My Postgraduate Learning Journey and Exciting Future

There are 12 Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.

These are the ones that I have done well whilst on my study journey

My goals for this year

Goal: 1 I will set up a collaborative teaching and learning environment possibly using Adobe Connect with my Senior students as requested from online survey Associated Competencies Criteria 7

Any notes/comments e.g. resources  needed ·         learn the program ·         explore features and functions ·         trial it with someone in the team ·         send invite to my senior students ·         Eventually become an observer while students lead their practice and projects ·         Record and share sessions with students ·         Possibly hold material based sessions to make it relevant ·         Encourage family and whanau to have a say about projects child has undertaken –connected learning concept and Maori framework goals

Goal: 2 I will start a gamification (personal inquiry) or flip classroom inquiry (Department inquiry) as outlined in Teacher Inquiry RCE paper to engage learners  with the Technology area in consultation with Peter Renwick Associated Competencies Criteria 12

Any notes/comments e.g. resources  needed ·         Explore how to do it in our online platform OTLE ·         Carry out the plan in my RCE Assessment as I did a teacher inquiry there- has 3 stages so at least get started ·         Continue to be involved in the Google + community and NZCER that is researching and supporting this gaming concept of learning for schools ·         Attended workshop at St Mary’s on games competition for students by Transport Ministry ·         Team leader to have a copy of the inquiry outline to support and appreciate the process that will be undertaken.

My reflection of Postgraduate 32 week Journey

Photo Credit : Aperture Photo Arts by B.N. Perera

This photo sums up my journey..there were moments where I

• reflected on the good/bad/ugly of my practice
• recreated my mind-set this viewing things from different angles
• sinking moments of not meeting assignment deadlines..extensions are a bonus 
• inquiring the organisation as a big picture (yes reading the schools’ 28 page strategic plan), critically analysing educators journal articles (which in the beginning felt like language from another planet after not doing it for 20 years) 
• dark moments of realisation that the world is moving on and I need to catch up and do justice to my learners

Highlights: making new friendships and sharing my perspectives and challenges in our teaching and learning on the Google+ forum and face to face Saturday morning sessions with colleagues and effervescent tutor Philippa.  

Thank you to my supportive husband and child for spending days alone while I slogged on assignments, readings and lectures. Not forgetting my beautiful friends and family who have cheered and supported me on this journey..yes Christmas turkey and cocktails didn't taste as good as they did this year on the 2 week study break! My colleagues have also benefited from this course with regular updates of 21^st century learner triggers and we (Bruce and Dinesh) will be presenting to the school later this year to encourage other members of the school to take up the best PD going in the country at the moment! 

Evaluations of the cultural responsiveness in practice

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society and is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural-resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities.

My View of IK- this knowledge is rich and diverse enough to bring about a sustained, successful and valuable lifestyle for its people, however some communities around the world live in suppressed environments and the nation has failed to harness the resources embedded within its indigenous people. Being of Fiji Indian heritage our ancestral knowledge grooms who we are as we try our utter best to make a survival where ever we are in the world as the nation we were brought to as indentured labourers by The British Raj to work on sugar cane farms, has had endless coups due to insecurity of being taken over by us thus causing emotional damage to our well-being yet the historical practices, language, cuisine, herbal medicines, religious epics and knowledge still underpins our existence.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Teachers creating a context in the classroom that is responsive to the culture of the child … based upon the notion of relationships being paramount to educational performance … It’s a serious business, education. It’s about caring for people, caring that they learn, and it’s about creating learning relationships so that you ensure they are able to learn, and we term it a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations.(Russell Bishop, 2011, EDTalks) 

My View of Culturally responsive Pedagogy – One size model fits no one as there has been a history in NZ of educational disparities for generations. With education systems becoming more culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse it is time that these disparities and opportunities need to be addressed and Maori given the autonomy to lead their educational outcomes (Berryman et al, 2015).

Information extracted from Journal articles of Russell Bishop and Theresa Ford.

Maori learning as Maori image above maps on quite closely with Connected Learning where a balance of personal, peer, academia, interests, social connection of communities and people, shared values and student constructed learning is the basis of this model.

What Tekura does well?

Watch these videos of Maori students and what they have to say about Te Kura as their education provider and meeting their learning needs.

http://www.learnyourway.org.nz/

Not so well….Culturally responsive resources

In Technology education we create or give an open context which we then encourage our learners to develop an outcome based on their interest, locally available resources, cultural identity and practices.

Examples:  Student projects

• Dyes- explore traditional and natural dyes and dyeing methods
• Off the wall- some unique using cultural identity
• Forms of communication- musical instruments and practices   past and present in cultural settings
• Storage items- pottery, weaving, carving and moulding methods in their setting
• Research the practice of a local technologist- can look into local and traditional practitioners

But still these are contexts I choose for my students and they don’t have an input and this is the case for most other subjects at Te Kura. In some way I am lucky I even offer this choice as some subject areas are so closed in terms of teaching that freedom of choice or application of personal context is not available. We are slowly working towards catering a culturally responsive practice.

View this to help yourself and your school to aim for resources on creating a culturally responsive environment for your learners

http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/The-arts/Pedagogy/Culturally-responsive-learning-environments

References

Berry, M., Ford, S., Nevin, A., & SooHoo, S. (2015)A Curturally responsive framework for Social Justice. Extracted from 
http://www.academia.edu/20227303/A_Culturally_Responsive_Framework_for_Social_Justice

EDtalks: A Culturally Responsive Pedagogy of Relations
Russell Bishop talks about the need to provide a classroom context where caring and learning relationships can be developed extracted from http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Science/Pedagogy/Culturally-responsive#what

Ford, T.,(2013). Applying culturally responsive practices: Implications for mainstream Education. Waikato Journal of Education. Vol.18, Issue 2.

Russell, B., (2012). Pretty difficult: Implementing kaupapa Maori theory in English-medium secondary schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. Vol.47, No.2.

Legal Contexts and Digital Identities

Te Kura being a distant education provider which is heading towards total digital delivery by 2018 has its own set of ethical issues and policies. With the current blended approach we ensure that all copyright is legal when we create and reproduce copious amounts of printed materials so when teachers are “writers” of course content we have to try our best to source material that are free and cost effective however with some courses like Art and Photography this may not be the case. Our online cyber safety polices for students and families are listed below and if we wish to use student work on our site or publications, a separate form is sent out for permission from student and their whanau to safe guard all parties concerned.

• Netsafe
• Terms and conditions with Enrolling with us
• Online learning and responsibilities

In NZ education is a basic right and as Nelson Mandela quotes “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”! We are also an organisation that is responsible for providing education to most prisons in NZ..yes they do have a right to education so it is important that we provide a pathway for their life long learning too.

Under the CODE OF ETHICS for Certified teachers the one stated below outlines our obligations for delivering education to NZ Prisons.

To date a handful of our staff have been to training in one of the NZ prisons and actually found it quite overwhelming in terms of ongoing safety and responsibility of taking face to face sessions as you can imagine forgetting to collect a pencil at the end of session can pose creative opportunities for the learner in this environment!

Based on the following evidence that NZ prisons are now heading to provide online access, I propose that Te Kura also look into providing an online collaborative teaching service that is safe and secure.

Secure online learning updates

Secure online learning for prisoners

Internet penetrates prison bars to boost inmates’ education

Adobe Connect is an on-line teaching and collaborative tool where students or their supervisor can access a URL and using that enter the discussion or teaching session. This software license is available to all staff teaching here and is safe as student are able to enter as a guest so no email addresses or cell phone numbers are shared unlike Skype or Viber etc. Certain functions like voice or screen sharing or camera can be turned on and off so all people participating don’t feel like they are being intruded upon and at this stage feel this will be highly suitable to use in this setting.

Why we need to do this?

Extracted from

References

Photo Image of journey Aperture Photo Arts permission granted from B.N. Perera

Social Media in Teaching and Professional Development

Social Media- Does it have a purpose in teaching and professional development?

Looking at this image tree and definition made me realise that I am a fairly active user of Social Media, as in my head I associated it with Twitter and Facebook but the reality is enlightening and encouraging in my practice.

What are some of the key features of social media that you have identified as beneficial for teaching and learning?

As a coin has two sides so does the use of social media in education…the good, the bad and sometime the ugly if not carefully used and administered for our learners. However in a study by (Silius et al,2010) showed that student motivation for social media can enhance study.

What are the potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities?

• Safety and privacy of themselves and the learner
• Cyber safety policies of the school and the web as they maybe on forums where the world is present and may not have the same etiquette as your learners
• Is the platform socially and culturally acceptable for the age of the learner and community the learner belongs to?
• Remembering passwords for various platforms can get overwhelming hence social media should be used in moderation to mitigate this
• Is the use purposeful, beneficial, making an impact on their learning, is the learning transparent to the learner or is it merely ticking boxes for the educator?
• Is the context of the learning acceptable to the parent community and the fact that it is on a social media platform?
• On-going monitoring maybe needed and can sometimes get a bit tiring for the educator so choose carefully the content, context and platfor

What social media platform do you feel best supports engagement with your professional development, how and why?

Twitter increases my personal knowledge of global practices and trends as well as alerts me to local Professional development opportunities especially ones hosted by Core education and WellyEd which I apply when I am developing resources for my learners. Through this I have networked with passionate educators who are finding ways to enhance learning for the 21^st century learner.

The Google+ community which I joined as part of Mindlab has enabled me to exercise my Key Competencies. Robust and supportive discussions have taken place here for me with like and unlike minded people yet have been respectful of all. Just by being on Google+, I have joined Education 3.0 and Games for Education communities that have developed my skills in being innovative and creative in my practice with the tools and game ideas I have been exposed to.

Melhuish(2013)’s study has suggested that VLN Groups can enable an informal type of professional learning for teachers. This has been proving true for me as for various needs I may look in POND, VLN, LEARNZ, Biotech Hub and my gem Techlink for parents and students as well.

Various blogs where I participate and contribute from my professional practice and get up-skilled in current research and thinking!

https://eodysseyblog.wordpress.com/

http://edblognz.blogspot.co.nz/p/about.html

The best thing I have recently started doing is participating or lurking on Edchats and boy is it lots of fun with the devil probing.

References

Melhuish, K. (2013) Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrived on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/han...

Silius, K., Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen, S.(2010) ‘Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and learning. ‘Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2, (1). Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication/article/view/55/39

Contemporary Issues or Trends in NZ or Internationally

A report by Education Review Office (2012) has indicated that New Zealand education system needs to pay more attention to three key aspects including

•   students-centred learning
•   responsive and rich curriculum
•   assessment used for students’ learning.

What does a connected learner in student centred learning look like?

Connected Learning is a work in progress model built on existing learning systems to remodel the education system to be in tune with the technology and digital era.

It is inspired by an initial set of three educational values, three learning principles, and three design principles. Since I saw this model in class it has fascinated me therefore am taking a deeper look as to how it encompasses learning for the 21^st century and its impact on my practice as in this model the student is at the centre of the learning.

Connected learning in relation to Key competencies

Thought provoking questions for me based on this model?

• What am I doing already?
• What do I need to enhance for my learners?
• What do I need to undertake to enrich our relationship?
• How can I foster a global and community rich practice?

How can we all make those connections necessary for the future of the learners?

After analysing this issue of making learning connected for our learners, it is evident to me that our curriculum key competencies are covering the aspects of this model but are we educators using it effectively in our practice is the key question that needs to be answered. As Rose Hipkins  said in one of the workshops I recently attended that there is a global interest in the NZ curriculum especially in the front end where the skills for 21^st century learning is explicit so does that mean if NZ educators designed their teaching and learning using this we could be leading and preparing learners for the future? The questions remains then so why are our learners disengaged and the statistics for academic success looking poor for some demographics? Have we got equity for all?

Image credit: Aperture Photo Arts- B.N.Perera

In my practice in technology education that is underpinned by the design thinking process is now gaining momentum out there. It has historically been an area where students who performed poorly or didn't fit anywhere were dumped but little did leaders know that this is one of the subject areas that could give new life to student centred learning. One might ask why? If taught properly students have all the freedom to choose to develop an outcome within a context in the earlier years then choosing their own context, issue and project management in the later years of study. This gives students all the tools in the connected learning model plus the key competencies. How?

• They work with their interest or passion or cultural aspect with a relevant context
• Talking with clients to find out their needs and opportunity
• Trial concepts and improve for which knowledge has to be sorted by them
• Ongoing evaluations and communication with a range of people possibly teams too
• Presenting and negotiating outcomes and developing final outcomes

They lead, develop, create, innovate, communicate, remake, think critically and creatively, interact with communities, cooperate and evaluate which are all skills that will be needed for the 21^st century. (21st Century Rubrics, 2012).

What is missing is my practice is the lack of opportunity for my students to collaborate on a safe platform globally as Global trends video shows it is important for educators to consider how the world will change and what will learners to consider. I do encourage students to look at global trends or objects abroad of similar form or function or sustainable practices for their projects such as IKEA websites but haven’t made it compulsory as realising now this could really enrich and broaden their development of their design ideas. We have started to integrate projects in Graphics and Technology for students which will open collaboration and ideation opportunities for the learner to make their own connections and drive their learning.

References

Education Review Office (2012).The three most pressing issues for New Zealand’s education system, revealed in latest ERO report - Education Review Office. Retrieved 5 May 2015, from 
http://www.ero.govt.nz/About-Us/News-Media-Release...

Microsoft Partners in Learning 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics
http://www.itlresearch.com/images/stories/reports/21cld%20learning%20activity%20rubrics%202012.pdf

Education: IDEO (2016) https://www.ideo.com/expertise/education/

My Professional Connections

My Professional Connection Map

Two goals for extending my professional connections

Benefits and Challenges of working in an interdisciplinary environment

A few years ago, Te Kura undertook a project to integrate the learning of Year 7 to 10 in which I participated from the Technology area with members from other teams. The context was theme based for example “Fire” then all areas met and did a scoping of the learning whilst taking the context to his broadest sense thus opening up the experience of the learner. We tried to overlap and make connections in our areas of learning so that students felt a flow and scaffold as opposed to a series of disjointed tasks combined together without thought. In the process we also had to ensure that the key competencies, values and achievement objective of the NZ Curriculum was being met- Yes ERO always at the back of our minds! However in saying that it is always sound practice to expose students to a variety and our Curriculum is perfect for that.

Benefits

• Making connection of different disciplines for learners
• Exposing them to a range of contexts
• Ability to be creative as this was project or inquiry based learning styles
• Opportunities to collaborate with other learners on Skype or Hangouts
• Self-directed learning and opportunity to choose the project to undertake based on the needs of the family, community, resources available or country of residence at that point
• More interaction of staff with students as lots of different project being undertaken and a new way of learning for students
• Better relationship and dialogue amongst staff involved
• Less assessment in the end but more interaction and deeper learning for students as when it is self-directed they were motivated to dig deeper and wider

Challenges

• Unknown outcomes- will it work or not
• Acceptance from families and students for this model of learning
• Internal structuring of systems, delays in production, copyright of images
• Reluctance of other teaching staff –changing mindset
• Initially it was like a stab in the dark as it was a new concept so how do we develop resources? How do we structure activities?
• Reading this resource refreshed all the experiences and challenges we faced at that time so if you wish to undertake this model, do read this article.
• Watching this movie could be a way forward for parents and staff as it outlines critical 21^st century teaching and learning issues for all parties concerned in education.

My Professional Community

Core Values that underpins my profession

Evaluate your practice in regard to these values

Essentially these (above) are values that drives my practice and leadership which clearly outlines the importance of EQUITY for all be it staff, students, their communities or partner organisations. The level of service that is provided whether curriculum or pastoral, demonstrating empathy of individual situations and ensuring positive outcomes for all is always at the forefront yet having an acceptance that sometimes we do get it very wrong. Studying by distance at school level is a huge undertaking for most communities as it requires tools, support, personal discipline and a need to be open and honest as we are unable to meet every learner and have a clear understanding of their needs. Our LINK UP is a chance for us to share these values and show case/ celebrate/communicate the difference we are making with our learning communities such as pilot projects, dual enrolled schools, fulltime students, partner organisation such as Star/Gateway/Authentic Learning, young adults or primary/early childhood groups.

What are the challenges that you face in your practice? How would you or your community of practice address them?

In the distance environment we have numerous challenges but we are currently trying to embrace it with an opportunity to lead change in Education in NZ in the 21^st century.

Challenges

•  Connectivity and Collaboration opportunities for staff and students
•  Sustaining on-going student Engagement
•  Growing/changing the mind-set of staff
•  Digitising teaching and learning

Work in Progress of the Community of Practice to address these challenge

• Exposing and empowering staff to different tools like Adobe Connect, Hangouts, Skype to connect with their learners if the learners cannot make it to face to face advisories or are too isolated for Liaison teachers to visit. Regular Adobe Connect sessions are now being held with Regional office staff to make all feel inclusive and indirectly expose and encourage them to use this tool as it is “safe” as no phone numbers and emails of students are shared on this platform.
• Ensuring that contact is made within a week of being enrolled, whanau have been involved in ongoing dialogue and ensuring that the goals of the students are being worked towards and met.
•  Giving opportunity to the staff we lead to have leadership and resource development opportunities so that they feel valued and are proud to be contributing to the learning of students rather than being “glorified markers/assessors” of resources developed by others. This is critical as in face to face environments teachers have the autonomy to develop, teach and amend teaching materials which is not the case in a distant environment.
•  Actively participating and leading Professional development of the school going from blended to online learning. Our biggest role is here right now and communicating and problem solving as a team as well as peer-sharing has been in valuable.

What are the changes occurring in the context of your profession? How do you think you or your community of practice should address them?

Education in NZ has to start preparing 21^st Century learners for a world that is unknown in terms of opportunities, new careers that require new skills and a highly digital dependent world.

Our community of practice is now

• having dialogue and collaborating
• sharing resources and solving problems
• starting to integrate curriculum areas
• co- teaching and developing of resources that allow students to think critically
• applying student voice to new material development- forming relationships
• co-operating with the school as they now have an understanding that for success of our strategic goals that leading from the MIDDLE is essential so we are embracing that opportunity.

Reflecting on Reflective Practice

The article titled above by Lynda Finlay (2008) has been thought provoking rather than outlining aspects that relate to my practice!

Questions that arose for me to consider   

• Do I really do reflective practice as “defined” (several definitions) in the paper? And if so do I do it “in action” “for action” or “on action” (Pg. 4), consciously or subconsciously, structured or thoughtless, critically or mindlessly?
• Do the benefits outweigh the negatives? And if so at what point should I use it with staff I manage?
• If I promoted this practice, what model would be suitable, how would I avoid confusion and how could I ensure it isn't detrimental to the ongoing progress of myself and my staff as it is something they will need to embrace as quoted in the article “An honest self-appraisal conducted in conjunction with peers is one of the hallmarks of an effective promoter of reflection”!
• Educators are not the easiest in the world to convert- don’t we know it all and how dare someone tell me something new as the belief is “I have years of experience and what I do works, why should we reflect, evaluate, change and adopt new methods”?

The model that I tend to use is Rolfe’s Reflective model which is based around Borton’s 1970 Developmental model

Image Source

Being a technologist ongoing evaluation has become part of my practice. My curriculum leader and I regularly do this practice especially with our Level 3 NCEA students as we were the first to develop and deliver a totally on-line course. We had no experience in the delivery platform, do design thinking was used as a structure and ongoing discussions and tweaking goes on regularly as our learners keep changing and so does their needs.

What: Te Aho O Te Kura Pounamu as the name suggest Pounamu is a metamorphic rock, hence as an organisation we are in the process of metamorphosing from blended to fully digital delivery. Our Year 9 and 10 courses have now being delivered online for the last two years and the cohorts have been surveyed and results have been shared with the relevant teaching areas.

So What: These results have started dialogue in our areas and staff are starting to reflect, amend, create, critique the materials that are available based on the feedback. For my area Technology, there is a strong request for collaborative opportunities, not surprising at all since we are now often being reminded that Collaboration is the way of the future and one the key 21^st century learning tools.

Now what: As an organisation we have started sharing the online tools and tricks that are working and highly engaging in our areas. We are now collaborating for the next stage as NCEA level 1 is being adapted and delivered online this year. We have to explore tools collectively on the OTLE platform that makes assessment, interaction with students, our peers and delivery of content efficient and effective as bear in mind we have rural students where connectivity is highly expensive and unreliable as well as students in different time zones globally.

At this point in time this simple model is sufficient as we have a lot to learn, reflect and adapt in our teaching practice and mind set. In the future the NZ Teaching as Inquiry Model could be a model we adopt as it is locally developed and takes the issues relevant to our practice.

Reflection of Learning Practice based on Key Competencies

Five key competencies in the NZ curriculum I believed were for me to create lifelong learners in my teaching but never applied or saw its value in my own practice till I started the Mindlab course. Thinking led me to explore the value gamification if any could have on student engagement and motivation driving me to intellectual curiosity that is the heart of this competency. My literature review on it revealed both sides of the coin including gaps in studies conducted, however due to lack of NZ research it motivated me to set up my Teaching as Inquiry in 2016 based around it with the support of my Curriculum leader. Being passionate about the Design Process, the inquiry I have set up to undertake is an investigation of game elements, questioning my cohorts on interaction with the work, compare and contrasting cohorts that had exposure to gamification and ones that haven’t to see the impact it makes on their engagement. All these skills are encompassed under this competency and I hope it will reveal information that will challenge my practice yet meet the objective of motivating and engaging my learners’ which is a major struggle of distance education at school level.


The 24 weeks of the course exposed me to new concepts such as

• growth mind-set 
• crowd sourcing 
• flipped and blended classrooms 
• Agile based learning 
• Connected learning 
• Different leadership styles 

All of which challenged my thinking upside down, back to front and most of all questioned my practice in terms of “how am I supporting and enriching the lives of the 21st century learner”? It clearly showed me the need to create a collaborative environment where knowledge is created by the learners and they lead their learning.

Meeting and relating to people from different walks of life in the course was both a pleasure and an eye opener – somewhat scary. The discovery that face-face predominately Primary schools were quite advance with the use of digital tools in students everyday learning/interacting clearly outlined how some secondary schools are behind with the times in terms of 21^st century learning- Food for thought. 

Interacting and sharing ideas in class on different topics or IT programs, role playing at different stages in the lessons, working out strategies of efficiency in ball games and doing the practical components in the early part of the course created opportunities for me to contribute and accept the ways others did things. 

Within the course, the assessment requirements left me no choice but to interact and contribute on other forums that I had expertise in such as project based learning and design thinking or needed to gain insight into. That was how I created networks with the groups listed in the diagram (above) and am starting to nurture the relationship created as I cannot continue to stay in my cocoon...time to spread my wings and transform the lives of my learners so they can survive in the world ahead of them- quite different from mine and make those connections too. 

Collaborating on assignments with my Te Kura colleagues doing this course tested this skill as we didn't get all the aspects correct the first time and by the end we three had developed respect, a listening ear and an effective working relationship regardless of being from three different teaching areas.