Saturday 21 October 2017

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, 21st 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

4 comments:

  1. What a great reflection Leanne, what a long way we have all come from week 1. Lots of different ups and downs and lots of new learning has happened. I enjoyed the spiral of inquiry assessment too and it was great to be able to put it all into practice. Now to be leaders at school with our new learning, bring on 2018!

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  2. Hi Leanne,

    I enjoyed reading your reflection about the course and totally agree about the intensity of the last 16 weeks. It certainly has been exciting to create a meaningful and well researched inquiry into my practice that is really benefiting my students.
    Even though some of the digital tasks ahead seem daunting, it is great reflect on the progress we have made since we started and will continue to make as long we continue to have a growth mindset and reflect on our practice.

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    1. Thanks Emily,
      Yes the Inquiry is quite powerful being relevant for our kids. I agree that the future is still full of challenges even though we've completed our Study - but that's what being a Lifelong learner is. And achieving success in our teaching is great for our students. Reflect and Grow - That's us!!

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  3. Yes. I do remember at the beginning you telling me you weren't sure you could do it! But you've done it. We all have. Its been a tedious journey at points but I think we've all gained things from it that we did not necessarily expect. I felt all along that we could do it together and one of the best things is how it has forged new and different relationships between our team. I am so inspired by the way you have put your learning into practice and what it means for our little ones, setting the tone as they come through from your class.

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