Mindlab by Unitec: My Postgraduate Learning Journey

07 March 2016 (APC Week 32 - Task 10)

Putting It All Together

It's important for all of us as professional educators to both understand and evaluate our own practise. Osterman & Kottkamp (1993) offer us a useful model that links in well with the practical aspects of developing a pedgogical approach.

Figure 1: Osterman & Kottcamp (1993) - Source Article

My experiences over the course of the past 32 weeks for my Mindlab studies has certainly provided me with a greater understanding of what Teaching As Inquiry looks and feels like 'in action'. I for one now firmly believe that the professional awareness that this approach generates within us can have a positive lasting impact on how I approach my own leading and learning roles in future.

Being able to reflect on my own practise whilst  experiencing new professional experiences has been both eye opening and horizon broadening. Meeting and collaborating with educators from around the country (and even overseas) as part of my studies has been a revelation that has extended my own view of the profession well beyond geographical boundaries and current points of view. 

In a New Zealand educational context, the Ministry of Education has set criteria for practising teacher in e-learning. For the reflective purposes of this blog entry, here's some evidence  from my studies to support a few of the criteria I have met well over the past 32 weeks...

When reviewing how I have used this "Professional knowledge in practice", Criteria 7 leaps to my attention: how I "Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment". Plenty of evidence of this is freely available on our class blog and learning hub website that I have collaborated on with my colleagues. Many of the posts on this blog also demonstrate how I have been sharing what I have learned with my wider community of practise, too.

Looking at the criteria around "Professional relationships and professional values", two immediately spring to my attention as having been well met over the course of my studies, and within my teaching practise for many years now.

"Criteria 3: Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa / New Zealand." Apart from this being a strong underpinning element in several of my internally submitted essays for my recent studies, my recent blog entry on cultural inclusiveness effectively summarises my own understanding and drive to include this as part of my pedagogical and ethical approach to my leading and learning.

As a useful segue, "Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice" also leads me to the final part of this blog entry...

Where to Next?

I've long questioned the established ways of doing things, and my being open to new ways of leading and learning have been a definite asset for this course of study. It seems to me as if the opportunities are only as limited by our own individual and collective vision(s) when it comes how we might move forward from here...

My 'Big Question' for RCIP two months ago - the question now, for me is, do I limit my understanding of a Community of Learning to a geographically bounded area, as a simplistic case study that can be replicated elsewhere - or begin to consider myself a part of a global community of learning...

The academic research and case studies I've viewed fill me with a quiet optomism as to where it all may lead; and the cautionary tales and as yet under-researched areas should likely encourage each of us to look beyond traditional methodologies. There's definitely an opportunity there for me to consider studying at Masters level in future, or to at the very least encourage others to pursue this avenue.

I myself am left with a keen interest in exploring newer, more inclusive pedagogical approaches that will likely make the most of our increasingly global contexts. It's not just about hoping that innovation occurs in a timely manner and going with the proverbial flow anymore:

I firmly and passionately believe that it's vitally important for all of us as whanau  and educators alike to consider how we can  actively partcipate in changing the paradigms that we lead and learn within, as we begin to deliberately coach and mentor our students and colleagues in this new age of digital and collaborative learning...! 
 

References Cited

Osborne, M. J. (2016, 1st February). My RCIP Reflective Portfolio. [Blog Entry] Retrieved from http://postgradteacher.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/mindlab-by-unitec-my-rcip-project-plan.html on 28th March 2016. 
Osborne, M.J. (2016, 29th February). Cultural Responsiveness within a NZ Context. [Blog Entry] Retrieved from http://postgradteacher.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/mindlab-by-unitec-evaluating-my-own.html on 28th March 2016
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993) Reflective Practice for Educators. California. Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf on 28th March 2016.

Ministry of Education (NZ). Practising Teacher Criteria and e-learning. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Practising-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning on 28th March 2016

Mindlab by Unitec: Legal Contexts and Digital Identities

22 February 2016 (APC Week 30 - Activity 8)
Legal Contexts and Digital Identities

When we are in a professional role of any kind, we're likely guided or governed by a code of ethics. In New Zealand, a practising teacher must abide by the following Educational Council (2016) precepts:

"The professional interactions of teachers are governed by four fundamental principles:

• Autonomy to treat people with rights that are to be honoured and defended
• Justice to share power and prevent the abuse of power
• Responsible care to do good and minimise harm to others
• Truth to be honest with others and self." (Source)

These professional guidelines also allude to following the law and honouring the Treaty of Waitangi, the latter of which I will discuss in an upcoming blog post. 

With the use of social media being so prevalent at this time, both within and outside of the classroom, there is a need for educators to begin to understand how this new 'openess' of 'sharing' so much about ourselves can potentially compromise impact on both our professional ethics and private moral values.

The cautionary tale of the ficticious Teri Sanders in the clip below is perhaps more common than we realise - in this day and age, we've all seen 'friends' and colleagues who 'overshare' and leave us with our own ethical dilemmas.

It's likely we have all heard cases of teachers taken quietly to one side by their school principle for images of their tipsy selves or too obvious comments on social media. There's even an awareness that 'old' images or unpopular opinions shared on social media preventing people from getting jobs or losing 'tenure'. 

Where the social media behaviour has broken teaching codes of ethics in extreme ways, disciplinary action is often taken; yet, there are as of yet no specific professional teaching code of ethics for teachers at a national level in New Zealand to guide our profession.

No doubt we've all at some time or another attended staff meetings to review our school code of ethics around digital media and copyright laws at some time or another, often in response to an incident in our midst or after a particularly high profile media case...

As the technology has zoomed ahead of us, it appears to have been up to individual schools to respond to the ethical gray areas that have presented themselves.  

However, it seems timely that we all necessarily consider how our professional ethics relate to our own use of social media in our dual roles as educators and members of our communities. 

With so many schools and educators now integrating the use of social media in their ubiquitous approaches - whether it's a website, blog, Youtube, Facebook or Twitter presence, to name a few examples - we all need to recognise the ethical and legal implications for each of us in this globalised online world!

Topic: The Influence of Law and Ethics on Professional Practise
References Cited & Recommended Reading / Viewing

Cinelearning. (2014, June 7). Teacher Ethics Video - Social Media Dilemma HD. [video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w on 28th March 2016.
Chrystie. (2016, January 7). The $7,500 Blogging mistake that every blogger needs to avoid. [Blog post].
Collste, G.(2012) Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan, 19(1), 17–33.
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program.(2012) Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide.
Education Council (NZ). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certficated Teachers. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0 on 28th March 2016.
New Zealand Teachers Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file].
New Zealand Teachers Council (2012). Commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family/Whānau. [video file].
New Zealand Teachers Council. (2015). Teachers & Social Media.
Ministry of Education (2015). Digital technology- Safe and responsible use in school.

Mindlab by Unitec: My RCIP Reflective Portfolio

Topic Area: Blended Learning

“Blended Learning is any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace.”  (Quote Source: Horn and Staker, 2011)

My 'Big' Question: 

How do we best develop a culturally responsive teaching approach to Blended Learning within our Community of Learning?

Background

There is an increasing use of Social Enterprise models in providing the resourcing for the rise of Blended Learning over the past decade, particularly within K12 schools (e.g.: in the United States Australia and the UK).  In the New Zealand setting, the original Manaiakalani project has gone from one school cluster in East Tamaki created a dozen years ago, to now involve several other school clusters around New Zealand as a Blended Learning outreach .

My recent literary review around the topic of Blended Learning indicated that there was limited longitudinal research-based guidelines around what best teachers looked like and what teachers need in general practise when approaching online learning contexts. (Source: DiPietro et al 2008).

Within the New Zealand educational setting, the increased use of Blended Learning approaches indicate a growing need for formal nationwide training opportunities for teachers around the use of online learning platforms. (Source: Barbour et al 2013)

Examples of this need starting to be addressed by New Zealand tertiary providers have become evident over the past couple of years. In-service teacher training opportunities around the use of digital devices in practical learning contexts now includes Postgraduate Certification for fully registered teachers and the provision of a Digital Teacher Academy for beginner teachers.

The latter has been created in response to the efforts of the Manaiakalani Outreach project, as the process of providing affordable, reliable Blended Learning opportunities for so many schools has necessarily created longitudinal development of teacher training programs as a part of these. As these schools necessarily partake in digital learning platforms and use online mediums in a collaborative context, the process has facilitated the development and provision of training programmes for teachers and learners at an unprecedented scale. By extension, this model may then provide us with a basis for a replicable nationwide model for teaching within Blended Learning environments.

Amongst the several new Manaiakalani Outreach projects now underway around New Zealand, the Papakura Kōtuitui initiative encompasses both my own school cluster and kura (school).Whilst the outreach in the context of the Papakura cluster of schools has a three pronged approach, the educational aspect is predominantly around providing students with the devices and skills they will need to learn and grow within increasingly innovative, “Blended Learning” environments. As such, digital collaboration is the underpinning process by which their learning will be realised.

Image modified from Online Source

When reflecting on those elements that relate to both digital mediums and collaborative learning practises, over the last several years, our own kura (school’s) Community of Learning has explored how we can:

• enhance student engagement through the use of Information Technology (ICT);
• develop the skills and content knowledge required to improve learning outcomes;
• engage our educators, whanau and wider community to improve the learning outcomes for our akonga (students);
• develop learning relationships that best allow Maori to learn as Maori.

Aside from my own kura being a Primary School where three out of every four students identify as Maori, there is a wider need within our educational community to address the needs of our Maori students across the board. The New Zealand Ministry of Education guidelines found in the “Ka hikitia: accelerating success” (2013) document tell us that we must address those factors which are critical to the educational engagement of our Maori students, and by extension, their wider whanau (family groups) and learning communities.  The inference is that at all levels, Maori must be active, involved participants in their education - both as students, as parents, and as a wider community. This would better provide Maori with the sense of connectedness to their whanau and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) in a more holistic manner.

The use of an effective social enterprise model such as the one offered by  the Papakura Kōtuitui initiative may also allow our schools to “create productive partnerships with parents, whanau, hapu, iwi, communities and businesses that are focused on educational success” as is explicitly prescribed in the Ka hikitia document (MoE 2013, pp.8)

In our own school, we need to consider practices that will actually utilise models that encourage the discussion of new ideas whilst also building on the prior knowledge that students bring with them, such as those oral traditions that foster a sense of cultural identity and belonging. The concept of whanau underpins so much of what we do and relates so well to our understanding as teachers and leaders of learning. 

Relationship building is perhaps the most significant aspect, for Maori and non-Maori learners alike. A sense of mutuality, of ako (reciprocity), and of belonging all contribute to the wellbeing and desire to live and learn for all of us. This is something that the Papakura Kōtuitui approach to the wider wellbeing of our students also intends to address in the coming years.

“In our view, Mana-a-riki is possible by bringing together three things for children, and that is education, it is health, and it is homes. We’re trialling integration of strands of work, health education in homes, we’re trialling the interconnection of schools with one another, we’re trialling the interconnection between community; but the idea is that you do that all together, to get the outcome, which is the wellbeing of children, which is Mana-a-riki." ~ Rangamarie Hunia (Project Manager)

Original video source: Kōtuitui ki Papakura website

Some key discussion points to consider further (when developing our own pedagogy (practical aspects) around teaching within a Blended Learning environment):

• What does 'best practise' look like for teachers within Blended Learning environments?
• How can we be truly inclusive and build meaningful learning relationships with our students and their whanau when utilising digital learning and collaborative approaches?
• What guidelines can we develop around the use of Blended Learning that will meet the needs of all of our learners, and in particular, our Maori students?
• Can more traditional methods of Maori learning / achieving as Maori be adapted to compliment and enhance student's Blended Learning experiences in the current day?
• What benefits can our learners gain from incorporating aspects of Kaupapa Maori to our Blended Learning approaches?

Follow Up Prompt: Looking at the above, where I might go next in regards to a quantifiable / qualitative question / series of questions that might be allow me to observe and reflect on over the next couple of months in my teaching practise?

A recent snapshot of our school website.

REFERENCES CITED

Barbour, M. and Bennett, C. (2013) “The FarNet journey: Effective teaching strategies for engaging Māori students on the Virtual Learning Network” Education Faculty Publications. Paper 69.

DiPietro, M., Ferdig, R.E., Black, E.W., and Preston, M. (2008) “Best practices in teaching K-12 online: Lessons learned from Michigan Virtual School teachers.” Reprinted from Volume 7, Issue 1: Journal of Interactive Online Learning. 

Horn, M.B., and Staker. H. (2011) “The Rise of K–12 Blended Learning” Innosight Institute, January 2011.

Ministry of Education (2007) “The New Zealand Curriculum” online, as published by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Education (2013) “Ka Hikitia: Accelerating Success 2013-2017”, published by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

A snapshot of our school's overall ethnic composition

Professional Learning and Develoment : SOLO Taxonomy

What is SOLO Taxonomy?
"Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes" - Links into Blooms, with the pedagogy extending student's critical thinking skills.

Click on image for larger viewable size. Source: http://www.educatorstechnology.com

Discussion Points:

• What is constructivism?
• What are the five levels of SOLO?
• How can this link to practise in the classroom? 

Reading: "What is Constructivism?"
Comments:

• It's a great article - allows us to make links to our own prior knowledge, constructivism;
• We often need to adopt different roles within the classroom;
• A way to engage our students/community of learning and have a clear understanding of where we're going!
• We know the difference between LI and SCs, the importance of talkalouds, modelling books etc-
• We're digging deeper - recognising that our children need to develop their critical thinking skills;
• Takes Blooms Taxonomy to the next level -
• Learners co-construct their knowledge - if we don't have a 'hook' for something to link it into, the knowledge falls away...
• Thinking critically - do I need to change my view / understanding? Is this information relevant? 
• Learn Create Share links to second paragraph - along with formative practise, knowing you students well. Might look at this as a spiral, also (i.e.: Spiral of Inquiry);
• In closing, the article notes "constructivism taps into and triggers the student's innate curiosity about the world and how things work. Students do not reinvent the wheel but, rather, attempt to understand how it turns, how it functions. They become engaged by applying their existing knowledge and real-world experience, learning to hypothesize, testing their theories, and ultimately drawing conclusions from their findings."

Resource Used

Introducing SOLO Taxonomy 
(article cited from Pam Hook's book as per image above, published by Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd, 2011, pp. 5-6)

Next steps: trial this instructional approach in your classroom - through Inquiry / Literature, and including the use of SOLO hand signals across the school. Will arrange to have visual cue cards / laminated in folders to begin to introduce these - to begin to help our students to express where they are at with their learning

Key for the five SOLO levels (Pam Hook 2011, pp.3-4). The first is emergent, the next two are quantitiative, with the final two being qualitative i.e.: as students move from learning, through researching/knowing to deeper 'critical thinking' along the continuum.

PLD Activity: Discussion of "George" Case Study, to help us understand what each of the five SOLO levels looks like for our learners.

Resource used: "A Children's Guide to SOLO Taxonomy: Five Easy Steps to Deep Learning" by Pam Hook, 2011.

Other Recommended Readings (Online Source)
"Where To Next When Introducing SOLO Taxonomy and Hot Maps"

Digital Citizenship: Professional Networking Conversations Online

#edchatnz @NZMindlab - Your thoughts on this? "Shifting From Pedagogy To Heutagogy In Education" https://t.co/KQy4QITFbz via @teachthought

— Marla Jane (@Marla_jane_nz) January 4, 2016

#edchatnz @MindlabNZ Blended Learning: Resource Roundup @ashtcronin https://t.co/CE5LCboKZf

— Marla Jane (@Marla_jane_nz) December 28, 2015

Source: Facebook - Closed Group

You Can Now Compose Google Docs With Your Voice https://t.co/EdwJFnf92y via @thegooglegooru

— Marla Jane (@Marla_jane_nz) November 28, 2015

#edchatnz Shifting into 21stC Learning @NZMindlab ? See "The Definition Of Heutagogy & Self-Determined Learning" https://t.co/fVDGHtp6kj

— Marla Jane (@Marla_jane_nz) November 24, 2015