Revision. DFI Week 9. Ubiquitous

The end of an incredible nine week journey. I was worried at the beginning that I would not be able to keep up and this was compounded by the decision to carry on with the course via distance; which felt like a bit of a leap at the time. As it turned out, I discovered the essence of rewindable learning. Knowing that I could come back to it later took the heat out of my concern. There were still moments when I felt swamped by how fast the Create parts were moving and I felt renewed understanding for our students about what it is to be a learner.

The organisation of the weekly sessions was a learning opportunity in itself. As we entered into distance learning, I was able to see how moving in and out of groups could work. It was an advantage to be part of this process as I helped  a few of our teachers learn about google meets, including setting meetings and sharing their screens.  Taking part in google meets myself meant that I picked up tips that I could share. The small group sessions in our course were a great way to develop the professional networks that we look for in courses. They were also a way to ask the questions that we wouldn't have done in the larger groups. The facilitators were wonderfully patient as they worked with their adult students!

One of my big gains was the knowledge that even though I may not have picked things up in the moment for a variety of reasons including computer issues or slow wifi, or just not 'clicking'. I developed the conviction that I would be able to 'get' it. It wasn't that I couldn't, I just hadn't, yet. I stopped doubting my ability and knew that I could. I developed grit. I read Carol Dweck's Positive Mindset  some years ago. As the weeks progressed I thought of her ' I can't do it ...yet but I will,' and as I was working with my little bubble of children at school, I found myself using that language.

This course embodies the whole Manaiakalani kaupapa word in its essence; "Ubiquitous". This course has been authentic ubiquitous learning for me, driving home the question; why wouldn't learning be ubiquitous  for our students?
Exciting times ahead as schools return to yet another new normal. Now is the time to seek out the successes of our distance learning and take the opportunity to move forward.
How will you move forward from here?

Devices - DFI Week Seven.

One of the great things about this Digital Fluency Intensive (DFI) is the learning within the learning. I love the stretch that comes with not only the embedding of  the  Maniakalani pedagogy, but also the incidental (or perhaps not) learning along the way. This is the way technology should be used, as a tool, not a 'topic' We have come a long way from those days! Below is the screencastify that I made in order to present the information and task for a cybersmart lesson. This involved me: finding out about the lesson content, reminding myself about using screencastify in order to explain the content and task, applying that knowledge and then remembering (thanks Nicola) how to embed a slideshow on my blog! So much learning going on amid this desire to ensure the cyber 'smarts' of our students!

I think that the same can be said about most of the members of my staff, myself included, relating to the distance learning. We have all had to learn new skills and so quickly become 'experts' in areas that we weren't even aware of pre lockdown. I have never watched so many 'how to' youtube videos (feel like I have a really good grasp of imovie now to name just one!) and realise that in lots of instances we can find our own answers. - a new face on rewindable learning. Most of the staff are commenting on how much they have loved the new learning that distance learning has invoked.

The children have also learned new digital skills in a short space of time. Just today a teacher told me that she was having trouble in her google meet; she could see the students but they couldn't see her or her screen share. One of the students (year 5 - thanks Mila!) stepped up and shared her screen and helped direct the discussion on fraction sharing. The teacher was not only impressed but also grateful for the support! Go our children! What heartwarming situations have you had throughout this lockdown?

Enabling Access - Sites Week Six DFI - Connected

Learning how to create a google site has been new learning for me. Thanks to the necessities of distance learning, I had already learnt how to upload material to the school hub sites and doing that in itself felt like an achievement. It seemed like a mystery and I  didn't want to upset any preset formatting that had been done. I felt a little like an intruder.  It is timely that my confidence with accessing and putting work on the site has improved at the same time that the mysteries of the workings behind the scene are unfolding through DFI. I still have a lot to learn and need to do some homework on this, but I am excited to be looking at an authentic purpose for my site; Structured Reading in the junior school. (The subject of another blog post!)

The Manaiakalani Kaupapa topic for week six was 'Connected'. I found that the graphic showing the four goals of Manaiakalani reached me this week. I have seen the graphic before but this time I saw how interconnected and important the four goals are. The big picture of enabling access; that learning for all children should be Connected. Through communication  and collaboration with others that sense of connection to a community is developed.
Ubiquitous, where equity is promoted and fostered when children are able to access the learning anytime and anywhere. Visible: a multi layered concept which was the topic of my last blog post.
Empowered: giving students agency through voice, choice and leadership.  Using the Learn, Create, Share framework to manage learning, these lofty goals somehow seem achievable.

The Kaupapa of Manaiakalani has settled on me. It feels like a good fit. The DFI course has further enabled my access to this thinking and I am grateful for it. What have been your 'aha' moments throughout this time?

Collaboration - Sites DFI Week Five - Visible Learning.

The focus for today's Manaiakalani pedagogy talk was about their kaupapa of 'Visible Learning'. This is a multi layered concept. The idea that the children should be able to relate to material  presented in a way that they feel connected with the school resonated with me. How will they know that the work presented to them comes out of their school and is relevant to their context?

Leading Lights wellbeing site

 Not only should the children be engaged and learning (not the same thing) but also the online content should reflect our school's style and culture. The idea of our students feeling connected matters to their wellbeing. There are articles aplenty that talk about this. (Nathan Wallas, Hattie and many others). Leading Lights, our localised collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Health, has many great articles showing how important it is for students to connect with their school, teachers, friends, whanau. The same goes for us.

It was good to be reminded about 'cultural capital' - what it is that we learn as we navigate life and relationships that help us to 'fit in'? It strikes me as an example of social inequity; when some children learn very quickly the language of learning, the nuances of 'teaching and learning' and others don't. I like the idea that digital technologies even out some of the social inequities but understanding the hidden culture behind what the teacher is meaning is still relatively hit and miss for many of our tamariki.


(Boudiue&Gerwitz)

Visible learning in terms of children having access and clarity around their next step learning has been considered good practice for years. We laboriously pinned up our WALTS and LI's on the walls each week and tried to remember to point them out to children; the posters became background wallpaper in moments. We glued them into their books and had them copy them down. We glued curriculum progressions into the backs of students' books in an attempt to personalise them and highlighted or ticked as they mastered them. The introduction of 1:1 computers and progressions (goal) based information not only makes learning visible and personalised for students but also their parents. This is the age of relevant, timely, clear information and it is good. Each child should be able to see the planning and have a voice over the planning process. Children should be able to have conversations about whether or not they are meeting their goals and should expect to have conversations about how they can achieve these goals. The age of just do it because this is what I have planned are fortunately long gone. Transparency and accountability is part and parcel of authentic learning.

Visible learning on walls and tables emphasise and give evidence  of what is happening in learning for the children in the hub. They show and encourage student engagement and give a point of reference for our students. Word walls, interactive displays (can be taken away and put back, or manipulated in some way) have not lost their relevance and are just as important as the site, slide show, explain everything or video. Thankfully this is something that we do not want to lose sight of in my school.

As teachers we have historically thrown the baby out with bath water, what do you think?

Lead Like A Pirate Blog Hop Week Three: Rapport

Earning Trust as a Leader
"As a leader, every action you take (or don't take), every interaction you have, every decision you make or leave unmade, every expression on your face, the tone in your voice, or the body language you convey - everything about you - either earns or erodes trust". #LEADLAP 

It is amazing how much impact the way that the members of the SLT team speak to people, has on the welfare of staff and ultimately on the school community.  I have been making a conscious effort since the beginning of term two last year to end conversations with staff in a positive light. I am also very aware of the need to greet parents everyday with a cheerful smile and a confident manner.  (This of course goes for children as well, but I think that teachers probably do that towards children more instinctively). Being friendly and positive inspires trust.

 I am not talking about the "difficult conversations" where cutting to the chase is necessary, but about the professional discussions we have with our staff around pedagogical shifts. I can still remember the sinking feeling that I had, the day that I realised that my passion alone was not enough to inspire people to change their practice. I realised that I had done some damage in the way that I implied that the efforts of the team I was working with (collaborative practice) were not good  enough. While I knew at the time that my "next steps" advice was falling like a lead balloon, it was too late at that time to redeem the situation.

 It didn't take much reflection to realise that I had failed in my half hearted attempt to congratulate them on what they had achieved so far in their efforts to get their heads around collaboration. Since that  day, the one when I knew that I had completely taken the wind out their sails, I have been much more focused on moving forwards with less speed and more encouragement. I make sure that I include something positive in every professional conversation. When working with my crew, I try to "make it a priority to build rapport and relationships". (pg 30 #LEADLAP). I try to listen and show that I value their input. " Pirate leaders embrace opportunities to hear multiple opportunities to hear multiple perspectives, and they value the contributions each person makes to the organisation - and they tell them so" (pg. 30)

In 'Leading in a Culture of Change" Michael Fullan in his study of District Two, one of his study districts in Ontario, shares his findings and describes the four conditions for developing trust and the positive outcomes of establishing a culture of trust.  (Fullan, 2003).

Fullan 2003

Mind Lab Week 31 My Interdisciplinary Connection Map.

My interdisciplinary map shows my commitment to the value of making connections, in and outside of the workplace.

The interdisciplinary concept is multifaceted. On my professional level it incorporates all of the different networks in my life. Looking at my map I can see how much value I place personally on making connections that will enable me to grow professionally as well as to enable others to grow. I can see that what has gone on in my past is what has enabled me to grow professionally and past involvements are what has enabled me to make the connections that I so strongly value.

On another professional level, the multidisciplinary connections between subjects resonated strongly with me as I explore the possibilities of project based learning further. Crossing interdisciplinary boundaries is how project based learning will work. As was stated on the video  “The road to success academy model” (Week 31 Mindlab) the pursuit of crossing interdisciplinary boundaries “ allows individuals to focus on the collaboration and participation in finding solutions to increasingly complex problems occurring in the world today.” (Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24).

As was stated on the video (Mind Lab Week 31), interdisciplinary crossover allows for a curriculum approach that consciously applies methodology and language from more than one discipline, in order to exam a central theme  (Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24). My Goal for the future in my school context is to explore further the cross curriculum interdisciplinary connections within the project based learning approach. I can see how the benefits of this approach would make learning so much more authentic as students access the discipline that they need (and the teacher who has those skills) in a much more natural and timely way as they work together to solve real life problems viewed through a social / emotional lens. In this way students will become better equipped to develop the necessary competencies that will sit alongside their knowledge acquisition. These competences are tools such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and citizenship. This is project based learning.

David Wiley in his TEd Talk ( Mind Lab Week 31) talks about crossing interdisciplinary boundaries in the sense of “enabling educational opportunities for all” In this way he presents the opportunities that free online sharing of knowledge enables for the student. He raises an appealing analogy about educational innovation comparing it to a musical remix or mashup of ideas - not necessarily new thinking but putting ideas together in a different way. In his Ted Talk, Wiley quoted Eric Raymond as saying “to solve an interesting problem, start by finding a problem that is interesting to you”. My Goal for our school is to work with the senior leadership team (of which I am a part) and the staff to enable educational opportunities for our students. Just as I am able to access the opportunities that being globally connected affords me, so too do I want to be able to make that possible and safe for our students. There are tensions associated with being globally connected when you are are a young person and these need to be addressed in a timely and safe manner.

The interdisciplinary environment that our students will have access to will enable them to have the benefits of free online material. They will have access to information and be influenced by people that may help shape their thinking and actions. This same environment can also have challenges in terms of unfiltered knowledge and influence. As teachers we share the responsibility with whanau to educate our students in the ability to filter information in a way such that they can process the information safely and connect globally with people in a positive way.  

References:

Videos:

Ted Talks:

David Wiley talked on interdisciplinary thinking that leads to innovation.Source: TEDx Talks (2001, April 6). TEDxBYU - David Wiley - An Interdisciplinary Path to Innovation. [video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytjMDongp4 (via Mindlab Week 3)

Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24) Interdisciplinary Learning [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA564RIlhM

(via Mindlab Week 31)