Activity 8: Changes in my practice

Reflections of the year that was Mind Lab

Woohoo! What a ride! 2017, and the journey with Mind Lab, has been the most challenging and stimulating year of my teaching career. While the challenge has been teaching fulltime and then adding study on top, it has reminded me to think about the demands we place on our students in terms of assignments and working to deadlines (thank heavens for extensions!). And yet…I find myself thinking that I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

It has been many a long year since I last undertook any study and I have often looked on at colleagues who have completed their Master’s degrees, while working fulltime, with nothing short of admiration. Now I have proven to myself that ‘there’s life in the old girl yet’ and that it is possible to ‘teach an old dog new tricks’! So far, so good…

Mind Lab has had numerous benefits for me, not least of which has been to force me out of my comfort zone and stretch my boundaries – or replace them altogether in a new position! I feel re-energised and more enthusiastic about teaching in general and my practice specifically. It has given me more confidence in using digital technologies and including them more and more in my teaching. While both semesters have been interesting and challenging, I found that I missed the weekly meetings with Lynley and the whole Taupo group of the first 16 weeks once we began the second semester. However, the online collaboration through Google+ and webinars has been stimulating and given me access to a far wider group of like-minded people, and I have learnt to blog.

Changes to my practice related to the Practicing Teacher Criteria in e-Learning

Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.

Completing the Mind Lab course has been the most worthwhile PD I’ve ever done. While it has challenged me to makes changes in my personal practice, it is the regular and ongoing aspect that is important and most effective as we teachers have become part of the learning process through collaborating, researching and facilitating our own learning in ways that are important to us as individuals (Osterman, 1993).

The course, including weekly sessions, readings and online collaboration with other teachers from both primary and secondary sectors over the 32 weeks, has meant I have had the opportunity to start putting some of what I’ve learnt into practice.  And the ‘ongoing’ part will not end here. 

Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.

Through Mind Lab I am engaging in more reflective practice, looking with a critical eye and with reference to evidence-based research to help inform and improve my practice. Osterman (1993, p.2.) describes reflective practice as “a challenging, demanding, and often trying process that is most successful as a collaborative effort…..a means by which practitioners can have a greater level of self-awareness about the nature and impact of their performance”. I have particularly enjoyed learning about the 21st century learning rubrics and am already starting to deploy these in my teaching (collaboration, and real-world problem solving and innovation particularly), along with a move to more project-based learning. This aligns well with the current approach in our science faculty where we are moving to more evidence-based assessment linked to the science capabilities in the junior school. It also addresses the concept of ako – using effective teaching strategies that will motivate and promote learning for my students.

Where to from here?

I will continue to use the 21st century learning skills rubrics and look forward to continuing with an ongoing collaborative, real-world problem-solving project started this year with colleagues from my school and one of the local primary schools. I also want to further explore the use of project-based learning in science and look at adding student blogs to the mix.

The new Mind Lab Masters course starting in 2108 has also piqued my interest. However, I’m not quite ready for that yet!

Mind Lab has opened my eyes in new ways to where 21 century education is, and should be, headed. The downside to this is that I’m now itching to get on with it but find that the change we need to implement within my school environment is going to happen much more slowly! The ultimate dream would be for all staff at my school to complete the Mind Lab course so we can get some real change starting to happen. 6 down, 70 to go! The digital future is already upon us, whether we like it or not, and our education system needs to catch up so we can really prepare our students for their futures.

References

Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/

Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (1993). Reflective practice for educators. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin Press.

Activity 7: My Interdisciplinary Connections Map

 

What exactly are ‘interdisciplinary connections’? Veronica Boix-Mansilla (1996) describes them as “integrating knowledge or modes of thinking from two or more disciplines (fields of study) in order to create products, raise questions, solve problems, and offer explanations of the world around them in ways that would not have been possible through single disciplinary means’.

Through interdisciplinary studies students are presented with a curriculum that engages them in authentic learning, project-based experiences that are not bound by the traditional subject-silo teaching methods that are still so prevalent today. Instead they have the opportunity to follow their own interests and develop critical thinking skills in order to solve real-world problems.

Jones (2010) describes other advantages of this curriculum delivery method as encouraging the development of lifelong learning and having more direct student involvement in their own learning which leads to becoming independent learners while blending the traditional stand-alone subjects. He acknowledges that while there can be a few drawbacks, such as being it being time-consuming for teachers to prepare, the advantages and benefits of it leading to more innovation and higher order thinking in the future outweigh these negatives.

At my school we are still in the post-industrial era model of education where subjects are taught in isolation, although there are groups of teachers who are trying to break this mold by working across two faculty/subject areas, such as the annual Y13 combined Geography/Biology field trip based in the Central North Island.

This year I am the science teacher for the newly introduced Sport in Education (SIE) class at Y9. The ‘core’ subject teachers of this class meet weekly to plan and integrate the learning experiences as much as possible while still covering the curriculum as outlined by our respective faculties, with an emphasis on active/activity-based learning. We were able to do one major integrated unit based around the Lions Tour this winter which culminated in group presentations to their teachers and parents. While there were some teething problems (access to computers, students learning how to collaborate fully, lack of verbal & visual presentation skills for many) and it did take extra time to plan and coordinate across the subjects, there were also some benefits. These included having an authentic audience to present to (their parents!), gaining confidence in presenting to an audience, and that every group in the class rallied together in the end.

Next year I would like to trial another interdisciplinary project, preferably with my colleagues on staff who have done the Mind Lab course with me in 2017 as between the five of us we cover science, social studies, maths and design & visual communication (DVC). In order for this to happen a few things are required: a growth mindset (this is a ‘given’ as we’ve already demonstrated this through doing Mind Lab!), a commitment to broadening horizons and crossing the subject silos, and being given time for us to properly plan and implement the process. In all likelihood it will be the latter point that is the most difficult to achieve! In their conceptual model for interdisciplinary collaboration Mulligan and Kuban (2015) describe the need for three elements to be present for a successful collaboration. If one element is missing the project will be challenging to complete. Appropriate planning time would fit under the element of workplace conditions. This is the aspect that is out of our (collaborators) control and without which an interdisciplinary project will difficult, although not impossible.

Another probable constraint to using an interdisciplinary approach in 2018 is that there will be no fixed core class rolls in Y 9 & 10, instead the students in a class may differ from subject to subject depending on their strengths and weaknesses in any particular area. This will make teaching with an interdisciplinary approach messy and challenging - but not impossible. After all, we owe it to our students to move towards an interdisciplinary model in order to properly prepare them for their working lives beyond school. If we are to fulfil our duty to our students, we need to keep the following words from Daniel Pink (cited in Interdisiplinarity and Innovation, 2011) in mind:

“We need to prepare kids for THEIR FUTURE, not OUR PAST.”

References

Boix Mansilla, V., Miller, W. C., & Gardner, H. (2000). On disciplinary lenses and interdisciplinary work. Interdisciplinary curriculum: Challenges to implementation, 17-38.

Jones, C. (2010). Interdisciplinary approach-advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI, 7(1), 26.

Mulligan, L. M., & Kuban, A. J. . (2015). A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Retrieved from http://acrlog.org/2015/05/14/a-conceptual-model-for-interdisciplinary-collaboration

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

Activity 6: Using social online networks in my teaching and/or professional development.

In this world of constantly growing interconnectedness it is inevitable that social media will increasingly make its way into the classroom, whether we like it or not. While social media for personal use is the most common trend, using it for professional development is fast becoming just as important. It is also gaining favour within the classroom although many educators are still wary of this for a number of reasons (Seaman, 2013).

I use social media personally and professionally via a variety of forums on a regular basis. From a professional stand point I find Facebook, Twitter and Youtube useful forums for professional reading/viewing and information; Facebook in particular often has articles worth sharing with colleagues and I follow a couple of education based groups. Through the Mind Lab course this year I have also used Google+, Google Hangouts and Blogger.  VLN Network is another professional online group I access on occasion. I find there is a wealth of information on Twitter (although I rarely ‘tweet’) and Facebook and the TEDEd/TEDx/TEDTalks channel on Youtube is well worth a look for ideas that challenge and expand the horizons. All of the above offer a valuable “pooling of expertise” (Melhuish, 2013, p. 171) and an arena for sharing ideas and experiences as well as academic learning. In particular I like the fact that I can connect and share ideas with teachers all over the world at a time of day that suits me.

As for using social media in my teaching, I haven’t really pursued this to any great lengths - although I do manage a school sports team Facebook page with a colleague and am a member of my Y13 House group in my role as House staff leader. Really the only way in which I currently communicate with my classes online is via Google Classroom or email. While I would like to learn how to effectively incorporate it into my classes, access at school to all social media was blocked for students earlier this year. A new social media policy for staff has also restricted our ability to use it with students, although I hope this can be changed at some point.

 While I feel I would need professional development as to how I might utilise social media effectively in my teaching, there are both definite advantages and disadvantages that I can see to this. Some of the ‘pros’ would be the ability to better engage students with their learning in ways that are familiar to them, challenging them to lift the standard of their online submissions as they would be posting to a much wider audience than previously. Using social media is a part of life now for most people so why not add it to the tools we use for teaching and learning? Blogger is one platform I would like to use in class as a means for students to share their work with their peers and families and receive feedback from them. Youtube and Twitter I could also see myself using in class.

The drawbacks to using social media in my teaching (apart from the current block to all social media at my school) include the potential for online bullying and abuse, the ‘open all hours’ aspect of being constantly available to students unless this is well managed and the fact that the sheer amount of online engagement can be overwhelming. During term breaks there are days when I literally switch off and refuse to engage in any social media. I need to do this for my own sanity! For me to implement using social media in my teaching will take careful planning, professional development, and time management. In time I’m sure I’ll do this as it will become more and more important for teaching in the 21st century.

“Get connected, grow your networks, accelerate your learning.” (Office of Ed Tech, 2013).

References

Source: Office of Ed Tech (2013, September 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8

Melhuish, K. A. V. (2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato). Retrieved on 30 October, 2017 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/

Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf

Activity 5: Legal and ethical contexts in my practice

Activity 5: Legal and ethical contexts in my practice.

An ethical dilemma for me…

In these days of widespread use of technology and social media, both in school and out, one of the situations I dread is that of coming across video or photos of me (that I did not know were being taken) ‘out there’ in the digital stratosphere. While this has already happened indirectly, in that a student took a video of his experiment in my science class and my voice could be heard in the background, it is a salutary reminder that this is an ever present reality for teachers today. The danger, of course, is that video of any teacher taken without their knowledge or consent in the course of their work has the possibility of being taken out of context. Imagine if I had been taking a sex education class or discussing human reproductive systems and these were taken out of context, misconstrued and then wound up on social media!

In the event mentioned above, this prompted me to talk to my classes and explain that they were not to take photos or video of me without my knowledge and consent. In reality, this will be very difficult to police but it did create some discussion around appropriate use of digital technology and social media. And it’s highly likely that this has already happened – I just don’t know about it.

The other side of this coin is that I must reciprocate. A number of my students have questioned what I do with the photos or recordings I take of them and this is a fair question. I assure them that they are for assessment purposes or as part of my appraisal documents. The only other place I might post them (with permission!) is in Google Classroom so they are only visible to that class. I do not post these images anywhere on line and certainly wouldn’t without appropriate permission.

I do use social media and also am Facebook friends with some students and parents. However, I am very careful to ensure that where students are involved it is in a closed group situation, such as the Y13 Whanau house group as I am staff head of a house and need to be able to communicate quickly and easily with house leaders and other Y13s when we are organizing for inter-house competitions, etc. The other closed groups I am part of on Facebook that involve students (and some parents) are the college Snowsports team (I am the manager) and the Amazon trip page from when I accompanied a school trip to South America a few year ago. In my experience, because there is at least one teacher on these pages, students tend to use them in an appropriate manner!

The position of a teacher is a trusted one in society – after all, we are responsible for educating the youth of our nation. We need to ensure we respect this position, “recognise the influence we have on learners” (Education Council, 2017) and act in accordance with it. Part of the dilemma comes with being unaware of when or if we are being filmed by students and exactly where those images are going to end up. The other part is our own online presence through social media. We have a duty of care to our students which includes being careful about what we ‘put out there’ in any format. Whether we like it or not, this job comes with some responsibilities that are 24/7 – and wise use of social media is one of them.

While at my school the policy is that staff should not communicate with students via social media, this can become blurred as clearly, from what I have previously said, I do. In a school that uses G Suite (Google Apps for education), the opportunity for students and parents to be constantly in contact with us is huge. These apps include social media apps. As always, it’s about acting in a professional manner and taking care with whom and how it is done, including managing app settings appropriately!

References

New Zealand Education Council, 2017. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

Activity 2: Current issues in my professional context

School culture can be defined as the beliefs and values that its members share (Stoll, 1998); the way things are done in a particular school. These beliefs and values form as a result of a number of factors, one of which is the age of the institution itself as it will have been imbued with the beliefs and values prevalent at that time.

The school in which I teach opened in 1960 and is a decile 5 school. The decile system was devised as a means to apportion funding to overcome socioeconomic disadvantages that can negatively impact student learning at the lower levels (Hattie, 2002). The intention of the decile rating was to target funding in order to even the learning playing field for students from lower socioeconomic areas (MoE, 2017). The population the school draws on is a mix of both affluent and lower socioeconomic areas and the student body is a reflection of this.

Taupo has a population of approximately 24,000. The school has a roll of approximately 1200 students from Years 9 – 13; 32% of whom identify as Maori, although this figure could be as high as 40% as a number of them are not enrolled as Maori but would identify as being so. 55% of students are New Zealand European with a further 12% of other ethnicities (mainly Asian and Pasifika). The ethnic make-up of the teaching staff is approximately 12% Maori (or of Maori descent), 18% from other countries and the balance being NZ European. Our senior management and deans teams currently do not include any Maori teachers, although two of the Maori teachers are in COL (Community of Learning) roles, and this is one area in which I feel we could improve.

My school was the first New Zealand secondary school to become an accredited Cornerstone Values school. The 8 Cornerstone Values (Honesty & Truthfulness, Kindness, Consideration, Compassion, Responsibility, Respect, Obedience, Duty) have steadily been incorporated into the fabric and culture of the college and are one of the most important aspects of our culture. These are reinforced constantly in class, assemblies, daily notices and through other activities. We often get feedback after sports or school trips where members of the public have taken the time to comment positively on the dress and conduct of our students, which is a reflection of the importance we place on the Cornerstone Values and an indication that the students also support them.

Other important events that have become part of the school’s culture include the annual ‘Spirit Week’ (inter-house activities and mufti days), Colours Day (inter-house athletics) and senior & junior prizegiving ceremonies.

The staff culture is one of genuine collegiality, which visitors and new staff often comment on. There is a good ‘feel’ in the staffroom and relationships between staff are warm and friendly for the most part. Such relationships are described by Stoll (1998) as being one of the three dimensions of school culture. For me they form a vital part of the reason I have remained here for so long and was more than satisfied with the education my own two children received at the school. Long may it last!

References

Hattie, J. (2002). Schools like mine: Cluster analysis of New Zealand schools. Nursing, 40, 3306.

Ministry of Education, 2017. Retrieved from                https://www.education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/resourcing/operational-funding/school-decile-ratings/

Taupo-nui-a Tia College Education Review Office report, 2016.

http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/taupo-nui-a-tia-college-26-10-2016/

Taupo-nui-a Tia College website. Retrieved from http://www.taupocollege.ac.nz/cornerstone-values

Taupo population, 2015. Retrieved from http://population.city/new-zealand/taupo/

Activity 4: Indigenous culture and cultural responsiveness in my practice

What is culture?

Culture can be described in a number of ways. It includes our beliefs and values which Gay (2010) likens to a filter that aids our understanding of what’s around us. She goes on to explain that culture consists of tangible and intangible aspects; those that are intangible include not only values and beliefs but also one’s perspectives and assumptions, while the tangibles are the parts of a culture we perhaps associate with more readily - the art, music and crafts.

As teachers we need to take care that we treat our students as individuals with their own unique needs and perspectives, who also just happen to belong to an ethnic group. It is important to understand and utilise students’ prior experiences wherever possible in developing learning experiences that will engage them. Following this culturally responsive pedagogy of relations (CRPR) enables us to act as “translators and cultural bridge builders” by linking “what is already known and what is to be taught.” (Irvine, 2010)

The New Zealand situation, as described by Russel Bishop (Edtalks, 2012), has an achievement gap between Maori and non-Maori that is too large to ignore. This prompted him to lead a study into why this was happening, which then saw the development of the Te Kotahitanga Project and the Effective Teaching Profile (ETP).

My school context

My school (32% Maori) joined the Te Kotahitanga Project in 2009 where we were encouraged and guided to shift from a more traditional teaching model to a more agentic one with a focus on cultural responsiveness and increased Maori contexts within our teaching. This involved observations of our teaching with individual feedback/feedforward sessions afterward. While it challenged previously held misconceptions about Maori as learners for a number of us, it stressed the importance of building relationships with our students and their whanau. This is one area that I have always felt confident in; the bigger challenge for me was employing more Maori contexts in the teaching programmes in order to make their learning more relevant.

In 2015, we moved into the Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success model (KEP). This was a school professional development reform that had been developed from Te Kotahitanga. Again it’s focus was on assisting Maori to reach their potential and the importance of relationships was at its core.

The 6 aspects of the KEP model are:

·         Manaakitanga: Belief in and care for Maori learners

·         Mana motuhake: High expectations for Maori learners and their learning

·         Whakapiringatanga: Well managed learning contexts

·         Ako: Effective teaching strategies to promote learning

·         Whakataunaki: Evidence-based learning

·         Whai pikinga: Accelerating improvement for Maori learners

                                                                                                                (Kia Eke Panaku, 2013)

Some important changes in this programme were the introduction of co-construction meetings with teachers of the same classes. These became important for the collegial sharing and collaboration of evidence-based learning. In class observations and feedback sessions also continue. Although this programme has now ended, due to its government funding being cut, we are still continuing to use this model in an ongoing effort to continue to raise the achievement of our Maori students.

In 2016, the ERO report concluded that:

“Māori students indicated that they felt acknowledged and respected as Māori, that there were opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills in te reo and tikanga Māori, and they were able to experience a strong sense of belonging.”

This is also evident in the way in which our Maori students now haka tautoko their peers who have been recognised for their achievements in school assemblies, something which only began happening when the college embarked on the Te Kotahitanga Project. We have a strong, committed kapa haka group and this year have had the ‘unveiling’ of our new school haka with an inter-house haka competition. This is set to be an annual event which will see more and more involvement from students both Maori and non-Maori as it becomes embedded into the school culture.

We still have a way to go until our Maori students are achieving their potential and the achievement gap is a thing of the past. Meanwhile we need to remain focused on creating and maintaining relationships for learning with them.

References

Edtalks. (2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

Gay, G., Teaching Tolerance (2010, June 17). Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8

Irvine, J, J., Teaching Tolerance (2010, June 17). Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8

Kia Eke Panuku (2013 – 2016) Retrieved from https://kep.org.nz/

ERO Report, (2016) Taupo-nui-a Tia College Retrieved from http://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/taupo-nui-a-tia-college-26-10-2016/

Activity 3: Contemporary trend in education

Students as creators

Worldwide, education is undergoing major change. The pressures of increasing population, changing economies, declining natural resources and space for living and rapidly evolving technologies all have a flow-on effect to each other and to education. In order for us to develop an education system that can cope with this change, we need to identify the global trends that will influence it and be influenced by it. Of course, we cannot predict the future with 100% certainty but by looking at current and possible upcoming trends, we can at least get an idea. This, naturally, is not a clean-cut process.

A trend can be defined as “a general direction in which something is developing or changing” (Google dictionary, 2017). Trends can be transitory or lasting and the longer they ‘trend’ the more of an effect they have on society. The challenge is to cope with these global trends in a globally coordinated way in an era where ‘self’ and the individual are continually championed and encouraged through the media and education.

One of the emerging trends in education is that of students as creators where students become active in assisting to create their own learning rather than being mere consumers of it. This is a far cry from the type of education I received when I was at school. Back then we were what I like to call ‘fliptop’ learners where we ‘opened our heads and the teacher filled us up’ with the required knowledge!

This will no longer do in a world where all the information you could want is a mere click of a button away. What is needed now is education that allows students to select and learn what is important to them, balanced with the skills they will need in the 21^st century. In the words of Shelley Wright (2012), “Powerful learning begins to manifest when students take responsibility and ownership for their learning, when they become co-creators of their learning experience, rather than their education being something that is done to them.”   

However, some of the barriers to this could include things such as a reluctance to let go of control over curriculum and pedagogical design (Bovill, 2011) at classroom, faculty and school levels, meeting the current academic requirements for NCEA or other qualifications as well as the fact that our teaching fraternity has an average age of 46 (Education Review, 2013), or even mid-50s at secondary level (Dooney, 2017). This last point illustrates the fact that for a large number of teachers within our schools, this trend of allowing students to create their own learning is not something we grew up with so will require professional development and support if we are to engage students more deeply with their learning while ensuring it is relevant to them.

While the majority of teachers would be willing to move with and further develop this trend, it isn’t without its challenges. The NMC/CoSN Horizon Report (2016) describes this challenge as that of “scaling teaching innovations” where schools are yet to become efficient at adopting teaching innovations such as students creating their own learning. Possible barriers here are a lack of incentives for teachers to innovate when we are still constrained, at least at secondary level, by the requirements for NCEA for example. Does this in fact, come down to assessment? Do we need to take into account the skills that both employers and tertiary institutions are asking for?

One thing is certain, change is already here whether we like it or not. Now we need to adapt and collaborate with our students in order to educate them as fully as possible for the world beyond our school gates.

References

Bovill, C., Cook‐Sather, A., & Felten, P. (2011). Students as co‐creators of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula: implications for academic developers. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(2), 133-145.

Education Review, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.educationreview.co.nz/magazine/april-2013/feast-or-famine-the-supply-of-new-teachers/

Dooney, L., 2017 Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/92733482/secondary-schools-facing-a-perfect-storm-as-teacher-shortage-deepens

Google Dictionary, 2017.

NewMediaConsortium, (2016, September, 12). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. [video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=wmiLrK-nF7k

 Wright, S., 2012. Deep learning isn’t about technology. Retrieved from Powerful Learning Practice blog http://plpnetwork.com/2012/09/24/deeper-learning-technology/

Activity 1: My practice within the community.

Etienne Wenger (2011) describes Communities of practice (CoP) as “...groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” (p1).

These CoPs have three aspects (Knox, 2009):

Domain - or the area of shared inquiry and key issues;

Community - the relationships, sense of belonging and interactions of those in the CoP;

Practice -  the knowledge, resources, tools, experiences that members bring to the CoP.

I see my own community of practice, this year at least, as two CoPs: the science faculty at the secondary school I work in and the Taupo group of the Mind Lab by Unitec March 2017 course.

The Domain: these evolve and change to reflect the interests and needs of their members and whether they personally identify with the CoP. (White, 2008).

Science faculty: I teach science to Years 9 and 10 and the learning support classes. My passion is for making school a fun and relevant place for learning for students who have learning disabilities and/or who are unmotivated and ‘switched off’ learners. This CoP is more forged than organic due to it comprising those of us who teach, and are passionate about, science and changes to its membership are based on who is hired to teach this subject and who departs to teach elsewhere.

Taupo Mind Lab (ML) group: This group has formed this year with the common goal of completing the Mind Lab course. We all have a common goal to learn, share and apply digital and collaborative learning in our classrooms and make 21st century education meaningful and applicable for our students. In this sense we could all be described as innovators and early adopters (Robinson, 2009). This CoP is organic in origin and has encouraged me to make new connections with teachers from other schools. While it may not continue on in this format beyond the end of this year, there is the possibility that it will morph into something new.

The Community:

Science faculty: We have short weekly meetings as well as a couple of longer meetings spaced throughout the term. The purpose for these is to discuss science in education as well as developing programmes, planning, assessment and reporting. While relationships are friendly it is a more forced situation driven by the demands of the school as much as by the fact that we all teach science.

Taupo ML group: Membership is entirely voluntary. During semester one we met weekly as a whole group where interactions were fun, friendly, supportive and encouraging . Since the start of the online course in semester two those of us at my school have continued to meet weekly to discuss and go through the week's’ tasks. We have been joined by others from the Taupo ML group which has given me the opportunity to continue building relationships with teachers from other schools. We also have a dedicated Google + community for the Taupo ML group that is regularly used. Some of us are also connected via Twitter and Facebook through which there is a continual sharing of ideas and opinions.

The Practice:

Both CoPs are a forum for sharing resources, good practice, conversations and tools. Informal mentoring also occurs in both as members strive to add new innovations to their practice and strive for change within our respective schools in order to align with a more 21st century approach to education. My focus here is to continue to put what I am learning into my classroom practice.

References:

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

Robinson, L. (2009). A Diffusion of Innovations. Retrieved form https://www.enablingchange.com.au/Summary  Diffusion

White, N. (2008).Community of Practice blog series. Retrieved from https://www.fullcirc.com/2008/09/20/cop-series-3-community-without-people/

Wenger, E. (2011) Communities of practice: a brief introduction.