VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

This presentation focuses on the potential for developing art and design pedagogy by considering Te Ataarangi methods of non-text-based language learning alongside embodied craft knowledge. As educators in Aotearoa, within a School of Art and Design, the development of this pedagogy in part responds to a new Bachelor of Design framework. Adopted in 2023, this framework embeds a commitment to Māori practices and principles within the curricula, recognising our responsibilities as Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti. Consequently, the degree structure encourages students to develop informed respect for their own culture, alongside others’ cultures and values. This research was prompted by our experience of Te Ataarangi’s immersion reo Māori language revitalisation programme. As a medium through which culture is expressed, language can offer a valuable method for engaging with unfamiliar worldviews, and as a conduit for reclaiming cultural identities impacted by colonisation. Developed by Dame Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira and Ngoingoi Pewhairangi, Te Ataarangi’s learning is delivered orally with non-text based, visual learning tools grounded in Māori values and customs. Te Ataarangi director Dr Ruakere Hond describes the process of language learning as one that is held and managed in the subconscious. Likewise, the learning and craft of textile practice is held as embodied, haptic knowledge. As design practitioners, our familiarity with craft-based subconscious knowledge guided an exploration of correspondences between methods of learning through practice. Acknowledging practice-led approaches as carriers of knowledge engaging traditions of intangible connection, this presentation discusses how methods used towards new language acquisition might translate to support practice-based studio teaching.