Te Hiringa i te Mahara

Te Hiringa i te Mahara (the power of the mind) is a national professional development programme funded by the Ministry of Education that targets Māori secondary school teachers with particular emphasis on te reo Māori teachers. The project began in June 1998, to address the stress associated with the excessive workload of Māori secondary school teachers.

The project is managed by Gardiner & Parata Ltd, who named it from a traditional oriori (lullaby) 'He oriori mo Tuteremoana' (Ngata, A. Ngātea part III, p 201).

The waiata traces the journey of enlightenment and is used as an invitation to the target group to become more powerful actors in their own lives as both teachers and learners, through exercising their greatest power – the power of their minds.

The interventions (tools, techniques, programmes, and resources) provided through Te Hiringa i te Mahara in the form of professional development are ultimately aimed at significantly improving education outcomes for students.

Priorities for Te Hiringa i te Mahara in 2004 are to:

• increase Māori secondary teacher knowledge of assessment pedagogy
• pilot a programme with selected te reo teachers that aims to build the knowledge and understanding of second language acquisition pedagogy, with specific emphasis on a communicative approach that will support te reo Māori teachers to improve the design and delivery of te reo Māori curriculum in secondary schools where English is the first language
• build the capability of Māori managers to be more effective professional leaders
• strengthen online professional learning curriculum communities and resources.

Reflections and celebrations

Click on the links under Reflections and celebrations in the right-hand navigation to read how Te Hiringa i te Mahara has inspired teachers and transformed their practice.

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