DFI Session 2 Reflection.

Time to reflect and share with colleagues.

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy?

In today’s session we discussed a common learning language that unpins Manaiakalani’s approach which is the “Learn, create and share framework”. You can see this as a learning structure they use to promote authentic learning experiences for our tamariki and motivates our students to learn while using digital tools to amplify the learning experience for our students. It was highlighted in the session that digital devices should not be seen as just a tool but a device that can unlock true potential in teachers when merged together with effective teaching practice and pedagogy. It became a realisation for me as an educator to always stop and think about what does good effective teacher practice look like in our own learning context? Also what do we believe in as a school whether it be PBL (project based learning), Flipped learning, Blended learning etc. Identifying what it is we are trying to achieve is important because it gives us reasons to why we teach the way we teach. The idea is to use digital technology to “AMPLIFY” teacher practice because at the end of the day its teacher practice that causes learning to happen there is no way we can apply digital fluency on a shaky foundation! It all comes down to effective teacher practice and pedagogy and if this is lacking what good is digital fluency going to do if teacher practice is not solid. Identifying for myself and continue to talk about how students learn best? What sort of learning environments are we creating for effective learning to happen? And what do I believe is effective teacher practice? These are the questions we should be continuously asking ourselves in order to make a change in our classrooms. I know for me as a yr 7&8 teacher we are looking at diving deep into project based learning this year. This was something I started to inquire into last year however because of the year we had we only managed to explore surface features of this approach. This year I look to flesh this approach out more not only for my own inquiry but mostly for my students. I want to teach my students to be an inquiry learner where are they are inspired to search for answers and come up with solutions to the problems we have in our society. I want them to be collaborators of learning where they are learning from each other where they come to a share understanding as a group. I also want them to be creators of learning where they have something to show, model or demonstrate what they have learnt.  These are the learning dispositions I hope to teach my students this year because I need to bring the best out of them. . I can definitely see a connection between Manaiakalani and the PBL approach. The PBL approach students are engaged in the learning they are creating and also presenting at the end of the timeframe given. But it is the process and journey that students go through that highlights the rich learning that occurs. Thinking about the Manaiakalani approach and the PBL approach I believe they share similar goals which is to capture authentic learning experiences through experiencing the learning process, creating something in the process and then being able to share their learning using technology. When it comes down to it I actually have a big mission in front of me this year however I am willing to push myself beyond my comfort zone in order to transform my students into inquiry learners who take risks and who are open to making mistakes in order to effect change in the world. How am I going to do this is beyond me but I am willing to go through the trenches in order come out victorious with my students in our inquiry this year. Sharing student learning is important because this reflects not only what they learnt but how well it was delivered by the teacher. This is why the statement that “teachers are the cause for learning” comes to play. We as educators have to create the cause which then leads to the effect which is the outcomes the students achieve and learn!

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional? 

I really appreciated learning about Manaiakalani’s learn, create and share Pedagogy. I have taken the time to think about my own teaching approach and question whether how much of creativity is happening in my class. I am a strong believer in creativity because it gives our students the opportunity to harness their own creativity which brings out the uniqueness of each individual. I also think about the world our students are now living in and problems are solved by creative thinkers and being able to get our students engaged in creative thinking will support them with problem solving.

Understanding how to clean up my inbox and navigate my way through the google calendar has made things easier for me.

Also using blogging as a tool to share learning is the part I am excited about especially how my students will start sharing using this platform. Keeping in mind we provide engaging topics they can blog about.

What did I learn that could be used with my learners?  

- Supporting students with organising their folders and emails is important.

- Understanding the functions that will help them navigate their way through google docs.

- Embedding videos to their writing or blogging

- Using a digital scavenger hunt to support students with practice the skills they need to find their way        - around emails, docs, slides and google keep.

- Using google keep as a note taking platform.

I really enjoyed using the recording function on google meets for the purpose of critiquing a blog post using a set of questions provided. I see this as a great opportunity for students to use in literacy where they are recording their conversations about how effective a piece of writing is talking about what is the purpose for writing, the audience and unpacking the context.

This could also be used for feedback purposes as well. There was a question that lead us to look at responses to the blog post and it was awesome to see whanau engagement where a dad replied to a students comment. I can see this working for my students and community if scaffolded properly.