Our Concept Curriculum
A concept based approach is used at Sunnyhills to provide an authentic context relevant to our learners to explore the learning areas. The concepts place the learner at the centre of investigating their place in their world. We take a cyclical approach where all six concepts are explored over three years; this allows students to tap into their prior knowledge when inquiring into the concept for a second time at a deeper level and in a different context.
Our concepts are: click on the coloured button below to take you to that concept content
Being culturally aware educators are better able to understand and respond to the learning needs of today’s diverse classrooms. Macfarlane's (2004) Educultural Wheel (see image below) provides a useful framework to conceptualise our curriculum. This complements our approach with the Sunnyhills GEMS Language of Learning vision and also our concept curriculum shown below. Each year one of these Maori Concepts also guides our overarching concept to connect us with tangata whenua.
Originally created as a a theory of student management. The Educultural Wheel was designed to support the development of positive interactions between teachers and Māori students, and built on what Māori students had identified as being most beneficial to their learning – the relationship they had with their teachers. An Education Review Office publication on Wellbeing for Success cites Macfarlane's work as a contributor to a successful culturally responsive curriculum in a case study (p.24).
The wheel is a visual representation showing the interactions between four dimensions and how these ultimately contribute to inclusive practice, effective pedagogy, and pūmanawatanga (overall tone, pulse, and morale).
According to Macfarlane, in relation to the Educultural Wheel:
"these concepts do not exist in isolation from each other - more often than not, they co-exist or are amalgamated. Since Māori insist on wholeness, this is quite natural".[1]
