Steph Matuku spins yarns with an endearing humility and a crack up sense of humour. An official hustler by trade, Steph has embraced her ability to tell magical stories and  transform them across contexts and mediums.

Tīhema Baker recounts a defining moment that lead to him beginning his first novel at 17 years old. From comic book heroes to Aotearoa Atua - this episode explores how the right feedback at the right time can ignite our tauira.

A brief rundown of the great things happening at the National Library with the Services For Schools guru, Tracey Greenwood. A low key chat filtered with strategies to help capture the disengaged teen reader.

National Library Services to School website: https://natlib.govt.nz/schools

Key places for content that may help in understanding and promotion of Mātauranga Māori in classrooms:

• MoE youtube clips: insights into Kaupapa Māori (broken down into different concepts and principles)
• Great books: Niho Taniwha by Melanie Riwai-Couch, Ki te hoe! Education for Aotearoa edited by Pania Te Maro and Robin Averill,
• Common Practice Model (principles and pedagogies) has hyperlinks to research for deeper understanding: promoting heritage languages, dialogic teaching, culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies
  • incorporating more dialogic teaching (rich extended dialogue) – CPM references Aaron Wilson and Jacinta Olderhaver’s research on ‘Talk about Text’ – changing patterns of discourse in low-decile secondary classrooms
• Mana ōrite mō te Mātauranga Māori - Equal status for mātauranga Māori in NCEA | NCEA (education.govt.nz)
  • Although framed around mātauranga Māori in terms of NCEA, this provides general guidance that can have wider application
• Maori History (tki.org.nz)
  • Although focused on ‘Māori history’  this guidance and supports (eg videos) can have wider application.
  • Of note:
    • Te Takanga o te Wā - Māori History Guidelines Year 1 - 8 | Maori History (tki.org.nz)
      • Note; this “Te Takanga o te Wā” is not to be confused with the “Te Takanga o te Wā” (Aotearoa NZ histories curriculum) for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa – same title, different things
    • Contexts | Maori History (tki.org.nz)
    • Videos | Maori History (tki.org.nz)
• Regionally-allocated PLD – Professional Learning & Development (education.govt.nz)
  • PLD priorities – Professional Learning & Development (education.govt.nz) for English medium education settings include:
    • cultural capability
    • local curriculum design

both of which relate to mātauranga Māori – so kaiako can request their school engages (if they haven’t already) in PLD in this space

• Leading local curriculum guide series / Strengthening local curriculum / Kia ora - NZ Curriculum Online (tki.org.nz)
  • Although aimed at school leadership – kaiako can use these to start conversations
  • Especially note: Leading Local Curriculum Guide – Aotearoa New Zealand's histories Part 1.pdf – (although and ANZHC focus, again can have wider application)
    • Productive partnerships with whānau, hapū, and iwi (pages 15–19) Find evidence-based strategies to help you build and strengthen partnerships with Māori communities. – although it must be stressed that relationships with hapū and iwi should be lead by school leadership, not individual kaiako. Relationships may also be brokered with MOE help.

We're back, baby! New season, new hosts, and we look forward to some brand new interviews. 
Join Pere Durie and Luke McFarlane as we launch Season 2 of "Is this FOR Credits?" This season will have a distinct focus on mātauranga Māori, local curriculum, and ways to bring those aspects to life in our English classrooms. 
In this episode, they yarn about the curriculum refresh, engagement, and mihi out to their three listeners in Bluff, Kaikohe, and Kaitaia...you know who you are!

NZATE podcast ‘Is This for Credits?’ is back with season 2 hosts Pere Durie and Luke McFarlane. Get to know them and their vision for the episodes ahead in this small teaser of what’s to come through the year!

Season 2 of the podcast is engineered by Angad Vraich. 

Hattie Salmon shares three of her poems and talks about how her poetry has evolved since its lively start in secondary school.

Author of more than 30 books, teacher for more than 30 years in the English classroom, Proud Ngāti Porou Tania Roxborogh speaks to us about her Masters/Doctorate research exploring the relationship between mātauranga Māori and Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Tania runs a very lively Twitter presence

Streaming is a hot topic in education at the moment. Chris and Philly explore its dimensions and bring Chris Abercrombie from PPTA into the conversation.

• The PPTA paper on ending streaming
• Philly was interviewed by a Stuff reporter on the subject
• Al Jazeera made a documentary about Chris’ alternative to streaming in a UK school.
• Chris Abercrombie is on Twitter

Claudia shares her personal and professional journey and the urgency she feels that we face some difficult questions about the direction in which our teaching of Secondary English has drifted in recent years. Her doctoral research brought to our attention the uncomfortable truth that the study of complex literary texts is diminishing in New Zealand education, and is doing so disproportionately quickly in lower-decile schools.

You may also be interested in reading Claudia’s article published in the latest “English in Aotearoa”, Issue 105.

Robert Sullivan’s poetry carries with it a sense of mischief as he traverses some of the most urgent and intimate topics in Aotearoa over the last couple of centuries. We discuss his poetry, his philosophy and his perspective on education in New Zealand.

• Tunui and Robert Sullivan’s Published Work
• Robert Sullivan’s Poetry Online: Poetry Archive, Poetry Foundation