Niho Taniwha: an Indigenous framework for teaching and learning

Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch is the author of the recently published book Niho Taniwha: Improving Teaching and Learning for Ākonga Māori (Huia Publishers, 2021). Niho Taniwha is named after a traditional Māori design used in carving, weaving and other Māori artforms. Melanie is a researcher and evaluator who has worked in local and national leadership roles in the education sector, as well as internationally in tertiary education. Melanie has worked in and with schools, kura as a tumuaki (principal), with kāhui ako, for iwi (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) and the Ministry of Education. For nine years she trained secondary school teachers at the Christchurch College of Education.

Melanie is an appointed member of the Ngārimu VC 28th Māori Battalion Scholarship Board and served as a member of the Competence Authority of the New Zealand Teachers Council | Matatū Aotearoa for three years. In 2021 and 2017 she was a judge for the National Ngā Whakataetae Manu Kōrero speech competitions.

Melanie has a PhD in Education awarded by the University of Canterbury in 2015. Her doctoral research investigated iwi-school communities of practice and their contribution to Māori student achievement. Prior to her doctorate Melanie completed two Ed.D. papers in Education Leadership and Change through Griffith University, has a Master of Education with Distinction (University of Canterbury), a Bachelor of Education specialising in Physical Education and a Secondary Diploma of Teaching.

Melanie and her husband Jared live in Christchurch with their five children aged 21–12 years old.

This program was presented as part of the 2022 National Visual Arts Education Conference.