Rotorua Boys’ High School
New Zealand
Culturally responsive learning, powered by Apple.
for Teachers
Rotorua Boys’ High School, situated on New Zealand’s North Island in the Bay of Plenty, teaches the highest proportion of Māori students in any mainstream high school in New Zealand. Of Rotorua Boys’ 1,250 students from years 9 to 13, 75% are Māori. Given the school’s location in a lower socioeconomic area and the inequities faced by many Māori youth, the school’s vision is to help all of its boys grow into men who contribute to and uplift their community. As the school motto goes, “whāia te iti kahurangi”, meaning “to the stars, through adversity”.
To achieve this vision, school leaders, including recently retired principal Chris Grinter, set out to create an inclusive teaching and learning environment that embraced Māori culture. So they turned to Apple technology, starting with a 1:1 student iPad programme. iPad’s powerful functions and multimodal nature enable each student to express himself beyond the written word and in ways that support the Māori culture’s rich tradition of oral storytelling.
“Our boys are so animated — using iPad helps them bring their stories, thoughts and mahi (work) to life in creative ways. For most, it’s more than what a written essay could ever capture.”
Today, every teacher at Rotorua Boys’ receives a Ministry of Education–subsidised MacBook, as well as a school-issued iPad and Apple Pencil. School leaders have found that these devices enable teachers to create engaging and interactive lessons that embrace the reciprocal, knowledge-sharing nature of Māori culture. Together with professional learning, every educator completes the Apple Teacher programme, and several are certified Apple Learning Coaches. Teachers are supported with the knowledge and tools they need to design dynamic, inclusive lessons.
For example, Rotorua’s leader of learning in technology and art, Melissa Magatogia, and her team are building digital resources called Raukura Rauemi in collaboration with local iwi tribal members. The goal is to support teachers with culturally relevant learning materials that students can easily connect with. Each resource is based on a local legend, which Magatogia illustrates using Sketchbook on her iPad with Apple Pencil. She then animates her illustrations in Keynote on Mac and works with other teachers to build out a syllabus for each key learning area. Since the initial launch, teachers have seen a huge increase in student engagement and strengthened dialogue around Māori culture in the classroom.
“Connecting students to their whānau (family), our community and our local environment through learning was the inspiration for our culturally responsive resources”, says Magatogia.
In year 13 history class, teacher Josh Lewis uses iPad to create interactive lessons that help students deepen their understanding of complex topics, such as displaced communities and local land disputes. In one lesson, students learn about the areas affected by Mount Tarawera’s volcanic eruption, like The Buried Village of Te Wairoa. To understand the history of the land, students take screenshots in Apple Maps as well as local iwi tribal maps and overlay them in Keynote to see where the borders overlap and identify key landmarks. Then, Lewis takes the students on a field trip to visit the area, where they use iPad to take photos and videos and record audio notes. Whaea Tiaho Fairhall, assistant leader of learning, Māori faculty, and a direct descendant of iwi impacted by the disaster, describes what life was like before and after the eruption. By giving students the tools to collect evidence and develop their own points of view in a final presentation, Lewis finds they gain a greater understanding of the significance of land boundaries and how history has impacted their culture and their futures.
With its culturally responsive curriculum and 1:1 student iPad programme, Rotorua Boys’ is building an inclusive environment where students can express themselves and engage fully with their learning. The combination of Apple devices and professional learning allows teachers to create culturally resonant lessons with confidence. And the proof is in the results. Since implementing the new learning programme, school leaders have seen improvements in literacy and numeracy, and an average achievement of 92% across NCEA Levels 1–3, positioning students for success in the classroom and beyond.
“At Rotorua Boys’ High School, we are proudly achieving around 20% higher than national average benchmarks, so our boys are living up to the school motto.”
