Cultural Responsiveness

Critical Self -Reflection:
As I set out on journey to do my Bachelor of Education in 2012, at a young age of 35 😉 I had no idea that this path would lead to me one of the best possible jobs in my life so far but also in doing so I would also learn so valuable lesson about myself, my experiences, attitudes, values and beliefs. Getting to know myself, and appreciate my cultural identity has given me the confidence and security to create and maintain an accepting classroom environment. Russell Bishop (2012) explains this further in his Edtalks video, explaining that it it agentic teachers who "understand themselves and can weave together all those things that are necessary in classrooms, to create a learning context in the classroom where young Maori students can bring themselves to the learning conversation"

Which follows on to my next thought that  cultural responsiveness is so much more than token gestures but a genuine understanding who the students are and what they bring to the classroom, including the families and wider community. Knowing the students you teach is equally as important and therefore relationships that foster trust and acceptance are essential, "but the caring environment needs to also express the belief that ethnicity should not limit an individuals potential for educational achievement or development" (Whyte, 2012).

School Practise:
Reflecting on questions from the  “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement” tool. 

• Planning and Assessment

Knowing your students is essential when it comes to planning and assessment. Our school involves families and parents with termly parent teacher meetings. During these meetings parents are able to support their child's goals and offer their own. In addition our school values our open door policy. We welcome families, community members, colleagues from other schools, beginning teachers into our school. We encourage these stakeholders to take part in surveys to guide us with our planning. At the same time we have robust systems in place to use assessment data to drive planning and teaching in the classroom. We engage in moderation activities and PLD to raise student achievement.

• Learning Activities

As a focus this year this is one are of teaching practise that we are developing at a increased pace to meet the diverse needs of the students in our school. We have been working towards be able to "plan activities and lessons to support diverse cultural backgrounds and languages" and "provide meaningful instructions that link to students prior experience/backgrounds" (n.d). Part of knowing your students is knowing how they learn. Research shows that students engage in authentic, relevant deep learning tasks. As part of our PLD this year we have been reading A Rich Seam by Michael Fullen and we have been leading market spaces during our staff meetings/call back days.

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

Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. A Rich Seam: New Pedagogies Find Deep Learning. London: Pearson.

Te Toi Tupu. (n.d.). Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool. Retrieved from http://www.tetoitupu.org/pasifika-participation-engagement-achievement-tool

Whyte, B (2012). Cultrually Diverse Classrooms and Communities. In C. McGee, & D. Fraser, The Professional Practise of Teaching (pp. 224-244). Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.

Mindlab Video

Really excited to share a The Mind Lab video for my journey through the Digital & Collaborative Postgraduate programme.

Positive School Culture

As I reflect on school culture and the impact this has on a school and its community, it is clear to me that school culture whether lead intentionally or not, sets the tone for the school environment. Stoll (1998) explains that culture is a "complex and important concept in education".  Complex, because in my opinion schools bring together a richness of diverse people. Diversity in age, beliefs, experiences, cultures and so much more. William H Trusheim Ed.D (2015) explains this more clearly and says when there is purposeful and intentional leadership of a cultural identity, then there is a greater possibility for successful integration of a positive school culture.

From my own experience, I am privileged to work in a school where this kind of intentional leadership is evident. One of these key aspects of our cultural identity is that we are Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) school. This vision is embedded in all areas of learning and within our staff, students and leadership. We have a passion to see students realise their potential. We celebrate and acknowledge this positive school culture in many ways encouraging students to  

• Strive for excellence 

• Organised for learning 

• Act positively 

• Respect for self, others and the environment

What is the culture that the school is striving for? How is it manifested?

The culture we are striving for is that students will have the skills, knowledge, relationships and experiences to enable them to SOAR into the future with confidence. This is evident in our belief that every child can learn and succeed.  As a staff we spend our weekly staff meetings collaboratively celebrating successes and putting in place strategies to meet any areas of need that are raised by relevant up-to-date data collected. In addition, as classroom teachers, we spend the first 15 -30 minutes of everyday teaching and learning more about our SOAR values and how this looks, feels and sounds in our school. 

Recently I have been part of a new initiative in our school to celebrate students who have been SOARing. Students who have achieved SOAR awards during the week are drawn out of hat every Friday at Assembly, these students get to spend a lunch break in Manu SOAR Zone.  This is a special area in the school where 8 students per week get to play xbox games, shoot basketball hoops, play games, paint, eat popcorn and chill out.

References:

Academy for SELinSchools (2015). What is School Culture and Climate. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_NvhlcusQ

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture

Concerned or Captivated ?

This week as I reflect on global trends that are impacting our world, and inevitably our teaching and students learning. Some key information has been highlighted to me, these include:- technologies that are advancing faster than ever, with the added threat of "automation and artificial intelligence" increasing in such a rate the economies can not keep up. On the other hand climate change and related natural disasters are reaching critical point. According to the United Nations "half of the world's population will face water shortages by 2035 (National Intelligence Council, 2017). At the same time our world population will soon be reaching the highest recorded, at 8 billion people according to Global Trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history .This could result in many concerns and questions:

How will be able to keep up? 

Will I have a job when I leave school or will a robot take my place? 

How can we create sustainable water supplies?

Will there be enough food? What will we eat?

Personally it is not one trend that concerns me, instead I am captivated by the opportunity to change the way we educate students to be creative, self-managing, critical thinkers and innovators. To be the solution and not the problem. To be World Changers. In the words of Nelson Mandela ~ Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.  

Over the past year our school has seen a significant change to our curriculum delivery, with a greater focus on student agency. Students are thinking about their learning and taking ownership of how, when and why they learn. We are encouraging students in intermediate age to think about these important questions, and to inquire further. There is an urgency to engage students in relevant, deep learning tasks that encourage collaboration, innovation and so much more.The impact this is having on our students is that they are developing confidence, curiosity and lifelong skills to enable them to succeed in the future.

Inquiry learning in itself is a trend in education that is impacting education in NZ and Australia. Kath Murdoch says that inquiry learning can "sustain, nurture and grow that natural disposition that we all have to find out, to be researchers" (Kathleen Murdoch, 2015).

What is the the NZ curriculum doing to equip students to be able to cope with these changes?

The illustrative vision of the New Zealand Education system in 2025 plans for students to be:

• Self-directed
• Empathetic and inclusive
• Innovative
• Authentic problems solvers
• STEM foundation

This aligns with the changes we are having in our school, and with the future vision of the NZ curriculum. 

So where to from here? Keep calm and keep learning, keep reflecting on my own teaching practise and inquiry.  Become an inquiry learner myself. Maybe you could help me with my journey?

How is your school supporting students with inquiry learning?
How are you/school developing to help students become more self-regulated learners?

References:

Ministry of Education. (2015, April). New Zealand Education in 2025 - Lifelong Learners in a Connected World. Retrieved April 31, 2017, from Education.govt.nz: https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Initiatives/Lifelonglearners.pdf


Murdoch, K. (2015, October 9). 01 What is inquiry learning C hires. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXF7IV2C7KE

Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.[video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

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