June 25, 2013
Ako Aotearoa funding class change
Ako Aotearoa, the national centre for tertiary teaching excellence, is calling for proposals to improve the way teaching is done in the classroom.
Māori Development Manager Ngahiwi Apanui says the 2013 national project fund is a strategic change fund to support evidence-based change in teaching and learning practice.
Ako Aotearoa will provide matching funds for three longitudinal projects across 2 to 3 years, with one project to focus on outcomes for Māori learners, one on Pacific learners, and the third project open.
He says what happens in the classroom is critical for Māori and Pacific learners.
"If we can improve the teaching within the tertiary classroom, then those particular learners will do better. What we are looking at is making the teaching relevant to the learner's social and cultural circumstance. So it's not about talking flasher, it's not about using more technical language. It's about teaching in a way that is relevant to that learner," Mr Apanui says.
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