Week 32 - APC - Reflective Practice - Putting it all together

Week 32 - APC - Reflective Practice - Putting it all together

Activity 8: Changes in my Practice

Well Im almost there, what an amazing journey which I know I will continue to develop and grow within my capacity as an instructional leader at Homai. Has this journey been easy? absolutely not, but it definitely has been worthwhile. Being part of a community of practice with 3 other Principals who have also been on this journey has enabled me to stay focused, stay on track and motivated, while leading a school with so many demands. Looking back, this journey started with a strong focus on leading my school towards a 21st century eLearning environment, but had limited experience or understanding of where to start. My staff were looking at me to led them as we had no "expert" IT onboard. As the Principal I felt responsible for the lack of direction and decided to do something about it. I engaged with 3 other colleagues on my dilemma and the feelings were mutual so we all agreed as a way forward, we would join the Mindlab course. 

As part of the Practising Teachers Criteria, we are required to commit to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice and show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning (PTC 3 & 4). My journey these past 32 weeks have definitely highlighted these 2 criteria's, but most importantly, my actions and commitment to my new learning have inspired more of my teachers to enroll with the Mindlab and grow their professional capacity for digital collaboration. For me this modelling of practice has been the most exhillerating feeling of all.

Being exposed to a variety of digital technology has made my professional life so much easier, saving time, energy and stress. Teaching my staff how to use devices and digital technology to innovate teaching and learning programmes has been rewarding, especially when I see the new learning being used in the classroom. developing a plan using the "lean canvas" model identified my early adapters who have been helping to implement elearning across the school, growing more experts and encouraging others to join the Mindlab course. It is my intention is see all my teaching staff go through the Mindlab programme over the next 1 1/2 years.


The two main focuses for our school moving forward aligns to PTC 6, conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme, and PTC 7, promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment.

PTC 6: Plan innovative programmes that inspire, innovation and incorporate digital - learning / spaces / collaboration; and

PTC7: Continue to build our communities of practices across our schools in Manurewa, our communities and whanau, where learners are supported and the environment is conducive to their learning.

Because of my newly found knowledge and hands-on experience, I felt confident joining a local ICT cluster and participating in IT / digital conversations, where I was able to contribute valuable information and advice. I have also been able to share my journey about Mindlab with my newly joined cluster, where much interest has formed. Through this forum I have been able to apply PTC 12, use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice. Setting up our school wide blogs, dojos and social media with robust safety measures in place, took alot of thought, problem-solving and effective programming. Developing an appraisal system through google sites and a school wide google + community for collaborative sharing and a professional platform to ask questions, reflect on practice and challenge ideas. This is an exciting time for our staff, as they develop their confidence for digital collaboration, they are becoming more susceptible to change, as we move closer towards a 21st century technological environment. (Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.) stated...."this will require a greater level of self awareness about their impact and lead to opportunities for professional growth and development".

This has been an easy journey at the school level as all my staff are keen to develop their own PCK in this field and have taken professional and personal steps to seek ongoing PLD. However, some barriers we face is time constraints, too many face to face PD / TD / PLCs etc. We are still developing smarter ways using digital platforms to have meetings, up-skill and develop PCK in different areas of education. This will be our challenge and opportunity to grow and embed good practices.

My challenge will be to continue building on this new knowledge and ensure our school learning environment is a 21st century school of choice.

Where to next for my learning?
In the near future I would love to complete my masters degree in applied practice, with a focus on kaupapa maori principles and its place within the 21st century schooling. I will definitely see where my next journey takes me....

Watch this space!!

References:
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 fromhttp://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Registered-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning



 

Comments

  1. Unknown24 June 2016 at 17:21

    Hi Rosina. Congratulations for getting through the Postgrad despite having such a heavy workload. I thought it would be hard getting through just as a teacher. One thing that I really enjoyed about this course is that I have never encountered a PD course where school staff from all levels, from all around the country get to work together and share a journey. It is often easy for Principals to tell their staff to go up skill but I think its amazing to see Principals leading by example. Good luck for your Masters!

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  2. Em1 July 2016 at 02:57

    Hi Rosiana. Week 32 done and dusted, well done. I to have loved the interactions and collaboration this course has fostered between such a range of schools. I love the idea of creating a school wide Google+ community for teachers. It would provide a platform where learning conversations could be recorded and reflected on by a range of teachers. As Grace said it is great to see Principals leading the way for their staff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown3 July 2016 at 04:50

    Hi Rosina, thank you for your honest reflections throughout your journey. I have enjoyed reading your blogs throughout this process. I commend you for your leadership and willingness to set an example in "moving your school toward a 21st Century eLearning environment". Your willingness to engage your professional learning community on your perceived issue and tackle this together is uplifting! Good luck with your continued journey.

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