Looking back...moving forward!

Week 32 - Changes in Practice

More than ever it has become essential for our profession to utilise opportunities for professional development in order to better meet the needs of learners in the 21st century. The Mindlab postgraduate programme has afforded me the opportunity to connect with other like-minded professionals and to collaborate with them investigating and learning how to activate shifts and lead change in practice, integrate technology, enhance digital capability and activate new teaching practices.

Valuing learning is paramount - and in order to demonstrate this we need to make our learning visible. The last paper Applied Practice in Context has required us to complete a number of reflective posts. Blogging has made us make our learning visible. While it can make us feel a little vulnerable at times there has been much value in reflecting on our current thinking in this form. The most valuable part of this reflective practice for me is the talking I do with my colleagues as I am forming my ideas and then the feedback I receive from other course members and other bloggers.

These are the two key changes/next steps in my own research informed practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning

#1

Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning.

Guiding Question: How do I/can I use e-learning to support my colleagues to strengthen teaching and learning in my setting?

One of the next steps for us is to determine a vision for our school that the whole school community will buy into and support. In order for us to provide the e-learning direction for our school we need it to be part of the vision. Our Senior leadership is charged with ensuring that e-learning is integrated across the school at all levels and that it reflects our school communities needs. We need to get this right - we need to bring our community with us, we need to ensure that the right personnel are in place to drive this are forward in our school. Through participation in the Mindlab course we have been given the chance to reflect on leading change - how we go about successfully leading change in this area and we have reflected on what needs to be in place to be effective. It's time to put this all in practice.

#2

Criteria 12: Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.

Guiding question

How do I use e-learning to advance the learning of my ākonga/learners through critical inquiry with my professional learning?

"Teacher inquiry is an evidence-based process that allows teachers to trial new pedagogies and tools in relation to the needs of their class. It can be a powerful tool for implementing e-learning in the classroom". (TKI, Enabling e-learning)

Reflecting on the project plan we were required to put together for one on the other papers was a lightbulb moment for me as it really clarified for me that Project Based Learning, implemented well, was one way of ensuring that students would be working on authentic projects and tasks that would cause them to be involved in deeper learning and therefore hopefully more engaged in their learning. I am keen to move forward with this project and actually implement the plan. We need to be prepared to trial new pedagogies and tools and then reflect on the results to see if we are making a difference to student outcomes. We need to be inquiring into our practice and making evidence based decisions.

What's next?
I was going to label this post "The Last Post" and find an image of a bugel. This picture came to mind because it the last post in a series of assignments for the Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Practice: Digital and Collaborative Practice. However this is not my last post, far from it I think - I was blogging before the course and I will continue to blog. The blogging process helps me clarify my thinking and as stated earlier the feedback from colleagues really helps clarify next steps.

My next steps in professional learning are still not clear for me. I have really enjoyed the Mindlab course and even though there have been many times I have been time poor and therefore a little stressed - working collaboratively with my colleagues has been invaluable. I want to concentrate on moving forward with building a vision for our school - making our school the school of choice for Catholic students in the Mairehau Parish and while I am doing that I will ponder on my next steps for learning.

References:

TKI: enabling elearning site