Task ten: Where I am, where I'm going

I'll start at the end. I've signed on at Unitec to complete a Masters in Applied Practice, and am currently waiting to hear back about a Study Support Grant for 2016. I have a few ideas in mind at this time about a thesis, but I'm considering how to examine the effectiveness of my school's personalised learning program. I've spoken to the program head at Unitec about further study at the conclusion of a Masters as well. After years of thinking about it, Mindlab has opened the door to further study for me and has given me the confidence to pursue my own learning. It's helped me explore where my real interests lie within education, and think about where my career is going. 

This has been the result of 32 weeks where I've had to reflect on my values, practice, pedagogy and ambitions. It's been a struggle at times to step back and honestly critique myself within the wider teaching context, and more than once I've found myself complaining at change with the poisonous phrase "But this is how we've always done it!" Overcoming that internalised resistance to change and trying radically new ways of teaching, e.g. the flipped learning that made up the core of my DCL assessments, has opened me up to new opportunities.

My DCL assessments allowed me to develop in criteria 6 and 8, and critically evaluate the challenged and rewards that come with flipped learning. 

"Miss, I've been able to take photos!"

Whilst I felt that employing flipped learning wholesale in my teaching was too difficult, I have continued to use the model in some areas of teaching and have found it to be a powerful tool in my teaching arsenal.

My LDC assessments gave me the opportunity to consider my own role as a changemaker within the school and whanau community, and has encouraged me to step up into leading learning contexts. I am on the inquiry framework working group, overhauling our school's system for next year, and the Mindlab course has given me lots of ideas and tools for how to move this process forward. Design thinking in particular has been of great help in this work, which relates to criteria 1, 4, 5, 7, and 12. 

My coursework hit a rough spot just after the conclusion of the Mindlab-based learning, where I had an accident that prevented me from writing anything and badly affected my grades. I considered asking for a deferment on my R&C assessments and the lit review in particular caused me some sleepless nights! Finding the reserves within myself to complete all my assessments within the extended timeframe and to have received such a good grade for my lit review was a validation that I can overcome personal adversity and not lose momentum in my studies. It was also the development of my ideas for this course that sealed my decision to continue and complete my Masters, something I had been considering for years but had lacked a clear idea about where to go with is. 

KDEC students taking part in a practical assessment. Mindlab has helped me restructure assessments to include everyone, without needing to create a different assessment as has been the school's expectation.

APC was a great opportunity to reflect on my professional values, practice and commitment to the wellbeing of my students and other teachers (Criteria 2, 3, 9, 10). When considering the questions around biculturalism it was reassuring to see how my values and praxis work to uphold the tenets of the Treaty and that I am on the right path of supporting and raising the achievement of my Maori, Pasifika, students of colour and disabled learners. 

I finish my Mindlab course a better teacher, a better learner, and ready to move my career forwards to better the experience of my students. It's been a privilege to do this course.  

Task Two: Reflections

By taking part in Mindlab as a learner has enabled me to reflect on what it means to learn, and how I can use this to better direct my teaching.

Assessment

I am a visual learner and prefer to express myself through writing.  The options for assessments to be presented as videos or presentations did not, initially, interest me much. The first assessment being delivered as a video pushed me out of my comfort zone. It was rewarding though, and I found that the process of scripting and presenting my ideas allowed for a different approach to the tasks than I may have found with just text. I found myself making videos for four out of the six assessments in the first 16 weeks. I found that the time limits on a video compared to the word count for documents created a need for clarity of ideas and thought when presenting. 

Student work after a flipped learning session

This change in approach is something I have adopted in the classroom. After starting the course, I began offering assessments to my students in a variety of media. Students who have struggled with written methods of communication started showing real creativity and understanding of content and ideas in other formats. It's allowed me to assess the understanding, rather than the medium. 

"Guide on the side, not sage on the stage"

As part of my work for the DCL course, I investigated the use of flipped learning with my students. I trialled it and used it as the foundation for two of my assessments .

Students reviewing a flipped learning resource

The original model of flipping the classroom was not a great success, but the experience has been transformative. My school has an "80/20" policy where teachers are expected to only instruct for 20% of the lesson, the other 80% being spent on group or independent tasks. 

Flipping the classroom has challenged me to step aside and let the students lead the learning. Actively supervising during tasks, being available to support rather then feeling the need to be at the front of the class all the time, has been hugely rewarding and the work my students has done this term has been among the highest quality of any I've seen. By redefining my role within the lesson I'm helping my students expand theirs. 

Guiding from the side- commenting on a student's work using docs while they're working on it

Is this going to be in the test?

This question has to be the bane of any teacher's life. When I started Mindlab, I promised myself that I would throw myself into every task, whether it related to the assessments or not. 

Very quickly though, I realised that this was not going to be as feasible as I had hoped. . Assessments, NCEA, reports, planning and the need for some non-work time meant that against my better nature, I found myself having to prioritise the learning and among the various people I sat with I heard the same refrain: "Why are we learning this if it's not in the assessment?"

I've reflected on this as showing the need for learning to have value, and the importance of recognising that the priorities of teachers and learners will not always be the same. I found that since starting at Mindlab, I've become more attuned to the priorities of my learners, and accepted that a task they don't value doesn't mean that they are wrong, or I'm failing them, but that it might be a matter of meeting their more holistic needs.