Week 28 - Act in your Professional Environment

Week 28 - Act in your Professional Environment
18 February 2019


I have decided to use the questions as suggested in the Connecticut Teachers' Education and Mentoring Program to guide my reflection this week.

1. “What possible issues/concerns might this scenario raise?  Considering whether the progress that I was hoping to see due to my initiative of flipped learning to boost achievement through increased engagement and metacognition, was actually due to flipped learning, or other factors altogether or a combination of factors. Ethically, I might be challenged to not 'pollute' their writing grades (which can be very subjective at the best of times).  I also have to be careful to not discriminate against those who have not prepared for the lesson due to not having access to devices.
2. How could this situation become a violation of the law, the “Code” or other school policies?  As teachers and professionals, we are bound to be honest and to act in the best interest of all of our students.  According to 'Our Code, our Standards', such behaviour would be in breach of "WHAKAMANA: empowering all learners to reach their highest potential by providing high-quality teaching and leadership" as well as "PONO: showing integrity by acting in ways that are fair, honest, ethical and just." If there is any danger of me polluting grades to reflect the outcome I am hoping for from my initiative, I will not be setting a good example to my students or acting with integrity.  Because we as teachers operate from a point in society as being highly trustworthy and beyond reproach in terms of our ethical responsibility because we work with young, impressionable people who require unbiased guidance, trust is automatically assumed.  To take advantage of that trust and manipulate evidence to suit my needs while misleading students in terms of their actual ability and academic success, is wrong.
3. In this situation, what are some potentially negative consequences for the teacher, for the students and the school community?  Some negative consequences that could come from such unethical behaviour for the teacher are:  the teacher will have a skewed view of the evidence linked to her practice.  She might be inclined to continue using the strategy under the false impression of it being directly responsible for good results all around.  It could also result in the teacher being inclined to consider such unethical marking next time (she has become desensitized).  This could have serious repercussions for the teacher when it comes to the moderation of her students' work against other teachers' (internal and external).  For the students: They too are left with a false sense of success which could lead to all sorts of dangers.  In some students who feel that their work might not reflect the grade, they could lose faith and respect for their teacher and might stop working with her.  It could lead other students to become complacent -I didn't try that hard and I did well so next time I won't have to try hard either.  They could develop a bad work ethic.  The community:  especially in such an initiative that relied heavily on the support and buy-in of the whanau and community, if they feel like they have been cheated or taken for fools, relationships and good faith will disappear and will be replaced with distrust and disconnect.  Such a lack of support from possibly our greatest stakeholders could be the most detrimental effect as their attitude will be represented by their children in the classroom and the teacher could be faced with a potential deficit classroom.
4. What responses/actions will result in a more positive outcome and/or what proactive measures might be considered?“ (p.5)  To ensure that this does not happen I have to be honest about all the variables that could impact my investigation.  I must consider that because I am so invested in this initiative, perhaps I am planning my lessons more deliberately and with greater passion and awareness, applying a growth mindset to my lessons and practice.  In the past I would have been very fixed in what I have done, being inclined to repeat units and strategies if they have 'worked', irrespective of the boys in front of me.  Therefore not being very culturally appropriate of responsive.  This injection of passion and variety alone could be the result of improved grades, greater student engagement, and metacognitive thinking.  An interesting discussion on G+ on a growth mindset suggested that if we as teachers have a growth mindset, our students will also be braver and more open to trying new things.  I need to also be aware that the rubric I would use for my pre and post-test after the implementation of flipped videos is not the same criteria as their actual assessment, therefore, not comparing apples with apples.  This can be avoided.  I could collaborate with a buddy marker who could moderate my work to ensure that I was not inflating results because I so desperately wanted my initiative and hard work to be worthwhile.

All great things to think about and reflect on!  And to be careful not to do!

References:

Connecticut’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Program. (2015). Ethical and Professional Dilemmas for Educators: Facilitator’s Guide: Understanding the Code of Professional Responsibility for Educators. Connecticut, US: Author. Retrieved from http://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/TEAM/Module_5_Supplemental_Scenarios-Facilitator_Guide_January_2015.pdf?la=en

Education Council. (2017b). Application of the Code. Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

Week 27 - Examine your Cultural Context

Week 27 - Examine your Cultural Context
18 February 2019

I will use the Mauri model to critically examine how taking action(s) during my Inquiry has been informed by indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy.  I will focus on decision making and learning activities.

What? Being a Te Kotahitanga school, it is Russel Bishop's definition of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness that makes the most sense to me.  It is also based on this understanding that I have tried to model my practice.  He defines cultural responsiveness as "a caring and learning relationship".  He talks about:

1. Having high expectations of students
2. Prepare for Maori to be Maori in the classroom
3. Manage classroom behavior because of a shared cultural appreciation, context and respect
4. Providing meaningful interactions (feedback and feedforward) and sharing co-construction of work (shift away from transactional leadership in the classroom)
5. Teachers having a range of strategies 
6. Teachers using evidence (largely derived from students voice and other's in the community) to inform teaching

Edtalks.(2012, September 23).

So what? My understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness I am discovering is very much situated between Level 1: Actions and Expressions of Inactivity and Level 3: Actions and Expressions of Proactive on the Mauri Model.  The reason I identify with such a broad spectrum of awarenesses and interactions on this model is because I feel that in some instances I am aware (as if awoken) and actively encourage and embrace each student for who they are and where they place themselves in this world in terms of their cultural identity.  I feel that sometimes these differences are actively considered by me when I plan my lessons and learning activities.  I realise this happens because I care about my students, who they are, where they come from, what they bring with them into the learning space and context and how they interpret information because of these factors.  I also care about teaching them and therefore want to engage their interests so that the learning can take place in a way that makes sense to them.  I want my students to feel noticed and recognised for who they are and I do not want them to question the relevance of what we are learning (due to the context or content I have chosen based solely on my interests and frame of reference) to their lives as young, often Maori, boys.  From my inquiry, last weeks observations of student engagement and depth of thinking, as well as the student's voice gathered at the end of the week, I was able to inform my practice in a way that better represented the boys in my class.  Together we identified that visual texts were more culturally appropriate than written texts, for flipped learning.  This made me aware of how I will use written texts in the future. Especially, at what point in the learning journey, what purpose I want it to have and the context of it (is it something that will interest my boys or is it just a good piece of writing that does the job, but means nothing to them as young Maori men?). 

However, there are also times in my practice when I only consider what needs to be learned and feel that my students just need to learn it, as it is, irrespective of what it means to them in terms of their identity and how they might learn best.  Recognising this makes me feel ashamed.  Never do I not care for my students!  But sometimes I feel a bit stubborn about the content they just need to know.  Ironically, it is in these lessons that students are least engaged or happy in class which in turn creates further frustrations in me because they are not open to learning.  This is a direct link to what Bishop mentions in terms of Classroom management 'taking care of itself' if students feel valued and cared for.  I feel most comfortable from my own cultural point of view and sometimes feel anxious about how to make something more relevant, so I just stick to what I know.  The inquiry around flipped learning has been a wonderful eye-opener for me in terms of the power of collaboration when it comes to creating learning contexts.  Boys feel valued when asked to share their views on a lesson.  But it is not enough to just pay lip-service to it.  It has to be consciously and deliberately considered and implemented in future lessons.

What next?  I can clearly identify the advantages of being culturally responsive, not only for the benefit of my practice but especially for the benefit of my students and our learning relationship.  I see that consistency in my practice is key.  That I need to be more consistent.  Cultural responsiveness needs to become as much a part of me as a person, as it is a part of my practice.  I believe that this would mean embracing actions and expressions of a transformative leadership style.  "Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems".  Transformative in terms of practice and self.  I will make the cultural awareness and responsiveness the forefront of my thinking.  Everything I will do will be with my students in mind, as Maori boys.  I will give them agency to choose how they want to be assessed and what context they want to learn from.  Choice of texts and genres will be co-constructed.  I will also seek the voice of the wider community.

References:
Edtalks.(2012, September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2009).Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5),734–742.

Pohatu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking human wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/index.php/MR/article/v...

https://www.langston.edu/sites/default/files/basic-content-files/TransformationalLeadership.pdf

Week 26 - Rolfe's Model of Reflection

Week 26 - Rolfe's Model of Reflection
11 February 2019

What?  This week, following 4 days of flipped preparation linked to lessons on developing ideas in creative writing, I decided to give my boys a writing task.  Because my inquiry was built around boosting academic performance, developing ideas moves students from achieving the criteria towards being more convincing and perceptive (skills required for Merit and Excellence in writing).  Each flipped learning activity exposed the class to a short text with one or two clearly identifiable ideas.  The flipped task was to watch/read the text and identify what they thought was the most prominent idea as well as justify how they came to that answer.  The next day's lesson started with small group discussions around the ideas that were identified and then whole class discussions exploring each idea in greater depth.  These were plotted visually on the board as subheadings to the idea, with further elaborations and evidence attached, going deeper and deeper into the ideas. 

So what?  The most important and interesting aspect observed was how each day, the group and class discussions were on task and most of the class was engaged in the conversations.  I observed that each groups' members felt confident enough to share what they had observed about the text because they had watched/read it and came to class feeling knowledgable and prepared.  This openness to the learning then lent itself naturally to task-related discussions and deeper thinking.  More boys than the 'usual ones' who share every day were prepared to share beyond their small groups which was great.  I did notice that if the flipped learning involved reading a text as opposed to watching a video, there was less enthusiasm amongst them the next day.  Student voice at the end of the week revealed that if they had to read something, it was seen as too much effort and less than half the class did the reading.  They admitted to finding out from a friend (who had done the reading) the next day just before class what the reading was about because they didn't want to get into trouble for not doing their homework.  90% watched the videos, however, and this was directly reflected in the excitement to share and work the next day. 

This can be explained in that although what the two different text types (visual and written) were exposing them to and getting them to think about was the same in essence, (in fact you could argue that the ideas in the written texts were richer due to the natural development and description that text type lends itself to), the boys perceived watching a short excerpt of a popular TV series as entertainment rather than hard work, which reading felt like.  Some also said that being able to visualise things was easier.  This could be because so much of their time as youngsters is spent analysing and interpreting visual texts in the various form of technology they interact with on a daily basis.  Boys explained that reading is a chore unless they have specifically chosen the text themselves. "Visual images are acknowledged as becoming increasingly important in the reception and creation of contemporary texts" (Avgerinou 2009: & Felton 2008).  In 1994, W. J. T Mitchell used the term pictorial turn to suggest that western philosophy was adopting a more visual understanding of the world.  "Visual images can appear to offer immediate access to ideas, experiences, and feelings." (Callow, J. 2010).

Now what?  For the rest of my flipped learning sessions, I plan to do away with the written text component (unless it is supplementary to the primary visual text).  I will leave the readings for in-class activities once prior knowledge has been established through the flipped learning and in-depth class discussion.  I will still use and rely on written texts, but with a different focus and purpose in mind.  Written texts will serve to model expectations to the students of what their own writing should look like rather than be used to introduce ideas.  Written texts will be used as a tool to annotate ideas, concepts, techniques etc. 

This reminds me of the mindset of the early majority who, only once something has been proven as necessary and important, will they adopt a new approach or initiative.  The visual text will establish the importance and create buy-in in a way that requires little personal investment (effort).

This has been a very eye-opening week!

References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281069822_I'm_way_more_interested_Using_visual_texts_to_engage_students_from_low_SES_backgrounds

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. Practice-based Professional Learning Centre, Open University. Retrieved from http ://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf


Evidence of small group discussions based on visual text 'Brown Brother' - Youtube video

Week 25 - Act on My Plan

Week 25 - Act on My Plan!
4th February 2019

This week I sent out information letters to the whanau of my Year 12 class to inform them of my intention to implement flipped learning into my course over a period of 6-8 weeks. I created the letter and sent it home via the students in class as I had concerns about the reliability of it reaching them if posted (I know that for me it can sometime take me a week or two to open post based on how busy I am and how urgent it looks). The letter was meant to open communication with whanau about a potentially sensitive matter, namely no access to technology at home and to encourage openness to express similar and other related concerns.

I also got my boys to write a pre-test to test their writing skills (diagnostic before implementing writing strategies via flipped learning).

At this stage, I feel positive and apprehensive about the actions I have taken. Reaching out to whanau is not something I have done often (certainly not in this context). While I'm excited about the flipped learning initiative, I'm apprehensive that whanau will come back with concerns around unfair expectations of their boys and how this might impact their son in my class. Having researched the ethical ramifications of Kura Kaupapa Maori and in particular, being conscious to not come across as superior or condescending, I question whether the tone of my letter and the information presented/requested will be well received or not. I also hope that all the boys in my class actually gave the letters to their whanau, as their responses will directly indicate to me whether to go ahead with the learning strategy. As it is, the day after I asked the boys to give the letter to their parents, not all had and some admitted to still having them 'stuffed' into their bags. Other concerns might be that parents do not want their son to be spending any more time on a device at home, for school or otherwise.

The diagnostic pre-test, however, was successful. I had 100% engagement from the boys to produce a sample of writing in a set time. All the boys adhered to the requirements of the task and wrote solidly for the allotted time. From this, I could see (using the AsTTle writing rubric) that the boys were writing consistently at Level 6 of the curriculum with a few exceptions on either side of that. Grammatical conventions and spelling were good and not of any major concern across the board. The structure of writing (sentences and paragraphs) required the most attention as did the development of ideas. This was very helpful as I now know exactly which elements of writing to focus on in my flipped learning. I'm glad about this too as teaching developing ideas will require deep discussion in class which I'm expecting the flipped learning to promote, hence it being part of my hypothesis.

Due to my concerns about the letter, I have decided to phone each family I have not received a response from by the end of the week. I'm hoping this will meet with the Kura Kaupapa Maori principles and that whanau will feel valued and considered due to the direct, non-threatening contact.

Looking back on this week I feel that all-in-all, things have gone well. I feel that I have overcome potential obstacles with whanau voice and that my boys are engaged in the possibility of learning to improve aspects of their writing. I think this is largely due to me adopting an agile and transformational leadership style that has given them (students and whanau) a voice in the process, which has "emphasized the quality of the relationship between leader and follower through ethical role-modeling, motivation, and care for individual needs" (Bass, 1997). I have also noticed how more than half of the class have identified as early adopters,"high levels of education and a reasonable approach to risk" (interaction design foundation, n.d.) , seeing the potential that could come from the innovation but not too concerned if it does not work as they already have a strong belief in their own ability.

Refrences:
Bass, B.M. & Riggio, R.E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (Second Edition), Routledge

Ministry of Education. (2010). Tū Rangatira: Māori Medium Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Key-leadership-documents/Tu-rangatira-English

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/understanding-early-adopters-and-customer-adoption-patterns

Copy of Flipped Learning: Letter to whanau

docs.google.com

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