My key change has actually been in my reflective practice and the way that this has led to me developing my own professional learning journey for the future.
In my very first Blog Post, back in Week 17, I commented that “I have always said that a good teacher is a reflective teacher. They are constantly thinking about their experiences, analysing them, devising next steps, and putting them into action in the future. I know I do this all the time, usually in the car heading to and from work.”
And that after completing the readings I realised, “This week's readings have been of great benefit to my mindset of written reflections. They have clarified my thinking and shown me that reflective practice is more complex and detailed than it seems. Whilst I believe all teachers are constantly reflecting, I now realise that the effectiveness may be lacking due to the neglect of writing them down, and the lack of understanding of how it can truly transform our practice.”
I finished by saying, “In conclusion, my journey will be confronting; others’ reading my reflections, hard at first; creating the routine of writing things down, but rewarding in the end; as the task becomes the norm. I should probably start with finding a great speech to text app so I can record my ‘musings’ in the car.”
I have not yet found the speech to text app that I thought may help me, but I have discovered that the act of recording my reflections is incredibly rewarding and has helped to consolidate so much of what I have learned on the course.
Using the Ministry of Education’s Teaching Standard document I have identified that the Professional Learning section best fits the change that I have identified.
(Educationcouncilorgnz, 2018)
Problem identification: In the past, I have tended to try ideas gained from Professional Learning courses without really thinking about them, ‘why I am using it?’. It was a rather Carte Blanche approach.
Observation and analysis: This didn’t really bother me as I would take and leave what suited me and what didn’t, again not really thinking about the ‘why?’
Abstract reconceptualisation: I was ‘forced’ to reflect in written form as part of an assignment for Mind Lab. A change in my practice happened.
Active experimentation: I embraced the reflection models and discovered the vast advantages, I found that I had a clear plan as to ‘why’ now, and where to go next.
What next? I plan to continue on this reflective journey. I am confident that I can now embark on my own Professional Learning journey in a less piecemeal approach. I want to sit down and find the research that aligns with any new approach I find, rather than just trying things willy-nilly and seeing if they work. I plan to continue my blogging, we are working through the spirals of inquiry at my school at the moment, I will use my blogs to question my assumptions as I work through the new learning stages and when considering if I am making enough of a difference.
References
Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators: professional development to improve student learning.(2nd ed.) New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Ministry of Education (nd). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards
A great read Debbie about reflective practice. I think for a number of teachers, being reflective, writing/typing it down is a real mind shift. Too often, we hear that I know my children, it is in my head, why do I need to write it down. Ask me anything and I can tell you about my children. I think that teachers put too much pressure on themselves that they need to note down everything that a child does. It is important to remember that teachers only need to note down the important things that a child does or what happens during your lesson. What is going to benefit the child, yourself or the class? I think that it is important to remember to slow down and know that teachers are not going to notice everything. I like what you said about taking the time to sit down and find research that aligns with any new approaches that you discover. I believe that the most powerful success come from teachers discovering what they are passionate about and how they can incorporate that into their teaching and learning. I like the idea of finding a speech text app that would make it easier for recording your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI found some research on the Characteristics and Benefits of Reflective Teaching from McKay (2007):
• …attempts to solve classroom problems
• …are aware of the beliefs and values they bring to teaching
• …take responsibility for their own professional development
• …take part in curriculum development
• …are involved in school change effort
• …enables teachers to act in deliberate manner
• …frees teachers from routine behavior
• …improves teaching practice
To be able to be an effective reflective educator, teachers need to be given appropriate time to complete research, study and activities in the classroom. With the new NZEI Collective Agreement happening currently, it would provide for more professional development release time for teachers to be more reflective in a successful way, if the Government approves it.
“By far the biggest concern that teachers bring up is workload. They’re dealing with increasing Government requirements to constantly assess and measure children and, at the same time there are more children with high and complex needs in their classrooms without the extra support those learners need” (NZEI).
Reference:
Sandra McKay on Reflective Teaching Practices, Teacher Talk 32, 2007
http://www.cape.edu/docs/TTalk0032.pdf
NZEI. Retrieved from https://campaigns.nzei.org.nz/time/