Reo Kura: Developing teachers Maori language proficiency and Ngai Tahu tribal dialect proficiency in an in-school professional development programme

This presentation examines the process involved in developing a Māori language mentoring and coaching programme for teachers in two Māori language medium programmes. The Reo doctor or 'language doctor' model has evolved out of a partnership with schools, the local Māori tribal group Ngāi Tahu who commissioned the programme and the researchers themselves University of Canterbury staff. The goal of the programme was to see if teachers Māori language proficiency and tribal dialect usage could be enhanced by an individualised programme supporting teachers in the classroom over a 20 week period. The pilot project involved designing and implementing a new professional development model, observing teachers, analysing their Maori language knowledge and use prior to the start of the programme. A diagnosis was made after studying oral, written and visual interview data about each individual teacher and their own personal language goals. A 'language fitness' programme was designed to support teachers over a 16 week period to improve their proficiency in the areas described above