We have had a term of two sessions twice a day in Weeks 3, 6, and 9 and have been reflecting on the impact of Akoako@TeKura in general and specifically the extra sessions. What has the impact been on the Community of Practice at Te Kura. Is it becoming a way to create a sense of community and connection? 

Sessions in Term 3

Our sessions this term have focused on creating a sense of belonging at Te Kura and the part that each and everyone of us has to play in that. We can say we don’t feel a part of something, but what can we do to change that – to be solutions-focused, rather than only seeing the problem? What are the opportunities that have popped up as the result of something we’ve noticed?

The focus questions for the Term have really challenged us to go deeper – to think more critically about how we can continue to be part of the change we want to see…and be.  You can see an example of some of the questions below with the related Mātāpono in brackets:

• What does belonging look like at Te Kura?  
• What does it feel like, sound like, taste like, smell like? (Whakamana, Whaitake) 
• How do we create a sense of belonging for our ākonga and their whānau at Te Kura? What are all the rauemi/resources we have available to do this? (Kotahitanga, Whakamana, Māramatonutanga) 
• How do we create a sense of belonging for kaimahi at Te Kura? What do we do now and what are the possibilities for the future? What are the possibilities? (Māramatonutanga, Kotahitanga,
  Whaitake)
• How can individually do something to create a sense of belonging at Te Kura? (Whakawhanaungatanga, Māramatonutanga)  

Here is what we’ve explored in Term 3

We’ve picked up a few new leaders, which is fantastic and have more people interested in running sessions in the future – lots of ideas for future sessions are added to the Jamboard. The beauty of using this tool is that once it’s opened, it stays in your Google Drive and can be accessed anytime, anywhere. It is really exciting to see when people in our CoP add ideas at times outside of the main session.

We have deepened our focus and connection to our Ngā Mātāpono as discussed in a previous post. This has had an impact on the level of discussion. This is mostly in the chat and on the Jamboards. I think our next – and most important – focus for the community, is to find ways to encourage people to have the confidence to share with cameras and microphones on – this is the challenge of having a solely online Community of Practice…but we are up to the challenge!