Shifts in Practice

As a team we meet weekly and we have the practice of focussing on a school each week that one or more of us are working in to see what is happening and how shifts in teacher practice are occurring. 

Our discussion in these meetings will bring in a range of pedagogy and ways to scaffold the learning for all learners. As we meet we give feedback to one another about both what and how we are modelling in classes for the hour we are there each week. We look at the evidence on class sites and individual learner blogs and we notice what shifts are happening in changed pedagogy when we are not in the class as this is what shows there has been real change. 

Sometimes the success stories from other schools challenge my beliefs about what could work in another setting. These discussions challenge me to learn further about a particular innovation or pedagogy. It might be something small in terms of an attitude shift on my part or it might be looking at the learning another way entirely. 

 One of the shifts I have made in one class is to using 'Create to learn' as a way to engage learners. Although I was fully aware of Create to Learn as a powerful approach I have to admit I tended to stick with Learn, Create, Share as a linear progression and seemed to work through this process with little variance. However in one class the Learn, then create then share was not working. Learners were not engaged and we were stuck on the Learn. This was brought home as part of our discussions as a team, particularly as I saw what another facilitator was doing and the learner outcomes. 

After discussion with the teacher whose class I was working in, I changed my approach and started with Create. Here is my example of Create to Learn on the class site.

 I had learners who had been unwilling to work and who had resisted engaging with the learning now coming to me asking, "What do I have to include in the creation to show the learning?" - a complete switch. When I scanned what learners were doing, they were all on task and were engaging with the content.

This was a reminder that I can get stuck in a teaching practice and need to keep challenging myself to change and that professional discussion is a great way to encourage this reflection and change.

Barriers and Enablers

Are our learners engaging deeply with cluster-agreed transformative digital pedagogies:

learn, create, share?

As part of my own learning, I am focussing on helping school leaders in our learning cluster to consider this question.

It's nearly been a year since the journey as a cluster began. Trust is building and understanding around 'learn, create, share' is jelling for school leaders. It seemed a good time to use a tool to reflect on progress and look at next steps.

Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/cooperate-collaborate-teamwork-2924261/

Doing the Work

The next step in my Google project is to read and reflect on Chapter 5 in The Mentees Guide, entitled Doing the Work.

As part of the idea of keeping the focus on learning, I am looking at the objective of journaling.

Journaling

The concept of making journaling a specific 'to do' appeals to me. To record thoughts and be able to reflect on them. To see my thoughts perhaps in a new light as I come back to them again and again.

Journaling would also be a good way for me to develop those thoughts further as I know I can often go round and round with the same ideas, the pros and cons, the why and why nots and not actually make progress. Journaling is a good vehicle to help me move my project forward by writing to reveal what the next step is and then trying it out.

Could Journaling be Blogging?

Somehow I feel that journaling could be just a brain dump but perhaps by using the discipline of a regular blog as a journal it might mean that rather than a brain dump, it is a creative and disciplined act.  The discipline is both the hard part and the one that I think will generate the best outcomes.

One problem I can see is that I am so busy journaling that I am not doing the work of the project, just writing about it. Currently, I focus on my project once a week for an evening. This is not enough as it is. Journaling as well will mean I need to put more time in! Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet and do it. Just do it!

Some journaling tips from the book

1. As you write, keep in mind three words: head, heart, and action. Include factual material, reactions, feelings, goals, and tasks.
2. Write regularly, after each meeting and in between. Even if you are not a journal person by nature, write something down.
3. Schedule journaling writing time. If you don't schedule it, it will get lost on the back burner.
4. Review your entries regularly. Doing so will help you monitor your progress.

Template

A template to help me in journaling when thinking about a mentoring relationship:

1. The most important work we did today.
2. The most valuable lesson.
3. How will I apply what I've learned?
4. What are the biggest challenges ahead for me?
5. What questions still remain for me.

A regular, (weekly?) journal is a good aim. I can try this for three weeks and reassess if it is working in terms of time input and outcomes. Outcomes would be that I am seeing progress in my thinking and doing.

Learning Opportunities

Where can I get exposure to new learning? I can take opportunities that arise through #GEGNZ, ULearn and other informal learning opportunities. Also, I need to remember to play as I learn lots by just giving things a go.

Learners new to schools

What do schools do to transition learners into a new school?

I am wanting to find out what intermediate and secondary schools are doing, how we might share good practices and how we might help one another improve these practices.

Please help me out by telling me what you do in your school using the form below.