Yes, and...

Just a quick post today. I have finally set up class blogs for every student in my class (7 experts are already blogging). Anyway, it dawned on me, how much my mindset has changed!

EARLY TERM 2 
I recall speaking with James (Manaiakalani outreach facilitator) earlier this year.. Term 2 (I think) and discussing what he could expect to see in my class (e.g. no individual blogs). I asked about blogging at a year 3/4 level and James mentioned that their are very few Year 3 classes with individual blogs and that it would be ideal to have mine set up with their own blogs and ready for the following year. Deep down inside I was relieved, as I couldn't bare the thought of my class blogging and was mentally preparing myself for etting blogs set up and teaching my class how to log in, log out and access their own blogs.

EARLY TERM 3
Boom! I have 7 chromebook ninjas blogging already!

LATE TERM 3 / TERM 3 HOLIDAYS 
I have information about creating blogs, and as a result I have created a blog for each of my learners! The cherry on top is... I am excited about the challenge (my 'yesterday brain' was simply daunted by the thought of individual blogs).

Love reflecting without noticing, and then realising the gems and understandings that come from it.

                                                                  Image 1

References:

Image 1: Retrieved September 30, 2015 from http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/01/30/how-improv-can-open-up-the-mind-to-learning-in-the-classroom-and-beyond/.  How Improv Can Open Up the Mind to Learning in the Classroom and Beyond. (n.d.). 

Ako Hiko PLD/G

Today was great!  Juanita (Pt England School) opened my eyes to simplifying my class site and making it 'user-friendly'.  I found this very helpful as it tied in with our schools aim to build on community engagement.

When thinkng about our audience, it is our parents.  I asked myself questions such as

1. Can my parent community access this site?
2. Do they understand how to navigate through it (with or withut their child)?
3. Have I displayed what is important in our day of learning?

To this I realised that my site was aesthetically pleasing but hard to navigate.  So I have since given my class site an complete overhaul.  It is now simple and user friendly (tested on my family members).  I feel that the home page displays what is important in O'Neill Class.  That is , Writing, Reading, Maths, Cyber safety and our class blog etc.

It was also great to think about the importance of our pedagogy around digital learning.  You can hand a tool over but without first knowing how to use it, it cannot be used.  I think this is something that needs to be stressed to teachers who are new to 1:1 classrooms.

Reflection on reflection

Ako Hiko principals have asked that we break down our data to identify the exact number of sub-levels each student has moved.  This was a fairly straight forward task that I could complete.  However, when I sent my data through to be analysed, we found that it was 'skew whiff'.

I had somehow saved my Term 1 data as Term 2 data and hadn't saved changed correctly on Excel.  I can only think that this confusion happend during my discussion and data analysis with my student teacher at the time.  However, I was left feeling like a pain in the arse, guilty, useless, and under performing as a teacher.  I felt this way as my data was all out of whack, and this put out a few other staff memebers.

Usually I would be hard on myself and feel like as if I had fallen to the bottom of the mountain, only to have to work ten times as hard to get up and attemp the climb again.  

But... through reflection I came to accept that my data was not up to scratch and began planning ahead straight away.  Without this reflective thinking, I would have remained depressed and low about the data.

The power of reflection is great.  It helps you plan prior, for the here and now and the future.  It also helps you get over yourself and move ahead, aiming to avoid making the same mistake again.

Power of Reading

Today we discussed the pro's and con's of the Power of Reading lesson sequences.  The value of drama based activities cannot be underestimated.  It brings the story to life and develops rich vocabulary  for our learners.  This is especially important for our ESOL learners.  I have found that is importamt to follow the sequence of plans.  I missed a drama aspect of one lesson, which had a huge impact on the quality of writing.  I found that I had to go back and re-do the drama part of the lesson.

Where to next?
Visit the Power of Reading site and familiarise myself with the definition of each aspect of drama.

Summary of my Postgraduate Learning Journey [Activity 15]

This has been a turbulent journey!

In all honesty, I struggled to enjoy this course as much as I thought I would.  I'm more of a kinesthetic learner, motivated by practical 'hands-on' based activities.  I must admit, I was disheartened at the amount of theory based work involved in this certificate, but now that I am at the end, things are different.  I now appreciate the value of research and readings.  The importance of understanding and being aware of educational documents that circulate around the world.

If I was to complete a course like this again, I would want to be relieving or working part time, as I found my workload along with the expectations of the course were at times, overwhelming.  There were also points of my Postgraduate Journey where I saw opportunities to delve deeper into the unknown but found I couldn't because of time and work restrictions.

Below are a few of the criteria I have decided to reflect on.

Criteria 1: Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga
I believe I am able to maintain effective professional relationships that are focussed on my learners. I do this by connecting to other staff and teachers alike through Twitter, Google+ and the Virtual Learning Network. I am also available va email for staff, students and families to contact me at any time.  My goal is to continue this but firmly establish effective professional relationships with the parent community.  I have started this already but I feel it can be strengthened and in some places, re-established to ensure all parties involved are on board and understand how we can best promote the well-being of our learners.

Criteria 2: demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga/learners.
I follow a variety of threads on the Virtual Learning Network that provide information to engage my Maori and Pasifika students in writing, with a focus on boys.  I also participate in a fortnightly meetings with our Manaiakalani Outreach facilitator with a focus on promoting the well-being of our learners through digital technologies.  I also have a fortnightly schedule of Digital CyberSmart lessons that alternative with PB4L lessons.  These cater to the immediate needs of my students especially as they work 1:1 with Chromebooks.  My goal is to further upskill myself in my understanding of Digital Citizenship so I can continue to promote this with my learners and follow it up with parent  meetings.

Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning.
I have continued to support in the area of ICT. Helping teachers familiarise themselves with new apps, problem solving iPad issues, participate in iPad purchasing discussions and created 'Screencasts' to help staff understand how to use Google sites and more, all in their own time.  This term I will be assisting with PB4L and I hope to use this as an opportunity to further develop  my leadership skills that will help myself and others to be effective teachers.

Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.
We are a PB4L school and I continue to use positive praise with students, their families and other staff members.  As a staff we use Google Apps for Education which helps us collaborate on planning, sharing ideas and recording them.  This also occurs between students and staff and extends beyond the classroom walls via individual and class blogs.  I am often complimented on the positive and respectful class culture I develop.  My goal is to continue this in class and find ways to extend this and strengthen it in the wider school community.

Future Goals

• To create memorable learning experiences that will be passed down through generations.
• Provide my students with the tools they need to be successful, meta-cognitive and actively reflective learners.
• Present and an Education Conference (ULearn, #EDChatNZ, GAFE Summit)
• Lead my own school one day. Take on more responsibilities and leadership roles, and build my presence as a leader.  Then lead a low decile school as Principal.

Evaluations of the Cultural Responsiveness in Practice [Activity 14]

My school is a Decile 1 and has a large Pasifika presence, yet all cultures, beliefs and understandings are used to inform the way forward with our school vision.

These are three ways in which my school is culturally responsive.

1. Vision, Goals and Values
   Our school vision is Partnering with our community to develop successful learners who can take action to shape their future. This is being acheived though ensuring our staff work in a partnership with the community, prepare our learners to be successful and equipped with the correct tools to aid their success once they leave our school. We also address this vision by fostering our core values Whakaute (Respect), Manawaroa (Resilience), Kaitiakitanga (Responsibility), and Whakawhanaungatanga (Relationships).
    
2. Policies
   We have various policies that we adhere to each day.  A few of our policies are, a 'no-fizzy' drinks policy that came into effect this year.  It was initially a questionable policy as some families found it more affordable to buy lunch packs which readily include very sugary juices or fizzy drinks.  However, this year we have been privileged to participate in the Fonterra 'Milk for schools' initiative and receive fresh milk each day.  This has helped us justify the policy and encourage parents to send their children to school with water only, provided we have milk each day and water fountains around the school.  There is a Media release policy that needs to be signed by each family upon enrollment that respects their rights to privacy and/or allows the school permission to publish their child's name and picture. We are also a PB4L school and have our 'Hay Park Way' firmly established throughout the school.
    
3. Communication methods
   English is a second language for many of our students and their families.  Along with our regular newsletter, we also send newsletters out in different languages, such as Tongan or Samoan.  This is achieved by approaching our local parent community and involving them in decisions about the language used in our newsletters and asking them to translate them into their native tongue.  This regular parent consultation also allows keeps us aware of cultural issues or concerns that exist in the community,
   
   Another way is by arranging qualified translators to attend meetings where our parents and families struggle to understand English.  For example, I have worked alongside a mother who knows very little English but speaks fluent Urdu.  After arranging an interpreter, her confidence in helping her children and participating in school activities increased.

References

Hay Park School. (2015).  Vision,Goals and Values.  Retrieved from http://www.haypark.school.nz/ vision-goals-values on 12 July 2015.

Indigenous Knowledge and Culturally responsive Pedagogy [Activity 13]

When I first started my teaching degree in 2009, indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy was undefined for me.  I believed everyone learned at their own pace and if you struggled to learn, it was due to a disability or lack of motivation.   It wasn't until I attended a lecture through university that clearly defined what culture means.  I now understand it to mean a way of life, not your ethnic background.  I used to say that, I am Cook Island Maori but was brought up in a very sheltered lifestyle, where knowledge was handed to you through books, TV, interactions with adults and school.  From here I realised I was making a sweeping generalisation that all Cook Island Maori people are brought up rough around the edges.  But in fact, my culture was simply different to other peoples cultures.  Professor Russell Bishop discusses an example of learning achievements in the Maori community and people believing that the poor results in this area are due to the Maori people themselves (Edtalks.org, 2015). This is exactly what I used to do.

From this I made sure my teaching practice was based on a deeper understanding of the learner.  Not solely on their assessment data, but based on Mason Durie's Whare Tapa Wha model. (Durie, 1998). Really getting to know the learner and understand their own unique culture without any bias or predetermined criteria.  Allowing them to approach their learning in a way that suits them and letting me gain an insight into how they learn, and ways that I can promote further learning (Edtalks.org, 2015).

References

Durie, M. (1998). Whaiora: Maōri Health Development. Oxford University Press.

Edtalks.org,. (2015). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations | EDtalks. Retrieved 9 July 2015, from http://www.edtalks.org/video/culturally-responsive-pedagogy-relations