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