Well it has been fun to look back over some photos and notes from our first few weeks on the course which seem so long ago. I am relieved to be on my final assessment and pushing the submit button for the final time but I will also be a bit deflated without something new to ponder, try, talk about and learn each week.
I must admit I was most attracted to the ‘technology’ part of this post
grad certificate but I think I gained a lot more in the areas of pedagogy,
ethics, contemporary education theories, and developing my teaching craft.
I have three books full of notes and a blog for the first 16 weeks, then a
blog for the last 8 weeks. I am looking forward to getting my evenings back but
will miss the many hours of reading ‘peer reviewed articles’, reading amazing blogs
of other Mindlabees, watching videos,
thinking, interacting and reflecting.
Two key changes in my
research informed practice in relation to the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTC).
“Reflective practice is viewed as a
means by which practitioners can develop a greater level of self-awareness
about the nature and impact of their performance, an awareness that creates
opportunities for professional growth and development.” Osterman, K. &
Kottkamp, R.(1993) p2
This year is the first time that I
have been writing a blog frequently and I hope it is now a habit that I can
continue. I think it is really helpful as a reflective tool especially when I
am aware of ‘uncomfortable moments’ in my teaching or it helps me to make notes
of what has helped or hindered the learning during my day.
Criterion 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and
supportive learning environment.
This year the Mindlab course
allowed us to experience working in collaboration- for discussion, tasks,
challenges and online. As a result I
have been incorporating more collaborative learning tasks in my teaching. I should
not have been surpised at the difference in student engagement and enjoyment of
working together in class. I am still learning how to give enough structure to
get students started but not too much that they won’t devise strategies and
approaches for themselves. These collaborative tasks have also led to more
innovation and ideas that were way bigger than I could have thought of.
As a result of my research I
discovered that mixed ability groups were very beneficial. Previously I would
tend to group students by their level of ability in my subject. Students have
been learning various roles in their groups and communicating in ways that are
inclusive and encouraging. My challenge next year is to build this further so
that students are happy to write
comments and post feedback for their
peers.
Criterion 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment
and information, which has been gathered formally and informally.
Amongst my readings this year I
came across Hattie’s ‘Make learning visible’ and this has struck me as one of
the biggest changes I can make in my classroom. Whether it is through Padlet
notes, Kahoot quizzes, Seesaw posts, or peer sharing, I see that my
encouragement of student voice and desiring to see their learning is motivating
and provides that supportive learning environment.
Traditionally I used topic tests
and assessments to gather information but this year I have used much broader
ways of gathering that information to feed forward in my teacher inquiry cycle
and adjust the learning.
Share your next dream
regarding your future professional development.
My goal is to always seek out new knowledge, approaches and
understanding, and to put this into practice. I aim to remain a learner and I
will continue to innovate with digital tools.
I aim to use the knowledge that I have gained, and will gain in the future
to always offer the best opportunities that I am able to offer for the students
I teach and staff through PD. I feel that I have a way to go to plan learning
programs that enable my students to flourish in the 21st century but
that is what I will be focussing on next year.
After that I will be missing the reading and research too much and may
look to go on and study for e my Masters. Thanks to the awesome team at Mindlab and wonderful peers for your encouragement and conversations.
References
Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for
Educators.California.Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 fromhttp://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files.
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and
e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/
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