What have I learned from the course?
The last 24 weeks have been very challenging balancing assignments, family life and school commitments so a lot of my learning has actually been around juggling and managing all of these things. I am a part of our schools lead team and am HOD of our school Ka Hikitia team which has been putting forward a proposal for an alternative unit for 2016 so I have a considerable amount of extra responsibility at work. Whilst I pride myself on being an organised person this study has definitely challenged me in this area. I enjoyed the opportunity to network and learn from other teachers across the Gisborne region and it was a bonus to have the opportunity to work with staff from different sectors (Support staff, primary, intermediate, high school and higher learning). The relationships formed during this time will carry on long after the Mindlab course is over.
One of my biggest positives that the Mindlab has taught me is to just give things a go and that a lot of learning in relation to digital tools is done through just doing. Many of the people I deemed to be 'experts' did just this. The Mindlab also reinforced for me that teachers in the 21st Century are not and do not have to be the holders of all knowledge. Children often know more and pick up new digital learning a whole lot quicker than adults so it is ok for them to be teachers as well. I have been adapting this practice in my class a lot this year and it is extremely powerful as it gives the children ownership over their learning and also the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership.
Many of the the Mindlab assignments were instrumental in getting our new syndicate for 2016 approved. I particularly enjoyed and found the information on Finland's education system to be advantageous as it matched what we are trying to achieve with our underachieving Maori students. We used these case studies along with other key research gained from our assignments to support our proposal.
3 things I have learnt about myself are
1
Whilst I tend to rely on myself a lot to get things done and I sometimes struggle with delegation, I really enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with my peers for assignments as it was good to get different perspectives as well as cheer each other on as opposed to working alone.
2
I learnt firsthand that research is extremely handy when you are trying to sell a new concept to others.
3
I learnt that I do not have to know everything and that teaching can be done alongside students through trial and error. The children know an awful lot and pick things up quickly so to use them as the teachers as well. It has also reinforced that we are on a constant learning journey and that we owe it to our students to ensure we are up with the play for them in this ever changing world. We are preparing students for futures and jobs that can't be predicted so teaching students to be problem solvers and thinkers is crucial for 21st Century success.
3 Key Changes in my practice
1
I do not propose to know everything when it comes to ICT and I use my students as teachers all the time.
2
I have done flipped lessons, am creating more digital templates for students to use, I am teaching almost 100% digitally and loving it and all of my students as well as myself do regular blogging as a means of sharing work, reflecting and communicating with our various audiences.
3
I have modified my room environment - getting rid oftraditional rows and groups of desks to allow for flexible setaing, more comfortable seating arrangements. Basically getting the kids to decide what learning enviornmant works best for them. This has been very successful in our room and most children enjoy working on the mat with cushions. Giving students more ownership of their learning. The children also have round the cloak access to the school system as we all work through Google Drive so communication is very high between students and teacher, teacher and whanau etc.
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