Week 32: Changes in my Practice

When I think about what I have achieved during the last 32 weeks, words can not explain how I really feel. The experience has been mindblowing and affirming all at the same time. I have enjoyed sharing and meeting with like-minded people on the same journey while learning how to implement ideas, learning new ways of looking at things, applying what I have learned to the classroom context and analyzing my leadership style. The course has also been affirming of my practice and knowing I am on the right track leading IT at my school. I have some new ideas about blended learning and how to implement this and I am excited about what lays ahead in the future.

Collaborating with others during the first 16 week part of the course has been fabulous. I have really enjoyed listening to others sharing their experiences and learning. Learning alongside others in my profession has been inspirational. I have enjoyed reading the articles and readings as they have relevant to the learning.  It has been a real journey.  I am a reflective practitioner, before the mindlab course I kept my reflections to myself. Sharing my reflections on a blog has been challenging but I have enjoyed reading others reflections and it has been reassuring that others have felt the same or are experiencing similar experiences. Osterman and Kottcamp mention that "to gain a new level of insight into personal behaviour, the reflective practitioner assumes a dual stance, being, on one hand, the actor in a drama and, on the other hand, the critic who sits in the audience watching and analysing the entire performance. To achieve this perspective, individuals must come to an understanding of their own behaviour; they must develop a conscious awareness of their own actions and effects and the ideas or theories-in-use that shape their action strategies". I have learnt much about myself during the 32 week course.

I was the only person who took part at my school and have found it really hard especially with the online latter part of the programme. I have found it challenging keeping up the workload, not knowing if I was on the right track, I found it easier when we met as a class and were able to discuss parts of the course as this was reaffirming.

Criterion 4

Fully certified teachers demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice.

Key indicators:

• Identify professional learning goals in consultation with colleagues.
• Participate responsively in professional learning opportunities within the learning community.
• Initiate learning opportunities to advance personal professional knowledge and skills.

One of the areas I have implemented since my involvement in the Mindlab postgrad was teacher portfolios using isites google application. I am a team leader and wanted to engage my team in system that was more engaging and reflective for them. As a team we each started up our own teacher portfolio at the beginning of the year. Every time we meet as a team, once a week, we added to our isite page, using evidence for each criterion.  We as a team identified learning goals we wanted to focus on, which my team co-constructed and engaged in professional development meeting their goals. My team actively engaged in learning opportunities to advance their professional knowledge in areas they identified.  Every time we met as a team our conversations were always pedagogical driven.

Criterion 5

Fully certified teachers show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning.

Key indicators:

• Actively contribute to the professional learning community.
• Undertake areas of responsibility effectively.

During the 32 week course, I have been able to put together a strategic plan for IT at our school.  I have run workshops for staff teaching them how to use applications and developed a blended learning model for my school. I have been able to share what I have learned through the mindlab course.

My next dream, I have decided to continue with my study, I have inquired about doing my Masters in education through Waikato University. I am a lifelong learner,  I want to continue to pursue research in areas I have been introduced to through engaging in the mindlab course. I want to be the best I can be for my students.

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

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

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001).Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week 31: Critically discuss the interdisciplinary connections in practice

For quite a few years I have integrated as many curriculum areas when I engage my students in inquiry. Interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning engages students by helping them see the connections. This term, for example, teaching the science and technology process preparing students for the school-wide science fair integrates English, Science, Technology, Mathematics and engages students in real-life problem solving for humanity. 

I also teach Future Problem Solving. This is an international programme that engages students in a problem in the future sand they have to work collaboratively to solve it, by coming up with an action plan. Future Problem Solving can also be integrated. 

The notes I took on the video provided in our class task area: teaching through an interdisciplinary model creates a holistic empathetic horizon, rather than students learning myopically, they gain an understanding of the world, through collaboration cross pollination takes place, connections happen through cultural experiences. Students become engineers and technologists, there is a shared language.  For me this is exciting and learning becomes exciting for the students, they are driven by their own interest.

There is one area I would like my interdisciplinary connection to improve. My students have the opportunity to attend a number of specialist areas within our school. These specialist areas are dance and drama, hard materials, food technology, visual arts and digitech. My team collaboratively plan together each term, we have an umbrella topic that has come from the students. When my team collaboratively plan we would very much like to include the specialist team, to engage them in the inquiry, it would be great if the students could use this time to incorporate what they are learning in class and apply this to something they could make or create within the specialist areas rather than learning something that is totally separate or myopically. Their specialist class visit I believe would be more meaningful to their learning and they would have the opportunity to make further connections. 

This would mean that the specialist team would need to join my team when we collaboratively plan for the terms theme. The students would have the opportunity to use the specialist space to inquire further into their inquiry. 

The model above highlights for an interdisciplinary connection to be successful, common goals need to be identified and communication is at the forefront of the successful model. Everyone needs to be on the same page. 

The most cited conditions or success in interdisciplinary approaches cohere with these trends. 'Success stories in the interdisciplinary/integrated literature cite the following conditions as necessary for the adoption of new curricular models to occur; continued participation in and ownership of the curricular design; the flexibility to explore different models and make adjustments when needed; consistent and continual time for planning and discussion; access to resources, resource groups, feedback and training'. 

ACRLog. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration

American Association of Colleges of Nursing.(2016). Interdisciplinary Education and Practice. Retrieved fromhttp://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/interdisciplinary-education-and-practice

Berg-Weger, M., &. Schneider, F. D. (1998). Interdisciplinary collaboration in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 34, 97-107.

Hardré, P. L., Ling, C., Shehab, R. L., Nanny, M. A., Nollert, M. U., Refai, H., ... & Wollega, E. D. (2013). Teachers in an Interdisciplinary Learning Community Engaging, Integrating, and Strengthening K-12 Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(5), 409-425.

Week 30 Professional online social networks

Over a few years, I have used many digital platforms to connect. I am a LinkedIn user, I love pinterist, I have a facebook page, but am careful who I connect with and are an active user of many groups on facebook. I have a twitter account. I also have a class blog and I enjoy looking through other classroom blogs. I have used a class blog for a number of years. When I first started to engage in blogs, students enjoyed posting their work online and seeking feedback.  There was much teaching around giving appropriate feedback and what to comment on. Parents also got involved with commenting and the students were very excited when their parents were involved. It was a way of conencting the community. 

A few years ago my class were asked to be part of a collaborative unit of work with a school in North Carolina USA. Each class told their story. I divided my class into small groups of pairs or threes. As a class we brainstormed how we could share our story of agriculture, horticulture, population and population density, land use, water quality, opportunities, and culture. We skyped each other, and even though the time difference wasn't quite right, my students were keen to come to class at 6.30 am in the morning for breakfast and hot milo's just to engage in conversations with students from North Carolina. 

The teachers involved; myself and the teacher of the 'science' class at the North Carolina school, we collaboratively planned the unit of work through google docs. We shared our curriculum documents with each other and created a classroom blog for each class so we could watch, learn and feedback on each stage of the process. 

This experience had a huge impact on my students, every day they contributed in some way to the blog. 

Some of the challenges we experienced were maintaining the communication. With the busyness of other things for both classes, often there was no communication, then we had to set time aside to make sure we had communicated. This happens now with my current blog. I find unless you designate a specific time the blog does not get updated. I have a year 8 class and we are so busy with so many things that to keep the class blog updated takes time. I am also finding, students are becoming more aware of what it means to have work posted online, many students like the idea, but there are quite a few students who do not wish to have their work posted online because they have had a bad experience. Parents are now very busy, I have some parents who take part with the class blog. One way I engage my parents is including them in photostreams of the students eg; camp experiences. 

I enjoy looking through the twitter feeds on specific groups. I also enjoy looking through the primary teacher's facebook page and secondary school Facebook page. I am also a member of a science facebook page. Facebook is blocked at our school so I usually find time later in the evening to lurk through posts. There are some very creative teachers out there who are prepared to share their experiences. The Linkin links often share professional readings as do twitter feeds. These are great reads from people who are like minded. Karen Melhuish is one person I follow. I also follow VLN groups, over the years these groups have been a great resource to ask questions about all sorts of areas related to IT.  

Karen Melhuish thesis is an interesting read especially with regards to the delivery of teacher professional development. Networking in a social media forum is really conducive. It is a place to ask questions, get support, share experiences with many professionals. 

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...

Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved fromhttp://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf

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

Silius, K., Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen, S.(2010) ‘Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and learning.’ Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2, (1). Retrieved on 7th May,2015 from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-p.

Week 29: Law and Ethics

There have been a few incidents in my career as a teacher that have I have been concerned about. One of the most serious incidents was when a colleague had set up a Facebook page under her own name, that was used for classroom interaction and she allowed her students to become friends. Unfortunately, the page become a forum for counseling students out of school hours, parents become involved and the teacher's personal information was well known to her students and parent environment.  Students personal information was shared as well. This is a very brief synopsis of the situation.

“What possible issues/concerns might this scenario raise?
The teacher's personal information was well known by her students and this was discussed amongst the students. Students information was on a public platform. 
How could this situation become a violation of the law, the “Code” or other school /district policies?
Our school has a policy in place that makes recommendations that teachers will not engage with students via a social media platform that is not educational based.  This was a very negative situation. 
The teacher's code of conduct is very explicit and I am glad the new draft code has revamped information bringing this into a more relevant document. There are 2 areas of the teacher's code of conduct that remind us of our responsibilities in relation to social media......the draft document is more in depth and relevant to current practices.

In this situation, what are some potential negative consequences for the teacher, for the students and the school community?
Her personal information was shared with students and also students information was shared on a social media platform that was very public. The information was widely known in the school community.
What responses/actions will result in a more positive outcome and/or what proactive measures might be considered?“ (p.7)
Support and guidance were given to the teacher and the Facebook page shut down. Professional development and guidance were put in place. Students were also supported through this process as well. An education programme was put in place for the students and parents around the potential impact of what could have happened and what was happening. 


Because of this situation, we have done much around protecting teachers and students. We do not support Facebook as a forum, even though it is a successful way of engaging with the outside school community. Classroom pages can easily be set up in Facebook and these can be made private only to that community.
Connecticuts Teacher Education and Mentoring programme mention "public school educators are held to high standards of behavior because they are entrusted with the well-being of their students. The public expects that their behavior exemplifies ethical and moral integrity. Teachers serve as role models who should recognize that their conduct, both on and off the job, can profoundly impact their professional image. Lapses in judgment can adversely impact students, damage teachers’ credibility and erode public trust in schools and the profession"  This is so true, we are the role models, the ethical police, and moral judge. But we are also human and can make mistakes. 

Part of the protection we have put into place, is we have provided each teacher with their own ipad. We have encouraged them to have a class itunes account and link the ipad to their computer through cloud sharing. The teacher ipad is for recording student progress and the taking of photos to upload to class blogs. The ipads were also given to teachers so they could play with apps etc.  We have discouraged teachers using their own smart phones and having any school information on their private phones.  Home is home, personal equipment is for personal use, school equipment for school.

Collste, G.(2012). Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan,19(1), 17–33.

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual....

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-et...

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

Week 28 Indigenous knowledge and cultural perspective

When I think about the student achievement levels at my school and the discussions we have as a school and at the BOT level, Maori achievement is always an area to analyse and put plans in to actions. Maori achievement against National Standards in Reading Writing and Mathematics has been an area of discussion and cause for concern.  In the last 5 years our data has shown Maori achievement in these areas are improving. There are more students achieving at and above the National Standards now in comparison to 5 years ago when many Maori students had high representations in the well below and below areas. Our 2016 data identified 65% of our Maori students were at or above in Reading,  nationally last year this data 68 %.  In mathematics our school had 44%,  achieving at or above, Nationally this was 65%. In Writing 48%,  and nationally 61%. So there is still much work to do to try and raise these levels.

Our school has a population of 30% Maori students and I have only one student in my class who is identified as being Maori. Our school has done much work around culture and developing our mission statement.  Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011), share that. " a lack of connection between the culture of the school and student has been associated with low engagement in the absence  of culturally responsive practice"  

A poster I have in my classroom at the moment is, what are you doing to reach the summit of Mauao? 

Over the last 3-4 years our school has developed our school mission and vision through consultation and engagement our school community and iwi. We have done this through surveys, questionnaires, interviews with stake holders such as students, our student councillors and the wider community. We have developed our school mission and core values. Respect Pride Learner is our school Motto. 

Our school wide vision statement: "Developing Confident, Connected, Actively Involved Lifelong learners, Whakawhanake ake te matauranga mutanga kore! Okea ururoatia!" has come directly from our school community and iwi. 

Our mission statement, which has also come directly from the community engagement: 

"We provide quality education that inspires students to succeed, Ko ta matou he whangai i te tino kounga o te matauranga kei nga tihi o te taumata, kia taea ai nga tauira te eke ki te ara angitu" 

We as a staff, community ad BOT go to great lengths to make sure our school is inclusive and everyone follows our school wide mission and vision,  everyone is on board. 

Professor Russell Bishop ed talk is a reminder of that teachers need to take stock of their own cultural values before they can foster a culturally responsive programme in their classrooms. Some points I have reflected on while listening to his ed talk are:

There is power in goal setting, and Maori are educable people. The key to making a difference are teachers who have agency and they understand themselves and where they come from. Maori can bring themselves to the learning conversation and engagement, improvement outcomes of achievement and also attendance. 

There are some key points Professor Russell Bishop has for a culturally responsive classroom. 

1. Care for Maori students as Maori, embed high expectations

2. Manage the classroom in such a way that is conducive to learning for all involved.

3. Interactions with Maori are important and give quality feedback and feedforward

4. Teachers need to use a range of strategies, working with groups and individuals, roving, fostering collaboration

5.Use evidence of students performance to guide their teaching and student need to know their outcomes. 

6. Learners among leaners. 

7. Teachers creating context in the classroom, relationship being paramount. 

8. Caring for people and caring about relationships. 

The way I see all the above, it is important that these things happen in every classroom despite what cultures are represented.  Are they happening in every classroom at my school? I am going to say probably not and yes, there is much work tstill to do. 

Milne, B.A. (2013). Colouring in the White Spaces: Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Whitestream Schools. (Doctoral Thesis, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/7868

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

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