Thursday, June 15, 2017
Inquiry
COMMUNITY: The relevant communities are critically evaluated.
INQUIRY OVERVIEW: The project plan and its inquiry model are described and justified in context with suitable schedule and milestones and also related the to wider context.
DATA COLLECTION METHOD: Method of data collection and analysis is critically evaluated. SEEKING FEEDBACK: Evidence of seeking community feedback (survey, Interview, performance data, etc) is critically evaluated.
INFORMED ENGAGEMENT: Evidence of engagement to inform the research question(s) for the project plan is critically evaluated.
IMPACT: Potential impact of findings is critically evaluated.
REFERENCE SOURCES: Comprehensive referencing, integrated in a reflective manner. PRESENTATION: An original and creative presentation displaying a reflective narrative structure.
This is an excellent portfolio, with consideration of a good range of literature to substantiate an analytically rigorous, feedback-oriented project plan. What most commemorable is your innovative visual design, which has dynamically communicated the depth and practicality of your Design Thinking plan - what has been implemented and what will be. This overall sets your work at a tremendously high standard. Well done! Inquiry or Problem-based Learning
92%
Friday, May 26, 2017
Week 32 - Changes in Practice
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE AND CHANGES IN PRACTICEReflective practice can assist practitioners to understand and be able to evaluate their practice. This in turn leads to professional development.
Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) has contrasted traditional approach of professional development by outside experts delivering workshops for schools versus reflective practice model. They suggest that traditional approach results in knowledge acquisition while reflective practice can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness.
Continuing learning is fundamental to keep one in a profession to be able to adapt to any change be it the new pedagogy, or new regulations or even a new environment. In this aspect, reflective practice should be established as learning habits and be used frequently to inform and improve practice.
Most professions have a professional body that regulates the career lifelong learning of its members especially in sectors that require working with people such as nursing, social work and teaching. It is important that a practitioner meets an expected level of professional standards and is able to provide examples as evidence.
In New Zealand education context, Ministry of Education (nd.) has set criteria for Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.
12 Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.Professional relationships and professional values
Criteria 1: Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga.
Criteria 2: Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga.
Criteria 3: Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.
Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning. Professional knowledge in practice
Criteria 6: Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.
Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.
Criteria 8: Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn.
Criteria 9: Respond effectively to the diverse and cultural experiences and the varied strengths, interests, and needs of individuals and groups of ākonga.
Criteria 10: Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa NZ.
Criteria 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment and information, which has been gathered formally and informally.
Criteria 12: Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.” (p.1)
During the last 7 weeks, several topics have been introduced to provoke your thoughts about a variety of aspects in your practice. You should by now gain a deeper understanding of how those aspects directly or indirectly influence your daily practice.
It should be now the opportunity for you to reflect and review your learning journey over the duration of this course, test new understandings, challenge assumptions and critically consider your practice in line with theory and research.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 8: Changes in my practice
Create a blog post where you first reflect on your personal 32 week learning journey through the whole postgraduate programme and provide a critical discussion of two key changes in your own research informed practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.
Then share your next dream regarding your future professional development.
Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) has contrasted traditional approach of professional development by outside experts delivering workshops for schools versus reflective practice model. They suggest that traditional approach results in knowledge acquisition while reflective practice can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness.
Continuing learning is fundamental to keep one in a profession to be able to adapt to any change be it the new pedagogy, or new regulations or even a new environment. In this aspect, reflective practice should be established as learning habits and be used frequently to inform and improve practice.
Most professions have a professional body that regulates the career lifelong learning of its members especially in sectors that require working with people such as nursing, social work and teaching. It is important that a practitioner meets an expected level of professional standards and is able to provide examples as evidence.
In New Zealand education context, Ministry of Education (nd.) has set criteria for Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.
12 Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.Professional relationships and professional values
Criteria 1: Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga.
Criteria 2: Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga.
Criteria 3: Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.
Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning. Professional knowledge in practice
Criteria 6: Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.
Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.
Criteria 8: Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn.
Criteria 9: Respond effectively to the diverse and cultural experiences and the varied strengths, interests, and needs of individuals and groups of ākonga.
Criteria 10: Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa NZ.
Criteria 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment and information, which has been gathered formally and informally.
Criteria 12: Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.” (p.1)
During the last 7 weeks, several topics have been introduced to provoke your thoughts about a variety of aspects in your practice. You should by now gain a deeper understanding of how those aspects directly or indirectly influence your daily practice.
It should be now the opportunity for you to reflect and review your learning journey over the duration of this course, test new understandings, challenge assumptions and critically consider your practice in line with theory and research.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 8: Changes in my practice
Create a blog post where you first reflect on your personal 32 week learning journey through the whole postgraduate programme and provide a critical discussion of two key changes in your own research informed practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC) in e-learning.
Then share your next dream regarding your future professional development.
Notes:
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf
Week 31 - Professional Context - Crossing Boundaries
INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION
What does interdisciplinary collaboration mean?
Andrews (1990) defines interdisciplinary collaboration as occurring "when different professionals, possessing unique knowledge, skills, organizational perspectives, and personal attributes, engage in coordinated problem solving for a common purpose" (cited in Berg-Weger &. Schneider, 1998).
While multidisciplinary collaboration involves paralleled work of several disciplines, interdisciplinary practice may include interprofessional interactions in which two or more disciplines collaborate in the process of “joint planning, decision-making, and goal-setting”(American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2016, p.1)
Why do you need to know about this?Interdisciplinary practice allows individuals who are based in their practice discipline(s) to focus on collaboration and participate in finding solutions to the increasingly complex problems occurring in the world today. When working in an interdisciplinary manner we can draw on multiple perspectives, practices, epistemologies and methodologies to identify how these can be utilised to solve real world problems. Hardre et al ‘s (2013) study shows some benefits from an interdisciplinary learning community include innovative thinking, metacognitive awareness and critical practice.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map
Create a blog post where you first draw a map which demonstrates your current and potential interdisciplinary professional connections. You can choose to create your map with a digital tool (for example: bubbl.us, coggle, popplet.com...) or draw with pen and paper and submit a picture to the portal.
Identify one of the potential interdisciplinary connections from your map as your near future goal.
Then, critically discuss the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary practice in relation to the identified connection.
Following these steps may help:
Step 1: Identifying your current and potential interdisciplinary connections.
Identifying your current and potential interdisciplinary connections. If you are early childhood and primary educators, since you are teaching all areas of the curriculum, you may find the interdisciplinarily connections you have are with a variety of professionals such as social workers, health professionals or speech and language therapists, etc. These outside education experts may give you different inputs and perspectives to your interdisciplinary approach in your teaching.
Secondary teachers are more commonly discipline-based and your interdisciplinary collaborations may involve working with teachers from other departments to create interdisciplinary learning experience for the students. To have some examples of how interdisciplinary learning can be implemented in a curriculum, read page 13 of this article “The logic of interdisciplinary studies” or view this Edpuzzle video “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science”
Then draw the map that demonstrates your current and potential interdisciplinary connections.
You can use these digital tools such as bubbl.us, coggle, popplet.com or draw with pen and paper.
Step 2: Select one of the potential interdisciplinary connections from your map as your near future goal.
And use these questions to guide your thoughts:
Who may you have the interdisciplinary connection with?
How might the joint planning, decision-making, and goal-setting take place?
This “A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration” post recommends the model for working towards a successful interdisciplinary approach in your practice that you can adopt.
Then, critically discuss the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary practice in relation to the identified connections. View the first 3 minutes of thisInterdisciplinarity and Innovation Education as the interviewees explained the benefits of implementing interdisciplinary collaboration.
- The idea of combining two or more disciplines, pedagogical approaches, groups of people, or skills is not new. First appearing in curricular contexts in the 1920s under the title 'core,' interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum have been widely associated with the progressive education movement (Oberholzer, 1937; Vars, 1991).
- Some curricular integration has been fairly widespread (although not without controversy), as in the case of whole language, which became popular in the late 70s. Whole language emphasizes language instruction through immersion in authentic use instead of through rote learning of isolated words and sounds (Altweger, et al., 1987; Dybdahl & Shaw, 1993).
- Generally, educators are jumping on the bandwagon without adequately questioning the nature of the dissatisfaction with discipline-specific approaches, or taking the time to shape a coherent approach to interdisciplinarity
- Learning was not simply the accumulation of facts but was believed to induce the restructuring of the learner's cognitive structure or organization (Marzano, 1991).
- The reaction against integrated curriculum has not been a reaction to the content, but a reaction to the critical attitudes engendered through the pedagogy (Cohen, 1978).
- Recently, however, research in cognition and projected demands from the 21st century workplace have brought new pressures that have turned the tide once again to a more connected vision of the curriculum
- Both brain response and higher-order thinking tasks were found to demand authentic, complex, multiple, and concrete problem-solving experiences (Caine & Caine, 1991; Iran-Nejad, 1994; Marzano, 1991). This, coupled with espoused workplace needs, which have advanced that all students need the skills to adapt, analyze, organize, and interpret fast-paced, multidimensional information, has promoted a more integrated approach to vocational and academic tracks, and has influenced how such essential skills as writing, reading, critical thinking, and problem solving are to be disbursed within and across the curriculum (Burns, 1995; Brunkhorst, 1991; Dwyer, 1995).
- interdisciplinarity seeks to combine disciplines to enhance the learning in one or more of the disciplines, or to apply discipline-based methods to real life situations, integration seeks to transcend the disciplines toward a more interconnected vision of the universe.
Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI7 (26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai
What does interdisciplinary collaboration mean?
Andrews (1990) defines interdisciplinary collaboration as occurring "when different professionals, possessing unique knowledge, skills, organizational perspectives, and personal attributes, engage in coordinated problem solving for a common purpose" (cited in Berg-Weger &. Schneider, 1998).
While multidisciplinary collaboration involves paralleled work of several disciplines, interdisciplinary practice may include interprofessional interactions in which two or more disciplines collaborate in the process of “joint planning, decision-making, and goal-setting”(American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2016, p.1)
Why do you need to know about this?Interdisciplinary practice allows individuals who are based in their practice discipline(s) to focus on collaboration and participate in finding solutions to the increasingly complex problems occurring in the world today. When working in an interdisciplinary manner we can draw on multiple perspectives, practices, epistemologies and methodologies to identify how these can be utilised to solve real world problems. Hardre et al ‘s (2013) study shows some benefits from an interdisciplinary learning community include innovative thinking, metacognitive awareness and critical practice.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 7: My interdisciplinary connection map
Create a blog post where you first draw a map which demonstrates your current and potential interdisciplinary professional connections. You can choose to create your map with a digital tool (for example: bubbl.us, coggle, popplet.com...) or draw with pen and paper and submit a picture to the portal.
Identify one of the potential interdisciplinary connections from your map as your near future goal.
Then, critically discuss the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary practice in relation to the identified connection.
Following these steps may help:
Step 1: Identifying your current and potential interdisciplinary connections.
Identifying your current and potential interdisciplinary connections. If you are early childhood and primary educators, since you are teaching all areas of the curriculum, you may find the interdisciplinarily connections you have are with a variety of professionals such as social workers, health professionals or speech and language therapists, etc. These outside education experts may give you different inputs and perspectives to your interdisciplinary approach in your teaching.
Secondary teachers are more commonly discipline-based and your interdisciplinary collaborations may involve working with teachers from other departments to create interdisciplinary learning experience for the students. To have some examples of how interdisciplinary learning can be implemented in a curriculum, read page 13 of this article “The logic of interdisciplinary studies” or view this Edpuzzle video “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science”
Then draw the map that demonstrates your current and potential interdisciplinary connections.
You can use these digital tools such as bubbl.us, coggle, popplet.com or draw with pen and paper.
Step 2: Select one of the potential interdisciplinary connections from your map as your near future goal.
And use these questions to guide your thoughts:
Who may you have the interdisciplinary connection with?
How might the joint planning, decision-making, and goal-setting take place?
This “A Conceptual Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration” post recommends the model for working towards a successful interdisciplinary approach in your practice that you can adopt.
Then, critically discuss the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary practice in relation to the identified connections. View the first 3 minutes of thisInterdisciplinarity and Innovation Education as the interviewees explained the benefits of implementing interdisciplinary collaboration.
Notes:
Mathison,S.. & Freeman, M.(1997). The logic of interdisciplinary studies. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf:- The idea of combining two or more disciplines, pedagogical approaches, groups of people, or skills is not new. First appearing in curricular contexts in the 1920s under the title 'core,' interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum have been widely associated with the progressive education movement (Oberholzer, 1937; Vars, 1991).
- Some curricular integration has been fairly widespread (although not without controversy), as in the case of whole language, which became popular in the late 70s. Whole language emphasizes language instruction through immersion in authentic use instead of through rote learning of isolated words and sounds (Altweger, et al., 1987; Dybdahl & Shaw, 1993).
- Generally, educators are jumping on the bandwagon without adequately questioning the nature of the dissatisfaction with discipline-specific approaches, or taking the time to shape a coherent approach to interdisciplinarity
- Learning was not simply the accumulation of facts but was believed to induce the restructuring of the learner's cognitive structure or organization (Marzano, 1991).
- The reaction against integrated curriculum has not been a reaction to the content, but a reaction to the critical attitudes engendered through the pedagogy (Cohen, 1978).
- Recently, however, research in cognition and projected demands from the 21st century workplace have brought new pressures that have turned the tide once again to a more connected vision of the curriculum
- Both brain response and higher-order thinking tasks were found to demand authentic, complex, multiple, and concrete problem-solving experiences (Caine & Caine, 1991; Iran-Nejad, 1994; Marzano, 1991). This, coupled with espoused workplace needs, which have advanced that all students need the skills to adapt, analyze, organize, and interpret fast-paced, multidimensional information, has promoted a more integrated approach to vocational and academic tracks, and has influenced how such essential skills as writing, reading, critical thinking, and problem solving are to be disbursed within and across the curriculum (Burns, 1995; Brunkhorst, 1991; Dwyer, 1995).
- interdisciplinarity seeks to combine disciplines to enhance the learning in one or more of the disciplines, or to apply discipline-based methods to real life situations, integration seeks to transcend the disciplines toward a more interconnected vision of the universe.
- The interdisciplinary approach synthesizes more than one discipline and creates teams of teachers and students that enrich the overall educational experience.
- Though it has many advantages such as, expanding student understanding and achievement between all disciplines or enhancing communication skills, it also has disadvantages, such as integration confusion and time-consuming curriculum preparation.
-the interdisciplinary approach is uniquely different from a multidisciplinary approach, which is the teaching of topics from more than one discipline in parallel to the other, nor is it a cross disciplinary approach, where one discipline is crossed with the subject matter of another. Interdisciplinary techniques go beyond these two techniques by allowing students to see different perspectives, work in groups, and make the synthesizing of disciplines the ultimate goal.
- Often the definition of interdisciplinary integrates team-teaching as a technique in which teachers from multiple disciplines work with each other to design a curriculum, instruct the class, and grade teams of students for time periods that can possibly extend to more than one year. Though it seems like a great idea, having more than one instructor can create problems in the sharing of responsibilities.
- Julie Klein warns that team teaching can be associated with problems such as "lack of 'sufficient time for collaboration work'", "lack of training In group dynamics", "overlapping roles", "territorial and status conflicts", and "inadequate funding" (Haynes, 2002, p.18)
-interdisciplinary teaming not only had a positive effect on students learning, but also inhibited personal growth (2004, p.1). Students learned tolerance for their peers as well as leadership and collaboration skills. The study found that the majority of students found the experience beneficial and that the students "spoke of long-term relationships and of a democratic learning environment that honored their voices and empowered them as learners” (Boyer and Bishop, 2004, p.6).
-Boehm explains fundamental disciplines such as Geography and History by stating, “ teachers rarely teach the two subjects in an integrated fashion, and American children’s understanding of both subjects suffers (Boehm, 2003).
- Taylor concludes that “Interdisciplinary work by both educators and students may broaden students' knowledge of history and diverse cultures. Including the arts in social studies instruction may have pedagogical benefits as well because the inclusion would facilitate differentiated instruction” (Taylor, 2008).
-Students who are taught with an interdisciplinary technique in which the students master higher order thinking skills and integrated pedagogy become very attractive to top colleges and wealthy business.
- As the interdisciplinary approach continues to synthesize the characteristics and methods of multiple disciplines while developing lifelong learning skills,
- Though it has many advantages such as, expanding student understanding and achievement between all disciplines or enhancing communication skills, it also has disadvantages, such as integration confusion and time-consuming curriculum preparation.
-the interdisciplinary approach is uniquely different from a multidisciplinary approach, which is the teaching of topics from more than one discipline in parallel to the other, nor is it a cross disciplinary approach, where one discipline is crossed with the subject matter of another. Interdisciplinary techniques go beyond these two techniques by allowing students to see different perspectives, work in groups, and make the synthesizing of disciplines the ultimate goal.
- Often the definition of interdisciplinary integrates team-teaching as a technique in which teachers from multiple disciplines work with each other to design a curriculum, instruct the class, and grade teams of students for time periods that can possibly extend to more than one year. Though it seems like a great idea, having more than one instructor can create problems in the sharing of responsibilities.
- Julie Klein warns that team teaching can be associated with problems such as "lack of 'sufficient time for collaboration work'", "lack of training In group dynamics", "overlapping roles", "territorial and status conflicts", and "inadequate funding" (Haynes, 2002, p.18)
-interdisciplinary teaming not only had a positive effect on students learning, but also inhibited personal growth (2004, p.1). Students learned tolerance for their peers as well as leadership and collaboration skills. The study found that the majority of students found the experience beneficial and that the students "spoke of long-term relationships and of a democratic learning environment that honored their voices and empowered them as learners” (Boyer and Bishop, 2004, p.6).
-Boehm explains fundamental disciplines such as Geography and History by stating, “ teachers rarely teach the two subjects in an integrated fashion, and American children’s understanding of both subjects suffers (Boehm, 2003).
- Taylor concludes that “Interdisciplinary work by both educators and students may broaden students' knowledge of history and diverse cultures. Including the arts in social studies instruction may have pedagogical benefits as well because the inclusion would facilitate differentiated instruction” (Taylor, 2008).
-Students who are taught with an interdisciplinary technique in which the students master higher order thinking skills and integrated pedagogy become very attractive to top colleges and wealthy business.
- As the interdisciplinary approach continues to synthesize the characteristics and methods of multiple disciplines while developing lifelong learning skills,
ThomasMcDonaghGroup. ( 2011, May 13). Interdisciplinarity and Innovation Education.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdNzftkIpA
Ross Institute. (2015, July 5). Ross Spiral Curriculum: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZhkB0FJik
Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24) Interdisciplinary Learning [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA564RIlhME
Week 30 - Professional Online Social Networks
How social media is used in teaching?
The digital era has seen social media popularity expand across sectors and at different levels. In education, social media has been increasingly adopted to enrich learning environment. Pearson’s survey (Seaman & Tinti-Kane 2013) shows that there has been an increase of 21.3% from 2012 to 2013 in social media use in teaching. A study investigating social media use in teaching (Silius et al. 2010) reveals that student motivation for social media can enhance study. While this study was conducted with university students, its implications can be applied to other contexts as learners of any age have substantial access to social media networks. Promising as it seems, social media is not without its critics. 56% of respondents of the Pearson’s survey (Seaman & Tinti-Kane, 2013) believed social media to be more distracting than helpful to students. Further, effective learning will vary from student to student according to their knowledge and competence of these platforms.
An example of using social media in classroom is featured in a video in which Kathy Cassidy, a primary teacher, presented her rationale behind the decision she made to use different social online platforms in her classroom and the benefits she believed it brought to the students.
Other examples can be found in p.12-14 of the Innovative Pedagogy report of Open University (Sharples et al, 2016). Thee group of authors demonstrated how effective use of social media can lead to an engaging learning experience that can reach a wider scale of learners.
And the Establishing safeguards video on social media networking from New Zealand Teachers Council discusses the importance of establishing a clear purpose of social media use in one’s practice.
View the two above mentioned videos and use these questions to guide your thoughts?
What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning? Why?
What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities? Why?
How should the challenges be addressed? What are the resources that could provide you with helpful information?
and in professional development?
Technology accessibility and the pace of advancement to all communities both locally and internationally has resulted in changes to aspects of the general education system, including the professional learning medium for educators (Melhuish 2013). Social media platforms have been able to provide personalised learning which is need-based and flexible in time and location. Teachers can use online social network to seek information, share ideas and even contribute to the development of deeper knowledge.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 6: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development
Create a blog post where you critically discuss the use of social media in YOUR teaching or professional development.
Following these steps might help:
Think about your own practice. Some of you may already be an active social media user either in personal or professional purpose while others may prefer to be more precautious towards the potential exposure the social network tools can entail.
Either way, using these questions to guide your thoughts:
How much have you utilised the social media in your teaching practice? In what way?
What would be the benefit of adding a social media component to the existing practice?
What would be the potential challenges?
How could you use social media to support your engagement with the professional development?
p. 36-44 in Chapter 3 of Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
- With this evolution of the social web, learners, be they students or educators, increasingly expect to access materials, resources and networks of experts and fellow-learners in ways that suit their contexts, needs and choices of technology. Recent technological advances put personalised models of learning in the driving seat. The trend of ‘anytime, anyplace’ learning is increasingly a key enabler for any institution or organisation that wishes to serve its learners who now expect to use mobile technology and 24-7 connectivity (Johnson et al., 2011)
-Future-focused reports predict that personalised, adaptive learning environments, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) will tip into the mainstream in the next two to three years, driven by changing patterns in the way people expect to able to work and learn, and by education paradigms shifting towards more blended approaches (Johnson, Adams & Cummins, 2012).
-Current developments in technologies offer an exciting way forward, providing potential solutions to professional learning questions that previously would have been too expensive, time-consuming and unmanageable to solve.
- It is now possible to bring teachers together, provide ‘just-in-time’ support, and link to experts or other educators exploring the same complex problems using social software.
-The local environment in which teachers work is beginning to support this: in New Zealand, the rollout of ultra-fast broadband, the TELA laptop scheme, and the focus on enhancing the e-capability of teachers and leaders
- If the New Zealand Ministry of Education is investing in such sites as the VLN Groups it is worth exploring how current research supports this professional learning policy.
- define such online networks as socially constructed spaces that allow members to create and collaborate in groups using semi-permanent comments.
- Members can establish public/partly-public online identities, and view and leverage a visible set of connections, which are often part of their extended network, rather than communicate with strangers
-It is also important to clarify the difference between ’network’ and ‘community’. A key difference between a community and a social network is that, in a community, one’s relationship and commitment to the group is to the fore, and often the relationships are richer for it. Whereas, in a social network site, the individual user is at the heart of the structure and everyone experiences the network through a profile and set of connections that revolve entirely around them
-The goal of ‘professional learning’ is widely used to describe the intended outcome of online teacher professional development spaces. Arguably such broad phrasing leads to fuzzy outcomes and a lack of strategic planning for a social network site focused on experiences that should ultimately enhance student achievement. As such, understanding how the purported learning theory underpins the design of a social network site is essential (Breit, Dede, Ketelhut, Whitehouse, & McCloskey, 2009)
- effective professional learning experiences are dependent on wider social contexts, the content, activities and processes in which groups of educators engage, and the impact on those educators and on their students.
- It is the way that social network sites afford participation and usergenerated knowledge creation (rather than the tools per se) that offers educational opportunity. Learning can be mediated through our own cultural and social context. The social network site provides a space that is shaped and re-shaped according to our own cultural perspectives to allow learning to be positioned within authentic contexts
-Social network sites afford members freedom and autonomy to construct and develop their own understanding in collaboration with others
- A social network site can afford members the opportunity to create, share and curate the knowledge in a shared space, and members’ thinking is mediated and developed by the thinking of others.
-Social network sites might lack critical voices creating an echo chamber effect. The conversation may be too superficial in content knowledge or process to impact on ingrained practice and tacit capabilities. Access to information does not automatically create knowledge or understanding. It can be observed in some social network sites that “the forms of communication available are for the most part one-dimensional, based in collective circulation of artefacts and individual meaning-making, rather than the co-construction of meaning”
- Social network sites may be enthusiastically embraced as the newest innovation, but educators may then proceed in ways that fail to embrace the deeper learning or may drop the innovation once something new comes along (Fullan, 2006).
Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html
Sharples, M., de Roock , R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi,C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf
-social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can support creativity, collaboration, communication and sharing of resources. These media support exploration of the past and outer space in real time, engaging learners in new ways. They can be used to develop extended projects for learning on a grand scale.
-social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can support creativity, collaboration, communication and sharing of resources. These media support exploration of the past and outer space in real time, engaging learners in new ways. They can be used to develop extended projects for learning on a grand scale.
-. Where the pedagogy is unsuccessful, sites may present learners with inaccurate information, biased comments and hostile responses.
- Educators on social media sites designed to offer learning opportunities therefore have multiple roles that differ from a teacher in more formal settings. A facilitator is needed to initiate the project and to take on the tasks of filtering resources and engaging people.
-Social media support learning about distant times. They can also help us to learn about different spaces. In the USA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses a range of social media to share its work. Each NASA spacecraft has its own Twitter account and personality. Engaging with these spacecraft produces a variety of learning opportunities. A well-known example is NASA’s Mars Phoenix lander, which attracted 300,000 followers on Twitter. All of them were able to receive regular updates on the lander’s activity.
The digital era has seen social media popularity expand across sectors and at different levels. In education, social media has been increasingly adopted to enrich learning environment. Pearson’s survey (Seaman & Tinti-Kane 2013) shows that there has been an increase of 21.3% from 2012 to 2013 in social media use in teaching. A study investigating social media use in teaching (Silius et al. 2010) reveals that student motivation for social media can enhance study. While this study was conducted with university students, its implications can be applied to other contexts as learners of any age have substantial access to social media networks. Promising as it seems, social media is not without its critics. 56% of respondents of the Pearson’s survey (Seaman & Tinti-Kane, 2013) believed social media to be more distracting than helpful to students. Further, effective learning will vary from student to student according to their knowledge and competence of these platforms.
An example of using social media in classroom is featured in a video in which Kathy Cassidy, a primary teacher, presented her rationale behind the decision she made to use different social online platforms in her classroom and the benefits she believed it brought to the students.
Other examples can be found in p.12-14 of the Innovative Pedagogy report of Open University (Sharples et al, 2016). Thee group of authors demonstrated how effective use of social media can lead to an engaging learning experience that can reach a wider scale of learners.
And the Establishing safeguards video on social media networking from New Zealand Teachers Council discusses the importance of establishing a clear purpose of social media use in one’s practice.
View the two above mentioned videos and use these questions to guide your thoughts?
What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning? Why?
What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities? Why?
How should the challenges be addressed? What are the resources that could provide you with helpful information?
and in professional development?
Technology accessibility and the pace of advancement to all communities both locally and internationally has resulted in changes to aspects of the general education system, including the professional learning medium for educators (Melhuish 2013). Social media platforms have been able to provide personalised learning which is need-based and flexible in time and location. Teachers can use online social network to seek information, share ideas and even contribute to the development of deeper knowledge.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITYActivity 6: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development
Create a blog post where you critically discuss the use of social media in YOUR teaching or professional development.
Following these steps might help:
Think about your own practice. Some of you may already be an active social media user either in personal or professional purpose while others may prefer to be more precautious towards the potential exposure the social network tools can entail.
Either way, using these questions to guide your thoughts:
How much have you utilised the social media in your teaching practice? In what way?
What would be the benefit of adding a social media component to the existing practice?
What would be the potential challenges?
How could you use social media to support your engagement with the professional development?
Notes:
Education Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520p. 36-44 in Chapter 3 of Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
- With this evolution of the social web, learners, be they students or educators, increasingly expect to access materials, resources and networks of experts and fellow-learners in ways that suit their contexts, needs and choices of technology. Recent technological advances put personalised models of learning in the driving seat. The trend of ‘anytime, anyplace’ learning is increasingly a key enabler for any institution or organisation that wishes to serve its learners who now expect to use mobile technology and 24-7 connectivity (Johnson et al., 2011)
-Future-focused reports predict that personalised, adaptive learning environments, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) will tip into the mainstream in the next two to three years, driven by changing patterns in the way people expect to able to work and learn, and by education paradigms shifting towards more blended approaches (Johnson, Adams & Cummins, 2012).
-Current developments in technologies offer an exciting way forward, providing potential solutions to professional learning questions that previously would have been too expensive, time-consuming and unmanageable to solve.
- It is now possible to bring teachers together, provide ‘just-in-time’ support, and link to experts or other educators exploring the same complex problems using social software.
-The local environment in which teachers work is beginning to support this: in New Zealand, the rollout of ultra-fast broadband, the TELA laptop scheme, and the focus on enhancing the e-capability of teachers and leaders
- If the New Zealand Ministry of Education is investing in such sites as the VLN Groups it is worth exploring how current research supports this professional learning policy.
- define such online networks as socially constructed spaces that allow members to create and collaborate in groups using semi-permanent comments.
- Members can establish public/partly-public online identities, and view and leverage a visible set of connections, which are often part of their extended network, rather than communicate with strangers
-It is also important to clarify the difference between ’network’ and ‘community’. A key difference between a community and a social network is that, in a community, one’s relationship and commitment to the group is to the fore, and often the relationships are richer for it. Whereas, in a social network site, the individual user is at the heart of the structure and everyone experiences the network through a profile and set of connections that revolve entirely around them
-The goal of ‘professional learning’ is widely used to describe the intended outcome of online teacher professional development spaces. Arguably such broad phrasing leads to fuzzy outcomes and a lack of strategic planning for a social network site focused on experiences that should ultimately enhance student achievement. As such, understanding how the purported learning theory underpins the design of a social network site is essential (Breit, Dede, Ketelhut, Whitehouse, & McCloskey, 2009)
- effective professional learning experiences are dependent on wider social contexts, the content, activities and processes in which groups of educators engage, and the impact on those educators and on their students.
- It is the way that social network sites afford participation and usergenerated knowledge creation (rather than the tools per se) that offers educational opportunity. Learning can be mediated through our own cultural and social context. The social network site provides a space that is shaped and re-shaped according to our own cultural perspectives to allow learning to be positioned within authentic contexts
-Social network sites afford members freedom and autonomy to construct and develop their own understanding in collaboration with others
- A social network site can afford members the opportunity to create, share and curate the knowledge in a shared space, and members’ thinking is mediated and developed by the thinking of others.
-Social network sites might lack critical voices creating an echo chamber effect. The conversation may be too superficial in content knowledge or process to impact on ingrained practice and tacit capabilities. Access to information does not automatically create knowledge or understanding. It can be observed in some social network sites that “the forms of communication available are for the most part one-dimensional, based in collective circulation of artefacts and individual meaning-making, rather than the co-construction of meaning”
- Social network sites may be enthusiastically embraced as the newest innovation, but educators may then proceed in ways that fail to embrace the deeper learning or may drop the innovation once something new comes along (Fullan, 2006).
Joosten, T.( 2013. October 22). Pearson: Social Media for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/tjoosten/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-27456257?ref=http://professorjoosten.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/pearson-social-media-for-teaching-and.html
Sharples, M., de Roock , R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi,C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf
-social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can support creativity, collaboration, communication and sharing of resources. These media support exploration of the past and outer space in real time, engaging learners in new ways. They can be used to develop extended projects for learning on a grand scale.
-social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can support creativity, collaboration, communication and sharing of resources. These media support exploration of the past and outer space in real time, engaging learners in new ways. They can be used to develop extended projects for learning on a grand scale.
-. Where the pedagogy is unsuccessful, sites may present learners with inaccurate information, biased comments and hostile responses.
- Educators on social media sites designed to offer learning opportunities therefore have multiple roles that differ from a teacher in more formal settings. A facilitator is needed to initiate the project and to take on the tasks of filtering resources and engaging people.
-Social media support learning about distant times. They can also help us to learn about different spaces. In the USA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses a range of social media to share its work. Each NASA spacecraft has its own Twitter account and personality. Engaging with these spacecraft produces a variety of learning opportunities. A well-known example is NASA’s Mars Phoenix lander, which attracted 300,000 followers on Twitter. All of them were able to receive regular updates on the lander’s activity.
Office of Ed Tech. (2013, Sep 18). Connected Educators. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=216&v=K4Vd4JP_DB8
Tvoparents. (2013, May 21). Using Social Media in the Classroom.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno
SocialMediaForKids (2014, Aug 15) Social Media For Kids® The Social Media Education Experts.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2rOekhi20E
Week 29 - Influence of Law and Ethics
LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONTEXT
What is ethics?Ethics are learned behaviours shaped by a range of societal influences such as school, work, community, family, church, the arts, culture and sports. Our individual interpretation of ethics helps shape our ideas about justice, morality and virtue.
Why do you need to know about this?Ethics are not a single topic you can study in isolation but are a foundation upon which you live and practice. Everything you do, every decision you make, has ethics at its core, driving or motivating your actions and decisions. Identifying your personal ethics allows you to understand what drives and motivates you to respond to situations in certain ways. Identifying and understanding your professional ethics provides part of the map of your professional journey and at times prescribes exactly what you can and cannot do.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT
Activity 5: Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice
Create a blog post where you first identify one ethical dilemma that you either have faced, or might face in the future, in your own practice that is linked to digital or online access or activity.Critique the ethical issues that arise from the dilemma and then discuss either:how you would address such a dilemma if it occurred in your own practiceOran actual situation that you have knowledge of, and how it was resolved.The discussion should be in relation to one or more of the following: the regulations or policy in your organisation on online practice, the Code of Ethics for certificated teachers, and relevant legal documents.
Following these steps may help:
Step 1: Identifying an ethical dilemmaWe are constantly being asked to make objective judgements on issues through the process of ethics, yet ethics are not black and white, they are shades of grey and, in many instances, actions can not be easily decided.
For some examples of ethical dilemma scenarios that teachers might potentially face. Watch this week's Edpuzzle videos
“Teacher Ethics- Social Media Dilemma
and "The commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family"
Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide also provides various ethical dilemma scenarios. Read the material and note the ones that you can resonate with or learn from.Now, identify one ethical dilemma that you either have faced in your own practice, or might face in the future, that is linked to digital or online access or activity.Then, critique the ethical issues that arise from the dilemma.
Step 2: Addressing a potential ethical dilemma in practiceOften Laws or a Code will not always provide the specific answer but can be a legal ground upon which you can move towards a possible solution.
A Code of Ethics is one way an organisation can set the limits for minimum behaviours in their profession or organisation. As a registered teacher in NZ, your practice is governed by the Code Of Ethics for Certified Teachers (and will be replace by the new code by 1 July 2017)
Examine social media policies within your organisation and the Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers (Education Council. n.d.) and consider how this code should be interpreted to assist you in the ethical decision-making process.
Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide, one of this week's recommended readings, suggests these guiding questions when working through ethical issues:
“What possible issues/concerns might this scenario raise?
How could this situation become a violation of the law, the “Code” or other school /district policies?
In this situation, what are some potential negative consequences for the teacher, for the students and the school community?
What responses/actions will result in a more positive outcome and/or what proactive measures might be considered?“ (p.7)
Our required reading from Hall (2001) recommends another set of questions to guide the process, including:
“Which stakeholder should be given priority? Why?
What restrictions are there to your actions?
Which courses of action are possible?
How should the course of action be implemented? “ (p.5)
Are the guiding questions helpful for your process of making ethical decision? If they are not, what other tools might you utilise?Remember to use one or more of the following as the ethical basis to address the issues: the regulations or policy in your organisation on online practice, the Code of Ethics for certificated teachers,or any relevant ethical/ legal document.
Notes:
Hall, A. (2001) What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers
A useful guide is given by Nias (1999) who identifies six aspects of the culture of care in a primary classroom: affectivity, responsibility for learners, responsibility for relationships in the school, self-sacrifice, over-conscientiousness and identity.
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program.(2012) Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2015). Digital technology - Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved from http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf
New Zealand Teachers Council. (2012). Commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family/Whānau. [video file] Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49804201
Cinelearning. (2016, August 17). Teacher Ethics Video - Social Media Dilemma. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w
What is ethics?Ethics are learned behaviours shaped by a range of societal influences such as school, work, community, family, church, the arts, culture and sports. Our individual interpretation of ethics helps shape our ideas about justice, morality and virtue.
Why do you need to know about this?Ethics are not a single topic you can study in isolation but are a foundation upon which you live and practice. Everything you do, every decision you make, has ethics at its core, driving or motivating your actions and decisions. Identifying your personal ethics allows you to understand what drives and motivates you to respond to situations in certain ways. Identifying and understanding your professional ethics provides part of the map of your professional journey and at times prescribes exactly what you can and cannot do.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT
Activity 5: Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice
Create a blog post where you first identify one ethical dilemma that you either have faced, or might face in the future, in your own practice that is linked to digital or online access or activity.Critique the ethical issues that arise from the dilemma and then discuss either:how you would address such a dilemma if it occurred in your own practiceOran actual situation that you have knowledge of, and how it was resolved.The discussion should be in relation to one or more of the following: the regulations or policy in your organisation on online practice, the Code of Ethics for certificated teachers, and relevant legal documents.
Following these steps may help:
Step 1: Identifying an ethical dilemmaWe are constantly being asked to make objective judgements on issues through the process of ethics, yet ethics are not black and white, they are shades of grey and, in many instances, actions can not be easily decided.
For some examples of ethical dilemma scenarios that teachers might potentially face. Watch this week's Edpuzzle videos
“Teacher Ethics- Social Media Dilemma
and "The commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family"
Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide also provides various ethical dilemma scenarios. Read the material and note the ones that you can resonate with or learn from.Now, identify one ethical dilemma that you either have faced in your own practice, or might face in the future, that is linked to digital or online access or activity.Then, critique the ethical issues that arise from the dilemma.
Step 2: Addressing a potential ethical dilemma in practiceOften Laws or a Code will not always provide the specific answer but can be a legal ground upon which you can move towards a possible solution.
A Code of Ethics is one way an organisation can set the limits for minimum behaviours in their profession or organisation. As a registered teacher in NZ, your practice is governed by the Code Of Ethics for Certified Teachers (and will be replace by the new code by 1 July 2017)
Examine social media policies within your organisation and the Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers (Education Council. n.d.) and consider how this code should be interpreted to assist you in the ethical decision-making process.
Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide, one of this week's recommended readings, suggests these guiding questions when working through ethical issues:
“What possible issues/concerns might this scenario raise?
How could this situation become a violation of the law, the “Code” or other school /district policies?
In this situation, what are some potential negative consequences for the teacher, for the students and the school community?
What responses/actions will result in a more positive outcome and/or what proactive measures might be considered?“ (p.7)
Our required reading from Hall (2001) recommends another set of questions to guide the process, including:
“Which stakeholder should be given priority? Why?
What restrictions are there to your actions?
Which courses of action are possible?
How should the course of action be implemented? “ (p.5)
Are the guiding questions helpful for your process of making ethical decision? If they are not, what other tools might you utilise?Remember to use one or more of the following as the ethical basis to address the issues: the regulations or policy in your organisation on online practice, the Code of Ethics for certificated teachers,or any relevant ethical/ legal document.
Notes:
Hall, A. (2001) What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers
A useful guide is given by Nias (1999) who identifies six aspects of the culture of care in a primary classroom: affectivity, responsibility for learners, responsibility for relationships in the school, self-sacrifice, over-conscientiousness and identity.
Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program.(2012) Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educator: Facilitator’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www.ctteam.org/df/resources/Module5_Manual.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2015). Digital technology - Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf
Henderson, M., Auld, G., & Johnson, N. F. (2014). Ethics of Teaching with Social Media. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference 2014, Adelaide, SA. Retrieved from http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/sites/2014/files/attachments/HendersonAuldJohnson_EthicalDilemmas_ACEC_2014_0.pdf
New Zealand Teachers Council. (2012). Commitment to Parents/Guardians and Family/Whānau. [video file] Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49804201
Cinelearning. (2016, August 17). Teacher Ethics Video - Social Media Dilemma. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Week 28 -INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS
What is culturally responsive pedagogy?Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by Gay (2001, p.106) as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. It is reflected in five elements including knowledge about cultural diversity, the culturally integrated content in the curriculum, the development of the learning community, the ability to communicate with culturally diverse students and culturally responsive delivery of instruction (Gay, 2001).
Bishop in Edtalks (2012) suggests that a teacher whose pedagogy is culturally responsive challenges the “deficit thinking” of student educability and have agentic thinking, believing that they have skills and knowledge that can help all of their students to achieve, no matter what, in this “A culturally responsive pedagogy”
Teachers can create culturally responsive pathways for science learning by incorporating children’s and communities’ funds of knowledge into the curriculum.
• Culturally responsive science teachers at times position themselves as learners so that students, and their families and wha¯nau, can contribute their expertise.
• Culturally responsive science classrooms support diverse ways for children to develop, express and share a cumulative understanding of science
- Teaching and learning science will be enriched if teachers build bridges and create opportunities to connect the classroom curriculum with children’s and communities’ lived experiences beyond school.
Bishop in Edtalks (2012) suggests that a teacher whose pedagogy is culturally responsive challenges the “deficit thinking” of student educability and have agentic thinking, believing that they have skills and knowledge that can help all of their students to achieve, no matter what, in this “A culturally responsive pedagogy”
Cultural Intelligence
Before you can deliver a culturally responsive pedagogy, you need to know where you are at in terms of cultural intelligence. Bucher (2008) identified nine megaskills that contribute to the cultural intelligence including
Understanding My Cultural Identity — Understanding how we think about ourselves as well as the people and ways of life with which we identify.
Checking Cultural Lenses — Recognising the ways in which cultural backgrounds differ and how they influence thinking, behaviour and assumptions.
Global Consciousness — Moving across boundaries and seeing the world from multiple perspectives.
Shifting Perspectives — Putting ourselves in others’ shoes and cultures.
Intercultural Communication — Exchanging ideas and feelings and creating leanings with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Managing Cross-Cultural Conflict — Dealing with conflict among people from differing cultural backgrounds in an effective and constructive manner.
Multicultural Teaming — Working with others from diverse cultural backgrounds to accomplish certain tasks.
Dealing with Bias — Recognising bias in ourselves and others and responding to it effectively.
Understanding the Dynamics of Power — Grasping how power and culture interrelate and the effect of power on how we see the world and relate to others.Use this Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Self-Evaluation form to self assess your cultural intelligence. This should help you identify the gaps and what you want to change in terms of cultural actions.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
Activity 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practiceCreate a blog post where you first share your critical understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness. Then, critically evaluate how your practice or your school’s practice has been informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy in two of the following areas (ideally you would be able to evaluate one that is done well, and another that would benefit from improvement):
vision, mission, and core values
policies,
goals,
communication methods,
decision-making,
planning and assessment,
learning activities,
school-wide activities,
resources
Following these two steps may help:
Step 1: Understanding indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness
After reading the above class notes, you might find the mentioned definitions resonate with your understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy. Or if you have another definition(s) or a different ways of viewing this cultural aspect, explain them.
Then use the definitions and add in your own critique so they can act as your own cultural framework.
Step 2: Selecting which two of the following areas you will focus on for discussion. Preferably, one that is done well and another that needs improving:
vision, mission, and core values
policies,
goals,
communication methods,
decision-making,
planning and assessment,
learning activities,
school-wide activities,
Resources
There are three evaluation tools that you can choose either of them to use to reflect on your practice or your school practice in terms of the cultural responsive pedagogy. The first one is a set of questions adapted from from Te Toi Tupu’s (n.d.) resource, “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool”, the second one is Unitec’s Poutama and the third one is the Mauri model.
You can also provide your own evaluation framework apart from the two mentioned above as long as it helps you to identify where your practice or your school’s practice is at and what is next.
The adapted “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement” tool:
Select the questions that relevant to your identified areas, to guide your thoughts in evaluating your practice OR your school's practice:
How do you plan activities and lessons to support diverse cultural backgrounds and languages?
How do you use meaningful instructions that link to the students’ prior experience/backgrounds?
How does the school involve parents, families and communities in supporting their students' and the school's activities?
How does the school ensure its vision, mission and core values reflect cultural responsiveness?
How does the school ensure that students maintain the integrity of their own cultural values and identity?
How does the school communicate (using verbal, non verbal or symbolic representations) and create conditions where students can express their identities regardless of their ethnic background?
How do the school curriculum and resources reflect content from a variety of cultures and ethnic groups?
How does the school use achievement information and involve families in planning, and monitoring progress and achievement?
(Adapted from from Te Toi Tupu’s (n.d.) resource, “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool”)
The Unitec’s Poutama tool
At Unitec, the embedding of mātauranga Māori is one of the characteristics of its Living Curriculum. The Poutama is the stepped patterns of woven tukutuku panels that act as a metaphor for scaffolding knowledge (Unitec Glossary). The Unitec’s Poutama shows the three-stage progression to consider the alignment between the Matauranga Maori and the Living Curriculum (Unitec, n.d.).At the base of Unitec’s Poutama are different areas of the Unitec’s Living Curriculum. You can replace the areas with the one you have identified and aim to focus your discussion to. Reflect on your practice or your school’s practice, try to answer which stage the practice is at the progression ladder and which stage it should reach next.
The Mauri Model
Mauri is considered the life force, “a central place in informing Māori, how and why our lives take the forms they do” (Pohatu, 2011, p.1). There are different states of being of Mauri include Mauri Moe, Mauri Oho and Mauri Ora. Pohatu (2011) explained the meaning of the different Mauri states as follows:
Mauri Moe has two levels: first level is inactive state which can be thought of as “being dead” and the second level is proactive potential which can be described as “sleep” state.
Mauri Oho is the state of being proactive, being awaken from the Mauri Moe.
Mauri Ora is the state of being actively engaged.
When applying the principles of Mauri for the purpose of self evaluation, you could consider which Mauri states you are being at in terms of cultural responsiveness, for example, if you are of Mauri Moe (sleep state), you may listen to students’ cultural story but do not really respond to their cultural needs. This Mauri Model is adapted from Pohatu’s (2011) work which has some examples of the actions and expressions that can be used for the relevant states.
For further resources: Ministry of Education on home-school partnerships provides a number of useful links that shows some examples of how schools address indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Before you can deliver a culturally responsive pedagogy, you need to know where you are at in terms of cultural intelligence. Bucher (2008) identified nine megaskills that contribute to the cultural intelligence including
Understanding My Cultural Identity — Understanding how we think about ourselves as well as the people and ways of life with which we identify.
Checking Cultural Lenses — Recognising the ways in which cultural backgrounds differ and how they influence thinking, behaviour and assumptions.
Global Consciousness — Moving across boundaries and seeing the world from multiple perspectives.
Shifting Perspectives — Putting ourselves in others’ shoes and cultures.
Intercultural Communication — Exchanging ideas and feelings and creating leanings with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Managing Cross-Cultural Conflict — Dealing with conflict among people from differing cultural backgrounds in an effective and constructive manner.
Multicultural Teaming — Working with others from diverse cultural backgrounds to accomplish certain tasks.
Dealing with Bias — Recognising bias in ourselves and others and responding to it effectively.
Understanding the Dynamics of Power — Grasping how power and culture interrelate and the effect of power on how we see the world and relate to others.Use this Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Self-Evaluation form to self assess your cultural intelligence. This should help you identify the gaps and what you want to change in terms of cultural actions.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
Activity 4 : Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practiceCreate a blog post where you first share your critical understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness. Then, critically evaluate how your practice or your school’s practice has been informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy in two of the following areas (ideally you would be able to evaluate one that is done well, and another that would benefit from improvement):
vision, mission, and core values
policies,
goals,
communication methods,
decision-making,
planning and assessment,
learning activities,
school-wide activities,
resources
Following these two steps may help:
Step 1: Understanding indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness
After reading the above class notes, you might find the mentioned definitions resonate with your understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy. Or if you have another definition(s) or a different ways of viewing this cultural aspect, explain them.
Then use the definitions and add in your own critique so they can act as your own cultural framework.
Step 2: Selecting which two of the following areas you will focus on for discussion. Preferably, one that is done well and another that needs improving:
vision, mission, and core values
policies,
goals,
communication methods,
decision-making,
planning and assessment,
learning activities,
school-wide activities,
Resources
There are three evaluation tools that you can choose either of them to use to reflect on your practice or your school practice in terms of the cultural responsive pedagogy. The first one is a set of questions adapted from from Te Toi Tupu’s (n.d.) resource, “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool”, the second one is Unitec’s Poutama and the third one is the Mauri model.
You can also provide your own evaluation framework apart from the two mentioned above as long as it helps you to identify where your practice or your school’s practice is at and what is next.
The adapted “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement” tool:
Select the questions that relevant to your identified areas, to guide your thoughts in evaluating your practice OR your school's practice:
How do you plan activities and lessons to support diverse cultural backgrounds and languages?
How do you use meaningful instructions that link to the students’ prior experience/backgrounds?
How does the school involve parents, families and communities in supporting their students' and the school's activities?
How does the school ensure its vision, mission and core values reflect cultural responsiveness?
How does the school ensure that students maintain the integrity of their own cultural values and identity?
How does the school communicate (using verbal, non verbal or symbolic representations) and create conditions where students can express their identities regardless of their ethnic background?
How do the school curriculum and resources reflect content from a variety of cultures and ethnic groups?
How does the school use achievement information and involve families in planning, and monitoring progress and achievement?
(Adapted from from Te Toi Tupu’s (n.d.) resource, “Pasifika: Participation, Engagement, Achievement tool”)
The Unitec’s Poutama tool
At Unitec, the embedding of mātauranga Māori is one of the characteristics of its Living Curriculum. The Poutama is the stepped patterns of woven tukutuku panels that act as a metaphor for scaffolding knowledge (Unitec Glossary). The Unitec’s Poutama shows the three-stage progression to consider the alignment between the Matauranga Maori and the Living Curriculum (Unitec, n.d.).At the base of Unitec’s Poutama are different areas of the Unitec’s Living Curriculum. You can replace the areas with the one you have identified and aim to focus your discussion to. Reflect on your practice or your school’s practice, try to answer which stage the practice is at the progression ladder and which stage it should reach next.
The Mauri Model
Mauri is considered the life force, “a central place in informing Māori, how and why our lives take the forms they do” (Pohatu, 2011, p.1). There are different states of being of Mauri include Mauri Moe, Mauri Oho and Mauri Ora. Pohatu (2011) explained the meaning of the different Mauri states as follows:
Mauri Moe has two levels: first level is inactive state which can be thought of as “being dead” and the second level is proactive potential which can be described as “sleep” state.
Mauri Oho is the state of being proactive, being awaken from the Mauri Moe.
Mauri Ora is the state of being actively engaged.
When applying the principles of Mauri for the purpose of self evaluation, you could consider which Mauri states you are being at in terms of cultural responsiveness, for example, if you are of Mauri Moe (sleep state), you may listen to students’ cultural story but do not really respond to their cultural needs. This Mauri Model is adapted from Pohatu’s (2011) work which has some examples of the actions and expressions that can be used for the relevant states.
For further resources: Ministry of Education on home-school partnerships provides a number of useful links that shows some examples of how schools address indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Notes:
Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., et al.(2011).Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/default/files/projects/9268_cowie-summaryreport.pdfTeachers can create culturally responsive pathways for science learning by incorporating children’s and communities’ funds of knowledge into the curriculum.
• Culturally responsive science teachers at times position themselves as learners so that students, and their families and wha¯nau, can contribute their expertise.
• Culturally responsive science classrooms support diverse ways for children to develop, express and share a cumulative understanding of science
- Teaching and learning science will be enriched if teachers build bridges and create opportunities to connect the classroom curriculum with children’s and communities’ lived experiences beyond school.
• Teachers and students need to create an inclusive and respectful classroom culture that welcomes and responds to outside expertise to contribute to collective sense making in science.
• Learning and assessment in science need to provide and privilege diverse ways for children to express, develop and gain feedback on their growing knowledge and expertise.
The teachers found that when they invited students and their wha¯nau to contribute their funds of knowledge and lived experiences from their homes and communities, the students were able to utilise this rich resource in their science learning. The funds of knowledge that were made available by children and their families included those based on everyday experiences with natural phenomena, cultural legends and family stories, as well as standard science explanations. Sharing this knowledge opened up new spaces where exploring and explaining natural phenomena was something that could be engaged in at school and by the community. Student engagement increased and learning was made more meaningful and equitable.
Teachers seeking out, affirming and incorporating student and community funds of knowledge into the curriculum sometimes challenged traditional classroom power−knowledge relationships. When students and communities had greater knowledge, the classroom culture had to be such that students and teachers were comfortable with teachers positioning themselves as learners. The teachers were initially tentative about this, but they quickly realised their students were more than willing to support them. The teachers found it helpful to think of this responsive process as reflecting the principles and cultural responsibilities of ako (in this context, a responsive and reciprocal process, through which both teaching and learning roles are shared) and tuakana teina in action (the more informed and more skilled teaching the less-informed and less skilled).
Teachers need to be seen out in the community by the students and families. A person who is visible in the community is more likely to be respected as having a commitment to, or investment in, the community (he kanohi kitea).
Culturally responsive pedagogy thrives when teachers ensure that students have multiple and diverse opportunities to develop, express, and receive feedback on their understanding of science. Ideally, these opportunities accumulate and enable students to elaborate their science ideas by bringing different experiences and knowledge into dialogue. Culturally responsive pedagogy also thrives when teachers privilege oral and visual presentations (both individual and group) alongside and in addition to individual written presentations. Dramatisation, the production of a physical model or artefact and video are also effective means for communicating, and for receiving feedback on ideas. For many students from Ma¯ ori and Pasifika backgrounds, teaching other students younger or less skilled than themselves offers a culturally authentic opportunity to show and share what they have learnt.
Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994
- Maori achievement - educational disparities and are common with indigenous culture around the world.
- As a society we need to understand the need to address these educational disparities
- The accumulation of achievement gap on a yearly basis is in fact accumulated to a point where you can see it as a debt. It is owed by the society to those people who have not been able to achieve to the level they should have been able to do.
- Maori were guaranteed to benefit of being citizens of the new society on signing of the treaty.
- Research in Te Kotahitanga, it is teachers the key to make difference for the learners. Need to weave together all the context in the classroom so that Maori can bring their knowledge to the learning conversation. Level of engagement brings about improved attendance and achievement.
- Teachers on their own are not enough. Need support from the school - time and energy. Highly qualified and proficient professional development provided for teachers.
- Need funding and support to keep this sustained in schools - small amounts will not do it.
- Supportive teachers make the difference - i do not believe that I need to draw upon deficit explanations - will challenge the deficit explanations.
Work collaboratively and cooperatively to make a difference
Key things as teachers:1. care for maori students as maori and have high expectations
2. prepared for maori to be maori
3. create a learning context where young maori draw upon own funds of knowledge and bring to classroom
4. manage classroom in such a way where the pedagogy they use promotes interactions with young maori people which provide them with feedback and feedforward
5. Negotiate a co construction of learning where learners among learners prevails.
6. Teachers using a range of strategies and effectively
7. Use evidence of students performance to guide where they take their teachers
Students know about their outcomes in a formative way so they know where to take their learning.
Teachers create a context in the classroom that is responsive to the child, the culture of the child. It is relationship centred education. Relationships are paramount to the educational performance.
Savage,C, Hindleb, R., Meyerc,L., Hyndsa,A., Penetitob, W. & Sleeterd, C.(2011) Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: indigenous student experiences across the curriculum .Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183–198: (Available to download from Unitec Library)
- Achieving equity in diverse schools is a global challenge, and educational disparity takes on different forms depending on context. In New Zealand, disparities exist between the indigenous M¯aori and New Zealand Europeans whose culture dominates the education system (Penetito, 2010; Shields, Bishop, & Mazawi, 2005).
- A lack of connection between the culture of the school and student has been associatedwith low engagement in the absence of culturally responsive practices (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Cothran & Ennis, 2000). For M¯aori, low expectations and student alienation play out through high suspension rates, over-representation in special education, low educational attainment, and leaving school early with fewer qualifications than students from dominant cultural groups (Ministry of Education, 2006).
- Alternatively, schools and teachers are seen as contributing to educational inequity unless they are challenged to assume agency for addressing disparities through reforms leading to fundamental changes in schools and classrooms.
- Schools that reflect a dominant culture represent invisible cultures that can effectively privilege students who share that dominant cultural identity while simultaneously disadvantaging students whose cultures are different. So-called mainstream schools are not multicultural but actually mono-cultural in asserting dominant cultural values and ignoring, if not actively de-valuing, minority cultural values. As a consequence, a mainstream school’s organisational structure, language, materials, and symbolism provide the systemic context for affirming some students and de-valuing others.
- The classroom is, of course, the daily lived experience of students; thus validation of students’ cultural identities and valuing of the cultural knowledge students bring with them to school have the potential to make a difference Gutierrez & Rogoff, 2003; Sleeter & Grant, 2009).
• Learning and assessment in science need to provide and privilege diverse ways for children to express, develop and gain feedback on their growing knowledge and expertise.
The teachers found that when they invited students and their wha¯nau to contribute their funds of knowledge and lived experiences from their homes and communities, the students were able to utilise this rich resource in their science learning. The funds of knowledge that were made available by children and their families included those based on everyday experiences with natural phenomena, cultural legends and family stories, as well as standard science explanations. Sharing this knowledge opened up new spaces where exploring and explaining natural phenomena was something that could be engaged in at school and by the community. Student engagement increased and learning was made more meaningful and equitable.
Teachers seeking out, affirming and incorporating student and community funds of knowledge into the curriculum sometimes challenged traditional classroom power−knowledge relationships. When students and communities had greater knowledge, the classroom culture had to be such that students and teachers were comfortable with teachers positioning themselves as learners. The teachers were initially tentative about this, but they quickly realised their students were more than willing to support them. The teachers found it helpful to think of this responsive process as reflecting the principles and cultural responsibilities of ako (in this context, a responsive and reciprocal process, through which both teaching and learning roles are shared) and tuakana teina in action (the more informed and more skilled teaching the less-informed and less skilled).
Teachers need to be seen out in the community by the students and families. A person who is visible in the community is more likely to be respected as having a commitment to, or investment in, the community (he kanohi kitea).
Culturally responsive pedagogy thrives when teachers ensure that students have multiple and diverse opportunities to develop, express, and receive feedback on their understanding of science. Ideally, these opportunities accumulate and enable students to elaborate their science ideas by bringing different experiences and knowledge into dialogue. Culturally responsive pedagogy also thrives when teachers privilege oral and visual presentations (both individual and group) alongside and in addition to individual written presentations. Dramatisation, the production of a physical model or artefact and video are also effective means for communicating, and for receiving feedback on ideas. For many students from Ma¯ ori and Pasifika backgrounds, teaching other students younger or less skilled than themselves offers a culturally authentic opportunity to show and share what they have learnt.
- Maori achievement - educational disparities and are common with indigenous culture around the world.
- As a society we need to understand the need to address these educational disparities
- The accumulation of achievement gap on a yearly basis is in fact accumulated to a point where you can see it as a debt. It is owed by the society to those people who have not been able to achieve to the level they should have been able to do.
- Maori were guaranteed to benefit of being citizens of the new society on signing of the treaty.
- Research in Te Kotahitanga, it is teachers the key to make difference for the learners. Need to weave together all the context in the classroom so that Maori can bring their knowledge to the learning conversation. Level of engagement brings about improved attendance and achievement.
- Teachers on their own are not enough. Need support from the school - time and energy. Highly qualified and proficient professional development provided for teachers.
- Need funding and support to keep this sustained in schools - small amounts will not do it.
- Supportive teachers make the difference - i do not believe that I need to draw upon deficit explanations - will challenge the deficit explanations.
Work collaboratively and cooperatively to make a difference
Key things as teachers:1. care for maori students as maori and have high expectations
2. prepared for maori to be maori
3. create a learning context where young maori draw upon own funds of knowledge and bring to classroom
4. manage classroom in such a way where the pedagogy they use promotes interactions with young maori people which provide them with feedback and feedforward
5. Negotiate a co construction of learning where learners among learners prevails.
6. Teachers using a range of strategies and effectively
7. Use evidence of students performance to guide where they take their teachers
Students know about their outcomes in a formative way so they know where to take their learning.
Teachers create a context in the classroom that is responsive to the child, the culture of the child. It is relationship centred education. Relationships are paramount to the educational performance.
- Achieving equity in diverse schools is a global challenge, and educational disparity takes on different forms depending on context. In New Zealand, disparities exist between the indigenous M¯aori and New Zealand Europeans whose culture dominates the education system (Penetito, 2010; Shields, Bishop, & Mazawi, 2005).
- A lack of connection between the culture of the school and student has been associatedwith low engagement in the absence of culturally responsive practices (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Cothran & Ennis, 2000). For M¯aori, low expectations and student alienation play out through high suspension rates, over-representation in special education, low educational attainment, and leaving school early with fewer qualifications than students from dominant cultural groups (Ministry of Education, 2006).
- Alternatively, schools and teachers are seen as contributing to educational inequity unless they are challenged to assume agency for addressing disparities through reforms leading to fundamental changes in schools and classrooms.
- Schools that reflect a dominant culture represent invisible cultures that can effectively privilege students who share that dominant cultural identity while simultaneously disadvantaging students whose cultures are different. So-called mainstream schools are not multicultural but actually mono-cultural in asserting dominant cultural values and ignoring, if not actively de-valuing, minority cultural values. As a consequence, a mainstream school’s organisational structure, language, materials, and symbolism provide the systemic context for affirming some students and de-valuing others.
- The classroom is, of course, the daily lived experience of students; thus validation of students’ cultural identities and valuing of the cultural knowledge students bring with them to school have the potential to make a difference Gutierrez & Rogoff, 2003; Sleeter & Grant, 2009).
- Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, and Fung (2007) emphasise the need for professional development that
would enable teachers to better respond to the reality of diversity in the student population,
rather than continuing to teach to a hypothetical mainstream or ‘normal’ group of students. Bishop et al.(2009) describe the development and implementation of a large-scale, long-term professional
development programme for secondary teachers comprising pedagogies of cultural relations as a pathway for enhanced student outcomes.
- Caring for students as culturally located individuals within a framework of positive student–teacher relationships is considered beneficial for all students, but particularly so for M¯aori (Bishop et al., 2003; Hall & Kidman, 2004). Valenzuela (1999) distinguished between aesthetic caring, which involved affective expressiononly, and authentic caring, which entails deep reciprocity and, in the case of teachers,taking responsibility for providing an education environment in which their students thrive.
- Gay (2010) defines culturally responsive pedagogy as teaching ‘to and through [students’] personal and cultural strengths, their intellectual capabilities, and their prior accomplishments’ (p. 26) and as premised on ‘close interactions among ethnic identity, cultural background, and student achievement’ (p. 27).
- Culturally responsive teachers contextualise instruction in cultural forms, behaviours, and processes of learning familiar to students.
- There is also limited research on the impact of professional development for culturally responsive pedagogy (Meyer et al., 2010). Of particular relevance are two studies of site-based professional development to help teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy in science. Both document a shift in teacher practice, although neither links the professional development with student outcome data.
- national teacher professional development initiative in New Zealand provided an opportunity to extend existing literature on the effects of culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom. Entitled Te Kotahitanga (unity), this Kaupapa M¯aori research-based professional development programme was implemented in 33 secondary schools with relatively high proportions of M¯aori students, beginning in 2004 (Bishop et al., 2003, 2009). Their programme aims to improve educational outcomes for M¯aori students through operationalising M¯aori cultural aspirations for self-determination by working with teachers to develop culturally responsive classrooms and schools (Bishop et al., 2009).
- Students valued inclusion of M¯aori content knowledge and described teachers whom they considered particularly encouraging, giving examples of how teachers demonstrated their commitment by attending community events, weekend sporting activities, and listening to speeches at the marae
Gutschlag, A.(2007). Some implications of the Te Kotahitanga model of teacher positioning. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 4(1), 3-10. Retrieved from http://www.teacherswork.ac.nz/journal/volume4_issue1/gutschlag.pdf
- It is a well-established teacher professional development programme, funded by the Ministry of Education and now implemented in over20 schools. The ongoing findings of the project are also available to teachers and the general public.
- The importance of teacher-student relationships is another point of general agreement. Most teachers would endorse the idea that teacher-student relationships have a major influence on M!ori student achievement.
- ‘Non-agentic’ positions, as defined in the Te Kotahitanga report, are those in which teachers locate the problems of M!ori educational achievement with the students themselves, or their families or cultural background. ‘Non-agentic’ positions are also termed ‘deficit theories’, in that they blame the victims and attribute these problems to ‘some deficiency at best, a pathology at worst
- Teachers are not only agents of change: they are, to all intents and purposes, the sole agents of change. The fact that this position is about as nuanced as a sledgehammer seems to have escaped much notice amidst the flurry to promote it. To explore this further, we need to look at the theory upon which it is based, and the way in which this is used to create both an ideal ‘agentic’ teacher and his or her counterpart: the ‘deficit theoriser’.
A working definition of culture is given in the report:
Culture is what holds a community together, giving a common framework of meaning. It includes how people communicate with each other, how we make decisions, how we structure our families
and who we think are important. It expresses our values towards land and time and our attitudes towards work and play, good and evil, reward and punishment. Culture is preserved in language, symbols and customs and celebrated in art, music, drama, literature, religion and social gatherings. It constitutes the collective heritage, which will be handed down to future generations.
rather than continuing to teach to a hypothetical mainstream or ‘normal’ group of students. Bishop et al.(2009) describe the development and implementation of a large-scale, long-term professional
development programme for secondary teachers comprising pedagogies of cultural relations as a pathway for enhanced student outcomes.
- Caring for students as culturally located individuals within a framework of positive student–teacher relationships is considered beneficial for all students, but particularly so for M¯aori (Bishop et al., 2003; Hall & Kidman, 2004). Valenzuela (1999) distinguished between aesthetic caring, which involved affective expressiononly, and authentic caring, which entails deep reciprocity and, in the case of teachers,taking responsibility for providing an education environment in which their students thrive.
- Gay (2010) defines culturally responsive pedagogy as teaching ‘to and through [students’] personal and cultural strengths, their intellectual capabilities, and their prior accomplishments’ (p. 26) and as premised on ‘close interactions among ethnic identity, cultural background, and student achievement’ (p. 27).
- Culturally responsive teachers contextualise instruction in cultural forms, behaviours, and processes of learning familiar to students.
- There is also limited research on the impact of professional development for culturally responsive pedagogy (Meyer et al., 2010). Of particular relevance are two studies of site-based professional development to help teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy in science. Both document a shift in teacher practice, although neither links the professional development with student outcome data.
- national teacher professional development initiative in New Zealand provided an opportunity to extend existing literature on the effects of culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom. Entitled Te Kotahitanga (unity), this Kaupapa M¯aori research-based professional development programme was implemented in 33 secondary schools with relatively high proportions of M¯aori students, beginning in 2004 (Bishop et al., 2003, 2009). Their programme aims to improve educational outcomes for M¯aori students through operationalising M¯aori cultural aspirations for self-determination by working with teachers to develop culturally responsive classrooms and schools (Bishop et al., 2009).
- Students valued inclusion of M¯aori content knowledge and described teachers whom they considered particularly encouraging, giving examples of how teachers demonstrated their commitment by attending community events, weekend sporting activities, and listening to speeches at the marae
Gutschlag, A.(2007). Some implications of the Te Kotahitanga model of teacher positioning. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 4(1), 3-10. Retrieved from http://www.teacherswork.ac.nz/journal/volume4_issue1/gutschlag.pdf
- It is a well-established teacher professional development programme, funded by the Ministry of Education and now implemented in over20 schools. The ongoing findings of the project are also available to teachers and the general public.
- The importance of teacher-student relationships is another point of general agreement. Most teachers would endorse the idea that teacher-student relationships have a major influence on M!ori student achievement.
- ‘Non-agentic’ positions, as defined in the Te Kotahitanga report, are those in which teachers locate the problems of M!ori educational achievement with the students themselves, or their families or cultural background. ‘Non-agentic’ positions are also termed ‘deficit theories’, in that they blame the victims and attribute these problems to ‘some deficiency at best, a pathology at worst
- Teachers are not only agents of change: they are, to all intents and purposes, the sole agents of change. The fact that this position is about as nuanced as a sledgehammer seems to have escaped much notice amidst the flurry to promote it. To explore this further, we need to look at the theory upon which it is based, and the way in which this is used to create both an ideal ‘agentic’ teacher and his or her counterpart: the ‘deficit theoriser’.
A working definition of culture is given in the report:
Culture is what holds a community together, giving a common framework of meaning. It includes how people communicate with each other, how we make decisions, how we structure our families
and who we think are important. It expresses our values towards land and time and our attitudes towards work and play, good and evil, reward and punishment. Culture is preserved in language, symbols and customs and celebrated in art, music, drama, literature, religion and social gatherings. It constitutes the collective heritage, which will be handed down to future generations.
In this definition, culture refers to a domain of values, customs, and traditions which are passed down and maintained as the collective identity of a group of people.
Teaching Tolerance.( 2010, Jun 17).Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGTVjJuRaZ8
Culture has to do with beliefs values etc
Filters that help us as human beings to make sense of things
Tangible - crafts, music, art technology
intangible - value, beliefs, feelings, opinions, assumptions
Culturally relevant pedagogy - teachers make appropriate links about what students know and understand. Make connections - culture bridge builders.
Students bring in their cultural experiences into the classroom
Build on student prior knowledge
Culturally responsive teaching - school needs to adapt and modify the way it sends messages
Are culture and race the same thing?
students are not mere representatives of a culture ethnic group.
culture is a trait of the individual
Culture has to do with beliefs values etc
Filters that help us as human beings to make sense of things
Tangible - crafts, music, art technology
intangible - value, beliefs, feelings, opinions, assumptions
Culturally relevant pedagogy - teachers make appropriate links about what students know and understand. Make connections - culture bridge builders.
Students bring in their cultural experiences into the classroom
Build on student prior knowledge
Culturally responsive teaching - school needs to adapt and modify the way it sends messages
Are culture and race the same thing?
students are not mere representatives of a culture ethnic group.
culture is a trait of the individual
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Week 27 - The Broader Professional Context
CONTEMPORARY TRENDS
What is a “trend”?
According to Visser and Gagnon (2005), the term “trend” refers to the statistically observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser & Gagnon, 2005; Karataş et al,2016). And these changes would have impacts within the field or wider environment (Wilson, 2012).
What is happening in a global context?
One of the trends that both US National Intelligence Council’s (2017) “Global trends: The paradox of progress” and KMPG International’s (2014) “Future State 2030” point out is technology advancement is accelerating and affecting every aspect of society. In education, it is reflected by the ubiquitous presence of digital technologies integrated into the learning and teaching space.
Why do you need to know about this?
In the era of globalisation, your professional context is no longer confined within the boundaries of a local community. Over the last decade, technology has moved so swiftly that teachers are increasingly connected across a variety of platforms and in a variety of settings.
21st century learners are digital device and platform users. Their learning goes beyond passive receipt of knowledge towards actively seeking knowledge and their learning extends beyond the classroom walls to the digital learning environment. These changes in learning behaviour are a global phenomenon and not confined to a specific country or region. It is within this interconnected world that your context of practice needs to be able to respond to changes in technology and new educational paradigms.Understanding global contemporary trends will help you see the bigger picture your practice is situated within and the trajectory your practice should be heading toward.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
Activity 3: Trend influencing education in New Zealand or internationallyCreate a blog post where you first analyse one trend that is influencing or shaping NZ or international education that you find most relevant to your practice.Then, critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives.Following these 3 steps may help:
Step 1: Identify one trend that is most relevant to your practice:Read one or more of the following resources:
Page 6-28 of US National Intelligence Council’s (2017) “Global trends: The Paradox of Progress”
Page 14-21 of OECD’s Trends Shaping Education 2016
Or other resources in the related media and/ or from your own search
Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What trend captivates your attention? Why?
What is the relevancy the trend have to your practice?
Step 2: Analyse the trend:
Once you have identified the trend you aim to investigate more, locate the relevant part in the aforementioned materials that discuss more depth about the trend. Or search for other supporting resources.Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What the statistical data or resource tell about the identified trend?
How do or would the identified trend influence the education system?
Or come up with your own questions.
Step 3: Critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives.Understanding the impact of the trend on the education, you now should examine how your local community OR NZ education system OR other international education systems respond to the trend. Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What responsibility do education systems have in teaching students about the potential changes and challenges the trend would bring?
How might the curriculum be delivered to equip the students with adequate competencies to cope with or adapt to the trend?
Or come up with your own questions.
The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
Pearson. (2013, April 26). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.[video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g
Adams Becker, S., Freeman, A., Giesinger Hall, C., Cummins, M.,and Yuhnke, B. (2016). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf
The rich are aging, the poor are not.
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en (this publication can be read online by following its DOI’s hyperlink)
OECD (2016) discusses how trends are an extremely important part of education as it informs our idea the future holds and helps us better understand the changing face of education. It is said that looking at trends is not a science as trends that were once important may not be important in the future. Rather it is a way of broadening our horizons. They look at five different trends; globalisation, the future of nation-state, are cities the new countries, family matters, and a brave new world.
What is a “trend”?
According to Visser and Gagnon (2005), the term “trend” refers to the statistically observable change or general orientation of a general movement (Visser & Gagnon, 2005; Karataş et al,2016). And these changes would have impacts within the field or wider environment (Wilson, 2012).
What is happening in a global context?
One of the trends that both US National Intelligence Council’s (2017) “Global trends: The paradox of progress” and KMPG International’s (2014) “Future State 2030” point out is technology advancement is accelerating and affecting every aspect of society. In education, it is reflected by the ubiquitous presence of digital technologies integrated into the learning and teaching space.
Why do you need to know about this?
In the era of globalisation, your professional context is no longer confined within the boundaries of a local community. Over the last decade, technology has moved so swiftly that teachers are increasingly connected across a variety of platforms and in a variety of settings.
21st century learners are digital device and platform users. Their learning goes beyond passive receipt of knowledge towards actively seeking knowledge and their learning extends beyond the classroom walls to the digital learning environment. These changes in learning behaviour are a global phenomenon and not confined to a specific country or region. It is within this interconnected world that your context of practice needs to be able to respond to changes in technology and new educational paradigms.Understanding global contemporary trends will help you see the bigger picture your practice is situated within and the trajectory your practice should be heading toward.
THIS WEEK’S ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY
Activity 3: Trend influencing education in New Zealand or internationallyCreate a blog post where you first analyse one trend that is influencing or shaping NZ or international education that you find most relevant to your practice.Then, critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives.Following these 3 steps may help:
Step 1: Identify one trend that is most relevant to your practice:Read one or more of the following resources:
Page 6-28 of US National Intelligence Council’s (2017) “Global trends: The Paradox of Progress”
Page 14-21 of OECD’s Trends Shaping Education 2016
Or other resources in the related media and/ or from your own search
Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What trend captivates your attention? Why?
What is the relevancy the trend have to your practice?
Step 2: Analyse the trend:
Once you have identified the trend you aim to investigate more, locate the relevant part in the aforementioned materials that discuss more depth about the trend. Or search for other supporting resources.Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What the statistical data or resource tell about the identified trend?
How do or would the identified trend influence the education system?
Or come up with your own questions.
Step 3: Critique and evaluate practice in the context of different audiences (local, national and/or international) and their perspectives.Understanding the impact of the trend on the education, you now should examine how your local community OR NZ education system OR other international education systems respond to the trend. Use these following questions to guide your thoughts:
What responsibility do education systems have in teaching students about the potential changes and challenges the trend would bring?
How might the curriculum be delivered to equip the students with adequate competencies to cope with or adapt to the trend?
Or come up with your own questions.
Notes:
KPMG Australia. (2014, May 22). Future State 2030 - Global Megatrends.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8
KPMG Australia. (2014, May 22). Future State 2030 - Global Megatrends.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8
Adams Becker, S., Freeman, A., Giesinger Hall, C., Cummins, M.,and Yuhnke, B. (2016). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf
National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf
The rich are aging, the poor are not.
Working-age populations are shrinking in wealthy countries, China, and Russia but growing in developing, poorer countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia, increasing economic, employment, urbanization, and welfare pressures and spurring migration. Training and continuing education will be crucial in developed and developing countries alike.
The global economy is shifting.
Weak economic growth will persist in the near term. Major economies will confront shrinking workforces and diminishing productivity gains while recovering from the 2008-09 financial crisis with high debt, weak demand, and doubts about globalization. China will attempt to shift to a consumer-driven economy from its longstanding export and investment focus. Lower growth will threaten poverty reduction in developing countries.
Technology is accelerating progress but causing discontinuities.
Rapid technological advancements will increase the pace of change and create new opportunities but will aggravate divisions between winners and losers. Automation and artificial intelligence threaten to change industries faster than economies can adjust, potentially displacing workers and limiting the usual route for poor countries to develop. Biotechnologies such as genome editing will revolutionize medicine and other fields, while sharpening moral differences.
Ideas and Identities are driving a wave of exclusion.
Growing global connectivity amid weak growth will increase tensions within and between societies. Populism will increase on the right and the left, threatening liberalism. Some leaders will use nationalism to shore up control. Religious influence will be increasingly consequential and more authoritative than many governments. Nearly all countries will see economic forces boost women’s status and leadership roles, but backlash also will occur.
Governing is getting harder.
Publics will demand governments deliver security and prosperity, but flat revenues, distrust, polarization, and a growing list of emerging issues will hamper government performance. Technology will expand the range of players who can block or circumvent political action. Managing global issues will become harder as actors multiply—to include NGOs, corporations, and empowered individuals—resulting in more ad hoc, fewer encompassing efforts.
The nature of conflict is changing.
The risk of conflict will increase due to diverging interests among major powers, an expanding terror threat, continued instability in weak states, and the spread of lethal, disruptive technologies. Disrupting societies will become more common, with long-range precision weapons, cyber, and robotic systems to target infrastructure from afar, and more accessible technology to create weapons of mass destruction.
Climate change, environment, and health issues will demand attention.
A range of global hazards pose imminent and longer-term threats that will require collective action to address—even as cooperation becomes harder. More extreme weather, water and soil stress, and food insecurity will disrupt societies. Sea-level rise, ocean acidification, glacial melt, and pollution will change living patterns. Tensions over climate change will grow. Increased travel and poor health infrastructure will make infectious diseases harder to manage.
The Bottomline
These trends will converge at an unprecedented pace to make governing and cooperation harder and to change the nature of power—fundamentally altering the global landscape. Economic, technological and security trends, especially, will expand the number of states, organizations, and individuals able to act in consequential ways. Within states, political order will remain elusive and tensions high until societies and governments renegotiate their expectations of one another. Between states, the post-Cold War, unipolar moment has passed and the post-1945 rules based international order may be fading too. Some major powers and regional aggressors will seek to assert interests through force but will find results fleeting as they discover traditional, material forms of power less able to secure and sustain outcomes in a context of proliferating veto players.
OECD. (2016) Trends Shaping Education 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en (this publication can be read online by following its DOI’s hyperlink)
OECD (2016) discusses how trends are an extremely important part of education as it informs our idea the future holds and helps us better understand the changing face of education. It is said that looking at trends is not a science as trends that were once important may not be important in the future. Rather it is a way of broadening our horizons. They look at five different trends; globalisation, the future of nation-state, are cities the new countries, family matters, and a brave new world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)