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.

My Community of Practice

I belong to two communities of practice. One is the group comprised of four colleagues at school with whom I have common curriculum interests. The other is the community of physics teachers I belong to both locally and nationwide. After comparing each community against the three elements, I feel I have a more frequent and stronger role in the latter community of physics teachers. 

My teaching area at senior curriculum level is physics and therefore the ideas, developments and activities related to the subject that happens within the physics teaching community is of high relevance to my teaching. As a field of science that has frequent changes in terms of the NCEA framework as well as advancements in real world research, it is important to be aware and informed of these. Being the only senior physics teacher at my school, my connection to the physics community is of great importance.

At local level, I have close and frequent contact with physics teachers in my area. Depending on the need, we meet at school or via email. Majority of these are related to NCEA assessments but we also meet to discuss our plans with regards to Units of Work or introducing new topics, teaching and learning resources, etc.

At a national level, I engage with the wider physics teaching community through the New Zealand Institute of Physics (NZIP). By registering with the NZIP, I am included into an online physics discussion mailing list. Any questions or inquiries a physics teacher might have are shared with all those who have signed up to the list. Those who have ideas to share reply to the query which is then shared with the group. The list is also used by teachers to distribute and share resources and information about upcoming professional development opportunities. There is at least one discussion or shared resource every week, sometimes more. The NZIP holds a national annual physics conference which is attended by both secondary and tertiary teaching communities.

My connection to the local physics community is stronger than the wider NZ physics community. The physical proximity and familiarity of the other teachers in nearby schools makes interacting with them easier and I feel more confident sharing my ideas and resources with them. My role therefore at a local level would be a mix between a facilitator and an active member.

In terms of the wider physics community, I feel a strong connection to the group but I would describe myself as a cautious active member at this point. After attending the national conference a few years ago and seeing what was shared, I gained more confidence in my capabilities and ideas as a physics teacher. I have since shared my own resources with the mailing list group twice as well as posting a few questions to gain some ideas. As a result, I am now a member who has been "accepted" by the community, therefore my connectedness has increased. But I admit I need to become a more active member of the community. The richness of the discussions provide valuable words of wisdom and better ways of doing things and also provides opportunities to question my own practice and how I can develop my teaching.

This year I have set myself the goal of becoming a more active member of the physics community, which will include the NZIP forum but not limited to just that. I have made some links with physics teachers at tertiary level and have shared with them my ideas of how to incorporate their resources at secondary level. The feedback I have received has increased my confidence and I will continue to pursue those opportunities whenever possible.