Week 32: Changes in Practice

Week 32: Changes in Practice

 So this time has come to look back and reflect on the 32 Weeks of Mind Lab classes. I can not believe that I have made it to the end. This quote resonates with me because during these whole 32 weeks I have encountered struggles but I never gave up I kept going. I am a full time single mum, travel 4 hours a day to get to my teaching job and onto of that I was also studying for my post grad through the Mind Lab. It actually brings tears to my eyes thinking that through all that, I have finally finished it all. This will be my last blog entry for the Mind Lab post grad course but in terms of my reflective practice as a teacher, that is ongoing.  I honestly don't think I would have made it on my own. I feel that this course if it did not have the collaboration aspect to it I think I would have drowned. My friends from the mindlab course have def. been my life jacket, they have kept me afloat and have encouraged me as well as inspired me to be a better me. Onto of that I also have the Heavenly father, who has heard my prayers in times of struggles as well as tears and reminded me that I am strong and that I should not give up and just keep going.

SO....Where to begin. 

To start of with I have gained a great wealth on knowledge in a range of different contexts. I had already come from a digital school so I was quite used to using different apps and devices in my class. But in terms of leadership, I feel this has def. benefited me. I have grown in my leadership skills. It also let me embrace my own leadership style.  Firstly, the new School that I am am was not as digital as my previous school, so with this new School I learnt to take it in my own hands and approach Management and try and implement a plan so that this School to become more 21st century and become a google School. 

I also learnt a lot about robotics and the programme Scratch. At first this was very challenging for myself but I preserved and kept at it and I am looking forward to implementing this programme into my classroom. 

I believe that for us to be successful teachers we need to embrace change as we are living in a fast moving world. Our children are growing up in a world that has a lot of technology so we need to also be able to connect with them in terms of understanding how to use the technology. 

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

Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning. Professional knowledge in practice

In terms of this Criteria I have grown in my leadership and become part of the IT Team at my School who established the use of google drive.  I have taken professional development staff meetings where I have introduced staff to the use of google drive and the google apps as well as the transition from using the school server to google drive. I have established great relationships with other teachers as well as management who have encouraged me in this new light as well as motivated me in my new leadership role. 

In terms of my class going fully digital this is a work in progress. I have set my class up with emails and am looking to hopefully see if we can get more netbooks so that I am able to implement more digital tools into my new year 3-4 class. 

I have really enjoyed this course and have made a great range of teachers and friends. It has been great being able to connect with them through social media such as google+ as well as twitter and facebook. 

Week 31: My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

Week 31: My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

As a professional and Teacher I clearly believe that for me to be an effective teacher and to be able to meet the differential needs of the students in my class I need the support and guidance of  a range of professionals. When looking at a Primary setting the children are getting a wide range of interdisciplinary connections.

As started in this Video students learn better when learning is Authentic, valuable to the students and reflects real life. This entails students to be able to comprehend challenging problems and view them in many different perspectives. This also enables students to implement 21st Century skills such as Critical thinking, Creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. 

So, in terms of my teaching and for their to be success and children to be engaged I have made sure that I make connections for their to be better understanding. For example, I make sure that I implement diverse cultures into my teaching so that they are able to make personal connections for their to be effective and deeper learning. 

I have also started integrated subjects more into my teaching and learning. For example, integrating topic and writing together as well as the arts. This enables me to able to create effective and engaging learning activities for the students in my class. 

I have also implemented more 21st century skills in to the teaching and learning in my class. I believe that collaboration is very vital as when we collaborate with others we learn as range of skills such as how to work alongside another person, being able to work as a team,  sharing of ideas and thoughts, gaining more knowledge from someone that has more skills. 

In terms of an area that I would like to work on it would have to be home School partnership. I would like to gain more strength there in terms of being able to have more of a deep connections with the students parents in my class and how I could get them more engaged in their students learning. In terms of this I would need to collaborate with my team leader and possibly other teachers in my syndicate and devise a plan as to how this could be developed more as I believe that when I have established this more effectively, then students achievement would incline more. 

References:

Importance of Interdisciplinary Learning | Ami Shah | TEDxTCNJ. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 22 August 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mssKYQSStVs

Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24) Interdisciplinary Learning [video file]

. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA564RIlhME

Week 30: Using Social Online networks in Teaching or professional development

Week 30: Using Social Online networks in Teaching or professional development 





In terms of this reflective blog I thought I would start with using this guiding question to help with my thoughts and reflections about using social networks in teaching or professional development. 
What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning? Why?

Firstly, I would like to begin with my background in Teaching, i started off at a School in Panmure, Auckland known as Tamaki Primary. Now, Tamaki Primary School was a fully digital. Decile 1 School which is part of the  Manaiakalani Education Trust. I taught for the past 3 years a year 5-6 class in a 1:1 device classroom. I believe that use of Social Media has great benefits for teaching and learning.

In Today's society, we are surrounded by different social medial platforms and the children that we team, this is what they know and the era that they are growing up in which is the 21st Century.
I believe that Social networking is a very powerful tool in terms of collaboration and communication. Through social networking there are many pros that can be gained, these are:

• Ability to be able to connect with different people from around the world. 
• Easy, fast and instant communication. 
• Real time news and information discovery. 

When looking in terms of Education and how children can be benefited from the use of social networking.Some of the pros are:

• Increased student collaboration with children not only in their classrooms but also with other children from other schools around New Zealand and the World. 
• Increased student participation and engagement in their learning. 
• Group work is easier to review/comment/feedback on. 
• Rich use of e-learning media available to the children. 
• Use of video conferencing. 

In terms of Teacher and their professional development. I use my reflective blog which I continually use to reflect on my teaching practice. This is where I put up students work as well as videos of myself teaching. My blog is public so everyone from around the world can view it. I also use google+ where I leave comments on other Mind Lab teachers work and blogs and this is also how they leave comments on my teaching. I find this really useful as there are teaching from around the world as well as nationally with a range of experiences with whom I can engage and communicate with in terms of my teaching and learning. 

In the classroom in terms of coming from a digital school. Our students all had their own blogs. On their blogs they would daily put up the work that they had been doing in class as well as learning. Their blogs were public so anyone from around the world could view and comment. Also the networking schools could also comment which was great for students getting feedback in their learning as well as feed forward. Kids were always engaged,  and this was a way of them celebrating their learning.  It also created a digital footprint so that teachers as well as students were able to go back and just see how far they have come in terms of their learning. The benefits is that there work is always there digitally and they can always go back to it.  On their blogs also they use a range of apps such as photos, making a video, screen casting their work which makes it more engaging for their audience and effective and also fun for them.  The use of Social Media also lets children: Learn, Create and Share. 

The use of Social Media as a teacher at a digital school also helped with getting more parent engagement in terms of students learning at a decile one School.


In terms when reflecting on the use of social media and its challenges, safety was a big one.
Our school because it was part of an education trust there were lots of policies put in place in terms of cyber safety and how to use the internet and be safe around it. Cyber safety was part of our professional development as well as what we had to regularly teach as part of our curriculum on a weekly basis. We also use Hapara tool which we always had projected up so that children could see that the teacher was monitoring what they were going on etc.  As teachers we were always modeling appropriate ways of using language and behavior at all times.  We also gave out rewards for certain about of blog pots that were going out from children and also appropriate use of the internet also.  We also talk about digital footprint. This meaning that whatever we put out onto the internet always stays there, it leaves a digital footprint so that everyone is able to see it and view it and it can always be retrieved so we need to be very careful what we put out there.


As teachers we also need to reflect and think about the purpose of Social media. Why is it that I am using social networking? Whats the benefit for me and whats the benefit for the students that I am teaching.



References:

Education Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520

Manaiakalani. (2017). Manaiakalani.org. Retrieved 21 August 2017, from http://www.manaiakalani.org/

Social media / Engaging through technologies / Beyond the classroom / enabling e-Learning - enabling eLearning. (2017). Elearning.tki.org.nz. Retrieved 21 August 2017, from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Beyond-the-classroom/Engaging-through-technologies/Social-media

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

Week 29: Influence of Law and Ethics

Week 29: Influence of Law and Ethics

Teachers today face ethical difficulties and professional pressure. We as teachers are expected to apply high standards and ethical decision making in their teaching profession. Ethical decision-making is challenging because teachers are often required to resolve tensions when their professional Code of Ethics is applied. 

Some tension areas that may arise could be in the following areas as per diagram. 






In terms of my classroom. I have used my classroom blog as well as making phone calls home in terms of being able to communicate with parents/guardians and family and whanau. I have also approached family members outside my classroom when they have come to pick up their students in terms of asking how they feel their children's learning is coming along and if there are any concerns etc.  I believe the better the communication between the teacher and the parents/guardians the better the support.

In terms of communicating with parents and its effectiveness I always when I let the children go when the bell goes wait at the door to see if any parents come by so that I get a few minutes to able to be able to talk with them about their learning. Especially those parents that are very hard to get hold of and don't make much effort in their children's learning. I try and also make phone calls once a week to parents and tell them about their children's learning. I also try and blog once a week on my class blog with students work and what they have been doing.

Some negatives that I have encountered is that I find that the parents don't make a huge effort to go onto our class blog to see what has been happening in our classroom. So, in terms of this, this can make it difficult to communicate with the parents and also get the feedback that I am wanting on the bogs. I found that the parents would rather go onto our school facebook page and read what is happening there and they tend to comment more on there.


References:

thical Decisions | Education Council. (2017). Educationcouncil.org.nz. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/ethical-decisions

Week 28: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice.

Week 28: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice.

 Gay(2001, p.106) defines Culturally responsive pedagogy as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. For us to be effective teachers and be able to teach a range of cultural backgrounds we must firstly acknowledge the cultural diversity of the learners as well as have knowledge of their cultures and customs.  For there to be acceleration in students learning and achievement we must also provide a culturally responsive curriculum and integrate this into our classrooms. 

In terms of looking at how my School caters for Maori and Pasifika students shows in our latest ERO report 2015. 

Clendon Park School serves a largely Māori and Pacific community in Manurewa. The school is committed to the principle of providing education for children in bilingual settings. Bilingual classes cater for students in Years 0 to 8.

There are seven bilingual classes in Te Whānau Awhina. The kaupapa of Te Whānau Awhina is underpinned by tikanga Māori, and expressed in the whakataukī, Ko tōku reo tōku ohooho, Ko tōku reo tōku māpihi maurea. A carved waharoa leads to Te Whānau Awhina classes, alongside a whare nui, whare kai and mahau covered outdoor meeting space. The bilingual classes are funded to provide Level 2 te reo Māori. In addition, five Te Puawai classes have been established as part of the mainstream to enrich students’ knowledge of te reo Māori at Level 4.

Four Samoan bilingual classes in Tautua o Tupulaga Samoa provide an opportunity for children to learn through gagana and fa’a Samoa. The malu outdoor area is a gathering place for Pasifika students in the school.

Nine classes are classified as ‘mainstream’ and cater for children up to Year 6. They include children from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this part of the school approximately 30 percent of students are Māori, and 56 percent are of Samoan, Tongan or Cook Island descent. These mainstream classes are also expected to integrate te reo Māori in everyday instruction.

The school is underpinned by the principle of respect. There is a clearly articulated kawa that contributes to a strong sense of wairua, manaaki and whānaungatanga. Students affirm that they feel their diverse cultures and languages are valued. Positive, caring relationships across the school promote students’ sense of belonging, connection and community.

The school is committed to an inclusive and collaborative approach for promoting the wellbeing of students and their whānau/aiga. This commitment is captured in the school's whakatauaki "He aha mea nui he tangata he tangata, he tangata. Every effort is made to include and support students who have learning challenges, and to work with their whānau. The high number of student experiencing residential transience are well supported by the school. There is approximately a forty five percent turnover of students each year.

• We celebrate many different language weeks at our school also. Some are: Maori language week, Matariki, Cook Island Language week, Samoan Language week, Fijian Language week. This is where students come dressed up in cultural clothes and a huge assembly is done with performances, where parents and whanau also come to participate. 
• The School culture is reflected in surrounding artwork around the school that represents the different cultures at our school.
• We also have a specialized Maths programme called "Bobby Maths". Where we have Maths mentors that come in to assist and support us in providing a culturally responsive Maths programme for our Pasifika and Maori Children.  

I have included a video on what Bobby maths is and how it is used throughout our school. 

References

Gay,G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.

Clendon Park School - 12/11/2015. (2017). Education Review Office. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/clendon-park-school-12-11-2015/

Week 27: -Contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand or internationally.

Contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand or internationally. 

In this reflective blog post I will look at the contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand or Internationally. One of the major trends currently making its way into Schools here in New Zealand and is also Globally established is the use of 21st Century school and the use of digital technologies and e-learning.

According to Visser and Gagnon (2005), the term “trend” refers to the statistically observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser & Gagnon, 2005; Karataş et al, 2016).

It terms of Schools and looking at what they are doing we have some schools that are using coding and programming computers, to gamifying their classrooms to enhance their learning. In terms of my School the children are learning to use gmail and learning to do their work online and being able to work collaboratively with another across the class using heir devices. 

In my previous School I has a 1:1 netbook class where e-learning was a huge aspect of my School and class. Everything was done on the children's Chromebooks. Children were able to use my classroom site to and navigate their way around and do online journal readings and then do follow up activities online. As their teacher I was able able to use an app called Padlet with the class where they were able to using their own devices contribute to a topic that we ere studying.

My class is on the verge of becoming a Chromebook class slowly.  Being part of the IT team I have established a big transfer from outlook express and word to using google. Which has been a huge move and is starting to become successful.  This was due to me approaching the management team and explaining to them that we are heading towards 21st century Education system and it would be great to start now and begin preparing our students for their future. 

Best practice e-learning enables accessible, relevant, and high-quality learning opportunities that improve student engagement and achievement. e-Learning has the potential to transform the way teaching and learning takes place. It is about using technologies effectively across the curriculum to connect schools and communities and to provide accessible, relevant, and high-quality learning opportunities so that every student is better able to achieve their full potential.

 e-learning may:

• assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time
• facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom
• assist in the creation of supportive learning environments by offering resources that take account of individual, cultural, or developmental differences
• enhance opportunities to learn by offering students virtual experiences and tools that save them time, allowing them to take their learning further. (http://elearning.tki.org.nz/About-this-site)

I believe that implementing e-learning in the classroom we are setting our children up for success in being able to be confident, capable and collaborative problem solvers. It will also help them with future work. 

References

About this site / enabling e-Learning - enabling eLearning

About this site / enabling e-Learning - enabling eLearning. (2017). Elearning.tki.org.nz. Retrieved 1 August 2017, from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/About-this-site.

Visser, L., & Gagnon, K. (2005). Defining “Trends” and “Issues” in Distance Education. Conversation with Donald Paul Ely Y. Visser, L. Visser, M. Simonson & R. Amirault (Eds. de la serie), Trends and Issues in Distance Education. International Perspectives, pp.83-89.

Week 26: Current issues In my professional context

Current Issues in my Professional Context

In this reflective blog post I will critically analyze issues of Socioeconomic factors, School Cultures and professional environments in relation to my professional practice.  I believe that to establish a good School Climate and Culture effective communication plays a key part. This meaning communication with students, whanau, hapu, iwi's, community and former colleagues.

My School is made up of majority of Maori and Pasifika students in the heart of Manurewa. The School caters for students from year 0-8. There are seven bilingual classes in Te Whānau Awhina. The kaupapa of Te Whānau Awhina is underpinned by tikanga Māori, and expressed in the whakataukī, Ko tōku reo tōku ohooho, Ko tōku reo tōku māpihi maurea. A carved waharoa leads to Te Whānau Awhina classes, alongside a whare nui, whare kai and mahau covered outdoor meeting space. The bilingual classes are funded to provide Level 2 te reo Māori. In addition, five Te Puawai classes have been established as part of the mainstream to enrich students’ knowledge of te reo Māori at Level 4. Four Samoan bilingual classes in Tautua o Tupulaga Samoa provide an opportunity for children to learn through gagana and fa’a Samoa. The malu outdoor area is a gathering place for Pasifika students in the school.

Nine classes are classified as ‘mainstream’ and cater for children up to Year 6. They include children from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this part of the school approximately 30 percent of students are Māori, and 56 percent are of Samoan, Tongan or Cook Island descent. These mainstream classes are also expected to integrate te reo Māori in everyday instruction.

As teachers at our school to need to be more culturally responsive and inclusive, this entails being able to embrace and get to know our students, whanau and their communities. To get a better understanding of who they are we need to know their culture, language, their identities, who they live with, if they work, what kind of work do they do and so forth as all this helps with being able to provide successful learning for them when they are at school.  My school  is committed to an inclusive and collaborative approach for promoting the wellbeing of students and their whānau/aiga. This commitment is captured in the school's whakatauaki "He aha mea nui he tangata he tangata, he tangata. Every effort is made to include and support students who have learning challenges, and to work with their whānau. The high number of student experiencing residential transience are well supported by the school. There is approximately a forty five percent turnover of students each year.

In Stoll and Finks article (1998) it talks about 10 influential cultural Norms. These 10 norms interconnected with each other and they feed of each other. It focuses on fundamental issues of how people relate to and value each other.

Panel 2 Norms of Improving Schools 

1. Shared goals—“we know where we’re going” 

2. Responsibility for success—“we must succeed”

3. Collegiality—“we’re working on this together” 

4. Continuous improvement—“we can get better”

5.Lifelong learning—“learning is for everyone” 

6. Risk taking—“we learn by trying something new” 

7. Support—“there’s always someone there to help” 

8. Mutual respect—“everyone has something to offer” 

9. Openness—“we can discuss our differences” 

10. Celebration and humor—“we feel good about ourselves”
Stoll and Fink (1996)

In relation to the Norms as per above, I believe that my School is able to cater for majority of these norms. Some areas that we would need help on would be in terms of getting more support for the children that are 2nd language speakers. As at times our classes are getting bigger and bigger due to the fact that the school is growing and the class sizes make it hard for the teacher to be able to cater for all the different learning needs even though he/she is trying her very best. 

All cultures are welcomed into our school and we have a great School climate and culture. Everyone feels welcome and can see the welcoming family orientated school climate when the walk through the door. We are always getting fantastic feedback from visitors that come visit our school and children. We are always looking at ways of how we can improve. 

References: 

Hongboontri, C., & Keawkhong, N. (2014). School Culture: Teachers' Beliefs, Behaviors, and Instructional Practices. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(5), 66-88. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2332&context=ajte

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

Week 25: Communities of Practice.

Applied Practice in Context: Week 25 Activity 1: My Community of Practice


Whakatauki: He kura tangata – He kura whānau

A person educated is a community educated

In my reflective blog post I will critically analyse and define my practice in reference to Wegner's (2000) Concept of Community of Practice. First the question that comes to my mind is: What is a Community of Practice? Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

A strong community of practice involves the sharing of knowledge in regards to fore filling and individual or group goal. This also involves creating new knowledge to enhance a domain of professional practice. 

Identifying my community of Practice. 

My community of practice is varied as I belong to a few different groups within my School. First and foremost I am a classroom teacher. I am a very passionate teacher and take my role as a teacher seriously in terms of providing a safe and happy classroom climate for the students in my class which not only inspire them but also challenge them and motivate them in terms of their learning and growing as capable learners. As a teacher I keep a reflective teaching blog. This is where I critically reflect on my teaching practice on a regular basis as I am a life long learner and I believe that through regular reflective practice helps me define myself as a better teacher and helps me inform my planning and teaching and look at areas where I can develop on in terms of planning as well as my teaching strategies. Finlay (2009) signify's the importance of keeping a reflective journal on everyday teaching practice. 

In terms of my COP and working with teachers and students I am also part of the IT team along side a colleague within the School. I also a tutor teacher to a beginning teacher so I also work within community of practice of other Beginning Teachers and Mentors and lastly, I am currently studying my Post grad with the Mind Lab. I also part of social media forums such as twitter, Facebook and also Google+ which are also considered part of a community of practice. I enjoy being part of these social media sites as this gives me the great opportunity to interact and discuss common areas of interests as well as share knowledge as well as gain knowledge. 

I take my role as being part of the IT team seriously as this is what I am passionate about. Enger, McDermott, & Snyder, (2002) discusses the importance of imparting knowledge. I have established my school into becoming a google school. I hold staff meeting in regards to how to use google drive and the many different aspects of how to navigate around google drive. I am responsible of assisting teachers as well as teacher Aides and Admin staff when they require any help or encounter any problems in regards to google.

The shared domain at our School is in terms of looking at different ways in which we can improve our teaching practice using digital technologies and 21st Century skills. Being part of the IT team we are always reflecting and always looking at ways that we can enhance this. At the present moment we at the beginning states a we recently moved from using a School server and outlook to going google. We are using the knowledge that we have and passing it onto others who will then take that knowledge and pass it onto the next person. We run regular meetings and attend conferences where needed to gain more insight and more knowledge on the ever changing digital world.

I honestly believe that I am a valuable and contributing member of CoP and I feel that I have participated and have flourished in terms of being a teacher. It is always great seeing others with smiles on their faces and thanking me for the knowledge that I have passed on and implementing them into their teaching and learning.

References

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file…

Knox, B.(2009, December 4). Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.