re exposing them to more than one way of thinking, we’re improving and expanding what they are capable of doing.

Mikaela

It was hard at first, but then it got – it eased down the more we went.

Kupa-Tāne

I found lots of different answers on all the websites and articles. But my trick was we would find the thing that all the websites and the articles would have in common and then we would put them all together to see what the most common result was.

Arna-Maria

Just don’t look at the skin of it – like the surface. Definitely dig deeper into it – what’s actually happening underneath.

Sheryl Helleur

Bringing mātauranga Māori into your teaching and learning systems really helps enrich the learning that there is. Some people might be scared to, because they don’t have any knowledge of it, but you can always research. It will really help bring out the best in your students. I really couldn’t encourage it enough.

Acknowledgements

Frankie and Fynn, Arataki School
Sheryl Helleur, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School
Simone Marsters, Arataki School and Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao
Kupa-Tāne, Jonty, Skyla, Mikaela and Arna-Maria, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School
Luka and Amelia, Pāpāmoa Primary School

Photos of students testing water, Te Ākau ki Pāpāmoa School