Part 3 Community of Practice.

On viewing the video (Bruce Knox 2009) I can think of many groups that I am involved in from Quilting, Gardening to The Learning Connexion. all driven by a personal passion and a need to communicate with like minded individuals. These individuals as (Wenger 2000) states you have a 'shared repertoire' to generate energy and growth; and of course community. So I understand and have experienced the value of shared visions and community in achieving goals.

However  for the purpose of this discussion I am thinking of the Professional groups I am presently involved and in correspondence with. I am part of the Primary Teachers group on facebook, an Art / Primary Teachers group also on Facebook. These I have found invaluable to query, find solutions and offer support and ideas though despite meeting very few of them in person. It's accessibility to suit my varied life has been ideal and allowed me to utilise the expertise and energy of others when mine has waned or hit a brick wall.Also of course the Rotochats from MindLab and Otonga Google+ community.

Closer to my immediate professional circle I would say the team I presently work with are an excellent C.O.P. We have shared vision, shared needs. shared resources and collegial support to ensure our team runs smoothly. As (Cambridge,Kaplan & Suter 2005) state Communities provide an environment for people to connect, interact, and build shared resources when they have a shared Learning goal. The idea of a community providing a concrete organisational infrastructure for realising the dreams of a Learning organisation (Wenger2002) is definitely our Year 2 team.

I propose to work collaboratively with the team, in planning, organisation, and shared resources through a Flipped Learning approach. We have a new First Year teacher joining us also and this will enable her to not only begin her teaching career in a Future Orientated, collaborative way, but be supported by  the expertise found in all of the team. This will be a first for us and I have already trialled 'Flipped Learning' with my class this term, to understand better the requirements needed. As (Sweeney 2015) states there is a lot of benefit in building collaborative Inquiry projects together, even if we are still physically in our own classrooms.Hence this will also be our Teacher Inquiry for next year.

However excited as I may be, this has pushed me out of my comfort zone working so closely with others. I enjoy having my own room and group of students to bond with. I don't mind sharing responsibilities or resources but there is unknown territory I need to go through to make sure I am fully collaborative. That is the next challenge and part of my "growth" journey to ensure I am best equipped for the tasks at hand in The Knowledge Age.

Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246 (Link to the article in Unitec Library)

Cambridge, D., Kaplan, S. & Suter, V. (2005). Community of practice design guide: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Cultivating. Retrieved fromhttps://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NLI0531.pd...

Assessment part 2 Future-Oriented Teaching and Learning.

Why did I make this change to my Practise?
I've been a Teacher long enough to recognise and agree change is part of the Teaching /Educational arena as we try to keep up with changes in our society. Coming through the Industrial, then Technology and now the Knowledge Age. I have to admit being once again excited by the possibilities of the future, yet honest enough to feel at times daunted by the process. To cope and  to achieve, I feel you have to at first, move forward one step at a time. Mindlab is one of those steps! Since July, I have now included Technology in "Flipped Learning' for my class, revisited the Key competencies and used augmented  reality in a discovery based format, and Class Dojo for videos to frontload ideas for class work. This also prepared a pathway for Parents to see, and begin to understand more of why education needs to change for their children

How was this change triggered?
The existing delivery of Learning wasn't working for me at school and certainly not meeting the needs of the students I taught. Over the last 10 years the exponential growth in knowledge I have witnessed in society and now in schools has been the catalyst I feel, for the changes we are beginning to see. Technology has never been so accessible and I'm fortunate to work in a school that supports this move, with most homes having access to devices. However I found the exposure to Technology has been (especially in the homes) a form of babysitting, without any consideration of content their children were being exposed to. Bad habits were forming and social skills were weakening...
Another thing I have also seen is the "diminishing time lapse" we have as individuals to answer, process, reflect  or consider issues before commitment is expected.  The essential skills to function as a Team player, be a supportive / positive individual  and yet still hold onto Identity and self belief have also diminished.  However this is being addressed in the revisiting of competencies in the  21st Century skills and this was one of the drivers for me when talking to colleagues who had completed Mindlab previously.

Literature that supports Change.
“A future-oriented learning system requires that all those involved in education are involved in continuous learning” (Bolstad et al., 2012). When reading this article and in particular this quote, it made me realise just how different my role in the classroom is now. Where once I was the Teacher, giving and planning the knowledge delivered. Now we have become the Facilitators of our students learning, by being there to promote, support and offer guidance in their personalised learning.   If we  don't continually upskill and learn alongside them,  we will become irrelevant in our contributions in the classroom. We need to model to our students being  " life long learners,"  by having an open mindset to change and embrace new pedagogy to support this. We can empower the student by modeling how to embrace change, and being solution orientated when faced with Real World Problems as covered in this article.edutopia.org/practice/real-world-problem-solving-project-based-
solutions Nov 10,2015. 

The Change for Me.
My Journey with Mindlab has made me more aware of the changes in Society and the momentum technological change has given it. I'm more attuned to media (as the referenced article from the New Zealand Herald) showed me change is becoming more mainstream and discussed. Still challenged by Twitter, but I do use Whats App groups personally for groups, facebook for educational groups and google+ for sharing with colleagues. I feel more confident about future moves in education and optimistic about it catering for future generations coming through.

"While we can't be part of their future , we can help them be prepared for it "

www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11948171&ref=twitter
https://www.edutopia.org/practice/real-world-problem-solving-project-based-
solutions Nov 10,2015. 
Ministry of Education.(2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306

Further reflections on Reflective Practise....

Now having completed my end of year reports, and associated assessment commitments.....
 I have returned to reflect again on my teaching Practise.
Am I as reflective as needed? to address the needs of my students and myself in the  Learning process?
As mentioned in a survey adapted by  Zeichner and Liston’s (cited in Finlay, 2008, p.4)  the five levels of reflection are listed below.

This is how I relate presently to them....As mentioned previously- Rapid Reflection I think I use internally almost on auto - pilot. I find myself making judgements, assessments and reflections on activities and student engagements continually in the teaching day. However these are monologues with my own thoughts, and values so while they can give some direction and clarity to my next plan or activity they don't offer reflections to resolve or renew ideas.

Repair Reflection I recognise for me as the times I may react to a students' specific needs. This can be  socially, emotionally, physically or academically. Where I have received  a signal, sensory reaction or even dialogue where the planned activity has not met my expectations for that child. By developing relationships with students you become more attuned to the needs of that child as an individual , their perceptions, cultural beliefs, sense of self eg: I think of how each student deals differently with death, sorrow, loss....
Space and time can't be planned for, but can be given instantly as needed in these times and the reasons remembered later and brought forward in conversations with colleagues (or for myself a mentor who I trust to sound out ideas, concerns and receive counsel on, as an impartial colleague.)

Review
As I have written my final end of year student reports very recently.  I have used my reflective notes I have written throughout the year in a diary ( usually daily, sometimes weekly) where I have written my thoughts about units of worked completed, activities completed and the responses and abilities of individuals. Frequently reread during the year, these notes and observations have  allowed me to self reflect on my practise and delivery styles. Regroup children as needed to suit their learning needs and provide different modes of learning to establish a non threatening environment of learning . Interestingly I noticed how my teaching content and style began to expand with the contact with  the  Mindlab course and the collegial work I did with colleagues. Also the Professional Development with I.Y. which opened my mindset to certain readings and pedagogy that opened further gates of learning.

Research
I have had a personal interest in the Personalities of Students and how this effects the learning process for them in all areas of life. Reading books such as "Personality Plus" by Florence Littauer  and  "The 5 Love Languages of children" by Gary Chapman has reinforced to me just how individual children's needs are when relating to others and feeling valued and heard. I feel exposure to these books  has really made me more sensitive to the needs of individuals in my room and another "tool" to be aware of when planning learning activities and environments for them to learn in .

Retheorizing and reformulating Reflection This final step I have just really  begun to be aware of formally and is an area I need to address more and has made me realise that the The training I have received previously (eg: last century!)  in no way at all does it provide for me the tools to educate children of today or of the future. So therefore to stay relevant to the future needs of students I need to continue my own journey of Learning.

Zeichner and Liston’s (cited in Finlay, 2008, p.4)  the five levels of reflection.

Source: SkillsTeamHullUni. (2014, March 3). Reflective writing.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoI67VeE3ds

First Reflection Blog...On reflective practise.

Reflecting on teaching today...Time to Reflect?
As the clock ticks , deadlines or timetables loom who hasn't been in the position of just thinking just keep going, nearly there. Bowing down to the norms or procedures expected in your establishment and then having to live with the expected outcomes. Yes I've been there often.
 I think as teachers this can all too often be a reality, the days aren't any longer just more expected within them. I'm sure we all practise rapid reflection somewhere throughout the day as teachers, as we think on our feet constantly. Having 30 eager little minds, engaging, questioning, and assaulting your senses .....if you didn't you 'd be swamped.
However after working collaboratively more with new colleagues I can see the benefit of rewarding  myself (yes I said rewarding because in this 'Time' poor job, it is a reward to get some quality), reflective time with peers to nut out, reflect and question in a bid to get some specific ideas and suggestions to issues. Solutions and reassurances, that only come from having another personality, brain and outlook to help make sense of the community you are working in.
(Boyd & Malis 1983) mention Reflective practise builds an idea of self awareness of your everyday practice and this practise of critical reflection in itself  builds on the expectation of you as a "lifelong Learner" If Dewey(1933) identified and mentioned Reflecting as a specialised form of thinking-Today 80 years later I feel it's even more important and the one thing that will allow us to digest , process and reflect on the knowledge boom we presently live with.
Am I a reflective thinker?
Yes..Well I thought so! However I looked at it previously as ongoing problem solving , evolving my practise to meet the needs of the class at the time. It is only in recent years that I have really reflected more in depth with colleagues, and read to help enlighten situations.
I still go home and mull over events, incidents, pupils at night to 'sleep' on it to try and find solutions retrospectively as mentioned by (van Manen 1990)...
My Journey has hardly begun.

July, 2017 intake Mindlab:

Week 16 behind me and I realise now, just how quickly the time went and how much we have covered so far.  All assignments completed so far and although a stretch 'time wise' with school and life commitments etc I found them really worthwhile . Each and everyone stretched me and made me reflect on my journey so far. My mindset has changed definitely about teaching which I always thought of as a vocation, but now I feel energised and far more relevant to the future of Teaching. I can articulate far better to colleagues ideas and apply these within the classroom with a positive attitude , not always successful the first time (especially with some digital aspects ) but it soon works out and there is always someone out there who knows, if you take the time to ask.
Having started 40 years ago in teaching, like others I have seen change. Not always smooth or better, however this is the first Professional Development I've experienced, where I feel it has given me both  understanding and support to stay relevant in helping future learners.
Thanks to the great team I worked with at Rotorua and Tutors I'm feeling optimistic and excited  about ideas and collaborative plans for next year.