9 March 2019
Problem identification
- What drives you to make the change? I am driven to make changes largely based on the needs of my students. As the Head of the English Faculty at my school, I am also driven by wanting to see an improvement in the level of engagement of our students and their results. Personally, I want to know that every day I am impacting my students learning in the most positive way and that they are growing their skills and confidences as scholars of English. Of course, my embraces growth and change constantly challenges us as staff to seek new and better ways for our students. This suits me personally as it drives me to be innovative and creative in my practice for the sake of my boys. It is good for me too as I don't ever feel bored in my job and I generally leave work feeling like I have done something good that day. I enjoy the collaboration that comes from introducing new things. It encourages different combinations of people working together and learning from each other which is generally good for our school (everyone included). Change is important so that we don't stand still. If this course has taught me anything, it's that! The power of a growth mindset is paramount to successful change. Although it can be very scary and challenging, it is always very exciting!
Observation and analysis
- What kind of data you have gathered? Through my Inquiry, I have gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. It has made me aware of how much data is out there every day for the taking and how powerful it is to reflect on what we do, hear and observe (in every respect).
- What insights have you gained about the problem that drives the change? One of the things I have noticed about change is that not everyone enjoys it or is open to it. In fact, many actively resist it. This has, in turn, made me realize that people are not being unnecessarily difficult when they say they don't want to do something new. It is more likely that they are very afraid of trying something new (stuck in a fixed mindset). It may highlight areas of 'weakness' and make them feel exposed and vulnerable. Sometimes, when change is suggested we immediately ask, "Why? Have I been doing something wrong?" and they make it personal. I have also realized that it is paramount to identify those who are keen to try new things (early adopters) and to get them to promote the change initiative as they are generally positive, not too concerned about the risks, don't have much to lose (as opposed to the early initiator) and therefore are good at making others feel at ease about the change. I have realized that if a problem that drives the change is personal, then we have more to lose. What I mean is that we are more inclined to want to be successful if our problem is personal.
Abstract reconceptualization
The area of my practice that has been most impacted by this journey is the fact that at all costs, I want to be actively seeking new learning opportunities for my students to keep them engaged and enjoying the subject of English. It is through engagement that the best learning takes place. This relates most to principles of Whakaman - "empowering all learners to reach their highest potential by providing high-quality teaching and leadership" and Manakitanga - "creating a welcoming, caring and creative learning environment that treats everyone with respect and dignity". To not shy away from professional learning to "use inquiry, collaborative problem-solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of all learners".
Active experimentation
- What new strategies or ideas you have tried to implement in your practice? Although this is not something new to my practice per se, I have become far more interested in what students think and feel about their learning and will continue to place great importance on generating and reflecting on student voice to guide my practice. I have tried to involve my students more in the design of our courses - giving them agency and a reason to learn. Constructivism has been something that has been inspiring to me and something I want to empower my learners with. I want them to be agents of their own lives and learning. I want them to actively question what we are learning and why? I also want them to think about the best way to learn something. I want them to have ownership of their learning journey.
- What you have learned from the change/ experience? I am left thinking about all the components that effect change and learning. I am left thinking that it is very easy to assume because one makes a change to one area of one's practice, that is the thing responsible for the impacts observed. I am left thinking that perhaps I have underestimated the fragile microcosm that is the classroom and how it is a delicate balance between a multitude of variable factors and that in actual fact it is very difficult to pinpoint the one thing that has the most impact sometimes. I am left in awe of those who carry out research regularly and how much thought they have to put in their process to ensure that most accurate and unbiased impacts that help to influence the rest of us and our practice, and I am grateful to them for sharing their work. Next time, I would narrow my inquiry to only focus on one thing at a time. I would then use those findings to help support the next inquiry.
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 (2017). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from
No comments:
Post a Comment