Week 32 - PRACTICE - Changes in Practice

Activity 8: Changes in my practice

Reflection on my learning journey to participate in and complete The Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice (Digital and Collaborative Learning)

Wow Here I am - Week 32, reflecting on how the Learning I have experienced in the Mindlab programme has Changed my practice. 

Making the choice to commit to 32 weeks Post grad study was the easiest part of this journey! I was inspired by a previous colleagues’ enthusiasm of the course in 2016 and was aware of the commitment required, particularly the first 16 weeks which for those of us unlucky enough to live more than an hour away from the Face-to-face centre meant that every Tuesday was 6 extra intense hours on top of a busy schedule.  I came home from week one feeling so over-whelmed at the Digital expectations of the tasks that lay ahead and remember telling my boss that I’m not sure I was up to it!

The Leadership part of those first 16 weeks fortunately for me was less overwhelming. In fact many of the topics covered were familiar and our School management had already embraced and was beginning to embed the language, 21^st Century learning skills, digital collaboration in the classroom, Flipped learning, and Mindset.  Our Community were already well down this path and my Colleagues and I were familiar with Visible Learning and Child centred Pedagogy.

On-line learning and Webinars and Using Google plus as an Educational tool have all been personal challenges.  The last 16 weeks have been incredibly intense and an element of alone-ness and relying heavily on my personal self-management skills has been an obvious growth area for me – perseverance and resilience and all of the above actually is easily encompassed in

“Criterion 4 : Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.” Ministry of Ed. PTC

My capacity to develop my professional personal practice has been enhanced greatly through the last 32 Weeks and I have new knowledge and skills around Research and Evidence Community practice to support my personal practice implementation.

My favourite assignment in the last 16 weeks has been to create a Teacher Inquiry into Student Learning and this fulfilled the below Citerion:

“Criterion 6 : Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.” (ibid)

This was because it was directly relevant to my students and colleagues and I could draw on a number of new skills confidently. It also helped me confidently move my reflective practice to a Spiral of Learning model, Timperley et.al. (2014) and in reading Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993) I think effective reflective practice as explained  this way in their Reflective Practice paper actually nails the whole purpose and concept:

‘…while experience is the basis for learning, learning cannot take place without reflection. Conversely, while reflection is essential to the process, reflection must be integrally linked with action…’

My next dream regarding my future PD.

Goodness!!!  I would at some stage very much like to do some more Post Grad study toward completing a Masters.  Practically speaking I plan to support my colleagues as we deliberately continue to upskill and provide the 

‘Next practice’ for our students, I plan to use my new Digital skills and exposure to On-Line Social Media as a basis for professional interaction and stimulation. I will be open to any future focussed PD opportunities but first of all I will take a deep breath and reflect on my learning and then put it into practice where I can.

References

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files.

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

Timperley,H., Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2014). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry.  Victoria: Centre for Strategic Education

Activity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map

Week 31

Above is a Mindmap of the various professionals that I am or could potentially be connected with when planning and implementing programmes of learning for my students.

Who may I have the interdisciplinary connection with?

I have chosen to write about connecting with a Supporting Agency.  This is something that happens but I think perhaps the Skilled professionals in one field or another see themselves as experts offering help rather than working side-by-side with another professional.

Often teachers are at the end of their skill-set by the time the Supporting Agency is available (lack of funding, wait-lists, etc…) and they do indeed need help but a different professional Collaborative approach could restore the balance of power in this type of Interdisciplinary approach.

One that also has Visible accountability and growth embed for all professionals.

How might the joint planning, decision-making, and goal-setting take place?

Initially as the classroom practitioner I will be the instigator to create a collaborative team.  This is actually not as straight forward as identifying a need, looking on my Mind-Map above, and making a phone call.

There are set processes which can be very good if the systems are well resourced.  Often a teacher has to persevere for longer than 12 months to receive Collaborative interdisciplinary input.

Once the contact is made then a meeting is called.

In Mulligan’s (2015) article proposing a ‘…Conceptual Model for Collaboration…’ where she posted as a guest writer, she outlined 3 ‘…Qualifiers…’

• Workplace Conditions
• Qualities/ Attitudes
• Common Goals

Using Mulligan’s (2015) qualifiers a Meeting space that is Neutral and Welcoming is step number one.  It also should be well resourced, comfortable and available. Any Collaboration like this is not a one-off event but may be sustained over a long period of time and meetings should be deliberated planned.

The Qualities or Attitudes of a Professional Collaborative experience should really go without saying as this is a “Professional” enterprise. However it is always a great idea to explicitly outline expected Behaviours.  Mulligan (2015) noted the following:

1. Cooperative—able to compromise
2. Equitable—respect for roles
3. Trust—perceived competence
4. Shared vulnerability—safe setting to explore, inquire & critique
5. Enthusiasm—desire to continue collaboration

But, I am certain, in a Collaborative partnership others may or may not be added.

Finally and most importantly are the Common Goals.  This is the whole purpose of the Collaboration, This is where the wonderful ideas and creativity and inspiration occurs,

I think this whole process can be enhanced with a Spiral of Inquiry Timperley et.al.(2014)

because it is the Hunches, the  Reflection, and the Refining of an educational Initiative that is so powerful and surely this would be enhanced  with an interdisciplinary connection where all professionals involved would be equally responsible.

References

Mulligan, L. M., & Kuban, A. J. . (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration

Timperley, Kaser & Halbert (2014) A framework for transforming Learning in Schools: Innovation and the Spiral of Inquiry. Victoria: Centre for Strategic Education

Activity 6: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development

Reflection

I use Social Media very rarely in my day to day teaching of 5 yr olds.  I know there is potential to increase my usage, and I use on-line sources frequently, as well as posting on a Blog for communication purposes. So I have chosen to discuss Social Media Online Networks in my professional development instead.

The ways Social Media has been used to support my engagement in professional development.

Participating in the Mindlab course has had the most impact on my engagement and use of Social Media for my Professional Development.

In 2012 I was encouraged to join Twitter by my principal at the time as she had become a real convert.      Before this I had joined Facebook in 2009 which led to joining two professional groups, NZ Teachers Primary and NZ Teachers and Leaders Catholic Schools which can be just sources of information but also opportunities for developing professionally and providing a forum to connect and discuss with other teachers. Becoming part of the Google plus community was also made available obviously when I joined Google email. All of these and others are available but as a resource I have not been fully engaged but only dipped in and out – played around on the fringes so-to-speak.

This year because it was a requirement I have learned a new Habit for my PD. I have become engaged in the Google Plus community and searched for and responded to others in our on-line learning quests.  Also I have begun to use Twitter for my learning interests and I can see the Value and usefulness to me.  These Social Media tools are more than a resource or source of information.  But unless you actually personally try it out and have success then you will remain a fringe player.

Challenges that arise when I use social media for my professional development

In Melhuish (2013)  thesis she uses Dwyer et al. (2009) evidence that states

 ‘…teachers will only embrace social network sites if there is evidence that they are effective, but the way they can enable knowledge transfer is currently not well understood…”

From my personal experience I believe this to be true. For me the challenges range from plain Ignorance of the resource and how to use it, through to a fear of sharing ideas in a public forum and being judged.  Maybe this is not just me but a number of professionals as well? 

Perhaps we all assume that this great resource is easily accessible when actually for a great number of reasons individuals don’t use Social Media for PD because they don’t know how – and they certainly don’t have any clue about the power of ‘knowledge transfer.’

How am I going to address the challenges?

To address my personal challenges I am so lucky to have had my previous Mindset -Dweck (2010) challenged by my involvement with Mindlab. 

Actually, now I am going to take up the challenge of teaching and guiding my Colleagues to make use of Social Media sites such as Twitter to research for our PD Spirals of Inquiry but also deliberately begin investigating together how we as professionals can actually begin to use Social Media within our teaching and aim to embed this in our 2018 Teaching Practice. 

References

Carol Dweck, 2010 What is Mindset?                                   

 https://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/

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...

Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

Week 29:    Activity 5 Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

Who should I have as ‘friends’ on my Social Media networks? This is an ethical conundrum for me as a professional.  Often the lines of Friendship and professionalism may Blur and a huge dose of Caution is required.

I have many acquaintances (under the heading of Friends or Contacts) on line – some are past students and some are parents of current students.  I have an inbuilt horror of displaying anything remotely private on line in a public arena so therefore I tend to use social media simply as a means of Contact, entertainment and keeping in touch. 

Following Hall’s (2001) Questions to guide ethical decision-making guidelines I will analyse my ethical position about Who I should befriend on Social-Media as anything I post or comment or approve/dis-approve of is in the Public domain for ever.

·        

• The problem and the Principle involved?

The problem is that Parents or past students may post anything on-line which may be inappropriate and as a member of their social media community I may be ‘tagged’ or ‘messaged’ inadvertently.  The Principle from the Educational Council (2016) that is involved is: demonstrating a high standard of professional behaviour and integrity.

·         

• Who are the main stakeholders with interests in the problem, and what are their interests?

The School would be interested if I was publically involved in anything inappropriate or disturbing on-line. Being a special Character school my Parish community or even the Diocese may have an interest. The concern would be over my professionalism and integrity which would reflect poorly on my school and role I have in the school.  

·      

•    Which stakeholders should be given priority? Why?

The children I have day to day care for are the main stakeholders.  They along with their families deserve and expect me to behave in a professional manner and represent the school they have chosen for their children to attend.

·     

•     What restrictions are there to your actions?

I am essentially restricted by the Educational Council Code of Ethics (2016) and School Code of Conduct and Expectations.

·     

•     What courses of action are possible?

I therefore have to continually monitor any and all public communications I am in anyway involved in.  This can encompass any public outing where there may be CCTV or where any person has a device. My behaviours or attendance anywhere can instantly be recorded and posted on-line and be made available for public scrutiny and interpretation.

It is important to remember that the Pen is mightier that the sword, A pic is worth a 1000 words and that Privacy is almost non-existent.

My Advice to you is Be Mindful at all times of your behaviour. Choose carefully who you befriend on-line and monitor the on-line behaviours and posts that interact with you.

 Find the UNFOLLOW button and don’t be afraid to use it.

References

Education Council (2016). Our Code Our Standards – code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession.

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers

Ministry of Education. (2016). Digital Technology – safe and responsible use in schools. New Zealand Government.

Indigenous Knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Week 28:    Activity 4: Indigenous Knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice.

Understanding indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness

What is Cultural responsiveness? And Indigenous knowledge really?

One can say one is ‘culturally literate’ and responsive to the obvious Visible differences among people, welcoming with greetings in different languages, being tolerant when individuals do not remove headgear or do not meet your eyes, or clapping enthusiastically when viewing a ‘cultural’ dance or tradition but this is not enough and is never ever going to be enough for our Maori and Multicultural students in our classrooms.

As Russell Bishop, Professor of Māori Education at the University of Waikato and director of Te Kotahitanga says, we as teachers

 “…need to provide a classroom context where caring and learning relationships…are… paramount to the educational performance of Māori (and Multicultural) students…”

These learning relationships are the result of ‘A Culturally responsive Pedagogy’ and ‘Agentic’ practice. Bishop (2012)

So….

ü  worldviews

ü  language

ü  values

ü  how people make sense of things

ü  perspectives

ü  assumptions

all of the above, Teaching Tolerance (2010) are important in a teaching practice that can begin to be appropriately Culturally responsive towards Indigenous and/or other Ethnicities.  Theory is one thing.  Then it needs to be deliberately planned and practiced.

Using the Mauri Model which is adapted from Pohatu (2011)  of deciding which level our school is operating at – Mauri Moe, Mauri Oho or Mauri Ora, I am going to discuss Communication and planning and assessment.

Communication is vital for any organisation and I believe our school can confidently place ourselves in the Mauri Ora level of the Mauri Model as far as Culturally Responsiveness in Communication is concerned.

We have active, frequent and deliberate communication with our Cultural and Ethnic groups which is in large facilitated by our ELL co-ordinator. There are after school cultural and homework groups, Pagsasama  and Pasifica and Hui forums for whanau which Staff are encouraged to attend and participate. We have Kaumatua and access to advocates and translators.  Members of different cultures in our school community have roles on the BOT and Home and school and as staff we are expected to communicate effectively with our families. There is Cultural presence and Voice right from the BOT through to the classroom from our Multicultural community.

In the area of being Culturally responsive in Planning and Assessment I believe our school is at the Mauri Oho -Wake up – stage.

We are very aware of our Cultural and Ethnic students and communities and are working to respond with Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga, Ako and Mahi Tahi as outlined in the ERO indicators (2016),  We have a long way to go to ensure schoolwide planning and assessment that ensures Cultural responsiveness is embedded across all levels.  There are often pockets of Visibility and the latest vision of this is the Maths PD recently attended by all staff which was focussed on adding Cultural Responsiveness to our kete.

We will improve in this area because it is a genuine desire.

References

Education Review Office (2016). School evaluation indicators – effective practice for improvement and learner success.

Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations.

Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum .Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198:

Teaching Tolerance.( 2010, Jun 17).Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Contemporary trend in NZ and Internationally - Globalisation

Week 27:    Activity 3: Contemporary trend in New Zealand or internationally

Globalisation  - Migration - has captured my attention.

What responsibility do I have towards my students when dealing with the trends and challenges of Globalisation in my Professional practice?

Multiculturalism is increasingly relevant in my teaching practice.

In my personal primary schooling I attended a small 2 teacher Country school. In the eight years from Primer one to Form two there were two Maori families on the school roll. Both families were my neighbours but neither families made ethnicity a point of difference.  In fact it wasn’t until I was in Form one at the ripe old age of 12 I overheard a playground discussion where one 13 year friend called another 13 year friend a ‘Parking Car’ during a disagreement.  I had to be enlightened by my parents that in fact the child had meant ‘Pakeha’ and what the context of the discussion might have been.

So, although our beautiful country is bi-cultural this had no impact what so ever on my Formative years.  I realise that this was due to living in a southern country province.  But technology made no impact on my childhood outside of TVNZ One 6pm News and the Goodnight Kiwi! 

Fast Forward to the classroom of 2017 in the same Southern Rural province this time an Urban setting in a 10 teacher school.

Within my classroom I have a small number of ethnicities but they have a tremendously high impact on my teaching practice.

Currently I have Indian, Tongan, English, Indonesian and Filipino. Our school has 70 children out of 200 that identify with ethnicities other than NZ European enrolled, and in our local town there are over 52 different Ethnicities as indicated by our very active Waitaki Multicultural Council.

These statistics support the Global trend outlined in the OECD (2016) publication where People are on the Move across the Globe in search of a better life. Improved technologies and transport enable migrants to travel easily whilst governments enabling new immigrants to hold dual/multi citizenships is an attractive factor.

As a teacher the most common issues I meet with migrant students are:

•       Non English speakers – both students and parents/caregivers
•       Cultural differences, understandings, expectations and behaviours

New Zealand schools are very good at welcoming migrants onto their school rolls and enabling them to receive an equitable education. 

I know this because our school has implemented an excellent support process for our English Language Learners and their families, enabling and encouraging them to retain their culture and language whilst extending English Language Learning to our students within classroom settings.

We have a wonderful ELL co-ordinator, excellent PD and support for staff and students, a strong school Culture which welcomes and appreciates the dignity and diversity of all people and specific and individual support programmes for our students.

Even 20 years ago when I first started teaching there were only a few students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds.  But the Globalisation trend is surely very obvious and visible in all our classrooms today.

References

OECD (2016), Trends shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_education

https://multiculturalnz.org.nz/Waitaki+Multicultural+Council

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE COMMUNITY, SCHOOL CULTURE AND PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Activity 2:  Current Issues in my Professional Context  -  Week 26

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE COMMUNITY, SCHOOL CULTURE AND PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

The school I belong to is a Decile 6 School.  It is an Integrated Special Character Catholic school in an urban setting.  The clientele are made up from a diverse spread of backgrounds boasting strong Pasifica, Filipino and Asian groups and our children are from across both country and town home settings. Our school nestles within a Parish and a Diocese and yet the vast majority of the families attending the school have minimal interaction with the ‘raison d'être’ of the school’s fundamental purpose for existence.

I am interested in the discussion around what helps to create a positive Culture in schools and what Culture actually is.

As Stoll wrote that Schein (1985) recorded,  Culture is:

…the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organisation, that operate unconsciously, and that define in a basic ‘taken for granted’ fashion an organisation’s view of itself and its environment…”

In the case of my school which has been over time deeply steeped in Dominican Catholicity and tradition one would expect the Culture to continue to be an outward reflection of this and that the Climate would match the Culture seamlessly. Wouldn’t you?

I would hazard a guess that this is not always the case. 

And the why of this is an on-going topic that everybody has an opinion on but very few quick fix-it solutions. 

What I do know is that it is a really important facet for school management to know what the Climate of its school is, and that is equally important to enable the school Culture to be known and lived every day.

My school Management are very aware of our traditional Culture and deliberately work toward maintaining, growing and sustaining it for the benefit of all.

Staff are the most important people in this endeavour.  They need to be nurtured with good PD and support systems, they need to feel confident, they need to exude happiness and joy and belief in their roles and feel valued and appreciated.

When the staff are secure and understand the school’s vision and expectations and how they are expected to teach, assess, report and most of all give the children a personal sense of love and belonging and self-value  then that is when the school Culture can begin to work its magic.

You need to know where you come from in order to have direction for the present and hope for the future. The school culture needs to be embedded in all you say and do.

That is a deliberate art.  And the artist is the Principal.

References:

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