Korowai Cloak

Who Do We Want Our Class To Be?
________________________

Our Class Korowai-Cloak.

The goal of the learning was to construct a class korowai-cloak which would display who we wanted our class to be.

The process was one of working cooperatively to create the cloak.

First the learners brainstormed who they wanted their class to be before adding and colouring their feathers.

        




The feathers were dyed before attaching them to a piece of fabric.

Negotiating a caring classroom environment in this way reinforces the Māori concept of ako, “the promotion of effective and reciprocal teaching and learning relationships where everyone is a learner and a teacher”.

The korowai “is a particular type of kākahu (cloak). It is usually decorated with feathers and/or tassels and has a border along the bottom, although this can vary according to tribal custom.” The korowai-cloak has been chosen because of its significance within Māori culture and the symbolic relevance of a cloak in many rituals and for cultures all over the world.