Week32Mindlab- Changes in My Practice

Image courtesy:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50eca855e4b0939ae8bb12d9/t/51d71f4ee4b01caf88caffb1/1373052752106/We-do-not-learn-from.jpg

 During a particularly stressful week trying to finish a very demanding Mindlab assignment, ( needless to say, it was the dreaded Literature Review), I looked forward longingly to the day I would be writing my very last assignment. I revelled at the prospect of not having readings, video clips and loads of material to sift through anymore. 

And, that week has arrived! Yet, it does not find me in a joyous mood! of course, I am happy at the thought of having reached the end along with which comes a sense of satisfaction.

But, it also ushers the inevitable end to an immensely memorable 32 weeks that has opened up new horizons for me and has changed my belief in my ability as a teacher to "disrupt" the status quo of learning models when needed. 

So, it is a bittersweet occasion, a sense of success tinged with a sense of loss!

According to Osterman_Kottkamp, "To gain a new level of insight into personal behavior, 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 analyzing the entire performance."

For this purpose, I will be using the Experiential learning Cycle diagram to maintain flow and coherence in my reflection.

Source: https://app.themindlab.com/media/32985/view

CONCRETE EXPERIENCE

According to the situated cognition theorists, learning is the most effective when the learner is actively involved in solving an actual real life problem. The problem solving also needs to be collaborative and in a relevant context .

Of course, the entire 32 weeks at Mindlab fits into that category. I was there because I wanted to be.

It was my chance to practice my self taught technology skills, upskill myself and find a way to integrate it back into the classroom in a much more seamless and effcetive manner. 

Did every week at the Mindlab do that for me? No, not to the same extent. But that would be illogical to expect out of a course that was catering from ECC up to secondary teachers. 

Was there ever a week where I thought. "What am I doing here?" No, not at all.

Every week had something on offer. It was up to me to engage with the readings and the tasks, to sift through and take what would be potentially useful for me.

OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS

Let me attempt to be as objective as I can be on this part, stand back and analyse my participation, contribution and involvement in the whole process.

I enjoyed the first 16 weeks of interactive sessions. A few friendships formed very soon as there were some , like me who could only attend one particular session every week due to personal circumstances.

So, our informal collaborative group formed pretty early into the sessions. Yet, the group was fluid enough to include anyone who was not a regular.

That was an eye opener for me. My own education had been in an extremely competitive environment of exams, marks, reports, ranks and medals. And even though I have created a collaborative environment for my own learners and prefer to plan and teach collaboratively, as a student myself, I did not think I would fit so well into a collaborative environment. 

But I took to it like a fish to water!

So, my Mindlab course made the abstract theory of 'Learning to be the most successful as a collaborative process' very real for me, through my own experience.

And when the last 16 weeks rolled in, we set up our own little collaborative group through social media and the 'asking/ finding/ solving/ celebrating' as a group continued.

Sure, we missed the face to face but no one was left feeling isolated and lost. That group was my first "go to" even before my Google+ Mindlab community.

ABSTRACT RECONCEPTUALISATION

This is the area where I felt the most empowered through my 32 weeks of Mindlab journey. I was armed with the tools to really make changes in my learning programme. The 'big ideas' could be translated into reality, I could action them and bring my practice in alignment with my new found beliefs about what 21st century learning should look and sound like.

It was Blended Learning and Flipped classrooms that my Year 3 and 4 learners needed the most. I had begun to trial it with my class the week before and had kept it limited to one area of learning and had trialled it witha  small cohort. But that was just being driven by GAFE. 

Now, I had  Ed Puzzle and Blendspaces and even Seesaw ( an app one of the teachers in my collaborative group introduced me to ) to support me with this style of learning.

So, I integrated Blended Learning into my planning, teaching and learning with total commitment. My goal was to build student agency, which was fitting right into the Assessment for Learning PLD that we were doing school wide. My learners responded with enthusiasm and we cannot imagine not learning that way any more. Student agency and involvement is high and student ownership of learning is palpable amongst the majority of my learners.

What did not work for me? Very hard to find anything that did not work in it's entirety to be honest.

What I did find a huge drain on my time and energy were the assignments. But, that would be the case with any full time teacher with a family. It is the nature of the beast.

Would I have preferred to have the option to write blog posts right through for all my assignments? Possibly! But that would have limited my options and might have brought about ennui and boredom!

ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION

I guess I have mentioned most of my active implementation process with blended learning in my abstract reconceptualisation stage.

But, the journey is not over yet for me. Another area of growth for me has been in developing my Leadership skills. In fact, I should say 'discovering' my leadership style. Delving into the different leadership styles and trying to determine which style I primarily adopted was a very interesting process. I owe my growth to The LDC assignments that compelled me to dive deep into my role as a leader in my own class. I would have liked to have thought that I was primarily a 'coach' but I realised how often I did my kids' thinking for them. 

So, along with Blended L:earning, student agency I began to trial being a coach who was heard less than the learners.

This process is ongoing and will continue for as long as I am with a class. But there are opportunities in the horizon for taking up mentorship roles with beginning teachers. I can see my 32 weeks of experience as a Mind lab student having a profound influence on that.

In conclusion, this course has whetted my appetite for more learning and more growth in the area of 21st century learning methods but it has also made me take note of the time commitment needed to make the most of any post graduate course.

So, will look out for future opportunities for time off work to pursue further studies while practising what I have gained already. 

Week31 Mindlab Blogpost MY INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTION MAP

Here is a visual representation of my Current and Potential Interdisciplinary Connections Map

As a primary school teacher of Year 3 and 4 learners, I am considered a 'generalist'. Being able to teach all of the curriculum of course enables greater 'interdisciplinary connections' to be attempted, if not always established.
When I look at my current interdisciplinary connections, it seems like a good network to have. And even though my team members or the learning Support assistants may not necessarily bring content knowledge on to the table for every discussion/ collaboration, their varied perspectives definitely help me to look at a challenge or a potential solution in a new light. "Knowledge is perceived within experience and cannot be separated from the personal meaning given to it by the individual" (Crowell,1995 p.13)
However, it is undeniable that within our team of 6 teachers and definitely within the entire teaching staff, we have specialists who bring with them a wide variety of knowledge and expertise. All teachers within the school seem to be aware of 'who knows what' and can shoulder tap colleagues for impromptu discussions and advice regarding content knowledge and creative ideas for getting the knowledge across.
In New Zealand primary schools, the interdisciplinary approach has definitely been palpable for the past decade or so. Though I have not seen a reference to Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences   in any of the readings for this post, I cannot help but make a connection between the two. I remember planning Topic Units of study in not so distant a past, that had to include activities related to the MI framework, which automatically resulted in interdisciplinary learning.

Courtesy: http://www.lrngo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/GuestBlog04142015.jpg

We do not seem to use that any more, however, the Inquiry Units that our learners do definitely have as many curriculum areas integrated into them as possible. In fact, a really powerful Inquiry teaching/learning model doesn't have a pre- conceived structure. It allows learners to branch out into any curriculum area that their questions and learning pathways lead them to.

In that light, what connections could I strengthen and / or create to facilitate this kind of learning for my students?

My Potential Interdisciplinary connection

I am finding it hard to narrow this down to one connection as all of the connections come with their own benefits and there would be different occasions or needs arising when any of them may be required to be strengthened.
It is also true that all the potential connections I have mentioned are experts or agencies that I have got some kind of a connection with and have collaborated with in the past.

For this post, I will focus on a tutor from the outside agency SPELD whom I have collaborated with very successfully last year regarding a dyslexic student I had in my class.
This tutor comes to work in our school with individuals or small groups of students who are facing challenges in Reading and Writing tasks. Literacy is a strength of mine and also my area of specialisation.
But, when it comes to something as specific as Dyslexia, I must admit my knowledge is limited to the material the Ministry of Education puts out for us. and even then, it requires hours of wading through materials and posts to cull and find what would work for each individual child.
But this particular tutor is highly experienced and has seen dyslexia remedial measures in action. she knows what works and what doesn't.
Liaising with her last year broadened my understanding of the process of language acquisition by the brain to a great extent. She had given me tips and tricks of how to integrate the child back into the classroom and how to deal with his anxiety and insecurities about Reading and Writing. Though that child is no longer with me this year, I do have a couple of learners who are not making the expected progress in Literacy and are responding to some techniques I had used with my student last year.

Challenges in the way of joint planning and sustained collaboration

Last year, she was working with my student during a time when I had my Classroom Release Time. I was giving a part of that time to observe those lessons and to seek clarification. She, kindly enough , did not mind my presence and neither did my student. We were also using ten minutes of our lunch hours twice a week to catch up , look at his work and to set goals.
This was sustainable as it was just for a term.
This year, she has at least 3 students ( only one of them is  from my class ). so she is considerably busier.
I have taken up more responsibilities during the school day resulting in many more meetings and preparation work during the school week.

However, she is quite keen to collaborate with me again as she finds my input about the student's progress as a guiding factor and can plan her lessons accordingly.

So, face to face collaboration would be rare and might only happen whenever our timetable's match.

However, we are a  GAFE school and a lot of our collaboration and team planning is already through the GAFE platform.
So, we could start a collaborative process exchanging material, anecdotes, ideas and even videos of lessons taken by her that I could learn from.
Yes, this would require some time commitment on our part. But it would also offer the flexibility of posting on GAFE outside of school hours.

This would be a starting point for me in strengthening and building upon my Interdisciplinary Professional Connections.

References: 1. Crowell,1995 p.13
                     2. http://www.niu.edu/facdev/_pdf/guide/learning/howard_gardner_theory_multiple_intelligences.pdf
                     3.http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration./
                     4. https://app.themindlab.com/media/32979/view

Week30 Mindlab Blogpost Using Social Online networks in teaching and/ or professional development

A PRELUDE:

Social online networks were non existent (or as far as I and my COP at my 'then' workplace ) when I started my teaching career. The key word here of course is 'online'. For social networks did exist, very much so. in the staffroom, in the corridors, in clusters of classes that planned and taught together.
It also existed amongst teachers who 'knew' each other, personally, through family, friends etc.

And teachers are possibly one of the most blamed ( by their partners and offsprings ) for 'talking shop' outside of work hours. It is in our DNA. Put two or more teachers together in any social setting, and inevitably discussions will begin about triumphs and challenges in the classroom.

Courtesy: http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2014/11/teaching-is-teachers-talking-to-each.html

So, when opportunities of 'online' social networking,began to present  I was quick on the uptake.
What caused or facilitated that? Two primary factors come to mind:
1. My interest and familiarity with technology ( I have never been a technophobe)
2. The teacher DNA of 'shop talk' or to put it in professional terminology, my need to communicate with other teachers about the learning and my learners. This time, with a much wider audience, unrestricted by geographical locations or time zones.

HOW MUCH SOCIAL MEDIA DO I USE?!
To quantify or reflect on that, I first need to clarify( possibly to myself ) what qualifies as 'social media' and what does not! A Google search revealed an e book that states

Source: http://www.icrossing.com/uk/sites/default/files_uk/insight_pdf_files/What%20is%20Social%20Media_iCrossing_ebook.pdf

If I take all of these parameters into consideration, then I am and have been a part of quite a handful of social networking sites , like -Facebook, 3 different Google + communities , Edutopia, Twitter, Pinterest, moocs like Khan Academy and Udemy and of course You tube and Blogger to name a few-linked to my own growth as a teacher, which by default has affected my learners.

Facebook has been an interesting one for me because I have chosen to keep my personal and professional identities completely disparate on that platform. As a professional, I am a part of several education related 'groups' that use FB as a platform. Most of these groups are 'closed' groups which at least superficially, seems to make them more effective and worthy of joining! But I have grown and continue to grow in my capacity as a teacher from them.

However, I cannot say for sure if the 'content' knowledge I have gained from the various FB groups could not have been gained from a book on the same topic. The true value of social networking lies in not only 'sharing ideas across multiple communities' but also by ' reflecting on one'w own practice in one's own context' ( Rock and McCollum, 2009 )

Have I been openly reflective about my own practice on social media? I have been keen to share my triumphs and 'aha' moments which has fetched encouraging responses from fellow teachers. But have I expressed my doubts or uncertainties on a platform that is public and accessible to anyone forever? Not as easily as I have shared such concerns face to face. This tells me that I am probably an avid 'consumer' of knowledge, resources and tips and tricks of the trade and most definitely a prolific sharer of the same online. But, I am not very reflective about the nitty, gritty of my own practice on a social networking site. in fact, the Mindlab Google+ group would be the first site where my 'guards' have been down a lot.

WHAT ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND MY LEARNERS

Having a class Blog has been common place for my primary school students every year. A very effective platform for showcasing learning and teaching them online etiquette and basic privacy and plagiarism norms. Having a platform that showcases there learning achievements and that is accessible by friends and family anywhere in the world has definitely been a motivating factor for students. Reluctant writers have found a reason to want to write, confident writers have exercised their skills of editing by proof reading blog submissions. I could go on and on about how effective blogging has been. But I must also admit that this year, BYOD and GAFE in my class provided me with the opportunity to start individual blogs with my learners, but I did not for mainly time constraint issues. Cyber safety and privacy issues for my Year 3 and 4 students would need stringent managing for all 25 blogs and it just seemed a logistical nightmare. GAFE is used avidly in my class and my learners have created little groups of their own which I could call 'intra networking' as it stays confined within my class and buddy class community. I often share relevant Twitter updates with them but having a classroom twitter account would be a next step I would want to take after seeing the potential of twitter in Kathy Cassidy's video Using social media in the classroom

IN CONCLUSION

Social networking is here to stay and its presence is becoming increasingly all pervasive. Thoughts its effects in primary education is hardly yet documented, small beginnings have already been beneficial. Just like with any other resource, it comes with its own set of challenges but the advantages, in my opinion, far outweigh the drawbacks.

References:    icrossing ebook 

                     using social media in the classroom    

                     Connected Educators video link       

                     Rock and McCollum, 2009   

                                          

Week 29 Mindlab Blogpost Legal and ethical context in my digital practice

This post is a very timely one for me as I have recently had to deal with an incident that involved a  balancing of my ethical responsibilities towards two affected parties who were not mutually exclusive of each other.

The ethical dilemma

In our BYOD classroom. children are free to choose desktop backgrounds for their own devices.

Last term, I spotted a background on one of my student's laptop that seemed inappropriate to me. It looked like an art work or a photo of a sculpture that was an unclothed human form in detail.

It took me a few minutes to ponder over whether to move on or whether to investigate further. At this point, it wasn't a dilemma but more of a decision making process.

I decided to ask the child concerned quite frankly why she had chosen that background for her desktop. She appeared uncomfortable, looked sheepish and said that she 'liked it'. Further questioning revealed that the desktop background was a stock image that her device had come loaded with. This device wasn't a standard BYOD chrome book but an adult's laptop that the parents had passed on to the child.

Now began my dilemma. This was a class of 8 and some almost 9 year olds in their pre -puberty stages. Books about the human body were quite popular library items to be issued out by these kids. Smiles and self conscious looks were exchanged at any  mention  of the human anatomy by anyone. 

 All this was perfectly natural but what repercussion would leaving that desktop background unchanged have on her, her classmates, on me and our school's BYOD policy?

Our parents were still getting their head around BYOD in Year 3 / 4 classrooms. As stated by 

Hall(2001) 'the families we teach hold varied beliefs, live by different values, and practices and hold varied expectation of their schools.' 

Addressing the dilemma

Would this image cause talk amongst other students? Would that reach the ears of parents? Would I have a disgruntled parent demanding to know why his child had to be exposed to this image? Would our BYOD policy be blamed or I would have to defend my implementation ( or lack there of ) of the clauses in the policy which categorically states that 'inappropriate content' is not to be viewed by children on their devices.

On the other hand, would asking this child to change the image add fuel to the fire and make it the proverbial forbidden fruit amongst all the students? Discretion would be the key, but the child in question wasn't particularly discrete in nature. Moreover, 'stories' of school were often relayed at home by this student with 'bells and whistles' added to them!!

My decision and action

I ensured that the conversation between the student in question and myself had no audience. Then explained to her in brief but precise words that the image, though of an art work ,might cause silly reactions amongst children who were less mature than her. I praised her on her developed artistic sense ( the buy in from her that she was the one making the right decision was imperative ) but asked her to change the background to something less controversial.

Her reaction ( she was expecting to be admonished it would seem ) was one of surprise, then delight and even a sense of pride! And the desk top background was changed immediately.

This whole matter, though dealt with very unobtrusively, had caught the eyes of some of the children in the class.

So, I decided to follow up with a general discussion that afternoon about how successful our use of devices were in the classroom, inviting comments and observations from the students. It was a good opportunity to reiterate the main clauses of our BYOD policy especially that of 'responsible' use and 'appropriate content' being viewed.

Critical Reflection on my handling of the ethical dilemma

Did I use the "six components of the morally educated"( Wilson 1967 ) in dealing with the dilemma?

1. Moral deliberation- In this case, there wasn't that big a moral conflict amongst the parties. It was more of a whether to consider the situation as something that needed to be dealt with. I believe that keeping the main stakeholders' or all learners best interest in mind, my decision to deal with the issue was justified.

2.Empathy and 3.Interpersonal skills- I had to keep the social standing of the child in question in mind and make sure her position was not being compromised amongst her peers for her ( however silly or inappropriate) choice. Discretion was a key. So was ensuring that her own sense of self or her 'mana' was intact.

She was insecure and easily disheartened, as her teacher I knew this and worded my conversation accordingly.

4. Knowledge- A good understanding of the basic tenets of our BYOD policy defintely helped me in this situation. As did my knowledge of the ethical responsibility I had towards all the children in my class as 'loco parentis' as also of the personality of the student I was dealing with.

5.Reasoning-  I had to consider and weigh out the main stakeholders, the student in question and my other learners carefully. I decided to act in the best interest of all which was not actually excluding the interest of the one student by any means.

6. Courage- This particular dilemma did not present a situation where my courage to approach the issue was called upon. However, tact and very careful choice of words was needed and I am happy with how I had the crucial one on one discussion including the follow up with the whole class.

Reference:

1.An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers- Alan Hall

2.The commitment to parents/Guardians and family   video link

3. My school's BYOD policy

Week28 Mindlab Blogpost Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

I am going to begin with my understanding of this week's topic because I am perceiving some ambiguity here. The title of week 28 is Indigenous knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness.
But the blog post guidelines refer to representation any culture group that is a minority in a school setting.
So, my post is going to be an amalgamation of the two also because of the unique nature of my school where the ethnic diversity is huge.
At present  the school proudly celebrates diversity with over 44 different nationalities.

The main ethnic groups are as follows:- NZ European/Pakeha 39%, Maori 10%, Chinese 11%, Korean 7%, Other European 6%, Indian 5%, Filipino 5%, Japanese 3%, Other Asian 2%, Latin American 2%, Middle Eastern 2%, Samoan 2%, Tongan 2%, African 2%, British/Irish 2%, Australian 1% and other groups less than 1% - Cook Island Maori, Fijian, Niuean, South East Asian, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese.

So, the second most dominant ethnic group at my school is the Asian students which includes all the Asian ethnicities, including Indians.

There are about 45 indigenous or Maori students at our school from Year 0 to 6.

In that light, I am going to look at the following question

• How does the school ensure its vision, mission and core values reflect cultural responsiveness towards our Maori learners?

Our school vision states that we are 

A community of connected,

life-long learners.

Proud to be different.

Proud to make a difference

So, our learners belong to a community which consists of the akonga, the kaiako and the whanau that the learners come from and they are all interconnected. Difference is celebrated and regarded as something to take pride in. 

Our motto or whakatauki is: Mā te pā ka taea te whakatipu te tamaiti

 It takes a village to raise a child.

This again reinforces the concept of the inclusive nature of the school culture where it is a collective responsibility of the kura and the whanau to care for and promote the learning of our tamariki.

Our school values are 

• R - responsibility
• I  - integrity
• I  - innovation
• C- care and respect
• E - excellence

The values reinforce and uphold the vision and the motto as every akonga at our school is expected to follow them.

There is no 'exclusion through a different set of expectations ' for our indigenous learners. So, as far as the school goes, there is no scope for a deficit focussed mindset.

Now, I will look at the school Charter which recently got revised and updated in keeping with the organic nature of a school that is growing at fast pace.

Our charter has some principles that are its cornerstones of all curriculum decision making: 

High expectations, Treaty of Waitangi ,Cultural Diversity, Inclusion, Learning to learn ,Community engagement ,Coherence , Future focus.

We have been working this year on unpacking these principles to see how they translate into actions that determine how teaching and learning happens at our school.

Now, I am going to look at:

• How does the school ensure that students maintain the integrity of their own cultural values and identity?

Our school has  junior and senior Kapa Haka groups that are open to children of any ethnic group to join. Also, there is no compulsion for Maori students to have to join either. The importance given to individual choice here regardless of ethnic background is very empowering for the children.

The huge ethnic diversity means that there is always a multicultural buzz at our school. We have joined the Asia awareness schools and our students have started taking Mandarin lessons from a native Mandarin speaking teacher since the start of the year. The expectation is there for all teachers to include basic Mandarin alongside Te Reo in everyday interactions and learning conversations with the students.

We had an Asia awareness week last term with our Asian students  and their parents running workshops and activities for the rest of us.

This brings me to my last question which probably is a deficit area that needs to be addressed:

• How do I use meaningful instructional lessons that link to the students prior experience/backgrounds?

I have always felt a strange dichotomy in my situation as far as my cultural responsiveness and competence goes. Being a migrant and a non -Pakeha myself, I have always had a first hand understanding of how challenging it can be to make one's own niche or to be comfortable in one's own identity, especially in the NZ of 20 odd years ago when I arrived and started to teach.

However, it also gave me the disadvantage of not having a basic knowledge about the indigenous people and of Te Reo.

So, I did what I could, read avidly and acquired a working knowledge of basic Te Reo through PD at my first school in NZ.

But since then, I have not had as much growth in my understanding of the culture or the language that I can be confident that my lessons are always linked to the background of my indigenous learners.

In fact, at times, it has seemed to me like I am causing more disruption by trying to remind my one Maori student in my classroom about her heritage. So, I have decided not to single her out but to wait for her to initiate any contribution or to share any unique perspective.

I have just ensured that the class culture is one where such contributions from any child of any ethnic group is  welcomed and appreciated.

But, the need for long term professional development for all teachers is fundamental for the degree of responsiveness and awareness needed to make a difference over the years.

So, I will conclude by saying that I cannot fault my workplace in having all the intention and the policies in place to make a very ethnically diverse school from working as a cohesive whole while providing the scope for each child in that school to be who they culturally are.

But, we need support from the government to have sustainable, long term professional development that will empower non Maori teachers to 'better respond to diversity in the student population' (Timperly, Wilson, Barrar and Fung 2007)

Reference :

1.A culturally responsive pedagogy

2.Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum

3.Teaching Tolerance.( 2010, Jun 17).Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file].

Week 27 Mindlab Blog Post- Contemporary issues and trends in NZ

I was actually spoilt for choice in picking out a topic to discuss for this week's blog post. My school has either actively adopted or adapted itself to and is implementing quite a few of the contemporary 'trends' or 'issues' popular in NZ and the world.
ILE, BYOD, use of GAFE, using ALL or Accelerated Literacy Learning for at risk and priority learners, SOLO taxonomy to create divergent thinking, Inquiry models woven into planning, teaching and assessment and last but not the least, school wide professional development in Assessment for Learning to name the most prominent ones.

On deeper reflection ( I seem to be using this phrase in almost all of my posts so far!), I saw the common thread running through all of these efforts/projects. The end goal was to uplift success rates for our learners, it was to enable them to be 'confident, connected, lifelong learners' ( NZC) no doubt. But they ONLY way to get there was to get our learners to OWN THEIR LEARNING.
It was through building and actively enabling 'student agency' to shift the locus of control as recommended in the ERO Report of 2012. So, all the trends adopted by my school ultimately culminates in the one goal, to create lifelong learners who own their learning.

Developing student agency is at the very heart of uplifting student achievement and my school has adopted the philosophy which is reflected in our charter.
We have embarked on a 2 year long PLD in Assessment for Learning which lies at the heart of all our planning, teaching and assessment.
So, the relevance of student centred and owned learning is undoubtedly very relevant to my school
and to me.

A Review of what  looks like so far
All our teaching staff have practised how to bring about 'clarity' in the learning process under the guidance of the facilitator. We have been observed, given feedback and guided by our facilitator.
Our learners have learnt some stock phrases and jargon about Learning Intentions, Relevance and Success Criteria. We all have posters and toolkits displayed for our learners to track their learning pathways and to reflect on what is working for them and why.
And I am by no means negating the positive impact of these steps.

However, there is a distinction in my mind about 'following the steps that will potentially lead to student agency' and actually handing over the locus of control.
How successful are we as a school community in doing that? are our teachers fully prepared to hand over the reigns and step back? How involved or informed are our whanau in this process?
do our whanau actually buy into the relevance of 'student led conferences' in building their children's confidence in owning and directing their own learning?
Do they see the connection between that and the future citizen their child will be in a socio economic landscape that is changing so rapidly?

What about me?
Where do I fit in? I am very much a product of 'industrial age education'...am I walking the talk?
I would certainly hope for my students' sake that I am making a solid effort to do so. For me, this Assessment for Learning implementation needed another channel, something that my learners naturally adapted to. For me that was BYOD and Blended Learning. Now, I had a formula for handing over control, bit by bit over the months. Now, my learners had channels and technology through which they could demonstrate they were taking control and loving it. They were turning to me and to their peers for feedback, in real time. My more confident early adopters were even creating content for the consumption of their peers!
Are many other teachers in my school adopting my formula? Not really! Would I want to show them what I am doing that my learners are responding well to? Yes, but I need opportunities to be created by management for that to happen. Floating an opt in PD over and above the regular plethora of meetings will not have a sizeable turn out from an already time poor staff.

I will end by posting a diagram I have borrowed from a  a private blogger  I follow
Getting started with student choice

References:
1.Global Trends
2. Assessment for Learning ideas retrieved from Clarity in the Classroom by Michael Absolum
3.Future State KPMG
4. Evaluation at a Glance ERO Report
5. John Spencer's Blog ( link supplied above )

Week26 Mindlab Blogpost-Current issues in my professional context

I teach at a primary school in Auckland. In many ways, my school is quite unique and seems to sit outside the norm. I will explore these issues following the steps recommended in the class notes.

SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS its impact and the school's response:

My school is geographically located in an affluent suburb of Auckland. As far as decile ranking goes, it is a 'high' decile school.
However, the situation with my school is quite unique in that until quite recently, it had no zoning and was actually quite a small school as far as student numbers go.
This resulted in the school having students from many other not so affluent suburbs as well, which probably is what has prevented it from reaching the highest decile ranking. The school is also growing at an amazing rate which has resulted in a zoning policy to be introduced in 2015.

The students from lower or less advantaged SES seems to be very well contained within the school. They are low in numbers and can be supported through subsidies for stationery, a second hand uniform shop, exemptions from paying for school trips and other financial expectations. The school also has a hardship fund for SES families which is used at the Principal's discretions.
However, apart from financial assistance, there are other assistance available in the form of free, extra academic support for students needing it ( most of the children needing it seem to be from families battling financial hardship of some kind) which is evident in these words " Research indicates that children from low-SES households and communities develop academic skills more slowly compared to children from higher SES groups "(Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga, 2009)

A unique characteristic of our school is its transient student population. We are one of the most culturally diverse schools I have ever come across in my decades of teaching. At present  the school proudly celebrates diversity with over 44 different nationalities.

The main ethnic groups are as follows:- NZ European/Pakeha 39%, Maori 10%, Chinese 11%, Korean 7%, Other European 6%, Indian 5%, Filipino 5%, Japanese 3%, Other Asian 2%, Latin American 2%, Middle Eastern 2%, Samoan 2%, Tongan 2%, African 2%, British/Irish 2%, Australian 1% and other groups less than 1% - Cook Island Maori, Fijian, Niuean, South East Asian, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese.

New migrants flock to the area and to our school. However, a big number of them then relocate due to job and housing related reasons. So, student turnover rate is high. I have had 5 new students in my class this term and have lost 4 last term!

This has an impact on the school community, its overall culture and on student achievement rate to some extent. Our ESOL class is brimming. And Literacy needs are high amongst the ESOL learners.

OVERALL SCHOOL CULTURE
I will refer to our school charter here and state the following to put things in context:

 The following Principles will be the foundations of all curriculum decision making: High expectations, Treaty of Waitangi, Cultural Diversity, Inclusion, Learning to learn, Community engagement, Coherence, Future focus.

From my perspective, our school stands firm and true by the principles, especially those of 
High expectation, Cultural Diversity and Inclusion. For a school with such ethnic diversity and high turnover rate, creating a climate of welcome and acceptance is very crucial.
This echoes from the Principal, through to teachers and office staff and finally down to each student in every classroom. It is an explicit expectation that every new child is made to feel a part of the school family. Every new child is acknowledged at school assemblies and every leaving child farewelled.
The expectation to strive for excellence is embedded in the values promoted by the school as well.

PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT

It was with interest and happiness that I looked at the 10 influencing cultural norms by Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998) 

Since the start of last year, my school has started revising the school charter in keeping with the growth and change we are undergoing. All teaching staff and management have been involved in brainstorming, ideating, sharing , creating and contributing to shared visions and goals and have come up with the following:
Our Vision: A community of connected, life-long learners. Proud to be different. Proud to make a difference.
We have been undergoing extensive PLD to enable greater student agency and to encourage a growth mindset in both learners and teachers.

ANY CURRENT ISSUES that need addressing:

So far, I have focussed on all the positives. But to be realistic, no school or no COP for that matter is without its issues. Ours seem to be a dis balance in expectations between what teachers should take on board and what is realistically possible. We are heading towards a new, futuristic learning model. We are getting a new building and more technology and lots of PLD. But, the feeling is growing that too much is being thrown at us too fast.
There needs to be time to synthesise, assimilate and even pick and choose. To implement, critique, to chop and change.
At the receiving end of any dysfunction, would be our learners. Burnt out or stressed out teachers are not the most effective to maintain a high standard of expectation out of themselves or their learners.
On reflection, I would ask is it possible to do too much in too big a rush for the sake of progress?
Which one is less desirable, little or no change resulting in stagnation or too much change in too little a time frame resulting in confusion and a sense of overwhelm?!
Any comments most welcome.

Week25 Mindlab Blogpost MY COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Defining my Communities of Practice has proven to be a very useful reflective exercise for me as I realise that in my mind the words 'community' and 'group' have been synonymous to some extent.

Not that I think of every group I belong to as a community but I definitely did think of a community as a 'group of people with a common purpose'. And that's all!
 Bringing the word 'practice' into the equation changes that pattern of thinking. More so as this reflection is linked to my professional arena.
 So, armed with the new understanding of “communities of practice”, which are defined as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion or about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interaction on an ongoing basis” (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p.4). I set out to define my COP.
 In doing so, I am going to use the 3 distinct elements set out by Wenger(2000)
Joint Enterprise that has a shared domain of collective understanding
Mutual Engagement amongst the members built on trust, relationships and accountability
Shared Repertoire of the communal resources, knowledge and understanding gained.

My School- This is a group that I definitely belong to but is it my COP?
All the staff at any school are obviously aware and to that effect bound by the Joint Enterprise, the collective understanding that the purpose of a school is to facilitate 'learning'. A school is defined as 'a place where children go to be educated' Cambridge Dictionary Definition
But, a school is not just a 'place' or a building, it is , in fact a community where the learning is not only for the tamariki enrolled in the school but for the kaiako as well. So, as a teacher, I am a part of the enterprise engaged in learning along with my colleagues.
There is undoubted evidence of Mutual Engagement amongst the teaching and non teaching staff at my school. The school system is set up to run in a way where such trust, accountability and 'professional relationships' must co exist for a school to be delivering the learning.
Shared Repertoire- is where a deeper reflection is needed. It is inevitable that busy teachers will find time to interact with the colleagues who they have the most in common with. And thus, teachers teaching in the same year level are most likely to have a shared body of resources, knowledge and understanding leading to professional discussions. Thus, it is challenging for a school as a whole to form a COP in this respect.
But, that is not what a COP is all about, as Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file].points out, the job of an organisation is to shepherd and nurture emerging COPs within itself, and my school does that for sure.

My Whanau or my syndicate-
This is a group of 6 middle school classes that are bound by certain curriculum areas that are covered the same way and taught by all teachers as rotations.( Inquiry, Sports and PE)
We have meetings together, see and talk to each other more often than with teachers from other syndicates and are more likely to have informal 'shop talks ' with each other at break times.
So, the Whanau group would be my closest COP, the one that I belong to most surely. well, definitely more than my whole school. However, within out whanau group are buddy teachers who team teach and cross group students to target teach needs. These pairs of buddy teachers would be forming micro COPs. I am sure I have one with my buddy teacher next door!

But, on reflection, my most valued COP is one that I wouldn't even have considered before my Mindlab journey and before I began to look at 'teaching' as a team effort between the learner and the facilitator..that is ...
My class of learners
If as Wegner points out that, a community of practice is based primarily on the quality of ENGAGEMENT within that community, then my most purposeful and thriving COP has to be my current students. We interact with each other for six hours everyday on the basis of the common goal or enterprise of 'enhancing learning'. We collaborate, share, problem solve, help, evaluate and sustain each other five days a week. Would my principal or a colleague know me as  a teacher better than any of my students? I doubt that! Would they know any of my students better than I do? I hope not!! 
Could my school or my whanau help me grow as a learner and a teacher more than my 26 enthusiastic, collaborative Year 3/ 4 learners? Not in practice...they could offer me theories, solutions, ideas but I would transform them into reality through  Joint Enterprise  with my students, through Mutual Engagement based on trust and acceptance building a  Shared Repertoire of knowledge and understanding throughout the year.

Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p.4
Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk