Week 32- Changes in Practice

Week 32- Changes in Practice
Looking back. . . 
The past 32 weeks have included many ups and downs, times when I have felt really positive and excited about the new learning happening and other times when I have wanted to give up. The learning that has occurred has been exponential. Connecting my learning journey to the PCTs, there are two stand out areas of my practice that have been changed. 

• The first refers to criteria 6- conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning program and criteria 12- use critical inquiry and problem solving effectively in their professional practice. Through the completion of the literature review, inquiry plan and the 8 reflective blog entries, I have become a much more reflective practitioner. It has allowed me to link concepts and theories to the students in my class and how to better support these students. I have identified areas I am doing well, areas I need to work harder at to improve and areas I need to change completely. I have always been reflective, but through weekly blog entries I have seen the benefit of putting my thinking down in words. It has helped to clarify my own thinking and a way to make links with media and research.

• The second is more along the lines of criteria 1- establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all akonga. Through this course, I have made some fantastic professional connections with other educators within our region, sharing ideas and opinions, asking questions and participating in discussions and at times debates. Participating in Google+ forums and reading and commenting on blogs has also allowed me to see things from different perspectives, to understand how others schools run. This has been awesome as we don't often get the chance to get into other schools to see what they are doing, however I know have a better understanding of our contributing schools and new connections within these schools.

Looking forward. . . 

Therefore my next step in my professional development journey would be to spend time in the classrooms within these schools, to observe and ask questions, to really experience what they are doing so I can find new ideas and ways of teaching. We always tell our students to collaborate and share their ideas, however we only seem to do this within our schools, which is a shame when every school is doing many amazing things. We also try to give our students experiences to consolidate their learning, therefore it is one thing to hear about what other educators are doing, but to actually watch and participate and experience these things would be so much more valuable to my practice and the practice of my colleagues.

References:
Ministry of Education (nd). Practising teacher Criteria and e-learning . Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/Registered-Teacher-Criteria-and-e-learning

Week 31- Breaking the Boundaries

Week 31- Breaking the Boundaries
When I think of interdisciplinary teaching and learning, I think of real world contexts in which students are thinking of the big picture around topics and issues in an inquiry format, fitting with Bloom's perspective on interdisciplinary models (Bloom, 1958). In the real world, very rarely are we faced with problems that require only one way of thinking- numeracy, literacy, logic etc. Therefore, teaching our students to combine this thinking in order to solve problems will set them up for success as critical thinkers. 

Alongside integrated inquiry teaching, the key competencies are a key element of interdisciplinary models.These key competencies are vital across all core curriculum areas and in all contexts; they are the building blocks for all successful learners and members of society. At our school, we have developed another step in which the students look at how they have used the 6Cs in their learning- critical thinking, creative thinking, connectivity, contribution, curiosity and confidence. Encouraging the students to continuously reflect back to these 6 areas, allows them to make connections and see the importance of their thinking and mindset across all activities they are a part of.

Reading through the text from Jones (2009) confuses me somewhat. They are talking more about sharing the teaching role with other educators with separate strengths and focuses, however this seems for aimed at secondary school education where teachers are specialists in their subject area, and therefor this collaboration that Jones (2009) refers to would work. In primary and intermediate classes however, teachers are covering all curriculum areas already, and therefore I believe that we are already doing interdisciplinary teaching, we just call in INTEGRATION.

Activity 7: My Interdisciplinary Map
To be honest I was really confused as to what this was meant to look like. Looking at blog entries from other MindLab-ers, some looked at their connections professionally and personally, where others looked at their interdisciplinary programs in their class, therefore I have chosen to illustrate both! 
Map 1- This map shows all my connections which allow me to make the most interdisciplinary program I can, using all my connections to help and support me to give my students the best learning opportunities.

Map 2: This Map shows the elements within my program and what goes into them and how they are connected. My reading and writing program is completely integrated, connecting to one another and then to our inquiry. Our math incorporates writing and reading, but still somewhat stands along from the inquiry as we have a school wide math plan that we follow.

Goal- One of my goals to deepen the connections within my program is to make more links with our community and experts outside of our school. This allows the students to see the relevance with real world scenarios and contexts, making their learning more valuable and real. Another goal for my class is to do more personalised programs in which students can pick and choose what they are working on at any one time. This is interdisciplinary in the sense that they do which ever curriculum area is relevant within their inquiry at any one time instead of having set times that they do their read, writing, math etc. Again bringing in a more rich and real aspect to their learning. 

Challenges- For me, the challenge of having a completely integrated or interdisciplinary program is that sometimes there are specific strategies and skills that need to be taught to fit with testing and national standards, therefore even though it might not be relevant to the inquiry within class, I still need to 'tick the boxes'. This is frustrating as I think we should be doing more in time teaching, not having a set program. 

References:

• Bloom, B. S. (1958). Ideas, problems, and methods of inquiry. In N. B. Henry (Ed.), The integration of educational experiences (pp. 84-104). The 57th Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Part III. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Jones, C.(2009). Interdisciplinary approach - Advantages, disadvantages, and the future benefits of interdisciplinary studies. ESSAI, 7(26), 76-81. Retrieved from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=essai
• Lacoe Edu (2014, Oct 24) Interdisciplinary Learning [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA564RIlhME