Activity 5: Professional Connection Map

Choose two professional connections you have in your map. Evaluate their impact on your practice and professional community.

1.  Classroom teachers:  Currently I support the teachers with the eLearning in their classrooms.  I do this via in-class support, emails, a Professional Development blog, learning conversations in the staffroom and attending their team meetings.  The support I provide for the classroom teachers enables them to gain confidence in their own abilities and to learn and to try new methods of teaching using ICT.  

The teachers impact my practice in that I desire to provide best practice tools for them to use in their classrooms, which causes me to seek continuous improvement.  Their frequent questions and need for support keeps my practice sharp and current.  I am learning new, more efficient ways to perform certain tasks, as well as to present material.  

Going into such a variety of classrooms is also enhancing my practice as I am privileged to see how other teachers manage their students and set up their classrooms.  I am also getting to know many more students in our school.

This connection impacts the professional community in that it creates a common goal of seeking knowledge and improving practice.  Teachers engage in learning conversations with each other around the implementation of ICT into their classrooms.  They share ideas, lessons and best practice methods.

2.  Senior Leadership team:  Currently I work with our three senior leaders - the principal, deputy principal and assistant principal.  I am mainly accountable to the deputy principal for my timetable, as to which classes I will be working in each day and what I will be teaching them.  I am mainly accountable to the principal for our eLearning Strategic Plan as well as my ICT budget.  

I have learnt so much from my senior leadership team regarding strategic planning, budgeting, leading and attending Professional Development, team leadership and overall goal setting and follow through.  I have also appreciated the support and dialogue we engage in around learning and the implementation of technology.  

The impact from my senior leadership team has been significant as I have been encouraged and empowered in my role as eLearning leader and support person in our school.  They allow me freedom to engage with teachers and students in a way that is moving our school forward in digital technologies.  They support the purchase and maintenance of equipment that encourages this advancement.

This connection impacts the professional community of our school in that the teachers feel and know the support from senior leadership in our forward thinking of eLearning.  Teachers receive Professional Development, along with the equipment and support they need to be successful and provide the best learning opportunities for their students.

Activity 4: Your professional community

"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly."  (Wenger-Traynor.com)

My community of practice is the staff at Cockle Bay School as a whole, as we interact regularly about the incorporation of ICT into our school and how we can learn to maximise the benefits of it.  Specifically within this community, I have a team of 5 people who share the eLearning responsibilities with me.  Also within this community I work closely with the Leadership Team, Principal, Deputy Principal and Assistant Principal, to discuss future plans and goals.

What is the purpose and function of your practice?  In what ways do you cater for the community of your practice?
The purpose and function of our practice is the education of students, and more specifically, the incorporation of ICT into our school in an intentional manner.  Our school motto is "Children and their learning is the focus of Cockle Bay School".  Every decision and action taken within our community is based on this underlying principle.  I cater for the community of practice by being an active, participating member, sharing ideas, feedback and resources for the betterment of our students.

What is your specialist area of practice?  How does your specialist area of practice relate to the broader professional context?
My specialist area of practice is my role as the eLearning leader of our school.  I am responsible to purchase all ICT required for our school of 750+, as well as make decisions around storage units, 1:1 classrooms, and Professional Development for the staff.  In 2015 I was given one block each week to focus on this task.  This year I have been give more time as we now have 3 year levels, approximately 360 students, using 1:1 devices provided by the school.  My area of specialisation encourages and supports staff and students to confidently use ICT in their classrooms and seek ways to fully integrate its use into many areas of the curriculum.

What are the challenges that you face in your practice? How would you or your community of practice address them?
A current challenge that we are facing in our school is my resignation effective the end of Term One, as my husband and I move back to Canada.  I am working diligently to upskill new staff, ensure all students are confident users of GAFE, and train my successor.  Staff value my contribution and support and I desire to leave them feeling confident in their own abilities and skills.  Communication is key in making a smooth transition over the next few weeks.

Activity 3: Responses to Finlay's (2008) article

"Reflecting on reflective practice"  by Lynda Finlay (2008)

What is/are the points in the article that you can relate to your reflective practice?

The main point of the article that I relate to my reflective practice was the discussion around 'reflection for action', 'reflection in action' and 'reflective on action' as I agree there are various ways and times in which we reflect on our teaching.  These can occur frequently or very seldom; they can occur privately or in discussion with others; there may be some ways that are more natural to ourselves and some methods that take us out of our comfort zone.

Further to this were the five different levels at which reflection can take place during our teaching as explained by Zeichner and Liston (1996):
1.  Rapid reflection which occurs as an instant, immediate, ongoing action while teaching
2.  Repair reflection in which a teacher changes what is happening in the lesson in response to students' cues
3.  Review reflection wherein a teacher thinks about, discusses or writes about an aspect of their teaching
4.  Research reflection is when a teacher takes more time to reflect and think about a situation, often gathering data or reading up on it
5.  Retheorizing and reformulating reflections whereby a teacher reflects on their practice in light of academic theories.


Are you using any model of reflection? If yes, evaluate the model you are using, is it effective?  Is there any room for improvement?

I would say that I use the five levels as explained above in my teaching.  I rapidly reflect during a lesson and repair the situation as it warrants.  I write comments on my lesson plan to change, alter, prepare for future lessons in response to how a lesson went or the needs of the students.  I often reflect on situations by sharing with others to seek their feedback and discover different ways to handle something.  I have found these steps of reflection to be very beneficial, even though I didn't know they were formally steps to reflect.

The one area that I would see as room for improvement would be the retheorizing and reformulating reflections wherein I would explore professional readings to gain insight into situations.  With the busyness of teaching, this is the area that I tend to put to the bottom of my priorities.  Becoming aware of this is a step in the right direction, a benefit of reflecting through this reading and blog post.

Activity 2 - Metacognitive reflection on learning and practice

Development of Personal Key Competencies

Managing self:

Prior to beginning this course, I would have said that I was strong in the key competency of 'Managing Self', however, as the weeks and months have passed and I have been challenged to complete assessments to a deadline whilst teaching full-time, I have realised that this is, in fact, an area that I have struggled with.  Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed attending the sessions at MindLab, engaging in discussion and listening to thought provoking lectures, when the time came to be self-motivated and complete the second half of the course independently I realised, that in this area, managing self needed improvement.  This has been a good personal challenge for me, and the feeling of accomplishment as each assessment is submitted, is very rewarding.

Thinking:

I would say that my thinking around eLearning and digital applied practice has definite changed, grown and continues to be challenged.  Intellectual curiosity is the desire to learn, to expand one's knowledge, and ultimately to share that knowledge with others.  I love to learn and I love to have my thinking challenged.  I especially value this when what I am learning is extremely practical and can be readily applied in my own life and work.  Using the skills and knowledge that I have obtained over the past weeks and months of this course, has contributed to my ability to problem solve the eLearning challenges our school encounters, providing PD and support to teachers and students.

Key Changes in My Practice

1.  Lesson Planning using SAMR Model - In 2015 I decided to use the study of the SAMR Model as my professional inquiry within our school.  It was also the topic for my assessments in the RCIP course module.  Through the research and study of the SAMR model I began to understand the various stages of implementing eLearning in the levels of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition.  I kept these concepts in mind as I created lessons for my students, seeking ways to rise above merely substituting their exercise books with a Chromebook, but challenging them to learn new, innovative ways to extend their learning digitally.  I desire to continue with this mindset as I plan lessons and support teachers new to digital learning.

2.  Continued Growth Mindset - I want to constantly be open to new and innovative ideas and ways of teaching and learning.  I valued the exposure we were given to a wide range of possibilities with this course.  I think it is important to be constantly receptive to being willing to try new ways of engaging students.  It is vital that we keep up with current trends and methods, so as to provide the students with the best education possible.  The world is rapidly changing and we as teachers need to embrace it and keep up the pace.  We need to be the early adopters, the trend setters, the ones who guide young people into the  future.  We need to enable them to take technology and use it to learn and be successful.  We need to prepare them and educate them.  We need a continued growth mindset to learn alongside our students.  I desire to maintain this trait and practice in my life and career.

Activity 1: Create reflective journal

Welcome to my reflective practice blog that is the platform for my Applied Practice in Context Assessments 1 and 2.

A bit about me:

I am a 52 year old Canadian living and working in New Zealand for the past 9+ years.  I have been married for 28 years to a wonderful man, Kevin.  We have three daughters, twins who are 25 and our youngest who is 23.   One of our daughters is a spatial designer married to a motion graphic designer.  They are on their way to live in Amsterdam.  Our other daughter is a Year Seven teacher at Somerville Intermediate, whose husband is also a teacher, teaching Health, PE and Socials at Mission Heights Junior College.  Our youngest daughter attends Auckland Uni completing a conjoint degree in Anthropology, Geology and Biology.

It has been a unique opportunity for me as my daughter has been able to bring her intermediate students to my classroom to share learning together.

Teaching my students about Canada has been enjoyable as they expand their knowledge learning about a new country and culture.

I enjoy working alongside a great staff at CBS and truly believe that great teaching and learning begins with collaboration.

I have been teaching at Cockle Bay School for 5 years.  I taught Year 1 for 4 years and Year 5 for 1 year.   I have been the eLearning leader at our school for the past 2 years during which time our school has transitioned to using GAFE, Google Apps for Education, as well as providing and incorporating 1:1 Chromebooks for all Year Four through Six students.  It has been a very exciting time for our school.

Currently my husband and I are in transition to move back to Canada, so for this term I am doing Team Leader release as well as eLearning support in our school prior to our departure in April. I am assisting the Year Four teachers in the introduction and incorporation of 1:1 Chromebooks into their classrooms, as well as supporting new teachers to our school.

My teaching style is one in which I give the students ownership for the learning as much as is practical and possible.  I establish my classroom to be student centred, a bright, active place of learning and interaction.  I love colour and vibrancy, as well as bringing nature indoors, filling my classroom with plants and nature.  I've tried pets - unfortunately they die - however the tadpoles we have had which turned into frogs, were a great delight to the students, both in Year One and Year Five.

I also have effective communication with parents and have been commended by parents and senior management regarding this.  I believe in keeping open lines of communication with parents, staff and administration, as this has such a positive effect on everyone concerned.  I faithfully keep parents updated via our classroom blog and/or regular emails.  Parents are always welcome in the classroom to see their child's learning and to touch base with me.

Google Open Morning in my classroom.

I believe that my strengths in teaching are art, digital learning, writing and social skills.  I love when children love coming to school - they feel safe, valued and heard.  To me, that is the bottom line, the basis for learning.