Te Āwheonui

Centre for Professional Learning and Development (PLD)

Hine Waitere, Director of Te Āwheonui

Supporting schools and teaching

Te Āwheonui, Centre for Professional Learning and Development, is a team of ex-teachers, researchers and accredited facilitators able to provide targeted professional learning and development (PLD) to schools, kura and Kāhui Ako.

Te Āwheonui is focussed on developing the potential of educators, students and whānau. Our team is committed to supporting schools, kura and Kāhui Ako to realise the vision of Ka Hikitia – Māori students enjoying and achieving educational success as Māori. We operate from a core understanding that the best PLD is resolutely transformative, collaborative, strengths based and is focussed on the needs of our students. We draw on Kaupapa Māori and Culturally Responsive and Relational Principles of practice, and use whakawhanaungatanga as a foundation for purposeful relationships with schools and educators we work alongside.

View our Whakawhiti Kōrero Pānui for Kura:

Whakawhiti Kōrero Issue 1

Whakawhiti Kōrero Issue 2

Whakawhiti Kōrero Issue 3

What we do

We work alongside Kāhui Ako, schools, principals, BOTs, senior and middle leaders, teachers, whānau, hapū and iwi to realise the goals of Ka Hikitia while supporting the needs of all learners: adults and students.

Some examples of how we can support you to lift achievement in National Priority Areas are:

Building cultural responsive and relational pedagogy at multiple levels
Building leadership capability to identify key drivers within your school that enable equity and excellence
Supporting leaders and teachers to build coherency throughout the systems, structures, pedagogy and practices within schools
Building capability to work with parents, family/whānau as partners in the learning process
Developing and holding high expectations of leaders, teachers and students as learning partners
Building capability of senior and middle leaders and teachers to observe and facilitate open to learning conversations about growth and next steps
Building teacher capability in facilitating inclusive learning environments for all students
Building capability to work with and support accelerated achievement for students
Growing teachers’ and leaders’ capacity to collect, analyse, interpret and respond to a wide range of data including student and whānau voice.
Growing teachers’ and leaders’ capability to understand and develop agency
Provide expert partners who can enact strong methodologies to grow relational, evaluative and improvement capabilities within Kāhui Ako

How we do it

Our approach is based on Kaupapa Māori and Culturally Responsive and Relational Principles of practice. We work alongside teachers, leaders and principals to co-construct coherent PLD plans based on their own school’s evidence and what we know works for Māori students. We believe in the strong interconnection of the Why, the How and the What as a framework for supporting schools to maximise the potential for all learners.

Takarangi: Is an intersecting spiral pattern used in carving. To some the spirals represent the entry of light and knowledge and experience linking through the time and space with the present. On the prow of waka they provide added stability and balance.

Culturally Responsive and Relational Pedagogy

Relationships of care and connectedness are fundamental (whanaungatanga)
Power is shared and learners have the right to equity and self determination (mahi tahi, kotahitanga)
Culture counts, learners’ understandings form the basis of their identity and learning (whakapapa)
Sense-making is dialogic, interactive and ongoing (ako)
Decision-making and practice is responsive to relevant evidence (wānanga)
Our common vision and interdependent roles and responsibilities focus on the potential of learners – Māori students achieving and enjoying educational success as Māori – (kaupapa)