PRACTICE - Changes in Practice

Activity 8: Changes in my practice

Rolfe's (2001) model

What?

In the reflective practice model, the link between theory and practice is explicit. A teacher’s personal experience and ideas about practice are considered to be as important as theory when reflecting using this model.

Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) expressed the fact that the reflective practice model can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness. The 2 key ideas necessary to develop reflective practice are; 1. to develop an awareness of our habits and how our assumptions shape our actions and 2. that we think about our effective our actions are to our intentions.  

Studying with Mind Lab has been a journey of continuous challenge and reflection of my own practice and the practice of my organisation. It has been difficult at times as this has been my first significant venture back into academia after almost 20 years at the chalkface. I am not a keen academic but have relished the opportunities to share and collaborate with like minded people and loved the discussions and challenges in our class. I feel like we had an amazing group of people who participated and contributed enthusiastically and without fear.

So what?

My initial goals were to learn about new trends in digital technologies and bring back some cool toys and ideas to use in my classroom. With all the mind-blowing discussions in our classes I felt my practice and mindset shift from day 1. Although I have brought many cool toys and ideas for digital integration back to my class, Mind Lab has been so much more than this. It has challenged my whole pedagogy and I feel my practice is now far more research and evidence based.

Key changes:

Developing a Growth Mindset - This was something that my class dearly needed as they have a negative picture of themselves as learners. Adding the simple word ‘yet’ to their vocabulary when discussing what they ‘can’t do’, it changed their whole picture of themselves. I now see more perseverance when tasks are difficult and they are building resilience so that they now see being in ‘the Learning Pit’ as something to be celebrated.

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21st Century Skills - This has been a major focus in my classroom and through our school as part of my leadership role. Collaboration and connectedness with others, in our school, the wider community, nationally and internationally has become a part of my professional life and my classroom programme. I have tried to encourage my students to see the world as their classroom and not be confined by our 4 walls.

Research and continuous learning - Through my Mind Lab studies I have developed a thirst for knowledge and developing my practice. I have joined the VLN and other Social media based teacher groups. I have made the time to become more connected with a network of teachers and educational professionals from around the world which is something I didn’t prioritise beforehand. This is something that I will continue as part of my practice and pedagogy.

Now what?

Future professional development will be based on the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.

Criteria 6: How can e-learning support and extend what I am trying to achieve when planning programmes of work for groups and individuals?

I will continue this journey both in my classroom and with my staff, looking at effective pedagogy in e-learning and best practice in using digital technologies to tailor learning programmes to the strengths and needs of ākonga. Also to help inform planning and teaching.

Criteria 7: How do I promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment that embraces e-learning and engages learners?

I will continue to develop digital citizens in my classroom and create a collaborative learning environment that caters for all learners. I will be using Seesaw to communicate and connect with whanau.

References

Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/

Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (1993). Reflective practice for educators. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.

PRACTICE - Professional Context - Crossing Boundaries

In my practice, I found that within my organisation staff members bring different strengths to the classrooms but it was difficult for me to think of how I could move from an integrated style programme to interdisciplinary. And what was the difference?

The Dictionary states integration as - an act or instance of combining into an integral whole. Interdisciplinary is involving two or more academic disciplines. The key difference being one merges the disciplines together while the other has the disciplines working side by side.

My COLLAB co-teacher and I currently run a very structured programme with some integration where possible but I would like to move to a more interdisciplinary approach. We are on the same page with this as we believe that students will benefit greatly from this approach.

After watching the video  “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science” , I was inspired and excited about the potential of this style of teaching and learning. It looked motivating and engaging for students and teachers alike.

The potential interdisciplinary connection that I would like to explore is Working with experts via the Internet. We are looking at Environmental Education and would like to add a Physics and IT components to a real world, problem solving inquiry. I would like to try to build a network of experts that we can call on via Skype or video link of some kind so that we can share knowledge and work together to answer questions or solve problems. I would also like to connect with other schools/teachers/students who are currently pursuing a similar line of study.

I can see many benefits for both students and teachers. Youngblood (2007) explains that the principles of interdisciplinary techniques will encourage discovery and innovation.

Students and their teachers will advance in critical thinking, communication, creativity, pedagogy, and essential academia with the use interdisciplinary techniques.Youngblood (2007)

Howard Gardner (1983) states that students bring multiple forms of intelligence to the learning process. As a result, given that students are diverse in their learning styles, backgrounds, interests, experiences, talents, and values, he believes that drawing on a broad range of frameworks and methodologies will enhance student engagement, and thus learning. Interdisciplinary instruction opens academic conversations to ideas from a range of disciplines so all students should be able to relate and contribute to the dialogue. Thus, the likelihood of connecting with all students in the classroom is enhanced by interdisciplinary learning.

With all methodologies there come challenges. According to Relan & Kimpston, 1991; Brophy & Alleman, 1991; Gibbons, 1979; Klein, 1992; Wicklein & Schell, 1995,  educators are jumping on the bandwagon without adequately questioning the why it is they are making this change in practice or taking the time to shape a coherent approach to interdisciplinarity.

Interdisciplinary curricula is time consuming and takes collaborative team work to create, which can seem like a hard and exhausting disadvantage, especially if not supported by Senior Management. Time is a major factor in successful collaboration ventures.

I believe that being able to work and think in an Interdisciplinary way is a vital for our students and teachers. After all...The world is interdisciplinary!

References

Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai

Mathison,S.. & Freeman, M.(1997). The logic of interdisciplinary studies. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf:

What is Interdisciplinary Teaching?. (2017). Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching. Retrieved 2 July 2017, from https://serc.carleton.edu/econ/interdisciplinary/what.html

Youngblood, Dawn, 2007. “Interdisciplinary Studies and the Bridging Disciplines: A Matter of Process.” Journal of Research Practice, v.3, i.2.http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ800366.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/interdisciplinary?s=t

PRACTICE - Professional Online Social Networks

I am an avid user of social media in my personal life, being the social butterfly that I am, and it was only natural for me to also use it in my professional life. It helps that our Principal is also very connected and sees the importance and value of social networking as an educator. 

I was inspired after watching the video "Connected Educators" as it articulated exactly what our Principal has been trying to push over the last few years in particular with regards to participating online to further our professional knowledge and connections. 

As a Digital Team we have begun the journey with our staff toward becoming 21st century Educators so have shared some theory and practice ideas (baby steps). I am feeling, after doing the readings and watching the videos, that getting them connected online and participating more often could be a further step towards being a 21st century practitioner. In saying that, we already have some opportunities to connect digitally already.

As a staff we have taken part in a Webinar series for professional development and all have professional Portfolio's. We have a professional development Edmodo group where we post resources and videos and have discussions. Unfortunately this is not well used unless directed by the Principal. I'm not exactly sure why this is but my guess is the 'time' factor is the number one reason due to the already demanding workload of teachers. Also the lack of knowledge of how to use Edmodo could be a factor. Our school uses Twitter and Facebook pages to communitcate with the community and are currently trialing Seesaw to share students learning.

For my own practice I have used a variety of Social Media such as Edchat, VLN, Twitter, Google+ and Blogging to connect with other professionals nationally and internationally. I have foud I've used these more since starting Mind Lab firstly as a necessity for assignments, then more as I built connections with others. 

In my classroom we have a class Blog and my students all have blogs to share their work. We have a Twitter account for our pet budgie that the children can tweet on his behalf. They are learning to be succinct when writing. 

We have used Edmodo a lot since doing the NZReadAloud last year. The children enjoyed being able to safely and easily connect and collaborate with other stdents and teachers. From here we set up groups with an Ex teacher who was travelling and volunteering in Vietnam. Some of her students also used this portal to write to us. After the Wellington Earthquake we used Skype to talk to my nephew's class in Wellington, and from there set up a group to keep in contact and share learning. At present we are using it within our school te set up our own book chat group and also to connect with our sister school in Beach Haven NY.

The reasons I use social media in my practice for affirmation of my practice, for advice and mentorship when I have an issue that I'm having difficulty solving. I also use it to engage in learning through my studies but also as a life long learner for my own inquiries.

As 21st century learners, I believe that students need to be taught the skills necessary for them to be prepared for their futures. Like it or not, we live in an increasingly digital age and rather than turning a blind eye we must embrace it and harness the new learning opportunities it offers.

In my classroom the initial benefit of adding a social media component to the classroom programme is for my students to realise that their world does not have to be confined to our four walls or even our community. They have access to other students, teachers and experts anywhere in the world. Their connections and collaboration with these people and the motivation and engagement that it creates is another huge benefit. Teaching children to be aware of what they post on social media is a huge part of having these apps in use which is a benefit but can also be a challenge.

Ensuring that the students are using Social Media in a positive and appropriate way is an issue that has arisen. Hapara allows us to monitor Google apps but we have to physically monitor the children using Social media. We do this through checking the posts on the blogs and Edmodo and also vetting twitter posts before they go out. The majority of our students stick to the rules of engagement that we have set and those who don't are caught very quickly by teachers or other students.

Social Media, when used apporopriately, can be a most engaging and rewarding learning experience. The feedback possibilities and sharing of ideas creates exciting new learning communities. 

References

Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...

Influence of Law and Ethics

An ethical dilemma that I have faced in my own practice, that is linked to digital or online access or activity was when we found that some of our children were misusing our email system and sending nasty messages to each other.

Our students are given Google Accounts at year 3. Parents sign a permission slip in accordance with Google requirements and as a part of school policy, to allow their children to have access to these accounts. Children sign user agreements that outline the expectations of how they will interact with others online and how they are expected to conduct themselves. We refer to our expectations often during each day in the classroom and have also provided cyber safety lessons and resources. There are no excuses for our children to be misbehaving online.

Unfortunately 2 of my children have chosen to do so. One of the children came to me and showed me some emails she had received from another. To be fair they weren’t horribly bad but still not an appropriate use of technology. Also bordering on possibly becoming cyber bullying.

My ethical dilemma was 2 fold. Do I tell the parents? Was it bad enough? Also do I cut access for those students.

In discussion with colleagues I decided to suspend their accounts and leave parents out at this point. When the children arrived and asked why they could no longer access their accounts I spoke to them about what they had done and why. I asked them to come up with alternative ways that they could have dealt with their issue. They concluded that just talking to each other either on their own or with a mediator would have been more effective and caused less drama. When I mentioned the fact that it was almost cyberbullying the students were mortified and sorry. I gave them access to their accounts again only to receive an email from one of the parents asking why their child’s account had been suspended as they were confused.

This brought up another dilemma for me. How is it that they were able to email each other nasty things? Was anyone else doing it too? How often had I actually checked their accounts. When might I have time to do so????

We use Hapara for exactly this reason, so that we can track what our students are doing online. The students know that we can see what they are doing so I have never had an issue before. My colleague and I did go through the rest of the classes docs and found a few children who were doing off task things but no more emails...Thanks Goodness!!!

A potential ethical dilemma in practice for me is around my social media use. I enjoy Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat as I use it to keep in touch with different groups of friends and family.

I am becoming more aware of things that I post as I have recently had friend requests from children and parents in my class. This is sometimes a concern as I need to vet what I post more carefully knowing that they are now looking at my page. If I have a night out or an event that I want to post pics of I now have to post more selectively. I’ve toyed with blocking specific people so that they can’t see but have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to block everyone. Being careful and is a more sensible and mature solution. For my own safety and for my professional safety as I am aware that employers can and will look at social media.

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS

Cultural responsiveness...what is it? Although we ‘talk about it’ a lot I’m not actually sure that all our staff knows. Gay (2001, p.106) described cultural responsiveness as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. This struck a chord with me as I think many teachers believe that being culturally responsive is having a few signs up around the place and saying some names correctly. Maybe throwing in a few words here and there? But it is far deeper than this.

Professor Russell Bishop explains 6 characteristics that a highly effective culturally responsive teacher would display.

1. Teachers must genuinely care for maori students as maori. Children are very sensitive to the ‘vibe’ that they get from teachers and will persevere and take more risks if they trust that you are looking out for their best interests and have a genuine interest and investment in them as individuals, their culture as well as their learning. Caring for students as culturally located individuals within a framework of positive student–teacher relationships is considered beneficial for all students, but particularly so for Maori (Bishop et al., 2003; Hall & Kidman, 2004)
2. Letting children now that you have high expectations of them is another important trait. Maori children are too often at the wrong end of the achievement gap and they tend to have very poor expectations and views of themselves as learners.
3. Teachers must be prepared for maori to be maori by creating learning context where they become the experts and bring their own knowledge to the classroom.
4. Teachers must manage the classroom so they can provide academic feedback, feedforward and negotiated co-construction of learning.
5. Use of a range of strategies effectively is also necessary in a culturally responsive classroom.
6. Evidence based teaching where students know where they are going in their learning (next steps) and what they need to do to get there (success criteria).

At my school I feel our school vision and mission are culturally responsive through the inclusion of Treaty principles in our school charter and policies. Also our 3 bold steps making Students, Community and Staff our focus when planning anything, align with culturally responsive practices.

We have a KMST (Kaupapa Maori Support Teacher) who has a unit and assists with all things Maori. She has had a basic discussion with staff about what cultural responsiveness is, each staff member has filled out a where do I think I’m at with my practice form and an evidence form based around the 5 indicators. From here our KMST has produced a personalised school cultural responsiveness indicator form. She has also provided staff with ample resources for inquiry topics and basic everyday Maori language. The KMST is responsible for our MLA (Maori Language Assistant) and liases with her about timetable and topics to be taught.

Our school values and the way that we assess if our staffs culturally responsiveness need to be worked on. I don’t feel our values are explicit enough and I would like to see them changed so that they are more easily understood by the children and are based around behaviours such as resilience and risk taking. Currently our KMST is using Tataiako for planning and assessment of school wide practices. She has been introducing it to the rest of staff this year so we are on this journey already.

Personally I feel that my own practice is very culturally responsive. In our ILE we make the most of my students strengths and encourage them to share their cultures as much as possible. Our biggest success has been the way that our students from other cultures will now adapt our Te Reo sessions and learnings into their own language. For example we have been learning our Pepeha and Mihi and students have come to school having translated and learnt these in French, Samoan, Bulgarian and Burmese. We were so proud of their initiative and pride that they showed in their culture that we had them say their mihi at assembly. Our children are also encouraged to teach the class about their culture and language and now will offer to do so.

We are currently trialing Seesaw as a way of making stronger home/school links and will encourage our children to use their own languages when they see fit. The children have access to a variety of technologies to assist with their work and presenting their learning in various forms. There is lots of choice and student agency involved.

Having time to reflect on what being culturally responsive means to me and discussing this with colleagues has lead me to realise that it is very difficult to 'teach' someone to 'be' culturally responsive. It is a part of who you are as a teacher. An inate way of being.

 Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool

Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

PRACTICE- The Broader Professional Context

There are many trends impacting on our education system and they are linked in different ways to various extents. As professionals we must look not only at local and national trends but at global trends to be able to keep up with our ever changing world. With the digital age in full flight and new technologies enabling communication and collaboration with anyone, anywhere, anytime, we are no longer limited by our local environment. The world is our oyster. 

Because we are now able to connect and network so easily on a global scale, we must allow our children to develop the 21st century skills necessary to do this appropriately and effectively. According to the Education Minister Hekia Parata (2012);

We need an education system that equips all our young people with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful in a world that is increasingly complex, fluid and uncertain.

What is the best way that schools can foster an innovative environment where these 21st Century skills are able to be developed? This is the question that has been at the forefront of my teaching practice over the past few years partially due to my role as the Digital Leader at my school but mostly through my interest and studies around how to use technology and space effectively to enhance the classroom programme.

ILE is the current trend when it comes to space innovation and teacher collaboration. Redesigning the learning spaces so that they are more flexible, interactive and encouraging of active learning are important aspects of an ILE space. There is a school of thought that the ‘space’ is not an important factor in being able to effectively implement 21st century practices but the pedagogy of the teacher. I agree with this to a certain extent but from my own experience, having a purpose-built or thoughtfully decorated and arranged space does in fact enhance mood and the type of activity that is encouraged or expected in that space. It can set up the atmosphere and environment for the innovative practices to occur more smoothly and successfully.

Collaboration between teachers in an ILE is key to successful delivery of a 21st century style curriculum. The ‘style’ of teaching does not have to be the same but teacher’s pedagogy must align so that children are given many opportunities to use 21st century skills in a variety of situations and platforms. Much more can be achieved and potentially gained when engaged in meaningful collaboration.

It takes a village to raise a child. Many people collaborating contribute to the successful educational outcomes and experiences of each learner. New kinds of partnerships and relationships with the community should be developed as teachers encourage learners work with real challenges in a range of real world contexts. In fact the roles of learners and teachers change as they work together to apply knowledge from a range of curriculum areas to generate new solutions to complex problems. Rethinking the role of teachers from the front of the room expert to the  constructor of learning environments that help students gain 21st century skills through inquiry and exploration.

Current and emerging technologies play an important enabling role in creating new learning opportunities and ways of learning. These technologies increase learners’ motivation, engagement and achievement and foster innovative ways of working collaboratively. We live in a knowledge era. Individuals need to connect knowledge in new and different ways to solve future problems. Students as creators, should be encouraged to create content rather than be a  passive consumer of content. They should be empowered to become the experts. By fostering the 21st Century skills of Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity and Communication children can learn how their ideas impact the world around them.

We need teachers to engage students in bold new curricula that prepare them for critical thinking and persuasive argument, that prepares them for the proficiency to set and meet challenges most of which are very ill-structured. Hattie (2003)

References

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning & teaching: A New Zealand perspective. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

Hattie, J. (2003). New Zealand education snapshot: With specific reference to the Yrs 1-13 years. Knowledge Wave Trust.

OECD (2016), Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

Activity 2: Current issues in my professional context

Our school’s decile rating of 4 helps to identify the Socioeconomic status of our community. We have a mix of families from very low income, struggling families to families who are comfortable. Unfortunately many of our families struggle to assist their children at home. According to APA. (2016),

Families from low-SES communities are less likely to have the financial resources or time availability to provide children with academic support.

This rings true with our school. However our community is very close knit and will support each other where and as they can. We have families who have lived in our area since it was first created as a suburb. There is a strong sense of community and support.

As a school we support our families in many ways from learning needs to social and emotional. We provide food for breakfast and lunches through Kids Can and local people who donate food. We discuss issues and problem solve as a staff regularly so I don’t feel that my practice is affected more than other decile 10 schools that I have worked in.

The professional environment that I work in is firstly, an ILE with a co-teacher. This has had a positive impact on my practice as my co-teacher is an experienced ILE teacher. She is extremely organised and I have had to ‘up my game’ in many areas, particularly paperwork. Collaboration has improved my communication skills and I’m looking more in depth and more often at my students data and progress.

We are included in a vertical syndicate which is very confusing at the moment as I am still unsure exactly who is in it and what the purpose of having us vertical is? We have also had many changes in staff over the last few years so the dynamics of the group as a whole has been unsettled. I feel like we are still in a trial and error mode when it comes to how our school is organised and run which is causing confusion and uncertainty.

Our school culture at present is a difficult one to describe without feeling apprehensive about saying the wrong thing. However, I shall attempt to do so in the most professional manner I can. Our culture is much like Stoll's (1998) Hothouse model where we experience high levels of control and feel constantly monitored and scrutinised. This in turn fosters the feelings of claustrophobia and constant pressure. Unfortunately, I don't feel that it is a very healthy culture at present which is a major issue for me.

Schein 1985 argues the possibility that the “only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture”.

This is something that needs to be addressed urgently but HOW? I am not senior management so how do I affect that change without drama? Morgan (1997), cited by Stoll (1998), suggested 2 questions that leaders and managers should ask themselves:

• “What impact am I having on the social construction of reality in my organisation?”
• “What can I do to have a different and more positive impact?”  

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These are 2 questions I would love to see answered...but how to pose them is the dilemma.

Stoll’s ‘Norms of Improving Schools’ was mildly distressing for me to read as my school is missing the mark on more than half of these factors.

• Shared goals - Our systems are very clumsy and confusing. An attempt has been made to set up a shared vision but it is not really clear, partly due to changes in staff.
• Responsibility for success - I have only put this here because of the stress that we are put under for this! We are often spoken to in a negative way about how negative the data is. I am demotivated and annoyed when I should be the opposite. My conclusion is that it’s all in the delivery of the message.
• Support - There is always someone there which I am grateful for. Unfortunately sometimes the support we feel we need is not always what we get, because we are not listened to or we are labelled as moaners or stirrers so don’t say anything.
• Openness - This is not something we can do with ease with all of our SLT. Words are often twisted to suit and it’s often not worth the trouble it causes.

On the positive side, our management encourages Risk Taking, Lifelong Learning and Continuous Improvement through PD and freedom to trial new techniques and programmes. We are a fairly Collegial staff and there is an understanding that we are all valuable in some way and have something to offer. Our social events have been known to be celebratory to the extreme but this has declined over the years. I’m putting this one down to staff turnover but also possibly low staff moral where no-one can be bothered anymore. It’s just the usuals. One thing that is clear to staff and students alike is our Behaviour expectations and consequences via the behaviour book. This is something that has been consistent through my time at my school.

My conclusion is that for our culture to change it needs to come from the top. There needs to be an acknowledgement that there is an issue before it can begin being resolved. There needs to be open and honest discussions using ‘I’ statements to avoid attack. More importantly there must be someone brave enough to start the wheels in motion...someone from the outside perhaps, or someone who can be bothered.

References

APA. (2016). Education and Socioeconomic Status. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education.aspx

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture