Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Week 32

 Well it’s the end of a journey, whew!! I can’t say I’ll miss the never ending tread-mill of assignments but I will miss the challenge. Particularly to implement the ideas I have been learning about in the classroom. I really enjoyed the assignments that required me to plan and carry out a digital initiative in my classroom and the extra freedom this course has given me to take that risk and trial new ideas. When I have deviated away from the text–book towards inquiry based learning supported by digital technology I have been able to support my decision with sound pedagogy and have felt confident that I had a well thought–out programme and they ability to ascertain the impact on student learning. I will also miss the google plus community. I was a bit skeptical and slow to take this up but have finally got the hang of this and am enjoying the support, discussion, debate and friendship that I found in this community. I hope that it continues after this course has finished.

So time to reflect on my progress. I have learnt so much in such a short space of time so I have decided to focus the three PTCs below:

PTC 3: (Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa / New Zealand.)  and  PTC 10: Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa NZ.

This is an area I felt particularly unconfident in and I have been able to use the skills learnt for this course to implement a unit focused on culturally responsive teaching through inquiry and have supported the unit with digital technology. The students looked at the concept of Kaitiakitanga. They examined local legends relating to our area and recreated these using Claymation achieving the augmentation stage on the SAMR rubric.  One of the students supported myself and the class to learn their mihi and when we struggled with pronunciation created sound bites for our webpage so that myself and the class had the opportunity to reinforce our learning. The students planted a Rongoā garden with the help of DOC and local iwi, used digital technology (a drone, various light/pH/ oxygen meters  etc) to record the health of the local stream and surrounding habitat. They had the opportunity to talk to DOC staff about pest management and design their own tracking stations using Tinker Cad and the 3D printer moving toward the Modification phase on the SAMR rubric. The students developed their skills in the 4C’s relating to 21st Century Learning and had the chance to apply their learning petitioning the council for permission to replant native plants along the school boundary. Ideally these plants will be geotagged and Aurasma will be used to overlay information about their traditional Maori names and uses.

So what did I learn? Mindlab provided the motivation to see this through to the end and skills to incorporate digital technology. I learnt about the concept of ako and how by positioning myself as a learner I was able to develop a reciprocal relationship with my students. This seemed to be the concept that strength the relationship particularly with my Maori and Pacifica students the most. I found that I didn’t need to be the ‘expert’ and that my students appreciated the effort to incorporate Te Reo in the classroom even if my first attempts at pronunciation left a lot of room for improvement. Since through the Mindlab course I have learnt about the concept of the principles of Kaupapa Maori (see http://www.rangahau.co.nz/) and would like to work alongside my students and their whanau have the opportunity to apply this to the next unit of work in Term Three.


Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice

For my RCP assignment I developed a research plan for a Flipped Classroom and I am hoping to spend the Term Two holidays organising resources for it (videos and interactive activities). I have talked to my Y12 Chemistry students about this and they are keen and also want to contribute to their learning by producing some videos themselves. The Teaching as Inquiry unit has been quite timely for me as we have been embedding this process in our school. I have been able to take the information and blend it into my Professional Development Plan and have organised a staff member to carry out some lesson observations to get some baseline data to support my student surveys for this unit of work. Schon (1983) said “Competent practitioners usually know more than they can say. They exhibit a kind of knowing-in-practice, most of which is tacit”. I am at the stage in my teaching practice where I have held a number of roles and positions of responsibility. I can adjust my lessons to suit my students’ needs. The Mindlab course has given me the ability to articulate my approach to teaching and the choices I make in the classroom. I have had to anaylse my subject’s epistemology, methodologies and methods of research. This is allowed me to have a greater understanding of other disciplines and to work towards developing an integrated unit involving teachers in other departments in the school. I would like to carry on and take the Masters programme but until finances allow I have joined a Teaching as Inquiry Cluster for Science teachers. I hope this will give me the motivation I need to implement my RCP plan and allow me to make connections across a group of schools.

Where to Next?
Next term I plan to implement my plan for the RCP assignment undertaking a flipped classroom. I hope to continue to share what I have learnt with my colleagues and have been asked to help contribute to the Creative Hub that is being set up at our school. The goal is to work collaboratively with other staff to design learning activities that give the students opportunities to develop their 21st Century learning skills supported by technology. I am interested in the concept of Community of Practice that we have been learning about and am hoping that by joining the Science Teaching as Inquiry Cluster I will begin to cultivate a community beyond my schools’ gates. There is an opportunity coming up to support this by expanding my students’ community with a school in Japan were we will work on a project pooling our ideas. Part of me is looking forward to taking the time to reflect on what I have learnt and the other half is keen to get started on my implementing my plan for the RCP before I lose the impetus. As I said I would love to do the Masters programme but might need to wait a year to apply, if not to save up, to spend some time catching up with my family who have been very accommodating . J


References
Schon, D. (1983) The reflective Practitioner: How Professionals think in action. New York:Basic Books

Sunday, 26 June 2016

Week 31 APC – Interdisciplinary Learning

Here is my interdisciplinary mindmap.



I am often frustrated by the silos in which our subject areas exist in Secondary School. Whitehead (1929) considers these subject silos to be the "fatal disconnection of subjects which kills the vitality of our modern curriculum" (p.10).  I think that as teachers we are more aware of this and make a concerted effort to break these down. However, the closest I often get to this comes under the heading of the once a year ‘cross-curricular’ unit. As I teach multiple Year 9 classes I am suddenly faced with jamming into an over-crowded day several meetings. Each class try’s a different theme or approach and planning begins. It’s enjoyable at first, as it’s always refreshing to spend time with colleagues from other disciplines. Ideas are generated, debate incurs, a topic is chosen and the planning begins. On reflection these initial meetings often follow Drake’s stages of development for an integrated unit (1991)
  • Initially teachers are concerned with ensuring their subject area is 'properly' represented.
  • Teacher’s become more exposed to other’s points of view and perspective
  • Teacher’s begin to understand the key elements of each other’s discipline and how the knowledge in each discipline is created. 
  • They begin trust each other and use their different perspectives and teaching practices to identify how these can support a 'theme' or solve a real world problem.
     These units of work always start well but as constraints of time, timetabling structure, EOTC forms, RAMs, consent and resources start to make an impact initial plans are often simplified. This often leaves a unit that students are often quite happy with but one that isn't as challenging or robust as first envisioned.
    
     Future Focus??
     My school has just opened a Creative Hub. The idea is to provide a space that all the teachers can use where they have access to technology and learn in a collaborative way with students regardless of what subject they are taking. We are discussing planning an interdisciplinary unit. The current suggestion is to design a child's toy. This would be carried out in the shared space and allow students to have access to a 3D printer, multimedia tools and a green screen. As the science teacher involved I would support the students to learn about circuits, energy transformations etc. 

     The other concept that is being discussed is an interdisciplinary unit on water. In Science we will investigate the water quality and health of our local stream. Global Living would discuss continuity of clean water supply in third world countries and review aid agencies that support this. Social Studies and English would combine to help the students plan some community action around water conservation in our homes. In mathematics students would analyse water usage data and collect their own to make comparisons with.  The unit finishes with a water filter challenge run by Water Watch. Students are split into groups and  are given a limited number of resources based on their countries GDP to build a water filter for their community.


    So what are the challenges??


    Timetabling:
     I imagine the cross-curricular unit approach is most likely a common approach in secondary schools in NZ as it works within the existing timetabling structure. Each teacher teaches to a common theme or issue within their normal timetabled class. It is perhaps one of the least disruptive in terms scheduling classes so more likely to be adopted (Marris, 1986; Fullan, 1991). To me timetabling is one of the most restrictive elements in a school as its object is traditionally to divide the day into short blocks of time. It also restricts teacher movement allocating them to specific class or group. As a school we have started trying to be more flexible with the timetable and relief system to allow teachers to take up opportunities for collaboration.

    Time:
     Effective collaboration takes time, not just in the planning, administration type tasks.  Collaboration, relationship building, understanding each others areas of expertise, practice and epistemologies also takes communication and time. Too often these types of project are given a time allowance at the beginning for planning but no time for reflection, feedback, adjustments and communication is built in when the unit is up and running.

     Resources and Expertise
     Lack of budget for resources or expertise or lack of physical space. In previous units I have taught I would have liked to send students in groups to meet in their 'own space' but no such space has been available. You end up with multiple groups in the hallway. Accessing resources held by different departments can also be challenging. Sometimes the barriers can be as simple as an over-priced bus ride for an excursion. I believe schools are addressing many of these issues. In my school new buildings have 'break out ' spaces and the Creative Hub will provide a central point for technology. Increasingly the online world provides a community and source of experts to turn to for advice and ideas.




References

Drake, S. M. (1991). How our team dissolved the boundaries. Educational Leadership, 49(2), 20-22.
  
      Fullan, M. G. & Stiegelbauer, S. (1991). The new meaning of educational change (2 nd ed.) New          York: Teachers College Press.

     Marris, P. (1986). Loss and change. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

     Whitehead, A. N. (1929). The aims of education and other essays. New York: Macmillan