Michael Grawe is a Professional Development Consultant at Ako Aotearoa and Professional Learning Manager at Pathways Awarua. He has embraced the art of storytelling, not just in his teaching approach but in his approach to life.

Pathways Awarua is one of three pillars the Tertiary Education Commission established to address adult literacy and numeracy issues. The other two are the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool and Ako Aotearoa, tasked with building educational capability for learner success in the tertiary sector.

Pathways Awarua is an online tool supporting adult and young adult learners to strengthen their literacy and numeracy skills in contexts relevant to New Zealanders. There are six learner pathways that focus on literacy and numeracy:

• Numeracy
• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• NumberFacts
• WordFit (vocabulary).

The numeracy and reading pathways have general, trade, and service versions, allowing learners to choose contexts that suit their purposes.

There are also five applied learner pathways delivering content for driver licences, workplace safety requirements, and personal money management, all while strengthening literacy and numeracy competencies:

• Road code
• Health and safety
• Heavy vehicle and forklift
• My money
• My community.

Additionally, educators have free access to six professional development pathways covering cultural competencies, digital literacy, Universal Design for Learning, developing learner agency, and much more.

While these resources have been designed for New Zealanders, Michael knows from personal experience that Pathways Awarua is accessed and used internationally. And as you would expect from a master storyteller, there’s a tale attached to this knowledge.

Born near Hamelin, a town on the River Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany, and famous for its tale of the Pied Piper, Michael was successful in applying for an exchange programme in 1998 to complete his study at the University of Auckland. On his second day in the country and all set for his first full day of study, Michael was one of many thousands of Aucklanders impacted by the 1998 Auckland power crisis when most of the CBD was without power for five weeks due to cable failure.

“I turned up for classes expecting that the power would be back on within an hour or so and was sitting outside waiting for a fix. In Germany, we would expect an immediate restoration, so I was happy to hang around. While waiting, I met a fellow student who has since become one of my closest friends. He invited me to go and get a beer (as you do!), which subsequently turned into an invitation to a party. That was my first introduction to the idiosyncrasies of the New Zealand language. I was asked to bring a plate. I remember wandering around The Warehouse thinking, why don’t the hosts just use paper plates for their guests? As a result of turning up with my (empty!) plate, I was the laughing stock of the party, but I did meet my wife, which made up for the indignity.”

Michael has spent most of his career in adult learning. After returning to Germany, he became an ESOL and computing teacher in the community before heading back to Aotearoa and applying for a teaching position at MIT in Auckland. There, he taught “FreeB” and “Key4free” community computer classes before joining Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

“This was a huge learning experience for me, from both a te reo Māori and cultural perspective.” He loved every moment and stayed with the wānanga for nine years teaching computing before moving into the literacy and numeracy space as a literacy, language and numeracy advisor at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa campuses across Tāmaki and Te Tai Tokerau.

“During that time, I also started training kaiako and student support kaimahi how to use Pathways Awarua. And then Covid struck. I was thinking about returning to Germany for a break and before leaving, I joined a free Ako Aotearoa webinar about Pathways Awarua.”

Following the session, Michael contacted the Ako team about whether they would be interested in him sharing some of the resources he had developed over the years. “I was then offered a webinar of my own on engaging learners with Pathways Awarua, which resulted in a job offer from Pathways Awarua. The timing was terrible as I had committed to international travel, but that wasn’t a problem for the Pathways Awarua team who were very accommodating and enabled me to work from Germany. It was a great solution that benefited us both.”

One of the computing modules Michael taught at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was on using PowerPoint and public speaking skills. “Richard, one of my students, presented on the Harbin Ice Festival in China. This was back in 2008 when there was little awareness of the festival and travel to and within China was not exactly straightforward. After Richard’s presentation, I immediately booked tickets to Harbin, planning to travel with my mum from Germany. I did a bit of research online and found a private travel guide in Beijing, who I contracted to meet us at the airport and take us on a tour of the Great Wall.”

Michael’s flight that day was the last one allowed to land due to heavy snow, which had the flow-on effect of turning a 30-minute drive from the airport to downtown Beijing into a four-hour mission. “My guide Ping and I got to know each other well. Despite language barriers, we managed to communicate, and Ping revealed his desire to visit Harbin one day. Due to a range of reasons, my mother had to cancel last minute and couldn’t join me in China. I had a spare train ticket and accommodation booked in Harbin, so I spontaneously asked Ping to join me. This was one of the best decisions I have made. Ping was an amazing travel companion, and he managed to ensure I saw and ate at places I would never have discovered if I had been by myself.”

As a result of that shared journey, Michael and Ping have become very close friends, and Michael and his whānau have travelled to China many more times since then to visit Ping and his family. Several years after that first meeting, Ping’s two children came to New Zealand to attend high school, with Michael and his family assisting with arrangements.

“Ping came to New Zealand to help settle his children in schools, and I clearly remember him sitting at the kitchen table with a suite of papers in front of him. This was the day after his arrival. I asked him what he was up to, and he said that he was going to sit his driver’s licence. Ping had managed to access the ‘Learner Licence’ pathway on Pathways Awarua back in China and had already studied for his test. He passed without any mistakes!”

Michael says most of the opportunities in his life have come through his learners.

“At Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, I had 80 learners in my classes every year, often from 30 or more different countries. Everyone has so much to offer, so many stories to tell, and listening to and engaging with your learners can be truly life changing. Storytelling opens possibilities that we might not otherwise explore. I have had so many opportunities through my learners – you just need to listen and be open to adventures.”

Michael presented a workshop at this year’s ACE Sector Conference.