Activity 10 : Your Postgraduate Learning Journey and your plan for the future

For this blog entry I have included evidence under some of the criteria to demonstrate the movement and learning I have made in my practice since undertaking the last 32 weeks of learning with the Mindlab. It has not been an easy journey managing all of the assessment requirements as well as working full time but this experience has enabled me to have more confidence with giving things a go, by feeling more comfortable with handing over the reigns of power at times to my students. My thinking has changed around teachers having to know everything. I realise the importance of students assuming the role of the teacher. I am also more aware and focused on providing my students with tasks that enable their creativity to flow and foster the learning of 21st Century skills. Teachers need to be preparing their children for careers and futures that do not yet exist so this Mindlab course has solidified my understanding of teaching problem solving skills 

What movement have I made? 

Criteria 2: Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga. As outlined in blog entry 8 regarding applied ethics, it has been important to ensure all of my students are safe and using new technology responsibly. I have done more in depth teaching in class this year on being a Digital Citizen and on digital footprints. 

Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice. I have undergone huge professional development in Collaborative learning, ICT skills, flipped learning, movie making skills, understanding and knowledge around 21st century learning, 3D printing, laser cutting, Google Apps, online networking sites just to name a few. Prior to this study I could not make a movie therefore I set myself a goal to make videos for the majority of my assessments this year. I am really proud of the progress made in this area and will continue to upskill. 

Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning. Throughout the year I have shared the learning gained during these Mindlab sessions to assist other colleagues at school. I have helped other staff to set up their own digital portfolios, blogs - personal, class and individual student blogs. I have also shared lesson ideas focused around collaborative learning and concepts covered during our Mindlab sessions such as the Fun Theory initiative. I gathered student voice around the topics we have covered this year using a Google form and they were all very positive. One of the biggest shifts in my practice since starting teaching has been based around inquiry learning. I know I like to inquire about topics that I am passionate about so have been building these types of tasks into what my students do. 28 out of 29 students reported that they love having the ability to select their inquiry topic, to choose whether or not to collaborate with others, to learn from the ups and downs of collaboration. I am very happy with this feedback as I see this as preparing them for the future tasks they are likely to encounter at high school and higher education institutes. 

Professional knowledge in practice

Criteria 6: Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme. 
Through our Mindlab assignments a group of Ka Hikitia team members have had an alternative syndicate approved for 2016 that follows a more modern learning environment and collaborative approach. We were able to use our LDC and DCL assignments in particular to back up our ideas. We also enjoyed working collaboratively on these assignments too. Many of my in class tasks have been modified to incorporate the skills learnt during this study.

 Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. As outlined above my classroom programme has been altered to reflect the skills and ideas learnt throughout this Mindlab course. 

Criteria 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment and information, which has been gathered formally and informally. Regular use of Google Forms with staff, whanau and students to collect different voices. Questioning the benefits of some assessments and looking for alternatives. 

Criteria 12: Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.” The establishment at the beginning of this year of a personal digital reflective portfolio that I regularly update. Contains my reflective thoughts, job descriptions, pd log, school and personal inquiry goals and evidence, links to my planning, assessment and class blog. 

Two main goals for your future development. 

1: Continue to learn about leadership in order to improve my own practice as well as to help develop the leadership of people in different teams. To stay in tune with current practice as well as rely on the teachings of other experts in order to guide my practice. 

2:Keep up to date with advances in technology to be able to share with the students at our school. To continue to undergo regular PD from other providers to ensure the students I work with are given the best opportunities. I really enjoy learning in this area so look forward to continued growth.

Activities 9 : Evaluations of the cultural responsiveness in practice

Gisborne Intermediate School is now made up of over 50% Maori so it is important for our school to provide a culturally responsive programme that not only matches the makeup of the student population but also that of the community. Over the past five years we have been working hard on addressing the disparities between Maori student achievement and that of non maori. We have been upskilling our staff in the Tataiako and Ka Hikitia competencies and are fully aware that this is a continual journey. Our school has made great improvements with 

1: Whanau Engagement - Senior Management set expectations for all teachers to be in regular contact with our class whanau to celebrate and inform them of what goes on in the classroom. A next step is to regularly engage them in feedback and with the recent whole staff advancement in using Google Forms this should become a normal occurrence.

2: Prevalence of Te Reo and Tikanga in classrooms. Staff have undertaken PD in Tataiako, Ka Hikitia and Te Reo lessons using outside providers such as Ako Panuku, Core Education and inside support as well. The outcome is that staff feel more confident and each syndicate has at least one team member available to assist in these areas.

Although progress has been made over the last 5 years we were not happy with the data and the amount of students who were still not achieving at the expected level so in 2016 we are having a pilot syndicate that hopes to close the gaps by teaching through tikanga and te ao maori. We completed additional background research whilst completing our DCL and LDC assignments and these proved vital to our proposal being accepted. One of the standout comments I have taken from this research comes from Sir Russell Bishop who states that what works for Maori will work for others but what works for others will not work for Maori. This statement along with the principles from Mason Durie's whare tapa wha model, te taha hinengaro, te taha whanau, te taha wairua and te taha tinana ensures we are teaching the whole child and are likely to achieve more success. I believe by following these principles will make a difference for all students regardless of their cultures and to me that is what being a culturally responsive teacher is all about.

How does Gisborne Intermediate ensure we are culturally responsive?

Goals 

• Our target groups for numeracy in 2014 were Maori students who were below the standard.
• In 2016 we aim to address and improve all statistics (Truancy, self harm, achievement) through our pilot sydnicate that will teach through tikanga and te ao Maori,

Communication methods

• Staff are expected to make contact with all whanau within the first few weeks of the year. Staff are then expected to regularly communicate with classroom whanau. Many classes have established class blogs in 2015 which not only communicate class information and celebrations but these also have links to their children's blogs so they can share in their learning. We have a regularly updated school Facebook page and weekly newsletters are shared with whanau too. A number of consultation surveys have been distributed this year and next year I can see our school using Google Forms more effectively to gather regular whanau and student voice. I also see teachers using Google Forms more for assessment purposes with their students. We know that the partnership between home and school is vital. 

Planning and assessment

• We have target groups to ensure that teachers place special focus to the students within these groups. 
• Our whole staff PD with Maths expert Charlotte Wilkinson was based around providing real life problems for our students. Classroom observations showed that this was successful with our target groups.
• Our 2016 pilot syndicate will become an onsite model of best practice for culturally responsive teaching so it is hoped that this practice will continue to filter throughout the school. 

Learning activities

• Our school prides itself on the number of opportunities available to our students. Staff work during their own time to provide activities such as drama, whaikorero, kapa haka extension, Japanese, pasifika, te reo, 40+ sports and debating to name a few. Whatever one's 'culture' is can be celebrated at Gisborne Intermediate. 

School-wide activities

• Five years ago we made the move to making whole school kapa haka compulsory as we wanted our whole school to be able to participate in powhiri together. Every year we are one of the only schools to perform together at the Turanganui Schools Kapa Haka Festival. 

References

Bishop, Russell, Berryman, Mere, Wearmouth, Janice, Peter, Mira, & Clapham, Sandra. (2012). Professional Development, Changes in Teacher Practice and Improvements in Indigenous Students' Educational Performance: A Case Study from New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 28(5), 694-705.

Bishop, Russell, Berryman, Mere, Cavanagh, Tom, & Teddy, Lani. (2009). Te Kotahitanga: Addressing Educational Disparities Facing Maori Students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 25(5), 734-742.

Kerryn Pollock. 'Public health - Social and ethnic 

inequalities', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New 

Zealand, updated 23-Dec-14 

 http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/diagram/31387/maori-

health-te-whare-tapa-wha-model

Activity 8:Legal contexts and digital identities

As a registered teacher for the past 15 years I am attested yearly to ensure that I am upholding the expectations and guidelines in the Code of Ethics for certified teachers. Beyond this documentation I strive to meet all of these regulations not because we are expected to but more so because it is the right thing to do.

I pride myself on being a 'nurturer' to the students in my class and believe that by looking after the well being of my students that they will have more success with their learning and achievement. I believe without hesitation that teachers are hugely influential people in our students lives therefore it is imperative that we always act with their best interest at heart. 

Times have changed swiftly over the last few decades and young people are dealing with new pressures that did not exist in their parents time. One of the major concerns these days is the accessibility that most young people have to devices. Whilst these devices have many positive attributes, issues such as cyberbullying, stalking, exclusion and suicide are more prevalent and on too many occasions 

Cyberbullying is to blame. 

In today's day and age people's interest in applied 

ethics (where we ponder our own moral compass 

and behaviour) has increased. Collste (2012) mentions the following three reasons for this increase.

1: The rise of secularisation - Numbers attending church regularly have decreased over the last few decades. Where people once sought advice regarding moral issues from the church they are now having to be a lot more self reflective.

2: New Technology. The personal experience I will be discussing for this blog entry pertains to new technological apps such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and the impact that these apps had on some of the students in my class this year. 

Collste (2012) refers to our inability to know how to handle new situations as 'Policy Vacuums'. Dealing with these issues in 2015 has definitely been a new experience as technology continues to advance at swift rates. I had to rely on my own moral compass to deal with this issue. 

3: With more people in the world actively seeking ways to bring about social justice the need for applied ethics is more prevalent. One only needs to read the paper to see people around the world campaigning for change. Some of the topical issues around this for 2015 are the Syrian refugee crisis, global warming and dealing with ISIS.

Gisborne Intermediate School E Learning Agreement 2015

Last term I discovered that two of my students were involved with sending inappropriate messages and pictures to each other and regarding other classmates via Snapchat. Our school made the move to 1-1 devices this year and we modified our BYOD agreement document to ensure everyone knew the expectations of this move to ensure everyone acted ethically and was safe. This document went home with all students on day 1 and they were not allowed to access any devices until it had been returned to school. This document alone is a godsend as teachers are able to refer to it when teaching our students about being effective digital citizens. 

One lunchtime one of my boys came to me distressed because one of the perpetrators had told him that the other had been saying very nasty things about him on social media. This resulted in him getting his sister in the next year level to deal to the other student. Unfortunately after more investigation it emerged that the tittle tattler had actually been writing inappropriate messages and was stirring the pot amongst these kids. One dilemma I had was that I was not familiar with how to use Snapchat and Instagram so fortunately I was able to get my teacher aides to assist. Being able to refer to the BYOD agreement doc and the children knowing that this was black and white ensured that I was able to get screenshots of all of the messages between these students. I was horrified to see the content of these messages that was being exchanged after school hours but was having a flow on effect during school time. I was torn with how to alert the whanau of the students involved as I knew they would be gobsmacked at seeing the content of the messages. I was able to put on my parent hat and use this moral compass to guide me by podering 'if that was my child, how would I want this to be dealt with. As a teacher and parent I would have to say this moral compass is extremely reliable and genuinely right. The emails and phone calls I had to make to the children's families were not comfortable but by leading in with "As a parent I would want to know' ensured that the whanau knew I was coming from a good place. I was also able to open up the discussion with the whole class as I believe in being totally upfront with the kids regarding my expectations and consequences. Once again putting on my parent that enabled me to send a clear message to my class that I always have their best interests at heart and that if my children were dealing with problems of this nature that I would hope others would step in and support them. 

Ask any teacher and they will say teaching is definitely not a 9-3pm job and long after the 3pm bell goes we are still thinking about the well being of our students. I believe all good teachers are reflective practitioners and our job expects us to always act ethically as outlined in the Code of Ethics. 

The key Code of Ethics that I focused on during this situation were...

1. Commitment to my learners
2. Commitment to my whanau
3. Commitemnt to society

References

Cinelearning (2014, June 7). Teacher Ethics Video - Social Media Dilemma HD.[video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w

Cinelearning (2014, June 7).Teacher Ethics Video - Ride Dilemma HD. [video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0UEFSmxkbg

Collste, G.(2012) Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan,.19(1), 17–33.

Education Council (nd). The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certficated Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

New Zealand Teachers Council. (2015). Teachers & Social Media . Retrieved from http://www.teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz

Activity 7: Social media in learning and teaching and professional development

How do I use social media to enhance my professional development?

I have definitely become more proficient over the course of this year in using social media as a professional development tool. Our school has made enormous shifts with ICT in 2015 and there is now an expectation that people are upskilling themselves in this area. Fortunately for me ICT is something I am highly interested in so I enjoy reading, learning, discussing, sharing and finding out new things that will improve my practice and possibly help others through using social media. Below are a list of the social media tools that I use regularly and how they help my practice. 

I am one of the admin for our school Facebook page so I regularly update our page to ensure our school community, whanau and staff are kept up to date with what is going on as well as to celebrate things regarding our students and school. As a part of this role I have a few local schools that I follow, Mangatuna Kura, Awapuni, Te Hapara and Lytton High School. From each of these schools I get ideas of other things to post as well ideas to use within the school and my own classroom. I have found that even though I have no real connection to Mangatuna Kura I am totally informed of the things that they do and can get a real sense of what their school is about. One of the most powerful aspects of social media is that you do not have to physically be there to be involved. For split home families, for parents who work overseas and for children with whanau around the country and overseas, social media is an incredibly valuable tool to ensure they can be connected to their tamariki.

"Social media provides a great opportunity to 

collaborate and communicate with parents and 

whānau." (Education Council New Zealand, 2015)

I have my own Facebook page too that I use for both personal and professional reasons. I do not have children from our school as friends as I want to keep my personal life separate from my teacher life. I tend to use my own Facebook page professionally by interacting within the following professional group pages.

Gisborne ICT Schools Facebook Page

Sharing of ideas, new tools and apps, meetings, helplines and lots of other cool things between teachers in the Tairawhiti region.

Google APPS Primary Facebook Page

Google goodness ideas from Google experts and enthusiasts across New Zealand.

A Mighty Girl Facebook Page

A sharing site that celebrates girls. Great sharing of books, stories, lesson ideas, resources etc. Excellent PD.

The Writing Book Facebook Page

A sharing site that celebrates writing. Excellent for discussion, gathering ideas and resources and sharing too. A support tool to sit alongside the Writing Book Resource.

I F#$%^&* Love Science Facebook Page

Excellent idea bank

I love Pinterest for gathering ideas around classroom environments, crafts, lesson ideas, pe ideas generally any idea to do with what is going on in school. I use Pinterest for personal and professional idea gathering as I use it a lot for recipes. Cook books are a things of the past in our house as any recipe can be easily accessed using social media. One thing I love about Pinterest too is that favourite restaurant foods usually have an at home cheat option available on Pinterest. 

I have a personal reflection blogger account as well as a class account. I am able to peruse other class accounts at our school to keep up with what others are doing and for gathering ideas. I am also able to learn from my students who are very ICT savvy. When marking their blogs I may see something new on one of theirs and get them to teach me and then teach the rest of the class. We are currently buddied with a French school who have their own Blogger page and we are able to interact with each other using this format. I did not like Blogger when I first started using it but now think it is very user friendly and it has become an everyday tool that I use in my classroom.

Other social media tools I use for Professional Development.

Google Hangouts - To meet, discuss, share ideas, share resources with other staff members in the district and outside. The ability to share documents on the screen means it is a more effective tool than SKYPE - Great for face to face discussions and meetings. Distance is no longer an obstacle.

Moodle - Invaluable PD tool to sit alongside our Mindlab Course this year. Collaborating on work, idea gathering, easy access to recommended resources, receiving and giving feedback and viewing examples of good practice. 

Youtube - Gathering lesson ideas, watching documentaries, see examples of good practice to emulate, research and sharing work and ideas. 

What are some key features of social media that you have identified as beneficial for teaching and learning?

• Connectivity to the wider world. Distance is no longer a barrier.
• Teaching and Learning is not restricted to school hours.
• Accessible by whanau in the home, around the country and overseas. Social media enable these stakeholders to participate in their child's education wherever they may be. 
• Great tool for building a positive class culture with the students and their whanau.
• Students and staff can receive instant feedback and they can give feedback to each other as well. Feedback is no longer restricted to just between the teacher and student. It can be student to student, parent to student, student to teacher and so on.
• Higher expectations can be expected and enforced due to the public nature of having work showcased on social media as well as whanau having constant access. More accountability on the teacher and students part.

What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities?

• Equal Access. If students in your class do not have home access the teacher should provide other support mechanisms at school so all children have equal access.
• Misuse - Our school has a very firm ICT policy that the students take home to read through and sign with their parents. If students break these agreements their computer rights are removed. Our school has monitoring tools such as Hapara to ensure we can check up but we have high expectations from our students in this area so we do not have a lot of problems with this.
• Bullying and inappropriate comments - Teachers are responsible for teaching their students about digital citizenship. Failure to comply with this would mean the removal of one's computer rights.
• Is it benefiting what you are doing? Why are you using it? If it has no benefit then don't use it. 
• Not all teachers are Social Media/ICT Savvy - In house PD might need to be provided to ensure all staff are comfortable with using social media. 

What social media platform do you feel best supports engagement with your professional development? Why?

It is difficult to narrow this question down to just one so I would have to say that the following social media tools are hugely important to my professional development and that I use them on a daily basis. I like all of these because they are easily accessible, I like their set individual set out and a lot of their content relates to the type of teacher I am. 

1: Facebook and all of the pages I outlined in the first section. I outlined why I use them above.

2: Google Hangouts and Tools - For networking, sharing ideas and resources and meeting.

3: Pinterest - Used regularly (sometimes daily, sometimes weekly) for idea gathering and lesson building. Invaluable resource.

References
Education Council New Zealand. (2015). Guidelines on Ethical Use of Social Media. Retrieved from http://www.teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/guidelines-ethical-use-social-media

Activity 6: Contemporary issues or trends in New Zealand or internationally

Asia has been widely identified as being the most powerful nation by 2030 with China being at the forefront. It is expected that Asia will have a greater Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rating than North America and Europe combined so with this in mind, schools have an obligation to start preparing students for this shift by...

Increasing our connectivity to Asian countries.

I believe that through our greater connectivity due to the incredible shift in access to devices and focus on 21st century skills that teachers and their pupils are able to effectively communicate with teachers all over the world and in real time. 

This year I have buddied up with a French class and through our class blogs and individual student blogs we can communicate regularly with each other and learn about each other's cultures. Through Google Maps, Google My Maps, Google Streetview and Google Photospheres we can enjoy virtual field trips to these far away destinations from the comfort of our own homes and classrooms. Connectivity had never been better and will only continue to improve. Google Translator is also a handy tool to enable us to communicate to small degrees in the others language whereas in the past one would've been reliant on the expertise of an on site teacher. The swift move with technology is taking away the walls of classrooms and we are not as far away from each other as we were.

Schools could also better prepare our students by offering greater language learning opportunities in the dialects of the dominant cultures. Again, with connectivity being so good schools do not always have to rely on having a teacher on site and lessons can be done online and at times which suit the learner. Many education providers provide mixed media opportunities and through online tutorials, resources and research we can often achieve what we need without a physical teacher being in front of us. Might teachers be redundant in the future?

In terms of my own practice learning more Asian languages conflicts with my ideals somewhat as I am an advocate for the revitalisation of te reo Maori in New Zealand schools alongside raising Maori achievement. If the government decided all of a sudden that learning asian languages were to be the priority then this would cause concern. Even though I can see the importance of preparing our children for the future and all that the future brings, I do not want to lose sight of what I believe is a crucial part of our education system and national identity.

                                          

"Students’ well-being is strongly influenced by a clear sense of identity, and access and exposure to their own language and culture. " Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017

Preparing our students for the possibility that they may be living in a major city somewhere throughout their working life.
Another two major trends emerging over the coming years is the move from 1 billion people in the middle class to more than 3 billion people and the majority of the world's population will reside in big cities. Developing countries will be home to 440 of the worlds fastest growing cities that generate 47% of the global GDP. These two trends alone will impact on food production with an estimated 50% increase in order to cater for the growing population. Water and other natural resources will be stretched along with governments worldwide needing to change policies and budget for what these changes will bring. The world's ageing population will add more strain on already stretched resources. As an educator it will be our job to prepare these students with the creative, problem solving and perseverance skills as they will be the ones responsible for dealing with and possibly solving a lot of these issues.  I fully believe we are preparing today's and tomorrow's 
children for jobs and futures that do not currently exist. For many educators this means a complete change to the way they have spent their entire careers teaching. 

References
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2013c). Ka hikitia. Accelerating success. 2013-2017. The Māori education strategy. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/theMinistry/PolicyAndStrategy/KaHikitia.aspx.

KPMG Australia. (2014, May 22). Future State 2030 – Global Megatrends. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8

Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

Green.TV (July, 2014) Retrieved from http://green.tv/videos/new-mega-trends/

The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U.

Activity 5: Professional Connection Map

Professional Development Communities

• Mindlab Facilitators  (Tim and guests)
• Mindlab Colleagues (March Intake Gisborne)
• School ICT Team Members (Herman, Amie, Alicia, Bruce, Robbie and I)
• Gisborne Schools Facebook Page Gisborne Schools ICT Facebook Page
• Mary-Ann Baxter Leadership PLG Group (Mary-Ann, Conrad, Stu, Jodie and I)
• Ka Hikitia Roopu (Puri, Trace, Walter, Bruce and I)
• Turanganui Year 7 Teachers (Jules, Toni and I)
• Turanganui Syndicate Members
• Google Apps Facebook Group (Google Apps NZ Facebook Page
• Ako Panuku - PD in Te Reo, Leadership, Whanau Engagement, raising Maori Acheivement, ICT - Hui e Taiki E.
• Core Education - Te Reo Support - Linda Brown and Merimeri Anania
• MOE

Teacher Training Providers

• University of Waikato
• Victoria University
• Te Wananga o Aotearoa
• Christchurch College of Education

Colleagues

• BOT
• Senior Management
• Lead Team
• Syndicate
• Direct Colleagues
• Curriculum Team members

Other schools in the region

• Lytton High School - Husband teaches there and son attends there
• Te Hapara School - Child attends there
• Through Mindlab colleagues or friends who teach there.
• Day care centres - Tuakana-Teina experiences

Local Business'

• Through Whanau, Friends and connections through students and colleagues.

EOTC Outlets

• Te Tairawhiti Museum
• Otuwhare Marae - Te Whanau - a- Apanui
• Mindlab
• Red Cross
• Emergency Services Gisborne (Police, Fire and Ambulance)
• Murray and Joe Palmer - Science specialists

Friends around the world

• EPALS - France School
• Kate in Armidale NSW
• Katie and Jamie in Ohio

What are the benefits of working in a more interdisciplinary environment?

Students are taught in real world contexts and learning has a real purpose not just isolated as has been tradition. Real world means more engaging and meaningful therefore students are likely to be more focused and on the path to success. I also believe that this form of teaching better caters for differentiated needs which are becoming more prevalent in today's classrooms. Teachers are no longer bound by boring routine teaching when instead they can make their classrooms come alive and match the wants and needs of their students. I have noticed this shift already in my 15 years of teaching where we had to teach 6 specific units over the course of a year whereas now teachers are able to self select their topics based on their classes interest or even better allocate inquiry topics where the children can choose individual projects to suit their needs. The challenges can be when long serving teachers feel uncomfortable about changing their practice. 

Activity 4:Professional Community

1: Who is the Gisborne Intermediate community?

• Decile 4 (ranked from 1-10, with 10 being highest in socio economic factors)
• A fair representation of the Gisborne community as our school intake includes the country and city students from varying socio economic and cultural backgrounds.
• 54% are Maori 
• 44 % are European and/or other

Our People

• Intermediate School from Year 7 – 8 (10 – 13 yrs)

• Approx 650 students
• Principal
• Deputy Principal
• Associate Principal
• 21 classroom teachers
• 5 Tech Art Specialist teachers (Art, Music, Drama, Cooking, Woodwork)
• 1 Special Needs Teacher
• Support Staff (Teacher Aides, Caretakers, Office Staff, Cafe Lady)
• Our school whanau (parents and caregivers)
• Our BOT
• Local Iwi (Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngati Porou)

These key stakeholders influence my practice in many ways. One of the best features about the character of our school is that it is a true reflection of the Gisborne Community. With our school recently moving to 1-1 devices through the use of Chromebooks and increased ICT being taught at primary schools it was imperative that myself and the rest of the staff at our school upskilled to give our children the best 21st century learning opportunities possible. One of our BOT members is the Chairperson of the ECT (Eastland Community Trust) who were instrumental in offering the Mindlab scholarships to teachers in our region. Our school whanau and BOT have made significant investment into purchasing Chromebooks for our students so that is a huge influencing factor in ensuring that my practise is up to scratch to justify these investments. As the HOD of our schools Ka Hikitia team who are responsible for looking at ways to increase Maori students achievement our school whanau and local iwi are key stakeholders too because we want to address the on going underachievement by many of our Maori students. I owe it to every single one of these stakeholders to ensure I am either teaching them to the best of my ability and providing them with support in my different roles that I have at school.

2) Community Issues

An ongoing issue right across New Zealand is that of underachievement with our Maori students. Being of Maori heritage myself as well as the HOD of our school Ka Hikitia Team and member of the school lead team for this role I feel a huge responsibility to investigate and find new ways of addressing the negative statistics. 

 Another issue for our community if upskilling our students as 21st Century learners. Through my study on the Mindlab Course as well as in my role as a member of our school ICT team I have been able to provide more engaging and relevant lessons for my students, better means of communicating with students (Google Drive, Blogs, Email clusters), whanau (Class Blog with class info but also links to each individual student's blog that contains regular reflections on learning and work) and our school community (I am one of the admin for our school Facebook Page Gisborne Intermediate School Facebook). 

3) Purpose and Function of Practice

With my students and their whanau

My role is to deliver the best education that I can and to inspire students to believe in themselves and take new risks, to work to the best of their ability through setting high standards and to believe that even though they come from a little place they can still achieve what they wish. I want to equip them with the skills necessary to function effectively in the 21st century and to hopefully build some resilience in an unpredictable world. I see my role with their whanau as being a great communicator and sharing what we do in class with them as much as possible which I do through regular posts on our classroom blog 22@Gisint Blog. 

With the staff 

I enjoy helping other staff with the demands of the job and am happy to help out whenever others need assistance and guidance. I do this not only through my role as HOD of Ka Hikitia and member of the lead team but also as 2iC of our syndicate and one of the longest serving staff members currently on staff. As HOD of Ka Hikitia it is important that I provide Professional Development opportunities for the staff that will increase their confidence, and help them to communicate more effectively with whanau as well as achieving our shared goal of improving underachievement. 

4) Specialist Area of Practice

My specialist area of practice at our school is in relation to te reo, ICT and Raising Maori student achievement. 

All of my specialist areas of practice relate to the broader professional context because they are all key foci in the New Zealand Curriculum as well as in The Teacher Registration Criteria, Tataiako Cultural Competencies and Ka Hikitia Accelerating Success 2013-2017 principles  all relate to the above areas of practice. Teachers are expected to be  preparing students for the 21st century using digital technologies as well as addressing the ongoing gap between Maori and Non Maori as outlined in these documents. 

5) Challenges in Practice

There are a number of challenges that I face in my practice as outlined below.

1: Resourcing

There never seems to be enough money to go around and whilst we want to give our students and staff access to the best tools one of the biggest hurdles is money. 

2: Resistance to change

Through my role of HOD of Ka Hikitia who has been responsible with implementing whole school change over the past five years one of the biggest challenges is dealing with people who are resistance to change. As a member of the school ICT team who has also led significant schoolwide change over the last year and a half I have seen this occur again. Fortunately my experience with Ka Hikitia proved to be highly valuable on a number of occasions for keeping the momentum rolling. 

3: Inadequate Professional Development

Due to lack of money, isolation, lack of relieving funding available, time constraints. 

4: Time

There never seems to be enough time to fit everything into the day and the demands of our job mean that work life is constantly encroaching on home life. Finding balance with these things is definitely a challenge.