Tuesday 21/11
was a brilliant day to spend some time reflecting on the skills I have learnt
from the last 16 weeks of my learning journey through Applied Practice (Digital
and Collaborative Learning). I am at home with a sick child feeling relatively
relaxed because all assessments for the last 16 weeks of this Post Graduate
Programme submitted.
This is where I realise my personal journey has come so far and that I have learnt so much from this programme.
I have always loved teaching because of its changing nature that it suits my personality of constantly seeking out and redefining, reflecting and remodifying who I am, what I am doing and the way I’m doing it, I also love the fact my students are the reason for my adaptions and they are a constantly evolving factor in my teaching world.
I reflected on the article Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. and realised that my personal learning journey fitted nicely under the 6 themes identified under emerging principles for 21st century education system, that whilst applicable to my students, they are also very applicable to me and my own learning journey.
Theme
1: Personalising learning
Theme
2: New views of equity, diversity and inclusivity
Theme
3: A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity
Theme
4: "Changing the script": Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles
Theme
5: A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders
Theme
6: New kinds of partnerships and relationships: Schools no longer siloed from
the community
My own learning journey so far is so very different
to the one I undertook 27 years ago when I left high school for Teachers
College and University. I look back and reflect on the experiences I had back
then to this very recent experience which I am undertaking at the moment.
Although I am quite confident with computers,
filming, editing, up loading was right out of my comfort zone, it was my 9-year-old
son who taught me all about videoing, editing, embedding and layering – all a
rather foreign field to us. No one had taught my son but he has grown up with
You Tube and a curiosity and not the same degree of fear I have – its this
acknowledgement and acceptance that the students of today are far more expert
in many areas than I am, but that is not to be feared but rather celebrated and
embraced.
I have found the Rubrics ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity
Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research
such a useful and helpful part of my learning journey. I found that these
rubrics gave me some clarity and a way to move forward – just knowing how to
break the different learning areas down was so useful.
The
article by Bolstad, R … also talks about collaborative practice which has
become so important in today. One of the great things I have got out of this
paper is working with teachers not just from the primary sector, but from the
secondary and tertiary sectors, it’s a chance for me to see the whole education
sector and to hear from those who work within these areas.
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 Educationve. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306
ITL
Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research
You are right about the curiosity of children, unfortunately over time they take less risks and as adults are less likely to challenge themselves. Hopefully this generation will as you say embrace and celebrate areas of expertise. It’s our role as educators to develop children’s skills as well as dispositions like risk taking and perseverance.
ReplyDeleteCertainly there are benefits from collaborating with all areas of our sector and sharing successful practice. The benefits of this was initially unseen, and not expected. We’re you surprised about this?
Thank you for sharing your learning. Definitely the fifth theme of emerging principles in 21st century education means there is a continuous culture of learning for teachers as yourself. This is clearly evident in your commitment to your study.
Thanks Audrey, as you say over time children grow up too and tend to follow in the footsteps of adults. Hopefully as we learn how to challenge our students and their natural curiosity they will embrace new learning and ideas as adults and it becomes a part of "what we do" and an indicator of whether our change is successful. Also as teachers if we embrace the change and it becomes of who we are as teachers, it would be natural for our children to continue on in this way - it would be an acceptable way to learn.
DeleteI feel we don't do enough collaboration across the sector and I have really enjoyed working alongside teachers from all levels of learning. Its not until you hear their story and see what they are doing are you able to fit all the bits of the puzzle together. I also think it as been a very leveling experience, we are not in competition with each other but through discussion and time together we can actually help each other. Something that may work in my class level has the potential to be successful at a secondary school level, it shouldn't be about us or them. In fact wouldn't it be great if we could include in our Kotangatahi cluster teachers from early childhood right through to secondary, its about knowing our students and helping the best we can, it shouldn't be a competition.
And yes, the fifth theme, around a continuous culture of learning, has been something I have loved about being teacher. I love in teaching how you can't just stand in one spot and watch the world change, but rather you have to change with the world or you are left behind, you have to be constantly questioning "is there a better way?" "what can I do differently?" in fact what you teach the children to do is in essence what you do as a reflective practitioner all the time.
Amanda you are so right in saying 'teaching because of its changing nature', and it's a profession where change seems to happen when you're least expecting it. New curriculum, new documentation and new technologies. I found your link to education.microsoft.com was very helpful in understanding how reflect and research the topic to find out more and work your way around it to get more depth on the topic - well done.
ReplyDelete