Unpacking the Tapasa document

Turu 1 is about teachers knowing and understanding that specific identities, languages and cultures of Pacific learners underpins the way they think and learn.

• Knowing and understanding of the impact it has for students
• Understanding the culture and the relevance
• Building on relationships and knowing the learners, families 
• Giving families opportunities to be involved and share their cultures to us and others. 
• For teachers to teach effectively they need to know their past and background and embracing their journey 
• Teachers being able to understand students learning processes

In practice, the teacher needs to utilise Pacific constructs to engage and collaborate in different and meaningful ways that empower Pacific learners, parents, families and communities -

• The teacher and school need to have knowledge of Pacific constructs - tikanga / ways of doing things 
• Teachers need to use resources, tools, references and conceptual models to enhance the relationships, learning, etc
• Teachers need to incorporate words, songs, activities, and artifacts in the classroom (engagement and prior knowledge)

Turu 2 alludes to the reciprocal notion of collaborative power sharing and relationships -

• The teacher and parents have a positively respectful relationship and work together - understanding and valuing what teachers are doing at school and what parents are doing at home - to empower the child to be their best, most-authentic selves

It is the schools and teachers responsibility to ensure the value of all ethnicities and that the system isn’t favouring and privileging a ‘majority’ culture and knowledge

Teachers should be reflective in their practice to ensure there is balance and power sharing is enhanced (collaborative relationships)

Turu 3 - Effective Pacific pedagogies

• Engaging in ongoing professional development and seeking support to further develop Pacific confidence(research and evidence based)
• Embedding Pacific world views,conceptual models, learning styles etc into teaching pedagogy /planning/ teaching styles
• Understanding Pacific learners as a whole adapting teaching approaches to cater to the learning needs 
• Working with Pacific learners /parents /communities seeking ideas and feedback- Making connections 

In my practice after looking into this document I feel like a goal for me in 2020 would be to make sure I give time to build on my students cultures and where they come from. Getting them to share where they are from and building those relationships at the start of the year. Giving students the opportunity to tell me who they are and what is important to them. This would set them up at the start of the year and let them know that I do care and that I am interested in what they have to say.