Week 8 Term 4: English Department: AATEL Big Day Out PLD: My takeaway (December 02 - December 06)

AATEL

In Week 5 Term 4, the English Department attended the AATEL Big Day Out held at Ormiston College. This was an opportunity for our team to attend workshops, see what other English teachers are doing with their junior and senior English literature students and share what we learnt. The workshops that I signed up for were: 

• Approaches to Scholarship English
• The Science of Learning from a Skeptic’s Point of View

I enjoyed the workshops that I registered for but I my main highlight was from the keynote speaker that we had the privilege of listening during our welcome and powhiri. 

Claudia Rozas @ AATEL Big Day Out November 15

Claudia Rozas (University of Auckland) was the keynote speaker and the title of her keynote was Wrestling with the Angel Empire English. In her keynote, she outlined the journey we have all been a part of with the changing curriculum and where our English literature curriculum has positioned itself now. Here are some notes I took from her presentation that resonated with me. The English curriculum focused on two key turns which originated in 2007 when the first curriculum refresh occured. 

The Competency Turn

• Current curriculum that sit broadly with trans-national union
• Outcome driven type of curriculum
• Assessment driven
• Self managing students
• Knowledge economy and society
• Curriculum choice and flexibility largely unchallenged.
• High degrees of curriculum variability
• Skills competencies
• Assessment framework that has choice and flexibility built into it.

The Knowledge Turn

• Look up Michael Young (2008)
• Potential for knowledge to be ‘emptied’ out of the curriculum
• Postmodernism and constructivism notions had potential for relativism
• Who we teach determines What we teach
• Knowledge ‘rich’ curriculum
• Capturing knowledge and curriculum in a particularly way
• The Knowledge turn is global. New Zealand is late to have a knowledge led curriculum.

Now the curriculum has evolved into one where identity, political, social and cultural sensitivity and awareness is more centralized. The 'turns' that define this are: 

The Activist Turn (Connected to the Identity Turn)

• #MeToo Movement
• Social Justice Studies + Masters of Social Justice introduced at tertiary studies in Aoteaora New Zealand
• Black Lives Matter Movement
• Hikoi
• Protests
• We are living in an activist moment
• Curriculum that supports activism
• All of these moments and ‘turns’ have created a curriculum collision.

2023 Te Mataiaho 1.0

• Addresses content and knowledge gaps and gives effect to Te Tiriti.
• Mana o rite matauranga Maori
• Shapes English in a particular way
• Establishes a relationship between knowledge and identity
• Focuses on ‘values’ (a ‘call’ to action)
• We cannot understand knowledge led curriculum in Aoteaora New Zealand if we do not understand matauranga Maori.
• The primary focus of English at Secondary school level in connection to Te Mataiaho is to AFFIRM IDENTITY
• It looks at culture, gender and sexuality in connection to Identity but does not focus on class (social class) - is this needed?
• The Understand/Do/Know is connected to WHO WE ARE (identity turn)
• Curriculum is always going to be a product of historical moments.

I was inspired by what was shared during Roza's presentation. She explained that WHO WE TEACH DETERMINES WHAT WE TEACH, that curriculum is shaped in particular ways and what does belong to us is to engage in conversations. Curriculum as an invitation to participate in an enduring conversation.