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

Social Media & Ethics

As I consider some relevant ethical situations linked to digital online media and especially social media, a few dilemma's spring to my mind

• Do you have a Facebook account for your class? 
• Do you have to friend the parents/families of your students for them to be in group?
• Do you accept a student as a member of a classroom Facebook group?

Regardless of the digital media that you do decide to use,  one issue that is often highlighted to me is that of "Netiquette".  Dictionary.com defines 'Netiquette' as the "rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over computer networks, especially the Internet". When we are building relationships with a diverse range of students and families who have their own personal attitudes, values it can be difficult to decide what is good netiquette. Recently Seven Sharp reported in "So what is normal behaviour online?" a range of responses to what is acceptable behaviour online. 

What do you think of the range of responses? Can you see a pattern?

To me there definitely seems to be some blurred lines about what to post online. So in my opinion we need to be aware of this dilemma, and work towards some common goals for online posts.

The Code of ethics states for teachers & learner to :

Carefully consider the tone and content of your posts or messages when using social media as a teaching tool – think about how it compares to how you present yourself in the physical learning environment

With this is mind I have started to work with students in my class to help them to pratise writing posts using Todays.meet. I will prompt a question and allow the student to reply in a respectful manner. In addition I have created a simple tool to assist students to write blog comments. At the same time, modelling correct online behaviour is one of the most powerful tools we have as teachers (Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program, 2012).

I look forward to hearing from you about ways your school is preparing students to be respectful and show etiquette online?

References

Education Council of Aoteroa New Zealand 2017. (2017) Commitment to Society. Retrieved from http://teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/guidelines/commitment-society

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2012). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual....

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