Reflective Practice and Changes in Practice
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE AND CHANGES IN PRACTICE
I have found the Mindlab learning journey to be very challenging and it was hard for me to stick with it until the end.
Having not done any tertiary study for 40 years, getting back into assignments, deadlines, and especially recording my ideas in a certain way for a certain purpose was not easy. I guess this is a ‘learning curve’ for me in terms of what I expect from my students. Eg You need to be very knowledgeable, thoughtful and critical about the structure, language features and ideas in your writing when it comes to achieving your purpose for writing. When I submitted assignments ‘back in the day’ they were done by hand, there was no Turnitin and it definitely was not a collaborative exercise!
If completing the assignments for Mindlab had not been collaborative , I definitely would not have been able to complete the course.
Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.
I huge benefit for me, of completing the course was ‘chewing the fat’ each week with other teachers, but most especially the 5 teachers doing Mindlab at our school. We had lots of deep learning conversations about a wide range of topics (often research based) that we felt would help us think critically about what is happening in our school. Doing learning that was linked our pedagogy in our school was really significant.
Some of the assignments we did ‘captured’ change initiatives in the school and were a record of critical reflection about the initiatives. Some of them were useful records of the change process for certain initiatives. Some of them supported planning for future change initiatives.
Criteria 9: Respond effectively to the diverse and cultural experiences and the varied strengths, interests, and needs of individuals and groups of Äkonga.
Another benefit of completing Mindlab was me being forced to develop my own skills at using digital devices as well as some new ideas for programmes and apps and other digital tools for our students to use to support their inquiries if appropriate. Unlike me, the students who learned to use these tools did so quickly and easily. They became the ‘experts’ fast, and continue to be thoughtful about which digital tool is best for a particular purpose. When choosing digital tools to support our learning, the most important criteria for us at Corinna School is that the tool enables the learning to be transformational. Being exposed to Scratch, Tinkercad, Coggle, Google Tour Builder, SculptGL, Easel. ly , Infographics and Blendspace and having opportunities to tutu with these, was really useful. I personally needed more opportunities to become skilled at using these tools, and would have liked this to happen in the MIndlab classes, but I guess practising using these is ‘on me’
Students using 3 D modelling to create the new McDonalds toys for the Emoji movie.
I will miss not meeting together on a Wednesday afternoon to discuss issues and ideas that enabled us to reflect on what we do, how we do it, and why it is worth doing. The ‘bottom line’ with our discussion was always, ‘Does this fit with our school vision?’
Our learning community will be lifelong learners, empowered to use all the key competencies to shine in a range of contexts.
Kate, I've loved meeting with you each week too. I've enjoyed our group of thinkers and try-ers. You are really clear about what you believe and are always able to see things clearly in terms of how they measure up with your philosophy. I think sometimes my philosophy is a bit inconsistent and your detailed attention to the merits/deficits of different ideas was really helpful. I hope you keep learning and growing and help us to do that more too!
ReplyDeleteI just had to put my 5 cents worth in!!
ReplyDeleteI remember how using a computer was a major for you! You've come a loooooong way from those days! Time to celebrate! Well done you!