Did I make a difference?

What was going on for our students?

At the beginning of this year, we scanned through our data and decided to focus on student engagement, particularly in writing. Our hunch was that our students did not see themselves as writers. There was a need to create an environment and mindset where our students saw themselves as authors, readers, mathematicians, artists, musicians, etc. An environment where there was a clear focus on building a community of writers - expectations, authentic, real audience, making connections beyond the school environment where surface features impact on the audience.

Taking Action

• Changing mindset to “ I am a writer."
• Teaching targeted sessions where all aspects of writing are modelled (brainstorming, planning, proofreading, editing and sharing - feedback/feedforward).
• Slowing the whole writing process down, getting away from boring weekend recounts, taking away the pressure to write a new piece daily.
• Talking to and getting to know my students, encouraging oral storytelling, taking note of interests, etc to help them make connections and write when they are ‘stuck’.
• Sharing writing on an author’s chair; hearing other’s ideas, vocabulary choice and giving and receiving feedback.
• Accessing and using online resources such as The Literacy Shed and Pobble, with a clear purpose.
• Daily 5 reading programme (Reading to Someone, Read to Self, Work on Writing, Listening to Reading and Word Work).
• Having a large part of the school library in our learning environment that students access.
• Seek out online resources that allow students to create books from their writing in an easy to use format (Story Jumper).
• Contacting and utilising RT: Lit specialists.

Did this make a difference? ABSOLUTELY

Students are wanting to write and asking to write all day every day, especially the boys.

Students are actively seeking out writing buddies to collaborate and write with, even in ‘My Time”.

Writing levels have improved from the writing sample we did at the beginning of term 2. The evidence can be seen in students individual All About Me books (Writing and writing matrix).

Surface features have improved, there is more punctuation being used (capital letters, full stops), and other punctuation being used (speech marks). Students have an authentic audience and if they want them to understand what they are wanting to share they have to ensure that their writing meets the purpose.

There may not have been progress in levels (e.g. Level 1 iii to Early Level 2) at anniversary reporting dates but there has been significant progress made within the level. (Evidence in All About Me books). When assessing writing at the end of the year all students who were below their expected level are now achieving at.

Students are actively searching out books (picture and short novels) that reflect or support the themes or learning goals in writing.

Students are actively looking for ‘golden’ vocabulary in the text we are reading (both reading aloud and reading to) to use in their writing.

Students want to share their writing with each other and the whole team and produce books of their own (on paper at this stage mainly then moving onto Google docs and Story Jumper). ESOL student is writing and sharing, Elective mutes (2) are writing collaboratively, low achievers in writing are writing stories and reading aloud to the Whenua Team.

Once we had them hooked, collaborative writing empower students to co-construct knowledge, discuss themes, plots, outcomes - feed off one another to improve their writing. Use of google docs enables this, however it was vital that students could share their writing online and be at the level of Redefinition for SAMR Model, not substitution.

Our end of year data reflects the huge gains students have made in writing, in particular, our priority students who have all achieved Early Level 2 of the curriculum!

What now?

Students we will have as Year 4s have already indicated what writing and digital presentations they want to do in 2018 (Whenua News “Kids No. 1 News, Documentaries, Short Movies, animated stories) All of which require a strong writing foundation

Engage students with a dialogic journal where they write once a week - ‘talking, telling and sharing’ in a private and confidential format. It is important that I respond back with a comment, directly related to the content of their dialogue, so that they recognise that it is valued.

Exploring sustainable online tools and how we can further engage our writers- E.g. Story Jumper

Engage learners with more real-world problem-solving tasks that enable innovation through the use of ICT that require students to organise thinking, share ideas, collate and collaborate - not be passive recipients of knowledge.

Resources I have found invaluable

Online

• The Literacy Shed
• Pobble
• Story Jumper

Blog

• Literacy for Pleasure
• twowritingteachers

Text

• Writing Essentials      Regie Routman, 2005
• Passionate Readers      Pernille Ripp, 2018
• Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration    Pernille Ripp, 2017
• Writing Voice - Creating Communities of Writers    Teresa Cremin & Debra Myhill,  2012
• Read and Retell    Hazel Brown & Brian Cambourne, 1990

Reflective Practice & Changes in Practice

WOW is the word to describe my learning journey through the whole postgraduate MIndlab programme. At times I found it very challenging and had to draw on our NPS Learning Powers of Resilience and Being Me to keep me going, especially when the demands of daily school life threatened to take over completely. The new learning was extremely valuable and supporting this was my co teacher (Suzanne) who was also on this journey. Together we had the opportunity to make changes within our learning programme and environment which in turn has had a positive impact on our learners progress and achievement outcomes. This was further enriched by the connections made within our Mindlab Hamilton group where we were able to share, question, discuss, clarify, challenge and support one another - knowing I was not alone made the programme all the more enjoyable and beneficial.

Practicing Teacher Criteria -  

Criterion 1: Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga.

Criterion 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice

Key Changes

There have been some key ideas, theories and research that have stood out for me as having a positive impact on my teaching practice. Our actions were informed and I now understand why I need to be using research based practices to develop 21st Century skills in our learners. These include using

https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research (2011)

And the

http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Teacher-inquiry/SAMR-model

where we as class teachers (Suzanne & I) constantly asked ourselves where each task/activity sat, using Agile classroom tools such as Kanban, and the power of building a strong team spirit, grouping arrangements and teaching by example (Murdoch & Wilson, 2008).

Microsoft ITL 21st Century Learning Design

We were introduced to the Microsoft ITL 21st Century Learning Design (2011) rubrics as part of our learning in the MindLab in-class task in week two. I had never seen these before and this concerned me as we promote ourselves as innovators not bound by “traditional classroom routines” and where we respond creatively to challenges in a digital ILE. The Microsoft ITL 21st Century Learning Design (2011) rubrics provided the opportunity for critical reflection of my practice and the impact on our main stakeholders - our learners!

Initially, we were focusing on

But quickly realised that in order to do this effectively we needed to build a collaborative and inclusive environment. If our students were not able to collaborate how could we expect them to then use ICT for learning?

Our decision to focus on collaboration first has paid huge dividends in all other areas of our learning programmes - it does not matter with whom our learners work with, they are becoming so much more responsive, sensitive to difference, able to listen, share and communicate. Building an inclusive learning environment that encourages our learners to collaborate will be at the forefront of our teaching and learning programme in 2018.

Practicing Teacher Criteria -  

Criterion 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.

SAMR Model

I, alongside Suzanne, wanted to use the SMAR model as outlined in ‘enabling eLearning’ on TKI, - using technology for creating, to critique our learning tasks and experiences against. This is becoming embedded in our teaching and learning pedagogy, ensuring that we don’t slip back into the comfortable past - me especially! Using this example helped me make sense of SAMR and I continue to refer to it when I unsure.  

Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html

Practicing Teacher Criteria -  

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

What next?

Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) define being a reflective practitioner as “on one hand, the actor in the drama and, on the other hand, the critic who sits in the audience watching and analyzing the entire performance.” (p. 2) and this is exactly how it feels! What is also scary is that it almost becomes addictive - my awareness becomes so enhanced that I am continuously searching out new learning and research that will have a positive and sustainable impact on my teaching practice and pedagogy. I will continue to use (Timperley, Kaser & Halbert, 2014) model to improve, not just to prove my practice.

At the moment I am looking at several options for Professional Learning in 2018 -

• Culturally Inclusive Practice with Marian Pearce and Dr Mark Dashper (School PLD)
• Level 4 Te Reo Maori course through Te Wānaga o Aotearoa
• CORE Ed - Innovative Learning Curriculum
• CORE Ed - Innovative Learning Practice

Practicing Teacher Criteria -  

Criterion 3: Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Criterion 10: Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa NZ.

References

Microsoft in Education (2011a). 21st Century Learning Design Rubrics. (pp. 1-44). [PDF]. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research

Ministry of Education.Enabling eLearning. (2017). Elearning.tki.org.nz. Retrieved 4 November 2017, from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Teacher-inquiry/SAMR-model

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

Murdoch, K. (2015). The power of inquiry. Northcote, Victoria, Australia: Seastar Education.

Murdoch, K., & Wilson, J. (2008). Creating a learner-centred primary classroom. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

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.

Professional Context - Crossing Boundaries

Current & Future Interdisciplinary Connections

Future Interdisciplinary Goal:

For the next twelve months I, alongside the staff at NPS have an interdisciplinary connection with Marian Pearce and Dr Mark Dashper who are both Māori Medium PLD Practitioners based at Auckland University. As a school we identified the need to raise our game in terms of culturally responsive practice and in order to do this, we have the experience and expertise of Marian and Mark to develop responsive teaching and learning programmes at our school. Through joint teacher/practitioner observation and planning, we want to expand not only our teaching practice and understanding but our students understanding and achievement. We need our interdisciplinary connections and collaboration to go beyond the surface, both for teachers and students; encouraging different perspectives, connecting with peers, critical thinking, communication and higher order thinking skills (Jones, 2010).

I have chosen Mulligan & Kuban’s conceptual model for successful interdisciplinary collaboration (2015) as an approach to adopt.

Workplace Conditions:

Regular communication to maintain engagement and momentum, whether electronically or in person is essential. Regular staff meetings, as well as small group meetings/workshops, will provide the time and opportunity to share and discuss how to develop and devise a strategic plan on Māori educational achievement. Lollies are an integral component of the meetings as these will invariably take place after school when energy levels are lower. Additional support through appropriate research and readings will provide the opportunity for staff to explore pedagogy and encourage further discussion to take place. Providing time to develop thinking and practice is critical. As Jones (2009) points out “Interdisciplinary curricula is time consuming and takes collaborative team work to create” (p. 80).

Qualities /Attitudes:

Key to the success of collaboration is relationships - between facilitators, leadership, staff and students. Levels of ‘uncomfortableness’ can be elevated, especially when engaged in new learning that involves reflection, critique, needs and next steps. Trust is key, both of the ‘expert’ and peers. Professional trust provides the environment for honesty, compromise, risk-taking and new learning when planning, making decisions and setting goals. As a staff, we have to have a shared vision and enthusiasm for changes in our culturally responsive practice to take place and be sustained. I have found that one has to let go of the ‘control’ factor in order to successfully collaborate. A Tuakana/Teina relationship allows the role of expert to be reversed at any stage. This has occurred during our student ‘impact inquiry projects’ where integrated curriculum planning is collaborative and students take on various roles of expertise, “learning tolerance for their peers as well as leadership and collaboration skills” (Jones, 2009, p. 77).

Common Goals:

For collaboration to be successful there needs to be a shared vision and a willingness to work together to affect change. In order for us to do this in the context, I have chosen we need to firstly analyse achievement data for the last two years looking at what success as Māori looks like in our school, how Te Ao Māori can be embedded in all areas of the curriculum, and how success can be accelerated. Strengths of staff and those beyond our immediate school environment need to be recognised and utilised so we are able to build on what we have. There needs to be accountability to our students, whānau and each other so that effective collaboration is sustainable and ongoing once our lead facilitators have stepped away. Our common goals are woven through our teacher/team spiral of inquiries so that they remain at the forefront of our pedagogy and practice - building a sense of community.

I have found that the most challenging aspect for crossing boundaries in a professional context is relinquishing ‘control’ and stepping outside my comfort zone. Recognising that there are multiple experts out there to connect with is not a sign of weakness - it becomes a strength. It has certainly been easier to initiate this in a primary setting. I personally, have come a long way utilising interdisciplinary connections and know that I still have some way to go!

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

Ministry of Education. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines/Teaching-and-learning-te-reo-Maori/Aspects-of-planning/The-concept-of-a-tuakana-teina-relationship

Mulligan, L. M., & Kuban, A. J. (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration

Social media in professional development

If I had been asked to consider how social media can be used to support my professional development a few years ago I would have been at a loss to comment. Up until a few years ago, I stayed away from social media, almost feeling that it was an intrusion of privacy, as well as being wary of exposing myself. I now recognise that I was in the late majority in adopting social media as a means of developing professionally (Robinson, 2009). How this has changed! The changes that have taken place occurred when I undertook more study. I have been exposed to and encouraged to seek out new research and learning to support my ongoing study. Use of socially networked professional learning as I experienced in a tertiary environment enabled me to build learning relationships (Steinfield, Ellison, & Lampe, 2008; Yu, Tian, Vogel & Chi-Wai Kwok, 2010, as cited in Melhuish, 2013). Having the opportunity to connect, collaborate, support and share opened up new possibilities and pathways to explore.

What I am using

We have a strong culture of using online social platforms to make connections, push our thinking and open up new possibilities. I predominantly use Facebook (10 education groups), Twitter and VLN as networks for professional development. These are used in a variety of ways, from ‘lurking’ (reading but not commenting) to making connections, posing questions, exploring resources, participating in discussions and collaborating with others to challenge and affirm practice. The use of social media in PD is an inexpensive way to access our ever-widening community of experienced and innovative teachers, especially in our very busy times and tightening school budgets.

Challenges

As you can see from the above Coogle, my use of social media is still quite limited. I am very aware of how the amount of content available can be overwhelming at times and that there is a need for having a clear purpose, identifying the benefits and how best these can be communicated (Connected Ed. Video, 2013). Sitting alongside this is the importance of social interaction and the need to develop relationships where you are actively engaged, both producing and consuming information/content; “prosumers” as Toffler, 1980, as cited in Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010 describes.

A challenge that arises when I use social media for my professional development is being able to critique content/practice/pedagogy - is there a research basis to what is being shared? How do I know? How do I find out more? Melhuish (2013) discusses the lack of unpacking theory and its place in practice when educators are engaging and networking, leading to the risk that ‘networking creates assimilation or affirmation of current practice without question” (p. 43).

Through my participation in further study both at Waikato University and Mindlab, I have developed social networks that I will continue to access to both challenge and refresh my pedagogy and practice. Honestly, I think my ongoing challenge is to stay an active, self-directed and self-organised learner (Schaffert & Hilzensauer, 2008) while balancing the increasing demands of teaching with family. To do this I need to critique what I access, the real purpose, who benefits and how this can be measured - there are so many ‘rabbit holes’ to disappear down!

References:

Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato)

Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8

Robinson, L. (2009). A summary of diffusion of innovations. Enabling change

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.

Schaffert, S., & Hilzensauer, W. (2008). On the way towards Personal Learning Environments: Seven crucial aspects. Elearning papers, 9, 1-10.

Legal & Ethical Context in my Digital Practice

In 2015 I completed the Teachers as Professionals paper at Waikato University as part of my study to upgrade to a Bachelor of Teaching. This provided an opportunity for me to look closer at legal and ethical issues and the possible impact on key stakeholders. The schools that I have worked in have all had clearly defined policy and protocol for students and staff alike so any situations I have been involved with have had a clear process to follow. As a result of exploring the Code of Ethics (Education Council, 2017), myself and another teacher have facilitated staff meetings where different scenarios were presented to promote discussion and raise awareness in our ever-changing learning environments. A particular focus was placed on device use, online accessibility and social media (staff and students).   

Hall (2001) discusses how the changing face of New Zealand (ethnic diversity and moral pluralism) and the blurring of the role of whanau with the school curriculum has impacted on the teaching profession. This has impacted on my teaching in a BYOD learning environment as I have found the use of digital devices, online access and who is ultimately responsible for what happens is becoming increasingly tricky. School policy and protocols need to be constantly reviewed and updated, using resources such as Digital Technology, Safe and responsible use in schools (2015) and Digital technology guide for schools (2017).

Ethical Dilemma

The increasing access and use of personal digital phones by younger and younger students brings it’s own ethical dilemma as the phone is a personal item that may or may not be used for learning.

Student A lives with her mother, visiting her father on the weekend. There is animosity between the parents and communication is strained. Mum was reluctant about her daughter having the latest mobile phone communicating this to the father, however, he went ahead and purchased the phone. Unknown to the mother, Student A took the phone to school. Student B got hold of the phone, entering the contact details into his phone. Outside of school hours Student B began to text Student A making a variety of lewd suggestions. Student A became upset and showed the messages to her mother. At this point, the mother contacted the school who were not aware that Student A had taken the mobile phone to school.

Stakeholders

• Students involved
• Teacher
• Team leader
• Person in charge of ICT
• Principal
• Parents.

Restrictions on actions

The phone was brought to school, parents/whānau/school were unaware. The incident took place outside of school hours.

Due to a custody dispute taking place (Student A) there is a concern that the incident could be used as evidence against the mother - not providing a safe environment.

The school has an extensive Cybersafety agreement that parents/whānau/students sign. This includes breaches that occur outside of school hours. Breaches are clearly outlined with an example, action and consequence. However if this agreement has not been signed off, what course of action is available?

Normal Course of Action.

• Staff will investigate immediately by interviewing the student/s involved;
• All relevant evidence will be saved
• A brief report will be written.
• Parents will be notified of the breach. A meeting may be requested;
• In the event of serious breach, incident will be reported to appropriate agent: CYF, NZ Police, etc

Because the breach occurred out of school hours, the school would not set direct consequences. The school would discuss and follow up any consequences with the parents if mutually agreed.

Course of Action

I have found this a tricky situation as neither student signed a Cybersafety agreement, parents and school were unaware of the phone contact until after the incident. I have decided on this course of action: after a thorough investigation, there would be a meeting with the parents where the incident would be discussed, the Cybersafety agreement revisited and consequences for both students agreed upon. Communication throughout the process is imperative. This could be a loss of phone privileges at home and close monitoring of online activity on devices at school.

Comments would be greatly appreciated.

References

Education Council. (2017). Our code, Our standards. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf

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