June 2025: Matariki Ideas and What is Inquiry?

 I've recently been made redundant and have a little spare time on my hands so decided I would restart the blog. Some of you may know me for my passion for inquiry-based learning or from my work supporting gifted and talented learners. I fully believe that inquiry-based learning is beneficial for all learners but especially so for gifted students who thrive on this open-ended curiosity-based approach. As Socrates reportedly said "Wisdom begins with wonder".

So, this blog will in some ways be similar to the newsletter I was posting to the Gifted and Talented mailing list but I am no longer linked to the MoE who paid me to look after that list. This gives me a little more freedom in what I post. So here we go.

Please follow me on Bluesky or join my FB group to be updated when I post and share with your colleagues. I'd love to hear in the comments if you think this is something you'll find valuable.

What's up this month?

Matariki

In Aotearoa New Zealand the Matariki holiday is on the closest Friday to the Tangaroa lunar period during the lunar month of Piripi, the first month in the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). In 2025 The Tangaroa lunar period falls between the 19th and 22nd of June so the public holiday is on June 20th.

Ideas

Note, these are starting points and hopefully will provoke curiosity and inquiry. Follow the lead of students and encourage them to ask questions. Post in the comments any ideas you have used with students.

• Explore what Matariki celebrations look like in different areas of Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Some iwi do not use the rising of Matariki as the start of the new lunar year. Explore why this is and the alternatives used. 
• How does Māori understanding of Matariki differ from Western understanding of the Pleiades?
• The Matariki constellation goes by many names in different countries and cultures.  Explore the traditions surrounding this constellation and dig into reasons for similarities and differences.
• Explore maramataka including its use in guiding planting, harvesting etc of crops. Explore how other cultures use lunar calendars and constellations in similar ways.
• Explore ways that Scratch or other coding platforms can be used by students to share their findings in the form of interactive games/activities. This is a simple example.
• Students could use Google sites or another web platform to share their findings.

Resources

• Kauwhata Reo MoE resources

• Education Gazette article (2023)

• Matariki Rauemi Resources

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Matariki resources

• Te Papa resources

• Science Learning Hub

• Matariki in the ancient world (check out their other Matariki resources as well).
  
  

Kōtui Ako VLN

Registrations for Kōtui Ako VLN semester 2 are now open (close June 18th).

Competitions and events

These can often be a motivator or an inquiry prompt. 
Note: some may have entry fees. Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement unless otherwise stated.
Please comment on your experience with these comps/events. 

• NZ Writers' College list of competitions
• Tournament of the Minds - entries close June 25th
• Graphic design competitions
• Future problem solving NZ - a lot of these have already started but some are available and there is a list of topics that could provide inspiration
• Dance NZ Made
• NZ Engineering Science Team Competition aimed at years 12 & 13. Entries open June 1st and close on July 25th. Competition August 2nd.
• Day One film challenge (previously Someday challenge) - for anyone under the age of 25 to make a short film about an issue they care about. Round 2 submission date 28th July.
• Play it Strange - songwriting (and performing) competition.
• NZ Chemistry Olympiad

Topic of the month

This section I will use to comment on an area of interest to me. If there is something you would like me to explore pop it in the comments. This month I briefly explore what inquiry-based learning is.

​Inquiry-based learning is a constructivist approach, in which students have ownership of their learning. It starts with exploration and questioning and leads to investigation into a worthy question, issue, problem or idea.
It involves asking questions, gathering and analysing information, generating solutions, making decisions, justifying conclusions and taking action.
(Based on definitions from Sharon Friesen and the Galileo Educational Network).

Inquiry is a disposition, not a process. One of our jobs as a teacher is to nurture and develop that disposition. I explore this further in this blogpost.
When using an inquiry approach to teaching and learning we guide learning. This involves making sure students have the skills and knowledge to be able to pose and research questions of all levels from low level to deep and rich.
If you need help on some of the skills learners need you can get free copies of my Information literacy skills stages 1- 3 (NZ curric. stage 1) and 2 - 4 (NZ curric. stages 2 - 3). I'll talk more about this in future posts.

Recommended resources

Inquiring Mind site - my own website - a few things need updating, I'm currently working on it but still has loads of info and resources.
My inquiring mind Fb group
Gifted & Talented Teachers Fb group
Pito Mata a suite of early learning resources to support kaiako of gifted learners. Aimed at ECE but has plenty that will be of interest to teachers of older ākonga, especially if you are teaching juniors.
Mānawatia te iho pūmanawa - tool to support kaiako in working in a holistic way with gifted tamariki.
Neurodiversity in NZ education
Mindplus
Education Hub
NZAGC
Pūtātara - NZ MoE site - supports schools and teachers to develop learning opportunities that are place-based, inquiry-led, and focused on participation for change.
About me and my online platforms (some are in the process of being updated now I have some spare time).

I'd love to hear from you with comments about anything related to inquiry-based learning or supporting gifted and talented learners and/or suggestions for things to include in this blog/newsletter.

N.B. I may sometimes use affiliate links but only where I genuinely believe the website or product is worthy of support.

Learning Anytime Anywhere

Link to University of Waikato IPL site with more info on remote learning.

Covid-19 has just been declared a pandemic (march 2020) and many schools around the world are closed  to help limit the spread. While in NZ we are not at that stage with only 28 cases so far (as of 19.3.20), we should face the possibility that we could be a similar position in the not too distant future.
Pre-planning can mean a smooth transition if we need to deliver education online to our learners. Many of the steps that can be taken will be beneficial to students even if schools do not need to close.
Some schools are already in a good position to transition to online learning.  Those who have already set up and are using Google Classroom, OneNote Class Notebook, Seesaw, Microsoft Teams or similar options will find it relatively easy to move to online learning.
One point to note here is that online learning does not mean that learners will need to sit glued to screens all day. What is delivered online could (and indeed should) involve plenty of physical and hands-on activities eg a Checklist of physical activities to choose from,  motivation for an art activity or description of a simple science experiment/observation to undertake.
There are going to be some learners who are unable to access online learning and for them alternative arrangements will need to be made but the majority will have at least some access and if learners have choices about how they complete tasks that include offline options then this will help more learners to be able to carry on with their learning at home.

Schools or classes that have not already set up something like Google Classroom, OneNote Class Notebook, Seesaw  or Microsoft Teams should think about doing so in the near future.  Even if schools do not close these are extremely useful tools for use in the classroom. Once they are set up they need to be used so learners get familiar with them before they are needed. Parents/whānau should be informed about how these work and where needed (eg in Seesaw) have their account linked to their child's.
These platforms can then be used to deliver the daily programme to learners who then post their responses back to the teacher for feedback and next steps. Parents and peers can also be involved in the feedback process.

There are many educational companies offering free access or upgrade options for schools that need to close. A list of some of these can be found here.

For writing, cartoons and multi-media options Book Creator is useful. Teachers can create a library with spots for 40 books for free and when learners have finished the books can be published online then the library archived and a new one created. Numerous possibilities for using this across all curriculum areas and contexts.

Learners who already use Mathletics, Studyladder, Prodigy or similar options can of course continue as usual with teachers setting them work targeted at their needs or learners setting their own goals. Learners who are familiar with Scratch can work on solutions to problems or tasks by creating games, stories, activities etc. There are numerous tutorials for those just getting started. Code.org and Hour of Code have lots of tutorials to work through and more coding options can be found here.

Teachers can create videos for their learners using a variety of options eg Seesaw, ipad and phone cameras, Book Creator or the Screencastify Chrome extension, and then share to students.
Options for collecting learner voice include Seesaw, Padlet Google Forms and Google Classroom. Flipgrid is also a fantastic way to gather student voice anywhere, any place, so they can explain their learning or post questions or talk about their successes and challenges.

This is also a great opportunity for teachers to explore options like Google Sites which can be useful as a place to store videos and other resources so learners can easily access them. These are free to set up and easy to create - drag and drop. Options like Google Hangouts and Zoom can also provide options to connect with learners.

Learners can also work on independent inquiries at home. They can decide on their focus, discuss with their teacher and peers then work on it at their own pace at home. Some ideas and resources can be found here. The possibilities are endless.

More info on remote learning here.

Some more useful resources:
MoE Learning at Home site
Waikato University IPL Website with links and info on remote learning.
Teaching Online
Using Zoom for meetings
Enabling Hangouts Meetings for GSuite
Newslea free access
Seesaw - set up remote codes for learners who use codes to sign in
Free Mystery Science lessons
Ultimate Collection of Resources for remote Learning
eLearning templates and tutorials

Re-thinking Grouping

This morning I read an article condemning ability grouping (thanks Michael Fawcett for sharing it), and feel I need to comment. This article focuses on a very rigid form of grouping which I agree has been shown to be detrimental to learning. However this does not mean that we should abandon grouping, just that we should rethink it, as many NZ teachers already have.

The article focuses on a form of grouping which is much less common these days. Grouping needs to be very flexible and responsive and it should be needs-based. A child could be in one group today for work on a particular skill or strategy but in a different group tomorrow. In any one day they will be in a number of different groups and I have yet to visit a NZ primary class where learners sit permanently in ability groups.

Giving students agency so they they can opt into groups where they feel they have a need is very important. For some things there will be mixed-ability grouping and for others there will be small groups working on a particular area of need.

We also need a broader definition of ability. For example a group of students with a wide range of reading ages could all be working on using an index in a book, they don't need to all have the same book, they can choose their own from a selection that have indexes. Some could have been asked to join the group because the teacher has identified they have a need for this skill, others may have opted in to the group because they feel the need to brush up on this skill. Thus they are grouped for their ability on a particular skill at that moment in time. Tomorrow, or even later the same day they may be in another group, even for the same skill.

If we are personalising learning and having agentic learners there is still a place for ability grouping, just not in the way it has happened in the past. Learners should be identifying their learning goals and choosing groups based on what they need to achieve their goals.

So, in summary, it is not ability grouping we need to do away with, but rather narrowly-defined, rigid, unresponsive and totally teacher-decided ability grouping we need to move away from.

Reflection

A couple of things sparked the writing of this blog post. The first was a colleague's comment about the quality of work being shared using  the Seesaw app. I personally love Seesaw, it is a great home-school communication tool and is very easy to use. It is the latter benefit that can also lead to a negative consequence. It is so easy to use that students can be tempted to share anything and everything without any thought about what or why they are sharing.

There are two problems with this. Firstly parents/whānau can be overwhelmed by the volume of items that are shared. If they are continually receiving items there is a danger they will be less enthusiastic about what they receive and less likely to respond. Therefore one of the benefits of Seesaw, which is that parents/whānau can easily see and like or comment on work, is likely to be lost. Many parents/whānau would find it difficult to be frequently responding to their child's journal entries. One solution to this is to limit the quantity of what is shared. There could be a daily or weekly limit for example or a per subject limit.

Another solution ties in with the second problem which, as mentioned above, is quality of the work being shared. This will involve discussions with students about what they are sharing and about criteria for  sharing. This does not mean taking agency away from learners, they can still make the choices about what they share, but base their choices on criteria such as links to their learning goals or sharing something they consider to be an example of their best work. These two criteria would not need to be both applied to the same piece of work. There could be work being shared, for example, that is an example of progress towards a learning goal.

Part of this solution would be a requirement to reflect on the piece of work. This reflection could, for example, state why they consider it to be an example of their best work, or the how it shows progress towards their goals and what their next steps might be.

This brings me to the other prompt for this post, an article on TeachThought: 20 Types of Learning Journals. This lists 20 different types of reflection learners can be doing. Encouraging students to use some of these on their Seesaw shares would be a great way to increase the quality of their posts and make shared items more meaningful to both the students and those at home.

Compelling Reason

I recently read a post from George Couros. If you don't already subscribe to his newsletters then I'd recommend you do, they don't take long to read and are inspiring and informative. This one resonated with me because it contained this reminder: "when you have a compelling reason, you can learn anything". There was also a delightful video, an advertisement for whisky but with a strong message about the power of purpose.

As educators we need to help learners find their purpose. That is the key that unlocks the door to learning and is the first step to learners taking control. With a strong purpose they will be driven to question, to inquire, to research and to become agentic learners.

How can you help your learners find their purpose?

Ask Don't Tell.

I hear a lot of questions from teachers about how they can develop learner agency and also how to foster an inquiry disposition in students. On the flipside, and surprisingly sometimes from the same teachers, I hear questions along the lines of:
What should I call my reading groups?
Our big topic next term is change. What should I do around this?
We're doing inquiry next term, what are some topic ideas?

I find myself saying 3 words: "Ask the kids." and those who know me won't be surprised to hear that this is quickly followed (or sometimes preceded) by "What's your purpose?"

Before going further I'd like to say something about the teachers who are asking questions such as these. These teachers are learners (as are we all), they are asking questions that show they have a need to further develop their skills and understandings around learner agency and student inquiry and we should be supporting them on that journey.

Now let's look at those examples:

What should I call my reading groups?
Why are you giving them a name? How about supporting them to come up with something meaningful to them? How about having them get together and negotiate a name for themselves? Sure it will take a bit more class time but isn't 'Managing Self' a Key Competency you are trying to develop? Aren't things like being able to negotiate, make decisions and compromise, important skills that are best learned in authentic contexts? We won't develop agentic learners if we make all the decisions for them.



Our big topic next term is change. What should I do around this?
What's your purpose for having them learn about change?  Which aspect (s) of change are you wanting them to learn about? E.g. 'Change can be permanent or temporary' is quite different to 'living things change over time' or "coping with changes in our lives', 'changes to the environment can be be caused by inanimate things like wind and water or animate things like people, plants and animals' or 'we can change our minds based on new evidence'.  Does it matter what the context is so long as it meets the purpose? Why not share that purpose with them and ask them for some contexts that have meaning and relevance to them? How about giving them some provocations to stimulate their curiosity and seeing what questions arise?

We're doing inquiry next term, what are some topic ideas?
First up, you don't "do" inquiry. You use an inquiry approach or you inquire into a question, problem etc. I'd be asking what the purpose of the inquiry was? Once that is clear, Iook for some authentic contexts that you know are relevant to your learners. You could share some provocations to stimulate questions, then follow their lead into areas that meet the purpose but are relevant to them. Or straight out share the purpose with them and ask them to suggest some contexts.

So next time a teacher asks what they should name their maths group or what their inquiry topic should be, let's not jump in with an answer but instead support them to grow in their understanding of developing agentic learners with inquiring dispositions.

I'll just finish with this great sketchnote from the marvellous @sylviaduckworth.

Education for the Future

Thanks to Leigh Hyne's recent blog post  I viewed the video of an interview with the OECD’s Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher. The video is an hour long but worth watching as there are many interesting points raised that are relevant to New Zealand (and indeed worldwide) education.



Schleicher was asked (35:39) what was the most important thing a teacher could do to prepare students for their future?  His reply was to stop thinking about preparing students for jobs, jobs will look totally different in the future. In science, for example, we spend too much time on teaching content and too little time teaching students to design experiments and think like a scientist.

This fits really well with my views around the need for an inquiry approach and the use of authentic contexts for learning. Students need to do the work that would be done by those working in the discipline in the community, in science they need to do what scientists do, in art they need to do what artists do.

Schleicher went on to say that coding, for example, will look totally different when younger students leave school. This fits with my view that the coding itself is not the important part. The problem-solving and computational thinking will still be relevant, the ability to think logically, to break tasks down into parts and see patterns, to design solutions, to de-bug when things don't work and to re-design, these skills will still be useful and valuable. This is especially important to keep in mind as we consider the draft of the new Digital technologies area of the curriculum.

Schleicher believes that education systems need to have core values and everything that is in or added to the curriculum needs to be examined against those core values. This works at both a government level and an individual school level.

Schools in New Zealand have to develop their own school curriculum and their core values need to be a the heart of this. This is not always the case. Most schools have worked on developing these sets of core values as part of developing their vision and mission statements but there are still some that have not applied these when developing their school curriculum. Schools that have done this well, Te Kowhai Primary for example, have seen the benefits for their students

Schleicher also talked about early childhood education (49:34) and how formalisation of learning is doing more harm than good and that we need to let children play and socialise,  which proponents of play-based learning would be heartened to hear.

It was interesting to hear the question (51:47) from Mark Treadwell, a New Zealand educator, on how we overcome the lack of understanding around what is the difference between knowledge, an idea, a concept and a concept framework. There is a definite need to develop common understandings around what these terms mean as it impacts on both curriculum design and implementation.

Schleicher emphasised that we need to teach fewer things at greater depth, to get to the root of the discipline, to foster students' talents. Japan, for example took 30% of material out of their curriculum and it resulted in an increase in creative skills and creative problem solving. He  remarked on the tendency of schools to prioritise the urgent over the important. Just having more learning time does not equate to better outcomes (Pisa data shows a negative correlation).  He asserts that we need to help students find their passions, what they are good at, what is going to serve a social purpose.