Week 8 - Changes in Practise

Week 8 - Changes in Practise

The past 32 weeks has certainly been a journey with straight flowing roads, many speed bumps and many twists in the road where I am left thinking, processing the information I have read and looked at from week to week.  Even when not sitting completing an assignment / blog, I am often reflecting over what I have seen and always thinking how can I make improvements for the children in my class and at our school.

Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, pg 2) stats that we know from research that learning is most effective when people become personally engaged in the learning process and I feel this has been the case over the past 32 weeks.  In the first 16 weeks I felt like a new student in my class as I had no colleagues with me and I had to work and collaborate with others.  At the end of the night I always went home on a high as I thought - 'wow, I did that'. Some of the experiences we completed were also new.  The children in my class knew I was completing this and the next morning were always interested to know what I had been doing.  

Such a range of activities kept me interested and in many different formats.

The Mindlab study complimented the Practising Teaching criteria.  3 areas that I would like to comment on are - 

Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.

Criteria 6: Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.

Criteria 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment and information, which has been gathered formally and informally.


Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.
I have always been interested in latest developments in Education but becoming more aware of 21st Century thinking skills, having to include such models as Kotters model, SMAR model in a practical way has embedded strategies for me.

Criteria 6: Conceptualise, plan, and implement an appropriate learning programme.
I thought my programme was for children to work on in an individual manner but this was highlighted to me that I was giving the same information but just in a different format.  My programme has changed to reflect a collaborative, problem solving, critical thinking approach.

Criteria 11: Analyse and appropriately use assessment and information, which has been gathered formally and informally.
For many years now we have been asked to complete a Teacher as an Inquiry, whichI have always done but looking at it more in depth from paper 3 I feel 2017's TAI will be more in depth with a more complete analysis reflecting change to the students.

Nobody said this was going to be easy but I enjoyed the thought provoking ideas over the 32 weeks.  I still struggle putting information online, I can see the point and instead of being one of those 'lurkers' it is good to give back and raise my opinion.  I would like to take the rest of this year exploring Jo Bolar as she was someone I read a lot of information about during my lit review.  I also want to take the time to consolidate my new found strategies and information into the classroom to the people that matter the most - the kids.

Thank you.





References - 
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/

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