Common Practice Model resources

(Interview with Naomi Ingram, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education)

University of Otago College of Education) 

The Common Practice Model matters because we need to make change in Aotearoa New Zealand for the way we teach. 

(Interview with Pania Te Maro, Associate Professor, Te Kura o te Matauranga, Massey University) 

We're not teaching subjects, we're teaching people and those people have a right to feel like they belong. 

(Interview with Kylie Te Arihi, President, Waikato Literacy Association) 

Language is culture and culture is language and language constructs realities. And having that reality recognised in your classroom and in your learning will make the biggest difference for our children. 

(Interview with Heemi McDonald, Deputy Principal, Rototuna High School) 

We need to do the best that we can to give our young people a foundation through which they can be successful in learning and in life. And so it matters that we try and find a way through to make that a possibility and a reality. 

(White text on a teal background: Common Practice Model. Literacy and Communication and Maths Strategy. Insights from the contributors group) 

(Interview with Kylie Te Arihi, President, Waikato Literacy Association) 

The depth and breadth of expertise that are contributing to this group range from practitioners with expertise in early childhood settings through to primary and secondary. 

(Group photos of the contributors group who worked on the Common Practice Model.) 

We have researchers and academics who are familiar with the latest research and evidence that informs effective practice in literacy and communication, teaching and learning. 

(Interview with Pania Te Maro, Associate Professor, Te Kura o te Matauranga, Massey University) 

There is debate. Really strong, robust debate. And don't think I've been in a room for this long where robust disagreement is used so respectfully. 

(Interview with Heemi McDonald, Deputy Principal, Rototuna High School) 

The complexity of trying to pull together a coherent framework through which to be able to help teachers make decisions or to reinforce some of the things that are going really well or some of the things that they might need help with. And I think that tussle has been really good and healthy and an important part of the process of trying to come up with something that can be ultimately useful and helpful for teachers and educators on the ground. 

(Interview with James Chapman, Professor of Educational Psychology, Massey University) 

The Common Practice Model is a golden opportunity to provide an up to date research based approach to teaching. It means that there are frameworks of evidence based teaching approaches that we know from research will benefit more children than currently benefit. 

(Interview with Naomi Ingram, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education)

University of Otago College of Education) 

The Common Practice Model is a set of pedagogical approaches that are like a touchstone for teachers. It sits at the entrance way to our teaching in our classrooms or centers, and teachers can use that to reflect on what they're currently doing, but also use it as a way of reflecting on new things that come to them. 

(Interview with Pania Te Maro, Associate Professor, Te Kura o te Matauranga, Massey University) 

What's new and different, I think, in this Common Practice Model is that it really addresses mātauranga Māori and the place that it has an education now. So Mana ōrite for  mātauranga Māori, how do you do that? A lot of people look at that and go how do we even do that? What does that even mean? And I think we've put in a lot of helpful work to support teachers to go, oh, I can do that. 

(Interview with Naomi Ingram, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education)

University of Otago College of Education) 

What is new and different about it is that it's going to be really well supported. So it's an enduring piece of work, but then it's going to be really well supported. So, yeah, it's exciting. 

(Interview with James Chapman, Professor of Educational Psychology, Massey University) 

It's crucial in a multicultural democracy that we have a well-educated population who are fully able to participate in all aspects of life. And New Zealand ought to be one of the shining examples in the world where we can do that. 

(Interview with Kylie Te Arihi, President, Waikato Literacy Association) 

What matters in the Common Practice Model is that it's going to shift the status quo to give practical effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and it's children's linguistic right to see themselves and their language in their learning content. 

(Interview with Pania Te Maro, Associate Professor, Te Kura o te Matauranga, Massey University) 

A Māori way of seeing the world is normal, as well as maths is beautiful. 

(Interview with Heemi McDonald, Deputy Principal, Rototuna High School) 

I see it as being able to lift communities, to lift our young people out of some difficult and challenging circumstances, but also to provide them with some strong foundations to live and exist in a global world. 

(Interview with Naomi Ingram, Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education)

University of Otago College of Education) 

We have amazing teachers that can make decisions for themselves in their classroom every day. And when they make the decisions and they are fully informed about the impact of those decisions, those decisions are going to make a huge difference to the students of New Zealand. 

(Ministry of Education logo on a teal background, including white text: Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, Ministry of Education)

(White text on a teal background: Common Practice Model. Literacy and Communication and Maths Strategy. The Ministry of Education has worked with an Inclusive Practices Group to make sure the Common Practice Model is relevant for every learner.)

(Images of the Inclusive Practices Group conducting a meeting.) 

(Interview with Rosina Prasad, previous teacher/RTLB and current member of the Post Graduate Diploma of Specialist Teaching team.) 

It's a real privilege to be part of this inclusive focus group. There are people who represent lived experience. We have whānau voice. We have practitioners who, I guess are specialists in their fields.           

And we all have this real common passion for greater inclusion for our learners and having a Common Practice Model that is inclusive for every child.   

(Images of the Inclusive Practices Group collaborating and discussing ideas.) 

A wonderful thing we've been able to do is really think about the words and the languaging around inclusion. Think of the strengths-based lens, the more positive lens for how we can be catering and supporting our learners with diverse needs.                                

(Interview with Erin Geoghegan, Resource Teacher of the Deaf.)

I see teaching like wayfaring navigation where we are navigating on a waka. And at the base of the waka, we have our Treaty partners. But then sitting in that waka, there's a huge, wide variety of learning needs and they all need a seat that they feel comfortable in.    

(Interview with Rebekah Corlett, parent of autistic, non-speaking daughter and disability advocate)

For ākonga like my daughter, who doesn't speak and has a form of communication that is different to most, it means that she is able to participate and be visible in a classroom.       

And that people get to know her, not just as someone they see around, but someone who can contribute.                                                                              

(Interview with Rachael Wiltshire, Autistic Advocate.) 

I've got a lot of friends who, you know, got diagnosed with autism or ADHD or dyslexia or whatever, in like Year 13. And they’re like, ‘my whole school career was ruined because I couldn't learn anything, but my needs weren’t recognized and so, that's closed all sorts of doors for me.’ 

And I think, the thing is, hopefully having this inclusive lens will mean that it's not so much relying on the, ‘we support the people who have a diagnosis’; it's about ensuring that there's room for everyone in that curriculum.                                                            

(Interview with Charlene Barnett, Gifted Pasifika and Māori and Samoan Bilingual teacher.) 

You know, where are our bilingual communities heading? What does our curriculum have that makes the different pathways for our communities seamless? What are the barriers?          

How can we, you know, make our communities more connected and involved in their children's education? 

(Interview with Sarah Tullett, Senior Resource Teacher, Vision.) 

Inclusion, for me, looks like when I walk into a classroom that everyone is engaged in the same activity. There’s the blind and low vision student may have their technology working in front of them. They're using that in front of them.            There may be a student over here with some other learning needs and they're using their assistive technology to support them in their learning. So inclusion is, it doesn't matter what or how anyone is learning, that they're all learning the same.       

(Interview with Rosina Prasad, previous teacher/RTLB and current member of the Post Graduate Diploma of Specialist Teaching team.) 

Embedding inclusive language into our teaching of literacy, communication and maths, means it's not just an extra thing you have to do alongside teaching a curriculum. It's actually just part of your natural teaching. You know, I think inclusively by thinking about all my learners, really knowing my learner, and then I embed that into my design of my classroom.                 

(Margaret Kitchen, Teaching English in Schools to Speakers of Other Languages (TESSOL) academic and teacher.) 

It's amazing how much you find out and how much you feel you can relate to that student on a deeper level if you really talk to them. Encouraging the whole classroom to be hospitable to each other. Because it's a very enriching experience that we all have if that's the case. 

(Interview with Rachael Wiltshire, Autistic Advocate.)                                                                             

It will actually lead to a school system where everyone feels included and where everyone’s needs are met and where people get to the end and they go, ‘actually, I did get the chance to learn the literacy communication and math skills that I need to thrive.’         

(Interview with Rebekah Corlett, parent of autistic, non-speaking daughter and disability advocate)

I never knew that othering could be something that would be removed and that a fully inclusive education system, could be a possibility in the future. So that's something that's really exciting to me. 

(Interview with Erin Geoghegan, Resource Teacher of the Deaf.)                                         

What I'd really love to see in the future is NZSL celebrated, appreciated, learnt around in the community so that it can be used by all. 

(Interview with Charlene Barnett, Gifted Pasifika and Māori and Samoan Bilingual teacher.)

(Images of the Inclusive Practices Group laughing and posing for a photo                                                                             

In my gifted education journey, I've taught many students that have gone on to do very well, and I'd like to see more of our kids succeeding. And hopefully through this inclusive practices group model, that will start an avalanche of change and positive change at that.   

(Ministry of Education logo on a teal background, including white text: Te Poutāhū, Curriculum Centre, Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, Ministry of Education)

(White text on a teal background: Common Practice Model. Literacy and Communication and Maths Strategy. Introduction from Pauline Cleaver.) 

(Interview with Pauline Cleaver, General Manager – Strategy and Integration, Ministry of Education.) 

Common Practice Model is a tool we are developing to make sure all teachers feel confident and competent in the teaching of literacy, communication and mathematics. 

(Photos show school students of various ages in settings ranging from early childhood to secondary, engaged in different tasks.) 

The Ministry is in the process of working with Kaiako and teachers and leaders to refresh the New Zealand curriculum and ensure the alignment with Te Whāriki to make sure that nothing is left to chance for young people in their learning. 

The Common Practice Model provides teachers, Kaiako, parents with how that learning might occur, what resources and evidence base is behind that, and ensures that we get an understanding that young people are making that progress as stated in the curriculum. 

(Photos show school students of various ages in settings ranging from early childhood to secondary, engaged in different tasks.) 

And developing the Common Practice Model was important to us. 

We had a diversity of people working alongside us. We wanted to make sure we had teachers. We wanted to make sure we had academics. Those involved at early learning right through to those at the senior end of secondary. Their passion, their commitment and their expertise means teachers in classrooms will be able to confidently work with a Common Practice Model to make a difference in the lives of our young people. 

(Group photos of the contributors group who worked on the Common Practice Model.) 

Well, now that we have the Common Practice Model, I want people to pick it up. I want them to engage with it. And first and foremost, have a look at the evidence base that supports it. 

(Photos show school students of various ages in settings ranging from early childhood to secondary, engaged in different tasks.) 

This will help people understand some of the practices that they are currently using are good and they should carry on using them. But it also will identify for people, those areas that they want to learn more about, what tools they need to engage with more, and the professional support they need to be offering the best programmes for our young people. 

This, of course, brings back the joy of teaching. 

(Photos show school students of various ages in settings ranging from early childhood to secondary, engaged in different tasks.) 

Feeling confident, being competent, having access to those tools and resources you need readily all engages our young people in the teaching, the learning that they need every day to progress and thrive. 

(Ministry of Education logo on a teal background, including white text: Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, Ministry of Education)