Activity 8: Critically discuss the changes in practice - Week 32

Well, here it is. The final blog on this roller-coaster journey that has been Mindlab. I must admit, the learning journey that I have embarked on over the past 32 weeks has taken me way out of my comfort zone and challenged me to alter my views and stretched my mind to new thinking. I naïvely believed as a professional educator that the challenge of new learning and doing assignments would be a breeze. How wrong was I! Some of the assignments were extremely challenging particularly for those of us who hadn’t studied for a number of years and doing this all the while working full time has been taxing to say the least. On reflection, participating in the course had a profound effect my thinking toward the students I teach. Working alongside others in a community of practice reminded me of how it must feel for some our students when the tasks we set are challenging.  I, like many others on the course I guess, was most happy to have the collaborative support from the wide range of awesome teaching colleagues I had the privilege to meet and reflect with both in classes and online.

At the beginning of our momentous journey I wasn’t really too sure what we were getting into. Over the ensuing weeks I learnt a great deal about 21^st century learning skills and leadership styles and theories however, I expected the course contain more digital content that I might have taken back to the classroom to use in practical ways. This has been the case to some degree but I have also thoroughly enjoyed developing my skills and a reflective practitioner. Reflective practice is viewed as a means by which practitioners can develop a greater level of self-awareness about the nature and impact of their performance, an awareness that creates opportunities for professional growth and development (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993). I think as teachers we are constantly reflecting – trying to refine and improve what we do. Being an online blogger (something I had been adverse to prior to the course) has given me fuel to further hone my reflective skills. Using these in practical situations when reviewing weekly readings, blog posts from other Mindlabbers and research material for assignments has also had a flow-on affect where I am now thinking more about how I might apply professional practice. This course has required me to take a critical look at my teaching practice and take heed of Osterman & Kottkamp’s (1993) above statement around how I might create further opportunities for my own self-growth.

I have identified two key changes in my own research informed practice and these refer to the following Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC):

PTC 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice (Ministry of Education, n.d.).

This has been significantly demonstrated with participation in this Mindlab course. I believe I am by far more critically reflective and through networking through social media platforms am able to seek out the skills and expertise of like-minded colleagues more efficiently now. I recognise that I myself am a learner and as such, do not hold all of the answers. Through participation in Mindlab I have become exposed to elements of best practice such as including evidence based research to inform my practice or using an interdisciplinary approach to not only improving and further developing my own professional practice but also in the teaching and learning experiences and opportunities that may be created with the students in my class.

PTC 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment (Ministry of Education, n.d.).

Of all the 21^st Century Learning Skills (ITL Research, 2012) we studied during the Mindlab course, the one that resonated most with me was that of collaboration. This works hand in hand with creating an inclusive learning environment for all students. Collaboration is a skill we need to teach our young students for them to be equipped for an unknown future. As teachers it is imperative that we nurture a culture of divergent thinking and encourage students to be choice makers. At our school we currently use a variety of collaborative classroom methods and devices daily, the ways and purposes vary greatly and are usually separate from each other. One of the most effective examples of collaboration we are employing is that of Play Based Learning in the junior school. This encourages students to develop team work, the flow of ideas, shared responsibility as well as individual strengths and skills, all amalgamating in a successful outcome. While we have moved to improve the efficiency of collaboration in teaching and learning albeit through small steps there is still plenty of room for movement. This is area of my practice I look forward to developing further with a new level of eager learners next year.

So where to now? I have never been much of a blogger and only very occasionally submit public posts on any form of social media, but I have enjoyed the experience of sharing my thoughts and ideas with like-minded others and it has been a great way for me to reflect on my practice while researching and writing. With this in mind, I think I might delve deeper into blogging as it might be a great way to introduce my learners to the concept of an interdisciplinary approach themselves as well as an ideal way to keep a reflective journal of my teaching practice for future reference. I also have a deep interest in the potential of gamification and how it might be used to motivate and engage my students more effectively. I intend to further research this and develop my pedagogy and understanding of gamification so as to provide opportunities and experiences for my students where the benefits are that they can feel empowered to achieve their potential.

That is that, time to bid adieu!

References

ITL Research. (2012) 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from http://www.kasc.net/2010/21CLD%20Learning%20Activity%20Rubrics%202012.pdf

Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Practising-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning

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

Activity 7: Interdisciplinary Connections in Practice - Week 31

When I look at my interdisciplinary map two things appear clear to me. The first being that the connections are all intertwined and linked with each other in some way or another and the second, that our school has an impressive amount of support surrounding it. The experiences I have had through these connections have also all made a direct impact on who I am as a teacher and a person in general and the expertise that I bring to my teaching practice. Each of my intertwined connections serve a different purpose while all working toward the common goal of teaching and learning. This is by no means a new idea and as professional educators we will need to continue to collaborate with other people and groups who can provide access to specific kinds of expertise, knowledge, or learning opportunities (Ministry of Education, 2012).

Andrews (1990) defines interdisciplinary collaboration as occurring “when different professionals, possessing unique knowledge, skills, organizational perspectives, and personal attributes, engage in coordinated problem solving for a common purpose” (cited in Berg-Weger &. Schneider, 1998). As a primary school teacher I feel we have a good grasp on the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning as we are already teaching a number of different areas of the curriculum on a daily basis and attempting to integrate these as best we can while working collaboratively and supporting each other in the process. As a community of practice our school has a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise which we can draw from and we regularly utilise these aspects in collaborative planning particularly with units in inquiry learning. This aligns with the ideas of Lipson, Valencia, Wixson, & Peters (1993) where they suggest that the most frequent method of implementing integrated, interdisciplinary instruction is the thematic unit, which a common theme is developed and addressed in more than one content area (as cited in Barton and Smith, 2000).

The connection from my map that I have identified as my future goal is to further the use of online social media platforms in order to help and support my professional development. The Ross Spiral Curriculum is a prime example of how interdisciplinary connections work effectively in education. In the video clip in the class notes this week, they state that we are now ‘in a globalised society, everything is integrated throughout the world and you cannot just learn about one subject by itself' (Ross Institute, 2015). This has caused me to reflect on my current practice and to consider making changes to integrate more of an interdisciplinary approach to my teaching and learning. Collaborating with like-minded teaching professionals who have similar goals to mine or have expertise in implementing an interdisciplinary curriculum in a classroom context would prove to be beneficial to not only my own growth but that of my learners also. The prospect of being interconnected through different forms of social media to draw on expertise not only locally but from around the world has massive appeal to me. Educators and partners from the wider community need…to talk and listen to each other – across professional and/or cultural boundaries (Ministry of Education, 2012).

This goal has been partially achieved already through the awesome networking connections I have made through Mindlab this year. I want this to continue and grow on a larger scale – to have that rapport with learning communities across the globe where not only can I share and learn from the experiences and expertise of others, so can the students in my class. Online social media platforms have the potential to provide a wealth of resources for teaching and learning and at the completion of the Mindlab course I want to use the ‘free time’ I have to develop a better understanding of the dynamics of interdisciplinary approaches to the curriculum and then implement them into my classroom. Jones (2010) suggests that interdisciplinary techniques are not only important for a student to learn any one single discipline or problem solve in a synthesized manner, but it also enriches a student’s lifelong learning habits, academic skills, and personal growth. 

As I mentioned earlier, to make learning authentic for our students, we have been slowly implementing integrated learning experiences in the primary school curriculum over a period of time to some effect. I have found in the past that this works particularly well with Year 2 students as it keeps them focused and engaged. I believe with the ongoing implementation of digital technologies this will continue and make the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning commonplace.

References

Barton, K.C. & Smith, L.A. (2000). Themes or motifs? Aiming for coherence through interdisciplinary outlines. Reading Teacher, 54(1), 54. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unitec.ac.nz/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=2864f69d-c9d2-47ff-8635-845b5ea58aba%40sessionmgr4009

Berg-Weger, M., &. Schneider, F. D. (1998). Interdisciplinary collaboration in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 34, 97-107.

Jones, C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved from: http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai

Ministry of Education (2012). New Zealand Curriculum Update: Future Oriented Teaching and Learning. Education Gazette. Retrieved from: https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Updates/Issue-26-October-2012/Future-oriented-views-of-knowledge-and-learning

Ross Institute. (2015, July 5). Ross Spiral Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science. [video file]. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZhkB0FJik

Activity 6: Using Social Online Networks in Teaching or Professional Development - Week 30

Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration (Rouse, 2013).

I, like millions of others, use social media on a daily basis as I find it the perfect portal in which to remain in a state of instant connectedness with family, friends and a wider community. No matter how you look at it, social media has become both an integral and influential aspect of our daily lives. With the advent of a myriad of portable fast and reliable digital devices we now have the ability to share anything, anytime, anywhere we want to. Software developers are constantly introducing a range of innovative social networking apps that allow users with similar interests, backgrounds and real-life connections to build and nourish connected online communities.

Sharples et al. (2016) suggest that social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can promote a sound sense of connectedness for educators through the sharing of resources and encourage communication between whanau and students due to the collaboration and creativity that online social networks allow. In the past, I have considered myself to be a proficient online communicator and when I sit down and reflect on how I use social media to enhance my professional development, I actually do participate and use it often. With this in mind, my community of practice has grown exponentially predominantly due to being part of the Mindlab course. I have been introduced to a range of new teaching and learning opportunities that have been influenced through interaction with online communities.

When it comes to using social media within my teaching practice, I believe it is far more limited (but getting better). I use social media as a way to gather information and resources, from sites such as Teacherspayteachers to access resources and assist my planning and teaching. Within this site there is a vast range of educational resources available for users to download. These resources are created and posted by teachers all around the world and anyone can submit a creation. I have downloaded a few but am yet to post any of my own. I do however, share digital copies of these resources with others in my community of practice by uploading them to Google Docs for future access. Dwyer et al. (2009) state that this is an example of one person producing something of interest that is then accessed by another person, as enabled by the socio-technical network (as cited in Melhuish, 2013).

There are a number of other social media platforms I use or have used in the recent past to support and engage in Professional Development. I am an avid user of Facebook and belong to a number of educational including NZ Teachers (primary), Google Apps NZ Primary, ILE and Collaborative Teaching NZ and Longworth Education (play based learning). Due to the influence of Mindlab, I now regularly use and contribute to a number of Google+ communities, maintain my first ever blog on Blogger and have become more of a contributor rather than merely a participator on Twitter. Within our community of practice at school we collaborate with each other using Google Drive to share files and documents, Youtube, Class Dojo, Seesaw, eTap and Reading Eggs.

Social networking is imperative for us as educators to stay connected with each other. For us to evolve as teachers it is important that we create social networks that allow us to communicate with others from a multitude of backgrounds. This collaboration and support through participation in online communities has the ability to enable us to be part of a transformative and powerful movement. (Office of Ed Tech, 2013). Social networking as part of our professional development has some clear advantages. This has been highlighted during our Mindlab course with the ability to participate in activities such as we are doing now with blogging and also having the opportunity to access informative webinars at our discretion. Ultimately this is a form of teacher agency. We know that effective adult learning hinges upon the extent to which learners have agency over the process and that self-driven learning is vital for sustainable learning, and increasingly this may be facilitated flexibly using online technologies. (Melhuish, 2013).

  

References

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved From http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Vd4JP_DB8

Rouse, M. (2013). Social Media. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-media

Sharples, M., de Roock , R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi,C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf

Solis, B. (2016). The Conversation Prism. Retrieved from https://conversationprism.com/

I

Activity 5: Influence of Law and Ethics - Week 29

In today’s modern society we are immersed in a vast variety of digital devices that enable us to stay interconnected with each other in an instant. Developers of software have exploited this innovation and cleverly drawn the majority of us into the alluring world of social media. Apps such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and so forth have become the norm in our everyday lives. However, these forms of instant connectedness have also led us to become less cautious of what we share with each other and made it far too easy leave online posts that we might later regret. We see in the media far too often real-life examples of teachers making these regrettable decisions that ultimately cost them dearly.

Most teachers at our school have a Facebook profile and many use them to follow their friends and keep people in the loop. This is such a great tool for keeping up to date with each other! As teaching is such a social profession, we often find parents wanting to become ‘friends’ with us as relationships with each other progress through the year. This is fine if we are vigilant and take extreme care not to post information that might be construed as subjective to others as although we have only befriended the odd parent here and there, everything we post on social media has the potential to reach the masses. “When social media is involved, available guidelines for our moral deliberation can be unclear, such as: who are participants, whose data is it, what is private, and what are the consequences for now and in the future” (Henderson, Auld & Johnson, 2014).

In this digital age we are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas around the use of information we share as a school. Often when parents and whanau enroll their children into our school they are given the opportunity to have a say in whether they want their child’s photo to be published on to social media or not for one reason or another. This is a prime example of maintaining that ethical vigilance as we have had cases in the past where this information has been inadvertently uploaded and caused a furore when noticed by parents, whanau or their friends. To combat this, our school Facebook page is stringently administered by only one person and the content is limited to school notices, events and messages with any photos of students being carefully vetted before posting.

The New Zealand Education Councils Code of Professional Responsibility Standards, Nga Tikanga Matatika Nga Paerewa applies to New Zealand registered teachers all the time including when using social media. The Code of Professional Responsibility Standards states that teachers have a commitment to maintaining public trust in the teaching profession by demonstrating a high standard of professional behaviour and integrity (Education Council, 2017). When taking this in account it is obvious that we are fastidious in maintaing ethical behaviour when sharing appropriate information on social media sites. The fact that teachers unavoidably act as moral educators themselves (Howe, 1986) makes in especially impelling for them to conduct their affairs ethically and be held publically accountable for their actions (cited in Hall, 2001).

There are many challenges schools are facing with the increased access and integration of digital technologies into daily programmes. These challenges are very real and present a dilemma to schools seeking to enhance student learning (Ministry of Education, 2015). With this in mind, I believe as a school we are well on the way to effectively using digital technologies when communicating with whanau and our wider community. We regulary use Seesaw to share examples of student work and achievements but I think we still have some way to go before we could consider using social media to promote student learning. This is a difficult issue as, used skillfully and ethically, social media has the potential to develop and strengthen partnerships between the child, whanau and the teacher.    

References

Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards: Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession. Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

Hall, A. (2001) What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers

Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved from: http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf

Ministry of Education. (2015). Digital technology - Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf

Activity 4: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness in my practice - Week 28

“Culturally responsive teaching is defined as using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively.” (Gay, 2001, page 106).

My own understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness can be simply put as developing a deeper understanding of different people’s backgrounds and beliefs while accepting and respecting them for who they are and embracing what they have to offer. Gay (2010) defines culturally responsive pedagogy as teaching ‘to and through [students’] personal and cultural strengths, their intellectual capabilities, and their prior accomplishments’ (p. 26) and as premised on ‘close interactions among ethnic identity, cultural background, and student achievement’ (p. 27) (as cited in Savage et al, 2011). Essentially this means that as teachers, we need to embrace the everyday cultural experiences of our students and develop learning contexts that acknowledge and respect the diverse ways in which different cultures view life.  

In the junior school where I teach, we place strong emphasis on building on the prior knowledge and experiences that students already have with appropriate learning activities that help to naturally develop a sense of belonging with our students and in turn strengthen both our class and the school culture. Bishop (2012) in his Edtalk video reinforces this by suggesting that teachers whose pedagogy is culturally responsive challenge deficit learning theories and through having agentic thinking these teachers have the skills and knowledge to support and foster the learning and engagement of all of their students in order for them to achieve to the best of their potential.

Communication with whanau and the wider community is an area which our school has strongly emphasised as an integral part of our school culture. This communication allows for more open and robust relationships with whanau and in turn incorporates aspects of Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga into our school. Whanau engagement within the school is encouraged through an ‘open door policy’. We have an up to date school website that provides whanau with a myriad of school related information as well as student learning through e-portfolios. This is complemented by utilising the power of social media with our school Facebook page where whanau are able to access information regarding school notices, activities and events. Students regularly share their learning experiences and achievement through Seesaw and we have found that whanau enjoy having the ability to give instant feedback to their children through their mobile devices. Furthermore, whanau are encouraged to come into the school at regular times throughout the year to participate in learning celebrations, our annual hangi, meet the teacher events, school assemblies, sports events, class trips and a powhiri each term to welcome new students and whanau into our learning community. This fosters a sense of community to be built that includes all stakeholders and is really appreciated by whanau.

I believe that this places our school at Pohatu’s (2011) state of Mauri Oho and moving into Mauri Ora in his Mauri model. The school maintains sound methods of communication with whanau but still strives to be proactive in finding ways in which we can collaborate more effectively in a partnership with whanau.

An aspect that I believe we still need to continue to work on in our school is that of Te Reo resources for classroom teachers. This does not simply mean worksheets, waiata or books but more professional development and support for teachers. Bishop (2012) suggests that it is the teachers that make a huge difference for our Maori students however, there needs to be tremendous support around the school with time and energy along with highly qualified and proficient professional development provided for teachers. While many of our teachers have participated in the He Papa Tikanga course run by Te Wananga o Aotearoa and have made huge progress in the delivery of Te Reo Maori, more ‘in-house’ professional development is an aspect I feel could be greatly beneficial to both teachers and learners.

References

Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

Gay,G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.

Potahu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking Human Wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/indes.php/MR/articale/viewFile/380/68

Savage, C., Hindleb, R., Meyerc, L., Hyndsa, A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198.

Activity 3: Contemporary Trends in New Zealand or internationally – Week 27

Critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives;

Our world and more to the point – the world of our learners, is a rapidly changing and evolving entity that is heavily influenced and guided by trends and developments at both a local and global level. Trends seem to be aspects of education that we need to be developing over a period of time. Networked communities, equitable access and digital fluency are aspects in education that can't be fixed overnight. They need time, strategies and problem-solving to find the best solutions that help each individual school develop stronger awareness around these issues. Visser and Gagnon (2005) suggest that a ‘trend’ is something that refers to the statistically observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser & Gagnon, 2005; Karataş et al,2016).

                                 

Each year Core Education work to identify the various trends and influences that they see impacting on education in New Zealand for the upcoming year. This year they have identified the fact that we are experiencing exponential change in every sphere of their model. They believe that the traditional approaches to coping with and responding to change do not sufficiently meet the demands of such exponential change, and thus the trends identified will require new ways of thinking about and responding to change. They also identify the concept of digital disruption, which emphasises the ways that digital technologies are disrupting rather than simply augmenting or adding to what we currently do. Together, these things are driving the transformation that is occurring in all facets of our lives — including education (Core Education, 2017).

The US National Intelligence Council (2017) states that technological innovation accelerates progress but leads to discontinuities. Advances in technologies have the potential to enhance education by providing a raft of new and exciting opportunities for both educators and students alike. The pace of change driven by new technologies and technological advances looks set to continue and even accelerate, meaning that existing skills in the teaching workforce will need to be frequently upgraded (Core Education, 2017). When we stop to consider the changes it has made in the past few years alone we are only able to guess what both ourselves as teachers and our current students are going to be immersed in the near future. I think we are at a point in time where we are ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ and with emerging technologies being vastly different to what we have experienced in the past, we as teachers will be required to find new ways to adapt to digital change in more sustainable ways (Core Education, 2017).

Games and gamification are integral aspects of future education. They have the potential to motivate and engage our students through solving problems using facts and information available to them through game-based learning. We have all used methods of gamification in our classes at some stage be it giving points for rewards or simply to modify behaviour in some way. The technological use of gamification however, is rapidly gaining momentum both in education and in the commercial sector and this is a trend that has the potential to revolutionise education.

So far it has been an interesting journey at our school. We regularly use gamification throughout the day with such things as devised points systems, Class dojo, and Kahoots with our children. Some staff have been able to tap into some of these gamification areas such as Minecraft to capture not only their skills but their creativity. As a staff we have begun to develop authentic and meaningful contexts from which they can apply their skills and that’s exciting for everyone. The thing we need to be aware of however, is that in implementing gamification into our teaching and learning, we need to keep focusing on maintaining these meaningful and authentic learning contexts and not simply using technology merely as a more creative way of providing information to our learners.

References

Core Education. (2017). Ten Trends - 2017. Retrieved from http://core-ed.org/assets/PDFs/Ten-Trends-6July2017.pdf

Karataş, S., et al. (2016). A Trend Analysis of Mobile Learning. In D. Parsons (Ed.) Mobile and Blended Learning Innovations for Improved Learning Outcomes(pp. 248-276). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf

Visser, L., & Gagnon, K. (2005). Defining “Trends” and “Issues” in Distance Education. Conversation with Donald Paul Ely Y. Visser, L. Visser, M. Simonson & R. Amirault (Eds. de la serie), Trends and Issues in Distance Education. International Perspectives, pp.83-89.

Activity 2: Current Issues in my Professional Context - Week 26

I teach at Taupo Primary School which is a State Integrated School for Year 1 to 6 students. We have a proud history and hold the mantle of being the oldest school in Taupo first opening in 1894 and still on its original site. We even have the original building onsite although this is no longer used as a classroom.  The school has a decile rating of 5 and has held this rating for a number of years. The roll is capped at 500 as we have a limited footprint in area and are restricted as to the number of buildings we can accommodate. As a result of increasing role size, the school introduced a zoning system approximately three years ago and this has since been amended once again in an effort to reduce our catchment area. We have many enrolment applications than are impossible to take which is in itself incredibly frustrating for whanau who live nearby but are in effect out of our school zone due to our central location within the town and the proximity of other nearby schools. Another issue the school has is the transient nature of some families within the community. Factors that influence this may be due employment opportunities, lack of affordable accommodation or changes in family circumstances.

Our school has a diverse range of families at both ends of the spectrum and like many social communities, it is made up of a variety of communities of people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, status in society, and experiences. In my opinion this range of cultural diversity is essential in encouraging our learning community as well as our wider community to value what each other have to offer. Diversity leads to a deeper understanding and respect of each other’s cultures. This fits in nicely with our school values and vision. Our values focus on respect while our vision is that of ‘Hooked on Learning’.

Stoll (1998) defines school culture along three dimensions, the relationship among its members; the organisational structure including the physical environment and management system; and the learning nature. She suggests that some internal and external factors that shape a school's culture include the school's history, the students' socio-economic background, external contexts such as national educational policies, and societal changes (Stoll, 1998).

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the socioeconomic status of a family is “a combination of education, income and occupation” (APA, 2016). The socioeconomic status of a community reflects the collective background of the families residing there. “Children from low SES families tend to have significantly lower levels of school success in terms of academic achievement than children from middle and high SES families” (Ball 2000, as cited in Thrupp, 2006, p.2).  Salvatore Gargiulo (2014) illuminates the issue of child poverty in NZ in his report.  The sobering statistic is, a quarter of children living in New Zealand lives in poverty and most will remain there permanently. Reflecting on this, it is difficult to know if these statistic tell the true story of the students at our school. Regardless, it is important to understand and consider some of the issues facing our students and their families and the effect these may or may not have in terms of their education.

The school is a welcoming community with a friendly environment. Relievers often comment on how warm and easy going the staff are and most of them seem to enjoy their teaching experiences. We endeavour to accommodate a sense of cultural respect and diversity through providing opportunities for whanau to embrace our school community with such initiatives as an ‘open door policy’, whanau hui, regular powhiri to welcome new students, meet the teacher picnics and student led conferences. We maintain constant and regular contact with our community through platforms such as Seesaw and Class Dojo. In return our community shows support for the school and its tamariki with huge support for kapa haka, sports days, class trips and a myriad of other necessary fund raising events.

Real improvement cannot come from anywhere other than within schools themselves and 'within' is a complex web of values and beliefs, norms, social and power relationships and emotions (Stoll, 1998). Our school is a constantly changing beast. We have numerous challenges on a daily basis. What do we do? We take them in our stride! New ILE's, rapidly advancing and ever changing digital technologies, and constant changes to learning and professional development mean we have to constantly rethink our pedagogies. All of these influences into our daily teaching make life interesting. We work hard to do the best for our students and this can lead to increasingly stressed and exhausted staff. We are extremely fortunate to have a Community of Practice that is amazing in every sense of the word! 

References

APA. (2016). Education and Socioeconomic Status. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education.aspx

Gargiulo, S. (2014). Principal sabbatical report. Retrieved http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Principals-sabbatical-reports/Report-archives-for-2007-2015/Secondary-award-recipients-2014#G

OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing, Paris.DOI. Retrieved from http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2015_eag-2015-en

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