Final Reflection - where to next?

The ride on the Mindlab bus over the last 32 weeks felt more like on a roller coaster to me. There were moments of excitement as well as confusion and uneasiness, but overall the ride has been amazing and worthwhile.

Three key actions in my teaching practice have occurred as a result of the Mindlab course.

Giving things a go 

Every year I would list all the amazing things I would to try in my teaching that year and at the end of each Term that list remained mostly unticked. I just didn't have the conviction to put them into practice. Well that has changed. It started with the decision to do the Mindlab course, which I knew would be a challenge with two young children (one at primary school and the other in day care), a full time teaching load and a husband who works full time as well. That decision set the wheels moving and I haven't looked back since. Since the start of the course, I have tried out every idea I had and implemented each plan I made. Some were successes, some not, which is irrelevant. The learning that came out of them is priceless. I have realised that I cannot advice my students to "give things a go" if I can’t do the same myself.

Be the change I want to see

Change has been a part of my life for as long as I remember and so I am comfortable with change. But in a professional setting, getting on with change is sometimes difficult when you have to work alongside others who don't support the change. What I have realised in the last year is to support the change and be openly positive about it which hopefully will motivate others to follow.

Reflect and review, again and again and again....

The power of genuine reflection (and review) has been proven to me through the course. While I did practice reflecting on my teaching (in each lesson) mostly as a thought process, the value of reflecting more openly (eg - blog) has been new to me and it has made me more aware and also question my practice at more depth.

Its all connected

I have felt for a long time the need for school curriculum to do away with stand-alone subjects and instead have interdisciplinary/cross curricular teaching and learning. While the current NZC does provide these opportunities, the school structure has changed very little since I left school, making the change very difficult to achieve long term. Today's learners can access knowledge instantly, but unless they understand the processes and links between the strands of knowledge, it is of little value to them. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge with no purpose must change if we are to produce learners who are capable of making connections and understanding the world through those connections.

Considering the above mentioned points, it strongly indicates Practicing Teacher Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.

I have also made changes in my lessons to promote collaboration and discussion at all ability levels. My senior physics classes consist of highly motivated, academic students as well as those who are more hands-on and just do the bare minimum academically. I have pushed both groups into collaborating with each other using technology and digital tools to benefit from each other's strengths and also to learn how to work effectively and supportively in groups that are diverse. This aspect of my practice aligns with Practicing Teacher Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.

My next dream is to play a leading role in introducing STEM learning as a major component in the curriculum, alongside the NZC/NCEA expectations. Currently there is no real backing from the science and maths teachers to work together to promote the need for STEM education for girls. My plan is to introduce activities, sessions that introduce our students to the opportunities out there so they are better prepared to grasp them.

Crossing boundaries and creating connections

Shuichi Kato from the Ross Institute explains the importance of our students to be informed participants in solving real world problems "...Those big problems in the world we can't solve technologically. Basic solution can derive from radical change in values. So therefore education is very important to change direction. Before it will become too late".

Shuichi's words echo one of my personal beliefs about the importance of science education for all students irrespective of ability. The awareness and understanding we provide our students about real world issues that exist today will enable them to appreciate the wonder of awe of nature and its systems and respect them by having personal values that protect these systems.

My interdisciplinary goal is to incorporate the unique geographical and geological positioning of New Zealand in terms of seismic activity with learning outcomes across geology, physics, electronics, geography, mathematics, design and technology.

Late last year we received a seismometer through a project managed by the University of Auckland. The initial focus was to allow students to "see" seismic activity on a real time basis through the seismometer measurements. After considering the potential learning possibilities the project has, I have decided to develop it further as an interdisciplinary project.

My goal is to focus the project at either Year 7/8 level or Year 9, preferably Year 7/8. The reasoning being the flexibility available in their timetable and the students' existing familiarity with interdisciplinary learning.

The planning would be done collaboratively with the three core intermediate level (Year 7/8) teachers, as they teach the majority of the subjects to their Year 7/8 classes. 

The project would be aligned with the learning outcomes they aim to achieve for that specific year/Term. For example in maths, students can use their knowledge of geometry and measurement to locate the epicentre of an earthquake using the data from the seismometer. From a physics angle, students can learn about electromagnetism concepts by observing how the seismometer detects and records vibrations. They can also learn how the vibrations travel through the ground as waves and how these are used in the device to detect them. The design of the device can be used to learn about simple electronic circuits and how to design and build them. These are just a few of the many paths and aspects this context can take.

The real world relevance and the authenticity of the example to their own experience means students view the learning as being useful and important in becoming citizens who are aware of their world. The challenges faced in implementing such a context with wide ranging foci would be in the planning. Whether all of the aspects can be covered in the same cycle or not is one issue. The willingness of the other teachers to implement such a theme as another, specially is they are not familiar with some or most of the content.

Use of social networks in teaching and professional development

Social networking has been a part of my personal and professional life for the last two decades. Back then social networks were in very early stages but even then its power to connect people across locations to share ideas, opinions and generate conversations was apparent. Since moving to New Zealand and changing careers to become an educator, social media continues to be an important aspect of my online presence.

I use Facebook mainly to keep in touch with family and friends, many of whom live overseas. I have over the last 2 years also used Facebook to be connected to the developments in Physics by following the NZQA Physics page as well as some of the pages of local physics competitions. So my focus in terms of using Facebook is purely to stay informed about aspects that relate to the planning of my teaching.

In terms of social networking tools I use the most in my classroom teaching it would be TedEd, TeacherTube, PhysicsTube to be inspired, chllenged, gain ideas and resources usually but I have shared some of the resources I made for my class through TedEd. I have used Skype a few times in the past and plan to utilise it again this year to communicate with experts in fields of physics to provide guest speakers for my classes. Our school used Edmodo as our Learning Management Systems at the initial stages of trialing and since then use Schoology as our school wide LMS. While the school login is to a closed community, there are hundreds of interest groups in the wider Schoology community that provide valuable resources, discussion and inspiration for my teaching.

Melhuish, K. (2013) talks about the opportunities social networking provides members to create, share and curate the knowledge in a shared space where the members' thinking is facilitated and developed by each others' thinking. Sharples, M., de Roock, R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., ... & Weller, M. (2016) also mentions how social media brings learning to life through joining together varying times, spaces, characters and possibilities and how this supports 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication. All of these aspects are important to our learners as their learning must reflect the environment they live in for the learning to be effective. Most of the social networking tools I use relate to my role as a teacher. The level of social network involvement in my students' learning is quite minimal. While I am part of the "digital immigrant" generation, the current Year 9 group are the first batch of "digital natives" to reach secondary education in New Zealand. For this reason, having a social networking component in my students' learning has become unavoidable.

But there are some challenges. Melhuish, K.(2013) points out that the common ideals on these networks may mean there is a lack of critical voice. While they provide food for thought in terms of ideas, the depth of knowledge to be gained from them are usually superficial so is unlikely to challenge one's existing ideas or practices. And because the network revolves around how one member interacts with others, the communication could be one-dimensional rather than co-constructed. Sharples, M. et al (2016) also raises the issues of these networks providing students with inaccurate information, biased comments and even hostile responses.

Since enrolling for Mindlab, I have increased my presence on social media through the G+ community. I am aware of my activity on these sites being mostly observing and consuming rather than developing or sharing. This is an aspect I plan to work on. 

Legal and ethical context

Consider this scenario. 

Five minutes to go before the start of the lesson. A student (who is an international student at the school) arrives to class visibly upset. Other students are slowly entering the classroom. The teacher goes over to the student and inquires quietly. The student assures the teacher she is fine and is happy to stay for the lesson. Most students are unaware of the incident and the lesson commences. Ten minutes into the lesson, the upset student suddenly starts to cry. The rest of the class are surprised by the outward emotional burst. The teacher instructs the class to continue with the work and goes over to the student and has a quiet conversation with her outside the classroom and then sends the student with another to see the Homeroom teacher. Unknown to the teacher, another student video records the incident on her mobile phone. During the lesson she tries to show another student the recording and the teacher observes what is happening. She instructs the student to explain what she has done but the student refuses and persists saying she has done nothing. The teacher asks the phone to be put away for the rest of the lesson and the student complies. The lesson ends and the student leaves. One concerned student stays back to explain what occurred. The teacher is concerned the video may be shared on social media to make fun of the effected student. She is aware this is an invasion of her privacy.

What should the teacher out-to-do?

Hall, A. (2001) describes a list of 10 questions that can be used as a guide for ethical decision making. The following questions can be used by teachers to help them consider all things before deciding what should be done when they are faced with an ethical issue.

 1. What is the problem? - state it in terms of the principles and values that are the foundation of the code of ethics for teachers in New Zealand.

2. Who are the main stakeholders with interests in the problem, and what are their interests? - identify the most important parties and group them for simplicity.

3. Which stakeholder should be given priority and why? - this would usually be the student or students. But sometimes it may not be so clear if the interests of more than one group of students are involved.

4. What restrictions are there to my actions? - these could arise from laws, regulation, code of ethics, ethical principle and school policy. Some problems may have competing demands being made by several of these.

5. Which courses of action are possible? - list all possibilities but do not make any judgement about them until all options are listed. Check for any that result in the same action as another and eliminate those.

6. Can I identify precedent cases that are similar to this one? - look at similarities and differences in examples of cases that have things in common with the problem. Identify what course of action they suggest. 

7. Which courses of action are least acceptable and why? - go through the list of actions noting the restrictions posed by Question 4 and the priority given party in Question 3. Identify possible consequences of each course of action in light of these and eliminate those that are not acceptable.

8. Which course of action will I follow and why? - a preferred course of action should emerge. In order to have a short term and long term focus to the action, two or more could be combined.

9. How should the course of action be implemented? - the actual steps of carrying out the chosen course of action must be rehearsed in advance. The support of other teachers could be requested to role -play the solution if possible.

10. What does this incident teach about ethical decision-making? - at the end it is important to reflect on and review the process. The questions to ask are "what have I learned that helps me make sense of my experience and will help me make better decisions in future?" and "what does this show about me as a teacher?". 

The Ministry of Education's 2015 publication on safe and responsible use of digital technology in schools provides some advice for scenarios such as these where digital information has been recorded and stored on a smartphone. 

It states that the students in question are subject to the Privacy Act 1993. But the article states that each scenario must be assessed on a case-by-case basis as there is a range of factors to consider such as the applicable privacy principles and any exceptions to the principles or the Act itself. The general advice the document gives is to refer to the Board of Trustees' privacy policy for the school.

Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

From the readings, I understand indigenous knowledge and being culturally responsive in my practice to be where I accept and acknowledge the value of what my learners bring to the learning environment. This would include their existing knowledge, experiences, relationships and cultural identities. My practice would reflect my cultural responsiveness if I used these aspects as the foundations to build their learning upon and placed emphasis on their preferred learning styles.

Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011) discusses how recognising students as culturally located individuals in a positive student-teacher relationship benefits all students, not just those of Maori, Pasifika or Asian decent. The article also defines two types of caring, aesthetic and authentic. For my practice to include culturally responsive pedagogy, I should practice authentic caring where, I take responsibility for providing an educational environment where my student thrive. For me to show authentic caring, I need to get to know my students, collect feedback regarding teaching and learning, respecting my students's intellectual abilities and valuing the cultural identities they bring from home.

Does my school's policies show evidence of being informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy? Yes I would say there is evidence. Last year a new role of Director of International Students was created to cater to the gradually growing international student population in the school. We also have a Dean who oversees all international students. Our student leadership team includes a Community Prefect whose duties include encouraging all students engagement with our international students and celebrating the wonderful aspects of all cultures our students belong to. On a parallel to school policy, we also have annual events that give recognition to Maori culture such as the Powhiri and Hui at the start of the year. Comparing these aspects to the Mauri Model, I would say we as a school are at the stage of State of Being of Mauri Oho where out actions and expressions are proactive. There is more to be done in this area so that we exist in the Mauri Ora state.

Are my own teaching/learning activities informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy? I would say yes and no. Yes I am explicit in building strong relationships with my students. I spend considerable time at the beginning of the year to have conversations with each student so that I am aware of "their story" and through it I am able to build a picture of each of them as a unique individual/learner. Some of those interactions will be intentionally done with the rest of the class so they too gain insight into their peers. But my teaching and learning strategies do not allow for much customisation to fit with the students' cultural framework. This is an area I have identified as needing improvement. I would say in this area I am at Level 2 in the Mauri Model where my actions and expressions show proactive potential.

Contemporary issue or trend in New Zealand or internationally

The pace of technological development in the recent past has been exponential and often unpredictable. The effect this has had on education is multi fold.

OECD. (2016). TrendsShaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris; page 113. 

My interest lies in the effect the availability of digital content and resources have had on transforming how teaching and learning occurs both inside and outside the classroom. In my curriculum areas of physics, science and mathematics, the possibilities of changing the learning experience for students due to these trends is immense.

More than 50% of internet users in New Zealand shop online (OECD, 2016). And according to the same source, almost the same percentage of the population seek health information and advice online. These are some statistical evidence of the shift in confidence in device use and knowledge acquisition seen in the digital environment.

The free availability of digital information with regard to curriculum content and tools has opened many opportunities for teachers (and schools) to provide student-centred learning programs. The programs can be self-paced, interactive and personalised, which should allow for deeper understanding and shared ownership of the learning. One drawback to this would be the decrease in collaborative opportunities between students. Therefore a balance must be struck between these two aspects.

The ease with which digital information is shared and used means our students must have the skills to confidently use and contribute to this vast ocean of knowledge. With the volume of misinformation available, they must also gain the ability to critically assess the information they find, for its validity, relevance and accuracy. In order to gain these skills, students must have some content knowledge to make informed decisions, but we also need to spend more time exposing them to the tools available to gain the skills. Most teachers use ICT that lags behind the technical skills required by students to operate in the workplace. We as teachers must allocate time on a frequent basis to explore, become aware and learn to use upcoming technological tools and resources that will be valuable to our students.

The immediate availability of answers to questions has produced a student population that seldom stops to inquire anymore. From the point of view of the sciences, this is a concern. One of the key areas of science in the New Zealand Curriculum is the Nature of Science that places importance on the inquiry nature of a scientist. The ability for a student to "just Google it" has meant the many possible outcomes and related variables, etc are not considered by the student and his solution becomes extremely narrow although rich in content. The questioning nature of a scientist is crucial for scientific progress and us as science teachers must discuss and practice this in our teaching.

STEM has become a buzzword and its importance in technological and social advancement is evident. It is no longer adequate to know how to use the technology or the digital tools, the future workforce must know how to make it as well. With digital infrastructure and robotics, etc becoming integral parts of our life, skills such as programming,coding and electronics have become key skills all students must have.

The OECD report 2016 lists the following as key areas that need to be addressed;

OECD. (2016). TrendsShaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris; page 112. 

The Educational Review Office (ERO) in their study Evaluation at a Glance: Priority Learners in New Zealand Schools, 2012 has identified three key issues that are issues that hinder raising the achievement levels of priority learners in New Zealand. Two of these issues share common strands with the global trends in education I have discussed above;

Issue One - Shifting focus to student-centred learning 

                                       - Students as partners in learning

Issue Two - Knowledgeably implementing a responsive and rich curriculum

                                       - A curriculum that is based on students' strengths and interests

                                       - A responsive and inclusive curriculum

                                       - Learning that leads to deep understanding

This acknowledges the global trend and its resulting effects on education has links at a national level as well. 

Current issues in my professional context

My school is an integrated boarding and day school for girls in Years 7-13. With a school Chapel that is connected to the Anglican Diocese, it has a strong spiritual component. 

The blend of the level of education, income and occupation of the families whose daughters attend the school has defined the socioeconomic status of the school's community (American Psychological Association, 2016). From the Government's perspective, the school has a decile rating of 9, meaning statistically it is in the 10% of schools with the second lowest proportion of students from low socio-economic communities (Ministry of Education, 2017). The indicators used to define a low socio-economic community are features that very few of the families in the school would be associated with. 

The absence of these features characterises the students' families as those where the parents/caregivers have professional occupations or are owners of business entities who are well educated and have considerable earnings to support a comfortable lifestyle. Due to these aspects, the expectations of those parents in terms of the education they expect the school to provide will be high. The considerable fees paid by these families only adds to the anticipated outcome. Comparing to a non-integrated school with the same decile rating, the expectations of the quality of education provided would be the same, but without the pressure felt by the staff due to the investment made by the families.

The school promotes itself as "an innovative boarding and day school for girls that provides safe, challenging and holistic educational experiences and encourages individual excellence, citizenship, independence and global connectedness". This is the culture the school "sells" to its current and potential clients and their families. Whether the actual culture in the school mirrors this depends on the three dimensions as stated by Stoll (1998); the ways people relate to and work with each other, the school structure and the extent to which there is a learning focus for both students and teachers.

Reading through the 10 influencing cultural norms of school improvement as stated by Stoll (1998); I can recall observing all of these at some stage in my almost 7 years of teaching at the school. 

These norms exist in the school culture and both staff and students are understand their meaning. I would say 2, 4 and 7 are practiced by all staff. 

The existence of 3, 8 and 9 at a whole-staff level is questionable as some working relationships exist merely because school policies and procedures requires them to and discussions that happen during staff open forums always involve the same small number of staff who are willing to voice their views. 

I also question how many staff practice 5 and 6 because they share that belief personally and not because the school expects them to. I have observed a small group of teachers who are openly pessimistic of any change that is proposed and hold the belief they already know all there is to know. While their personal viewpoints and beliefs have no effect on my own, their openness in expressing these within the staff and the resulting effect it has on the atmosphere is worrying.

The changes that are ongoing in terms of the staffing, school structure and learning all point towards a phase that will allow the norms that are missing or minor to develop and flourish. I believe we can influence the culture in a positive way at an individual level by inspiring others to follow in the same path. How we do that does not need to be openly shared in words. It can just as strongly be conveyed through our attitude and actions.