Interdisciplinary Collaboration

He aha te mea nui o te ao

What is the most important thing in the world?

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata

It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Maori proverb

I think there is great power when we realise that people hold so many valuable skills and that we are much stronger and more effective when we use our strengths to benefit each other. Dr Deana McDonagh (2011), says that "not being an expert is an advantage". I think this is such an important attitude to have, and could enable us to value the skills that we bring to the table.  Joyce Thomas (2011) add that interdisciplinary collaboration brings people in and allows for previously unconnected connections to be made.


What does this all mean?

Staff  (2012) says that to foster interdisciplinary education it is to  take a "holistic approach to education and requires the close collaboration of multiple teachers to create an more integrated, enhanced learning experience for students". So as I reflect on this I have that there are many teachers, experts, students and valuable people that I can and do collaborate with the enhance the learning experiences of my own students.

One recent area of focus for me has been seeking collaboration from colleagues with more experience and knowledge of Te Reo Māori to enhance my students learning. This has worked really well this past term, as I have offered to support a colleague in an area of my strength being Digital Technologies. This term we have swopped classes on a Wednesday afternoon to support the current learning in the classrooms in these areas. This has been a new initiative in our school, so we decided to give it some time to decide if there were benefits to learning this way. 

I am happy to report that the benefits have far exceeded our expectations. Firstly as classroom teachers we have been able to build relationships with 28 other students in the school. New connections have been made. For both classes we have seen increased engagement in these learning areas and the skills they have been learning have been transferred to the relevant classrooms. Therefore the learning has definitely been enhanced.

What next? 

Well I am looking forward to Term 3 as we continue to build this close collaborative approach to learning. In doing so two other teachers in the school have decided to try what we have been doing, which is exciting to see. 

References:
Staff R. (2012). Fostering Interdisciplinary Skill Sets. Retrieved from https://rossieronline.usc.edu/fostering-interdisciplinary-skill-sets/

ThomasMcDonaghGroup. ( 2011, May 13). Interdisciplinarity and Innovation Education.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdNzftkIpA

# Twitter for Professional Development

The power of a passionate teacher cannot be underestimated ! This blog reflection has reminded me of one of my most influential lecturers at Waikato University, Dianne Forbes. As our ICT lecturer in variety of papers she challenged us to use Social Media as a method to reflect and connect with educators. Highlighted in her research article Forbes (2015) reports that "teachers are learners", so we were encouraged to have an open mind set about social media for professional development, before we could teach our students to connect this way.

We were prompted by Forbes (2015) to engage in a professional online social media site to learn how to: 

• Be Cybersafe: Protect your online identity and how to safeguard your professional reputation, integrity and privacy; 
• Being proactive: Establishing a professional online presence; 
• Lifelong learning: Using the Internet to build a personal/professional learning network; 
• Challenges: Expanding your repertoire of social networking tools for professional purposes

When I look back at how this all started I can see that over the last 4 years I have definitely grown in confidence when connecting in social media sites and I have definitely expanded my professional learning networks. My choice of social media was and still is Twitter. 

Challenges: 

The first step for me was to decide if I would use Twitter for my personal and professional online presence. I decided to keep my Twitter profile strictly professional. I think this has been key to the successful use of twitter for my professional development. 

Secondly managing all the updates, text messages: In this case I have chosen not to receive notifications in Twitter, except for certain people I am following. I feel in control of when and what I would like to learn and be a part of.  I think this is one of the most important parts of using social media for professional learning.

Benefits

The benefits of using social media relate back to the "teacher as learner" for me. Using Twitter has encouraged me to connect with other educators beyond the boundaries of our classroom.  Could this be exactly what we are aiming to guide our students to do?

The 2007 New Zealand Curriculum Achievement Objectives for eLearning states that eLearning may:

• assist the making of connections by enabling students to enter and explore new learning environments, overcoming barriers of distance and time;
• facilitate shared learning by enabling students to join or create communities of learners that extend well beyond the classroom;

Shapes et al; (2016) agree with this reporting that "Social media make it possible to involve and draw on the experience of people around the world" I hope that as I continue to develop as a learner myself that I will be able to lead my students to do the same.

A Highlight:

At the recent GAFE summit in Auckland I was so excited to meet Richard Wells, author of "A Learner's Paradise: How New Zealand is reimagining education". We had connected on Twitter prior to the conference, and now this connection has continued. 

References:

Forbes, D. (2015) Building Connections: Professional Online Presence and Learning Networks. Retrieved from  http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/9473/ForbesECSM15.pdf?sequence=5

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media Ltd

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 fromhttp://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf

Mindlab Video

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

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

Twitter as a means to collaborate with educators beyond my school...

Getting out there in an online environment is exciting and challenging at the same time. As part of my mindlab course we were asked to participate in an online environment of our choice. I choose Twitter as I have found many other educators communicate in this environment and have made some great connections with colleagues all over New Zealand.

Sharing resources is always key!

Connecting with Richard Wells & commenting on his latest book. 

Great to have made a connection with Melanie a teacher in Christchurch

Connection with likeminded colleagues.

Digital Technologies and its impact on learner agency

As I continue to reflect on my inquiry and the big question... Can digital technologies impact Learner Agency. I found this blog reading interesting to help me further understand learner agency and to view what other schools are already doing in this area:

Reflections on Learner Agency blog:

Scott McKenzie, senior syndicate leader at Hampden School, explains that agency is when students are actively involved in their learning and they have choice, control and power over their learning.  A key question was asked “how do we reduce the reliance of the teacher? “and “how do the students own their learning?” (Ministry of Education, 2016). At the same time Claire Amos, deputy principal at Hobsonville Point Secondary School, maintains that agency is directly related to students having ownership of their learning. In a motivating excerpt, a student in Hobsonville Point Secondary, states that at their school there is “no irrelevant learning” and “everything has a purpose” (Ministry of Education, 2016).  Could this be the model of learner agency to follow?

In addition, Hobsonville Point Secondary School have created a school culture that encourages partnerships between teachers and students, which has resulted in an increase in student agency. In doing so the school is showing evidence of students having a say over the modules (curriculum) that they will learn. Amos (2016) reiterates that students come to school with a variety of skills to achieve agency but require purposeful teaching in order to be able to achieve this. Through deliberate scaffolding, students develop the future focused skills that they need to be able to manage themselves and their learning. Students are preparing for tomorrow's world where the 21st Century workplace will require people to work with minimal supervision, plan their own work, design their own work products and incorporate feedback to improve the quality of products.



Reference:

Ministry of Education. (2016, November 15). Learner Agency. Retrieved April 29, 2017 from TKI | Te kete ipurangi: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Online-blog/Learner-agency