Activity 5 Professional connection map

The coogle above shows the professional connections I have made in my teaching career.  According to Mathison and Freeman (1997p.12), ‘an interdisciplinary approach always consciously combines two or more disciplines It has clear objectives that include both critical-thinking skills and in-depth content’.  'Students and teachers' concerns and ideas, transcend the disciplines in search for coherence and meaning, and is built through daily negotiations and interactions’ (p 13).  This statement reflects my relationships with my professional connections and how at times I am teacher, and at others, student.

Choose two professional connections you have in your map.  Evaluate their impact on your practice and professional community.

NAPP PLG Group:

The impact that this group has had on my practice is large.  This group helped me to develop knowledge, insights, and a self-confidence in my strengths as a leader.  They helped me to overcome my preconceived ideas on leadership by challenging my ideas, presenting ideas from a variety of perspectives.

Within this large group four of us set up a ‘study group’ where we would meet to discuss the readings and the assignments we were required to do.  We still meet as a group where we discuss issues that come up in both professional and personal life.  As we have created an environment of trust, these people are in the true sense ‘critical friends’.

The impact the large NAPP group had on the professional community was that I was more aware of the skills of a 21^st century leader and reflected on how I was leading.  This in turn changed my professional practice, as it made me change some of my understandings and behaviours.  This change in my behaviour did not go forward in a straight line, as David Wiley (2001, April 6) spoke about; it was a ‘remix’ and ‘mashup’ of the skills I already had.

The impact of our smaller group has been one of being confident to raise concerns and ask questions knowing that I will be given professional guidance, and when discussing issues they sometimes agree with the solutions I come up with, but at other times they come up with more constructive ideas

MindLab Group:

This is the second professional connection I feel has had a great impact on my teaching practice.  The impact this group has had is that they have turned my teaching and learning pedagogy upside down.  It has made me aware how many educators are still using an industrial model in a time of rapid change, when students face uncertainty on what will confront them in the near future.

My connections with this group on a weekly basis meant we were able to discuss new ideas and provocations.  As there were teachers from different educational environments we were able to collaborate, make connections and have insights, so that we were able to integrate our perspectives into a unified framework.  This provided us with an insight on how to apply our new knowledge, so our teaching was effective in providing the tools to become 21^st learners in our learning community.

The impact this group has had on my practice is that they have made me think more deeply about, and critically reflect on, my practice and thinking.  Their combined knowledge and enthusiasm for eLearning and pedagogical knowledge on 21^st century teaching and learning has made me realise that, in small pockets of schools around Wellington, there are students who will be able to confidently take their place in the connected societies of the 21^st century.

Deneme, S. and Ada, S. (2012).  On applying the interdisciplinary approach in primary schools.  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences Volume 46, 2012Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1877042812013468/1-s2.0-S1877042812013468-main.pdf

Goldsmith, A.H., Hamilton, D., Hornsby, K. & Wells, D. (nd).  Why teach with an interdisciplinary approach?  Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/interdisciplinary/why.html

Mtison, S. & Freeman,M., (1997).,  The logic of interdisciplinary studies.  Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf

TEDx Talks (2001, April 6). TEDxBYU - David Wiley -An Interdisciplinary Path to Innovation

Images:

Blogs.ibo.org

http://library.gwu.edu/

Activity 4 Your professional community

My community

‘A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly’, (Wenger, 2007, as cited in Smith, 2009).).

Within our school there are many communities that I align with;  these are the student body, the community body and the staff body.  Then within the wider education sphere I also belong to communities of practice, such as the local assistant principal / deputy principal group, the Virtual Learning Network, the Mindlab google+ community.  In these communities of practice, I use tools such as wikis and blogs so members can create and share knowledge with each other.  As Wenger has stated, the tools are not a substitute for communities of practice, they allow people to share knowledge with each other (Underhill, 2009).

What is are the current issues in your community?  How would you or your community of practice address them?

The current issue my community is facing at the moment is the introduction of BYOD.  We have a parent group who is very vocal in showing their displeasure at our school going down this path.  We are addressing this issue by constant staff dialogue, dialogue with other schools who have been down the same path and reading articles written by ‘experts’ so that our responses have a theoretical base.  What we are endeavouring to do is to educate this parent group so they become aware that a device is just the tool we are going to use and not replace teaching.  We want our students to leave our school with the skills and knowledge needed for them to confidently take their place in the ever changing landscape of the 21^st century community.  As Bolstead et al (2012) say, without the backing of our parents our teaching and learning approaches will not shift towards 21^st century skills.

What is your specialist area of practice? How does your specialist area of practice relate to the broader professional context?

I have been the assistant principal at my school for a number of years, and curriculum and assessment are part of my responsibilities.  With these responsibilities I have lead groups of teachers to develop our school curriculum document, our school assessment procedures and teacher appraisal programme.  On reading the Wenger-Trayner article and watching the Underhill YouTube clip, I now understand that these were communities of practice, as they were groups of  professionals who came together for the purpose of working on a project.  In these groups there was new learning and knowledge sharing as we came up with new ideas.

What changes are occurring in the context of your profession?  How do you think you or your community of practice should address them?

One of the biggest issues facing teaching and learning at this time is the rapid changes in the educational landscape.  The industrial age structures and practices that are still seen in any schools are not enough to meet the learning needs for all students in the 21st century (Bolstad et al, 2012).  To address these issues we need to have open, honest dialogue with our community to explain current educational thinking and why it is important that we, as a school community, embrace them.  We also need to engage community members by drawing on their expertise as ‘communities of practice innovate and solve problems, they invent new practices, create new knowledge, define new territory and develop a collective new strategies.’ (as cited in Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015, p5).

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, G., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., Hipkins, R. (2012) Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching. Ministry of Education: New Zealand

Smith, M. K. (2003, 2009) ‘Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger and communities of practice’. Retrieved from www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm.

Underhill, B. (2009). What is a Community of Practice? Utube

Wenger-Trayner, E. & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015) Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/07-Brief-introduction-to-communities-of-practice.pdf

Activity 3 Responses to Finlay's (2008) article

What points in the article can I relate to in my practice?

Finlay (2008, p 1) outlines what a general definition of reflective practice is.  As a teacher I was always stopping and thinking about my practice, to enable me to improve the way I taught.  I drew on the ideas of my colleagues, the professional readings I did and any professional development I undertook.  By analysing my existing understandings I was able to refocus my thinking and generate new knowledge and ideas, which changed the way I did things in my class.

Dewey (1933, as cited in Ferguson 2002) believed that if teachers did not reflect, they risked basing their practice on prejudice and uninformed or outdated thinking. However, if they critically reflected on their practice this should improve, provided that they used such skills as observation and reasoning, and an open-mindedness to better ways of teaching.

There are other points in Finlay’s article that caught my attention, these being, ‘over stretched professionals are likely to find reflective practice taxing and difficult’ (p 10) and ‘when required of individuals through learning and assessment exercises, reflections can end up being superficial, strategic and guarded’ (p 14).  I do know that as a teacher in a busy classroom, and now that I am fully released assistant principal, there are times when having to reflect in writing (for example as part of teacher appraisal) is the last thing I have time for, therefore they are written with little thought and are superficial.  I am also very aware of who can see and read my reflections, and at times rewrite my reflections so they do not reflect badly on me, or I choose not to put my thoughts down.

What model would I like to adopt?

When I reflect on my practice I have never used a model but on reading Finlay’s article I note the model closest to how I reflect is the model developed by Rolfe et al.  This model is very simplistic, and after seeing the other models in the Finlay’s article I need to ensure that my reflective practice becomes more critical, as critical reflection encourages the combination of theory and practice while improving student learning and self-confidence in the classroom.

The model that I would like to use is that of Gibbs (Finlay, 2002, pg8) a model developed from David Kolb’s 4 stage learning cycle.  On looking further at Gibb’s model online, I found a slightly adapted model developed by Bulman and Schultz (cited in Lia, nd, p 2).  The adapted model is below:

This model lends itself to both reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.  It also allows you to challenge your assumptions, explore different/new ideas and approaches towards doing or thinking about your practice, promotes self-improvement by giving you the opportunity to identify your strengths and weaknesses and taking action to address, and finally, it links practice and theory by combining doing or observing with thinking or applying knowledge.

Class Notes: Week 25 - APC - Reflective Practice. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from https://app.themindlab.com/course/release/205-week-25-apc-reflective-practice

Ferguson, P. (2012). Becoming a reflective practitioner. Teaching Development Unit: Hamilton. Retrieved from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/pdf/booklets/18_ReflectivePractitioner.pdf

Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on “Reflective practice.” Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Lia, P. (nd): Using Gibbs reflective cycle in coursework. Retrieved from https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/disability/service/Using-Gibbs-Reflective-Cycle-in-Coursework.pdf

Images

epicinspirationalquotes.com

minlab course notes

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/

Activity 2 Metacognitive reflection on learning and practice

I first heard about the Mindlab through a workshop I attended as part of our communities’ tech day.  At this workshop were two teachers who were attending already and talked about their learning.  Then I went to the principal’s conference in Wellington and there was the ‘stand’.  Well, I thought, this must be a sign, so I signed up.

On attending the first session I discovered what I had signed up for, and what I thought I was going to learn, were miles apart. The assignment workload floored me.  Despite that I stayed, and found the first 16 weeks enjoyable as I was learning in a collaborative environment.  Then came the second 16 weeks, and my enthusiasm fell after the second week.  I found it hard to keep on top of the workload and I missed the collaboration with 

Which key competencies have I developed the most?

In my responses to the Mindlab survey, I did say I wanted to develop 'managing self'.  I know in terms of this course I did not achieve this.  I found the challenge of studying on top of my school responsibilities and family life overwhelming.

The key competencies that I feel I have developed the most are thinking, relating to others and participating and contributing.

Thinking:

‘Thinking is about using creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas’ (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2007).

For the last twenty-four weeks I have done nothing else but think.  I have had my ideas challenge and supported.  I have reflected critically on both what I thought I knew and what I now realise that I didn’t know.  I have asked questions as well as answered the questions of others.

Relating to others/ Participating and contributing:

Relating to others is about interacting effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts’ (MoE, 2007), ‘participating and contributing is about being actively involved in communities’ (MoE, 2007).  I see that these two key competencies go hand in I have always related to others in a face to face situation, but during my time at the Mindlab I have spread my wings and now make connections with educators out in the wider educational community through on line tools such as Twitter.  On these sites I ask questions, and respond to the posts and tweets of others.

What are two key changes in my practice?

My two key changes would have to do with understanding; using Carol Dweck’s growth mindset and understanding my leadership style.

Growth mindset:

The understanding of what is meant by the term ‘growth mindset’ and how it has a powerful consequences on student motivation and success, as it makes them much more likely to engage with learning tasks and persist despite setbacks (Farrington et al., 2012). One of the most important things we can do for students is to promote growth mindset as it fosters a sense of motivation and determination, and helps to create lifelong learners.

Leadership:

After a lot of reflection during the Mindlab course I have come to realise that my leadership style is fluid, depending on what the situation is.  I have a transactional style which in literature is described as a managerial style.  This style has its place when you have administration tasks to complete and organisational aspects tasks to be completed.  At other times I have a democratic leadership style, where staff are encouraged to contribute to the vision, goals and decisions made, to ensure we are always improving the educational outcomes of our students.

Farrington, C., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T., Johnson, D., & Beeschum, N. (2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners. The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance: A critical literature review. Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago Schools Research. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED542543.pdf

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78-90. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.libproxy.unitec.ac.nz/ps/pdfGenerator?actionCmd=DO_DOWNLOAD_DOCUMENT&inPS=true&prodId=AONE&userGroupName=per_unit&tabID=T002&docId=GALE%7CA60471886

Leithwood, K. A., & Riehl, C. (2003).What we know about successful school leadership. Philadelphia, PA: Laboratory for Student Success, Temple University. Retrived from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Pedagogy-and-assessment/Building-effective-learning-environments/What-We-Know-about-Successful-School-Leadership

Ministry of Education, 2007. The New Zealand Curriculum. Learning Media, Wellington.

Sturgess A. & Higson P. (2013) Democratic leadership style. Apex Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.defining-leadership.com/democratic-leadership-style/

The Mindlab. (2015), Key competencies response form. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UelkVV0rsoE7ZosECrQWVrC3QOs82Y3C-P766bjkTBI/edit#gid=982098410

Images:

© 2016 Awesome FREE to use Clipart and Icons

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/