Teaching students to become reflective

Today I read a blog by Simon Scott who reflected on the impact sharing had on young people and how sharing learning made a difference in writing. I enjoyed the post as he talked about 3 different steps to writing a thoughtful, positive and helpful comment on someone else's blog. If the children could follow the template then it stopped them from writing basic comments like "good work" "nice writing" to a more in depth and thought provoking comment. I like this strategy as it is teaching students to look more in depth as to what has been done well and what they then could do later. I would like to trial this into my learning space as not just a way for students to comment on learning but ways to give feedback and feed forward after their writing. 

The Acceleration of sharing

Sharing has changed significantly in the last 100 years. With sharing changing from speaking on phones and searching through google. To now in the last 10 years instagram, twitter, snapchat and iphones creating new ways to share and be involved in online learning.

In my role the change in sharing has made communicating with whanau and other schools more accessible. It has given me the opportunity to make connections through different media that whanau use and is easiest for them.

From having a outreach facilitator I have learnt some new learning around explain everything and blogging. It has been useful when sharing with my students as it is easy for them to use aswell.

Reflection and Evidence

Professional learning
Use inquiry, collaborative problem solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners.

Chosen evidence: Literacy and etap Leadership overview

One piece of evidence that I feel strongly relates to one of the Standards is my leadership overview. This year I have taken up a leadership role of leading literacy, etap and sharing my findings and data to the staff and BOT. I was required to prepare for staff meetings and lead teachers through PACT, PAT, Writing AsTtle and assist where needed when they needed help with any of these areas. From being a leader around this area for the 3 terms I have become more confident in front of the staff and I believe because our staff is so approachable and positive this has made presenting and teaching/learning with them easier for me.

I found that I have learnt a great deal from having this leadership role as many of the areas like PACT, PAT and AsTTle I needed to teach myself and find ways around problems that arise. One instance was when I was required to transfer the data from etap on AsTtle. I really had no idea where to start and my first instinct was to ring Elise and get her to tell me or even do it for me. But I decided that as it was now my role, I stepped up and began to problem solve around this. Etap communications I have realised are very fast at replying to any questions and instantly helped me solve this dilemma.

Literacy data has been very exciting to plot and track as I have gone in depth with what different aspects are required and this has made my teaching more meaningful. I found it very interesting to be able to track our target students and look at their progress throughout the year.

Along with teaching and being in charge of literacy I also decided to take up a Mindlab course around digital and collaborative learning. Initially I really enjoyed this course as it was about ICT and different ways of using it in your teaching. But because of the high workload a teacher has, I was ready to complete this course as it was no longer something that I enjoyed. Although I did not feel like I enjoyed it as much as others I still do feel that I learnt a great deal from it. Learning different styles of leadership and collaboration also helped when I was required to present data to the staff.

Kapa Haka

Kapa Haka
In our school all of the teachers are required to be in charge of an area of leadership around the school. As Kapa Haka has become such a big area our lead teacher needs another teacher to help with managing juniors and seniors. We have decided as a staff that each term a different teacher can take up this job to help out and also learn the songs, movements and help to improve general Te Reo Maori knowledge.
I feel that this will help me with my standard around Te Tiriti o Waitangi and help me in getting some more evidence around these areas

• Understand and recognise the unique status of tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Understand and acknowledge the histories, heritages, languages and cultures of partners to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
• Practise and develop the use of te reo and tikanga Māori.

Leadership around literacy

Today I presented our literacy data to our staff. The data showed great comparisons around our schools writing data from the start of Term 1 to the end of Term 2. This data showed that for our Year 3 and Year 7 targets they had made a great shift in both their spelling and structure of their writing.
It was good to present this data to the staff first before the board of trustees next week as it is great for us as a staff to see our students progress and what we need to work on next.

It was also a good time for the staff to discuss and talk about any questions they had around the data and the students that needed some extra help. I was there to explain the data and answer any questions or confusions that will be asked. Next week I will be presenting this information to the BOT and hopefully they will be impressed as we were with the data from today.

Celebrating Matariki

We had Paulette and Wiremu come into our classroom to share some Te Reo instruments and traditional objects that make sounds. Our class loved this as they were exposed to something new that they had never seen before. It was great for the students to look into the objects and learn how they make sounds. We even had to listen carefully to hear the pronunciation of the words and how we could say them.
After they had left we wrote down the different objects we enjoyed and discussed their heritages. The standard Te Tiriti O Waitangi Partnership is to understand and acknowledge the histories, heritages, languages and cultures of partners to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I feel like this activity hugely impacted on this standard and the students loved it.

Creative opportunities

As it is the last week of school as a class we decided to make something creative this week!! They love science and authentic learning so tomorrow we are going to create slime which will show us the difference between liquids and solids.

This activity will hopefully be a success and relate towards creating authentic learning experiences for students. Buddying up students will hopefully help the students that struggle to also be successful. 

Week 32- Reflective Practice

This week I am going to reflect on a key change in my reflective practice. I have learnt a lot from being involved in Mindlab. Using Rolfe's Model of Reflection (Rolfe et al., 2001). The key change I will be reflecting on will be related to one of the themes from Our Code, Our Standards (Ministry of Education, 2017). The theme of "Professional Learning".

Step 1 (What):
Before I started Mindlab I thought that I was pretty confident using ICT and had a good classroom culture of student agency set up. I used Ipads in my classroom mainly for games and Seesaw. I had also started my professional blog but was not really using it to its full potential. I also had many questions around how I was using the devices and if I was using them effectively or not.

A key change I believe that has changed is how I am using the devices to be more effectively from the professional learning I am learning in Mindlab. Professional learning in the Our Code, Our Standards (Ministry of Education, 2017) is all about "using inquiry, collaborative problem solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners".

Step 2 (Now What):
Below I am going to use the Cycle of Experiential Learning (Osterman and Kottkamp, 2015) to critically reflect on my key change.

Stage 1 Problem identification
My problem was that I thought there was a more effective way to use the devices I had but I didn't know what or how to improve this. My students were using digital devices but were they using them as effective tools for learning. I thought I was giving students chances to show more student agency but I wasn't sure if I was being successful or not.

Stage 2 Observation and Analysis
The data I gathered is mainly knowledge through Mindlab. Mainly in the areas of:

• 21st Century Skills
• Collaborative Learning
• Agency
• Inquiry Learning
• Digital devices and apps

All of these areas I feel that I have benefited and begun to use them more in my classroom. 

Stage 3 Abstract re conceptualization

I new skills and knowledge I have developed have allowed me to become a more confident and meaningful teacher. I now have a strong foundation of knowledge which outlines my thinking and actions. 

Stage 4 Active experimentation

Through my professional learning around Mindlab I have learnt to become more reflective around my learning. I believe that I am using the devices in my classroom more effectively and students can re-call what they are learning when using them and what helps them with their learning. My new understanding around ways to use devices as more of a tool for learning and around the 21st century skills/learning means that I am able to respond effectively to the needs of my 21st century students. 

Step 3 (What Next):
I intend to continue my learning journey. Continuing on my reflective practices on Blogger so that I can use these as evidence towards our teaching standards. I also want to keep up to date with the available apps and digital tools that would continue to help the students in my class to be more effective.

References:
Ministry of Education (2017). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from
https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standard

Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators : professional development to improve student learning.(2nd ed.) New York: Skyhorse Publishing.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical Reflection Model. Retrieved from: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Week 31- Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

Today is a reflection based around indigenous knowledge and being culturally responsive in my practice. Again I have chosen to use the Rolfe's model of reflection (Rolfe, 2001) as it is very easy to use and makes me think critically about each area. 

Step 1 (What): To me being culturally responsive is acknowledging different cultures in the classroom and personally making a connection with students and whanau to make them feel welcome and involved in learning. Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by Gay (2001, p.106) as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. When I look into my teaching I believe that our school has very strong sense of cultural responsiveness around the values, vision and schools mission. Our school has developed these with the community and designed it specifically to cater to the families around us. Our school vision is "Growing success together: today for tomorrow. Whakatupu ana i te huarahi pai mo naianei me apopo". In our school we also have four values which we have both in Te Reo and english to cater to the majority of our school. I believe that in my own practice one area that I could work on to be more culturally responsive is with my communication. I feel I try my best to pronounce many words and phrases but at times they are used very simply. My actions are becoming more successful and confident the more I work on them. 

Step 2 (So what):

Above is the Action continuum of Milne (2017). I believe that looking at this our school is in the purple area. We have greatly moved a lot in the last few years so looking back I can see that we are making a shift. Our school does confidently use some language and content throughout the school. This can be our school values and being culturally responsive to other cultures. Our school communicated with community groups when looking into the values and finding uot the correct pronunciation of words and phrases. My focus for learning is firmly based in student agency and building and sustaining relationships with my students and their whanau is definitely a key aspect of our learning and this is also seen throughout the school. 

Step 3 (Now what): 

Looking at the continuum our school is capable of moving to the next colour phase. In order to do this I believe that we need to put students more at the centre and give them more choice with their learning. 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). I believe that our school is very successful with this and that we are on the right track to making these this happen.

References:

Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Milne, A.(2017).Coloring in the white spaces: reclaiming cultural identity in whitestream schools. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: A user's guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Week 30- Mindlab Reflection Trends

Today I am going to reflect on a trend outlined in OECD (2016) that is most relevant to my practice using the Rolfe's model of reflection (Rolfe, 2001).

Step 1: (What):Identify one trend that is most relevant to your practice.

Daggett (2014) discussed five potentially emerging trends in education. The one that I am focusing on is the impact of digital learning as I feel that it is the one that is the most relevant in my practice. This trend relates to what I have learn't and looked at during my time studying with the mindlab. I have become more aware of the technologies within education and how the can be incorporated effectively into my teaching in the classroom. 

Step 2 (So What): Analyze how the identified trend impacts global and New Zealand education.

Daggett (2014) states that 71% of high school students used texting to communicate and 3 out of 10 students used Twitter. This shows that statistics about digital technology show that this trend is here to stay. Many classrooms now are becoming modern 21st century classrooms using devices and man students are able to digitally give feedback/feed forward and complete lessons all with the click of a button. Digital learning within classrooms has its benefits and challenges both in my own classroom and for many other teachers in New Zealand education. Hanna et al. (2010) stated that ‘The pedagogic model underlying too many schools and classrooms is still aimed at preparing students for the industrial economy, and is very different from the activities at the heart of knowledge-based organisations, societies and economies’ (p. 10). They also explained that ‘Students should become self-directed, lifelong learners, especially as they are preparing for jobs that do not yet exist, to use technologies that have not yet been invented, and to solve problems that are not yet recognized as problems’ (p. 9). So these quotes alone in turn align with the theory that this trend is here to stay. 

Step 3 (Now What): Critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives
This means that as teachers and communities we need to be looking together about what the curriculum is asking of us and how we can deliver it in a modern way. Technology aims to make whanau communities and people closer together but this in itself is a task that needs a lot of work in my opinion. Many on lookers may think that devices are being used as a way to keep children busy and on a task quietly but that is not the case.  I also know of this to be true with several of my colleagues and we need to change this mindset as the positives of incorporating digital learning into our pedagogy vastly outweigh the negatives, Daggett (2014) summed this up with this quote ‘Digital learning is a catalyst for college and career readiness.



References:

Daggett, B. (2014). Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved fromhttp://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutureChallenges.pdf

Devaney, L. (2015). 100 districts that are digital learning innovators. Retrieved from https://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/12/11/digital-learning-546/

Hanna, D., David, I., & Francisco, B. (Eds.). (2010). Educational research and innovation the nature of learning using research to inspire practice: Using research to inspire practice. OECD publishing. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/50300814.pdf

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_ edu-2016-en Daggett, B. (2014). Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved from  http://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutu reChallenges.pdf

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: A user's guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Sherry, P. (2015). BYOD: What Training Professionals Need to Know. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/byod-training-professionals-need-know

Learn, Create, Share

We have been involved in Manaiakalani so far this year. One of the main ideas of Maniakalani is to learn and then create something, and then share it online. In the classroom we have been using Ipads to investigate about our learning around oceans which is our inquiry topic. Students love to search for information and use the ICT to help them. One thing that they need to work on is pulling out the main ideas from sites and readings instead of just copying word for word.
Our create activity this week was to create a 3D cube that displayed different pieces of information on each side of the cube. The students loved this activity as they could choose their own sea creature and then display it.
The students then were asked to share a photo of their learning onto Seesaw which is our class learning site until we use blogger. They needed to explain what they did and what the activity was about.
My class is thoroughly enjoying the learn, create, share as they can go back and see what they are learning and they are able to get feedback from other students in the class and feedback from their whanau.
I need to go onto Seesaw and give the students feedback as it will give the task more purpose and meaning for the students.

Week 29- Professional Online Social Networks

I am going to critically reflect on the use of social media in my teaching using the reflective model of Jay and Johnson (2002).

In my classroom I use the social media tools Seesaw and Youtube. Seesaw is an app that allows students to share their work either by using photos, videos, notes and links to their whanau at home. Seesaw can also be used as a teaching tool where the teacher can assign activities for students to complete either in class or at home. We use Youtube for researching around topics involving to our inquiry and any writing activities relating to our learning. The videos help us to research and investigate about new ideas.

I found the video of Karen Cassidy interesting as it was great to see students younger than the ones I teach using technology and how important it is becoming. I also liked her use of blogs as students can use it as a way to display their learning and receive feedback from others. 

I am interested in blogging as a way to allow students to become collaborative and they would have a portfolio showing their work for families and peers. It would also show progress and students could look back at all the work that they have achieved in previous years. As our school is joined in the Manaiakalani cluster we are currently having our ICT updated and being put onto blogs for each class. Students would have their own blog and this is something I am interested in getting to know how to use to make learning successful. 

In Karen Cassidy's video she also had her students using blogs which was a way for students to show their learning and receive feedback from others. It aligns with what we are doing towards Manaiakalani and with what research says. We are aiming to use our devices socially to Learn, create and share. So when completing a writing activity we are able to learn something new, create the task and then share it using our chosen social media tools like Seesaw or Blogger. They say that "using social media in the classroom allows students opportunities to learn how to be productive citizens in the digital world...also while learning and practicing grammar, punctuation and spelling which are all essential for communication" (Magette, 2014).

I can see the benefits of using a social media platform in my classroom as a means for my students to connect with others and improve their literacy and communication skills. I do see challenges with using social media in the classroom. These challenges include different websites with conflicting information, inappropriate sites and ads and just general issues around cyber safety. I would like to continue to pursue more into blogger and allowing students to get more feedback from their whanau and from the outside world around their learning.

References:

Jay, J.K. and Johnson, K.L. (2002). Capturing complexity: A typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85

Magette, K. (2014). Embracing social media : a practical guide to manage risk and leverage opportunity. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.(Available in Unitec library).

Week 28- Mindlab reflection : Law and Ethics

My post this week analysis an ethical dilemma in my teaching practice. To analyse this dilemma I have used Rolfe's (2001) model of reflection and Erlich et. al's. (2011) ethical decision making model.

Step 1 (What): 

After school one day a child was picked up by another family member that did not have custody of this child. As it was only recent I the teacher did not know that this child was not supposed to be picked up by this family member. I was not the teacher that was told the child had been picked up but I was notified later that this had happened and it shouldn't have. 

Step 2 (So what):

Using Erlich et.al. (2011) ethical decision making model, I was able to notice the legal and ethical issues in this dilemma. Looking also at the Education Council, Our Codes Our Standards (2017) my professional responsibility is to:

• demonstrate a high professional behaviour in different situations, 
• I need to make sure I am respectful and collaborative with colleagues and other members of the wider community. 
• I need to promote the well being of learners and make sure that I am protecting them from harm. 
• engage with whanau and families in a professional and respectful manner. 

I understand that I need to act professionally and respectfully regarding this ethical dilemma as I need to make sure that I am in line with the standards and am being professional. I need to make some choices about what to do:

• I have a responsibility to the child to ensure that he/she is protected from harm and as I know now that the parent does not have custody of this child I need to consider that there are legal issues around this and it could affect me professionally if it continues. I also have to consider that there may be issues around his/her safety as to why this parent does not have custody
• It is my role to act with professionalism and honesty- I know I have to speak to the parent who has custody of this child to state that I was not aware of the agreements.
• In a professional and respectful way I need to also let my other colleagues know the information around the custody so that it does not happen again and they do not make the same mistake as myself

Step 3 (Now what):


To address the dilemma, I could...

• Ensure that when office staff find out this information it is immediately passed onto classroom teachers
• Make sure that teachers discuss with whanau about these arrangements and discuss professionally that when they know outcomes to let the teachers know of agreements
• speak to the family and make sure that the child is safe and let them know there was mis communication and that not all teachers were aware.

REFERENCES


Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards. Retrieved 11th March, 2018 from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf


Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical Reflection Model. Retrieved from: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Netball

On Wednesday 6th June I took 8 teams to Kaitaia for netball, this was relating to professional relationships with students and whanau. Learner's needed to be focused with their learning around netball and I was making sure that I was trying my best to make new relationships with whanau and students that I hadn't seen out before. I had to make sure that I was communicating effectively with whanau and students so that I didn't have students leaving the grounds and that behaviour was maintain. Today was a fun day and all students had a great time.

Learning the new standards

There are now 6 teaching standards

-Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership: Demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Eg: matariki, whakapapa, maori myths and legends, reflections

Professional Learning: Use inquiry,collaborative problem-solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners.
Eg: mindlab, literacy leadership, obs and feedback, teaching as inquiry

Professional relationships: Establish and maintain professional relationships and behaviours focused on the learning and wellbeing of each learner.
Eg: site, admin, collaborative planning,

Learning-focused culture: Develop a culture that is focused on learning, and is characterised by respect, inclusion,empathy,collaboration and safety.
Eg: Photos, learning setting(quiet area), group work, why have you set up the classroom that you have, groupings

Design for learning: Design learning based on curriculum and pedagogical knowledge,assessment information and an understanding of each learner’s strengths,interests,needs,identities,languages and cultures. Eg: formative assessment, needs analysis, Te Reo planning, specialist teaching (Alim), planning,

Teaching: Teach and respond to learners in a knowledgeable and adaptive way to progress their learning at an appropriate depth and pace.
AKO
Takes responsibility for their own learning and that of Māori learners
Eg: technologies, learning activities, assessment, same as first 2, need written reflections in each

Mindlab Activity 3: Contribution of Teacher Inquiry topics to my Communities of Practice

Create a reflective entry where you critically reflect on how two potential and inspiring digital and/or collaborative learning related teacher inquiry topics would contribute to your Communities of Practice. Your reflection should be based on a reflective model of your choice.


My two possible teacher inquiry topics
1. How can I use the digital technology I have to promote and support whanau engagement?


2. How can I use my Ipads more effectively to engage learning and not just be a time filler or a task in a rotation?


I have chosen these two inquiry topics as they are two areas I need more development in my practice. I feel that they both involve student agency and also relate to getting whanau more engaged in students learning so that they can be successful.


My first possible teacher inquiry topic I chose is about building whanau achievement. This is very important at our school as we would like for families to be more engaged and involved in their students learning. I currently have Ipads one to one in my classroom and have the Seesaw app set up.  But I have noticed that I don't have many families signed up to this as I would like. I have chosen this inquiry topic to investigate some other ways to engage whanau using digital technology.


My second possible teacher inquiry topic is finding ways that I can better use the Ipads in my classroom learning to engage students. I feel that at the moment I use them during rotations with learning but they are not personalising the learning for the student and they are often a time filler or just a task that needs to be completed. I would like for my students to be engaged and using 21st century skills when on the Ipads and for learning to be more personal.


Using the model identified by Wenger I have identified communities of practice that would support my teacher inquiry topics my principal, colleagues and students/whanau. I believe that both the principal and my colleagues would help as we often have informal conversations and daily reflections on learning (Jurasaite-Harbison & Rex, 2010). I regularly discuss with colleagues about how we can get whanau more engaged with students learning and we all agree that it is an area that our school would like to improve on.


I believe that getting students and whanau involved in the learning and part of the inquiry makes them feel more involved and is personalising learning. Having discussions informally with whanau makes them feel more relaxed and is more a joint enterprise where teachers and whanau can collectively develop a shared understanding about what the inquiry is about (Wenger, 2000).


I am currently also involved in other communities of practice that can be linked to both of these inquiry questions. Within my school we are involved in a CoL (community of learning) which focused on using data and raising student achievement. We are also involved in Manaiakalani which is using digital technology to enhance and engage students to be successful. Through studying with Mindlab I am also involved in another community of practice with the teachers that are also studying.


By being involved in different communities of practice they have helped me to become more informed about different viewpoints and helping me to analyse what I want from my inquiries and what I need change or do differently. I can change what I learn from each of them and reflect accordingly. "One makes a judgement or a choice among actions, or simply integrates what one has discovered into a new and better understanding of the problem." (Jay and Johnson, 2002, p.79). 


Jay, J.K. and Johnson, K.L. (2002) Capturing complexity: a typology of reflective practice for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 73-85.


Jurasaite-Harbison, E., & Rex, L. (2010). School Cultures as Contexts for Informal Teacher Learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 267-277

Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.

Activity 2: Reflecting on changes in my future orientated teaching practice

I have chosen to focus on the theme of "Personalising learning" as I feel that the Mindlab postgraduate course has changed this a lot through my own teaching and practice. Personalising the learning is when you specifically cater the learning around the individual. (Bolstad et al., 2012). Making sure that their needs are being met and the teacher knows what the students enjoy, like, know and what they need to work on. Within my own teaching I have made sure that I cater to individuals and make sure that I am working on catering to their specific learning needs. Some examples of this is that I have drawn on a variety of data from both summative and formative assessment. I know the learners and feel like I know what they need and how they learn successfully. I then make sure that I am using this information to help me plan and effectively teach. I feel like prior to the postgraduate study I was trying to personalise the learning in my classroom. But looking back at this I feel like I was just using data and doing the same things that I normally would do thinking that I had personalised learning but not taking any risks or trying different things like using ICT in innovative more creative ways.

Thinking back to my learning journey, it has changed a lot since I started out. I am really impressed with not only myself but seeing the progress in the students. I feel that they are becoming more independent and more confident with their own writing. The routine is fun and they understand what is needed from them. (Spillane, 2006) It even makes it easier for me to discuss with them what they have done well and what they need to work on as they understand what is needed in their writing to make themselves successful.

Reflecting back I know that this is very positive in my classroom as the students are more confident in their writing and they don't just come to me and ask what do I do now. Which is what I used to get a lot. Students are making sure that they use the models both on the walls and their self checking strips so that they can edit and re-craft their writing. I've noticed that I no longer have a line of students who have finished their work. Sometimes I do notice that students are not correctly ticking off their self checking strips and just doing it fast so that they can be finished. But majority I think are doing this task and it is successful. My teaching has improved from this as I am becoming more reflective and noticing what is working and what isn't. It is also great that they are sharing their work onto the Seesaw App for their families to see, as this is really important for their learning. (Gonzalez-DeHass, Willems & Holbein, 2005)

In conclusion I feel like the changes I have made have been very beneficial both for myself and the learners in the classroom. Students are becoming more confident and routine shows that they enjoy knowing what to do next and when they finish. As a class we still need to work on our feedback and feed forward to others but that will come. We have continued to do this throughout this year as I am noticing it is very beneficial and the students enjoy going through the editing process independently or with a buddy before they come to the teacher. To improve this in the future it would be great if they could feed forward to each other specifically what they need to improve on and then go and make the changes. As most of the time they do not like changing their writing or adding things because it is more work.

This change has shown students what they need in their writing and that although they may have finished writing it does not mean that the writing is done. Students are more independent in their learning and are becoming more confident when articulating what they need in their writing. I believe that this change has been a huge success as parents and other colleagues have commented on the work and that it is great to see the students so positively engaged in their learning in writing. I feel that this change could also be implemented through other year levels so that it progresses and students can continue with a pattern they are familiar with. I feel that I have become confident when personalising learning and think that this change was a success in my class and  know that reflective practice is understood as the process of learning through and from experience. (Finlay, 2009)

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching — a New Zealand perspective. Report prepared for the Ministry of Education. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf


Gonzalez-DeHaas, A.R, Willems, P.P., & Holbein, M. F. D. (2005). Examining the relationship between parental involvement and student motivation. Educational psychology review, 17(2), 99-123.

Spillane,J.P. (2006). Distributed Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Mindlab Activity 1: My Reflective Practice

 My reflective practice in relation to Jay and Johnson's model is that I feel I am very confident and consistent when reflecting about the first phase being "Descriptive". I am confident when keeping notes and short reflections about what is happening in my day to day practice, is it working and how am I feeling it is going. I feel these reflections are great as you can quickly notice if lessons have gone well and you can easily look back to have evidence of your own practice and teaching. These quick reflections are very helpful as you can see where to go next, what worked and what didn't.


I feel like the next phase in the model about comparative. I often feel that I am not comparing or critically analysing my reflections in depth enough to get deeper features of why things are happening and how my reflective process is going to inform and renew my new practice. I also rarely if ever read professional or academic resources to critically evaluate my own practice. It is important as a teacher to be reflective and knowledgeable about what is happening and why.


When I first started blogging it was just brief sentences and ideas about what I was doing and what I could do next. At this time I felt I was being reflective but looking back I feel like it is just defined as Rapid reflection (Zeichner and Liston, 1996). This is just immediate, ongoing and automatic reflections about what is happening.

Zeichner and Liston

(1996)

Zeichner and Liston

(1996)

After these realisations I have become more confident and I am still beginning to grow how I reflect on aspects of my own practice. I am trying to read appropriate literature to assist in my reflections so that I am being more critical about my practice.


https://www.colorado.edu/education/sites/default/files/attached-files/Zeichner&Liston_Teaching_Student_Teachers_to_Reflect.pdf