Activity
8: Key Change in Professional Practice.
I will
use Rolfe et al’s (2001) reflective model to discuss how my teaching practice has
changed over the 32 weeks on the MindLab journey. Osterman et al (1993) define
reflective practice as, the way “by which practitioners can develop a greater
level of self-awareness about the nature and impact of their performance, an
awareness that creates opportunities for professional growth and development.”
The
standard that I will focus on from Our Code, Our Standards is:
“Professional
learning – Use inquiry, collaborative problem-solving and professional learning
to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of
all leavers”. (Ministry of Education, 2017).
Step 1: What?
The
most significant change over the past 32 weeks of doing MindLab has been the
new learning and having the confidence to implement 21st Century
Skills while developing a blended learning classroom environment. Linking this
Standard teaching is “Teach in ways that enable learners to learn from one
another, to collaborate, to self-regulate and to develop agency over their
learning.” Our Code, Our Standards (2017). As the year has progressed I have
tried new, exciting and innovative ways to engage my learners and allow them to
have a say in their education through student voice surveys. This has created a
positive, safe learning environment which has established a ‘learning-focussed
culture’ as the Ministry of Education, (2017) defines it as to “Develop a
culture that is focused on learning, and is characterised by respect,
inclusion, empathy, collaboration and safety.” (MOE, 2017, p.20)
Step 2: So What?
To
evaluate this change initiative in my reflective practice I will be using
Osterman and Kottkamp (2015) “Cycle of Experiential Learning.”
Problem Identification:
Throughout
my MindLab journey I realised that my students were not given enough
opportunities to devise, collaborate and develop 21st Century Skills
needed for this modern technological world.
Observation and Analysis:
Throughout
my observations I noticed that student collaboration was one of you copy my
work or they can do the task because that student is good at it. The
opportunities were not seized upon by students. Students were happy to share
but come to the realisation why and what are we actually doing? At this point I needed feedback from students where
to go to next.
Abstract
re-conceptualisation:
As
a class we needed to unpack the what how and why. We needed a step by step
progression, so students knew what was expected from them and how they were
going to reach their end goal. We felt that a rubric was of assistance, so
students could achieve success at a higher level by providing more
opportunities for this to happen.
Active Experimentation:
I
found that teacher/student relationships had improved. Collaboration and
student agency was a focus for myself and the class. We have more meaningful
conversations about learning and how can we progress to the next level together
by supporting each other through the good and not so good times.
Absolum
(2006) quotes this very important statement in his book Clarity in the Classroom….
“For students truly to be able to take
responsibility for their learning, both teacher and students need to be very
clear about what is being learnt, and how they should go about it. When
learning and the path towards it are clear, research shows that there are a
number of important shifts for students. Their motivation improves, they stay
on-task, their behaviours improves, and they are able to take more
responsibility for their learning”
Step 3: Now What?
Share
you next plan(s) regarding your future professional development of your further
practice.
·
Keep
reading and researching to keep up with the latest literature and trends.
·
Keep
learning to learn.
·
Stay
connected through online forums by actively participating.
·
Develop
inquiry-based learning to be more effective.
·
Drilling
down when questioning students’ knowledge and expertise.
·
Continue
developing cultural responsiveness.
·
Utilise
digital technology in the classroom more.
·
Critique
blended learning to develop into a flipped classroom.
·
Enhancing
21st Century Sills better.
·
Create
more opportunities for student driven tasks.
·
Become
an effective critical practitioner.
·
Dream
big, inspire others and be great!
References:
Absolum,
M. (2011. Clarity in the classroom: Using
formative assessment for building learning-focussed relationships. Portage
& Main Press.
Osterman,
K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators:
professional development to improve student learning. (2nd ed.) New
York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Ministry
of Education (2017. Our code, our standards. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards
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