Cultural Responsiveness in Covid19 Conditions - Ako, Vā, Manaakitanga, Name Pronunciation

by - 15:44

Tuesday the 5th May was the first lesson that I was going to meet my NEW Year 9 class for the next Technology rotation for Semester 2.  Due to the learners being in Year 9 and me not having taught them before meant that I was going to be meeting the learners for the first time online.

The following post will focus on Access to the Google Hangout Classroom and Cultural Responsiveness (Ako, Vā, Manaakitanga, Name Pronunciation).

As mentioned in a previous blog post, "I have designed a basic Introductory Calendar Invitation which I have sent out to learners.  This is essentially the same as directing students to my classroom door, so that I may be able to talk to the learners face to face (via the hangout), and undertake an Introductory lesson with the learners."

The learning instructions in the lesson looked as follows:

Year 9 DigiTech Project 9TKh and 9TBSM2

Welcome to DigiTech with Ms Anderson.  
My name is Ms Anderson and I will be your DigiTech teacher for this Technology Rotation.

 Navigate to the Workspace Year 9 DigiTech Project - Tools and Techniques

  1. Navigate to the section titled Student Introduction
  2. Complete the task Introducing Myself Presentation
  3. Complete the task entitled Level 1 - HTML Basics : Website Setup

There are two main examples of effective pedagogy from the New Zealand Ministry of Education Curriculum Guides that I am going to discuss from this particular lesson, that relates to Cultural Responsiveness.  These include Ako and Manaakitanga.

Ako

Ako involves reciprocal shared learning in the classroom and beyond.

When the Learners first arrived at class for the first time, they all had their cameras switched off and their Avatars were showing.  I explained to the students that at the beginning of the lesson, learners had to have their cameras turned on (unless there were either privacy or technical issues preventing them from doing so).    When I knew as their teacher, that everyone understood the instructions, I would be fine about learners turning off their cameras.  The other time that I insist on learners having their cameras on is when the learner and I are interacting with each other one on one.  This just gives us a sense of who we are both talking with, as a regular discussion when occur.

 It still took a long time before learners would turn their cameras on at the beginning of the lesson.  I kept reassuring the learners that once we were all on task, that it would be fine for them to turn off their cameras while they were completing the work.

 Video Link

 The following is the timeline that it takes from the start of the lesson for Learners to turn their cameras on.
  • 0.40 min - Student 1 enters the classroom NO camera on
  • 1.00 min - Student 2 and 3 enter the classroom NO camera on
  • 1.20 min - Student 4 enters the class NO camera on
  • 2.00 min - Student 5 enters the class NO camera on
  • 2.20 min - Student 6 enters the class NO camera on
  • 2.40 min - I congratulate the Students for attending their first DigiTech lesson
  • 3.15 min - Student 7 enters the class NO camera on
  • 3.35 min - I refer to the Hangout link in the Calendar post being similar to the Door to the Classroom
  • 3.50 min - This is my first request to Students to 'Turn their cameras on'
  • 4.30 min - [waiting] I offer to help students to explain how to turn their cameras on
  • 4.45 min - I explain to Students how I run my Hangout Meet classes, and my expectation that learners turn their cameras on at the start of the lesson, when I am talking 1-to-1 with students, and acknowledge that the exception to this is if their cameras on not working
  • 5.10 min - I'm still staring at Icons, and ask my second request to turn cameras on; Three learners respond by turning on their cameras one after the other
  • 5.50 min - Another learner turns their camera on
  • 6.00 min - Another learner turns their camera on
  • 6.15 min - This is my third request for learners to turn their cameras on
  • 6.50 min - I start saying students names to acknowledge their presence in the lesson.  I ask one of the learners if I have pronounced their name properly and ask them to correct me if I mispronounce their name.  I also ask the student to remind me if I mispronounce their name.
  • 7.00 min - There are eight learners in the class, ALL with their cameras on.  I introduce myself, and proceed to start the lesson.
  • 7.40 min - I ask the learners how they knew how to get to this hangout?  I explained that they could respond in the chat feature of the hangout if they wished.  The student responses are shown in the image below, which all refers to the Calendar invitation that was shared to the learners to their emails.
  • 8.15 min - Student 8 enters the class NO camera on.  I ask that they turn their camera on, and they do.




So from the time that the class first started, it took approximately 8-8.30 minutes before all of the learners that were present in the classroom, actually had their cameras turned on.  Although this is not an ideal scenario, I am mindful of the myriad of variables that all learners, not just those in my classroom, are navigating in this new online way of learning, which essentially has shifted the classroom into their living environments.

I was recently shared an article from newsroom.co.nz from fellow CoL Teacher, Dorothy Apelu, entitled 'The vā that binds: a Pasifika education story during Covid-19' written by Jacoba Matapo,  Associate Dean Pasifika at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland.  

“When we’re invited to join Zoom, we open our homes to you, the viewer. Our home is our vā, our sacred space.”

The article goes into detail explaining the meaning of Vā and the implications of this in education, including education that is currently happening online.

I guess the references that I am making in this post, to learners into a Google hangout classroom, and their perceived reluctance to turn their cameras on, cannot be assumed as being a sign of disrespect or defiance.  This is a classic example of delving deeper into the why in terms of Cultural Responsiveness to understand what else is impacting the decisions that learners are making about the way that they are learning, or the way that they are willing to learn.  As educators, we have a duty to demonstrate complete mindfulness for the whole learner, and all of the variables impacting the learner, if we are to connect with learners in a way that shows reciprocal shared learning, as outlined in the pedagogical practice of Ako.

Manaakitanga

Manaakitanga is about values of integrity, trust, sincerity and equity. Through manaakitanga, the teacher and fellow students recognise and affirm the identity of each student in open and trusting relationships.

In order for learners to understand how to complete the task, I explained and demonstrated the task for them.  The task was designed to share information about myself, and for the learners to also share information about themselves.  The slide deck was designed for the learners to share information about their whānau, where they live, culture ethnicity and religion, schooling, and sports, hobbies and interests.  The other reason that I demonstrated an example of how to complete the task, was so that learners could share information without oversharing information eg. practicing Cybersmart ways to ensure that their privacy, and the privacy of their families and friends would not be compromised.

Video Link

 The following is the timeline of a Learn Create Share segment in the lesson of me sharing information about myself as a way of demonstrating and explaining the task for the lesson.

 The following link is the Introduction Example - Ms Anderson
  • 20.45 min - I refer learners to the Purple Section of the Workspace that shows the Introduction - Example
  • 27.15 min - While I am describing and explaining the example that I have created, I make references to being Cypersmart and explain how I have applied that to my presentation about myself.
  • 27.30 min - I explain to students that now that I have demonstrated the task to them, that they should now have a better understanding of who I am as their teacher
  • 27.50 min - At this stage I invite the learners to ask me one question each about something else that they would like to learn about me, that wasn't included in the example slide deck.
  • 39.30 min - Q+A Session : The students typed their questions into the chat function or asked me in the hangout, and I responded in the hangout.
The learners responded extremely positively to this activity.  In particular, they enjoyed asking me questions that were not covered in the presentation example.  Sometimes, the questions were quite detailed and deep, asking about my personal goals for 2020, and also about my fears.  I feel as though the Q and A session really allowed the learners to connect with me as their teacher.  This was particularly positive.  Even though I let the learners know several times, that they were able to turn off their camera while they were working on their own slide decks, many of them chose to keep their cameras switched on.  I saw this as being a huge sign of connectedness in the initial stages of developing positive relationships with my learners.  Not forgetting, that this entire interaction had taken place online, and that this was the first time that I had met the students.  This showed values of integrity, trust, sincerity and equity, as outlined in the pedagogical practice of Manaakitanga.

The following are the questions that learners asked and typed into the chat function, which I responded to in the hangout:

Q and A Session - About Ms Anderson
Student 1: Miss what is your favourite sport?
Student 2 : What's your favourite colour??
Student 3 : miss what is your favourite food?????
Student 4 : Whats your favourite animal?
Student 1 : Nice Miss
Student 5 : What's your goals for 2020?
Student 1 : hes playing game
Student 6 : whats your what's your favourite song?
Student 6 : no
Student 1 : Hahahahaha
Student 5 : oof
Student 1 : Nice one Miss
Student 5 : yes
Student 3 : in the air
Student 3 : in the air

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14 Comments

  1. Stephney11 May 2020 at 17:10

    Q1) I felt confused,calm and happy because I lost were she was reading and had to find my way back to were she was reading but I was also calm about it.

    Q2)I felt nervous because I didn't really know what to ask miss and so
    that made me feel nervous and she had to pick who would go next, which made me even more nervous.

    Q3) I felt scared because I thought I was gonna get in trouble from miss because my camera was broken and not working but when I told her she said it was alright and that it was fine.

    Q4) I Felt nervous attending my first DigiTech class because it was my first time and I haven't met Miss Anderson in real life before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hinerau11 May 2020 at 17:28

      Hi Stephney, it sounds like I was talking too fast. I have a really bad habit of doing that without realising it, so I apologise if that was the reason why you got lost when I was reading through the example. I'm glad that you were able to use the example presentation to find where we were up to. I think that you were brave for asking me a question, even though you felt nervous. Well done :)

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  2. hazel11 May 2020 at 17:18

    Q1) It felt good to know about Ms anderson sharing to the class about herself.because it's good to know teachers very well [ never know if they ask questions ;)].

    Q2) It was great,I really felt good asking Ms anderson questions.The reason is, if asking a teacher questions about themself is best knowing because you never know if you have something in common.

    Q3) it felt great to share my information on the intro presention.The reason why I feel great because,it's ok to share info to your teacher and telling them about you.and sharing Is good :)

    Q4) How i feel about turning on the cam made me get butterflys.because it's weird turning on the cam when your at home sitting at home relaxing.

    Q5) It felt good attending digi class,I had the vibe to be in digi class when it started.it was good to meet the teacher though.


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    Replies
    1. Hinerau11 May 2020 at 17:32

      Hi Hazel, I'm glad that you enjoyed hearing about me when I was introducing myself. I also agree, that you never know whether you might have things in common, unless you have a discussion, or ask questions. Well done for asking your question. You really made me think hard because I'd like to achieve so much this year, so I had to really focus on one thing that I'd really like to achieve, and that was to save for a holiday for my son and I. I'm also glad that you enjoy being in DigiTech. I loved reading through the information that you shared in your Introducing Myself Presentation slide deck. Thank you so much for sharing :)

      Delete
  3. Allan11 May 2020 at 17:21

    Q1:I felt good about miss sharing information about herself.
    The reason why it's because we get to know her better, and because it is like our 3rd or 4th time we had class with her, so her sharing information is really helping us to know her better.
    Q2: It was funny asking Miss Anderson questions, the reason why its because she gave us funny answers and the whole class laugh at her including me.
    Q3: I felt very confident because i am very shy, and turning on my camera helps me gain my confidants a lot.
    Q4: I felt great because Digital Tech is a really fun class and has a very nice teacher teaching our class new things, because it is our first class of Digital Tech.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hinerau11 May 2020 at 17:35

      Kia ora Allan, I'm really glad that you enjoyed hearing me share information about myself, and that you felt good about getting to know me better as your teacher. That's hilarious that I gave funny answers sometimes, I didn't even realise it at the time. I guess the fact that you, your class mates and I could laugh at some of my responses, hopefully means that you feel relaxed in the class. I'm also glad that you enjoyed being in DigiTech as well :)

      Delete
  4. Langi11 May 2020 at 17:36

    Q1
    Good,because when ms anderson sharing information
    about herself, so we can know about her culture
    her goals.
    Q2
    feel happy ,because the first time we have digitech class
    we ask her a question and she answer with funny answer and make the class happy to attend digitech class
    Q3
    fine,because the teacher know who i am and to know what country
    i come from and so the teacher about me
    Q4
    feel nervous,because some of student are so disrespect to the
    other person while the class say something bad.
    Q5
    feel nervous because this was my first time i attend digitech
    class and this is the first time i see ms anderson and im so glad to see ms anderson.

    sincerely

    (Newton)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hinerau11 May 2020 at 17:42

      Kia ora Newton, thank you for sharing your feedback with me. I am glad that you enjoyed hearing about me sharing some information about myself. I am also glad that you felt comfortable asking me a question in class. I didn't realise that some of the responses were funny, but I am glad that we were all able to have a laugh about it. Hopefully that means that you feel comfortable in class. It is normal to feel nervous when you attend a class for the first time. I will ensure that I remind our class that it is important that we show Respect, Integrity, Success and Responsibility in the classroom. I am glad that you were happy to meet me as your teacher :)

      Delete
  5. Moonlight11 May 2020 at 18:33

    Q1:I felt good that miss was sharing information about herself,because we all can get to know her better,and it was only like our 1st class we had with her,and it was really good that she was sharing information about her self that is helping us to know her better.

    Q2:It was Good asking miss Anderson question,because she was really funny how she was answering our question and the whole class were laughing at her and me to.
    Q3: i Felt scared and shy,because she ask me to turn on my camera and i was shy to let people see my face,but when i turn on my camera it actually help's me get more confident.
    Q4:I felt Good because it my first time doing Digital Tech and it Great because we get to learn alot about Digital Tech and we get to have a nice teacher that teaching us stuff about Digital Tech.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hinerau11 May 2020 at 18:40

      Kia ora Moonlight, I am glad that you enjoyed me sharing some of the information about myself. As I've mentioned to some of your class mates, I didn't realise that some of my responses to your questions were funny, so I'm glad that you enjoyed that. I think that it is brave that you turned your camera on, even though you felt scared and shy to start with. I'm extremely happy to hear that it actually made you feel more confident. I'm also glad to read that you feel as though you learnt a lot from your first lesson, and that you consider me to be a nice teacher. Thank you so much for your kind words. :)

      Delete
  6. Karen Ferguson14 May 2020 at 21:15

    Hi Hinerau
    I also found the article about having the cameras on interesting. I have not pushed my classes to have their cameras on as if they feel unsure about letting me see their rooms or where ever they were working then I wasn't going to let that be another barrier being us getting some work done. I was self conscious myself about them seeing my space, as I had to work in the lounge due to the internet connection, so I understood if they felt uncomfortable too. There was enough to be coping with for everyone with a global pandemic going on without fussing over things that were not in the way of work. I was pleased when I read that i had gone done that route and not nagged them.
    Karen

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    Replies
    1. Hinerau14 May 2020 at 21:51

      Hi Karen
      Yeah it's interesting how remote teaching forced us into a realm that had become the new norm after not being the norm at all. I can still remember some of the fiddly things I was doing online, and way too much talking to start with, that eased off heaps once I became familiar with the routines. It was interesting that my learners seemed to become more at ease with putting on their cameras, or leaving on their cameras when I least expected them to. So many factors to take into consideration with regular face to face interactions before even adding online into the equation. Definitely a lot of learnings for me in terms of cause and effect, human behaviours and human interactions.

      Delete
  7. Afine Aliutu20 May 2020 at 17:36

    Wowzer, I would love to have been a fly on the wall for this lesson. Lots going on!

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    Replies
    1. Hinerau20 May 2020 at 18:30

      I was really impressed with their level of engagement given that it was the first lesson, and of course, I was meeting them and they were meeting me, for the first time online. I imagine that this would be a similar experience to yourself meeting some of your learners online for the first time as well

      Delete