He puāwai nō roto i te raukura: PHD aspirations still strong, despite COVID-19

Ko te amorangi ki mua - Where are they now? Whenua talks to previous Te Rau Matatau / Scholarship recipients. This issue: Paula Anderson

The COVID-19 pandemic may have knocked Paula Anderson’s doctorate dreams off course, but the 2020 Charles Bailey Scholarship winner is still determined to get her PhD.

Last year, the scholarship gave Paula the support she needed to complete a Master of Contemporary Education from tertiary provider The Mind Lab, in Auckland.

Her research explored the use of gamification (gaming) and digital technology in a literacy programme for Kura Kaupapa Māori students learning English as a second language.

She then planned to move straight into studying for a doctorate.

“But my certificate was held up in the post through Auckland being in lockdown. I received it two months later. It was too late - the doctorate course had already started.” Her plan is still to complete her PhD in the next five years.

Adrian Poa, Te Rau Tātai Kura / Shareholder Engagement Advisor at PKW, says COVID-19 and the different lockdown levels have also affected the study plans of other scholarship recipients.

“I think things are going to take time,” he says. “She (Paula) has a plan to move forward with her doctorate, but events have happened in the meantime.”

Paula is part of the alumni and so the organisation will always follow her progress with interest, Adrian says.

While her study ambitions are temporarily on hold, Paula isn’t sitting still. She is working towards becoming a Justice of the Peace and has signed up as a volunteer to be a role model for Inspiring the Future New Zealand programme, which means she will be speaking in schools.

Alongside these endeavours, her passion for teaching tamariki continues to burn brightly.

A rautitikura /shareholder and member of the Puketapu hapū, Paula is still excited about using and developing digital technology to help Māori tamariki overcome learning difficulties.

“We are still finding the system has inequities. I want to develop an app that addresses an individual’s own learning behaviours through personalised learning,” says the mother of five, who lives on whānau whenua at Bell Block.

While teaching in both mainstream schools and Kura Kaupapa Māori in Taranaki, Paula has watched students become engaged in learning through Scratch, a programming tool for creating digital games using Te Reo Māori.

“My greatest reward from doing my master’s programme was watching a student who had minimal digital literacy able to create something from Scratch.”

The boy did so well, he was able to help the rest of the class. “When they are successful, I feel like I have won Lotto.”

While she is a teacher, Paula says she’s also a learner.

“I don’t have to know it all - the kids love it when they teach me something,” she says. “It was a pivotal point in my teaching career discovering that.”

Before the learning exchange begins, Paula first establishes a relationship with the tamariki in her classes. “Whakawhanaungatanga - that’s my number-one thing. I will not teach until that’s done.”

Paula says she then throws the bait out to the students to see if she can hook them into learning.

If she was given a magic wand to create changes, every student would be provided with a laptop, equity would be successfully addressed, and school would run four days a week with the fifth spent having real-life experiences with their whānau.

She would love to see all teachers with knowledge of te ao Māori. “I would like to see the older teachers become mentors rather than being on the frontline.”

Paula says she has had amazing mentors who helped her along the way.

She pays tribute to three wāhine toa, who inspired her with their support and strong leadership.

“When you are around them, you know it’s OK to fall over because they will help you get up.”

An early inspiration was Kui Whero Bailey, who passed in 2016. “She was a catalyst for my teaching career in the beginning.”

Paula says she was also greatly encouraged by Whaene Kura Niwa and Whaene Moana Kake-Tuffley (tumuaki), both from Te Pi’ipi’inga Kākano Mai i Rangiātea Kura Kaupapa Māori.

“Taranaki is very very lucky to have such strong leaders; it’s inspirational just sitting in their presence,” she says. “They helped shape me and guided me along this path.”