Apply

The application form is here

The Manaiakalani Programme has gained national and international credibility as an innovative approach to ensuring the foundation requirements of schooling are being met whilst offering young people the opportunity to learn in an environment which recognises the special character of our children as digital citizens whose world is very different from their teachers at the same age.

Over the ten years of the Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher programme we have had teachers who have taken this opportunity to investigate ways to accelerate learning outcomes for our young people via the Manaiakalani pedagogy. The most successful MIT projects have subsequently become the foundation of classroom implementation for colleagues within Manaiakalani and around New Zealand. The Manaiakalani Education Trust is keen to support teachers who are challenging their own teaching practice through inquiring into innovative ways to meet our cluster goals and provide inspiration to their colleagues. To quote Michael Fullan 2/11/16, we are looking for "purposeful, focused and disciplined innovation".

In 2023 we are specifically looking for teachers who are excited about working with colleagues through a design thinking process to bring innovative solutions to a challenge they have identified in their own class, school or cluster.

The Manaiakalani Education Trust is interested in supporting innovation that will contribute solutions to challenges that have been identified by educators and researchers in our wider community of learning. We are particularly interested in applications relating to:

• Reading - at all year levels and across the curriculum

• Critical literacy or critical thinking.

• Secondary Literacy or Maths at NCEA level.

• Ubiquitous and Visible learning connecting school and home

• Harnessing digital to connect whanau with learning.

We are interested in innovation in areas we may not have considered, so by all means, present them through your application.

We are an evidence based programme and expect applicants will be willing to gather data, to interact with the findings of the WFRC and Manaiakalani Researchers, and to align with the data gathered by their own school. Teaching as Inquiry is one aspect of this evidence gathering.

MIT-23 recipients will design a tool* to support their innovation, and through this accelerate achievement for their tamariki.

*tool suggestions could include: a database, a system, an app, a podcast, a programme, a radio show, an online portal etc etc

The Manaiakalani Education Trust, along with our corporate partner KMPG, provides substantial support for the successful applicants. MIT-23 teachers will enjoy being part of a professional learning group where they receive; mentoring, growth opportunities, face to face and online collaboration, release from teaching to participate in events throughout the year and to work on their projects, opportunities to grow presentation skills locally and overseas, and an interested audience to share their progress with.

A sense of adventure and an open to learning attitude is a distinct advantage.

MIT-23 teachers will

• use our Learn Create Share pedagogy in their own journey of innovation

• present to Manaiakalani colleagues via the Online Toolkits series

• present to their Manaiakalani colleagues at the annual Wānanga 27 October 2023

• present to the wider education community at a conference in the July or October School holidays, 2023

• use a public blog for ongoing sharing and reflection

Conditions of Participation

• Agree to model "Learn Create Share" both in work with learners and throughout the MIT-23 year

• Outcomes to be publicly available online

• Reflections to be available to Manaiakalani Online community, PLD team, MET, Principals and research team

• Targets to be set and met each term in negotiation with MIT-23 leaders

• Availability to attend and share at agreed hui and conferences - these will include overnight stays, and one will potentially require a current passport and vaccinations!

• Release time each term to attend MIT-23 network sessions 1 x day each term, in Auckland

• Release from class to focus on project 2 x days each term

• Willingness to embrace opportunities to grow presentation skills locally and overseas