Activity 1 Introduction

Ko Taranaki te maunga

Ko Waiaua te awa

Ko Kurahaupo te waka

Ko Taranaki, Te Atiawa, Ngati Ruanui, Nagtai Raukawa nga iwi

Ko Kahumate te hāpu

Ko Orimupiko te marae

Ko Vicki ahau

My name is Vicki Wilson and I am currently a fully released Assistant Principal at Paraparaumu Beach School on the Kapiti Coast.  I live with my partner Graham, my daughter Michelle and two cats Roxy and Sparky.
I love swimming and boogie boarding in the summer, paying a gym membership subscription that gets used sometimes and reading.
I have been a primary school teacher for over 25 years.  Apart from teaching on the Kapiti Coast I have also taught in Porirua East.  In my teaching career I have taught mainly in the Year 1 to Year 4 area, including being a Reading Recovery teacher, and am now teaching the Quick 60 programme.

On reflection:

As a leader I am a democratic leader.  I believe that building positive relationships with those in the school community is crucial.  I feel as a leader I show honesty, credibility, competence, and the ability to be forward looking.  These traits are extremely important to have as a leader because if the school community doesn't have faith in you as the messenger, then they definitely won’t believe the message you tell.  In saying this I see credibility as the most important; without this, it would be nearly impossible to motivate or lead your team towards a shared vision.  I’m a firm believer in what Kouzes & Posner, 2007 (as cited in Truesdell 2011) write, “do what you say you will do”.  

As a teacher I believe that learning occurs when students are actively involved in the making of meaning and knowledge, rather than just sitting and passively receiving information. My classrooms were noisy, busy places where students were working together and learning from each other so they could merge new ideas with their knowledge, hopefully seeing things from others' points of view.   I based my teaching pedagogy on the work of Les Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory, so called as in his opinion the learner must be engaged in the learning process, as learning happens with the assistance of other people.  This theory sits perfectly with the concept of ‘ako’, where the teacher is a learner, and the learner is the teacher.

As a lifelong learner I believe it’s neither too late nor too soon to learn something new.  I find I undertake extra study in areas that are meaningful to me; I’m not inclined to involve myself in learning in areas I’m neither interested in nor have any meaning or importance to my personal or teaching life.  I enjoy learning as part of a collaborative team, where new understanding of ideas is done socially; where everyone participates, freely sharing ideas, experiences and opinions so we all gain new knowledge, skills and abilities.

Social Development Theory (nd) http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html

Truesdell, C. (2011). The leadership challenge. [Review of the book The leadership challenge, J. M. Kouzes & B. Z. Posner]. National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs. Retrieved from nclp.umd.edu/resources/bookreviews/BookReview-The%20_Leadership_Challenge-Truesdell-2011.pdf

Images:

http://www.picturequotes.com/teacher-quotes

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-your-leadership-style-joan-lawrence-ross

http://buckslib.org/25-practices-foster-lifelong-learning/