Abstracts: Sunday

Session One (10.30am - 12noon)

Presenters: Sue Heathwaite & Hawohinda Jama
Organisation:
Contact: Sue Heathwaite, 021-987-223  410-2812 (H), georgiebahai@paradise.net.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU1 - Gacmo wadijir bay wax ku gooyaan - If Hands Work Together They Will Succeed (Somali saying)
Somalis have been coming to New Zealand for 15 years, and early childhood teachers are charged with creating a responsive education and care environment – as stated in UNCROC and the ECE curriculum document, Te Whariki.
Educators need to research information to effectively work with families in an empowering partnership to create a culturally responsive pedagogy. One of the ongoing challenges is the lack of government funded resources such as interpreters, and training for ECE teachers in the field.
Hawohinda and Sue will work alongside each other to share some key features of working with young Somali families, but avoiding the usual challenges of a recipe-like approach. Reference will be made to the theoretical framework of Te Whariki and Glenda McNaughton’s empowerment/partnership model.

Presenter: Peter Smith
Organisation: YellowPepper
Contact: psmith@yellowpepper.co.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU2 - Ki Te Whai Ao Ki Te Ao Marama or From the darkness to the light
As you know there is a considerable shortage of Te Reo resource available for early childhood and primary schools professions. We have been asked on a regular basis for puzzles, work books, and magnetic systems that teach about the colours, numbers, shapes etc. We are also asked about anything to promote Maori legend and culture, but there was simply nothing available. Particularly for the mainstream centres.
So, many months ago we started working with a designer and supplier of Maori resource in order to establish a solution that might fill this gap. It had to be educationally and culturally correct but at the same time easy to use and understand. It had to be presented as a learning system and not just another puzzle, but most importantly it had to be at a sensible cost. We have achieved this and more.
The company we worked with has done many workshops at individual centres they supplied product too. Now that we are the provider of these resources to the NZ market we have also adopted their workshops and staff.
We now have a very focused presentation that covers, amongst other things,
1.      Maori Genealogy and Mythology covering the Gods and Demo Gods,  with a learning system focused around The 10 Legends of Maui from his birth to death,
a.       Complete with workbook/story book in Te Reo and English and 3 associated learning puzzles
2.      The introduction of the basic learning requirements such as colours, numbers, shapes and fruits vegetables and the body
a.       Complete with a work books, magnetic learning system and puzzles.
Our workshop offers a very simple introduction to teaching and understanding Te Reo and support that with easy to use resource. 

Presenter: Kate Ord
Organisation: Lecturer Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa NZ Childcare Association
Contact: kate.ord@nzca.ac.nz 04 802 5470 or 0211397650
Length: 45 mins

SU3 - “There were lecturers and concepts that I was really interested in”: Learning teaching as a process of relations.
Current theories of learning highlight relational and situated aspects of learning. These features are central to the ways in which both pre-service and field-based early childhood teacher education students prefer to engage with the knowledge base of teacher education programmes. Drawing on findings of a doctoral study which asked newly qualified early childhood teachers how they made sense of their learning to teach process I discuss how teacher education students value knowledge of teaching most when it is embodied and relational. This finding challenges the dichotomy of theory and practice as an organising principle of teacher learning. 

Presenters: Allie Webber & Liz Brown
Organisation: NZEI Te Riu Roa
Contact: allie.webber@nzei.org.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU4 - “Using the media to get our messages across”
Telling stories is a fundamental way of humans engaging with each other. The early childhood sector has many stories to tell about the enormous contribution it makes to New Zealand children, families and society. Yet those stories often remain hidden. This workshop will explain how the media works, and explore how to tell those stories about the value of our diverse sector and why we need to invest in our tamariki.
Using our own skills and experiences to tell those stories effectively to our own communities via our local media is a critical way of building understanding and support for quality early childhood education.  It is also valuable professional learning for teachers involved in doing it.
By analysing good examples of work with media, by learning to "map" our own local media and by understanding the way in which the media works, we can translate our own work and issues in ways that can be effectively communicated via local media.
Working with the media requires us to clarify our messages and articulate them in simple, strong and engaging ways.  By doing this, we sharpen our own abilities to think strategically and communicate effectively across all our work.

Presenters: Anne Meade, Joanna Williamson, Lesley Robinson, Margaret Stuart, Sue Smorti, and Patricia Meagher-Lundberg
Organisation:
Contact: Anne.meade@nzca.ac.nz
Length: 90 minutes

SU5 - Early childhood teachers’ work: Profiles, patterns and purposes
The work of teachers in education and care centres which have varying proportions of ECE-qualified teachers (some with 100% and some with a mix) has been studied by Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa researchers in 2011. Twelve case studies were undertaken in randomly-selected education and care centres, and a survey went out widely. The intensive case studies involved interviews, observations of sample children’s interactions with teachers, profiles of sample children, and ratings of centre quality.
Session participants will hear preliminary findings, and help interpret the research data about:
1.      Adults and children engaged in sustained shared thinking (Siraj-Blatchford, 2010), and
2.      Teacher mediation of children’s thinking (Fleer, 2010). 

Presenters: Rotu Mihaka, Merania Kingi, Catherine Rolleston, Nancy New
Organisation:
Contact: Rotu.mihaka@nzca.ac.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU6 - Mai Maketu ki Tongariro, Te Arawa Mangai nui, Pakiwaitara/Purakau
Te Tari Puna ora o Aotearoa ki Rotorua whanau
Pakiwaitara can be used to describe stories that contain a moral within (interwoven). Unlike the transmission of whakapapa (genealogy of bloodlines, stories etc) the ‘layers’ need not be exact.
The word paki-wai-tara reinforces this viewpoint.
Wai (in this context): describes a memory or a recollection of words
Tara: describes a lack of exactness
Paki (the story): expresses what the storyteller has to say about this topic or subject.
Pakiwaitara can also be described as stories that provide accounts of local history. By that, stories that mark reference points to tribal territories, relationships with other groups (inter-marriage), kinship links and recognition of ancestors.
It is important to remember that there are variations in tribal interpretation of what purakau and pakiwaitara are. Some tribes will describe ‘their’ creation story as a pakiwaitara whilst others as a purakau.
For Maori, the recording and transmitting of social history was oral inclusive of whakapapa, whakatauki, pepeha, waiata, pakiwaitara and purakau (the telling of stories in metaphoric fashion).
Jayne Matenga-Kohu (1957) states ‘They [purakau] influenced and regulated social attitudes both publicly and privately, and gained physical expression through tikanga (customary practises)’. This presentation will introduce pakiwaitara/purakau from Te Arawa iwi into the early childhood education services.

Presenters: Sue Vaealiki & Roimata Kirikiri
Organisation: Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/NZ Childcare Association
Contact: sue.vaealiki@nzca.ac.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU7 - The bicultural conceptual framework for Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/NZCA Degree.
Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa’s new bi-cultural degree is built on a conceptual framework that weaves together both Maori and Pakeha perspectives. In this presentation we will explore some of the concepts in the framework providing you with an opportunity to gain a greater perception of your own teaching. The framework incorporates the concept of identity; identity as a person, toku tu rangatira, and as a teacher, toku tu kaiwhakaako.
There are three attributes related to the notion of identity that will be emphasised; pumanawa-heart, wairua-spirit, and taonga tukuiho-wisdom. We will also unpack dispositions evident in the framework from a Maori and Pakeha perspective and reflect on the role teachers play in creating a socially just and environmentally sustainable future for tamariki.  

Presenter: Arapera Witehira
Organisation:
Contact: Arapera.witehira@nzca.ac.nz
Length: 45 minutes

SU8 - Become confident in using te reo Maori regularly as you learn simple waiata.
A workshop that will provide an atmosphere of fun and excitement as you identify simple phrases found in our children’s waiata that can be used daily, regularly and confidently. Learning simple children’s waiata we will take phrases and implement them into our own conversations with the tamariki and with our colleagues. Compose your own simple waiata also using simple phrases that will increase your own confidence in using te reo Maori regularly and spontaneously.
Create your own actions to support our waiata and further enhance the learning of te reo. Let your imaginations go and begin to compose your own waiata for our tamariki!!!

Presenters: Ngaroma Williams & Mary-Liz Broadley
Organisation: (Project Leader) of Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa & (Co-Leader) of Open Polytechnic of NZ
Contact:
Length: 45 minutes

SU9 - “Building Kaupapa Maori into Early Childhood Education”
Ako Aotearoa National Funding Research Grant June 2010-June 2011 
A 2008 Evaluation Report carried out by the Education Review Office found that teachers lacked the confidence and competence to integrate te reo and tikanga Maori into their practice. Graduating Teachers need to “demonstrate they have knowledge of tikanga and te reo Maori to work effectively within bicultural contexts of Aotearoa, New Zealand” and this is evident within all three strands of the Graduating Teacher Standards (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2008).
In response to the above issues the objectives of this research project is to:
1. develop kaupapa Maori frameworks which allow student teachers to respond to Maori educational priorities confidently and competently.
2.  build upon kaupapa Maori based professional practice principles for application in early childhood education in Aotearoa.
The project’s environmental scan identifies on-going concerns and challenges for the delivery of bicultural and bilingual early childhood education programmes. Consequently, specific attention has been given to issues identified by early childhood educators and teacher education providers in terms of the development of a responsive early childhood education sector that validates Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996) and the importance of incorporating te reo Maori me nga tikanga Maori for all children in ECE programmes and services in New Zealand, Aotearoa.
The research is within its final write-up stage therefore the project leaders are able to provide an informed presentation on the kaupapa Maori tools that have been developed for implementation within early childhood education contexts by:
• Student teachers
• Registered teachers
• Lecturers
• Centres and Services

Presenter: Fiona Roberts
Organisation: Programme manager Early Childhood Education, Heart Foundation
Contact:  fionar@heartfoundation.org.nz  09 571 4661
Length: 45 minutes

SU10 - Tohu Manawa Ora, Starting Young: Promoting best practice nutrition and physical activity in Early Childhood Education. 
There is strong evidence that establishing healthy habits in childhood provides a foundation for life-long wellbeing.The Heart Foundation empowers educators to develop an effective nutrition and physical activity promoting environment.  The three-tier Healthy Heart Award for Early Childhood Education; Tohu Manawa Ora – Kohungahunga recognises ECE services that reach progressive levels of attainment of heart healthy environments.
The Heart Foundation supports ECE services with tools, resources and professional development. ECE services report improvement in lunchboxes, understanding of nutrition for both children and parents through integration of nutritional learning and anecdotal evidence of improvements in children’s behaviour, attention and health.  Award guidelines ensure children are engaged in daily physical activity and weekly nutrition education. Breast-feeding and celebration of cultural diversity continue to be strongly promoted. Nearly 400 awards were granted in the last year and over 21 thousand children are living and learning in an awarded ECE service. 

Presenters: Barbara Allan, Gwen Davitt, Elena Meredith, Karen McCann, Debbie Rickard
Organisation: Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/NZ Childcare Association
Contact: barbara.allan@nzca.ac.nz 
Length: 45 minutes

SU11 - "Don't go where the path leads; rather go where there is no path and leave a trail" (Ralph Emerson) ...  trail-blazing research using collaborative communities of inquiry 
* Creating and developing communities of inquiry to engage  all involved in robust research of our teaching and learning practices
* Providing examples of the triumphs and tribulations of communities of Inquiry -narratives from  Te Tari Puna Ora teaching bases across the motu.
* Sharing ideas for creating and making these work in your centres.
Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini ke.
My strength does not come from me alone but also from others.
(Cooperation of many can bring best results).

Presenter: Helen Wrightson
Organisation: Unitec Te Whare Wananga o Wairaka Lecturer
Contact: hwrightson@unitec.ac.nz (09) 845 1953 or 027 2909067
Length: 90 minutes

SU12 - Embarking on a journey - exploring the finer detail and spaces in-between
This workshop challenges teachers to think about their own pedagogy in relation to drawing as a domain for thinking and learning. It explores the teacher’s role and promotes teachers and learners exploring the spaces in-between. You will be encouraged to investigate the power of observation in socially mediated situations for developing thinking and learning, to enhance tamariki abilities with graphic representation through exploring the finer detail. Drawing is a visual literacy and means for tamariki to express their feelings, emotions and thinking about important ideas so let’s encourage their confidence to do so. By investigating our role and the spaces in between we promote creative thinking and imagination. Tamariki are encouraged to make discoveries, explore, experiment and invent so let’s become more proactive in supporting this to happen.