Activity 8: Changes in my practice - the last post!

Or is it new beginnings?

I have spent the last week thinking about what I am going to write today. Today being Saturday, which has mostly been every Saturday for the last 8 weeks where I have sat down to write my weekly blog post. Sometimes, in preparation for Saturday I have sat up late at night during the week or even early some mornings before school - reading, researching, and connecting with other online contributors for opinions and ideas.  

It has not just been the last 8 weeks though. The last 32 weeks have been amazing, challenging, hard work, and surprisingly, sometimes fun. I have enjoyed meeting other professionals and collaborating to complete set tasks and share and reflect on our learning. Putting myself back as a learner has reminded me what it is like to work along others in a community of learning. How it feels for students when the work gets hard and how to apply the skills we have for the benefit of others we work with, not just ourselves.

I have particularly enjoyed working with my colleague Francesca Avent to complete our assignments. It has been great to have moral support along the way without her I would have struggled. I think that we have both complimented and supported each other at times when motivation was hard to maintain.

I guess, change initiatives for me have been reflecting, not just on what we had to do each week and month for assignments, but thinking about how to apply it to my professional practice. My blogging skills have improved out of this world and this has assisted me with helping the students in my team to reflect and share their learning through blogging. I feel confident to say that while teaching today has its challenges, it is an exciting time to be teaching. Having a growth mindset allows us to challenge ourselves and the students we interact with daily. There are so many opportunities to empower our students to be confident, connected, collaborative, creative, and critical problem solvers for the 21st century to go out in the world and make a difference.

RTC and e-learning - Criteria 6

Fully registered teachers conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.

RTC and e-learning - Criteria 1

Fully registered teachers establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga. (Ākonga is inclusive of all learners in the full range of settings.)

The two examples below I think, link with both criteria as a goal was to also be interacting with our whānau and encouraging them to participate in and share our learning.

Biography writing and retelling was a programme which stemmed from a Mind Lab assignment which I planned firstly with Francesca, my Mind Lab colleague and we then further developed to use within our respective school settings.

1. Biography Writing and Retelling

Rationale: To help the students and staff to get to know each other better, hearing about each other's life experiences is a great way to make connections and establish relationships. To be able to complete this activity, students needed to work collaboratively with others by interviewing their buddies and drawing out the information they needed for their biographies. The students used google docs, Audioboom, and QR codes for this writing task. The ‘how to’ videos enabled them to be able to plan, write, read aloud, and record their biographies anywhere and anytime, at school or at home. Once the QR codes were printed, they were displayed next to their pastel self-portraits.

2. Online sharing using Blogger tool

In our team we have been for sometime using Google docs to support the writing process. All students write in a weekly doc where their drafts can be edited by using the read write tools for correction. We give feedback at this stage and when the student is happy with their completed piece of writing they upload to their blog.

Blogging for an audience

We have been this year focusing on writing for an audience, eg: our whānau, other students at our school and other schools. Through blogging our audience has expanded, so it is important when sharing their writing or any learning that it is the best that it can be for them at the time.  The students must have an introductory blurb at the top of the post, and the labels to connect what the learning is about. The introductory blurb of a post is important because it feeds into the Google Search and summarises the blog post. Accurately labelling a post ensures that it is easy to find.

Student feedback / feedforward

Students have grown in confidence, particularly as they receive comments about their work. One area that we have really focussed on is to read other blog posts and write comments. Make sure that they begin with a positive comment, agree with the writing using a because statement, or disagree constructively with some positive ideas for improvement. We have found that the quality of the written and/or other forms of presentations has improved, and they have become more motivated as writers and sharers of their learning.

RTC and e-learning - Criteria 12

Fully registered teachers use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.

My Teacher Inquiry is focussing on the use of blogging as a vehicle to increase student engagement in the writing process through sharing regular blog posts, giving and seeking feedback. By providing authentic and engaging learning opportunities for all students to share and celebrate their work. I want to have children reading, writing, commenting and sharing each other’s blog posts on a regular basis. (as described above)

I am using research and evidence gained from my own professional development both at the Mind Lab and other relevant research articles I have sourced. This is challenging me to reflect on what I do to in my practice to make sure it has the desired result for improving the engagement in learning in our team.

Future dreams regarding my future professional development, firstly, it won’t be completing a Masters, that I am sure of. It will be based around maintaining and growing my CoP (community of practice) with participation in online communities to share and collaborate in future learning opportunities.

I am also looking forward to having far more time to explore, experiment and apply the digital and collaborative learning opportunities we touched on in the first part of the Mind Lab course. I want to use my leadership skills to support and encourage others in my CoP to be the best we can for all students and each other.

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