Whangarei Girls’ High School (TLIF 5-065) - Connecting the Dots Beyond Publications
Publication Details
Project Reference: Whangarei Girls’ High School (TLIF 5-065) - Whangarei Girls’ High School and Sistema Whangarei had already partnered in a previous TLIF inquiry where they explored blending the principles of the El Sistema approach to music education with approaches to teaching and learning from te ao Māori incorporating tuakana-teina relationships and ako. The success of this had led to the establishment of a Year 9 music education programme called Connecting the Dots. Older, more experienced tuakana students at the high school help teach teina in Year 9, and the Year 9 students learn how to support each other in their learning and share it with teina of their own.
Author(s): (Inquiry Team) Nicholas Grew (Head of Music, Whangarei Girls’ High School) and Sam Winterton (Sistema Whangārei programme director)
Date Published: February 2019
Overview
In this project, the two project leaders wanted to find a sustainable way of extending the programme and also growing the music facilitation skills and confident of primary school teachers. They wondered whether incorporating online learning in their service learning model might be effective in growing Year 9 students’ leadership, critical thinking, and collaborative skills.
The training as a tuakana for the younger students (teina) has been an interesting journey. Many students are completely comfortable with the concept of tuakana–teina and simply followed a natural path, whereas others seemed almost resistant to the role and professed a dislike for young children. However, during the face-to-face sessions, all students showed empathy, an ability to explain in simple and clear terms, and an ability to work with the younger students almost seamlessly. For the Year 9 students, we saw a deeper level of focus, calm, and enjoyment as they worked alongside their teina.
Project leader reflection
The project proved effective and is now being shared with others through presentations and articles, and is being adapted to different contexts. It was particularly helpful to have begun this learning when the pandemic meant face-to-face learning was not possible. However, both teachers, students, and the music specialist believe that online learning is not enough on its own. In particular, it is necessary to have established relationships before learning can go online and online learning does not allow the ensemble playing that is at the heart of the El Sistema approach. Further, there are difficulties with access for students at home and there was not one tool that met all of the team’s needs.
The inquiry story
This inquiry was led in partnership by the head of music at Whangarei Girls’ High School and the leader of Sistema Whangarei. It involved the construction of tuakana-teina relationships between staff and students at the high school and in the years 3–4 classes at Otaika Valley School, Ngunguru School, and Whau Valley School. The project built on previous work and unfolded in four iterations over five terms.
What was the focus?
Whangarei Girls’ High School (WGHS) and Sistema Whangarei have collaborated for several years on developing a Year 9 music programme that is based upon the principles of the El Sistema. El Sistema is a music education approach that focuses on positive social change through orchestral music-making – through free music lessons and playing in ensemble, young people acquire creativity and learn social skills. In a previous TLIF report (Connecting the dots – TLIF 3-043), the leaders of this project had successfully explored the impact of incorporating tuakana-teina relationships and ako within this model, with a focus on engagement and achievement for Māori students.
In this next inquiry, the team wanted to further explore the impact of a ‘service-learning model’, one that combines student learning with community development. The team wanted to look at what such a model looks like in the 21st century and how it might impact on student leadership, critical thinking, and collaborative skills. The team developed the following innovation statement:
Connecting the Dots Beyond explores whether a shift in teachers’ skills and confidence in using both online tools and face-to-face facilitation has an impact on Year 9 music students’ developing leadership, critical thinking, and collaborative skills through a 21st century service-learning model.
Through their inquiry, the team wanted to spread the use of the tuakana-teina model through an approach that addressed the reality that it is not practicable to offer multiple face-to-face sessions. A combination of online and face-to-face sessions seemed optimal. They also wanted to address a real issue in music education, that many primary school teachers do not feel confident in leading music education, meaning that many students start Year 9 Music with limited or no musical skills. The tuakana-teina relationships were for teachers, too, aimed at growing primary school teachers’ capability and confidence in facilitating music-meaning. Teachers also needed support to develop the digital skills necessary for an online approach. The project team wanted to design an approach that could be sustained and spread to other contexts, and so another task involved designing a tool to track shifts in teacher capability and confidence.
What did the teachers try?
The overall approach was for the Year 9 students to be trained in playing violins and cellos, taught by Sam Winterton (Sistema Whangarei). The students would then pass on what they had learned in helping to instruct teina in local primary schools. To ensure sustainability when project funding would mean the withdrawal of Sam’s expertise, Nick Grew (WGHS Head of Music) learned the double bass and how to lead orchestral ensembles. Both teachers had to develop expertise in the use of digital tools. To do this, they were engaged in their own tuakana-teina relationships.
In the first iteration, WGHS students took on tuakana-teina relationships with year 4 students at Otaika Valley School. There were face-to-face sessions at WGHS at the start of the term and in a concert and demonstration for whānau at Otaika Valley School at the end of the term. In between, year 9 students made instructional music videos for their teina and there were some online interactions via Padlet. The Year 4 teacher had not facilitated a whole term of music-making sessions before, but was supported by the other teachers, the tuakana Year 9 students, and two of her own students who had participated in the Sistema Whangarei programme.
In the second iteration, WGHS students took on tuakana-teina relationships with year 4 students at Ngunguru School. The primary school students posted videos of themselves playing and the Year 9 students offered feedback, again through online videos. Sam and Nick coached the tuakana students in constructive ways to offer this feedback. An older, established tuakana group also supported both the Year 9 students and the Year 4 teacher, for whom both the music teaching and the use of digital technology were areas of uncertainty. He sought additional assistance from a colleague who was more comfortable with both. This iteration was interrupted by the first Covid-19 lockdown. However, the participants did come together later in a Zoom session during which the Year 4 teacher was supported to facilitate music learning. He is now interested in further exploring the possibilities of online platforms for innovative learning and tuakana-teina relationships between classes.
The Covid-19 lockdown provided an unexpected opportunity for a third iteration that depended entirely upon an online approach. Sistema Whangarei’s own Tuakana Group assisted Sam to develop and deliver live lessons and to post supporting resources. Sam used Zoom and Facebook Messenger and set up a Google Classroom site. The livestreamed small group lessons were an attempt to replicate face-to-face sessions, using the posting function for teina to ask questions and make comments. Most of these sessions were with young people already involved in Sistema Whangarei, but Sam did manage to have Zoom sessions with some WGHS students. Unfortunately, not all students had access to the necessary technology.
The final iteration involved the construction of tuakana-teina relationships with a Year 4 class at Whau Valley School. This commenced with face-to-face sessions, followed by weekly Zoom sessions, and concluding with a final sharing with whānau at the end of term. Technical issues had to be overcome by a student taking charge of muting and unmuting the microphones on the laptops. Joint ensemble playing was not possible due to the time lag on Zoom so instead, students took a back-and-forth sharing and demonstrating approach.
What happened as a result of this innovation?
The project team had already developed a Year 9 Student Self-Evaluation Tool and this was adapted for the younger students. This addresses problem-solving, collaboration, creative thinking, and musical skills. Teachers used a tool based upon Rolfe’s Model of Reflection to record their reflections about their shifts in ICT skills, creative thinking, collaboration, and music facilitation. The resulting data was collated and analysed.
Student self-evaluations demonstrate improvements in collaboration and creative thinking, with particularly significant improvements in their musical skills and ability to solve problems. The teachers’ feedback indicated improvements in collaboration and ICT skills, with particularly significant improvements in creative thinking and ability to facilitate music learning. All the primary teachers involved have plans to continue exploring music teaching, the tuakana-teaching approach, and online learning tools.
The project leaders and one of their critical friends shared what they were doing and its impact in a variety of ways, including journal articles, presentations at the Sistema Wellington Hui and the Mahi Tahi Music Symposium, and presentations to the Christchurch School of Music and Wakatipu College. Wakatipu College and the School of Music are now adapting their own versions of tuakana-teina models to further develop their partnerships with local schools.
What did they learn?
Creating a tuakana-teina support network of musical specialists, teachers, and students has benefits for everyone involved. It accelerates students’ acquisition of musical skills while also growing social skills such as empathy, collaboration, and leadership and their creativity and problem-solving skills. A more learner-centred approach means that less experienced teachers do not have to be knowledge or skills specialists but rather the facilitators of collaborative learning. It is an approach that ‘connects the dots’ for everyone involved.
Specific lessons included the following:
- Online learning was effective in keeping students connected, particularly during the lockdown. However, this project works best when it is face-to-face. Online learning can enhance and potentially deepen the learning across a given timeframe but cannot exclusively replace face-to-face learning interactions.
- For digital resources to be used effectively, they cannot simply be added on top of an already established model of delivery. Teachers need to plan for and implement an online model with the same level of detail and consideration as with face-to-face teaching and learning.
- Less experienced teachers require both initial and ongoing support to be confident in facilitating music teaching and learning, whether it is face-to-face or online. Their progress can be accelerated with support from specialists and through using learner-centred practices.
- The use of a variety of online tools can be effective in addressing differentiation but using multiple platforms increases the workload for students and teachers.
- Zoom proved to be the preferred way of emulating real-time face-to-face contact. However, it requires time and resources to set up, whereas the Padlet site is better for posting comments and videos that document snapshots of learning over time. Messenger Livestream is also accessible for many students but less effective in allowing for a two-way dialogue to take place.
Inquiry team
The inquiry team consisted of Nicholas Grew (Head of Music, Whangarei Girls’ High School) and Sam Winterton (Sistema Whangārei programme director).
The team’s critical friends were:
- David Lines and Graham McPhail (Auckland University)
- Karen Baker (MindLab).
For further information
If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact the project leader, Nicholas Grew, at nicholas.grew@wghs.school.nz
Reference list
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