Welcome Home

Picture: Tarawera Lake and Mountain

Welcome to my reflection blog as part of my learning journey for the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice & Digital and Collaborative course at "The Mindlab."

Whakatauki: (proverb)

Ko tãku rourou, ko ã koutou rourou, ka ora te tauira.

  (My basket, your basket, the child will thrive)

Teaching Philosophy

I believe that to become an effective, quality teacher, one must build good strong relationships between the student, whanau and the community.  Therefore, this  is  ‘empowering students to take control of their own behaviour and actions to make responsible decisions that benefit themselves and their school community.’                                           

 Glasser, William (1998)

Week 32-Changes in Practice

WEEK 32: Changes in my Practice

"Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi

With your basket and my basket the people will live"

Osterman & Kottkamp(1993) has contrasted traditional approach of professional development by outside experts delivering workshops for schools versus reflective practice model. They suggest that traditional approach results in knowledge acquisition while reflective practice can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness.

Now I come to the end of my learning journey for The Mindlab!  I totally agree the Osterman & Kottkamp (1993) that,"reflective practice can lead to change in behaviours via self-awareness."

Initially I was abit hesitant taking on The Mindlab Programme...what really 'motivated' me to apply was because 'my besties' was applying too!  I'm so pleased I joined them and started The Mindlab Journey.  

The 32 week course has been 'busy' saying it mildly in addition with teaching demands.  So how has this changed my behavioiur via self-awareness...

Im so glad we were able to work collaboratively on assessments...it had been awhile since I had written essays so I believe that working with Lesa and Jeanette certainly helped in that area.

Meet and greet sessions in Rotorua, meeting like minded people on the course, travelling to Rotorua and reflecting on our learning for the night for me was 'fabulous;'  Lots of laughter, new knowledge, challenges and excitement on what we can take from The Mindlab will be exciting to use in the classroom.  I found the readings informative and even though I did have 'catnaps' in between I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to implement my learnt knowledge into our staff meetings and PD days.  

Overall, being part of The Mindlab postgrad I believe I have definitely seen growth in my personal teaching pedagogy.  Acquiring up to date research theories and how Digital Technology will and has impacted in Education is challenging and exciting and rewarding!

In New Zealand education context, Ministry of Education (nd.) has set criteria for Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.

Professional relationships and professional values

Criteria 2: Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga.

The well-being of ākonga is imperative in order for learning to take place.  E-learning needs to be a place where the learner is safe therefore 'digital citizen' will need to be the first point call to address.  

• How to be safe online for the student and parents
• Planning innovative ways to engage the learner to 'hook' them into learning
• Work alongside the student when involving technology...

Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.

Demonstrating that I can commit to completing a 32 week post grad is an example of ongoing professional learning.  I have become aware of the growth of Digital Technology has impacted in Education along with how it can enhance future generation simply because we are in the age where digital devices is where the learner is. There are a variety of ways that I will be looking at integrating e-learning based on The Mindlab Postgrad...I will 

• continue using blogger to use as a reflective journey and for PTC purposes.
• Access PD online / continue seeking ICTPD 
• Participate in learning communities
• Integrate ICT into my teaching inquiry...

Then share your next dream regarding your future professional development...
I wish to continue pursuing ICTPD as I enjoy the challenge and of course 'keeping up' with where Digital Technology is going.  I enjoyed the hands on activities especially the Makey Makey, Mindset, and Robotics to name a few...these activities will be an excellent introduction to 'my kids.'

Secondly, learning Te Reo and integrating ICT is an area I will be looking at for future professional development.

References
Image 1: Create right Now with Marie. Retrieved on 2 July, 2016 from http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/bid/79973/3-Journaling-Prompts-for-Self-Reflection

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

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

Week 33 APC - Assessment 2- Online Discussions

Applie Practice Context Assessment 2- Online Discussion

Image 1-Rich Farmers

Erika Blog - Te Whetu -APC 4 - Indigenous Response and Cultural responses

Erikas Blog - Te Whetu -APC 5 - Indigenous Response and Cultural responses

Siobhan's APC Blog Interdisciplinary Connections

Reference

Image 1: Rich Farmers retrieved on 2 July, 2016 from https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=comments&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBwvvkrtPNAhXDsJQKHepuC14Q_AUICCgB&biw=1280&bih=584#imgrc=vmJ1lPEzWNVjEM%3A

Siobhan's APC - Blog retrieved on 2 July from https://siobhanmindlabblog2.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/interdisciplinary-connections.html?showComment=1467430315193#c844749189569263983 

Te Whetu blogger retrieved on 1 July, 2016 from http://tewhetu.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/apc-5-personal-ethics.html

Te Whetu blogger retrieved on 1 July, 2016 from http://tewhetu.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/apc-5-personal-ethics.html

Week 31-APC-Professional Context-Crossing Boundaries and...

Week 31: My interdisciplinary connection map 

Goal 1

Image 1:Forrest Hill School 

My next personal goal for me is to re-learn my first language that I was brought up in which is Te Reo Maori.  Both my parents were fluent speakers of what I would describe is the 'tipuna' language.  There are so many new words in Te Reo Maori these days that I will need attend Te Reo Maori courses or perhaps take a sabbatical time to achieve this or alternatively go home and live amongst it by paying it forward on what I can take home starting at Kohanga Reo level...I would thoroughly enjoy that!  

My level of Te Reo Maori is more than basic level, I can understand most of what is said but I want to get to a level where I can reply with confidence in Te Reo Maori.  

Goal 2: ICT Specialty

Specialising in the ICT field has been on my learning journey for awhile.  I'm in awe of how the digital world has evolved at a fast pace since I attended a ICT course in 1997.  There is a variety of areas I am contemplating pursuing that will encompass my Teaching Degree and experience. Perhaps an innovative idea could be for me to think about how I can integrate both Te Reo Maori, ICT and Teaching Pedogogy together will enable me to 'pay it forward' to my community, Iwi and schooling community.  Now thats a thought! - My Personal Interdisplinary Goal!

" The idea of combining two or more disciplines, pedagogical approaches, groups of people, or skills is not new."  (Mathison & Freeman,1997)

There are many benefits and challenges of working in a more interdisciplinary environment.  

As a teacher I found that to plan, access, prepare, implement, integrate (digital component), is time consuming but if it covers the the NZ curriculum...great! I always get excited about thinking about 'innovative' ideas that would interest my learners my class. However, a challenge is I have found is the 'disruptions' to my classroom programme (Years 5&6) as some of my learners either have extra support, sport representation, Kapa Haka, Chinese Mandarin, attending PD course, Reports can be 'frustrating' not having my 'whole' class present intermittently.

Many questions remain unanswered, though. These are questions about what is really happening in interdisciplinary/integrated/ integrative classes—about which of the three approaches works better and under what circumstances? about what the impact on teaching is? about whether the assumptions made about combining disciplines are good ones? We raise these questions not to be critical, but in the hope of moving the discourse and research on interdisciplinarity further along in the quest for truly educative experiences in schools.  (Mathison & Freeman,1997)

Reference:

Image 1: Forrest Hill School retrieved on 2 July, 2010 from http://forresthill.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/545/

Image 2: St John Fisher Highschool retrieved on 2 July, 2016 from http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupRenderCustomPage.asp?GroupID=14370&ResourceId=3054139

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: 

Week 29 - Legal and Ethical Contexts in my Digital Practice

Week 29 -  Legal and Ethical Contexts in my Digital Practice

Social Networking Sites... You either "love "it or dear I say "hate" it!  

Image 1: Social Media Today

"The concepts behind “social networking” aren’t anything new – ever since there have been humans, we have been looking for ways to connect, network, and promote with one another – but they’ve taken on an entirely new meaning (and momentum) in the digital age. Where we used to have handshakes, word-of-mouth referrals, and stamped letters, today’s relationships are often begun and developed on LinkedIn, Google +, and Facebook" (SocialMediaToday)

In 2015, SocialMediaToday published the worlds most important apps used worldwide...I have list the first top 10


1. Twitter                                                 11. Pinterest
2. Facebook                                            12. Twoo
3. LinkedIn                                              13.MyMFB
4. Xing                                                     14.YouTube
5.Renren                                                  15. Instagram    
6. Google+                                               16 Vine
                                                                  17 WhatsApp
7. Disqus                                                  18 vk.com
8. LinkedIn Pulse                                    19 Meetup
9.Snapchat                                               20. Secret
10. Tumblr                                                21. Medium          
                                                                    
I personally have only used Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin (but only registered...as I found it wants too many personal details), Pinterest, and You tube.  Personal details...now thats another thought to ponder on!

I myself have only just created my own account for Facebook and that was only to be part of the Primary Teacher Group.  Fabulous sharing!  I wont accept parents as friends but do have 'certain' family members and 'close' friends.  When I initially joined Facebook I gave me a limit of 10 friends excluding groups that were of interest for example, Google plus, Google Classroom, Dojo and of course, 'The Mindlab Community."  Ive past my quota as I didn't realise I had more friends than I initially thought.

An actual situation I have knowledge of pertains to our school facebook.  A parent in my class offered transport to take her son to a sport event, supported her son during the day along with his peers.  She enjoyed the day out and we appreciated her support. Great!

Before the students and parents left to return back to school, the teacher let the students know that they can bring the uniforms back tomorrow and for them 'not' to wash them as they get washed by our 'wonderful' caretaker who takes them to the laundry mat.  

Fabulous! everything sorted...Well partly everything!  The next day I asked 'student' where his uniform was and he said, 'his mum cant wash it today and she will do it as soon as she can."  As you would have done too...I let him know he can bring it back 'unwashed' as we do it at school.  So 'student' goes home that afternoon, asks for his uniform so he can return it but, wait for it..'student' forgets to tell 'mum' that she doesn't have to wash it!

There goes the communication breakdown 'in action'.  Well poor 'mum' (who I may add, was about 3 months pregnant) through frustration decided to post a 'disgruntled' message on our school facebook.  

At first I was disappointed as I believed that we had good communication, and I do give my cellphone to parents to use whenever they need to make contact with me regarding school matters.

I found out about the issue through the principal as she is the admin for the school facebook account.  

How was it resolved...I resolved this issue by seeing 'mum' face to face, 'kanohi ki te kanohi' as I said above I had formed a good relationship with her as a parent of a student in my class.  I visited her at home after school and explained the situation that 'the uniform' could have been brought back 'unwashed' and so forth.  Mum apologised and realised her son did not tell her about returning uniform 'unwashed' and said she didnt mention any names. However, we come from a small community where everyone practically knows each other or are 'related' and her facebook has a picture of her and her son on...so you can put two and two together.

Actually, I dont recall her deleting the post!  Oh well, All well, ends well!

About the Code of Ethics

THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR CERTIFICATED TEACHERS EXISTS TO:

• promote the ethics of the profession
• 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.

References:

Educational Council.  (n.d.).  About the code of ethics for certified teachers.  Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/about-code-of-ethics

Socia Media Today. The Worlds 21st most important Social Media Sites in 2015.  Retrieved from

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/2015-04-13/worlds-21-most-important-social-media-sites-and-apps-2015

Week 28-Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my Practice

Week 28 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Image 1: Russell Bishop

Economically,Socially, Politically, its vital as a society we understand the need to address these educational disparities..." f(Bishop, 2012) for Maori Achievement.

I can recall attending a lecture at the University of Waikato where Russell Bishop lectured about Te Kohitanga.  I was intrigued by what he was speaking about in regards to Maori achievement disparity with non-Maori and how we as teachers teach can make a difference. Te Kohitanga was aimed at secondary students and a question was raised if this would be taken into the Primary Sector. At that point of time they were not looking at implementing a programme similar to Te Kohitanga.  On reflection, I think it maybe because as a Primary Teacher we can establish student teacher relationships due to the fact you as the teacher have your students in the same class for the year.

Bishops lecture for me helped me understand what it would be like for a non-Maori to teach Maori students or other pacific ethnicities.  It also highlighted for me what I consider natural for me is how important it is to build good relationships with 'any' learner regardless of race or religion.  

Being of Maori descent and 'living' through the impact of positive and negative 'colonisation' for my education years I think has made me appreciate knowing who and where I come from and how can I use my prior knowledge and experiences to educate our future generations to come.

Vision, mission and core values

I have mentioned that my communty of practice has gone through various changes since 2012...close down of schools, merging schools, closing and reopening new schools that has impacted both on school and wider community.

Our vision, mission and core values is still a 'work in progress' for the last two years as all major stake holders need to be on 'the same page' in order for 'positive' change to take place and everyone is well informed how 'our' community of practice can move toward achieving success for our students

Planning and Assessment

Image 2-Maori Proverb

My school has had quite alot of Professional Development which I have no 'qualms' about!  I love any form of PD that would benefit both myself and my students.  We have had Teacher only days, attended a variety of courses and had key speakers into school such as (name dropping now) Michael Absolum and Ruth Tate.  

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with so much PD that I have asked myself and fellow colleagues, "Where do we start?"  

Perhaps that can be answered from the powers up above...I mean Leadership!  Perhaps knowing what we NEED and TIME to assess when and how good PD can be integrated into the classroom.  Its all about being prepared, planning collaborative on ONE topic until everyone is on the same page.  So where am I going with in regard to planning and assessment.  Think about how you would lead as a leader...I tend to work toward being a 'Transformational Leadership' role that may resolve concerns.

References

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

Image1 retrieved from https://treatygate.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/teacher-training-russell-bishop-maori-students-learn-differently.png

Image 2 retrieved from 

Maori Proverbs. retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/planeta/maoriproverbs

Week 27 - Contemporary Issues or Trends in New Zealand or Internationally

Image 1

There are so many important contemporary issues or trends internationally that are of importance to discuss but at this 'moment of time' I believe that discussing what is the contemporary issues or trends in New Zealand is applicable to my learning community of professional context.

The following sections discuss the three issues ERO believes are the most pressing for our education system, as identified in its national evaluation reports. These issues, if addressed by schools, could potentially make a significant difference for priority learners. (ERO, 2012).  

They are:

• Student-centred learning
• Responsive and rich curriculum 
• Assessment used for students' learning

For this discussion I will focus on Student-Centred Learners and Students as Partners in Learning (Collaborative Learning)

Student Centred Learners

What is student-centred learning?

"Student-centred learning, also known as learner-centred education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student."

One could be overwhelmed at times to think about ways to engage and innovate the learner to succeed in their learning journey.

How can student-centred learning be implemented?

I believe it can be achievable by looking at the role of the leaders and teachers...ERO (2012) states that

"These schools are characterised by a sense of optimism amongst teachers that they can improve students’ learning. Leaders and teachers have the resolve to do this, and the disposition to creatively address the issues of students’ achievement and engagement that present themselves in their schools.  They approach the task of achieving goals for students through well coordinated systems, processes and plans. Students, teachers, leaders, trustees, parents, whānau and their communities are involved in supporting the initiatives that are taking place."

Therefore, in order to establish a self-centred learning for the learner it needs to start at the 'top' and then filtered down to the classroom along with working collaboratively as a team and consistency across the school community.

This maybe off track, but, I can recall a friend of mine who had taught for over 30 years plus 'liking' student-centre learning to what she used to do that may have been called "Independent activities" (I cant recall the correct term at the moment but close to it! ) ...so my question is, are we reinventing the wheel in regard to implementing self-centred learning?

Image 2

Students as Partners in Learning- (Collaborative Learning)

What is Collaborative Learning?

"Collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product. According to Gerlach, "Collaborative learning is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social act in which the participants talk among themselves (Gerlach, 1994). It is through the talk that learning occurs." (Smith & MacGregor, 1992)

The term 'collaborative learning' has been coined around for me since being in "The Mindlab Community."  I liken 'collaborative learning" to Tuakana/Teina, or similarly working with a Buddy.  

In my classroom I encourage the students to work together for example, working together to complete a project, sharing each others ideas, when they help each other to solve a problem or working in mixed ability groups either for Reading, Mathematics or PE.  Developing ones social abilities is an area I have found collaborative learning beneficial to the learner who needs encouragement to mix with their peers.

In order for self-centred learning and collaborative learning to take place in a community of practice, there are still considerations that needs to be addressed and that can begin by starting with major stakeholders of your community of practice environment.

References:

ERO, (2012). Evaluation at a glance: Priority learners in New Zealand schools. Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/evaluation-at-a-glance-priority-learners-in-new-zealand-schools/

Image 1 :
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=reinventing+the+wheel+in+education&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU9NWkrMfNAhVFHZQKHS_YCz8Q_AUICCgB&biw=1280&bih=628#imgrc=zXQ4CqMkrkr5EM%3A retrieved 26 June 2016

Image 2:
Considered Faculty of Education Blog: http://www.consider-ed.org.uk/reinventing-multi-professional-wheel/#lightbox/0/ retrieved 26 June 2016

Smith, B.L., and J. MacGregor.  (1992).  Collaborative Learning:  A Sourcebook for Higher Education.  University Park, PA:  National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA).  9-22.

Student-centred learning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centred_learning retrieved 25 June 2016