Week 32...Where to Next?

It is hard to believe that my Mindlab journey is coming to an end. The time seems to have flown by and the 32 weeks has included many ‘aha’ and ‘argh’ moments, as well as the moments where everything just seemed to connect. Commencing the course way back in March, I was unsure what to expect but I was also glad to have two of my work colleagues beside me, as we embarked on a journey of discovery and reinforcement that what we have been doing is on the right track for both ourselves and our students.

Within my own practice, I can identify so many changes. One change in particular is that I now feel that I have far greater confidence in my ability to ‘Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning’ as per Criteria 5 from the Practicing Teacher Criteria. I feel like I have been able to help lead change within my school, and have been able to back the reasons why change needs to occur with research based evidence. Having this evidence base has enabled me to implement changes within the department I lead, with many positive spin offs. While change also produces challenges, with my two colleagues alongside me, we have been able to build momentum for change and lead from the front. We have been able to share our learning with our Senior Leadership team and also our College Change Team, and then extending this out in to our wider school community. As a result, much of what we have learnt is being put in to practice on a department or school wide front, instead of in isolation within just our own classrooms.

Alongside these school wide changes, I have been evaluating the way in which my own classroom operates. I have been trying to incorporate a number of aspects from my Mindlab studies in to my own classroom programme. My approach to teaching has become far more inquiry learning based, which relates closely to our assignments from our research paper. After all, why plan something but not actually implement it? It also relates closely to Criteria 9 of the PTC, which requires teachers to “respond effectively to the diverse and cultural experiences and the varied strengths, interests, and needs of individuals and groups of ākonga.” With an inquiry based approach to learning, I have been able to develop my student’s individual strengths and interests, resulting in far higher levels of student engagement in their learning. I have observed many of my students taking more ownership for what they are doing and they have loved exploring some of the new ideas I have introduced within our classroom space. I am also hoping to introduce layers of Design Thinking in to my programme in the future. What I have also loved about this is that I have been able to implement aspects of this type of learning throughout my department. The clincher for me was at the end of Term 3 and the end of a department wide inquiry project that had allowed students to have choice about what they learnt. This was a first for some teachers,  but at the end a somewhat reluctant teacher made the following comment “I have really enjoyed our learning this term. We need to do more of this type of learning with our students”. At that point, I knew that we had crossed a line in the right direction and that momentum is growing for the change that needs to occur.

So, where to now? To be honest, I am not sure. Some crazy part of me is thinking about the Masters programme, while the more sane part of me is telling me to focus on what I am doing and embed the changes before doing more study. I think for me, this makes sense. I know what I want to achieve within my own practice and what I want to see happening within my school. I also want to see some of the changes spread within the other schools in my community, so that the students come to us already equipped with an understanding of some of what we want them to achieve. However, that does not mean doing nothing PD wise. I believe I have made lifelong connections with so many other amazing educators who share the same passions and desire for our tamariki to achieve and succeed in this rapidly changing world. As a result, the learning will continue as we share our endeavours to provide every child we encounter with the best possible opportunities for success, no matter what that might look like.

References

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

Interdisciplinary Connections

As a teacher within a Year 7 to 13 school, there are numerous opportunities and networks that allow for interdisciplinary connections to be formed. From the connections enabled through outside providers, to those that can be enabled from within and across different subject areas, the opportunities are vast and varied.

When mapping or noting these connections and how they can be utilised within our recent move to a Middle School (Years 7 to 9) concept, one that stands out for me is a recently formed connection developed through the provision of funding through the Curious Minds programme. Curious Minds is a government project that aims to “encourage and enable better engagement with Science and Technology across all sectors of New Zealand” NZ Govt (2016). As a result of this project, the College has been given funding to work with local providers such as the Ōtaki Clean Tech Centre. While this initially commenced within the Senior Science area and has become embedded, it has now filtered down to include Years 7 to 9 students and teachers. One aim is to develop a curriculum based on cross-curricular links, with a focus on the environment and sustainability. While the programme in Year 10 and beyond focuses on the global perspective, in Years 7 to 9, we want to focus on local and national issues.

One benefit of such a connection with outside providers, is that it helps develop closer links and ties to our local community and what it has to offer. This connection would involve local facilitators as well as staff from within our school, in particular our Science subject specialist teachers, our Year 7 & 8 Homeroom teachers and our Year 9 Integrated Studies (English and Social Studies) and Science teachers. There is also the potential for other subject area involvement such as the Technology department.

There are numerous ways in which the joint planning, decision making and goal setting can take place. In fact, this process has already commenced with all of the key stakeholders mentioned above, as well as members of the Senior Leadership Team. This ensures that the initiative is supported from the top down, whilst being led by those most closely involved. From the intial meeting, off site planning sessions have been set in order for deeper drilling down and planning in the key focus areas of how to incorporate Science and Technology in a deeper manner in to our middle school programmes. These plans will then be taken back to the curriculum areas involved for further development. From these planning meetings, the curriculum plans will be put in to action in Term 1, 2017. As noted by Kuban and Mcloud Mulligan (2015) in their post on ACRLog, workplace conditions such as organised meetings and administrative support, common goals and shared positive attitudes towards collaboration are vital in order for interdisciplinary collaboration to be successful. I believe that within our project, all three of these factors are in place and as a result, it is far more likely to succeed. Of particular importance, I believe the shared attitudes and qualities hold the most value as it allows for a safe environment in which people are comfortable in sharing their ideas.

Whilst there are many benefits to this and other connections, there are also some challenges. One is ensuring that all those involved have an understanding of the way in which a school operates and that things are not always as flexible as we would like. Constraints around time and the constant balancing games that occur are also obstacles that will need to be overcome. For myself, I have seen this happening as I have trialled some aspects of what we wish to do in Term 3 of this year. I have had an outside specialist coming in to my classroom on a weekly basis and while this has been incredibly supportive and well received by students and myself, it has also presented issues around time, and how to fit everything in to the programme. In this case, I think the ‘do less, but do it better’ fits well. Ensuring all involved are open and willing to the sharing of ideas and expertise is also important, as is recognising the importance of individual subject domains within the collaboration. I am looking forward to developing this project further in the coming months, with a focus on increasing student engagement in Science and Technology.

References

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

New Zealand Government (2016) Curious Minds. Retrieved from http://www.curiousminds.nz/

Mindmap developed in conjunction with Marion Lumley in order to be able to use this as part of our upcoming Change Team discussions

Using Social Media and Networking in Teaching and Professional Development

In recent years, the use of social media and online social networking for both teaching and professional development has grown at a rapid rate. It no longer seems to be a question of whether or not we should use social media and social networking within our teaching, instead the focus is on the how and why we should be using it.

As a teacher of Year 7 & 8 students, the ability to use a number of social media tools is somewhat determined by schoolwide policies and procedures and internet filtering services. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are locked down for students in this age bracket, and as such are not accessible to these students unless via a teacher account. This does not limit my students in any way. Instead we make regular use of online tools such as Edmodo which is like an educational version of Facebook, but with greater controls such as teacher created classroom spaces with invite codes and around who can access and share materials through levels of administration rights. Through using this learning platform, my students have been able to connect with other students and educators from around the world and within New Zealand in order to share our learning about a particular topic or book. As an avid participant in events such as the NZ Readaloud and the Global Readaloud, my students are learning to connect on a digital platform that is safe, as well as assisting them to develop digital citizenship skills in a real world context. This does not mean that there have not been issues. Students within my classes, and those with whom we connect have had to develop and continue to develop a clear understanding of why we are connecting and that it is about forming learning relationships as opposed to ‘social’ ones. This in turn influences the way in which we respond to people and how to manage our differences of opinion in a digital way. It helps them develop alternative communication methods, that are different to those that are face to face. My students also use the full suite of google apps for education to collaborate and connect with others. Whether writing or researching togther, the collaborative aspects of GAFE, have again allowed the world outside the four walls of my classroom to come in and broaden uderstandings through connecting with those from other cultures.

Through connecting my students with others using social media tools, I believe that as noted by Kathy Casssidy in the following video, my students are not only developing a greater sense of connection to others and the importance of this but also a deeper level of empathy for those in challenging situations.

On a professional development level, I engage in a variety of online opportunities. The use of google plus for professional networking has expanded my engagement in online learning and online communities of learning. Groups such as the Mindlab community, have enabled me to have genuine discussions on topics of interest and gauge the opinions of others. I have been able to join, connect and communicate with others on a range of professional development topics, as well as participate in project such as edbooknz, which has enabled me to form connections with like minded educators that still continue. The NZ and Global Readalouds have also allowed this to occur, as I am in regular contact with a number of teachers, both here and overseas to discuss ways in which we can continue to develop the connections between our classes. An aspect of online Social Networking and use of Social Media that I love is that it has given educators the ability to connect with others around the world. Time differences are no longer a hinderance as the connection can occur at any time. It can also be in realtime through webinars or the use of google hangouts. As noted by Melhuish (2013, p24) “ effective adult learning hinges upon the extent to which learners have agency over the process”. Online Social Media and Networking allows me to take control of what I am learning and when.

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.

Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

The Influence of Law and ethics - Communicating with Students and their Whanau

The New Zealand Code of Ethics for Certified Teachers requires teachers to demonstrate a high level of social and ethical awareness in all professional conduct.  Not only does our daily teaching practice reflect within this, but also our private lives and the way in which we conduct ourselves outside of school. Four fundamental principles - autonomy, justice, responsible care and truth guide these ethical principles by which we, as professionals must abide.

One ethical issue that as a teacher, Curriculum Leader and Dean in charge of Pastoral Care for Year 9 & 10 students I face on an almost daily basis is the way in which I communicate with students and their whanau in relation to their learning or other needs. In a previous lifetime, this would occur via letter or the good old landline or face to face meeting. However, in this day and age of technological advancement and time pressure, emails, texting, instant messaging and other forms of communication occur and with this, a whole new range of potential problems can arise. Communications can quickly escalate, especially in digital form as the message can often be misunderstood or misread. I can think of many times that I have received a personal and sometimes professional text or email and have misread the tone of this, which has led to tension and misunderstanding. It is crucial that we do not have these misunderstandings when communicating with students and their families as we aim to build, not break relationships.

So how can communicating with students and their families be an ethical issue, when it is at the forefront of our job? One reason it can become an issue is that it is quite easy for the lines to become blurred between professional and personal. Too often, we are seeing in the media (Example 1, Example 2) cases where the lines have become blurred for the individuals involved, and teachers have lost sight of their ethical responsibilities and values. Often this poor conduct has involved inappropriate use of social media, texting and emailing to communicate with students and the relationship is no longer that of a teacher/student. As a result, the consequences can be wide ranging. Not only can a person’s individual reputation be destroyed with legal consequences (being censured, struck off the teaching register or fired to name a few), but the reputation of the school can also come in to question. The long term impacts on the students and their families can be life long and in some cases, students have taken their lives as a result. If as teachers, we choose to ignore the potential risks that come with using technology to communicate with students and their families then we have to be prepared for the potential fallout for all involved.

The Code of Ethics highlights that as teachers, we must demonstrate a commitment to learners, their parents/guardians and family/whanau. For myself, this is highlighted when they state that teachers will strive to:

• develop and maintain professional relationships with learners based upon the best interests of those learners
• establish open, honest and respectful relationships with caregivers and whanau and;
• teach and model those positive values which are widely accepted in society and encourage learners to apply them and critically appreciate their significance.

From this, I believe the following aspects should  be considered when communicating with students and family/whanau in order to ensure that our communications are appropriate:

• Why does the communication need to occur? The purpose for any communication should be clear and open
• Who has initiated the communication?
• What is the best method of communication, in order to convey the required information?
• When should this communication happen? With the ability to connect 24/7, it is important that teachers set boundaries around when they will engage with students and parents online or via text messaging.

I also take care to ensure that any email communication with parents and students is done via my school email and that I store any communication should my conduct ever be questioned. While I do use my personal mobile phone to make calls and send texts to parents, I also ensure that I keep a record of these communications and document them on our student manangement system. I also use our SMS to send bulk emails or text messages to students and parents, so that it is all chanelled via the school. By doing this, I am removing the potential for personal communication tools to be misconstrued.

As with anything, there is not always a right or wrong answer. We can be guided by those around us to do what is best and can support others to do the same. Using tools such as the questions posed by Hall (2001) and the Connecticut Teacher Education and Mentoring Program (2012) can help us to critically analyse a scenario we may find ourselves in and work through the steps to best manage these.

References

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf

Education Council. (n.d). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certficated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

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

Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Activity 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Something that stood out for me this week, was from the class notes on Mindlab (Week 28) where it says “Culture is not exclusive to race and/or ethnicity. It also refers the the unique features of a community; its demographic makeup, including location, age, gender, language/s spoken, local history, industry and economics.” For me, this is such a valuable statement. In Education, we frequently focus on ethnicity or race as being a determinate of culture and being culturally responsive, yet culture is not just about what race or ethnic group we belong to. It is about how we relate in different situations and how we modify what we do in order to best meet the needs of the students in front of us. It is also knowing that just because a child identifies as a particular race or ethnic group, it does not mean that they carry all aspects of this culture with them, such as the language or customs.  Having said this, I feel that it is critical that we have a thorough understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the implications for within our schools and classroom practice. We must acknowledge and respect the Tangata Whenua of our land, while endeavouring to incorporate this knowledge and understanding in to our classroom programmes and schools.   

Within my classroom teaching, I often use the ‘iceberg’ model to look at culture and the aspects we can and can’t see. I have found this a valuable exercise for helping my students understand each other and their different cultures, as well as for myself. The iceberg looks at the visible (above water) aspects of a culture, for example clothing and language versus the non-visible (below the surface) feautres such as values and beliefs. When completing the Self-Review in Cultural Competence Survey on Toi Te Tupu, I found that this highlighted the two aspects of Cultural Intelligence as identified in the Cultural Iceberg, namely:

• I have knowledge and understanding of the significance of observable and visible artefacts and practices of different ethnic cultures.
• I have knowledge and understanding of the significance of the less visible hidden psychological features of culture. This includes values, beliefs, perspectives,world views, and frames of reference pertaining to an ethnic culture.

When my students create their icebergs, it requires deep thinking and also helps them identify and examine their own cultures and what is unique about them. Something interesting that often results from this is the students often identifying how they modify their culture depending on their involvement. From my own children’s experience growing up in two different ethnic cultures (NZ and Tongan) I can also see how they switch when the environment changes. They have learnt ‘cultural norms’ for their cultures and switch between these to suit.  Bishop, Berryman, Cavanagh and Teddy (2009) emphasise the importance of student-teacher relationships in culturally responsive teaching. This is also something I am continuosly working on. I want relationships with my students where they know they are valued and that they are important. By developing a greater understanding of their culture, I hope to do this.

Something that my school continues to work on and develop is our use of Te Kawa o Te Ako to help guide our philosophy and strategic plan. Te Kawa o Te Ako have been developed in conjunction with our local iwi and Te Wananga o Raukawa as a set of core values that under pin everything we do. Te Kawa o Te Ako are guided by 10 principles:

Kotahitanga: The development and maintenance of a unity of purpose and direction

Pūkengatanga: The preservation, teaching and creation of mātauranga Māori

Kaitiakitanga: The obligation to foster and protect all living things

Manaakitanga: The expression of mana-enhancing behaviour towards one another

Whanaungatanga: The reciprocal rights and responsibilities that flow from the interrelationships of all living things

Te Reo: The responsibility to ensure the transmission of te reo to future generations

Whakapapa: The inter-relationships of all living things

Ūkaipōtanga: The importance of tūrangawaewae, a place where one belongs, feels valued and is able to contribute

Wairuatanga: The recognition of the intimate spiritual connections that link atua, humankind and nature

Rangatiratanga: The expression of the attributes of a Rangatira, including humility, leadership by example, generosity and diplomacy

Our use of these is growing over time as our understanding of their importance and links to our wider community is developed. While I do not believe we are there yet, it is definitely on the way. While they follow a Kaupapa Maori understanding, these principles can be applied for all students and staff in order to have a greater connection to our learning and our diverse range of cultural backgrounds within our school and community. They are the values and understandings we want all of our community to have and also recognise the importance of Tikanga Maori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our school.

References

Bishop. R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2009).Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5),734–742.

Mindlab (2016) Week 28 Class Notes

Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool

Digital Fluency - A Current Trend...and Issue!

In a rapidly changing educational world, life as a classroom teacher is rapidly evolving from the early days of my teaching career. My classroom practice today is so vastly different to when I first started teaching 16 years ago and I often think about many of the changes that have occured. Many of these changes have been influenced by trends and issues in education or the global environment. Core Education recently released their top 10 trends for 2016.  

While many of these stuck out for me as being relevant to my current and future classroom practice, one that particularly captures my attention at present is related to the cultural domain and the need for our staff and students to have digital fluency.

Broadly speaking, digital fluency is a combination of these three concepts:

• digital, or technical, proficiency:
• able to understand, make judgements about, select and use appropriate technologies and technological systems for different purposes; this might include knowing how to use technologies to protect one’s data, digital identity, and device security.  
• digital literacy:
• in digital spaces, being able to read, create, critique and make judgements about the accuracy and worth of information being accessed;
• being fluent in critical thinking and problem-solving online;
• Use digital tools to collaborate and construct information across all relevant and significant contexts
• social competence, or dispositional knowledge:
• the ability to be able to relate to others and communicate with them effectively;
• able to manage one’s identity, information, relationships in ways that are appropriate, responsible, safe and sustainable.

-Core Education 2016

Core (2016) state that Digital Fluency is “Driven by personal responsibility, online identity, digital literacies and citizenship, cyber security, access and equity of opportunity.”  This is relevant to me because as a teacher of a digital classroom where students are 1:1 with Chromebooks and as a Dean in charge of pastoral care, every day I am faced with issues of how to ensure students are able to use the tools available to them in an appropriate manner and how we can equip both staff and students to manage this. I often have to deal with incidents of inappropriate online behaviour, with students not thinking through the possible long term repercussions of posting a comment or photo online. Within my classroom, I often have to assist my students in choosing the best method for presenting their information or teach them how to use a variety of online tools. How to collaborate with others online is also a frequent lesson being taught, as my students interact with others from around New Zealand and the globe. Being able to define the difference between a social versus a learning interaction (for example the difference between a Facebook and an Edmodo post) is also a new skill my students are learning.  

So how does this influence our education system and my practice as a classroom teacher? According to (Resnick, 2002, p.33) “In the years ahead, digital fluency will become a prerequisite for obtaining jobs, participating meaningfully in society, and learning throughout a lifetime.” [via White, 2013]. As teachers, we have a responsiblity to ensure that our students are prepared for the future world they will live in and we already know that technology is playing a major part in this. Rapid innovation is leading to frequent developments in technology and while this is a positive, it also has many pitfalls. Through the Mindlab, we have seen how many of these technological innovations (Virtual Reality, 3D printing and Gamification to name a few) can be used to benefit our students.  We know that as educators, we need to give our students the knowledge and capabilities to succeed in a variety of contexts on a local, national and international scale. We need to ensure that we keep up with the way technology is being used, adapted and also the impact it has in a number of situations so we can not only make decisions about what we do in our classrooms but also in the wider online world.

Online safety and Digital Citizenship are two aspects of Digital Literacy that I feel are two of the most important. Our students need to be aware of creating a digital footprint and how this can not be erased. In the same context, as educators we need to recognise the potential pitfalls that our own online use, particularly around the use of Social Media can create. We need to develop a curriculum that allows the skills required to be digitally fluent to be woven in, as opposed to being done as an add on, which is something I have seen in many schools including my own. By weaving it in to the day to day workings of our classrooms, it does not become stand alone, it becomes a core part of everything we do and this is vital for our students.

Over the coming years, I can only see the need for students to be digitally literate increasing. I frequently need to consider my practice, look forward and identify ways in which I can develop digital fluency within the students that I teach, so that they develop the necessary skills to navigate successfully and safely in an online world. They need to be able to create knowledge, use this knowledge for a variety of purposes and all the while consider how what they do online might impact on others.  

References

Core Education http://www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/ten-trends

White, Gerald K. (2013) Digital fluency : skills necessary for learning in the digital age. Melbourne : ACER

Current Issues in My Professional Context

Socioeconomic data indicates a number of interesting factors that contribute to our school community. Using data from the 2013 Census and as a Decile 4 school, factors that stand out are that 24.8% of our community are one parent families, 46.4% of income earners over the age of 15 earn $20,000 or less per year resulting in a low household income and our school ethnic breakdown includes 46% of our students who identify as Maori. When considering the educational status of many in our community, which the American Psycholgical Association (2016) also highlight as contributing to socioeconomic status, we see that only 14.9% of our community aged 15 or over hold a Bachelors degree or higher.

As a school we are similar to some of those around us. Two of our contributing schools are Decile 4 also, while a third is Decile 9. The Decile 9 school was allowed to recapitate in recent years to also have Year 7 & 8 students. This had a small impact on our numbers of students entering at this level. However, in recent years, we have seen a growing number of Year 9s choosing our College over two others in the wider region that were previously their schools of choice. I believe that this is a reflection of the positive gains we have made through changing our school culture to better meet the needs of our students and wider community as well as raising student achievement through these changes.

So where does our school culture fit in? According to Wilson (2013), a school culture has three key facets; a vision, unity and empowerment. For myself, I believe our school vision encompasses all three of these factors and these contribute fully to developing our school cuture. We are striving for a school where all students feel valued, safe and secure, while also wanting them to have the skills required for the future. Our mission statement supports this where we say we want to develop young people who strive always to be the best they can be. We manifest our culture through a combination of our school values - Respect, OC Pride, Active Learner and Responsibility, our school motto - ‘Kia Kaha’, our use of Te Kawa o Te Ako which acknowledges our connection with our local iwi and of course the way we demonstrate these through our everyday teaching, learning and actions. Our culture does not start and end in the classroom, it carries over in to our wider school and local community when our students and staff represent the college at sporting and academic endeavours or just in day to day life. A recent ERO report highlighted the welcoming feel our school has and how students actions and in class learning reflect our values and vision on a daily basis. Recently, when showing a prospective family with three children around our school, they commented on how welcoming and positive their experience had been. The children also commented on how different it felt to their current schools and how they could see the positive interactions between both staff and students.

The professional environment within my school also plays a key part in developing, and maintaining our school culture. When we consider the norms of improving schools as cited in Stoll (1998), I think these are reflected within and by staff and students. For the professional environment, the way in which the staff work together in a collegial manner is vital as a way of moving our school forward. While the fourth level of collegiality as identified by Stoll (2008) where joint work is highlighted has not always been present, in the last few years this is something that we have developed. Changes in leadership and the way in which decisions are made has had a major impact on our professional environment. Staff are now willing to work together to move the school and themselves forward in a professional manner. People are having the ‘hard conversations’ which would previously have been very difficult to have and know that it is not about an individual person, but actually to help us become better teachers. We are becoming more open in our practice in order to acknowledge and identify thing we need to change but also to celebrate the things that are going well.

When considering the socioeconomic status of our community, it helps us to better understand many of the issues our young people and their families face, when they come through our front gates as well as helping to identify areas in which we want to help facilitate change in order to help not only our students but the wider community. Gargiulo (pg 7, 2014), identified a number of strategies, many of which we have also introduced within our school, which have contributed to and had a positive impact on our school culture. For example, we are a Positive Behaviour for Learning School. In conjunction with restorative practice, our students and staff are fully involved in putting things right when they are not going so well. We have introduced Pre-Trade and UCOL courses which operate in conjunction with local businesses and Tertiary providers, meeting a gap that previously exisited for some of our students. We have food available for students who come to school hungry and staff are always available for supporting students in need. By introducing these programmes and developing our school culture to be a nurturing one, we are breaking down many of the barriers that the socioeconomic status of our community creates in order for genuine learning to occur.

References 

Gargiulo, S. (2014). Principal sabbatical report. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Professional-information/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2014/Secondary-award-recipients-2014/Gargiulo-Salvatore

Stoll (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture

TEdEd.(2013, Jun 21). Building a culture of success- Mark Wilson.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_8Bjz-OCD8

Statistics New Zealand (2016) 2013 Quick Stats About a Place - Otaki. Retrieved from

http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-a-place.aspx?request_value=14334&parent_id=14325&tabname=#

My Community of Practice

Cambridge, Kaplan and Suter (2005) define a Community of Practice as “a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfil both individual and group goals”. When thinking about my own Communities of Practice, I can identify a number that I belong to. From leading a Curriculum area and managing staff to studying via Mindlab and interacting and participating with an online Community of Practice, I can see how so many of these communities can overlap and at times become blurred. While they do not all share the same members, the purpose and shared domain of interest are predominantly the same. They are all focussed on upskilling teachers or leading teaching and learning for both staff and students with the core aim of making sure that the teaching and learning that is occurring within our schools is based on research evidence with the idea that best practice will occur.

When considering a specific Community of Practice, one I have thought a lot about is our College Change Team. To me, this community follows the Community of practice as outlined by Cambridge et al (2005) and also that of Wenger (2000) who believes an effective Community of Practice has three key elements associated with it, that is a shared domain or area of interest, members are mutually engaged with each other and that thirdly, there is a shared repertoire of outcomes.

Thinking about the Change Team, the shared purpose or domain of this team is to Implement change in to the college in a managed and structured way that supports both staff and students. It has been a critical part of spreading leadership and responsibility throughout our school, by moving some decision making away from the Senior Leadership Team and spreading it to the teaching and middle management staff. The Change Team is future focussed and looks to where we want to head to with teaching and learning. It is a team in which we can explore new ways of practice, without jumping in boots and all at a whole school level. By doing this, we can often avoid some of the pitfalls associated with whole school initiatives, and a way in which we can get staff buy in by using early adopters and followers to lead the way for others.  We are given the opportunity to trial and lead initiatives in order to further research and gather the evidence we need to ensure that it is the right thing to do. This fits well with my own teaching practice and desire to implement best practice within not only my own teaching but also the teaching of others. I am constantly evaluating my own teaching practice in order to best meet the needs of my students and the Change Team is one mechanism that I can use to do this.

The Change Team meet on a semi-regular basis, depending on what the current focus is. Constant email discussions happen if face to face can’t occur, and initiatives are identified through a variety of methods. We will often use Student Achievement data, pastoral data and other evidence to identify areas in which we feel we need to look at. Sub groups are formed within the team based on areas of teacher passion or interest. Current initiatives include looking at which model of Genius Hour or Inquiry Based Learning will best meet the needs of our students in order to develop 21st century skills and qualities that we know our students need to have. In conjunction with this, what timetable structure will best support what we hope to achieve? We have also led the way in the introduction of Digital Technologies and our students going 1:1 with Chromebooks. Through running four trial classes prior to full implementation, teachers were able to develop and model ways in which these tools could be implemented within classroom programmes of learning. The Change Team provided the opportunity for staff to up skill by attending GAFE Conferences and also enabling visits to schools such as those in the Manaiakalani cluster.

For me, I feel connected to this community in a number of ways. Through a shared common interest, I am able to have a number of professional discussions with my colleagues which assist me in developing a greater understanding of where we want our College to be and how I can support the school in getting us there. I can reflect on my own practice to ensure that it fits with our College values. We can critically reflect on what we are currently doing, where we want to be and how we can change things to get there. I have been fortunate to have been involved since the Change Team’s creation as part of a Ministry of Education initiative, and its subsequent iterations. I can lead but also follow. The ability to opt in and out based on areas of personal and professional interest means that I can develop my passions. I have the ability to be Leader, Facilitator and active member depending on the context. One of the benefits of the Change Team is that different people can take on the Leadership or facilitator role depending on the current focus. Everyone within the community plays their part, which is another reason I believe it has been so successful. Teachers from different Curriculum Areas are working together to develop programmes of learning for all of our students. I contribute fully to this Community of Practice.Currently, my Mindlab study has allowed for two communities to combine for me due to a current Change Team focus on collaborative and inquiry based learning as well as Digital Technologies. As a result I am doing some of the ground breaking work in terms of research and planning for the introduction of Inquiry Based Learning to OC.

Overall, I love that Communities of Practice enable us to work alongside others in a range of professional contexts. The rapid development of Digital Technologies has meant that connecting with others has become easier and as a result, these communities have grown. I am in a profession I am passionate about and can connect with others who feel the same through these communities.

References

Cambridge, D., Kaplan, S. & Suter, V. (2005). Community of practice design guide: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Cultivating. Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NLI0531.pd...

Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246 (Available in Unitec Library).