L. Taylor - Kaikohekohe Research Report - 2016CORE Education Ltd – Research Report February 2016 Page 4 of 29 The Kaikohekohe initiative This is the story of the Kaikohekohe initiative,

COREEducation–ResearchReport February2016 Page1of29

RESEARCHREPORT

Storiesoftransformationalchange:HowthreeNorthlandschoolcommunitiescametogethertomakeadifference

February2016

LouiseTaylor

COREEducation–ResearchReport February2016 Page1of29

SummaryIn 2014 Kaikohekohe Education Trust launched the Kaikohekohe Initiative within three ruralNorthlandprimaryschools(OhaeawaiSchool,TautoroSchool,andKaikoheWestSchool).

The initiative involved introducingChromebooks forall students fromyears4–8,andchangingthe teaching and learning within these schools. The aim was to reimagine how learning couldhappenwithinthiscommunityoflearners.

This researchproject captures the voices of students, teachers andwhānau as they share theirexperiences, andhow this initiative changed thewayeducation and learninghappened in theirschools. The stories provide powerful insights into the transformational change that can beachieved for students’ learning when teachers embrace significant shifts in their pedagogicalbeliefsandpractice.

Thisinitiativeunleashedstudents’potentialandgavethemavoicewithintheclassroom.Studentsweremore in control of their learningwhich in turn changed how they felt about their schoolexperiences,thewaytheyworkedwithothersandtheirprogressandprideintheirachievements:

• ThankstotheChromebooks,studentsspentlesstimewaitingforinstruction,resourcesandassistancewhichhelpedthemtostayontask,bemoreindependentandresultedinstudentsworkingharderandachievingbetteroutcomes.

• Technologyincreasedthevisibilityaroundassessmentandlearningwhichengagedstudents,whānau and teachers in the learning process, encouraging mutual support and buildingstudents’confidence.

• Thestudentsweregivenmorechoiceandagencyaroundtheirlearningwhichopenedupanewworld for them. This was observed both in students who had been disengaged andthosewhohadachievedwellundertheformersystem.

Theshiftsinclassroompracticesillustratedbythisresearchprojectowemuchtotheteachersandschoolleaders,andthedispositionstheyheldabouttheirrole.Suchsignificanttransformationwaspossiblebecauseteachersandschoolleadershad:

• madeshiftsinboththeirthinkingandpedagogicalpractice

• learnedtoworkdifferentlybecauseofthetechnology,becomingdifferentkindsofteachers

• repositioned expertisewithin the classroom. Teacherswere no longer themain source ofknowledge.Studentsalsobecameteachers.

The Kaikohekohe initiative has provided the space for students and teachers in a small ruralcommunity tobeandactdifferently. Teacherswereencouraged tomove from rolesofholdersand transmitters of knowledge to roles of explorers and facilitators1 in collaboration with thestudents.Thiscreatedtransformationalchangeintheclassroomandinlearning.

1BrendaJ.McMahon,Puttingtheelephantintotherefrigerator:studentengagement,criticalpedagogyandantiracisteducation,McGillJournalofEducation.Vol.38n°2spring2003.

COREEducationLtd–ResearchReport February2016 Page2of29

AbouttheauthorLouiseTaylorSeniorResearcher,COREEducation

Louisebeganhercareerineducationasaprimaryschoolteacherbeforemanaginganearlychildhoodcentreforanumberofyears.Sincethemid-1990sLouisehasworkedastutor,curriculumdesigner,educationconsultant,andprofessionallearningfacilitator,primarilyinthetertiarysector.SheiscurrentlyaseniorresearcheratCORE,andco-leaderoftheCOREeFellowsprogramme.Louiseisastrongadvocateforsocialjusticeandequity,andhasextensiveexperienceworkingincriticalpedagogyandtransformationallearning.In2007LouisecompletedaPhDinteacherprofessionallearning,examiningmorespecificallyhowtoembedavisionofsocialjusticeandequityintoeverydayteachingpractice.

COREEducation’sResearchReportsCOREEducationisaNewZealandbasednot-for-profitorganisationthathasbeenprovidingworld-classprofessionallearninganddevelopment,research,andthoughtleadershipforovertenyears.COREhasastrongdesiretotransformeducation,andwebelievethatnewtechnologiesareanexcitingwaytoengagelearnersacrossalleducationandtrainingsectors.TheCOREEducationresearchreportsareintendedtoprovidehelpfulinformationforimprovingeducationinNewZealandandtheworld.Theyprovideinsights,promotediscussion,andinformschoolleadersandteachersabouteducationalthemesandtrends.


ContentsTheKaikohekoheinitiative................................................................................................................................4

Thebackgroundstory.................................................................................................................................4

TheResearch.....................................................................................................................................................6

Ourstories.........................................................................................................................................................9

Studentstories............................................................................................................................................9

Teacherstories..........................................................................................................................................19

Learningtogetherisempowering:Someconclusions.....................................................................................23


TheKaikohekoheinitiativeThis is the storyof theKaikohekohe initiative,which involved threeprimary schools2 in ruralNorthland3,NewZealandcomingtogethertochangehoweducationhappens intheircommunities.Theinitiativesawthe introductionofChromebooksforallstudentsfromyears4–8,butthestory isaboutmuchmorethanthis. It is a story about learning together, and it is powerful story of change, told primarily through thevoicesofstudents,whānau4,andteachers.Thesevoicescombinetopresentastoryofthetransformationexperienced by those living and learning in these Northland communities and brings to life thecommunities’beliefthat:

Learningtogetherisempowering

ThebackgroundstoryThethreeNorthlandschools inthisstory,KaikoheWestSchool5,OhaeawaiSchool6,andTautoroSchool7,shareastrongbelief inthepotentialthatcomesfromlearningandworkingtogether,andthis isathreadthat weaves through the individual and collective stories within this report. It was this belief, and acommitmenttoprovidingthebesteducationalopportunitiesforstudentsinNorthland,thatsawthebirthof the Kaikohekohe initiative8. From the outset, this was about communities working together for thecommongoodofstudentsandtheirwhānau,andthisisnowareality.

BeginningsIn September2011, the thenprincipalsofKaikoheWest School andTautoroSchool9hadan idea; a verygood idea as it turns out. They took this idea to theMinistry of Education inWellington, seeking theirsupport.

It was a small meeting held on the third floor of Te Papa10. We were full of excitement,enthusiasmandhopeforthechangewecouldbringaboutinourschools.Weknewwewantedto provide a 21st century learning environment for our Māori children, and here was anopportunitytodothisproperly.TheMOEtoldustocomeupwithaplan.

Aftermuch ongoing dialogue the planwas accepted by theMOE and the schools began to to put theirvisionforanewkindoflearning,intopractice.

Theplanwasforschoolstomorefullyutilisetheopportunitiesaffordedbydigitaltechnologiesandforallstudents from year 4 upwards to be digitally competentusing their owndevices. The plan also involvedworkingonanachievementchallenge–whichbecamewriting.

2PrimaryschoolsinNewZealandcaterforstudentsfromyears1–6oryears1–8.3KaikohesitsinthemidnorthregionofTeTaiTokerau(Northland).TeTaiTokeraucoversalandareaof1,394,100hectares,fromMangawhaiontheeastcoasttoKaiparaHarbouronthewestcoast,andnorthtoCapeReinga.4WhānauistheMāoritermforextendedfamily.5KaikoheWestSchoolcatersforstudentsinyears1–6andhasarollof325;88%ofthesechildrenareMāori(theindigenouspeoplesofNewZealand).6OhaeawaiSchoolcatersforstudentsinyears1–6andhasarollof156;55%ofstudentsareMāori7TautoroSchoolcatersforstudents’years1–8andhasarollof70;97%ofthesechildrenareMāori8 Atthebeginningof2016thisinitiativehasgrownfrom3schoolsto7schools. 9WhentheyreturnedfromWellington,OhaeawaiSchoolbecameinvolved. 10TheMuseumofNewZealandTePapaTongarewa.


ProgressionsThenextfewmonthswerespentunpackingsomeoftheassumptionsheldaboutstudent learning,whichinvolvedgatheringstudentperspectivesontheirlearningandwriting.Astheschoolsdrilleddeeper11,newunderstandingsofhowstudentswerelearning,andwhattheyvalued,begantoemerge.

We gathered some powerful information. At home students were helping each other –tuakana-teina12.Atschooltheywerehelpingeachother–ako13.Andallalongweasteachersandleadersthoughtweweredoingalltheteaching.Thetableswerewellandtrulyturned.

With thisnewawareness schoolsdetermined toactively support students to learnmore,withand from,eachother.Thisallhappenedin2012.

In 2013 a group of teachers first visited the Manaiakalani project in Auckland, where they observedstudents learning inacommunitywithsimilaritiestotheirown. Itwasafterthisthatthe initiativegainedtraction.Thenextstepwastoengagewiththeirstakeholders,BoardsofTrustees,14whānau,teachers,andstudentsabouttheir ideas, findingastheydidthattherewasaverysupportivewidercommunitybehindthem.Intheearlystagesthefocuswastwofold:

1. Workingwithstudentstoexplorehowtheycouldsupportoneanotherwithpositivefeedback

2. Preparing for the introduction of Chromebooks, so that these could be used to generate morecollaborativelearning,anywhere,anytime.

BeforeChromebookscouldbeintroduced,thefollowingneededtobedone:

• Settinguptheinfrastructuretosupportthechanges• TrainingstaffintheuseofdigitalskillssuchasusingGoogledocsandblogging

• SettinguptheHaparateacherdashboard15andlearninghowtousethis

• SourcingtheChromebooksandworkingouthowtofundthese.Astheprojectgatheredmomentum,acharitabletrustwasformedtooverseetheexpandinginitiative.TheKaikohekoheEducationalTrustwasregisteredin2014.

GettingstartedwithChromebooksInFebruary2014,thethreeschoolsreceivedChromebooksforallstudentsinyears4–8.TheChromebookswerepaidforbywhānauthroughaweeklypayment.Theprincipalsdescribethedaylikethis:

Werolleditoutonthesameday.Weinvitedeveryone–itwasabigopening–therewasalaptopcake–itwaslikeChristmas.Wemadeitawholeschoolthingaswellsotheyoungerchildrencouldanticipateit.Thelookonparents’faceswasgreat.Therewas100%buyin.

Itwasthebeginningofanewwayoflearningforeveryoneanditisthestoriesofthisnewwayoflearningthatarecapturedinthefollowingpages.

11ThisprocesswasfacilitatedbyBrianAnnanfromtheUniversityofAuckland.12Tuakana-teinadescribesanimportantrelationshipwithinMāorisociety–abuddysystemwherebyanoldermoreexperiencedexpert–tuakana(originallyasiblingorcousin)helpsandguidesayoungerorlessexpertteina(originallyayoungersiblingorcousin).13AkoisaMāoritermusedtodescribetheteaching-learningrelationshipwhereateacheralsolearnsfromtheirstudent. 14InNewZealandschoolsaregovernedbyBoardsofTrustees,comprisingparents,theschoolprincipal,andotherelectedmembers.Boardsareresponsibleforsettingtheschool’sstrategicplan,aswellasoverseeingthemanagementofpersonnel,curriculum,property,finance,andadministration.15Thisdashboardallowsteacherstoseestudent’sworkatanytime,andbothteachersandstudentscancommunicatethroughcommentsandgivefeedbacktoeachother.


TheresearchInmid2014,aCOREEducationresearchawardenabledLouiseTaylor (theauthorof this report)and theKaikohekoheEducationalTrusttocollaborateonaresearchprojectaboutthisinitiative.Thisreportoutlinesthe findingsof the research,whichare framedaround thestoriesof someof thestudents,whānau,andteacherswhohavesharedtheirreflectionsonthepast2–3years.Thestoriesweresharedwithopennessandhonestyandareretoldinthisreportusingeverydaylanguage.Sittingbehindthesestoriesisarobustresearchdesignthathasbeenthroughanethicsapprovalprocess.

The research design was created by aplanning group, formedas a collaborationbetween members of the three schoolcommunities and two CORE Educationresearchers. Together, this group decidedthe parameters of the project, includingwho would be invited to share theirstories, and how, and when, this wouldhappen.

Thecollectingofstorieshappenedoversixmonths and involved a total of 24students,13teachers,andasmallnumberofparents.Sharinghappened ingroupsof2–4 people or individually, depending onpreferences and the time available. Inaddition, three of the current principalsprovided the background story for this report. Most of this sharing happened through relaxed, semi-structured conversations16 and there were also some photographs taken. All students and adults, werevoluntaryparticipants.

Particularcarewastakentoensurestudentsfeltcomfortable sharing and that they were givenmore than one way to do this. For example,studentssharedingroups,theycouldbringtheirdevices,theychosewheretheysat,andsessionsweren’t hurried. Most students were talked toon two occasions, which helped them to feelmorerelaxedandable to leadtheconversationthemselves. Students also had a choice abouthowtheyshared,andwhilemostwerehappytotalkabouttheirlearning,somechosetodrawinresponse to questions asked, and otherspreferred to share theirworkdigitally. Mostofthe time the stories were accompanied bystudents showing their work which waspeppered with jokes and laughing. Most

sessionswereaudiorecordedandtranscribedandstudentsgavetheirpermissionforthistohappen.

Afewparentswerealsointerviewedbutnumberswererestrictedbytimeandavailability.Theseinterviewswereaudiorecordedandtranscribedandthesestoriessitalongsidethoseofstudents. Inmost instancesparticipantsconsentedtotheirnamebeingusedastheywereproudoftheirstories17.

16Conversationsarebecomingamoreaccepteddatacollectionmethod,whichworksparticularlywellwithyouthandmarginalisedgroupswhentheyareveryopen-ended(Smyth&McInerney,2012).Thismeansstartingwithasimplequestion,like:“Tellmewhat’schangedforyousinceyougotyourChromebook?”andthenfollowingtheleadofthe participant.Thiscanprovetobeless“orderly”inthateachconversationisdifferent,butthestoriesaremoreindividualandauthentic.


The focusofdata collectionwason storieswheresignificantchangehadoccurredforindividuals,andgroupsinandacrossschools.Whencombined,theindividualandgroupaccountstellacollectivestoryof the transformations occurring across the threelearningcommunities.Thestoriestoldshowstrongconsistency across sites, and they tell a verymoving story of the change that is possiblewhenpeoplecometogetherforthecommongood.

TheoreticalpositionsThedesign and analysis of this research has beeninfluencedbythefollowingtheoreticalpositions:

• Future-focusedlearning

• Transformationalchange

Thereisconsiderablerhetoric intheeducationcommunityatpresentaboutfuture-focused,21stcentury,and transformational learningandchange.Theseconceptsarepartof thewiderconversations thathavedrivenboththeKaikohekoheinitiativeandthisstorytellingresearchproject.

Beingafuture-focusedschoolSomepeopledescribeafuture-focusedschoolasonewithopenedupspacesandcombinedclasseswheretechnology isused for learning.Thismaybepartly so,butbeing future-focused isaboutmore than this.According to Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd and Hipkins (2012), future-focused education is anemergingclusterof“ideas,beliefs,knowledge,theoriesandpractices”(p.1),whichfitwithinthefollowingsixkeyprinciples.

1. Personalisinglearning

2. Newviewsofequity,diversity,andinclusivity

3. Acurriculumthatusesknowledgetodeveloplearningcapacity

4. Changingthescript:rethinkinglearners’andteachers’roles

5. Acultureofcontinuouslearningforteachersandeducationalleaders

6. Newkindsofpartnershipsandrelationships:schoolsnolongersiloedfromthecommunity.

Incorporatingtheseprinciplesaspartofeverydaypracticerequiresongoingdialoguewiththoseinvolved.Thisincludesaskinghowlearnersandlearningarechanging,andwhatthismightmeanforschools.Future-focusededucation isnotsomuchaboutpreparingstudentsforthefuturebutratherbeingresponsivetothe changes that already exist, thenworkingwith students to create a future together.18 This begins byacknowledgingthatsocietyischangingandworkingwiththesechangesratherthancontinuingtomaintaintraditionalpracticesthatnolongerhaverelevance.

Inthisresearchproject,thefuture-focusedprinciplesmentionedabovehavebeenshowcasedthroughthestories told.Eachstoryhighlightshowtraditionalpracticesarebeingchallengedandreimaginedwithinanewworld framework. Knowledge, the learner, the teacher, diversity, inclusion, and learning for all, arestrongthemesweavingthroughthisreport.

17Mostly,whennameshavenotbeenused,itisbecauseitwasdifficulttoidentifythespeakerontheaudiorecording.18Facer(2011)


TransformationalchangeTheterm“transformationalchange”isbeingusedinmanycontextstodaytodiscussarangeofchanges.19Typically, transformationwill involvemaking a profound, radical shift resulting in a turnaround in beliefand/orpractice,whichmay result in innovativesolutions tocomplexproblems.20Fromasocial justiceorcriticalpedagogicalperspective,21transformationoccursindialogue22withothersandimpactson:• Knowledge

• Identity23

Knowledge

Historically,theknowledgethatismostvaluedandwidelycirculated,isawhite,middle-class,westernviewof the world. Minority perspectives and other ways of knowing have been silenced in the process. Ineducation,academicknowledgehasbeenvaluedmorethanhumanexperiencesandstories,andthoseinprestigiousandpowerfulpositionshavemoresayaboutwhatothersshouldknow.24

Traditionally,knowledgehasbeenperceivedasfixedandconstantandthereforeabletobepackagedandpassedon–oftenthroughtextbooks,whicharenotalwaysaccessibletoall.25Thisviewofknowledgehasbeendismantledwiththe internet.26Thishasexposedanewwayofunderstandingtheworld,whichhasopenedupknowledgetomorethananelitefew.Theexplosionofsocialmediahasalsoprovidedameansformultipleviewpointstoinfluencewhatisimportanttoknowandvalue,thusdisruptingtraditionalformsofknowledge.

This storytelling research project has taken a transformative approach by framing the research aroundpersonal storytelling andby giving prominence to the voices of students,who are traditionally excludedfrom knowledge making. Through this deliberate research process, some of the taken-for-grantedassumptionsaboutteachingandlearninghavebeenopenedupforscrutiny.

Identity

Another way to understand transformational change is to consider the impact of change on identity.27Alongwithdominantformsofknowledgethatinfluencehowwethink,societyalsoproducesandsustainsveryspecificnorms,orwaysofbeing.Conformitytotheseareoftenrewardedwhileresistanceincurssomeformofpunishmentorisolation.28Transformationallearningsupportsandenablesdiversewaysofthinkingandbeing,wheresuccess ismeasured inarangeofways. An importantpartoftransformationalwork ischallengingthesystemsandbiasesthatworkagainstthisdiversity.

Researchers looking for transformational change will therefore seek evidence of how initiatives havesupported changes in ways of being. They highlight how societal norms have been disrupted, andstereotypes challenged, and provide examples of equitable learning opportunities and outcomes. Forpeople that have been colonised and/ormarginalised, this is particularly important, as their freedom tolearnisinextricablefromtheirfreedomtobeandactinavarietyofways.

Thisresearchincludesstorieswherestudents,inparticular,havefoundthefreedomtoactandbe,inwaysthat are different from before. Throughout students shared freely about how this initiative has madelearningmoreequitableforthem.Formany,thishaschangedtheirlives.

The following stories highlight the transformational change that is possible when the structures aroundknowledgeandidentityareopenedupandredefined.

19Taylor&Cranton,201220DefinitionsmodifiedfromtheoneprovidedonBusinessdictionary.com21Acriticalpedagogicalperspectiveisonethatcritiquesthebiasesinsocietythatcreateinequities.Ineducationthismeansseekingtocreateandupholdprocessesthatsupportsociallyjustoutcomes.Thestoriesinthisprojectarechosenfortheirpotentialtocelebrateandvalidatearangeofvoicesandwaysofbeing.22Freire,1996;Freire&Shor,1987;hooks,199423Parker&Zajonc,201024Bishopetal.,200325MacNaughton,2003,2005;Taylor,200726Taylor,etal.,201327Taylor,2013,201428Foucault,1990(citedinTaylor,2007)


OurstoriesThefollowingsectioncontainsthestoryoftheKaikohekoheinitiativetoldprimarilythroughthevoicesofstudents and teachers. These stories are the accounts of a small part of the three school communities,however they show remarkable consistency. Together the stories highlight how transformational changehappenedinasmall,ruralpartofNewZealand.

The introduction of Chromebooks as an everyday part of classroom learning resulted in an immediateincrease in studentengagementandparticipation,which isoneof recurring findings in similar initiativesbothinternationallyandnationally29(forexample,theManaiakalaniProject)30butwhatdoesanincreaseinengagement andparticipation reallymean for learning?More specifically,what do students have to sayabouthowthishaschangedthelearningexperienceforthem?

Theconversationsandreflectionsthatoccurredduringthecourseofthisinvestigationprovidedaveryclearmessage–studentsnowfeelmoreincontroloftheirlearning.Asonestudentnoted:

Wedidn’thaveasmuchcontrolofwhatweusedtodo–theteacherhadthecontrol.

BeforeChromebooksbecamepartofeverydayschool,studentsweremoredependentontheirteachersforknowledge, direction, feedback, and support, which is no different fromwhat happens inmany schoolsaround the globe. But this has changed, and the traditional roles of teacher and learner have beenredefinedasthebenefitsofadigitalagehavebeenembraced.Knowledgeischangingandtheidentitiesofbothstudentandteacherarebeingreimagined.

Whenstudentswereaskedtodescribewhatschoolwaslikebefore,onestudentsaid:

Schoolwasalittleplain–itfeltalittlebland.

Thestoriesintherestofthisdocumenttellacompletelydifferentstoryofschoolforthestudents,whānau,andteachersfromKaikoheWest,Ohaeawai,andTautoroschools.

StudentstoriesThroughoutthisinvestigation,studentswereclearthattheylovethisnewwayofbeingalearner,whichishavinganimpactonthequantityandqualityoftheirwork.Beingmorein-controloflearninghaschangedhowstudentsfeelabouttheirschoolexperiences,thewaytheyworkwithothers,theirprogress,andthepridetheyhaveintheirachievements.Jackdescribesithisway:

Iwaspretty lowinallmysubjectsandIgot lost inmylearningreallyeasilyandnowI’mincontrolofmy learningand it’sreallyeasyto learnandIaminthehighestpartofmyclass,andit’sjustchangedthewholesituationinmylearning.

Havingmorecontrolof learning,has“changedthewholesituation”forJackandstudents likehim.Whenasked,studentscouldclearlyarticulatewhythisis.Forexample,Jade.Nsharedherblogpostwhichsays:

29Similarfindingswerefoundin,forexample:Burden,etal.,2012;McDowall,2011;Falloon,2013;Oven,etal.,2013;andTaylor,etal.,2013.30TheManaiakalaniProjectinvolvesaclusterofdecile1schoolsinTamaki,EastAuckland,workingtogetheronaprogrammethatgiveschildrentheopportunitytobe“athomeinadigitalworld’’.Moreinformationcanbefoundonthewebsite:http://www.manaiakalani.org/home


WhatImeanwhenIsayI’mincontrolofmylearningisthatIfeelIcanworkindependently.Iknowwhattodoandwheretogotogatherinformation.

Studentssaidthathavingmorecontroloftheirlearningishelpingthemtoworkharderandachievebetterresults and from the conversations with students it became clear that there are three reasons for this,whicharediscussedinthefollowingsections:

• Waitingless.

• Seeingandsharingmore.

• Learningdifferently.

WaitinglessOneofthemostrepeatedcommentsmadebystudentswashowmuchlesswaitingaroundthere isnow.Acrossall threesites students reportedbeing lessbored,withonesaying: “There’salways stuff todo”–andthishasminimisedclassdisruptions.Previouslywhentherewasn’tenoughtodo:

Morekidsplayedupbecausetheywerehangingaroundwithnothingtodo.

Nowstudentssaytheyarewaitinglessforinstructions,resources,andassistance,whichishelpingthemtostay on task and bemore independent. Students say that they areworking harder and achieving betteroutcomesasaresult.

Waitingforinstructions

Waitingforinstructionswaspreviouslyabigpartofschoolforthestudentswhowereinterviewed.

This includedwaiting for instructionsat thebeginningofactivities,aswellaswaiting in line for feedbackandfurtherinstructionswhenworkwasfinished.Onestudentshared:

BeforewehadtogoandsitonthematandMrs[teacher]usedtotelluswhattodo.Nowshesendsit[ourtasks]tousandnowwecanworkonthingsathomeatnight.

Anotherstudentdescribeditthisway:

We did a worksheet and then we just had to hand it back, and if we finished before ourfriendswejusthadtowait…itwaslikewewereinapaddock,doingonepostatatime,andwithacomputeryoucangotowhateverpostyouwanttogotoatyourownspeed.

Havingdigitalinstructionsthatcanbeaccessedatanytimeandrevisitedwithease,hasmadeasignificantdifference for studentswho contributed.Because instructions canbepostedby teachers aheadof time,studentssaidtheycangetonwiththeirworkwithoutwaitingforthenextsetof instructions,orneedingthese tobe repeated.Beingable toaccesswork tasksdigitallyalsomeans that studentswhoareabsentfromschoolduetosicknessorattendanceattangi, for instance,cancontinuetodotheirworkremotely.Thiswasimportantforonesickstudent,ashermotherexplained:


Icouldsupportherathomeandtalkwiththeteachertoclarifytasksandtheteacherwouldset new work for her and she could work when she was well enough. It allowed her tocontinuewithherlearning.

Online instructions, particularly if there are activities and follow up work to go on with, means thatstudentscankeepworking,andtheycanworkonmorethanonetaskatatimewhiletheyarewaitingforfeedbackfromtheirteacher.

[Now]whenwe turn it in or submit it [ourwork],wedon’t need to bother orwait for theteacher.He/shecanjustcommentandseeitwhentheycan.

Waitinglessforinstructionsmeansstudentscanmorereadilymanagetheirowntimeandmovebackandforthbetween tasks insteadofbecomingboredandunproductive.Havingmoreoptionsmeans studentshavemoreopportunitytodirecttheirownlearningandworkaheadofscheduleiftheychooseto.

Wecanworkonthingsathomeatnight–atyourownspeedanddoingthingsaheadoftime.ForoursciencefairwehadtolookupascientistandIdiditlike,fivedaysahead.

Waitingforresources

Weusedtohavetowaitforotherclassestousethecomputers.Weonlyhad10intheschoolandwehadtosharethem.ThenwegotsomeiPadsandwehadtosharethem,andthenwegotourChromebooks.

Another positive change for students is no longer having to wait for resources like digital devices andresearch material. With individual Chromebooks, accessing the internet, digital books, and practiceactivitiesismucheasierthanpreviously,asstudentscannowdothisfromtheirowndevice.Beingabletoaccess information is particularly useful when working on inquiries. Students said that they could findinformationbefore,butnowthere ismoreof it,and it’seasierandquicker toaccess.Thisoptimises thelearningmoment,as learningoccurswhenstudentsaremostcuriousandreadytoexperiencesomethingnew.Asonestudentputit:

Ifyoulikesomethingyouwanttoknowmoreaboutit.

Theinternetprovidesinformationonalmostanything,includingtutorialswhichstudentsareusingtolearnandchallengethemselves.StudentsandwhānauareusingtoolslikeYouTubetolearn:

• Howtodraw3Dshapes.

• Aboutmakingorigami.

• Toimprovenetballpasses.

• Aboutfractionsanddecimals.

• Aboutnutritionandexercise.

• Howtomakechocolate.

• Howtodyetheirhair.

Studentsparticularly likebeingable to rewinduntil theyhaveunderstoodwhat theyare trying to learn.Having their own Chromebooks means they can do this from home, creating more seamless learning


betweenhomeandschool.Asthestudentsnoted,theynolongerneedtowaitforschoolhourstocarryontheirinquiring.

Some students also love the access they have to an instant library. For example, Stella, who is an avidreader,likesthedigitallibrarybecauseoftheindependencethisoffersher:

I likethe library ‘causetheyhaveheapsofbooksandyoucansearchforthemandyoucanchangewhatbooksyouwant to read.Like rightnowwearedoingpoetry, so there’s likeasearch.Yousearchuppoetryandyousearchyour[reading]age,andyoucanalsoratebooks–andthereareallthecommentspeoplemake.

Likemostoftoday’ssociety,studentswanttobeconnected–andquickly–sothattheycangetstartedonwhattheywanttodoandkeepworking;Chromebooksgivethemthisspeed.Asonestudentpointedout:

Ittakes7secondstobootupourChromebook‘causeeverythingwehaveisontheCloudsoitdoesn’thavetoloadallthosethingstostartup,soitjustcomesstraightup.

Waitingforhelp

Before,wehandedourbooktoteacher,waitedforagestilleveryoneelsewasfinished, juststanding in line getting cross as, and annoying the teacher.With Chromebooks you shareyour documents with the teacher and the teacher can mark it when they’re ready andcommentonit,andthenyoucangobackandcheckit.Whileyou’rewaitingyoucangoanddootherlearningstuff.

Waiting for help in order to edit work was previously a big issue for students, but this has completelychangedasaresultofChromebooks.Notonlycanstudentscarryonwithotherlearningwhiletheywaitforfeedback from teachers on their work, but correcting and improving work happenswhile students areworking,enablingthemtofinishpreviouslyuncompletedwork.

Over and over again, students talked about how work before had been inhibited by handwriting andspellingandhowthisbarriertolearninghasnowbeenremoved.

Ididn't knowhowto spell verygoodso Igotallmywordswrongso Ihad todo itagain. Ialways had to stay in in my breaks and didn’t get to eat very much. When we gotChromebooks Icould lookupwordsandknowhowtospell them. It’smucheasier forme. Icanrecordmyvoiceanditcomesupwiththerightword.

ItisaloteasierformetoeditnowbecauseadigitalvoicereadsmyworkoutandIcanhearmymistakes.

Havingeditingtoolshasprovidedamoreequitablelearningenvironmentforstudentswhopreviouslyhadbeenunabletofinishtheirworkduetoongoingobstacles.Chromebookshaveprovidedstudentswithhelpat themoment theyneed it so that they can capture their thoughts and ideaswhen they are fresh andfinish their work to a standard they are proud of. Having messy and unfinished work used to troublestudentsandtheysharedhowdishearteningitwastogetworkbackaftertheyhadlostinterestinit.Theydidn’tlikehavingtorewritethewholepieceofworksothatitwouldn’tlookmessy.


Igotfrustrated.Itwasreallyhardtolearnhandwritingandmyteachercouldn’tunderstanditproperlyandIhadtowriteitagain.

Andwhenyouhave toedit stuff youhave to startall overagain,as it'sallmessyandyouhavetodoanotheronesoitwon’tlookallmessy–anditwillbetoomuchwork.

Studentssharedhowannoyingitusedtobewhentheywantedtouseawordtheycouldn’tspell,andtheywouldhavetosettleforalessinterestingalternative.Thisishowonestudentexplainedthis:

…thatworddidn’tpumpmeupandthenitwaslike,oh,noIhavetouseawordthatdoesn’tpumpmeupbecause I can’t spell it.Now, if youput it inyourChromebook,andyoudon’tspellitrightthefirsttime,noworries.YougetaredlineunderitorifyoujustgotoGooglespellingandclick,click,click,click!

Whenasked if editing tools like spell checkwere abit like cheating, students responded that they learnthroughthespellchecktool.Forinstance:

If Imake amistake in spelling it comes upwrong. I learn as it’s correcting, expandingmyvocabulary,askingwhatdoesitmean,andgettinghelpwithpronunciation.

Having Chromebooks has minimised waiting time for students, which in turn has lessened boredom,frustration,andunfinishedwork.Intheconversationswithstudentstheysharedhowmuchthishasmeantfor both their enjoyment of school and their outputs. Achieving success is high on their agenda andChromebooksarehelpingthemtodothisindiverseways.

SeeingandsharingmoreAsa result of theKaikohekohe initiative, students are experiencingmore agency31 in their learning.Onereasonforthisisthetransparencythatismadepossiblethroughtheuseoftechnology,enablingstudentstoknowandunderstandmoreabouttheirlearningandthatofothers.Thishasfacilitatedmoresharingandcollaboration,whicharestrongthemessharedacrossthethreeschoolcommunities.

BeforetheintroductionofChromebooksandtheshifttoGoogledocs,manyofthefunctionsofschoolingthatwereunderstoodandpractisedbyteacherswerepartiallyobscuredfromstudents,makingitdifficultforthemtovisualisethewholepicture.ForstudentslikeRileythiswasaproblem.However,thishasnowchanged.Rileytoldus:

IdidadiagnostictesttodayandIgotthemajorityofthemright...I likeknowingallthat...Before, ifyoudid thaton the test, they’d take itawaytoanotherschoolandtheprincipalsandteacherswouldsay,“Thisiswhatoneofmystudentsdid.”AndIdidn’tlikethatbecausetheydidn’ttellmeandImostlygotthemwrong.

ForRiley,andstudentslikehim,“knowingallthat”hasbeenfacilitatedthroughthetransparencyaffordedbyadigitalplatformthatisopenforviewingbystudents.Additionally,studentshave24/7accesstoonlineskill development exerciseswhere they can practise and improve independently. Riley shared howhe is

31Havingagencymeanshavingsomecontroloveroutcomesthataffectyou.


quite competitivewithhimself andhowknowinghis score inmathsand spellinghasencouragedhim topractiseto improve.Hewasverydetailed inhisexplanationofhisprogress.“Knowingall that”hasgivenhim more control of his learning and progress, and some agency over what he chooses to share withothers.

I don’t like working on paper, 'cause when people look over my shoulder, it makes meclaustrophobic.Nowon the computer only [my teacher] can see them if I screenshot themandshefindsthescreenshot.

Notonlyhas assessment and learningbecomemore visible, but in someways it has alsoprovidedRileywith a sense of privacy and a newfound confidence in his own knowing. He shared howmuch he likes“improvingwithoutthepressure”andallhismistakesbeingdiscussedbehindhisback.Forhimitwasreallyimportantthathecouldgetfeedbackfromthecomputerandnottheteacher.Thisfeltlessthreateningandhewasmoreresponsivetothis.

In one group conversation students shared how this new visibility has helped them to manage theirlearningmore.Theysharedhowtheycannowrevisitandre-readorreplayinstructionswithouthavingtogototheirteacherforremindersandhowtheyarelesslikelytolosetheirworkbecause“itisinthecloud”andcanbeeasilyaccessed.Asaresult,theyunderstandmoreclearlywhatisexpectedofthemandwherethey are in the learning process. They said they are now “thinkingmore than before” and can get theirideas down before they forget them. This is all increasing their independence. Increasingly students aretakingmoreresponsibilityfortheirownlearning.

TheconfidenceandknowledgestudentsshowedabouttheirlearningwasnoticeableatOhaeawaiSchool'sstudent-ledparent conferences32 this year. Insteadofpaper-basedportfolios, students sharedknowinglyfrom their digital portfolios, which contained selected pieces of work across curriculum areas, includingvideoclips,linkstoGoogleslidepresentations,andsamplesofartwork,writing,andblogs.Becauseofthisthe conferences lasted longer than in previous years, with students flicking backwards and forwardsthrough theirworkwith ease and confidence. They knewabout theirwork, and their learning, and theycouldclearlyarticulatethisknowingtoothers,includingtheirparents.

Oneparentreflectedafterwards:

[My]childrenaretakingchargemoreoftheconferences.Theyarefeelingmoreinchargeoftheirlearning.Theyaremoreconfident.Theyknowtheirwayaround.It'sagoodthing...

The transparency afforded by the use of digital technology has taken away the fog around students’learning,enablingthemtohaveaclearerpictureofwhattheylike,whattheyarelearningandhowtheyareprogressing – and they are increasingly taking charge of this. This visibility has demystified the learningprocessandasaresultstudentsaremoreengagedandeagertoshare,whichiswhatparentshavenoticedandappreciated.Anotherparentsaid:

Heissharing.Thatisthebiggestthingthathaschanged…Theyinteractmorewithusabouttheirlearning.Priortothistheywouldjustdoit.Therewasnottoomuchinteraction,butwiththeChromebookstheywanttoshowuswhattheyweredoingandgetusmoreinvolved.

Asaresultof this increasedsharing,parentsare feelingmore involved.There isasensethateveryone ismoreawareandwillingtoshareandsupporteachother,whichishelpingstudentstoimprove. 32Student-ledparentconferencesreplaceswhatweretraditionallyknownasparent-teacherinterviews.Attheseconferencesstudentssharetheirlearningwiththeirparentsandwhānau.


Improvementthroughfeedback

Students are no longer just getting feedback from their teachers, nor is this feedback confinedgeographically. Now, students are regularly receiving feedback from their peers and whānaumembers.Becauseoftheirbloggingtheyarealsogettingcommentsontheirworkfromacrosstheglobe.Hereiswhatstudentshadtosayaboutthis:

You can share yourdocumentswithpeople throughGoogle. You can share your learning–youcangopublic.Likewhenyoudoaproperbook,youcan’tsharewithotherpeople.Youcan’tletthewholeworldseeit.

Wesharewithawideraudience.6daysand2hoursago,someonevisitedmefromMountainViewCalifornia.Youcanseewhenothersvisityou…

Forstudentsit’snotjusttheexcitementofsomeonefromtheothersideoftheworldlookingattheirwork,though.Whenaskedwhythisisimportanttothem,onestudentresponded:

Peoplecancommentandsaygoodthingsaboutyouandpeoplemighthaveadviceinotherpartsoftheworldanditmightbegoodadviceforustohelpuswithourlearning.

Studentsunderstandandappreciatehowthishelpsthemtoimprove:

I like itbecausepeople seemywork. It’snot justmeand the teacher lookingat it. It’s likeheapsofpeople,andthefeedbackthattheygivemehelpsmeimproveonmywork.

One reason students believe their work has improved is because they are now preparing it for a realaudience.Havingawideraudiencemeans theyneed tobe clearabout their thinkingand ideasand thattheseneedtobeeditedandpolishedbeforetheycanbesharedwithothers.

Mylearninghaschangedheaps.OnereasonwhyisbecauseI’mgettingtaughthowtosharemy thoughts, thinkingand learningonmyblogandYouTubechannel (Josemira’sblogpost19/5/15).

I thinkmyreadingandwritingandcommunicatingskillshave improvedandbecomebetterbecause I know that there is a wider audience who will read the work that I create. NOPRESSURE(Jade.N’sblogpost28/11/14).

Blogshavebeenparticularlyimportantforwhānau.Oneparentnotedhowintheirwhānautheblog“startsa dialogue”.Whānau shared howmuch they enjoy hearing about, discussing, and contributing to theirchildren’s learningthroughtheirblogs.Otherwhānauexpressedhowmucheasiercommunication isnowthatlearninghasbecomemoredigital.


Learningthroughcollaboration

Learning togetherhasbeena largepartof this initiativeand collaborationshavebeenmadeeasierwithtechnology.Oneverysimplechangethathasmadeadifferencetocollaborationisbeingabletoworkonthesamedocumenttogether,asthesestudentsexplain:

We can work on the same thing and not both write the same on two books - It’s betterbecauseyoucanworkwithothersonthesamedocument.

Previously students had towrite in separate books and then rewrite theirwork in one book, or submitduplicates. Being able to work on the same document saves time that can be spent onmore in-depthresearch and more detailed presentations. Not only this, students can now collaborate remotely afterschool,whichisimportantforthoselivinginruralcommunitieslikethese.

Hereisoneexampleofhowstudentsworkedtogetherdigitallyonafundraisingproject,fromhome.

Forafundraiserwevideo-chattedeachotherandwestartedtalking.Likewe’resayingwhatwe could do and then we set up a document about the fundraiser and then we startedplanningaboutit–andthenwewroteanoticeforit.Andthenafterwefinishedallofthat,wewroteaconsentformforleaderstohelpwiththefundraiserandthenwejustwentoveritagainandcheckedthatwemadesense.It’sasnackstoreforatrip–asleepover.

Theremotecollaborationsarealsohappeningbetweenstudentsandtheirwhānau.Onestudentsaidshesentherprojecttohernanaandthisreallyhelpedher.

Mynanahelpedmewithmy scientistwork.We’redoing scientists for our science fair.MynanacorrectedoneofthedatesonitandIwashappythatshehelpedme.

Whānaualsocommentedonhowmuch they likebeingmore involved in their children’s learning,and inrealtime.Forinstance,onefathersharedhowhewasworkingonthefarmwhenhisdaughteremailedhimaquestion.Heexplainedthepleasurehegotfrombeingabletocontributeideasrightthenandthere.Healso shared the thrillhegetswhenhegoesonhis computerandcan seehisdaughteronherdocumentwhilehe is doinghisownwork. Experiences like this arehelpingwhānau to collaboratemorewith theirchildren,whiletheyarelearning,atanytimeoftheday,andwhereverthatmightbe.

Having increased opportunities to collaborate and share work has led to amore open and cooperativelearningenvironmentwherebothstudentsandadultssupportandaresupportedbyeachother.Studentsunderstandthebenefitswithonesaying:

Ifyouhelpothers,youachievemore.

Parentshavenoticedthedifference,withonecommentingthattheirsonisnowmorewillingtoshowhisworktoothersandseekoutsomeonewhomightbeabletohelphim.Studentsconfirmedthatthisisnowaregularoccurrence.

If youneedhelp,andyouknowsomeonewho isa littlebit smarter thanyou, you can justshareitwiththemandtheycanhelpyouwiththat,andsoit’smucheasier…it’severybodyin


theclass.A lotofpeople share their things, so theycan likehelpotherpeopleanda lotoftimespeoplesharetheirownworkwithpeople,sotheycanhelpthem.

Asaresultof thesharingthathasbeenfosteredthroughthisresearchproject,studentsaremoreawarethat everyone is learner and everyone needs helpwith their learning at some time. For one student inparticularthishasmadeallthedifference:

Sometimes[before]peoplewouldmakefunofmyworkandIdidn’tfeelveryhappy,butnowIcandomyworkbetterandeveryoneisnicetomywriting.

LearningdifferentlyStudents who shared in this project were very clear about the benefits they have experienced sincereceivingtheirChromebooks.IthasnotjustbeenabouttheChromebooksthough,butratherthechangesthathavebeenfacilitatedbydigitallearning.Adigitalplatformhasprovidedstudentswithabroaderwaytosource,sort,link,represent,andsharelearning.Becauseofthesestudentsareablertoidentifyandworkdifferently–andmorewithintheirpreferences.

Oneparentreflectedthat“theinternethasopenedtheirworldup”,providingstudentswithawiderrangeof possibilities for how and what they learn. This has helped students to understand more aboutthemselvesaslearnersandenabledthemtostatewithconfidence:

Weknowmoreofwhatwelike...

Beingabletoworkinarangeofwayshassupporteddifferentkindsofsuccess,whichhasbeenimportantforDreziquewhooncewasquitedisengaged.Dreziqueexplains:

MumthinksIlearnindifferentwaystootherpeople.Ialwaysdostuffdifferentlytoothers.InkindergartenIusedtodothingsdifferently.Iusetocreate…WecanbemorecreativeontheChromebookandcreatemorestuff.Wecandoheapsofdrawingsandanimations.[Before]IgotreallyboredhavingtowriteforagesandIhadtostayinandfinishoffmyworkbecausewehadtogouptotheteachertoseeifourspellingwasright,andthenwriteitagain.OntheChromebooksthereisspellcheckif…it’smorefun‘causewearedoingitontechnologysowecanstudywhatwearedoingandwejustneedtoshareitwiththeteacherandshecancheckit.

Drezique said he didn’t like writing and when he used to get bored he would just remember a TVprogramme in his head and then hewould get reprimanded for being off task. Now, instead of gettingbored,Dreziqueuseshis time toexperimentand research,whichhismother says iswhathehasalwayslikeddoing.

Rightbackinkindyhewasgettingbored.Thekindyteachersgavehimsomefreedomtodowhathewanted.Hewouldsitandhelpotherstomakethings.[BeforeChromebooks]hewas[again] saying he was bored and he hated writing. I was told that Drezique was notconformingandthisbotheredme.Everyonelearnsdifferently.Heisfunny.Helikesteachinghimselfthingsandthenteachingothers.Insteadofhavingtogoofftoasksomeone,hewantstoknowbyhimself.Itissomethingthathehasdonethroughouthislife.Helikestoresearchhimselfandfindoutbyhimselfandthengoandtellothers.


ForDrezique school is now a placewhere he canworkmorewithin his preferences and be himself. Hismothersays“hehasmorepassionandexcitement”,andthisisimpactingpositivelyonhisachievement.

Beingfreetobeadifferentkindoflearneristransformativeforstudentswho,likeDrezique,nolongerneedtoconformtothemorerestrictivewaysofbeingandlearningthatjustdon’tworkforthem.Studentsnowhavemorechoiceabouthowtheygatherinformation,learnnewskills,processtheirlearning,andpresenttheir findings. They canwork on one task at a time, ormove between tasks. Furthermore, they are nolongerreliantontheirteacherbeingfreetogethelpastheycannowaccesshelpfromdifferentsources.Theseare justa fewof theenablers thatmake learningmoreengaging forstudentswhopreviouslymayhaveshowndisinterest.

Itisnotjustdisengagedstudentswhoarebenefittingfromthisdifferentwayoflearning,however.Awholenewworldoflearninghasalsoopenedupforstudentswhoachievedwellundertheoldsystem,butwhowere held back from going further in their learning. For instance, Daniel shared how he had previouslyfoundmathstooeasy,saying:

Mathsistooeasywhenit’sonpaperbutontheinternetyoucansearchupsomethingmorechallenging,insteadofhavingtowait.Thenyouarenotrestricted…

Learning without restrictions has meant access to more diverse and challenging learning opportunities.Studentsareno longerheldbackbysystems thatdon’twork for them.Theymayhaveachievedsuccessbefore,butnowtheycancontinuetobeextendedandchallenged inwaysnotpreviouslypossible.Lionaexplains:

MylearningwasprettybigbeforewegotChromebooks,‘causeIhadalreadyfinishedyearsixcurriculum.AndthenwegotChromebooks.Itjustopenedsomanymoredoorstomylearningbecause Icoulddootherworkathomeand it justmade ita lotmore funand itwasreallyboringbeforebecausetheteachersdidn’tknowwhattodowithme!

Notonlythis,Lionasaidthatshefeltherteachersunderstoodhercapabilitiesmore,saying:

TheycanseewhatI’mcapableof...

Lionasumsupthisnewwayofbeingalearnerhereinhercommentanddrawing:

Mylearningusedtobebig,butnowitiscolossal.

Students were clearly excited about this new way oflearningandtheywereproudoftheirachievements.Asaworldoflearninghasopeneduptothem,theirteachershavehadtorespondbybecomingdifferentteachers.Thenextsectionisaboutthestoriesofteacherschanging.


Teacherstories

Iknewthatdigital learningwouldneedtoinvolvealotofcollaboration.Thatwaspartofourfocus,ourweeklyclustertolearnfromeachother(teachercomment).

One of the strengths of the Kaikohekohe initiative has been the extensive preparation and ongoingprofessionallearninganddevelopment(PLD)thathasbeenofferedthroughout.Oneofthebiggestbenefitsofthishasbeenthecollaborationandsupportthathasdevelopedastheinitiativehasunfoldedandgrown.ThePLDhasnotonlyprovidedtechnicaltrainingandsupport,buthasbuiltrelationshipsbetweenteachersandschools.Thishascreatedopportunitiesforteacherstosharetheirexpertise,tryoutideastogether,andshare their experiences with one another. Support from colleagues has helped teachers to make theconsiderableleapsintheirlearningthathavebeenrequiredofthem,particularlyindigitalliteracy.NotonlyhasthePLDproducedavaluabletoolboxofresources,ithasalsoprovidedteacherswiththeassurancethathelp isonhandwhenrequired.Morethanoneteachernoted it isokaytotakerisksandmakemistakes.Oneteachersaid:

Iamnotsoafraidtoask,it’snotscaryanymore.Thereisafeelingofbeinginprogress.Wearealllearningandit’sacollaborativejourney.

Teachers said that learning the skills associated with digital-based learning has been challenging,particularlyastechnologykeepschanging.Thebiggestlearninghowever,hasnotsomuchbeenhowtousethetechnologybutmorehowtoworkdifferentlybecauseofthetechnology.Teachershavehadtolearntoteachinacompletelydifferentway.

Adifferentkindofteacher Ican’tdothesamethingIhavealwaysdone.

Every change experienced by students has meant shifts for teachers, and in some instances this hasinvolved a complete turnaround in practice. Teaching has changed, and teachers have had to become adifferentkindofteacher.ForTrish,whoadmitsshewasadoubter,thechangesinherteachinghavebeensignificant.Heresheexplains:

Therewas resistanceonmypart. I felt itwas imposedand Iwas fearful ‘cause I amnotaquick person at doing things and not that intuitive with technology. So many things arecomingatyousofastfromalldirections–there’stwitter,there’sblogs,there’semails,andthenwegottheapps,Googledocuments. IhatedGoogledocuments. IalreadyknowaboutWindowssowhydoIhavetolearnthese?What’sthepoint?Butthenonceyoufindouthowtheywork,it’slikehallelujah!

Ihaven’thadahugeahamomentandIdon’tknowstillthatIamtotallyconverted,‘causeIstillhavedoubts.Idoubtandquestioneverything,soIstillhavequestionsoutthere…That’showmymindworks. Ialwayshavequestions…and there’sanever-endingness to thisandyoufindyourselfwantingtosay,yeahI’vegotit,but…Inawayit’skindalikeyou’vegotthiswallinyourheadthatyoujustkindahavetogetover.Okthisisjusthowitis.

ThelearningforTrishhasbegunanewwaveofthinkingandquestioning.


MakingapedagogicalshiftThroughout this initiative, themost dramatic changes in classrooms have occurredwhen teachers havemadepedagogical shifts33 impactingonboth thinkingandpractice,which iswhatTrishexperienced. Shesays:

Iusedtobecontentbased. Inmyhead, Iknowwhattheyneedtoknowineachareaand Ithought,“HowdoIgetthis intothem?”Iusedtobereallypedanticaboutcoveringthis–achecklistthing.NowIthinkmoreaboutthewaysyoucancommunicatewiththechildren.Itryandthinkmorefrominsidetheirhead.Iamnotalwayssuccessfulaboutthis,butIdotryandthink…“ifIwasakid,howwouldthiscomeacrosstome?”

Trish’s story ismirrored in comments by other teacherswho shared how they are now less focused ontimetables and feeding information to students. Instead teachers are discussing learning with studentsmore and they are interested in how students are processing their learning along the way. Digitaltechnologyisassistingthisbyhelpingtomakelearningmorevisible.

One teacher sharedhow students inher class are recording their voice as theydomaths computations,which is allowing her to hear theirworking theories as they solve problems. The same is being done inspelling,withstudentsrecordingthemselvesastheywork.ThisnewwayoflearninghasnotbeenrestrictedtotheuseofChromebooks,ortotheseniorschool,however.Thechangeshavespreadthroughthewholeschool,asLisafromthejuniorschoolexplains.

WediscussedwiththeclasswhattheyknewaboutkiwisandthenoneatatimetheydrewakiwiontheiPad,recordingthemselves,drawingandtalkingaboutwhattheyweredoing.

Lisa explained how she was able to capture and track children’s processing and reasoning and as herstudents’knowledgeaboutkiwisincreased,shewasabletoseeandhearthisintheirwork.

Theprocessingofchildrenwascapturedandrevisitedaschildrenworkedthroughtheirideasattheirownpace.

Withanincreaseinvisibility,thereismorein-the-moment learningandteachersareincreasinglyworkingatthepaceofstudents.ForTraceythisinvolvedsomebigshiftsinherbeliefsystems.Thisisherstory:

ItwasattheGAFE[Googleappsforeducation]conferencethattheproverbialcoindroppedforme.Yousee I’mapower freak inclass.Everything in itsplaceandeverygroup learningsomething – that I thought was what my kids needed. I [realised] I had to stop being afrustratedmicro-managerofkids learningandwaitsothatmystudentshadtimetocreateworksof learning. Thatbasicallymeant I had to change theway I teach. I had toholdmytongue. I had to stopgiving cluesandanswers, and I had toaskquestions thathelpedmystudentstoanalyseandevaluatetheirwork.

SoIchangedmywayofteachingonthefirstdayofterm2.Sodramaticwasthechange,myclasswentquiet, lookingateachotherwithpuzzled looksandmyteacher-aidecameupatintervalandasked,“What’shappened?Isthereanythingwrong?”AndIsilentlywent–YES!

33Broadlyspeaking,pedagogymeansthetheoryandpracticeofteaching.Havingapedagogicalshiftwillmeanchangingbothwhatisbelievedaboutteachingandhowteachingispractised.


Waitingmore,whilestudentsarewaitingless,hasbeentransformativeforTraceyandherstudents.WiththeseshiftsTraceysawpositiveresultsalmostimmediately, includinganincreaseinstudentachievementforwriting.Shealsobegantoseeherstudentsdifferently.Shesays:

Givingupthepowerchangedeverything.Isawthekidsinanewlight.Yousawthethinking,yousawthecreativeness.Yousawtheirpride,theireagerness.Yousaweverything…

Aslearningbecamemorevisible,teacherssawstudentsandtheircapabilitiesinnewways.Mere,isoneoftheseteachers.Shesaid:

Iamseeingthechildrendifferently.Iseetheirowncreativitymore.Youcangivethematooland they have seen it work in another class and they can go away and spend some timethinkingandplanning,andthenusethosecommunicationandteamworkskillstheyalreadyhad and try and put it to something that is going to be shared to the world. It's not justsharedwiththeclassorthestaff.Itwasgoingtotheworld–thatchangedthechildren.

Seeing studentsdifferentlyopeneduppossibilities formorediversity in learning. Students couldnowbesuccessfulwithinawiderrangeofoptionsandtheyrosetothechallenge.Asaresult,teacherssaidtheyarenowtrustingstudentstotakemorecontroloftheirlearningandengagingmorewithstudentsabouttheirlearning.Teachersreportedlisteningmoreandbecomingmoreresponsiveandreflective,andtheysaytheyare now considering how their actionswill benefit students. Teaching has become awhole newway ofworkingwithstudents.

Standinginfrontoftheclasshas,forthemostpart,becomeapracticeofthepastanddiscussionsaboutlearning and improving has become more of a partnership. Teachers shared how students are moreengaged,howtheyareenjoyingschoolmore,andhowtheyareimprovinginwaysnotpreviouslyseen,forexample:

Ihavenever[before]hadmajorshiftslikethisinwriting.

AnewwayoflearningtogetherAnother unexpected experience for teachers has been the repositioning of expertisewithin classrooms.Teachersandstudentsarenowlearningfromandwitheachother inwaysthatwerenotpossiblebeforetheintroductionofinternet-facilitatedlearning.Asaconsequence,teachersarenolongerthemainsourceof knowledge and expertise in their classrooms, which has caused some to rethink their purpose andpractice.Chrissyisoneoftheseteachers.Sheexplainshere:

At the very beginning of our journey, we surveyed students aboutwho they learn from inwritingandaskedthemtolistnamesinorderofhowmuchtheyhelped.ThehighestIrankedwas third behind peers and ranking eighth on a few students’ lists was absolutelyconfronting, unsettling, and challenging to my comfortable little world. In fact, this wascommonacrossourcluster.Asaclusterwediscussedthisanditwasobviousweweremissingsomethingabouthowourstudentslearned.

OncethestudentshadChromebookstheybegantosharetheirworkwithpeersbeforeIevensawit.Andstudentssharedtheirworkbecausetheywantedtolearnmore,notbecausetheycaredaboutfixingitbeforeIsawit.


[Idiscoveredthat]thefeedbackthattheycaremostaboutcomesfrompeerandwhānaublogcomments.Thisisobviousfromtheirloudvocalsharingofwhohascommentedontheirworkandwhathasbeensaid.

Chrissy learnt toworkwith theexpertisewithinher classroomand toutilise and celebrate thepotentialthatstudentsprovidedforpeersupport intheir learning.WhileChrissyhadtorethinkherpositioninherclassroom, shenevertheless realised she remained crucial to providing thepedagogical context inwhichthisnewkindoflearningcouldflourish.Shemadethiscomment:

Thishappenedwithoutme,butitdidhappenbecauseofme.

SeeingstudentsasknowersTheChromebookshaveallowedstudentstoshowcasetheirexpertiseandtosharethiswithothers.Insomeinstances, itwas surprising to realise just how competent students alreadywerewith using technology.Suddenlystudentswereteachingtheirteachers.Mereexplaineditlikethis:

I didn’t have a clue before that these children were using this [digital devices] at home. Ididn’tthinkthatthekidswouldtaketoit,butthetechnologywasalreadyoutthere,athome.It justopenedmyeyes.Ok, so I thought, let’s seehow Icanuse this inmyclassand it justtookoff.Isawawholenewdimensionofchildren.It’sveryexciting.Ilearntfromthechildrenanditjustmovedfromthere.Iloveit.

Teachersfreelyadmittedthatstudentshavehelpedthemwithtechnology,oftenpickingupnewskillsmorequicklythantheyhadandpassingtheirknowledgeon.Newexpertsemergedandteacherssaidthattheynowhadaresourceintheirclassroomstheyhadnotpreviouslyrecognised.

ValuingstudentsasteachersThe culture of sharing and collaboration that has been fostered through this community of learners haspositionedstudentsasknowersandprovidedthechancefor themtosharetheirknowledgewithothers.This is being celebrated across all the three schools, and the teachers who have embraced thisrepositioning of students are now actively creating opportunities for students to use their expertise toteacheachother.AtTautoroSchool,forinstance,Mereshared:

Whenwehavesomethingnew,Iwillshowtwostudentsandthenoncetheyunderstandit,Ihavethemshowanothertwo,andsoon.Idon’talwayschoosethesameleadersallthetime.It’salevelplayingfield.Withsomethingnew,Iwillpicktwoatrandomandthentheygobacktotheirgroupandshowthem.

Someof the studentsatKaikoheWestSchoolarecreating tutorials forother studentsabout things theyhavelearntthemselvesofftheinternet.Danielsharedhowheandsomeotherstudentsaredoingthis.

We’re going tomake one [a tutorial] on square roots and square numbers, ‘cause peopleneedtolearnit.


Althoughtechnologyhashelpedtorepositionstudentsasknowers,theirexpertisehasnotbeenrestrictedtodigitalknowledge,asthisexamplefromOhaeawaiSchoolshows.Atuakana-teina34/buddysystemexistsbetweentheseniorandjuniorschool.

ThebuddyingcameaboutwhentheyoungerchildrenwerewritinginvitationsforGreats’andGrands’Day.Theybuddiedupthenandsawwhattheyoungeroneswerewriting,andtheystartedtotalkaboutwhattheyhaddonefortheirwriting,allontheirown,andthewritingthatcamethroughwasgreat.

This tuakana-teina relationship has also been used a lot in writing and has helped to support thedevelopmentofunexpectedexpertswithintheseniorschool.Hereisanotherexample:

Therewasachildlastyearinthejuniorschoolwhoneededsomeencouragement[inwriting].Hewaswriting factual text and hewrote for the junior children, and at a level they couldunderstand.Andhebecameanauthorandhiswritingwasonthewallandhewassoproud.Itwasbeneficial for thechildren inthe juniorclasstoo.Thiswasnotatechnologyexercise,butthetechnologysetthisup.

Technologyhassetupadifferentkindoflearningenvironmentwhereexpertisehasbecomemorevisible.Asaresult,opportunitiesforsharingthisexpertisehavebeenfosteredandwhatschoolshavediscoveredisthatallstudentscanbeexpertsinsomeway.

Teachers and students are working together to create a learning experience where contributions comefrommultiplesources,andasKianaexplained,thisisquitesomething.

…oneperson from, I don’t know, somewhere,mightgive youadvice, and thenyour teachermightgiveyouadvice,andthenyoumixthetwotogetherandyouhavesomethingamazing.

Learningtogetherisempowering:SomeconclusionsThisKaikohekoheinitiativehasprovidedthespaceforstudentsandteacherstobeandactdifferently,andthere have been some transformational changes as a result. For students, this has meant havingmorecontrolof their learningandtakingmoreresponsibility forgettinghelpsotheycanfinishtheirworktoastandardsuitableforsharingpublicly.Thevisibilityandopennessthathasbeencreatedbyusingadigitalformathaschangedstudents’workhabits,thequantityofoutput,andthequalityoftheworkproduced.Notonlythis,studentssay learning ismorefunandtheynowhavemorepride inwhattheyproduce.Sowhyisthis,andwhatcanwelearnfromthisinitiative?

Whatdidwelearn?Waitingisdifferent

Whenstudentswereaskedwhathaschangedforthem,almostallofthemtalkedaboutthereduction inthewaitingaroundthatwentoninclassrooms.Before,theysaid,schoolwasallaboutwaiting:waitingforinstructions, waiting for resources and waiting for help, all of which led to boredom, unfinished work,disengagement, and disruptive behaviour. But this has changed simply because students can find the

34TheNZMinistryofEducationdefinesthetuakana–teinarelationshipasanintegralpartoftraditionalMāorisociety,whichprovidesamodelofabuddysystemswherebyanolderormoreexperttuakana(brother,sisterorcousin)helpsandguidesayounger,lessexpertteina(originallyayoungersiblingorcousinofthesamegender)(2016).


instructions, the resources, and the help they need, when they need it. This has increased productivitybecausestudentsaremorefullyoccupiedandtheirmotivationforlearninghasincreasedbecauseofthis.Thisonefactorhasmadeadifferenceforstudentswhohaveshowntheydon’tlikebeingidle,butinsteadprefertobeactivelyworking.Incidentally,whilestudentsarewaitingless,teachersreportedthattheyarenowwaitingmore,whichhasalteredthepaceoflearningforeveryone.Frustrationshavebeenminimised,andclassroomsarenowmuchmoreconducivetolearning.

Thereismoreroomfordifference

BeforetheintroductionofChromebooksandthechangesthatfollowed,schoolwasmoreofaone-size-fits-all experience formost of the studentswho shared their experiences.Now these students say that it iseasierforthemtoworkwithintheirpreferences.ForstudentslikeDrezique,thishasmeantbeingabletolearndifferentlyanddevelopa strong senseof identitywithin thisdifference.Furthermore, studentsarenotaslimitedbybarrierstotheirlearning,suchasspellingandhandwriting,becausetheynowhavetoolstohelpthemovercometheseobstaclesandachievesuccessinwaysnotpossiblebefore.Digitaltechnologyis providing studentswith awider variety ofways to access, process, and share their learning. It is alsoprovidingawayforstudentstoextendthemselvesbeyondtheclassroomandforLiona,thishasmeantherlearninghasgonefrom“big”to“colossal”.Astheoptions for learninghaveopenedup,everyoneof thethosespokentoreportedfeelingasenseofachievement,andforsome,thishasnotalwaysbeenthecase.Theinitiativehasbeentransformativeforthosestudentswhohavenowfoundtheplaceandspacetobeadifferentkindoflearner.

Roleshavebeenrepositioned

Throughout the sharing, teachers reported significant shifts in their pedagogical beliefs and practices,causing them to reposition themselves in their classrooms. The traditional roles of student and teacherhavebecome increasinglyblurredasboth findalternativeways tounderstandandbe learners together.Studentsareclearthattheywanttobemoreincontroloftheirlearning.Theywanttoworkwithteachersmorethanforthem.Forthistohappenteachershavehadtorethinkmostofwhattheyhavealwaysdone,including:

• Whattheythinkaboutlearning.

• Whattheyvalue.

• Whattheyprioritise.

• Howtheyviewtimetables.

• Howtheyseeandpositionstudents.

• Theemphasisplacedoncontent.

• Wheretheypositionthemselvesintheclassroom.

• Howtheysettasks,givefeedback,monitorprogress,andassesswork.

• Howtheyreporttoparentsandwhānau.

Students said they lovehow their teachers are changing and the increase in independence that this hasfacilitatedforthem.Atthesametime,theyvaluethecontributionteachersmaketotheirlearningandtheyexpressedgratitudeforthenewopportunitiestheyarenowexperiencing.Theyalsoappreciatewhattheirwhānauhavecontributed.

I’vebeenproudofmyparentsforbuyingmyChromebookforme,andmylearning’sincreasedmore.


Expertisehasbeenredefined

ThenewwayofbeingandlearningthatisembeddedinthestoriesofthisreporthavenotjusthappenedbecauseoftheintroductionofChromebooks.However,onethingthatChromebookshavedone,isprovideaway for teachers to seemoreofwhat studentsare capableof.Teachers reported seeing students inanew light and this has helped them to create contexts for expertise to flourish. Noticing and valuingcompetencehaspavedthewayforstudentstosharetheirknowledgeandexpertisewithothers,eventheirteachers.Thishasdevelopedstudentconfidence,andprovidedopportunities forstudentstosupport thelearningofothers inwaysnotpreviously imagined.Forexample, tuakana-teina/buddyrelationshipshavebeen formed between senior and junior school classrooms and students are creating tutorials for otherstudents.Knowledgeandexpertisenolongerresidewithteachersalone.Instead,studentsandteachersofall ages are valued knowers, which is creating a more supportive and vibrant learning community. Thepossibilitiesforlearningandknowinghavebeenredefined.

Learningtogetherisempowering

OneofthemostcelebratedaspectsoftheKaikohekoheinitiative,reportedbythoseinvolved,hasbeenthecollaborationsthathavebeencentraltoeverypartofthisproject,rightfromthebeginningwhentheideawas firstmooted. It is these collaborations that have added strength to thework and instilled in thoseinvolved a sense of shared responsibility for the learning and well-being of others. Everyone has beenlearningtogether,whichisasignificantchangefromtheusualwaylearningoccursinmostschools.Neverbefore have the teachers and students from these three schools collaborated on such a scale in theirlearningandacrossalllevels.Reflectingonthis,oneteachercommented:

Beforethiswewerelivinginaparalleluniverse...

Learning together has been empowering because people have worked together to support each otherthrough the change process. Through these changes those involved have realised new capabilities forthemselves and others, and also the strength, vision, and transformation that is possible through acombinedeffort.Theprocesshasbeenasuccessbecauseofthecollectiveskillsofall those involvedandbecauseoftheconversationsthathaveoccurredalongtheway.

For students, theirwhānau,and teachers, thechangeshavebeenprofoundand thoseexperiencing suchchangewouldagreewithJackwhenhesays:

Ithaschangedmylife!


Lessonslearned• Haveaclearvisionthatisgroundedinsoundpedagogy

• Collaboratewithothers

• Preparewell,andinadvance,including:

o Providingtrainingandsupportforbothteachersandstudents

o Makingsureinfrastructureisinplace

• Takethetimeyouneedtogetitright

• Bepreparedtolearnasyougo

• Don’tbeafraidtomakemistakesalongtheway

• Learnwith,andfrom,students

• Wait,watch,andlistenmoreintheclassroom

• Provideopportunitiesforstudentstolearndifferentlyandinmultipleways

• Noticeandappreciatestudentcompetenceandsupportthis

• Facilitatethegrowingofexpertiseinclassroomsandacrosstheschool

• Repositiontherolesofteacherandlearner

• It’saboutthepedagogy

• Learningtogetherisempowering.


ReferencesBrendaJ.McMahon,Puttingtheelephantintotherefrigerator:studentengagement,criticalpedagogyandantiracisteducation,McGillJournalofEducation.Vol.38n°2spring2003.

Burden,K.,Hopkins,P.,Male,T.,Martin,S.,andTrala,C.(2012).iPadScotlandevaluation.ReportpreparedfortheUniversityofHull.

Bishop,R.,Berryman,M.,Tiakiwai,S.,andRichardsonC.(2003).TeKōtahitanga:TheexperiencesofYear9and10MāoriStudentsinMainstreamClassrooms.ReporttotheMinistryofEducation.

Bolstad,R.,Gilbert, J.,McDowall, S., Bull,A., Boyd, S., andHipkins,R. (2012).Supporting future-orientedlearning&teaching–aNewZealandperspective.AreporttotheMinistryofEducation.

Facer,K.(2011).Learningfutures:Education,technologyandsocialchange.London:Routledge.

Falloon, G. (2013). Creating content: Building literacy skills in year 1 students using open format apps.ComputersinNewZealandSchools:Learning,teaching,technology,25(1–3),77–95.

Freire,P.(1996).Pedagogyoftheoppressed.London:PenguinBooks.

Freire, P., & Shor, I. (1987).A pedagogy for liberation. Dialogues on transforming education. New York:Bergin&Garvey.

Hooks,B.(1994).Teachingtotransgress:Educationasthepracticeoffreedom.NewYork:Routledge.

McDowall, S. (2011). Using multimodal texts to build engagement and achievement in literacy. SETResearchinformationforteachers,(2),32–37.

MacNaughton,G. (2003).Shapingearly childhood: Learners, curriculumandcontexts.Berkshire,England:OpenUniversityPress.

MacNaughton,G.(2005).DoingFoucaultinearlychildhoodstudies.London:Routledge.

Ovens,A.,Garbett,D.,Heap,R., andTolosa, C. (2013). Sustaininghighquality pedagogy in the changingtechnologicallandscape.ComputersinNewZealandSchools:Learning,teaching,technology,25(1–3),21–37.

Parker, J. P. and Zajonc, A. (2010). A call for renewal: Transforming the academy through collegialconversations.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.

Smyth, J. andMcInerney, P. (2012). From silentwitnesses to active agents: Student voice in re-engagingwithlearning.NewYork:PeterLangPublishingInc.

Taylor, E, W., and Cranton, C. (2012). The handbook of transformative learning. Theory, research andpractice.SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass

Taylor, L. (2007). “Re-imagining professional learning in early education”. Unpublished PhD thesis,UniversityofMelbourne.

Taylor,L.(2013).Livedchildhoodexperiences:Collectivestorytellingforteacherprofessionallearningandsocialchange.AustralasianJournalofEarlyChildhood38(3)9–16.

Taylor, L. (2014, August). “Storytelling for transformative change”. Keynote address presented at theCECEAAAnnualConference,EasternBeach,Auckland.

Taylor,L,Fagan,T,andDunmill,M.(2013).“Disruptingtheboundariesofteachingandlearning:Howdigitaldevices became a resource for transformative change in a time of crisis”. The Pegasus Digital DevicesProject2013.ReportpreparedforCOREEducation.


AcknowledgmentThisprojecthasbeenacollaboration.Thankyoutoallwhohavecontributedtoitssuccess.

TheplanninggroupJaneLindsay(Principal,PaihiaSchool,formerlyofTautoroSchool)

LeeWhitelaw(Principal,OhaeawaiSchool)

MeralynTeHira(Principal,KaikoheWestSchool)

TraceySimeon(Principal,TautoroSchool)

ChrissySmith(PaihiaSchool,formerlyofKaikoheWestSchool)

MattieParaha(TautoroSchool)

RaewynRitchie(OhaeawaiSchool)

LouiseTaylor(Seniorresearcher:COREEducation)

TaniaCoutts(Researcher:COREEducation)

Thestudentswhosharedtheirstories

KaikoheWestSchoolArapetaRuawhare

ChanelleWatson

DanielWilliams

HineataahuaBrown

JackJohnston

KianaBarber

LionaWhiu

MeiteTaulangau

NoahTanuvasa

SeddonHarris

OhaeawaiSchoolBenLord

DreziqueMoeau

JamieClaydon

JosephBarlow

KaseyStewart

KessonDickison

LucyWilton

RileyClayden

StellaLittlefair

TyMurray


TautoroSchoolHaihanaRogers

JadeNgawati

JosemiriaKereone

NgarangiSadler

TheprincipalsandteacherswhosharedtheirstoriesAliciaCraig

AmandaBingham

ChrissySmith

DianeHenderson

DianneHenwood

GayleneYoung

JaneLindsay

LeeWhitelaw

LisaHarvey

RaewynRitchie

MeralynTeHira

MeriPera

RosinaGoodwin

Sarah-JaneStevenson

TraceySimeon

TrishBrajkovich

Theparentsandwhānauwhosharedtheirperspectives

ThereviewteamRepresentativesfromthethreeschoolsinvolvedandCOREEducationreviewers,AnnHatherlyandTaraFagan.

Documents

L. Taylor - Kaikohekohe Research Report - 2016CORE Education Ltd – Research Report February 2016 Page 4 of 29 The Kaikohekohe initiative This is the story of the Kaikohekohe initiative,