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.

"The future of the world is in my classroom today".

As a teacher I am a long long leaner and I am always researching new things to begin in my classroom. In my classroom our morning routine begins as per below:

1. Roll
2. Expectations.
3. Daily Quote.
4. Weekly Whakatauki
5. Weekly Value.
6. Weekly goal. 

Image credit: Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD

As I teach children that are considered middle school and majority of my class a year 4's who will next year be seniors I believe it is very very significant to reinforce values and virtues at this age level so that as they grow they will becomes great citizens on the future who will make a difference to their society and the world around them. 

While researching I came across this image: The compass advantage .  This really took my interest and I wanted to find out further what this entailed. So there are the findings. 

 Empathy is situated at "true north" on the compass because it is the driver of caring and compassionate actions in the world. By developing empathy in children, teachers help them feel valued and understood while impacting social change and innovation for decades to come. Empathy is systemically related to all of the abilities on the compass, particularly to self-awareness at "true south." Research suggests that the more children become aware of themselves, the better they become at understanding others. 

 

The article went onto explaining empathy-building habits of great teachers. For those that know me well, professionally and personally they know that I am a very empathetic person by nature and am always teaching my students the importance of empathy. But, again we teachers are life long learners and I know that I can build habits of empathy much deeper. Here are some ways that I am looking forward to implementing this in my classroom.

1. By creating a meaningful relationship with my students-This can be done by making sure that my students feel heard, being able to voice how they feel, feel seen and understood. "Teachers who know, appreciate, and respect students beyond academics help children feel cared for and increase their ability to care for others."
2. Nurture children;s self efficacy through mentoring- This can be done in my classroom by- Being supportive and encouraging, listening, setting high expectations, showing interest in students as individuals, fostering decision making skills and providing another prospective during problem, solving. 
3. Teaching values associated with good citizenship- This can be done in my class by- Implementing and teaching children values such as caring, cooperation, compassion, kindness. Also role modelling what this looks like. Getting children to do mini skits to show what this looks like and how they feel when someone shows these values to them. 

From elementary through high school, children should evolve through three developmental stages as they take on roles in society:

1. Being responsible citizens
2. Improving their communities
3. Contributing to solve societal problems

Inspire children to be their very best-This can be done in my classroom by being a great role model to the students in my classroom and modelling these values to them so that they are inspired to be their very best. Also, showing a passion and ability to inspire, clear and articulated set of values, commitment to community, selflessness, ability to overcome obstacles in life. 

Expose students to different opinions and world views: When teachers cultivate curiosity about how individuals and groups of people see the world differently, they expand children's intellectual, interpersonal, and emotional boundaries. They help students see and understand differing perspectives

The compass virtues

Curiosity:

Curiosity is the ability to seek and acquire new knowledge, skills, and ways of understanding the world. It is at the heart of what motivates kids to learn and what keeps them learning throughout their lives. Curiosity facilitates engagement, critical thinking, and reasoning.

Sociability:

Sociability is the joyful, cooperative ability to engage with others. It derives from a collection of social-emotional skills that help children understand and express feelings and behaviors in ways that facilitate positive relationships, including active listening, self-regulation, and effective communication.

Resilience:

Resilience is the ability to meet and overcome challenges in ways that maintain or promote well-being. It incorporates attributes like grit, persistence, initiative, and determination.

 Self-Awareness:

Self-awareness is the ability to examine and understand who we are relative to the world around us. It's developed through skills like self-reflection, meaning making, and honing core values and beliefs. It's situated at "true south" on the compass to symbolize that introspection is about looking into ourselves. Self-awareness impacts children's capacity to see themselves as uniquely different from other people.

Integrity:

Integrity is the ability to act consistently with the values, beliefs, and principles that we claim to hold. It's about courage, honesty, and respect in one’s daily interactions -- and doing the right thing even when no one is watching.Integrity is the ability to act consistently with the values, beliefs, and principles that we claim to hold. It's about courage, honesty, and respect in one’s daily interactions -- and doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

Resourcefulness:

Resourcefulness is the ability to find and use available resources to achieve goals, problem solve, and shape the future. It draws on skills like planning, goal setting, strategic thinking, and organizing.

Creativity: 

Creativity is the ability to generate and communicate original ideas and appreciate the nature of beauty. It fosters imagination, innovation, and a sense of aesthetics.

Empathy:

Empathy is the ability to recognize, feel, and respond to the needs and suffering of others. It facilitates the expression of caring, compassion, and kindness. It's situated at "true north" on the compass to symbolize the outward impact of educating young citizens committed to creating a just, sustainable world.

Reference:

PhD, M. (2015). 8 Pathways to Every Student's Success. Edutopia. Retrieved 16 April 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-every-students-success-marilyn-price-mitchell

"Today I close the door to the past. open the door to the future, take a deep breath, step on through and start a new chapter in my life"

 I farewell 2016 and say hello to 2017, a new teaching journey, a new beginning and great things to come. It was defiantly sad to farewell my teacher friends at my previous School that I taught at for the last 3 years, but most importantly it was very hard to say good bye to the tamariki (children) that I had taught. It was very emotional and very hard especially knowing that as a teacher I had touched their lives and they had touched my life in some way. I must say that I was also very excited about this new endevour that 2017 was going to bring.

Firstly, I had started my post graduate studies through the Mind lab where I had met a great bunch of teacher friends and I must say I am finding the course very exciting and secondly I had earned me a new full time teaching job teaching a year 3 and 4 class.

So here is my update.....

Welcome to my fantastic and awesome Room 16 Tamariki. What a great bunch of year 3 and 4 students. Majority of my class are from a Maori and Pasifika background. Below is a awesome picture of my class. 

I have really enjoyed working with this year group. At first, I honestly thought that it was going to be hard because for the past 3 years I had been teaching seniors, year 5-6's and it had been a while since I have taught this age group.  So, far this term has been a fantastic term and a very successful term. 

I have build great relationships with the staff at my School and they are like my second family. The staff at School are very welcoming and the School atmosphere is so welcoming. 

I have a build a great relationship with the students in my class where they are happy and feel safe in my classroom. My classroom is full of Aroha and it has been great to see that the Whakatauki's and values that are taught in my class are reflected in the children through their actions. The children in my class are the first to run and help someone that need help, or are feeling sad or down. I can see that they are developing into wonderful citizens. 

During this term I have also been promoted which is fantastic to being a permanent staff member, which is such as wonderful feeling as promotions like these don't come often so I am very blessed and thankful. I can see that the School has definitely seen something special in me which is a great feeling. 

I have also been given the opportunity to be a tutor teacher to a beginning teacher as well as been an associate teacher this term to a third year student teaching. What an opportunity to be able to share all the knowledge I have learnt over these years with these two teachers.  

I must say it has taken a lot of hard work to have got this far. I know wonder what does Term 2 have in store for me? I can't wait to see! 

Design thinking: Mind lab session

David Kelley-IDEO: Design thinking.

Be Innovative
(Design thinking kite model)

• Training and the professional practice of designers-these are principals that can be practiced. 
• Driven by design involves activities, decisions, and attitudes. 

(Video-Human created design)

Observe and Feel

• ascertain what it is that they don't do or don't say. 
• Feeling alongside others and experiencing things as they do. 

(David Kelly-Empathy)

• What they think and feel. 
• What they value as a culture. 

4 principals of design thinking (Photo)

Prototype

• Develop ideas faster.
• Helps to drive an idea forward.
• Generate successful feedback. 

Designer thinking challenge 

We have to work alongside someone that we did not know well or have not worked well with before.
Big Idea: "How might you succeed in the online part of your PG learning journey"

1: EMPATHISING

• Whats the story?
• Dig deeper

2: DEFINING 

• Observations about the problem.
• User story statement. 
• 
  

3: IDEATING

• Draw 9 RADICALLY different souluations for your user and capture feedback, comments, reactions. 

4: IDEATING

• Ideate a new solution. 

5: PROTOTYPING AND TESTING

• Build something your partner can interact with.
• Pitch with your user story (Observe your partner and learn more)
• Swap sheets (Give feedback and feed forward to the designer/s. What did you see, hear, feel? Where to next with this design?

6: REFLECTING

Design thinking in leadership. 

• Framing problems.

Mindsets

A summary of diffusion of innovation (Reading)

Dilbert-An Early adopter. 

Week 10 Mindlab session

Today during our Mind lab session we firstly talked about what an enterprise is and what an entrepreneur does and who can be one. An entrepreneur is considered a person that is an initiator, a challenger and a driver. Someone that takes a great idea and brings it to life. He/she is the beginning of the venture. These people are usually the people that are the drivers. The person that take charge and is usually the person that will inspire the team to follow. "The entrepreneur is the one that sits in the driver’s seat, and has the ability to change direction, accelerate, slow down or even stop a venture"(Torre, J., & more, R. (2015). Who Is An Entrepreneur?. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 25 March 2017, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245628).


An enterprise can take the form of creating a community and connecting with like minded people. Taking the ideas and creating a business from it.

We then went onto our collaborative task.

Collaborative task:
What are the knowledge, skills and aptitudes these students have developed through enterprise?
What learning happened?
Some of the things that came up were?

Aptitudes: Can do attitude
Skills: Networking promoting the product.
Trial and error.
Having a vision and goal.
Working collaboratively with others.




We then looked at the video below. 
Te Whare Hukahuka

Using mentors. 

Dreams plus plan=Vision

We were then shown an example of Tom's shoes and how the idea started. I found this very amazing. 

TOMS SHOES 

We then looked at the method of how to go about collating ideas using lean canvas-Mapping uncertainty.(potential start up vision)

TESTED, VALIDATED OR AMENDED. 

SOCIAL LEAN CANVAS

How do we give better? And how can you accertain this product?

Purpose=The Why? Why are we doing this?What is our purpose. Making sure that it is relevant?

Have the ability to REALLY CHANGE? Challenging the norms. You cant do little things if you cant do little things everyday.

IT IS A JOURNEY!

Sentence stems(Discussion tools for the classroom that would reduce children in groups that clash)
Half bakes.com: Entrepreneurial Improv Theatre"

Digital 2: if you do digital one do a brief overview f digital 2.
You dont have to do digital 1 for digital 2.


Lousise Demsey
Sheena Cameron (resource for reading and writing)



Crowdfunding

Pledge me project website
Engaging a crowd or group for a common goal (crowd sourcing)