Changes in Practice

Reflective practice, while often confused with reflection, is neither a solitary nor a relaxed meditative process. To the contrary, reflective practice is a challenging, demanding, and often trying process that is most successful as a collaborative effort. Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). 

The above quote sums up my Mindlab experience. When I first saw an email about the postgraduate course I thought about it briefly but then quickly put it in the 'too hard basket'. I didn't have time, it would be too difficult, I wouldn't know anyone etc. A few weeks later my Principal emailed the entire staff about the same postgraduate course and asked for expressions of interest. My colleagues and I discussed it and decided it might be okay if we did it together. We applied.

I guess the most obvious change in my own research informed practice to the Practising Teaching Criteria (PTC) in e-learning was 

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

Until applying to study at the Mindlab I was guilty of not 'demonstrating commitment to ongoing professional learning....' yes I had participated in professional development but only in whole school/staff setting that our management team had decided would benefit and align with our school-wide goals. I felt as if I had sound knowledge and a good skill set around e-learning. Boy was I wrong. 

I have learned a great deal about e-learning in the 32 weeks I have been studying with the Mindlab. I have not only learned about practical and exciting e-learning tools and activities like Makey-Makey and Coding etc. But more about why we do these things. I have enjoy watching my students become more and more engaged as I plan more thoughtfully and deliberately. My colleague and I often refer to the 21st Century Skills Rubrics for Teachers by Microsoft, we think carefully about the key concepts. To what extent have we provided students with opportunities to collaborate, construct knowledge, solve problems, use ICT and self-regulate? We often reflect on our planning and hold each other accountable by asking "How high does this particular activity score on the rubric?" "What can we change to make it a 5?" 

One other change in my own research informed practice to the Practising Teaching Criteria (PTC) in e-learning was 

• Criteria 8: Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn.

I have been teaching for twelve years and I thought I had a pretty sound understanding of pedagogy, what makes kids tick and how they learn, and I do, some of the postgraduate course material and the opportunities to collaborate with educators from other schools confirmed this for me. However I have learned a huge amount about engagement, what makes learning engaging and WHY those things are engaging, particularly while studying game-based learning. I take this new learning into consideration constantly when planning. The other thing that has changed the way I think abut my own learning, the way I speak to my students (and even my own kids) and about their learning is Growth Mindset. I had never heard of Growth Mindset before coming to the Mindlab and I didn't look at Growth Mindset in particular throughout the course but my colleagues did. I have loved looking at their classroom displays, listening to how they have used it and reading about the huge difference it has made for their students. Because of this my next dream regarding my future professional is around Growth Mindset.

Sometimes when I forget how challenging I have sometimes found postgraduate study, I think that maybe I would like to one day go on and do my Masters around Growth Mindset! I think in the school that I work where students have faced great adversity they would benefit enormously from a Growth Mindset philosophy. I would also love to find out what kind of impact/influence Growth Mindset has on students' behaviour. But for now, I need to wait and see that I have passed this bit before I consider further study. Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R. (1993) hit the nail on the head when they said "reflective practice is a challenging, demanding, and often trying process that is most successful as a collaborative effort." I have only got to this point because of the constant encouragement and collaboration from my peers.

References

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.

Crossing Boundaries

My Interdisciplinary Connection Map

One of my current interdisciplinary connections is with my teaching team. In our team of four we have teachers with a special interest or expertise in a variety of disciplines like the Arts, Sport and PE, Social Science, Science, Mindfulness and Growth Mindset. We plan together and I think we deliver a rich, varied, integrated and highly engaging curriculum.

Casey, J. (2010) states that interdisciplinary techniques are not only important for a student to learn any one single discipline or solve problems in a synthesized manner, but it also enriches a student’s lifelong learning habits, academic skills, and personal growth. I recently saw a great example of this. This term my team completed a wearable arts unit. My colleagues and I were reflecting on the learning that had taken place. In eight weeks our students learned about the design process, the importance of following a brief and of planning and making models. They learned art skills like paper mache and painting. They also learned about performance, lighting, choreography, stage presence and their audience. Most importantly they learned about values like teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, resilience and perseverance. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst our students. They got a huge amount of satisfaction from their work and were incredibly proud of themselves and their peers.

One of my potential interdisciplinary connections is with my Community of Learners or COL. My 'near future goal' would be to simply connect with students and my colleagues from across the COL. I remain cynical about the COL concept. I have questions about the leadership, funding, accountability and logistics to name a few. However after having a few anecdotal conversations with my colleagues I have began to look for the positives and the advantages of being a part of a COL.

In our COL there is one secondary school Years 8-13 and several contributing and full primary schools, and one special character primary school. The COL has the potential to be an exciting opportunity for staff and students to collaborate, plan together, share expertise and resources. For example, I know that the college in our COL has an impressive music/arts department and I am the not so impressive Teacher-in-Charge of the Arts at my school. It would be wonderful to invite some of the senior choir/music students from the college to work with my younger choir. 

For our recent wearable arts unit we invited two senior students from the college to help with the construction of the costumes. On the day of the performance we asked if a couple of the college students could come and set up a lighting rig for the show, they agreed and stayed on to control the spotlight, this is something my colleagues and I have no experience with and would have been unable to do.

Some senior college students help run our sports/arts interchange on a Friday afternoon. Our students involved in the interchange have challenging behaviours and the college students have helped to provide some extra supervision, and acted as role models and mentors. Another example of us working with the college is there are a small group of boys in my class that really need extending in maths. So once a week the boys attend a maths extension/GATE class at the college. 

When I reflect on the things we have done with the college I realise we have made a good start. However so far I have only made connections with the college not the other COL schools. Also while the college have been very kind to us, I wonder what we can offer them? Can we work together to solve problems like truancy etc? I am excited about what being a part of the COL could mean/do for our staff and students, our learning and our personal growth.

References

Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai

Professional Online Social Networks

We have a school Facebook page administrated by our Principal, Deputy Principals, team leaders and office staff. It is the most effective way to communicate important notices, cancellations, celebrations etc with our parent/caregiver community. Facebook is easy and effective because most of our community have a Facebook profile and they know how to navigate it. Because it has a mobile app it means most people have it on their phones. Our followers are notified immediately if we 'update our status'. 

As a class we used to use Blogger and while we still have a blog, we use our Twitter account more often. We have found Twitter to be quick and easy, we enjoy tagging other people in our tweets and we love seeing them tweet back! We have attracted the attention of some pretty famous people this way and even had one turn up to a special event! It is easy to tweet several times a day about what we are doing in class and special events. However as quick and easy as Twitter is I do find it difficult to stay within the 60 characters and very few of our own parent/caregiver community follow us on Twitter.

We have faced some challenges while using social media as part of our teaching practice. We once had a mother complain because we posted a picture of her child on Facebook. It was in a learning context and we had her permission to post the child's picture online but she had a aversion to Facebook. I remember earlier this year when we posted an 'innocent' notice about stationery, parents began commenting negatively about our systems and practices. Things like how we asked students to label their books and pencils. I think too there is a gap in both the 'rules' around how to use social media in the classroom and professional development for educators that feel they need it.

I use Facebook personally mainly to share news and pictures of my family with friends and family that live in other parts of the world. A couple of years ago someone invited me to join the NZ Teachers (Primary Education) Facebook page. I have found it to be a great source of information, professional discussion and debate, a way to share, or rather swap all kinds of amazing resources. This kind of professional connectedness is not only current, but unique and tailored to me. I can based my professional learning on what is going on for me and my students, around my inquiries. Ala-Mutka (as cited in Melhuish, 2013) states that reports are increasingly indicating that technology can support the development of those personal and professional competencies required to be successful, metacognitive, adaptable learners.

I have also enjoyed using Blogger to reflect on my new learning and what this means for my current practice while doing my postgraduate. I think sometimes I get so busy and I very rarely have time to venture outside of my own classroom. Social media has given me this opportunity. To see photographs and read stories of what other teaching professionals are doing is exciting. Sometimes it is reassuring and I think "yeah, we're doing okay in Room 10" and other times it is an opportunity to reflect on my teaching practice and think what can I do differently to better meet my students' needs?

Moving forward I would like to use social media to enable my students to connect, and share their learning with other students from our local and global communities. This is something I haven't done a few years and they get such a buzz out of connecting with other kids their age from other parts of the world.

References

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...

Influence of Law and Ethics

An ethical dilemma I've had a close call with is publishing a students' photograph and name online. I had a student whose mother had a parenting order in place and had also asked that her daughter's name or photograph never be published in things like newsletters or online. The girl's father was in prison and mum was worried he or his friends may try to contact the girl and her younger sister or even take them. My student wasn't aware of the situation, her mum was trying to protect her.

One day the All Blacks came to school. We were all so caught up in the excitement that we forgot about this child not being allowed to have her photograph taken and we took a picture with the class and our guests. As we were about to upload it to our blog I realised what we had done, it was too late to retake the photo. We were able to photoshop one of our school mascots (a cartoon character) over the top of the student. It was very effective, as if we had deliberately put the mascot there. 

However on another occasion the same student received an award in assembly and her name was published in our newsletter which is also available online. This time it was her mum that picked up our mistake. She came into school the next morning absolutely furious and she seemed genuinely afraid of the potential consequences for her family. We apologised and removed the newsletter from our website immediately. Unfortunately there was little we could do about the nearly 300 newsletters that had gone home with students the day before. 

According to the Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers in relation to parents/guardians, and the family/whānau of learners, teachers will strive to respect their privacy and respect their rights to information about their children. And also promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners, and protect the confidentiality of information about learners obtained in the course of professional service, consistent with legal requirements. We had let this particular family down and were in breach of the Code of Ethics.

Fortunately there were no repercussions for the family following this incident. However it did make us review our procedures around those kids that have parenting orders and publishing bans in place and as far as I'm aware we have not had another incident like this one. Parents need to know that their children will be safe while in our care. 

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

Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness

Bishop in Edtalks (2012) suggests that a teacher whose pedagogy is culturally responsive challenges the “deficit thinking” of student educability, believing that they have skills and knowledge that can help all of their students to achieve, no matter what. 

One of the educators that feature in the Teaching Tolerance video describes culturally responsive teachers as teachers that make connections, we are 'cultural bridge builders'. Students approach learning not as cultural blank slates, they bring into the classroom all of those cultural experiences. It is very compatible about what we know about good teaching. Cultural responsive pedagogy builds our students' prior knowledge, prior cultural knowledge. 

I believe values such as Manaakitanga, Mana motuhake, Whakapiringatanga, Wananga Ako and Kotahitanga as described in Savage, C., Hindleb, R., Meyerc, L., Hyndsa, A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C. (2011) are values that should be actively present in all classrooms.

Vision, Mission, and Core Values

I think my school does cultural responsive pedagogy well. 27% of our students are Maori. Our recent ERO report (October 2016) states that many Maori children are achieving at or above their school peers. It goes on to say that the school effectively responds to Maori children whose

learning and achievement need acceleration. Leaders and teachers have very high expectations that Maori, and all children, will achieve.

Our mission is "Empowering children to aim high, persevere and succeed while making a positive contribution to the world." I think to do this we first need to build rapport and establish relationships with our kids. Bishop in Edtalks (2012) suggests that highly effective, culturally responsive teachers create a relationship-centred education and that relationships are paramount to the educational performance. 

This is something we do particularly well at my school. We form relationships with our

students. We know who they are, where they come from, the kind of values they hold. We do our best to learn about their cultural practices and religious beliefs. 

When I look at the Unitec's Poutama tool I can see we have climbed our way to the top. We have established culturally safe learning environments in which students feel safe to be themselves. Tuakana teina is integrated throughout all that we do in the classroom and our students are engaged in active and reciprocal relationships with staff. This was evident in our recent Me and My School survey where 95.57% of students said they felt as if the were treated fairly by their teachers, 96.84% said they respected their teachers and felt their teachers respected them, and 97.47 said their teachers helped them to learn. 

Communication

This is an ongoing issue for us. Getting parents and whanau into the school. It is something we are very aware of and in the past we have consulted with our community and our 'experts' to find out what we can do better. We have tried different things like putting on kai, running competitions, giveaways, and earlier start times. We have used outside agencies like the Maori Wardens as they know many of our community. I would like to suggest that we are on the Consultation step of the Poutama tool. Consultation and engagement with our Maori community is certainly established, however this remains a goal for us.

Linwood Avenue School - 23/08/2016. Education Review Office. Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/linwood-avenue-school-23-08-2016/

Savage, C., Hindleb, R., Meyerc, L., Hyndsa, A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C. (2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198: (Available to download from Unitec Library).

Three educators talk what culturally relevant pedagogy means and what does not.
Teaching Tolerance.( 2010, Jun 17).Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8

Unitec. (n.d). Learning and Teaching at Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved fromBooklet.http://www.unitec.ac.nz/ahimura/publications/U008817%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20Booklet.pdf

The Broader Professional Context

According to the OECD's Trends Shaping Education (2016) Household poverty and debt have a large impact on families. Children living in low-income households perform more poorly in school on average due to a lack of resources including books, access to computers and sometimes even proper meals. This is no secret. And I don't know that it is the most relevant trend to my practice but I know it's one of the top three. 

This particular trend captivated my attention because it is one that impacts on my students every day. After ten years of teaching in decile 1 and 2 schools I have seen many children come to school without having had breakfast and without lunch in their bag, occasionally they arrive in their socks. The school I currently teach in is situated in one of those most 'deprived' suburbs of Christchurch. I remember after returning from school camp asking my students what they enjoyed most. One boy said he loved camp because he had a mattress, at home he slept on wire base. I well aware that this is sometimes/often the case in high decile schools also. I have seen how poverty affects kids, how it sidelines them. 

The Government have recently announced the Budget. They have increased the Family Tax Credit and and Accomodation Supplements. I don't think it's enough and I don't think it's the answer but it's some kind of a start. Charities and businesses are also onboard. We rely heavily on outside agencies for support. 

I think this trend has influenced the education system because we have a duty of care to our students. Also we recognise that trying to teach cold, hungry, tired kids is hopeless. According to Education Counts, poverty increases the likelihood of poor nutrition and other health problems, housing transience, unstable parent and caregiver relationships, negative peer group influences and other factors known to impact on educational achievement. Education Counts go on to say that poverty during the early years of childhood can be particularly detrimental, with negative educational effects persisting at least into the middle years of schooling, even when family incomes improve. 

Right or wrong it falls to us to provide our students with food and clothing. We have had the debate "if we do this, breakfast club, free shoes etc, it takes the onus off the parents and caregivers" and I think there is an element of truth to this. We probably do have a handful of parents and caregivers who have simply given up trying because they know we will provide for their children. But I do not believe that this is the case for most families. Although one could are argue these are simply 'bandaids'  rather than cures.

Schools are also modifying their curriculum in an attempt to break the cycle. Apps like Banqer aim to provide a hands on environment for kids to get curious, creative, and ultimately, confident with money. We use it in our classroom to teach students about money. Students have the opportunity to earn an income, spend, save and invest. It's all fictional of course but it has been amazing to see students having meaningful conversations with their parents and caregivers about money. 

I think poverty will always remain a trend in education. However with the ever increasing media coverage and awareness, changes in curriculum and in Government policy (or Government) I hope that we will eventually see it become less so.








Banqer Weaves itself into the Fabric of Life. Retrieved from https://www.banqer.co/

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

2015 Education and Child Poverty. Retrieved from http://childpoverty.co.nz/flow-infographics/education-and-child-poverty-2016

2017 Education Counts. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/indicators/definition/family-and-community-engagement/3981

Current Issues in my Professional Context

My school is a contributing primary school situated in Linwood on the east side of Christchurch. It has a decile two rating. We have approximately 350 students.  According to the last Census (conducted in 2013) the unemployment rate in Linwood was 8.3 percent for people aged 15 years and over, compared with 5.1 percent for all of Christchurch City.  Also according to the last Census (2013) 39.7 percent of people aged 15 years and over in Linwood have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with 36.3 percent of people for Christchurch City as a whole. Around 48 percent of this ward's population live in the 'most deprived' areas (i.e. deciles 9 and 10), compared with 12 percent of all of Christchurch City's population.

Families in our community are struggling. I know we have issues with truancy, poverty, domestic violence, and crime (just to name a few). I know that some days I spend almost as much time teaching children to read and write as I do feeding and clothing them. It is not unusual, or shocking to see a child come to school without shoes, and it is common for them to come without food. 

I also see a tight-knit community that loves league and looks out for each other. We have huge family groups attend our school. Siblings, half and step-siblings, cousins, even children who may be aunties and uncles to other students. I know several of our staff are now teaching the children of students they taught years ago. 

According to the Me and My School Survey (The New Zealand Council for Educational Research) conducted earlier this year, 89.87% of our students agree or strongly agree that they look forward to coming to school each morning. 96.20% of students feel proud about being at our school, and 88.61% of students said they felt as if they were a part of our school. 

During their visit in 2016 the Education Review Office noted the vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children. They are to 'achieve success through learning’ and demonstrate respect, resilience, curiosity and caring. The school encourages children to aim high, persevere and succeed, while making a positive contribution to the world. This is the culture we strive for.  

I work with highly skilled professionals who deliberately, and constantly reflect on, and strive to improve their practice. We feel a shared responsibility for all the students who attend our school, and for the success of the school as a whole. I think that our staff are a sound example of Stoll and Fink's 10 cultural norms that influence school improvement.

The socio-economic state of our community impacts on us at school. To remove the barriers our students face we have many programmes in place. We work with countless outside agencies. We apply for funding every year to subsidise our senior camp and other EOTC activities. We have a breakfast club each day and once a week we provide a hot, nutritious meal to those students who want it for just $1.00. A cafe based in a neighbouring suburb donates beautiful lunches for us to distribute daily to those students who need it. 

As staff and as a wider community we are dedicated to making sure that our kids have every opportunity to feel safe, to learn and to be successful regardless of the socio-economic status of the area.

2013 QuickStats about Linwood. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-a-place.aspx?request_value=14845&tabname=Work&sc_device=pdf

Linwood Avenue School - 23/08/2016. Education Review Office. Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/linwood-avenue-school-23-08-2016/ 

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