Final Reflection

I have really enjoyed my MindLab journey, especially the opportunity to meet and network with other passionate educators. While it wasn’t 100% what I expected (I thought there would be more techy stuff!) it has made me think, reflect and change my practice. The two key changes I have made in my practice are around student agency and 21st Century skills for learning. Both of these areas were things I had wanted to do in my classroom for quite a while but wasn’t sure how to effectively do them. Through the activities over the past 32 weeks I have had the opportunity to learn about different models of learning and theories around skill development. The 21st Century skills reading (http://www.itlresearch.com/images/stories/reports/21cld%20learning%20activity%20rubrics%202012.pdf) has been one I have read and re-read and passed on to others! I think these skills provide a great framework for planning and learning and have definitely been implemented in my classroom.

I have always tried to include student voice in my practice as I strongly believe it is the students that we are all working for. The module on student agency firmed up my pedagogy around this concept and highlighted the difference between voice and agency. I am working towards building agency in my learners and hope by the end of this year we will be a considerable way through Sylvia Duckworth’s infographic.

Continuum of Voice: What it Means for the Learner. (2016,) . Retrieved March 18, 2017, from http://www.personalizelearning.com/2016/01/continuum-of-voice-what-it-means-for.html

I found the leadership modules interesting as this is not an area I have had much experience in. I hope to use this learning in my future career. My dream now however is to continue on to the masters programme and investigate how to set up and facilitate successful collaborative partnerships in a primary school setting. Wish me luck!

Interdisiplinary teaching

As a primary school teacher I teach all disciplines during my work day. Traditionally primary education looks at a ‘theme’ during ‘topic or inquiry’. For example we may teach about life cycles during our afternoon slot, read about life cycles in reading, write about life cycles in writing and carry out statistical investigations around life cycles. This model shows children how knowledge can be used in a variety of ways. ThomasMcDonaghGroup (2011) state interdisciplinary leads to innovation and new ideas. I have seen this first hand in the classroom where suddenly all the learning about a topic clicks and students start questioning and wondering how and why things are as they are. This model of teaching and learning is fantastic for children learning about their world however I feel strongly that it could produce fantastic results in a secondary school environment where young adults have more sophisticated thinking skills. I found the Ross Institute video (Ross Institute, 2015) a really interesting look at how this model could work in a secondary setting. Mathison and Freeman (1997) state interdisciplinarity seeks to combine two or more disciplines to enhance learning while still keeping each area distinct. I think this would work well in our currently ‘siloed’ secondary system as each subject is still taught as a subject while following the systems thinking model of the Ross Learning System (2015).

After reading the Mathison and Freeman (1997) article I began reflecting on my own practice. Their definitions of different forms of interdisciplinary teaching were really interesting.

We have been referring to our practice as integrated however based on their definitions I think we might need to reword this to interdisciplinary as our practice still differentiates between subject areas, we do have some ‘cross over’ however I’m not sure we're quite there yet. I would like to move towards integrated over time once our students are used to the expectations and routines of our classroom. We have some thinking to do around how this could look for 3 teachers and 76 children. At the moment group based teaching is the best way to manage these numbers which limits opportunities for complete integration. I would be interested to hear other people’s ideas on this!

ThomasMcDonaghGroup. ( 2011, May 13). Interdisciplinarity and Innovation Education.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdNzftkIpA

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:

Ross Institute. (2015, July 5). Ross Spiral Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZhkB0FJik

Social Media

Social media in education has been a hotly contested topic. While there are a variety of opinions on the benefits or risks of using social media in the classroom as an educator, social media can be a great tool. According to research conducted by The Open University (2016) social media encourages creativity, collaboration, communication and the sharing of resources. In the ever changing landscape of education a platform that encourages us to do this is brilliant. While there are benefits to using social media to increase teacher practice Melhuish (2013) warns us that professional knowledge gained from social media may be superficial and shallow. She states due to the lack of quality control on social media sites the information shared and gained may not be theory driven and reputable therefore limiting the ability to gain deep knowledge from these platforms. While this may be true, Melhuish also argues that social media is a powerful tool for busy teachers to gain and share ideas in an any time, anywhere platform to reflect on ideas beyond their own four walls.

In my own practice I use social media in a variety of ways. Due to the age of my students (7-9 years) I don’t really use social media in the classroom. The exception to this is using twitter for Chapter Chat activities which we will be doing later in the year. However, I use social media extensively to gain ideas and information from a wide network of colleagues. I belong to the NZ Teachers (primary) Facebook group which provides a wealth of ideas and resources for all levels of primary school teaching. This group is also a sounding board for various problems and challenges teachers come across in their line of work. I personally find this group invaluable for not only teaching ideas but answers to questions about teaching that more experienced teachers can give. I also use Snapchat to share planning ideas or potential resources with my collaborative teaching partner when we are not a school. Other platforms I use regularly are a variety of blogs and forums found online (usually while browsing Pinterest) that link me to classrooms all over the world. I’m not sure how teachers came up with new ideas before the internet!

My next challenge in my teaching is to develop safe ways students can use social media to communicate with other students around the country/world. I have looked in to Skype in the Classroom which seems to be a great platform to connect with different classrooms around the world. This is still teacher driven and monitored though, I am trying to find safe ways young children can use different platforms to communicate. We are also trialling Seesaw and Facebook groups as a way to connect with parents and share learning. While this is proving successful, I’m not sure if these platforms are improving learning for my students although they are certainly engaging!

References and Links:

p. 36-44 in Chapter 3 of 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/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Sharples, M., de Roock , R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi,C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1390088457960727/

Ethical Issues

Ethical Issues

27/2/17

Ethical issues in teaching have always intimidated and scared me a little. In my limited experience they tend to lay dormant until something happens (a child gets hurt in the playground, cyber bullying on a school blog etc) then all of your decisions around the incident are suddenly scrutinized in a whole new light. As Hall (2001) discusses teaching in the 21st Century brings a whole new set of ethical scrutinization from a generally well educated and well informed population. Throw in a strong media and social media presence in our lives and any action (well-intended or not) can suddenly be made very public.

When thinking of an ethical issue for this entry I struggled to think of an example in my own practice (luckily!) however we do have a growing concern as a school about the way in which social media can be used to share images and information about our children. Particularly through channels we have limited control over such as parent helper Facebook posts while on camp. To evaluate this issue I used Hall's 10 question framework (2001).

1. What is the problem?

Parents sharing images of other children without school or parent consent on their own personal social media.

2. Who are the main stakeholders with interests in the problem, what are their interests?

Children of the school, their parents. Parents may not wish for their child's image to be shared on another adult's Facebook page.

3.Which stakeholder should be given priority?

This question is tricky. The children themselves probably don't have much of an opinion on whether their image is shared. Their parents may feel more strongly about this. However I'm not sure the school's role in stopping images of school activities being posted by others.

4. What restrictions are there to your actions?

These quotes are taken from our school policy documents:

Using social media in your professional role

Teachers may use social media as part of their role at school, for example, in classroom blogs, the school website, and/or Facebook page; and to communicate with members of the school community. The enthusiastic and appropriate use of social media at school encourages students to confidently use the technology and understand the issues involved.

Teachers should:

• Inform parents and caregivers why and how you are using social media in your teaching.
• Take care to represent the school and its individuals in a respectful and positive way, and in accordance with the school's Privacy policy and Publishing Student Information guidelines.
• Check that the material you are publishing is suitable and accurate. If you refer or link to another site or resource, check that it is appropriate and that you have read all the content. Be sure to acknowledge your sources, and conform to any copyright restrictions.

Images of our students (photographs, video clips, etc), and examples of their school work, are sometimes published in our newsletters, on our school website, and other online channels such as the school/class blogs, Facebook page, youTube, etc.

The school has an obligation to:

• protect students' privacy and safety in relation to information about them, or images of them, published by the school, and
• protect students' copyright in relation to the material they create.

Images of students and/or their work are published to recognise student achievement, report on learning to the school and wider community, and to promote the school.

The following guidelines help us to protect our students:

• The school seeks parents' written consent before their child's image or work is published online. Parents give this consent at enrolment, or as needed if their child is already enrolled, by completing the Student Information Consent Form. Parents can withdraw their consent at any time.
• The school takes special care with personal information about students, as stated on the Student Information Consent form. Personal information refers to information that identifies an individual. With consent, we share no more than a student’s first name, image, or work in the school newsletter, on the school website, or in the wider online community.
• The school publishes images and students' work that positively depict the student and school.
• The school seeks students' consent before publishing their work.
• As the author of a copyright work, a student has the right to be identified when their work is exhibited in public, such as on the internet. At xxx School we prefer to identify the student by their first name and year at school only to protect their privacy. Requests for a student's full name to be published are considered by the privacy officer.

Retrieved from http://paparoastreet.schooldocs.co.nz

This does not include any guidelines around parents sharing images of other children.

5. Which courses of action are possible?

- creating a new school policy

- informing parents of our wishes

- restricting the use of cellphones on school trips

6. Can you identify cases which set a precedent

While I couldn't find a case in which parents have complained about such a practice there are blogs and articles arguing against such concern.

http://www.freerangekids.com/no-mam-you-may-not-chaperone-your-sons-field-trip-without-a-background-check/

The last few steps aren't really relevant to this case as I'm not sure what steps I could take as a classroom teacher. I think this issue needs to be dealt with at a higher-school wide issue. This issues is further clouded as the Code for Ethics for Teachers only states teachers need to demonstrate commitment to parents/guardians and family/whānau

• involve them in decision-making about the care and education of their children (Education Council, n.d)

However 'care' is not defined.

References

Education Council (n.d.) Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

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

http://paparoastreet.schooldocs.co.nz

Culturally Responsive Practice

Culturally Responsive Practice

The term culturally responsive practice or pedagogy has been around for a long term. When thinking about what culturally responsive practice looks like for me I found myself reflecting on the four principles found in Tataiako (2011).

The competencies are:

■ Wänanga: participating with learners and communities in robust dialogue for the benefit of Mäori learners’ achievement.

■ Whanaungatanga: actively engaging in respectful working relationships with Mäori learners, parents and whänau, hapü, iwi and the Mäori community.

■ Manaakitanga: showing integrity, sincerity and respect towards Mäori beliefs, language and culture.

■ Tangata Whenuatanga: affirming Mäori learners as Mäori. Providing contexts for learning where the language, identity and culture of Mäori learners and their whänau is affirmed.

■ Ako: taking responsibility for their own learning and that of Mäori learners.

For me these principles are the foundation of my own pedagogy for all my learners not just Māori learners. Culturally responsive practice is still, if not more, important in 21st Century learning. Russell Bishop (Edtalks, 2012) states the achievement gap in NZ education has grown to epic proportions. He likens it to fiscal debt which we as educators now owe Māori learners to improve and reduce. Bishop argues that teachers with agency to change are the most powerful driving force in culturally responsive practice. While they can't succeed in isolation, an agentic teacher in a supportive school can make a huge difference to Māori learning and achievement (Edtalks, 2012). Cowie, Otrel-Cass, Glynn & Kara (2011) echo this thought by agreeing that teachers who provide diverse opportunities for students to access and express learning improve outcomes for Māori students. The researchers also discuss the importance of inclusive, collaborative practice including respecting and using community knowledge to support learning. Bishop ends his talk by stating education needs to be relationship-centred not just student-centred (Edtalks, 2012). Through these relationships teachers need to show care for people as well as care for people's learning. He argues that this will make the biggest difference to Māori learners.

My Practice

I have evaluated my practice using Unitec's Poutama model.

Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., et al.(2011).Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/default/files/projects/9268_cowie-summaryreport.pdf

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

Ministry of Education. (2011). Tātaiako: cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners. Wellington: Ministry of Education.

Unitec. (n.d). Learning and Teaching at Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from Booklet.http://www.unitec.ac.nz/ahimura/publications/U008817%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20Booklet.pdf

Global Issues and Influence

The New Zealand Context 

The Ministry of Education (2015) state key principles of teaching and learning in New Zealand are to be future focused, inclusive and promote learning to learn. All of these principles are an important part of what makes the New Zealand education system unique. In a previous Education Review Office report (2012) these principles were reflected in the key finding that learning should be student centred to be successful. In my own context we have been working on increasing student-centred learning opportunities over the past two years. Student-centred learning focusing on fostering the strengths and interests of each individual in a traditional learning setting (Education Review Office, 2012). The report found that teachers who embrace student-centred learning have a sense of optimism and a strong belief that they can change educational outcomes by putting the students at the heart of learning choices. From a student perspective, being a partner in their learning empowers students to build a sense of self and become competent, capable and achieving learners (Education Review Office, 2012).

Global Context

Society in general has undergone rapid change over the past ten years. Partly due to a huge increase in technology and globalisation of ideas. The National Intelligence Council produced a report (2012) stating the next biggest trends that will influence the world. One of these trends that relates closely to education is the increase of individual empowerment. Most teachers a familiar with Fisch & McLeod's video Shift Happens (2012) where the statement “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . . using technologies that haven’t been invented . . . in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” is unleashed. While this may be true the National Intelligence Council (2012) argue that by increasing individual empowerment people will develop greater initiative to solve the next global crisis. Their report states that individual empowerment is on the rise due to a number of factors including poverty reduction, increasing middle class, better educational attainment and improved healthcare. This is impacting education as people are now expecting a level of autonomy and empowerment over their own learning. 

My Context

In my primary teaching context I believe student-centered learning is very important as primary education is where students either love learning or get turned off school. Through incorporating the tukana-teina concept in our classrooms children feel empowered to teach others and share their own expertise. This also empowers them to begin to drive their own learning at a young age by articulating their own strengths and areas for growth. Reflecting on my context on a global stage the community of my school is a very affluent, decile 10 area of a large city. Although individual empowerment may be growing globally it has been present in my community for many years and is now ingrained in our school culture. I think it is great that this is becoming a global trend and being promoted in a wide range of contexts. Research shows (Weimer, 2013) learner-centered schools and practice produce better results than traditional teacher-driven practice.


References

Education Review Office. (2012). Evaluation at a Glance: Priority Learners in New Zealand Schools. Retrieved 18 May 2016, from http://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Evaluation-at-a-Glance-Priority-Learners-in-New-Zealand-Schools-August-2012.pdf

Ministry of Education. (2015). Principles. Retrieved February 15, 2017, from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Principles

National Intelligence Council. (2012). Global trends: Alternative Worlds. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://globaltrends2030.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/global-trends-2030-november2012.pdf

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: five key changes to practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Fisch, K., & McLeod, S. (2012, February 28). Retrieved February 14, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmwwrGV_aiE