Reflective Practice and Changes in Practice

The thirty-two week journey

Anticipation, nervousness, excitement, trepidation. These were some of the initial feelings as I entered the school library where I would spend the next 16 weeks, 1 evening a week, with fellow teachers. We would discuss, interact, collaborate and touch on many concepts, skills and IT tools, some of which I had previous exposure to and some that were new to me. I grew in confidence over the 16 weeks, as I attempted to implement some of the tools and thinking into my teaching, with varied results. The main thing was that I was trying out new ideas and spending time thinking about how the tools and skills could be best utilised in the classroom to improve student engagement. Engagement has become a key word in the modern classroom, but it is difficult to define fully. We recognise when a student is or is not engaged, but can we measure engagement? Often, there are other features we can measure, like achievement and behaviour. These are easier to put a number to and our default is to measure each student against a standard.

If I think about my own personal learning, I firstly discovered that I tend to store information, skills and tools away, having a preference to bring to the table a whole system, a whole working system, before presenting it to a group. This is an issue, because teaching is not a linear process that starts here and finishes there and can be repeated the same way for each class, each year. Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is a better way to look at teaching. However, occasionally there do need to be major changes. For example, moving from a teacher-led learning structure to a student-directed learning structure requires a large change. I have dabbled in student-directed learning this year, but there is a whole system that the teacher and students need to fully understand if it is to be implemented well.

Criteria 6 and 7 of the Practicing Teacher Criteria state that "fully certificated teachers:

• conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.
• promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.

(Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, 2016) 

These two criteria exemplify my goals for my classes next year. I have spent time discovering how I would like to see my classroom run. I have begun to conceptualise and plan the steps I will take to implement a student-led learning approach to Science in my junior classes, and a student-managed approach to senior classes, where there is greater emphasis on specific learning outcomes and achievement due to NCEA constraints. I realise the benefit of learning from others and using research to inform my practice and sharing this learning with others.

I have reflected on the way I have taught this year and realise that much of it was teacher-led. This is partly because of the type of school I am teaching in, where there is an emphasis on the teacher leading the class. Students are well aware of this and feed off the teacher being the "expert". They have become accustomed to being spoon-fed. Teachers talk about this issue with each other, but solutions are rarely presented. With the research I have done over the last 32 weeks, I am better informed as to how to change to a student-led environment. I am keen to work towards this next year, but not so confident to bring others on board until I have some success. 

These are some of the resources I intend on using:

• Trello to create task boards for each student so they can track their progress and give parents access to their child's progress.
• Actionbound to provide topical scavenger hunts and for students to create their own.
• Padlet for students to ask questions and respond to each other, to develop a better grasp the terminology and concepts and develop clear, concise explanations collaboratively.
• Google tools to create resources that are then used in Google Classroom for student learning.
• Google Forms as quizes so students can test themselves with instant feedback.
• Existing Pasco Physics equipment used for experiemental work.

With the introduction of BYOD for our Year 9 students next year, there is a need to ensure this investment we are expecting parents to make is used efficiently and effectively. To this end, I will incorporate the use of many of the tools we have used this year in the MindLab course into my Year 9 programme. They will gain experience in using the tools appropriately and with wisdom!

MindLab has opened my eyes to the extent to which the teaching and learning environment can be changed, even in a more traditional school.

Next Steps

As the picture above illustrates, I have a clearer vision of the next few steps, knowing that my path will lead to a better environment, but the future is cloudy. We don't really know where teaching and learning will lead or what it will look like in ten or fifteen years. My learning will continue in the area of the student-directed classroom, as this is an area that has a wide range of possibilities, especially in the scientific field. I am interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of the student-directed methods and how they are best implemented, maintained and improved.

References

Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, (2016). Practicing Teacher Criteria.