Week 32: Changes in Practice and Future Plans

Activity 8: Changes in Practice and Future Plans

The what: Identify one key change in your practice

The main change is in the increased flexibility of my thinking and in my teaching. This applies to the Teaching standard in Our Code, Our Standards: ‘Teach and respond to learners in a knowledgeable and adaptive way to progress their learning at an appropriate depth and pace’. (Ministry of Education n.d. p20)

The main reason I signed up for the Mindlab course was because after nearly 30 years in the profession, I was beginning to lose the joy of teaching and learning. Although, over these years, I have attended myriads of PD sessions, I wanted something that I hoped would be truly transformative to my teaching rather than merely adding to my knowledge.

Now What – Evaluate the identified change

The problem was that my students were not engaged in their learning, They were not on task or if they were, they were not enjoying what they were doing. Many could not see the purpose in what they were doing and believed that they were unlikely to achieve.  A further problem was that of technology – their use of it inappropriately in the classroom. I needed to harness it for learning.

Observation and Analysis

Surveys using google forms, observations and one on one interviews revealed much of the results above but also that many did not feel confident about writing. They also felt that English required too much effort compared to other subjects and there was too much writing. The lack of purpose and confidence was revealed in homework not being done and classwork not being completed. I felt like I was the one doing all the work.

Abstract reconceptualization and experimentation

Through the Mindlab course, I have been exposed to current research and theories so that my teaching is now more evidence-based. Reading about Carol Dweck’s Growth mindset and the ‘power of yet’ (2012) helped me to shift my thinking and change the language I used with my students so they can see that improvement is possible. Another important concept for me is that of student agency ‘In his Edted talk, Derek Wenmouth explains agency as

‘When learners move from being passive recipients to being much more active in the learning process, actively involved in the decisions about the learning, then they have greater agency. (Core Education 2014)

I have begun to give students more choice in topic and in activities. The author of  ‘Learner in the driver’s seat’ Chris Watkins like Dweck asks teachers to recognise and change their mindsets: “They haven’t got the skills.” Rather than talk about students in terms of deficits, can we think about their experience to date and whether we have helped them master it yet? (Watkins 2009 p.31) Part of the learner being in the driver’s seat is knowing where they are going i.e. the purpose. I am being clearer on the destination and the signposts need to reach it. Following my literature review which looked at the impact of blogging on writing, I am now trialing this in an inquiry with my students; the authentic audience is engaging and motivating them.

What Next? Future Plans

There has definitely been a change in my teaching through this course. I want to continue to develop and apply student agency in my classes, to ensure that the student is in the driver’s seat; to enable students to learn from each other and in way that suits them rather than a one size fits all approach. I want to continue to be informed about current research and directions in education. Most of all I want my students to enjoy learning and to be flexible enough to face whatever the future brings.

The Standards from Our Code, Our Standards (Ministry of Education, 2017)

References

Dweck, C. (2012). Mindset – How you can fulfil your potential. Robinson. Great Britain.

EdTed (2014). Ten Trends 2014: Learner Agency. Core Education. Retrieved from https://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/2014/learner-agency/

Ministry of Education (n.d). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

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

Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators: professional development to improve student learning.(2nd ed.) New York: Skyhorse Publishing.

Watkins,C. (2009) Learners in the driver’s seat. School Leadership Today. 1.2 pp 28-31 Retrieved from http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learners-in-the-driving-seat

Week 31: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness in my Practice

Activity 7: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

What is culturally responsive pedagogy?

It is about responding to both the tangible and the intangible culture, i.e. not just pronouncing students names correctly (although this is important) and participating in Kapahaka, but more importantly valuing the perspectives of all my students by recognising everyday their lived experiences.  I can do this by asking my students what they already know so connections are made between their prior cultural knowledge and what they need to know today and for the future.   I agree with Jacqueline Jordan Irvine’s view it is about cultural bridge building or being ‘cultural translators’ (Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, 2010).

Moreover, as Bishop emphasises, ‘relationship-centred education is paramount’. This is a relationship between the teacher and student in which there is both caring and learning.

From my reading, I have discovered that I need to improve in all areas. I have chosen ‘Planning and assessment’ and ‘Learning activities’ because changes in my practice in them will have the greatest immediate impact for my learners.

 So what? Evaluation of my practice using Milne’s action continuum

Planning and assessment

After reflecting on what I have read and viewed, I believe I am currently somewhere between the ‘some language and cultural content’ purple stage of Milne’s ‘Action continuum – eliminating White spaces’. In my roles as an English and junior French teacher, I do some planning of short stories with content from Maori and other cultures and in French, we make comparisons between vowel pronunciation and also la bise/hongi and have used the mihi structure for introductions in French. In French, at this beginner level, many of the formative and summative tasks are oral and performed with peers or groups. However, in my planning and assessment of English, I realise I have not included enough opportunities, especially at the junior level, for students to work collaboratively and have the option to present their work orally or visually (there is currently less flexibility to do this in English at NCEA level). Something else to plan for are opportunities for the students to be the teachers (either within the class or with more junior students). I certainly acknowledge that I can and have learnt from my students but I have a lot more colouring in to do in this area. I need to plan from my Maori students’ point of view; this quotation from Russell Bishop gave me pause for thought:

Despite many teachers saying that they do care for Maori students, their actions that express this need to be in ways that Maori students understand’ Te Kotahitanga Effective Teaching Profile 2009 p.30)

Learning activities – This is directly related to the planning area. I am clear about where the activities are leading and why we are doing them. I need to provide more opportunities within the class for collaboration, for opportunities to ‘think and compare’. This year we have become a 1:1 device school and I realise to some extent I have neglected the collaborative speaking opportunities.

What next? So where to from here? How do I colour in the white spaces and see Maori ‘As Maori’?

I need to become an ‘agentic thinker’ (Bishop.) I absolutely believe that all students are educable and have high expectations of everyone but this not sufficient. As yet, I do not have all the cultural knowledge to help all students. I need to sign up for a He Tikanga Whaakaro course, see my classroom as a place of reciprocity of learning and feel able to embrace Te Ao Maori at every opportunity at my school. To this end, I will need my school to support me by going beyond the timetabling of culture to embracing and sustaining culture (Milne, 2017).

Week 30: The Broader Professional Context: Comtemporary Trends

Activity 6: A Contemporary trend in New Zealand or internationally

What: Identify one trend that is most relevant to your practice:

A trend or statistically observable change (Visser & Gagnon 2005) that I am captivated by is the rise and impact of technology. Why? In the 21^st century this rise has been exponential. It is now ubiquitous in schools especially in the form of cell phones, ipads and/or laptops. It is impacting on both how and what we teach as we try to prepare students for future living.

So what: Analyse the trend

There are three main areas: Education, Employment and Cyberisks.

It has transformed our understanding of teaching and learning. Learning can now be more personalised.  ‘Anywhere, anytime’ - students are now connected 24 hours a day. It is common for people to be involved simultaneously in several activities.(OECD 2016)

Digital disruption will lead to the discontinuing of many jobs. The Oxford Martin Institute survey of 702 occupations in the USA predicted that 47% could be automated within 20 years. At 0.0078 probability teachers are likely to be around for a while yet. (KPMG International 2014)

The speed and power of new technologies allow individuals and organisations to stay one step ahead of formal regulations (OECD 2016) We need to think about how to problem solve this.

Key challenges/opportunities trend poses to my practice and context

With 24 hour connectedness and a developing fear of missing out (FOMO)  some students are becoming dependent -  even addicted to technology; for example, on the internet and gaming. Research shows that

It is associated with structural and functional changes in brain regions involving emotional processing, executive attention, decision-making and cognitive control.” (Lin & Zhou et al, 2012)

This has implications for the classroom and society. Furthermore, even if students are not addicted, their ability to focus for longer lengths of time is decreasing.

Additionally, the teachers ICT skills often lag behind the technical skills required by students for the workplace. The challenge is to better prepare teachers for teaching using technology.

As for employment,  Frey and Osborne, authors of the Oxford Martin research, expect low-skilled workers will  move to tasks that are not susceptible to computerisation — i.e., tasks that required creative and social intelligence,” “For workers to win the race, however, they will have to acquire creative and social skills.”(2013)  

There is an opportunity for education to be more interactive and collaborative to meet this need and we are therefore heading in the right direction. Furthermore, there is a need to help our learners to be adaptable and flexible in the face of change.

It is already impacting the teaching context. With the abundance of information now available through the internet, it is vital that critical literacy skills are taught so students are not manipulated by those with dishonest intentions.

Students also need to be taught how to keep themselves safe online and respectful commenting behaviour. Teachers need ongoing education in order to be proactive about alerting students to cyberisks

Now What?

The Ministry of Education has introduced a new digital literacy curriculum  which encompasses Years 1-10 which is future-focused  and includes coding. The establishment of professional development courses such as that offered by the Mindlab are essential for teachers to try to keep up with the constant rate of change

The limitations that might impact the adoption of this trend could be the lack of technology teachers, the lack of access to technology for some schools,  (we only became a 1:1 device school this year – until now we had to rely on being able to book the computer room),  the lack of finance and the lack of technology PD.

References

Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., Freeman, A., Hall Giesinger, C., and Ananthanarayanan, V. (2017). NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Frey, C. & Osborne, M. (2013) The Future of Employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 114,January 2017 p254-280. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019

KPMG International. (2014). Future state 2030: the global megatrends shaping governments” [Video]. KPMG International Cooperative: USA. Retrieved from http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/future-state-government/Documents/future-state-2030-v3.pdfNew Media Consortium. (2017). NMC and CoSN Release the Horizon Report: 2017 K-12 Edition [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-rPhEltg9o

National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en

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.

Zhou, Yan, Fu-Chun Lin, Ya-Song Du, Ling-di Qin, Zhi-Min Zhao, Jian-Rong Xu, and Hao Lei. “Gray Matter Abnormalities in Internet Addiction: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study.” European Journal of Radiology 79, no. 1 (July 2011): 92–95. doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.10.025.