Collaborate with open minds to understand what's most important
Making meaning of the information collected, drawing inferences and interpreting what is happening can help to identify key knowledge, skills, strengths and areas for development. You will need to consider all relevant contextual variables to construct meaning and how support will be managed as part of this process.
This is an important step as teams consider the wide range of information gathered. Together, understanding what’s important helps us focus on the important factors that we can change or build on and informs our next steps.
“Collaborative problem-solving and decision-making focussed on teaching and learning for students with disabilities have the potential to create fundamental change in the ways that teachers teach and students learn.”
(Mitchell et al., 2010, p. 24).
Sense-making as a team
Use collective expertise and research to identify key information.
Now that the team have decided on the influencing factors for the situation it is important to consider how the factors are working together and who or what is helping.
Are certain factors more influential than others?
What factors are dependent on other factors?
Are some factors influencing multiple factors?
What helps and what hinders the differing factors?
Examples of collaboration and sense making from practice
A team is using Te Pikinga ki Runga to guide sense making by using the 12 Te Huia dimensions within the domains of hononga (relational aspects), hinengaro (psychological aspects), tinana (physical aspects) and mauri (unique essence).
The kōrero and decision making on the influencing factors helps to strengthen understanding about the situation in a way that enhances mana.
A PB4L school-wide team in a high school are being supported to make sense of their kohikohi ‘Big 5’ data reports and decide if they need additional data:
- What are the key behaviours recorded?
- What factors might be influencing these?
- Do we need more information to understand more about the situation?
They decide to collect additional data from attendance and academic records to support their decision-making.
During an initial home visit, a practitioner explores information gathered through the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme with the whānau. Together the whānau and the practitioner co-construct how to start the journey to best support their baby’s communication, language development and well-being in the baby’s natural environment.
The lead practitioner in a team facilitates a meeting where everyone involved with a mokopuna (including whānau) shares, discusses and collectively interprets the assessment information. A summary is developed which forms a shared understanding of the key strengths, needs and challenges of the mokopuna and their contexts.