Week 31: Crossing Boundaries and Creating Connections

When I review my interdisciplinary connection map I have included an area of experts in their field.  These people are regularly called upon to reinforce my understanding of the units I am teaching, especially in te reo Maori.  Our junior syndicate have been planning with a new leader this year and for the first time we have been able to consider units of work that our students have shown an interest in so long as we were covering the all or most curriculum areas in our long term plan.  We have made joint decisions about the units we plan.  After three terms of experimenting with units and realising they were very disjointed we linked our units this term so they flow and can be taught through other curriculum areas.  The most frequent method of implementing integrated, interdisciplinary instruction is the thematic unit in which a common theme is developed and addressed in more than one content area.”  (Lipson, Valencia, Wixon & Peters, 1993)  In order for this to work effectively units need to focus on a theme that takes into account the needs and interests of the students.  When working collaboratively to plan integrated units, “children have to learn something worth knowing” and the connections made across curriculums must be logical, keeping in mind that the learning experiences are “supporting learning, growth and discovery.”  (Barton K., & Smith L., 2000)  They continue by giving an example of a unit on apples and how topics can be covered with junior students that are meaningful, support learning and discovery. The integrated unit “should cover topics like the life cycle of a plant, the production and distribution of food or human nutritional needs.  They continue to impress upon teachers that the integrated units need to be “flexible, organised and authentic.  Over planning is better than under planning and having a variety of activities and resources means you can accommodate student interest.” To me this is 21^st century learning.  This reading has made me enthusiastic to share the knowledge and ideas with my syndicate and incorporate meaningful contexts for learning as this term we touched on the basics of a theme and with interdisciplinary support we can really achieve this.  I can’t wait to share this and put it into practice next year.

I have two goals to work on with my interdisciplinary connections and they are to use the skills of experts in their field and include the community more in our learning as most of the parents do have an interest in their students learning. Making connections with these people will support my learning and deeper understanding of topics and ultimately improve my teaching practice and my students learning.

   

References

Source: Barton, K. C., & Smith, L. A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54-63.1.

Lipson, M. Y., Valencia, S.W., Wixon, K. K., & Peters, C.W., (1993) Integration and thematic teaching: integration to improve teaching and learning. Language Arts, 70, 252 – 263 cited in Barton, K. C., & Smith, L. A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54-63.1.

 Week 32:      Changes in my Practice

It’s hard to believe I’m at the end and ready to cross the finish line of the roller coaster journey with mindlab.  I remember being asked by one of the Nga Pu Manuwa e Waru facilitators what I thought of the Mindlab course and after some thought I answered by saying I have a lot more empathy for my struggling learners and I find myself taking the time to show them how much learning they have done and celebrate their successes no matter how small.  The technology was a challenge for me along with my mindset.  Once I changed my mindset I was able to accept the challenges and ride the waves so to speak. 

Criterion 4: Ongoing professional learning and development of personal practice.

Practising Teacher criteria: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.  

Throughout my career professional development has been an integral part of my teaching and our school staff recently completed the “Incredible Years for Teachers” course.  It was valuable for our whole staff to complete this course together and I believe I have grown in my teaching practice because of this.

Mindlab challenged my thinking and my teaching practice and for that I’m grateful.  With the support of my team leader and teaching partner in our open plan school, I have been able to share my learning and experiment with innovative teaching practices.  Like my learning I have found making changes in my teaching or facilitating has been challenging but I have persevered and now the students are successfully learning through teacher- learner, learner - teacher situations (tuakana, teina) and working positively in groups offering their thoughts, opinions and prior knowledge freely.  It has been a huge learning curve for me to relinquish total responsibility for students learning and provide situations where they are learning from each other and with each other.  It’s been so refreshing to make these changes and see them working successfully.  I will definitely continue to discuss and make changes to support the learning and achievement of the students in our classes in the future.

Criterion 7: Promote a collaborative inclusive and supportive learning environment.

This year began with a new teacher opposite me in the open plan teaching space.  From the beginning of term one, we decided to cross group our students for reading and maths.  We both work collaboratively to create a safe and supportive environment for our students to learn in. Our open plan area lends itself to team teaching and this has been very successful throughout the year.  The work load is halved because we work collaboratively sharing ideas and checking new innovations are working to raise achievement and encourage successful learning situations for all students.  Challenging behaviour is also dealt with collaboratively and situations are dealt with effectively with both teachers being supportive of each other. Our students see a positive working relationship between us and this adds to the safe supported learning environment.   Our goal for next year is to include blended learning sites, class blogs, and for me the introduction to social media teachers sites.

I wish to thank Mindlab for the opportunity to work alongside like-minded colleagues and for the positive support provided throughout the course.  If I wasn’t before I’m proud to say I am now a life-long learner who is determined to research and make changes to support our 21^st century learners and lead others to do the same.

References

http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Practising-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning

Week 30  Practice – Professional Online Social Networks

Facilitating learning in the 21^st Century is a time where change is inevitable and in order to provide for learners who have grown up using digital devices educators must find innovative and more flexible ways of learning.  Educators must be lifelong learners and continue learning throughout their careers in order to prepare students to become independent learners capable of working collaboratively using social networks effectively. (Melhuish, K. (2013) Therefore I believe there is an expectation for educators to access material, resources and collaborative learning opportunities that will support their students learning and raise achievement.  

New Zealand Teachers Council (2012) states that it is important when using social networking that thought is given as to the reason for its use in the classroom.  Questions need to be asked as to how it will support and benefit both educators and students.  Discuss your intentions with significant others and keep the community informed of the benefits the social networks will have in the communication between the school and the community.

I teach a junior class and I am very aware of the confidence the students have using the technology available to them.  They are able to find educational sites and manoeuvre their way through different learning areas, understand and play games, take photos, record each other reading or discussing their learning and publish their writing.  I was thrilled to view the video on Using Social Media in the Classroom (Cassidy K., 2013) as this is the first time I have ever blogged and it’s not that difficult.  What a fabulous idea to start student’s blogs at the beginning of the year to show their learning progression throughout the year.  I have a writing wall where a collection of students writing throughout the year is on display but it would also be wonderful to share these with their whanau via a blog.  With the support of colleagues this can be made safe for everyone to use and in time we could share our learning with students in other schools and countries. 

To date I don’t enter into any social networking at all. I prefer to balance my life with real life experiences when I’m not at school.  So with no knowledge of Facebook or Twitter I thought I would ask friends and family what involvement if any they had on these social networks.  My partner teacher is a regular member of a teachers Facebook site and he gathers lots of resources from there. He speaks highly of it although he admits he can be on it for hours.  At mindlab a colleague shared with us an ongoing situation with her 11 year old daughter who was introduced to Facebook through school and it had taken over her life with disastrous results that proved to be extremely emotional for all involved especially her parents.  Sadly this was not the only incident I heard of. Others were happy to share the fact that being on Facebook became very addictive and they no longer use it.  This was no solid research I have to admit but it has not encouraged me to rush in and join up because I must be missing something.  I’m aware of how important it is to collaborate with others but I prefer to have conversations with real people where relationships are built and deeper conversations can be had. 

I have made a goal to find out the most effective way to start my class blogs for next year and at least view the Teachers Facebook site with my colleague in order to see for myself the usefulness of the site to my practice.

References:

Melhuish, K. (2013) Online Social Networking and its Impact on New Zealand educators professional learning p. 36-44 in Chapter 3. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato.    

New Zealand Teachers Council. (2012). Establishing safeguards. [video file]. Retrived from https://vimeo.com/49216520

 Cassidy, K., Source: Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom [video file].  Retrived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

week 29

Week 29:  Legal and Ethical contexts in my digital practice

Teacher-student relationships

As teachers’ within New Zealand, the New Zealand Education Council’s Code of Ethics is guiding principles to:

•             Inspire the quality of behaviour that reflects the honour and dignity of the profession.

•             Encourage and emphasise those positive attributes of professional conduct that

              characterise strong and effective teaching.

•             Enable members of the profession to appraise and reflect on their ethical decisions.

•             Promote the ethics of the profession.

Hall (2001) states that “Over the last 50 years, changes in New Zealand society, and in the organization of state education have been accompanied by significant changes in the public expectations of schools and teachers. As a result, today’s teachers are frequently confronted by ethical choices in situations that did not arise, or were relatively unproblematic for their counterparts 30 years ago.”

Teachers need to make ethical choices “on their feet” when engaging with students and their whanau.  When building relationships I need to be on guard all the time to ensure my relationships with my students are relaxed, welcoming and safe but they are not friendships.  I am a professional providing a safe environment for them to learn in but there is a line that separates the personal, private me from the public me that is their teacher. 

I am aware that touching students is not encouraged and I have to say I find working with Junior students it is difficult not the give them a hug when they need reassuring or when they have been hurt and in the safety of the classroom or group of students I will use this form of kindness.  Recently though I found myself in a situation that I needed to think quickly to defuse.  Twins arrived in our open plan learning area part way through the year.  My partner teacher has the boy in his class and I have the girl.  They had recently come to live with their Dad and had only been with us for two days.  The bell had gone for break and the last of the students had wandered off when the boy came rushing back into the classroom when I was on my way out with a million things going on in my head.  He rushed up to me and asked for a hug and without thinking I said yes okay, as if I had been asked if he could use the rubber.  Then I stopped realised what he had asked for and also realised that we were on our own.  I said in panic, “okay but just this once, this is the first and last” gave him the quickset hug possible and sent him on his way.  Within minutes I relayed the situation to my partner teacher who is also my team teacher and we discussed the situation in depth.  It was a good reminder for me to use more positive affirmations and less hugs as I’m aware of the professional ethics of my profession.  He still comes to me for reassurance and although his needs are different from his peers I have worked out strategies that make him feel cared about with the need for hugs.

Our school requires all internet uses to sign a form with the agreement of their parents or guardians that states that they with use the internet for learning purposes only.  This form is filled out at the beginning of the year and only students that fill in the form are allowed to use the internet.  Teachers are also expected to sign simular requirements to keep us all safe and ethical in our learning environment.   Students are regularly reminded that they are to only work on sites allocated to them and everyone is supportive of adhering to this.  The students in my Year 2/3 class are very confident finding learning sites on the internet and are quick to report anyone who decides to stray away from where they are meant to be. Students are monitored when they search for information on the net for two reasons, firstly the sites need to be kid friendly for success and secondly they need to be on safe sites.  The future use of more technological equipment will require the same if not more supervision and awareness. 

References

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

Retrieved from:  https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/about-code-of-ethics

week 27

Activity 3. Contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand or internationally

Raising achievement of Priority learners

Education Review Office describe priority learners as learners who are yet to feel the success of achieving at the required standard for their age.  This group of students are largely identified as being of Maori and /or Pacifica decent, from low socio-economic communities or students with special medical or social needs.

The issue for me is how do we as an educational community cloak these students and support them holistically to become confident risk takers in order to first be supported and move forward to become independent lifelong learners;  an enormous role for anyone to undertake. 

Throughout my study with Mindlab I have read and researched the importance of teachers critically reflecting on their teaching, discussing their practices with colleagues, being prepared to take risks, make changes in their practices, and analyse data to check the effectiveness of the changes made.   I have taken this recommendation on board and with the support of my new critical friend we have combined our energy and passion to make and discuss changes with the focussed intent to raise the achievement of our priority learners.  In turn we have fostered independent learners that are enthusiastically sharing their learning with their whanau.     Sounds fabulous and it is, although we are both very aware that it’s only a small piece of the complicated jigsaw that completes our student’s needs.

ERO recommend that throughout all schooling organisations an intensive effort must be made to provide “a culture of responsibility for students learning and wellbeing, and accountability for making a difference, must be the foundation on which all schools operate.”

Being an advocate for students learning and wellbeing is a huge responsibility as our priority students often have low self-esteem and  lack the confidence to take risks and in fact have little belief in themselves as learners due to the lack of feeling successful in any way especially academically.   My belief is that very little learning occurs until positive relationships are formed and both partners in the relationship can be trusted.

Pierre Pirard discussed five principles of highly effective teachers.  The first and most important of them all is to believe that our priority learners can achieve great results.  In some cases this may require a major change in mindset and may be the hardest of the five principals to achieve.  Secondly the students must know you believe in them.  When they know you believe in them they will begin to believe in themselves. Thirdly, goals must be set with them that are measurable and become an everyday priority. Once the goals are established we must plan an effective path of success, plan with care and plan backwards from the goal. Most importantly students must be able to see their own improvement.   We as teachers must invest in their lives in order to make a difference.

 None of the five principles are going to work miraculously, it will be hard work and at times there will be failure and lots of learning for both teachers and learners but it is possible.  

I compare it with learning to ride a bike.  At first it’s the hardest thing to do but every time you take a fall you get back on and try again. The goal is to ride the bike independently and every time you practice you can see and feel the improvement and positive encouragement strengthens the belief that you can succeed.   The support required to begin with is huge but overtime the support is reduced and success is sweet.

The challenge of raising the achievement of our priority students is not expected to be solved alone.  A problem shared is a problem halved and throughout the readings teachers are being continually encouraged to try different approaches to teaching and learning that may assist students learning, to discuss these ideas with others and critique the failures and successes.  To be as effective as we can be we need to take on board the research and give it a go. 

Education Review Office .(2012). Retrieved 5 May 2015, from  http://www.ero.govt.nz/About-Us/News-Media-Releases2/The-three-most-pressing-issues-for-N

ERO (2012) Teaching as Inquiry: Responding to Learners.  Wellington: Education Review Office.  Teaching as inquiry, embedded in school culture, and operating as a continuous cycle of improvement, has significant potential to bring about better teaching and learning. 

Pierre Pirard (2013) at TEDxGhert., 5 Principals of highly effective teachers. Retrived from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jdTtnWMLVM

week 28

Week 28: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsive pedagogy

The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) states in the vision a goal to have our students work towards a country where Maori and Non Maori regard each other as “full Treaty partners and where all cultures are respected for the contributions they bring.”

Savage, Hindle, Meyer, Hynds, Penetito, and Sleeter (2011) informs us that “Achieving equity in diverse schools is a global challenge.” Bishop (2012) adds that disparities exist in our education system between Maori and European and he continues to explain that this problem is evident with other indigenous people.  There is a huge need to address these disparities as they are detrimental to the country financially and there is research backing the fact that under achievement links directly to lack of employment and incarceration.

Although this information is absolutely correct Bishop (2012) made a profound statement with evidence to back it, when he stated that Maori are a highly educable population and it is this statement that we in education should be focusing on.

So with this positive statement I continued to gather information on how we need to go about making positive changes in our classes. Change is the only option and the most powerful people to make these changes are the professionals.   Bishop (2012) suggests teachers focus on the future rather than the deficit theorising and adopt agency for these students.  He talks of putting six initiatives in place in order to do this.

• ·         care of Maori students as Maori 
• ·         care about their performance,
• ·         have high expectations of students learning
• ·         manage classrooms and discuss students learning with them so they know what they need           to learn
• ·         provide situations where collaborative learning can take place and critique your practice             regularly
• ·         build relationships with students, this is paramount

Effective pedagogy for teacher actions promoting student learning, recommended by the Ministry of Education (2007) support Bishop (2012), with well documented evidence about similar teaching approaches that also impact positively on students learning.  When teachers take agency for students learning they critique their teaching practice regularly to check its effectiveness in promoting student engagement and ultimately raising achievement.  Working collaboratively with colleagues, using research and past practices add to the effectiveness of their practices.

When I reflect on my teaching practice I feel I’m on the right track to being an agent for our tamariki as I consciously build relationships with my students and care about their learning.  I critique my practice regularly and have an open relationship with my critical friend and outside agencies.  I do need to work on discussing students learning with them so they know what they need to learn and what their next steps are to get there.  I’m so busy internalising the information that I often forget to share it.

 One incident recently made me realise how powerful sharing their learning with them is.  I had finished assessing their writing and the majority of my year 2 / 3 class show limited evidence of recording sounds they could hear in words they couldn’t spell yet, and it really was limiting what they were capable of writing.  I thought about why and realised that whenever I modelled writing I spelt the words correctly because I was focussing on punctuation or using adjectives etc.  Anyway I discussed this fact with the students that it was our goal to record all the sounds we heard in words and get our ideas down then go back and fix it later.  Student led conference time arrived and I smiled as lots of the students said they wanted to make their learning goal in writing and when I asked them what they wanted to learn to do several of them said record the sounds we hear in words and one added remember Mrs Smith that’s our class goal.    

     

Professor Russell Bishop talks about culturally responsive pedagogy

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

Savage, Hindle, Meyer, Hynds, Penetito, and Sleeter (2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum.  Asia-Pacific Journal of teacher Education Vol. 39, No. 3, August 2011, 183-198

Ministry of Education (2007) The New Zealand Curriculum;   Learning Media Limited, Wellington New Zealand.