Week 32 Change in my practice.

What

When I look back at the 32 weeks that has just been I ask myself what has changed because in the beginning I was not fully sold on Mindlab because it seemed to promise too much. Personally I would now fully recommend it because it has subtly changed my teaching practice and it has also given me more confidence to try new digital technologies. I now also am a full time collaborator coach in the classroom. Teaching Graphics and Design lends itself to Collaboration and I now create lessons at all levels to ensure my students mix and collaborate in class, online even globally.

So What

“Often we feel that identifying a problem or a need in our practice admits a level of incompetence, however if we cannot identify the ‘problem’ that we want to address then we do not have ownership, and therefore no investment, in the learning required”(Osterman & Kottkamp, 2015). As a teacher of 20 years at a school that has professional learning groups and we are doing inquiry all year round it can become much when you think there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Being involved in Mindlab has given me fresh legs in the Industry and I now enter the classroom with that just left the seminar feeling of being vibrant and ready to change the world again. How long can I keep doing this I do not know but I am constantly trying new things. I pick myself up when I fall down. I talk to my Colleagues, listen, share advice and take advice. Mindlab has even got me to pick up some Literature on education and I now do readings for my own good not necessarily like literature reviews but more like self -education. Blogging is my big struggle but friends have given me advice and said write it and post it and do not worry about it. I will see if I can overcome that hurdle. We have been collecting student voice at our school for years but this is the first time I am actively going to share with my colleagues and find a way forward that gives that student voice life.

“Bright teachers and trainers around the world are now preparing for the challenges of the 21^st century” (Dryden and Vos 1997) One of the biggest positives about my Mindlab journey is the teamwork and camaraderie of those Wednesday nights as long as those night were the meeting of all the Primary School teachers and their enthusiasm and vibe and listening to all the wonderful things they were doing in their classes was inspiring. Getting to know the other 2 members of our staff from different departments- Aron from Maths and Lance from Social Sciences was also a highlight and the Collaboration and house meetings that went on till late at night will be remembered as well as the new found friendships.

Now what

If all you got out of Mindlab was new networks I would say it is priceless as those working relationships are worth gold in the future and teachers and kids can only benefit from it. Personally I now have a network of People I can email, follow on Twitter generally just chat to about anything related to my teaching practice without fear and the feedback I receive is always helpful because I now have a growth mindset when it comes to receiving critique.

References:

Osterman, K.F. and Kottkamp, R.B. (2004) Reflective Practice for Educators: Professional Development to İmprove Student Learning. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks.

Gordon Dryden and Dr Jeannette Vos (1998) The Learning Revolution.

Rolfe,G Freshwater D and Jasper M (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions user guide.

Evaluating Trends - Digital Technology

Week 30 - Evaluating Trends - Digital Technology

What:

The impact of digital technology in the high school classroom has moved so fast in the last few years it is hard to imagine how we coped without the aid of digital Technology in the past. Teachers who use Google Classroom in their daily practice will swear by how valuable a learning and organisational tool it has become in teachers, students and even parents lives. I use it all the time to make announcements, set assignments, put up resources, send out reminders and give students feedback it has been an organisational game changer for me and my students.

So what:

So how do we help our students to function in this digitally rich society, whilst still teaching fundamental skills and without losing teacher-student relationships (Hattie, J. 2009) The challenge we face is how do we use digital technology in the classroom without doing ourselves out of a job one-day. Students must still be taught how to use digital technology successfully. Some use it for research only others use it as a word processor but most use it to connect with their friends. Teachers can teach students how to use digital technology to collaborate with others in their communities and in the world. There is also the fact that there are a number of students who do not have the internet at home, do not have their own devices and have to be loaned devices at school. So as a teacher we have to look at all these factors before making all the learning in class digital.

Now What:

As a school we have to move forward with these new trends and thus in order to take our kids along with us the school has had to invest in a large number of devices to provide for those students who cannot afford their own devices. The devices were issued through the House system in the school with Deans connecting with the families to ensure students were not left out.

References.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001). Critical Reflection for Nursing and the Helping Professions: A User's Guide.                       

Indigenous knowledge & Cultural responsiveness in my practice.

Week 31- Indigenous knowledge & Cultural responsiveness in my practice.

My indigenous knowledge takes me back to my schooling days in South Africa where I was poor and not given an equal education but was none the wiser and thus just accepted things the way they were and got on with living and learning in my environment. My teachers were caring and taught with passion most of them anyway. We did not have much facilities but if you had lunch and friends that seemed to be enough. Coming to New Zealand and teaching in a country where indigenous knowledge and culture is part and parcel of your teaching practice was pretty inspiring for me.

Using Role's model of reflection I will reflect on my own teaching practice and also how indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness is reflected at my school.

What: My first introduction to cultural awareness at my school was being involved in the Powhiri and experiencing the rawness and power of the Haka being performed the Kapa Haka group. The speakers then speaking in te reo Maori and then explain in English what was being said. For me in the classroom the challenge was to pronounce students names correctly as we have a very small window to make a connection. The Maori staff at my school were very helpful in teaching me the correct pronunciation and we had lots of laughs at my South African accent trying to sound Maori. We also had Pasifika and Asian students and getting their names correct was always a challenge. Being a graphics teacher I usually tell my students to include their culture and heritage into their designs and we try and ensure that Cultural awareness is always part of the brief.

So What:

At Pakuranga College we celebrate Cultural awareness in many different ways now but it was not always that way in times gone by we ticked a lot of boxes about the Treaty as part of our appraisal. This year our school goal was to unpack the Treaty and what it means to us in the classroom and our school community. The Board approved a teacher only day and we had a whole staff right down to admin in the hall with a powerful guest speaker from Wellington and we had a group of Maori students to let the staff know what Cultural awareness means to them. Maori staff and students shared with us their journey and we did group work and at the end everybody left with a bit of a better understanding of why Cultural awareness is so important in our teaching and learning.

Now What.

 Pohatu (2011) explained the meaning of the different Mauri states as follows:) Mauri Oho is the state of being proactive, being awaken from the Mauri Moe. Mauri Ora is the state of being actively engaged. At my school I can safely say we are actively engaged in being culturally aware of our differences and we celebrate them proudly in and outside the classroom. This becomes very evident when you attend a Whanau Hui or a Pasifika Evening or our major Cultural Night where all of the Cultures come together for a showcase evening of song, dance and food. The way forward is keep doing what we do and continue trying to being inclusive of others Cultures in our day to day teaching and learning.

References.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. 

Whakaatere Pohatu, Taina. (2011). Indigenous Spiritualities at Work: Transforming the Spirit of Enterprise

Using Social online networks for professional development

Using Social online networks for professional development

Descriptive:

I will be using Jay and Johnsons (2002) reflective model to explain how I as a Graphics teacher and

Whanau leader have used Pinterest, Ted talks,Facebook Groups, YouTube to develop in my profession.

I normally use these online sites to try and find something different to add to my lessons because after

teaching for the same subject 30 years you can become stale and always need to keep up with what is

trending in order to inspire the next generation of learners. I unfortunately do not engage with these

online networks but just use them for my own benefit which I suppose is selfish but I would rather visit

the dentist than let the world wide web know what I am thinking. I do not have a problem talking to my

Colleagues about different things and sharing my opinion however non PC they may be but online I fear

I will be judged and seem exposed or naked and thus do not engage but do follow and take in what is

being shared online. I think I will only engage when i feel the time is ready. Doing these blogs have been

the hardest thing in the whole MINDLAB process.

Comparative:

Having just read Lightening Guides (2015) Social Media: Facebook,Twitter & the Modern Revolution.

It is clear to see that online networks are changing the world both political and economic as well Socially.

Recently in New Zealand we had a beach bought by the people for the people through crowd funding

something that seemed impossible only a few years ago. If we look at what is happening in schools and

how students are communicating and sharing ideas across the globe we cannot but also get on the

online soul train  in the classroom if only for our students sake. In my case I think my students are light

years ahead of me anyway but I have always considered myself a learner and will be playing catch up

soon.

Critical reflection

The main reason for me to use Social Online Networks in my classroom is getting my students to

collaborate with like minded or other people that can help them become 21st Century learners and

also for them to share their ideas and grow in confidence when they get feedback from their online

community they create. I will also have to travel on this journey with them so I will be honing my

social network skills -Twitter here I come.

References:

Jay, J. K., & Johnson, K. L. (2002). Capturing complexity: A typology of reflective practice for teacher

education. Teaching and teacher education.

Lightening Guides (2015) Social Media: Facebook,Twitter & the Modern Revolution.

Week 28 Ethical and Legal issues,

Hi there
I am going to look at an ethical dilemma that a teacher faced some time ago that I was involved in as the Dean of the student. I will use Rolfe et al.'s Reflective Model  to outline the incident.

What

A student completes her Art Board with pieces of Artwork that she says she completed at home. Which they are allowed to do. The teacher asks the student when if it was her work as the standard of work does not match the student’s previous work completed in the class over the past 3 terms. The student states that it is her work and when quizzed about the improved quality she claimed to be working very hard at home. The teacher found herself in a moral and ethical dilemma because she did not believe the student and therefore refused to sign an authenticity document which is required by the markers.

So What

Parents contacted the school and claimed that their daughter was being victimised by the teacher who did not like their daughter. They were threatening to take the school to court and to expose the school in the newspapers for victimising Asian students with our illegal practices and rules.

Using Ehrich et al. (2011) “model of ethical decision-making”

We Identified the Critical Incident in the “What”. 

The teacher’s professional ethics were being called up by the parents and the teacher  was bound by “the Code of Professional Responsibilities and Standards for the Teaching Profession as outlined in by the Education council of New Zealand” (Educational Council, 2017)

The School policy and Legal issues regarding student work and authenticity was outlined in the school assessment document which the teacher had adhered to.

The parents and student got a prominent member of Korean community to lobby the school on their behalf and a meeting was arranged with the Principal and all parties.

Now What

The teacher was not budging from her stance and the parents were saying the school had no proof that the girl had not done the work. The Principal looked at how this could affect the schools relationship with the Korean Community. The Principal also saw that the student was becoming anxious that she was going to fail her final year because the Art board was a large chunk of her marks in that subject. The Principal pulled a Solomon and asked that the girl complete 2 pieces of Artwork under supervision in school over 2 weekends and then submit it and she would sign the Authenticity document. What also came out of using Ehrich et al. (2011) “model of ethical decision-making” was that in future students could only take work that they had started in class and their teacher had seen to complete at home.

References:

Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice,

Pakuranga College Board of Trustees (2011) Assessment Teachers Handbook.

Contribution of Teacher Enquiry topics to my Communities of Practice

Contribution of Teacher Enquiry topics to my Communities of Practice

Descriptive

When I think about Communities of Practice I realise that doing the Mindlab course for the past 19 weeks Is like being in a COP. For me getting to know the 2 other staff members from our school doing the course and all the other Primary and High school teachers on the course has been the best part. Wenger (1998)

Defines a Community of Practice as a group of individuals participating in communal activity, and experiencing/continuously creating their shared identity through engaging in and contributing to the practices of their communities. 

Comparative

The 3 of us from our school worked in different subject areas Maths,Social Studies and Technology, however,we all were working on using Digital for learning in the classroom and trying to use Collaboration to increase achievement in our subject areas. We came together once a week and shared our experiences in our subject areas with what we were trying each week. We also encouraged one another with the Digital Apps we were trying and I personally improved my Digital app use in the classroom purely from the stories and experiences of the other 2 in our COP. I can safely say I am now sold on Padlet as digital tool in the classroom for collecting student voice based on Aron's success stories.

Critical Reflection

In teaching we are always making plans to get together to talk about stuff but life gets in the way and Department meetings come up and all sorts of things hinder us so it was great having that set time once a week for Mindlab where a group of like minded people (COP)got together and shared their journey sometimes it was nice and gentle storytelling and sometimes it was thought provoking but it always made me think about my teaching practice and what does that mean for for my students. (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, COP is a groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interaction on an ongoing basis. Our group from my school shared our Digital and Collaboration journey by doing the last assignment together which was really enlightening and showed that you do not have to be in the same subject area to be in a Community of Practice. Moving forward I now am more confident in using and trying new Digital apps like Peardeck and Padlet and also have created more lessons where the students have to collaborate in different groups rather than with just their friends.

References

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wenger,Mcdermott&Snyder (2002)Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Reflection on Future orientated Learning and Teaching

Reflection on Future orientated Learning and Teaching.

Description:

I tried to incorporate the things I have learned in Mindlab in my classroom teaching coupled with thinking how do I stack up as a teacher in the 21st Century. In my Graphics class I did a lesson to try and get the students to collaborate. I gave them a strange looking design idea off a Pinterest  site and asked them to tell me what they thought it was. They shared their thoughts through a Padlet thus giving the whole class an opportunity to engage anonymously which the kids really love. They then had to work in groups to design something from my idea and sell it to the class by presenting in front of the class as a group and then vote for the best solution with the winner group getting a pizza.

My Feelings

I was not sure if it would work because a large number of the class was ESOL students and they did not mix easily because of the language barrier. But I was hopeful because everybody appeared to have given an answer in the Padlet but It was still anonymous so I did not really know. The class had a good vibe as they worked in teams and there was good buzz in most of the teams and I had to hold myself from intervening where I thought a team had gone quiet as I wanted the students to collaborate without prompts from me.

Evaluation and analysis.

The students blew me away with their design ideas and how different each group was. What surprised me was their teamwork in the presentation of their ideas. Making it a competition really spurred the students and having a food prize also helped but seeing the ESOL students  collaborating was the cherry on top. Voting also surprised me as thee students picked an idea I would not necessarily say was the best on the day but their choice so I had to respect their opinion. Padlet was also good for collecting student voice about working together. Most found it more helpful than working on an idea by themselves. Something to think about when doing project work is What people are calling a lot of things project-based learning is not necessarily high quality learning experiences for kids. Katrina Schwartz 2018. Negatives I found in my lesson were that group-work is never an equal contribution even though the group grade is the same for everyone. Using Padlet for the first time did lead to some fun comments coming up on the screen but nothing too outrageous.

Conclusion and Action Plan.

I think collaboration is a valuable thing in the classroom and I need to create tasks that will help students to engage with one another in a meaningful way and for it to be part of their daily practice. The challenge of moving from the old classroom style of teaching students where they sit in front of you and listen and then do something by themselves is upon us and My action plan is to do more activities that get them engaging with more people be it in the classroom or in the real world or in online communities.

References

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. Practice-based Professional Learning Centre, Open University. Retrieved from  http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Katrina Schwartz (2018) The six must have elements of high quality project based learning.