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Activity Eight - Reflective Practice and Changes in Practice

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Reflective Practice and Changes in Practice Āta tirohia te ngaro nui te ngaro roa, te ngaro paewhenua. Analyse critically the gigantic wave, the long wave, the shoreward wave. Week 32! Wow. Hard to believe we have arrived at the end. A real journey of both self and professional discovery.  I have been waiting to do the Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice since it first began a few years ago. Unfortunately, I was no longer teaching so couldn't afford to study. When I came back to the classroom this year the first thing I did, was sign up to Mind Lab! I really loved the first 25 weeks when we went to class. The professional discussions and the fun we had made the weekly trip 'down the road' worthwhile. I did struggle a wee bit with writing assignments and above all, getting them in on time, until I was introduced to EXTENSIONS!!! These have saved my sanity on more than one occasion. However, I am absolutely making sure that I do not finish these

Activity Seven - Professional Context - Crossing Boundaries

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Professional Context - Crossing Boundaries Activity 7 - Interdisciplinary Connection Map An interdisciplinary approach is the combination of multiple disciplines that help to create teams of teachers and students that strive to create an outcome of an enriched educational experience (Jones 2009).   As my Interdisciplinary Connection Map (above) shows, without even realising it, we are engaged in multiple interdisciplinary relationships every day. It's only when we meaningfully collaborate to further benefit the educational experiences of our students do we realise just how many times we actually do this.  Potential Interdisciplinary Connections 2018 will see (so long as we have permission from the Ministry of course) our CoL (Kahui Ako) begin a journey of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. We will be focusing on establishing positive relationships with our learners and incorporating culturally responsive pedagogies that have a positive impact on our learners with

Activity 6 - Using Social Online Networks

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Social Online Networks in Teaching or Professional Development Social Networking has evolved! Melhuish (2013) discussed the variations of contexts for engagement of social network sites by educators. For some it is advice or affirmation of practice, for others it could be resources or mentorship, whatever the context, social networking can provide great connections, communication and collaboration. How I have used it in my classroom: I discussed in one of my earlier blogs the reluctance I initially felt when using Facebook within my classroom. I guess I'm 'old school' and worry about the dangers of using it, although, my children don't have access to it, so the only time they get to see our 'Group' is when either I share it, or their parents share the posts with them. So no real interaction with with the children there.  We have, however, started using Seesaw, which I am sure will have great benefits for the children and their learning. I feel, and

Activity Five - Legal & Ethical Context

Legal and Ethical Contexts in My Digital Practice Boundaries So many digital ethical dilemmas! Unfortunately this is something that is a daily part of our teaching of  21st Century Learners. Henderson, Auld and Johnson (2014) argue that there are 4 ethical dilemmas to be taken into consideration; consent, confidentiality, boundaries and recognising and responding to illicit activity. When these are broken down, it's hard not to think, "How can a teacher, teach in a 21st Century context without crossing any,  if in fact not all of them every day?" When I started back in the classroom in January this year, I knew that things had changed from when I was there 4 years earlier, however, I was unprepared for what was now required of a teacher. I was very uncomfortable with the fact that Facebook now seemed to be the norm for schools. "A great way of communicating with your families", I was told.  I was also informed that there was no set apps, blogs or form o

Activity Four - Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsibility

Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsibility in My Practise “E raka te maui, e raka to katau” A community can use all the skills of its people Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsibility is, in my opinion, all about knowing yourself, your learners and your community. In other words, it's about relationships. Russell Bishop (2012) made the comment that culturally responsive practices involve teachers creating contexts for learning that involve 'power sharing' and this can then provide a real tuakana teina action. Bishop (2012) also made mention of agentic teachers and how they alone are not sufficient to build culturally responsive pedagogy. They need huge amounts of support to become the proficient responsive teachers we need. I look at where our school, in fact our Kahui Ako, are now and note that they have identified one part of their achievement challenges to be that of "Cultural Responsive Pedagogy. That is not to say that this practice does

Activity Three - Contemporary Trends in New Zealand and Internationally

Innovative Learning Environments - Trend? Modern Learning Environments, Innovative Learning Environments, Flexible Learning Environments. All are the same thing known by a different term. I stepped out of teaching for a few years very recently and have only just re-entered a classroom. During that time I worked in a Company that promoted the set up these collaborative environments. At first, I was dubious, but after doing some reading and listening to what teachers were wanting to achieve for their students, it began to become a passion for me. I particularly loved being involved in the new builds, where I gave advice on everything, from the placement of walls (usually the outside ones), to voice reinforcement systems to technologies on their wish lists. Hence, now that I am back in a school where ILE's are just beginning to be set up, I am both excited to see them in place, but also irritated by the things that I see that haven't been taken into consideration when a wall wa

Activity Two - Socio-economic Status & Culture

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE COMMUNITY, SCHOOL CULTURE AND PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS Introduction: Stoll (1998) defines school culture as being one of the most important concepts in education. She goes on to explain that a number of factors shape the culture of the school, such as the age of the school, influences of the community (whānau included), primary/secondary differences, the social mix of the pupils and any changes that may occur in Society. Socio-Economic Status The school I am currently at is comprised of 35% Māori students, 52% European, 7% Pasifika and 6% other  Education Review Office (2016). It is a Decile 3 and draws children from  a range of Socio-economic areas. One complete area has a lot of Housing New Zealand homes with the majority of the whānau unemployed or in seasonally employment such as orchard employees. At the other end of our zone, is a band new subdivision with the majority are employed in full time positions. So we have quite a mix.  Pro