Week 30 - PRACTICE- The Broader Professional Context

Using Rolfes model of reflection I am going to address and reflect upon certain parts of my teaching practise that are defined as contemporary and global trends in education.

Step 1 - What?

Daggett (2014) points out the fact that we are operating in a digital environment that is fluid within the context of a global economy that is always changing. Indeed, the National Intelligence Council (2017) comments that the way we communicate, work and spend our social time is changing as information and technology develop. As educators we are starting to come to the realisation that Blended Learning is a way to help equip our students prepare for a world where technology is always transitioning. My classroom experience is similar to what Daggett (2014) points out as a ‘hybrid’ system, that is, combining traditional and blended learning. I’m trying to achieve an environment where my students are invited to embrace digital literacy and computational thinking experiences within an existing traditional structure as I’ve realised this is how they live their lives beyond the classroom...navigating both worlds.

Step 2 - So What?

Digital learning is a global trend as “education has a role to play in providing the skills and competencies needed to operate in this new world” (OECD., 2016, p18) and technology is adapting and improving daily as is the use of it. Its is increasingly becoming more accessible and more entrenched in our day to day living. Daggett (2014) believes there has been a 44% increase in technology use for communication between 2008 and 2014 in the US. We can only assume that these figures are a reflection of what is occurring globally and therefore New Zealand. Certainly by 2020  the Ministry of Education (2018) intends to fully integrate the curriculum to reflect these changes. This provokes some thought for our Teaching Practice; that is, how can we keep up with a trend that is changing and evolving so quickly? The OECD (2016) discusses how some trends are slow moving and therefore easier to manipulate and design while others are dynamic and move at a pace that is fast moving and changing. It seems being flexible and responsive, two suggestions by OECD (2016), seems to be a sound suggestion. It would seem that being flexible and responsive in this time of ‘disruption’ is the only way that schools “will flourish in this new environment” (Daggett, 2014, p5). This impacts on my teaching because it requires a leap into the unknown within a very fast paced, ever evolving global trend. and as CORE education (2018)

Step 3 - Now What?

I count myself to be very fortunate that I am within a school that nurtures the cultural of embracing technology. We have a strong CoP within our school that focuses on initiating and supporting change. In fact when we look at the new Digital Curriculum it is clear that we have been engaging in many of the practices for some time. They realised that when you add new technology it changes everything “because technological change is not additive, it is ecological” (CORE, 2018, p4). With this mindset incorporating things like BYOD, embracing social media, virtual reality platforms and the suite of applications all combine to create a very exciting environment.

REFERENCES

CORE Education 2018 Ten Trends document. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://core-ed.org/assets/Uploads/Ten-Trends-2018.pdf

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

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

OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-enDaggett, B. (2014). Addressing Current and Future Challenges in Education. Retrieved from http://www.leadered.com/pdf/2014MSC_AddressingCurrentandFutureChallenges.pdf

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week 29 Activity 5: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development

Week 29

Activity 5: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development

Step 1 Descriptive Stage

I’m the first to admit that I am a reluctant teacher in introducing social media into my teaching practice.  I fundamentally have an issue with the content that seems to me to be often self indulgent and that my personal experience of social media, particularly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram had not been that productive! Therefore, these in particular has not been part of my professional practice or PD. As Melhuish (2013) points out education is not a solitary experience but more a social one. Through this Mindlab study I’ve come to realise that I do use a range of social media platforms in my teaching without being overtly aware of it.  For example, I belong to three Education Google + communities, I regularly use Google Apps, Kahoot’s that are shared, Trello to track progress and comment on and last but not least I’m sure Tour Builder as part of Inquiry.

Step 2 Comparative Stage

When I look at my MindLab peers responses to the Social Media survey I realise that as a profession we aren’t using a wide range in social media platforms. It appears that Facebook and Google+ (Social Networks) and Facebook groups (Social Forums) are by far the most popular. This makes sense when you take into consideration the opinion of Whitaker, Zoul, & Casas (2015) who defined learning networks as being places where the people involved have shared interests and common goals. For me the step to be on par with my colleagues is not huge. By embracing Facebook and Twitter to help connect with other professionals is not that difficult as I have experience of it in my personal life. My challenge (and it would appear most of the survey participants) is to experiment with more diverse types of social networking.  Whitaker et al (2015) believe that we can transform by stepping out of our comfort zones to find value in our connection. By joining teacher focus groups on FB and being alerted to PD through Twitter I believe I can become more connected and informed. I like the idea of using blogs, not just to share but to also critically evaluate my own viewpoint on what others may be sharing and through videos like Ted ed and Youtube I can get a global viewpoint and be part of a ‘collective conscientious’ of educators.  Indeed Melhuish (2013) has stated that belonging to social networking groups enables a community to share its expertise. Who knows? I might have something valuable to offer! Looking at the survey there are a number of platforms I have never heard of so I’m enthusiastic to take a closer look at them.

Step 3 Critical Reflection

In moving forward I think it would benefit my teaching practice if I engage with more social Networks and Social Forums. By investing in professional Learning Network I believe I can become a educator who is connected Whitaker et al., (2015) and by proxy a more informed educator. An easy place to start is by following the formula suggested by Whitaker et al., (2015).  By using follow 5, find 5 and take 5 is a good place to start in taking responsibility for taking responsibility for my development as a professional. As mentioned the shift is not a huge one. If I want to embed in my students a growing awareness of citizenship and opportunities in the digital world Magette (2014) I need to be role model and have a more positive and constructive online presence.

References

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

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved from, http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstr eam/han…

Whitaker, T., Zoul, J., & Casas, J. (2015). What connected educators do differently. New York, NY: Routledge.

Week 28

In this weeks blog I will be discussing a situation that occured in my practice that required using a reflective model from Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper (2001) .

What

Last year I had a student who was using his school gmail account to communicate with his mother about what was going on in the class, what he was learning about and general interaction.  Although this wasn’t what the school email was designed for I let this slide as the purpose of the email was not being abused. I had taken into account his personal situation where he was a child of divorce and was in shared custody so at times needed to touch base with mum because he missed her. However, it soon emerged that this parent was asking about other students, how they were doing, instructing him on how to do his work. In some instances he complained to his mother that he was being told off and how it wasn’t his fault..  The mother then forwarded the emails to my principal to make a complaint about how I was being unfair to her son. Minero (2017) talks about digital technology/communication is giving parents a deeper look into their children’s performance and experience in the classroom, unfortunately this is an example of how as teachers we can be maligned by a parent if they have an agenda.

So What

I had put myself in a compromising position as I knew he was using his email to communicate with his mother during the day. While the Practising Teacher Criteria and Code of Ethics Criteria 3 Professional Relationships (Education Council, n.d.) require me to engage in strengthening relationships with family and whanau I don’t believe this was the method or format to do so. I understand that as educators we make moral decisions all the time but in this case I took a ‘grey zone’ Kakabadse (2003, cited in Ehrich, Kimber, Millwater, & Cranston, 2011) because in the first instance it did not appear to be. If I used Ehrich et al.’s (2011) decision-making model it would outline the critical incidents for a dilemma and isolate some of the competing forces. Our school had an established ethical framework for school email addresses that I did not follow and within an institutional context the school had an established culture, practices and and expectations of how school email addresses were to be used. And of course there is  a wider global context of how schools and parents might view the use of emails in the classroom and the belief that the email is there as a form of communication and not as a school tool.

Now What

Enrich et al., (2011) talks about being aware of interconnecting factors that require educators to make defensiveable decisions that occur all the time. It is clear to me that in the first instance I did not balance the school’s policy of student device use well with my own personal values. That by allowing one student leeway I inadvertently encouraged a situation where conflict between institution (our school policy) and a parent ensured.  This ties in with the New Zealand teachers code of conduct (Education Council, 2017) where I am required to engage in ethical and professional relationships with learners that respect professional boundaries...by allowing the misuse of his email my professional boundaries became blurred and my position became compromised by his mother. I can see that perhaps I should have made it clear to my parents of the school’s policy and the wider implications if we as educators didn’t follow these policies. It seems to me that using an ethical dilemma model is a very useful process where values can be explored, expectations can be managed and an appropriate outcome found.

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References

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

Education Council. (n.d.). Practising Teaching Criteria. Retrieved from, https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/practising-teacher-criteria-0

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. Retrieved from, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1epzff2Lyvna1hnEZEIhrupEdD-no4_pW/view

Minero, E. (2017). Parent Engagement in the Digital Age. Retrieved from, https://www.edutopia.org/article/parent-engagement-digital-age

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.