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.

Coding for their Future

You may have heard that the New Zealand Technology Curriculum has been revised to include two new strands: 'Computational thinking for digital technologies' and 'Designing and developing digital outcomes'. You may be wondering what this is all about, if you are a parent you may have some concerns about what this will mean for your child and if you're a teacher you may be wondering how you will fit this into your programme and why you would want to. Hopefully I have a few answers for you or at least some food for thought.

One question I've often heard asked is how we will fit this into an already busy curriculum. The Education Minister Nikki Kay, attempted to answer this in a segment on Q & A  What she could also have said was that digital technologies, coding and computational thinking don't need to be separate subjects that are shoe-horned into the curriculum. They will become a means to an end, not the end itself.

The 'Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes' area for example, involves having a knowledge of devices, apps and programs so that we can choose the best tool for the task. It has students critically analysing various digital technologies and making informed decisions about the best digital technology (or in some cases non-digital technology) to achieve the desired outcome.

In real life most of us make decisions about use of technology all the time. Will we watch that movie on Netflix, our DVD player, on our ipad or phone? If we need to do a presentation to a group of people will we use Powerpoint, Google Slides, Prezi, Powtoon, make a video or use plain old cards with handwritten notes?

Students will "work through an iterative process to design, develop, create, store, test and evaluate digital content that meets its purpose. They will recognise social and end-user considerations that are relevant when developing digital content." This sort of process can be applied in any curriculum area.

The 'Computational thinking for digital technologies' area is probably the one that is the scariest for newcomers to the world of coding and computational thinking but most people understand this area a lot better than they think.

Algorithms sound scary but I would say that nearly all of you use these in one form another every week. Have you ever used a recipe, read a set of instructions for kitset furniture, done a Google search, decided the best route to get from A to B? If so you've made use of an algorithm which is just a set of step-by-step instructions to efficiently carry out a task.

Coding itself has become so much easier for beginners with block coding programs like Scratch and Tynker enabling even five year olds to code. Hour of Code is designed to get young people coding and has more resources being added all the time, it's a great place to start. Many of these early coding apps like Tynker now include the ability to see what your code would look like in more advanced coding languages like Python and Java, which scaffolds transition into these languages.

Students can use these coding apps to create stories, artwork and puzzles. As they go they are problem-solving, developing persistence, resilience and a growth mindset, they are developing their maths and literacy skills in authentic contexts. They aren't so much learning to code as they are coding to learn.

There are now a plethora of robots available that students can easily program. The hardest part is deciding which one to get as we are now spoilt for choice. Just watch a student program a robot to go through a maze and you can't deny the maths and key competencies that are being developed.

Computational thinking might sound tricky but its what we use all the time when we solve problems or complete tasks and we use things like:

• Decomposition: Breaking down data, processes, or problems into smaller parts
• Pattern Recognition: Looking for patterns, similarities  and trends in data
• Abstraction: Focusing on the important, relevant info, ignoring the irrelevant

When things go wrong we need to de-bug to find out where we went wrong and how to correct the mistake. Being able to logically work through problems is an essential skill.

Lack of devices is another issue I hear mentioned by teachers but it needn't stop you. There are many activities that can be done without any devices. Sure you are going to need some devices eventually but lack of them should not prevent you getting started.In the Q & A segment the Minister was questioned about how we can prepare students for their future when we have no idea what that future will be. The following quotes sprang to mind:

"Our job as teachers is not to "prepare" kids for something; our job is to help kids learn to prepare themselves for anything."

AJ Juliani‏   @ajjuliani

"Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it." Antoine de Saint Exupéry

PLD for teachers and education for the community are going to be essential and the Government is promising funding for this. If effectively targeted, this funding could go a long way towards making sure all teachers, not just a few specialists, can implement these new areas in their classrooms. 

I've started compiling some resources to support this new strand, still a work in progress as details have just been released, but lots to get you started. To teachers I say give it go, start small if you want, but start. 

"Don’t shortchange the future, because of fear in the present." 

Barack Obama

For those wanting to find out more you could attend one of the MoE consultation workshops or if you want ideas and resources for implementing this in your classroom I am facilitating a 2 day course on the new areas on Mon, August 14th and Mon, September 11th in Hamilton. More details or enrol here. 

The revised curriculum is still in draft form and you can have your say here. 

I'll finish with my favourite quote about technology:

"....Computers are not rescuing the school from a weak curriculum, any more than putting pianos in every classroom would rescue a flawed music program. Wonderful learning can occur without computers or even paper. But once the teachers and children are enfranchised as explorers, computers, like pianos, can serve as powerful amplifiers, extending the reach and depth of the learners."

Alan Kay ​

I'm a Genius!

Yes, it's true, I'm a genius! How do I know this? because Facebook told me so it must be true. Apparently my geniusness (my own word - because I'm a genius and allowed to make up words) is demonstrated in my ability to notice the missing number in this sequence and type it in the comments below. 

Or because I can think of a word that starts and ends with T, as apparently less than 10% of the population can do this. The thousands of people gleefully posting their word in the comments below are apparently also geniuses as are those who, like me, can find the number 1 in a sea of 7s or solve this puzzle that has the internet baffled. 

Once my geniusness has been confirmed I could of course post an "Amen" for the poor sick child or the animal that has been cruelly mistreated, because I wouldn't be so heartless as to scroll past without liking, sharing and commenting. Because everyone knows that God will only save the child or animal if I post to Facebook and the post gets over 5000 likes.

Or maybe I can win one of 500 BMWs or the 1000 Round the world trips in the competition by just liking and sharing the page, the one that was only created a few weeks ago. It is a shiny,new page so it must be legit, right?

Joking aside, I am pretty sure that all the above are just "like farming" or setting me up for some sort of scam. But over and over I see them in my feed because a friend has liked, commented, shared or copied and pasted. So it is working for the scammers.

Then there are the "copy and paste, don't share" posts". Thanks to Allanah King for sharing this article which confirmed for me the reasons why I never do this.

It's pretty simple to stop these scammers in their tracks. All we have to do is think for a minute before we like, share etc that post. Think about why they might be posting/asking you to do this and ask ourselves is it true/real? How can I find out? While you are at it apply the same questions to any "news" you see posted.



Image: 
Cima da Conegliano, God the Father