Purpose:

To provide an opportunity for innovative teachers to form a network for support and mentoring as they continue to explore ways to enrich the lives and learning of the young people they work with, their whānau and the wider community.


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 projects have subsequently become the foundation of classroom implementation for their colleagues within Manaiakalani and around New Zealand. The Manaiakalani Education Trust actively supports teachers who are challenging their own teaching practice through inquiring into innovative ways to meet our cluster goals and provide inspiration to their colleagues. This is a collaborative process using Design Thinking principles to guide us. To quote Michael Fullan 2/11/16, we are looking for "purposeful, focused and disciplined innovation".

2022 Cohort:

Manaiakalani Education Trust has offered 7 innovative teachers from the Manaiakalani cluster, including our Outreach clusters, the opportunity to

  • design an innovative tool tool to enhance their inquiry into one of the challenges facing Manaiakalani learners in 2022

  • design and implement this tool within their contexts (two days per term release)

  • receive ongoing mentoring

  • form a collegial network (one day per term release)

School leaders (APs, DPs, Principals, HoDs, Team Leaders) were invited to apply to join this group as they inquire into innovative ways of changing teacher practice as they implement the Manaiakalani pedagogy.

MIT22 teachers will

  • use the “Learn Create Share” model in their own journey of innovation

  • present to Manaiakalani colleagues via the Online Toolkits series

  • present to their Manaiakalani colleagues at the annual Wānanga 28 October 2022 (Date TBC)

  • present to the wider education community at a conference in the July or October School holidays, 2022

  • use a public blog for ongoing sharing and reflection


Dates for 2022

Connect Hui Overnight: Hui 3 days 24-26 February 2022 Travel after school Thurs 24, all day Friday 25th , end lunch Saturday 26th Feb, travel home at leisure.

Network Meeting Days: 28 March, 23 May , 29 August , 21 November (all Mondays)

Wānanga: Friday October 28th TBC

Conference: School Holidays, 3 days TBA

Meets online: see calendar

Release days: organise yourself


Conditions of Participation

  • Agree to model "Learn Create Share" both in work with learners and throughout the MIT22 year

  • Outcomes to be publicly available online

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

  • Targets to be set and met each term in negotiation with MIT22 leader

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

  • Release time each term to attend MIT22 network sessions 1 x day each term

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

  • Regular Meets online to network and support progress