Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu: how can language and literacy be optimised for Māori learner success?

4. Current tutors

“Kotahi te kōhao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro mā,
te miro pango, me te miro whero”
(There is only one eye of the needle for the white,
black and red thread to enter)

4.1: Background profiles

This chapter analyses the second focus group interview for the Introduction to Construction Level 2 programme. As stated in the previous chapter, this programme stemmed from the strategic goals of an iwi rūnanga in partnership with Wintec. All the students who attended this programme were from the iwi concerned and also lived in the region when it was established.

The iwi also determined who would deliver the programme. One tutor shared common ancestral links with students and had also grown up in the same community. The other tutor had taught at the local high school for a number of years and became familiar with these students through developing and teaching a pre-employment programme. On behalf of the iwi he then worked with Wintec to establish the Introduction to Construction Level 2 programme as a further pathway for the above students. Supportive infrastructures were also critical to the programme, such as providing daily transport for the students and tutors from their rural locality to Wintec.

4.2: Whakawhanaungatanga

Important to students’ sense of well-being as learners is the sense of belonging and of being valued. Cormack (1997, p. 165) states that the aim (in the classroom) is to create an esprit de corps…to get the class to function as a whole.in Māori terms as a waka (canoe) or iwi unit. Cormack’s aim is seen as a strength, especially for groups of students who have whānau/whakapapa connection or where the cohesiveness has already been established, as stated by the tutors.

…and they’re all more or less related...are related and just that in itself to me…that to me was a big factor. The collective strength of them being here together.

Ae, that’s been a very positive influence for them. I doubt very much if they would have come through if it wasn’t set up like that.

In the following narrative the tutors outline their connections to the area and their whakapapa link to the students.

I’ve been with this...group all year since March. I live in..., the second youngest of 12 children and I’ve been in education for 20 years plus.

I’m from...and I’ve been with the group for eight months roughly. I’ve tutored elementary carpentry certificate and I’ve been in construction for roughly 10 years.

An important element in the success of this programme relates to the tutors teaching on the programme. The attributes, qualities and subject knowledge they brought to the programme were important and can be described as pivotal to the success of things because of their drive, the way they work with materials, their ability to adapt materials and to contribute to the success of the programme. (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 66)

I did lots of relief teaching in 2005 and February of 2006. Then I was asked by...to organise this Māori Ake course which the students are at Wintec right now. And that was a wonderful chance to create a course from scratch and put in everything I thought they would need in preparation for polytech, for Wintec.

The experiences I thought I would be bringing would be just the knowledge of what goes on in the construction area. That’s what I’ve been based around. I worked for X Construction for about six years and then moved around to Hamilton just working on and off for builders around and builders in Cambridge, mostly just doing residential work. When I had been approached to do the course I felt I could do it because I’ve been in that sort of area and I knew most of the things that we were doing…

Both tutors bought complementary skills, knowledge and experience to the programme.

Observation

Tutors having a common vision, connectedness to the same community and complementary skills create success for the programme.

4.3: What do literacy and language mean to tutors?

Learning new academic language can affect students; however, if students know the meaning of words and can make sense of them they are then able to apply them.

It’s just building up the repertoire of language, of words and kupu and how to apply it and somehow making it have meaning and make sense and you apply it to building…

Tutors recognise the affect of literacy and language issues, whether they are major or minor problem for students. They observed that some students would see problems (literacy and language) as challenges to be met and have grown from the experience, whereas other students saw them as ‘roadblocks’ and have not ‘quite pushed their way through’, as the following narrative explains.

I think language and literacy is big – can be either a permanent or temporary roadblock for our tamariki. Some will rise to the occasion as the students here have done and have made the roadblock a temporary one and have gone through the roadblock. Others have given up at certain stages and just hanging in there. Or it can be seen as a challenge and there’s a few here who saw it as a challenge that was there to meet and they have just grown. Others are still coming to terms with the roadblock. They haven’t quite pushed their way through, but they’re hanging in there…

A tutor saw these roadblocks as a ‘make or break’ situation, where it could affect the person at a personal level and could also affect their completing the course.

…to me language and literacy for anything post-secondary school level learning is everything to me. It’s going to make or break the person as a person, or make or break them in regards to completing the course.

The tutors also saw literacy and language as skills or tools for functioning in today’s society.

Well, what it (literacy and language) means to me is that these are just skills that we need in today’s society to function. To me, they’re like the tools today.

Observation

There is a need to design and develop programmes that are focused on understanding who the student is and taking into account the different ‘learning levels’ of all students.

4.4: Literacy and language application

In his theory of the ‘zone of proximal development’, Vygotsky argues that language is used initially as a means of communication between people and their environment. Bruner draws on Vygotsky’s hypothesis even more by asserting that “with the assistance of a more expert person, who gives the child clues, the child eventually masters it” (Tangaere, 1997, p. 46-59).

In this environment, the tutors are the experts who pass on knowledge or clues so that the students are able to apply what they learn in class.

I think when we tell them stuff, and they see it, well, some of the words that we use, they didn’t understand until they saw it in practice. Just little things! It was like a big “Oh yes” for them.

Past learning experiences in another cultural environment can lead to the need to translate the learning into a more culturally acceptable form. Translating that learning into “Māori world views (epistemology)” (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 8) so that it did not impact on their students’ learning was seen as challenging but important.

Yes because when I was going through it, it was hard for me being the only one in that of a trade and then having to pass it down to my whānau. Yes, ways to make it easier.

Relevancy of literacy and language

Relevant to students’ literacy and language acquisition/progress is that they needed to know what they were doing and why. In other words, learning and words needed to have meaning to motivate rather than words remaining as roadblocks. Another way of expressing this is in terms of personalising learning that connects with students’ personal interests, aspirations and so on.

…they wanted to know what they were doing, and what the words meant, because they had an interest in the work and, to me, that was everything. If they didn’t want to know, no matter what you tell them, they won’t progress past that roadblock – I use roadblock, but they had a desire, the need to know why this wasn’t square in the doorway, they wanted to know – you can say what the word is and how you apply it, but then they would start to relate to, well, why isn’t it fitting?

Raising learner critical consciousness

The following analysis shows how students’ literacy/language levels have progressed beyond the literal meaning of vocabulary. That is, tutors recognised that students’ cognitive levels had started to extend into such thought processes as critical thinking, and problem-solving application.

So they’ve gone, another thought process, gone beyond just the word. How you apply the word, but how you apply it so it actually functions and why things don’t measure up and what did we do wrong? To me they were starting to look at why things could and couldn’t happen.

I think the students have learnt…but I don’t think they realise how much they’ve learnt in the last nine months. If we were to sit down and look at everything they’ve – even just a whole new language, ways of doing things, my expectation is they’ve got a hunger now for that…

4.5: Pedagogical practice

Programme design

Te kāwai ora (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 8) asserts that “the bodies of knowledge tell us about knowing about Māori knowledge, doing things the Māori way and being Māori” have to be taken into consideration when designing courses. The learning environment that best suits and encourages Māori students’ academic achievement is often based on kaupapa Māori (Māori methodologies), Māori epistemology (Māori world views) and Māori ontology (Māori realities). The following narrative reflects that viewpoint.

When we got together prior to the course, we talked about, when he went through building, what were some things he didn’t understand from his tutors, what things did you find hard when you were being taught, and we looked at that area and said, “How can you make that not be a problem for our tamariki coming through?” That’s how we attacked it initially, so I couldn’t say what those things were, but it was kind of a challenge for J…to come up with strategies to ease our students through the course.

Combined with the learning environment, other factors that will have an impact on Māori students’ academic success need to be considered in programme design. These are fees, unemployment, transport, terminology, academic achievement and the confidence of the learner to enter academic institutions.

What they are achieving here, they can do it with the right support and the right way of going about preparing for it.

In this instance a bridging programme was designed that enabled the students to enter tertiary level learning.

My main input to this course [programme] was in regards to preparing students so they wouldn’t receive shell shock when they got here. So just preparing them with methods of learning, how to study, how to find information, keeping things in order, making logical progressions of work that they were doing.

And it’s just about preparing, preparing them for the place, not coming in cold. I think that 12-week bridging course was, for our students here, was the make or break.

Observation

The importance of bridging programmes or preparation of students before the start of a course is clear. These look at what their language and literacy needs are and their pastoral (social) and cultural needs.

Cognitive development

The following analysis shows how students’ literacy/language levels have progressed beyond the literal meaning of vocabulary. That is, tutors recognised that students’ cognitive levels had started to extend into such thought processes as critical thinking, and problem-solving application.

So they’ve gone, another thought process, gone beyond just the word. How you apply the word, but how you apply it so it actually functions and why things don’t measure up and what did we do wrong? To me they were starting to look at why things could and couldn’t happen.

Motivational practice

 “Adapting learning and teaching styles to suit the learning environment emphasised the need to be aware that there are many different ways to deliver a ... programme”, as summarised in Te kāwai ora (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 66).

I think the critical factor is that for them learning is that they need to see something that excites them, that gets them interested in it...getting them excited so they actually come to the course and don’t go away...they’ve got to have an interest in it.

Another example of this is:

...lead by example, monkey see monkey, do, sort of thing.

It is important to encourage students to recognise that they do have the knowledge of what they have learnt and that they can be their own motivators. A good example of this can be seen in the following narrative.

I think...a prime example. I had to talk her into cover this...block. She pulled out twice. I said, “You don’t realise what you’ve got...” and now...built...own little hut out the back on piles, not just slapped on the grass.

We’ve got students here asking to take tools home, the dropsaw and this and that and they’re doing things around the house.

Observation

Linking practical applications to the written material is especially powerful for students in courses that have a high practical component.

Questioning

When the tutors created an environment based on trust, a sense of belonging and safety, the students found it easier to ask questions.

It was them that was asking the question. They asked the question. If something wasn’t working then they would ask.

This could be about moving students from the point of wanting to learn to actually articulating the kind of questions that would help them to get a deeper understanding of what it was they were doing.

I think all we have done is given them opportunities and if they want to take it. Some have more so than others, but I like to think we have put them in a situation where they can question without worrying about being a fool.

Measurement of success

For all teaching programmes, determining when students are able to move from one level of learning to the next level of learning is important, as described by Tangaere.

“Learning is a process which involves a period of time for the task or activity to be understood...during this period the process of titiro, whakarongo, kōrero [repeating, practising, sorting, analysing, experimenting and reviewing] is carried out until the task or activity is understood. Once this is accomplished, the learner ascends, like Tane to the next step.” (1997, p. 48)

These tutors were able to measure their students’ ascension in this way.

And I know when they go into some of the buildings that others have been in ahead of us, they can look around critically and say, “That’s not quite right.” Not being nasty, but they suddenly realise, well, we know just as much as they do, and that’s how I get my pleasure, that from a stage of not really wanting to come to Wintec and to where they are now is the biggest warm fuzzy I’ve been getting.

These two guys. They went round all the aunties’ houses fixing their leaking taps. That’s how I measure the success.

I just know that, since they’ve been here, they know they can do it and to me that’s the biggest buzz I get. Is that they know “I can do this!”

Tuakana/teina practices

Tangaere (1997, p. 50) explains that “the concept of tuakana/teina is derived from two principles: whanaungatanga and ako”. Another way of looking at this is “where the notion of learning/teaching is shared, and where the tutor is also learning in the programme” (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 66).

Having complementary skills, knowledge and experience can be seen as strengths. Tutors are able to tautoko (support), learn from and affirm each other. The following narrative emphasises the relationship of tuakana/teina with ako (learning).

I’ve got knowledge of basic woodworking skills and how to do things and J… just reaffirms or says, “No, do it this way.” So my knowledge of handiwork and tools and things is very minimal, but I’ve been around people in the trade.

I didn’t have any teaching experience at all, so that was a new thing for me. I was scared of doing it, but I had the right people around me to help me do it, so it was going all right.

Learning styles

Using teaching styles that appeal to students’ different learning styles, such as kinaesthetic, visual and oral, was seen as an important pedagogical practice.

I think when you break it down to take a word, what does it mean, how do you apply it to building construction, and you break it up like that…

If they’re not there they can’t relate the visual with the words and then they just have to watch other people do it before they can pick it up.

Barriers

“The purpose of the journey is about increasing independence, not dependence” (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 67). Increasing independence has not always been the learning experience for these students. Past educational experiences can affect the way people learn and how they learn. Some of the barriers are not always about the teaching/learning environment, but can be about students’ attitudes.

Self-confidence was a big one too... It was just amazing how, for many of them when we first started the self-esteem, they said, “Oh, I can’t do anything.”

For some, it’s spelling, spelling of the words. Some worry about, am I spelling it correctly. We’ve got a few boys here whose English is a second language and they were very conscious of the written word and using Pākehā kupu.

I think that [attendance] affects literacy and language – well, to me it does because they’re missing out the practical application of the words on the job.

4.6: Tutor perspectives

Tutors were asked to suggest how the critical factors related to literacy and language progress of Māori learners, and how the influencing issues can be addressed to optimise their students’ success. The following responses came from the tutors.

Learning the terminology and definitions. It’s finding information and having the patience to keep looking for it rather than looking for the shortcut with my mate who’s got the answer rather than doing it for themselves.

Them not being worried about how long it’s going to take to complete the task when others have finished really quickly. I think once they got over that, I’m doing it at my pace, the stigma of finishing first wasn’t an issue.

…someone completing faster than others and have their mahi done quicker while other people take a couple of days, or three or four days and they still haven’t finished… Getting them up to the same sort of level.

Attendance to me is another critical factor. If they miss one or two days here, they’ve missed a whole new idea of new words or construction things. If they’ve missed those two or three days, which some have, and they come back, they just have to watch, as opposed to do.

We probably haven’t really catered for them…when I set the course up I was looking more at the ones who I knew were going to struggle, but I forgot about the other end. There are some who are so quick with calculations, with the language and neatness of work, that quite often I’d sit back and watch a couple – you know who they are.

4.7: Aspirations

Successful outcomes and wealth creation

For tutors, successful outcomes for their students can be measured in many ways. It can be seen in this example from Te Ataarangi Educational Trust, that “Māori in particular with the supportive non-judgmental environment gain the confidence …to move on to further learning” (Māori Adult Literacy Working Party 2001, p. 60).

The following narratives are about the tutors’ aspirations for their students.

I want them to be at whatever level, if this is the level they want to stay in, well at least they can be semi-skilled building construction hands. If they want to go on further, well, it’s there if they want it. But I’m hoping that they will all decide to go a bit further.

I know some will go on and complete, get into apprenticeships and do the next stages, 3 and 4 and I think it’s 5 and 6, I’m not sure. But my expectation of them is to be hungry for more and just build on that.

I hope that the ones that do go on reach the same sort of level of competency as I’ve got and reach the same sort of point that I’m at now.

A wider picture was the role and responsibilities of these tutors and students to achieve iwi aspirations.

That was our main aim, anyway; to upgrade our living round our iwi.

4.8: Significant chapter observations

• The design and development of the iwi rūnanga programme took into consideration factors like fees, transport, terminology, previous academic achievement and experiences that impacted on students’ success.
• The design and development of the iwi rūnanga programme took into account the different ‘learning levels’ of all students and created teaching strategies that supported the students’ learning levels.
• The interviews highlighted the importance of preparing students for academic readiness in a tertiary setting.
• Tutors were selected because of their connectedness to the iwi rūnanga as well as their complementary skills in the building industry and teaching, along with their cultural expertise.