Changes in Practice (Week 32)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Changes in Practice

Activity 8: 'Changes in my practice'

It is fair to say that I am someone who gets bored easily, but this MindLab journey stimulated my senses and I feel invigorated for new challenges ahead. It has also made me think about engaging in future study as to further grow and challenge myself personally as well as professionally.

Osterman & Kottkamp (1993) has contrasted traditional approach of professional development by outside experts delivering workshops for schools versus reflective practice model. They suggest that traditional approach results in knowledge acquisition while reflective practice can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness.

As reflective practice can assist with understanding and evaluating of practice, I have been doing so with reflections on my practice, PL & D and presentations on this blog (and by tagging posts since 2013, with the relevant Teacher Criteria). This has not only helped me to inform and improve my practice, but also enable me to adapt to change. 

Digital and Collaborative Learning in Context was very hands-on and gave me the opportunity to apply technology into lessons straight away. I have always enjoyed giving my students (5 year old's) opportunities to make connections to prior learning and provided opportunities to apply new learning in different contexts. This feedback (below) from Shannon (after this blog post) meant a lot to me and confirmed the opportunities I am providing my students with. The Key Competencies, NZC Principles and PTC's 1 - 12 have all played a crucial part.

Leadership in Digital and Collaborative Learning
PTC 2 (Demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of ākonga)
PTC 4 (Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice)
PTC 5 (Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning)
This area was the first to play a part in key changes in my practice. 

I had an opportunity to touch on some research into 'Building partnerships by sharing learning on student individual blogs and why this is important to us, to our community and to our students. This left me wondering how I could develop this within our school. I also had the opportunity to reflect on all the forms of leadership I have had experienced throughout my teaching career. It became clear [through studying the leadership styles] which leader I aspire to be, whilst others had shown me what I need to avoid to enable me to be part of a collaborative, motivated and engaged team that focuses on change and growth mindset. Upon further reflection, I realised that I need to remember that while I maintain high expectations for change and growth in our team’s professional practice, my excitement is definitely not the case for all teachers.

During Research and Community Informed Practice the opportunity arose to do [some] extended research around a topic that is close to heart and to plan my Teaching as Inquiry Project plan around it.
PTC 1 (Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all ākonga)

PTC 5 (Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning)
This is the second area that is playing a part in key changes in my practice. Through readings it became evident that there is a difference between parent involvement and parent engagement. I am in the process of making our community aware that digital technologies allow students to share their learning in a variety of visible, interactive and engaging ways. This will help our community to be more involved with what is going on, build effective partnerships and engage them in their children's learning.

Reflective blog posts in Applied Practice in Context not only allowed me to identify, critically examine and evaluate my teaching practice, but also gave me an insight into the thinking and perceptions of other professionals. I enjoyed reading and commenting on posts. This extended my thinking on a variety of 'issues' in our profession. 

Future Professional Development:
Master's Degree: I have always been interested in Educational Leadership and (now being part of the Senior Management team), believe that by studying for my masters it will allow me to pursue this topic further and develop my knowledge and skills.
GAFE Summit: I would like to attend one of these events to focus further on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education and other Google tools to promote student learning.

References:

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.California. Cornwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf

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

~ "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." - George Bernard Shaw ~

Crossing boundaries and creating connections (Week 31)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Crossing boundaries and creating connections

Activity 7: 'My interdisciplinary connection map'

The world of professional practice is changing rapidly. The boundaries between disciplines are moving, new disciplines are being invented at an unprecedented rate and the boundaries between disciplines and becoming more porous.

Today and in the future, the environments that practitioners are working in, or will be asked to create, will require people who are skilled in the ability to work across disciplinary boundaries.

One of the most important skills one will need to learn is to become “self-aware” as a teaching professional and to understand the context of your own discipline: it’s strengths and its limitations. When you can clearly define your actions as a teaching practitioner and the context of your practice you will able to move across disciplines to other areas of practice where you can make informed contributions on the practice of your own current and future practice along with emerging practice disciplines.

Interdisciplinary practice allows individuals who are based in their practice discipline(s) to focus on collaboration and participate in finding solutions to the increasingly complex problems occurring in the world today. When working in an interdisciplinary manner we need to draw on multiple perspectives, practices, epistemologies and methodologies to identify how these can be utilized to solve real world problems.

A map which demonstrates my current and potential interdisciplinary connections

Two of the potential connections from my map as my near future goal(s) are:
Master's Degree: I have always been interested in Educational Leadership and (now being part of the Senior Management team), believe that by studying for my masters it will allow me to pursue this topic further and develop my knowledge and skills.
GAFE Summit: I would like to attend one of these events to focus further on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education and other Google tools to promote student learning.

The benefits and challenges of working in a more interdisciplinary environment

Jones (2009) stated that “the interdisciplinary approach is a key concept to the advancement of school curriculum at all levels”.  Although this approach has many benefits, it is also [now] debatable if this approach is the best path for an educational programme. Whereas this approach can positively enhance communication skills, it also has the disadvantage of being time-consuming in lesson planning. Jones goes further and argues that “having more than one instructor can create problems in the sharing of responsibilities.”

However, in a Boyer and Bishop (2004) study the interdisciplinary approach was used as a technique where students learnt to be the teacher and they had to connect with peers from other grades. The outcome was positive, as older students had the opportunity to take up a leadership role and younger students were able to get help from the older ones.

Another benefit is that when students master higher order thinking skills by being taught with the interdisciplinary technique they became the interest of wealthy businesses and top colleges.                                                                               

According to Jones (2009) “Interdisciplinary techniques are not only important for a student to learn any one single discipline or solve problem in a synthesized manner, but it also enriches a student’s lifelong learning habits, academic skills, and personal growth.”

Duerr, of “Interdisciplinary Instruction”, justifies the importance that broadness has to student’s futures in the way that “Their cognitive development allows them to see relationships among content areas and understand principles that cross curricular lines. Their psychosocial development gives them the ability to understand people and to look at situations from various viewpoints” (Duerr, 2008, p.177).

When expertise is shared across connections it means that expertise outside of the scope of immediate connections is more accessible and the consistency of integrating disciplines can be attained over many platforms. As Mathison voice that by integrating this interdisciplinary approach we will have “Better collegiality and support between teachers and the wider community of disciplines” (Mathison, 1997, p.20).

Nevertheless, the benefits of an interdisciplinary environment is not without its challenges. Our education system is [still] very much structured, which makes the integration of an interdisciplinary environment a bit unrealistic in some instances. Interdisciplinary connections can also be time consuming as building and sustaining professional relationships outside day to day connections can seem hard and exhausting.

However, in my opinion, the benefits of working in a more interdisciplinary environment outweigh the challenges far more...



References:

Boyer, Bishop, 2004. “Young Adolescent Voices: Students' Perceptions of Interdisciplinary Teaming,” RMLE, v.1. Retrieved from:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3e/a6/ef.pdf

Duerr, Laura L., 2008. “Interdisciplinary Instruction, Educational Horizons.” Retrieved from:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/3e/0c/3a.pdf

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

Mathison,S.. & Freeman, M.(1997). The logic of interdisciplinary studies. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, 1997. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf: This review of literature of interdisciplinary studies can help you explore more about the interdisciplinary approach used by teachers in their class.

~ "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." - Henry Ford ~

Professional Online Networks (Week 30)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Professional Online Networks

Activity 6: 'Using social online networks in teaching and/or professional development'

The debate on whether or not to use technology in education seems as outdated as old technology itself. Educators are now engaged in improving digital tools to effectively cater for student learning.
A study investigating social media use in teaching (Silius et al., 2010) showed that student motivation for social media can enhance study.

Social media platforms have been able to provide personalised learning which is need-based and flexible in time and location. Teachers can use online social network to seek information, share ideas and even contribute to the development of deep knowledge.

In the New Zealand context, the Ministry of Education has introduced an initiative to enhance professional development via online social networking. The Virtual Learning Network is a platform where educators can engage in professional conversations. Melhuish (2013)’s study has suggested that VLN Groups can enable an informal type of professional learning for teachers.

What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning?

We know that the world is changing at an incredible pace for our students and if we want to prepare them for their future, it is important that we, as connected educators also become the connected learners.
As social media have the power to connect educators, I utilize Twitter and some of the # chats, the VLN groups, Google+ communities, Pinterest, TeachMeetNZ (where teachers come together to present virtually and broadcast live through a Google Hangout for the rest of New Zealand and Globally), N4L Pond, Class Blog (as a means of maintaining an effective communication between home and school), Professional Blog, LinkedIn, NZ Teachers (Primary) Facebook page, to make connections with even more incredible educators. I can’t imagine a more creative way to discuss the needs for future focus learning with fellow professionals and cherish the opportunity of having teachers and school leaders working together locally as well as through global networks.  We are able to connect, collaborate and use each other’s knowledge to apply in our schools and classrooms. Being a connected educator allows me to do something with the information I find.  I allow myself time for experimentation, innovation, questioning, mistakes and constant reflection as I am driven to make learning even more rewarding and purposeful for my students, thinking about what is important to them and their learning

As a connected educator/learner, I also want my students to experience this.  Therefore they connect with other classes through KidsedchatNZ and Quadblogging Aotearoa. I have also previously participated with my class in the global classroom project called 'the Travelling Rhinos'. They enjoyed their involvement in such a way that we extended our learning with a class production the next term. My 5 year old students also participated in a 10 sentence story based on a topic with 9 other schools using Google Docs.

As co-organiser of KidsedchatNZ (a twitter chat for NZ schools) and having my five year old students participating through our class account, I have seen first hand the benefits of their involvement, not only as we are able to discuss online behaviour in a safe and positive environment, but I can also see an improvement in their reading and writing skills. It is great to see how students gain confidence and feel good about themselves, which in the end leads to them being actively engaged in their learning. That is what KidsedchatNZ offer to students.

I believe that learner agency can be developed when using social media in the classroom. My students have an ILP on our class wiki and each one have their own ePortfolio. With having these opportunities, students can slowly be introduced (through lots of scaffolding) to be in control of their own learning.

Social media provides us with a range of learning opportunities that would not have been available through any other context.

What social media platform do I feel best supports engagement with my professional development?
My professional development is supported in different ways through all the various social media platforms I belong to. Each one of them have a specific purpose in my learning journey, however the following would be my main 'go to' places:
Twitter: For learning from and sharing with my own Personal Learning Network. I can learn anytime, anywhere. It's like brewing your own personalized PD.
VLN groups: Are the online community I use to connect, share experiences, and learn together with teachers, school leaders, and facilitators.
Google+ communities: This is the platform where best practices can be shared, questions can be answered and valuable information are being shared.
TeachMeetNZ: There is always something new to learn at each and everyone one of these sessions. By just listening to presenters, I realize that there is so much more for me to accomplish... and there are many more ways to assist my students to reflect on and think critically about their learning! I can and have to select [other] technologies and resources that will be effective and address the needs of individual students. My journey is ongoing...

References:

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8482/thesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y :The author presents an in-depth investigation into the use of online social media networking in teachers’ professional development

Silius, K., Miilumäki, T.,Huhtamäki, J.,Tebest, T., Meriläinen, J., & Pohjolainen, S.(2010). Students’ motivations for social media enhanced studying and learning. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2(1), 54-67. Retrieved on 7th May,2015 from http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication/article/view/55/39

~ "We don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it." - Erik Qualman ~

Law & Ethics influence on professional practice (Week 29)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Law & Ethics influence on professional practice

Activity 5: 'Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice'

We are constantly being asked to make objective judgements on issues through the process of ethics, yet many of these ethics are based on theories of morality. Ethics are not a single topic you can study in isolation but are a foundation upon which you live and practice. Everything you do, every decision you make, has ethics at its core, driving or motivating your actions and decisions.

Colleste (2012, p. 30) stated that Professional ethics develops within a community of professionals as a result of a tradition of moral thinking. “Applied ethics is the art or science of reflecting on moral dilemmas and moral problems in different social contexts and is an academic discipline analysing moral problems in different social arenas.” Colleste (2012)

In today's age, ethical dilemmas are unavoidable and the use of social media makes us all even more vulnerable to the 'not so good' decisions and hindsight. Therefore it is vital to establish safeguards and consider what the purpose is of using social networking, as mentioned in a video from the Education Council.

The Education Council of New Zealand also has four fundamental principals for professional interactions of teachers:
1. Autonomy to treat people with rights that are to be honoured and defended
2. Justice to share power and prevent the abuse of power
3. Responsible care to do good and minimise harm to others
4. Truth to be honest with others and self

These principals are very broad, hence the importance of following the correct procedures when using social media. (The Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand 2016).

As an active user of social media forms like Twitter, Google+, Blogger and Facebook, I am very conscious of my privacy settings, however when typing my name into a search engine, it was disturbing to see all that was visible to the world, although there was nothing to be ashamed of. Having seen the evidence of my digital footprint I am thinking of how our students interact online...

My school is making use of individual student blogs as ePortfolios and that being the case, we are all in agreement that it is important that Digital Citizenship/ Cyber Safety are being taught from a young age. We strive to keep our students as safe as possible by using the 'Cyber Safety Use Agreement for Primary Students'.

Blogs/ePortfolios can be private, but many schools prefer it to be open to enable collaboration, to share and celebrate students' learning. Feedback from our parents are that students often tell them about an activity, or a piece of work, they have been engaged in. Therefore our class blog and ePortfolios are used as a means of maintaining an effective communication between home and school. When checking these blogs (sometimes late in the evening) parents get to see images or videos of what children have described. There is an enjoyment of having the opportunity to provide specific feedback to students, and teachers and parents appreciate this additional way of being involved in the learning process.

I only publish positive things on our class blog about students' learning, but I think we should not loose sight of how students might feel in years to come when [still] seeing their learning from years ago online.

Although I have yet to deal with a situation, it is [still] frightening to see how 'open' our lives are once we engage with an online environment.

References:

Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

Collste, G.(2012) Applied and professional ethics. Kemanusiaan, 19(1), 17–33.

New Zealand Teachers Council.(2012). Establishing safeguards.[video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216520

The Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand 2016

~ "Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do." - Potter Stewart ~

Indigenous knowledge & Cultural responsiveness (Week 28)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Indigenous knowledge & cultural responsiveness

Activity 4: 'Indigenous knowledge & cultural responsiveness in my practice'

Culture is not exclusive to race and/or ethnicity. It also refers the unique features of a community; its demographic makeup, including location, age, gender, language/s spoken, local history, industry and economics.

Understanding the specific cultural characteristics of a community is critical for achieving positive outcomes.

Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by Gay (2001, p.106) as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. It is reflected in five elements including the knowledge about the culture diversity, the culturally integrated content in the curriculum, the development of the learning community, the ability to communicating with culturally diverse students and the culturally responsive delivery of instruction (Gay, 2001). Whereas, Bishop, Berryman, Cavanagh and Teddy (2009) emphasises on the importance of student-teacher relationship in culturally responsive teaching. It is suggested that the learners’ culture needs to considered and integrated their learning activities.

Although it was hard fought, and not fully recognised until the 1970s, Aotearoa New Zealand is now a bicultural nation within which resides a multicultural society. The treaty of Waitangi is significant in policy and the principles of partnership, participation and protection are central features of policy (Findsen, 2012).

My view on culture is that it includes the beliefs and values (where one must be virtuous to a certain degree) of a group of people. It is about adapting a code of ethics which is also a requirement from the education council for certificated teachers.

Learning about culture is important as it is a way of linking people, to bond, to shape behavior and standards. It is my perception that if we treat others with dignity regarding our different cultures, positive relationships will be build on trust.

How does culture apply to my class environment?
I value productive partnerships and attempt to involve all parents, no matter what culture/ethnicity. As Siromani Dhungana so rightly tweeted on 22 Feb 2014, "One World Many Voices". Everyone who plays a role in education should take action and work together. We learn from each other and grow together to the benefit of the students.

Mission, Vision and Values Statements:
Mission: To provide a stimulating and progressive learning environment where students develop the skills and confidence to become actively engaged life-long learners
Vision: ‘Celebrating personal excellence’
Our students will be part of a learning community of creative and critical thinkers who take pride in all areas of their learning. They possess a strong sense of belonging and are valued for the positive contributions they bring to our school & society
Values: Our school actively promotes and models a virtues-based culture

All these statements are further supported by The Guiding Principles of Ka Hikitia (2013), as we know in fact that which is good for Maori is good for all students.

School-wide activities:
Our school uses Te Reo in the classroom and we are also responsive to Māori celebrations. Karakia plays an important part in our daily programme. We attend the yearly Cultural Festival where all of our students participate in Kapa Haka performances.
Our school hosted evening Te Reo classes which all of our teachers embraced, however I feel saddened that not many parents/whānau or members of the community attended this.
We have held hui at school and invited our Māori parents to share their thoughts on how they would like Māori to look, feel and sound at our school.

Does this mean that we are fully engaged with cultural responsive pedagogy? I wonder... or is it like Mike Hogan mentions in his video, we need to "stop doing the surface stuff." 

References:

Bishop, R, Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2009). Te Kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5)734–742.

Findsen, B. (2012). Older adult learning in Aotearoa New Zealand: Structure, trends and issues. Presented at Adult Community Education (ACE) Conference.

Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2),106-116.

Hogan, M., (2016).  Culturally responsive practice in a mainstream school EDtalks. Edtalks.org. Retrieved from http://edtalks.org/video/mike-hogan-culturally-responsive-practice-mainstream-school

NZ Ministry of Education (2013). Ka Hikitia - Accelerating Success 2013-2017. The Maori Education Strategy. Learning Media. NZ

The Education Council Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. 

~ "If a curriculum does not respond to a culture, then the culture won't respond to the curriculum." - Unknown ~

Broader Professional Context (Week 27)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Broader Professional Context

Activity 3: 'Contemporary issues or trends in New Zealand or internationally'

The New Zealand education context
New Zealand is among the high quality education performers globally, but also faces critical issues that need to be addressed. A report by the Education Review Office (2012) indicated that New Zealand’s education system needs to pay more attention to three key aspects including:
1. Shifting the focus towards student-centred learning,
2. Implementing a responsive and rich curriculum,
3. Assessment used  to know about, and plan for students’ learning.

Image retrieved from CORE Education Trends, 2015

'Each year, CORE Education’s experienced staff of researchers, educators, and digital technology experts pool their expertise and combine their understanding and evidence of the ways that digital technologies are influencing all aspects of education. The result is CORE’s list of the ten trends that are expected to make a growing impact upon education in New Zealand in the coming year.' (About CORE's Ten Trends, 2014, 2015, 2016)

During 2014 and 2015, their focus was very much on Learner Agency, which is the one I would like to concentrate on along with the focus towards student-centred learning.

Some important features of learner agency:
1. Agency (is about making decisions about learning) involves the initiative or self-regulation of the learner, but they must have a belief that their approach to learning is actually going to make a difference. Agency, however, is not simply handing control over to learner, but rather creating an environment where learners could be actively involved in the moment by moment learning
2. Agency is mediated by the classroom. It is definitely not about a learner doing their own thing and what suits them. Providing choices in learning (whether to work individually or in a group; whether to evidence learning through a piece of writing or technology) is an important factor in engagement, which in turn contributes to student learning and success.
3. Agency should include an awareness of one’s own actions, every decision they make and action they take impacts on the thinking, behaviour or decisions of others.

Another aspect of agentic behaviour is student voice. It is important to consider how it is reflected in the day to day decisions that are made around school. It should be exercised in more engaged and authentic ways that are about the students learning, rather than to simply satisfy ourselves that we have heard what students have to say.

We need to scaffold and develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviours required by this approach. This will then provide opportunities for students to own their learning through meaningful and relevant reflection and collaboration. It is my perception that we as 'teachers' should still provide structure, without being too directed.

According to ERO (2012), the number one issue is 'Shifting the focus to student-centred learning'. This [to me] sits neatly under the Learner agency 'umbrella'. However, no matter if you call it Learner Agency or Student-centred learning... the notability is on students becoming empowered to own their learning and the teacher becoming the guide.

International context
In the era of globalization, our professional context is no longer confined within the boundaries of a local community. Over the last decade, technology has moved so swiftly that teachers are increasingly connected across a variety of platforms and in a variety of settings.

21st Century learners are digital device and platform users. Their learning goes beyond passive receipt of knowledge towards actively seeking knowledge and their learning extends beyond the classroom walls to the digital learning environment. These changes in learning behaviour are a global phenomenon and not confined to a specific country or region. It is within this interconnected world that our context of practice needs to be able to respond to changes in technology and new educational paradigms.

The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

In his talk about Changing Education Paradigms, Sir Ken Robinson explains how the educational system needs to go through some major changes. He goes further and states that not much has changed about school as a whole since the 18th century.

What really bothers me is that he talked about these issues back in 2010 and we are still not there yet. We are [still] having silo's in many schools and teach our students according to age. I will go further to note that in my experience it is easy for people to start playing the 'doubting game' instead of the 'believing game' when discussions around change are being brought up.

This made me wonder as to why change is not happening constantly. Is it because many teachers are used to teach the way they were taught or are they not given the opportunities to explore and change their pedagogy?

Without doubt, education needs to change...
I rate our NZ curriculum and its intent highly, but I do think that we have some way to go in implementing it to explore the full potential and to use it effectively as an example of how we [can] educate students for an unknown future where we do not know what kinds of jobs will be around when they finish school.

However, changing paradigms is not easy and takes a lot of effort. Taking small steps to achieve this change might be the solution. Maybe we should start with getting students to be more involved in their learning choices, rather than teaching them as if they are robots...

Image retrieved from the 'Partnership for 21st Century Skills'

References:

CORE Education's Ten Trends 2014, 2015 | CORE Education. (2014,2015). Core-ed.org. Retrieved from http://www.core-ed.org

Education Review Office. (2012). Evaluation at a Glance: Priority Learners in New Zealand Schools. Retrieved 18 May 2016, from http://www.ero.govt.nz/About-Us/News-Media-Releases2/The-three-most-pressing-issues-for-N

The RSA.(2010, Oct 14). RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

~ “When you take the free will out of education, that turns it into schooling.”
- John Taylor Gatto ~

Professional Context (Week 26)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Professional Context

Activity 2: 'Current issues in my professional context'

Introduction:
Stoll places the importance of understanding school culture as the starting point for leading change towards school improvement. Some internal and external factors that shape a school culture include the school history, the student socio-economical background, external contexts such as national educational policies, and societal changes (Stoll, 1988).

Stoll and Fink (cited in Stoll, 1998) identified 10 influencing cultural norms of school improvement including:
'. Shared goals - “we know where we’re going”
 2. Responsibility for success - “we must succeed”
 3. Collegiality - “we’re working on this together”
 4. Continuous improvement - “we can get better”
 5. Lifelong learning - “learning is for everyone”
 6. Risk taking - “we learn by trying something new”
 7. Support - “there’s always someone there to help”
 8. Mutual respect - “everyone has something to offer”
 9. Openness - “we can discuss our differences”
10. Celebration and humour - “we feel good about ourselves” (p.10)'

The organisational culture is an invisible powerful force that influences the members’ behaviour. Hongboontri and Keawkhong (2014) show that the school culture impacts on teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices, but this relationship is also reciprocal.

In this post I will be exploring different aspects of my community of practice and how these impacts on us.

What are the current issues in my community of practice? How could we address them?
Parents/whānau/stakeholders do not view digital technologies (class and student blogs) as an enabling platform that can deepen their engagement with their children’s learning.

Although there has been little research undertaken on parent engagement with learning as opposed to parents involvement in schooling (Redding, Langdon et al. 2004), this distinction is a very important one (Emerson, Fear et al.) as the two have a completely different focus.
To elaborate, parent engagement with learning is differentiated from parent involvement in learning. Parent involvement in learning concerns the likes of but not limited to: sporting, cultural, and behavioural aspects of schooling. Whereas parent engagement with learning includes things such as: academic progress, learning conversations, and holistic pathways to activities adapted for increasing student learning outcomes (Militello and Janson 2008).

Partnerships plays a vital role in defining the positive relationship between school and parents/whānau and academic achievement, attendance and other. Also, as stated by ERO (2008): 'Partnerships with parents, families and the wider community enable the sharing of responsibilities and collective resources for children’s education.' p 45.

Parental involvement requires multi-level school leadership; parental involvement is a component of school and classroom organization; parental involvement recognizes the shared responsibilities of educators and families for children’s learning and success in school and parental involvement programs must include all families, even those who are not currently involved, not just the easiest to reach.

Therefore it is important to realise that school leadership underpins the approach taken in engaging parents and is therefore an important factor in the impact parents have on student learning outcomes in school (Militello and Janson 2008).

Bottom line... build strong relationships with parents/whānau and engage in ethical, respectful, positive and collaborative professional relationships with whānau and other carers of ākonga and agencies, groups and individuals in the community.

What are the challenges that I face in my community of practice? How to address them?
We are in the process of implementing our BYOD programme. According to Argueta, et al. a 'more personalised, student centred learning is often cited as a reason for BYOD'. (Alberta Education, 2012) (Argueta, Huff, Tingen, & Jenifer O. Corn, 2011).

Therefore enhancing areas of a future focus learning pedagogy is essential in moving forward with implementing a successful BYOD programme that will provide an opportunity for transformational changes to learning and teaching. However, many teachers are still not ready for this change and it would be a challenge to change their mindset as well as ensuring that there exists the required level of commitment and accountability at all levels.

One of the strategic priorities for 21st century skills and digital competencies stated in a report by the 21st Century Learning Reference Group is one of Creating future-focused learning environments. 'Design vibrant, technology-rich, cyber-safe learning environments. Make these environments flexible enough to serve multiple learning contexts, including one-to-one, small groups, collaborative and community learning. Put learning at the heart of the system.'  (Future-focused learning in connected communities, May 2014, A report by the 21st Century Learning Reference Group, p.5)

To address this, it will be needed to constantly emphasize the value of:
1. Connectedness + Collaboration in which feedback is rapid and collaboration becomes a natural part of the learning process
2. Agency where learners are empowered to make more choices about the direction of their learning
3. Ubiquitous Learning which empowers learners to learn anywhere, anytime.

All these are going to play a part in enhancing student interest and learning outcomes.



References:

BYOD in Schools Literature Review 2013. Prepared by Bruce Stavert BSc DipEd MA. Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/technology/computers/mobile-device/BYOD_2013_Literature_Review.pdf

Emerson, L., et al. (2012). Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research, Family-School and Community Partnerships Bureau.

ERO (2008). Partners in Learning: Schools' Engagement with Parents, Whānau and Communities. Wellington,Wellington.

Future-focused learning in connected communities, May 2014, A report by the 21st Century Learning Reference Group. Retrieved from http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Initiatives/FutureFocusedLearning30May2014.pdf

Hongboontri, C., & Keawkhong, N. (2014). School Culture: Teachers' Beliefs, Behaviors, and Instructional Practices. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(5), 66-88. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2332&context=ajte

Militello, M. and C. Janson (2008). "Socially focused, situationally driven practice: A study of distributed leadership among school principals and counselors." Jsl Vol 17-N4 17: 409.

Redding, S., et al. (2004). "The effects of comprehensive parent engagement on student learning outcomes." American Educational.

Stoll (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture

~ “A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.” - Ray A. Davis ~

Defining my Practice (Week 25)

Applied Practice in Context (APC) - Defining my Practice

Activity 1: 'My community of practice'

Wenger defines community of practices as 'groups of people who share a concern or a passion or about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interaction on an ongoing basis'. He goes further and states 'The members of a community of practice are bound by three distinct elements: the domain, the practice and the community' (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002, p.4).

In their study on 'School cultures as contexts for informal teacher learning', Elena Jurasaite-Harbisona & Lesley A. Rex states 'A community of practice differs from other group types in terms of learning and knowledge and practice sharing rather than management objectives. In the school context, this occurs through informal learning via daily conversations, lesson reflections and other exchanges' (Jurasaite-Harbison & Rex, 2010).

Finlay mention that '...reflective practice invites professionals to engage in both personal reflection and broader social critique'. (Finlay, L., 2009, p.5).

My take on a Community of Practice is as follows:
A Community of Practice is a network of individuals with common problems or interests who get together to explore ways of working, identify common solutions, and share good practice and ideas. This group of people will share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

My specific learning communities (communities of practice) are:
1. My colleagues at the school I am currently at
2. Schools in the wider context as part of my role as Learning Facilitator with Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW)

What is the purpose and function of my practice in these communities and in what ways do I contribute to them?
1. School: As Assistant Principal and ICT Lead, my purpose is to support colleagues with change and new digital technologies as well as making them aware of PL&D opportunities that will allow them to grow and improve their practice. Through discussions in our senior management team meetings it is evident that our shared goal is to ensure that colleagues and students have the opportunity to reach personal excellence. Throughout I am constantly reflecting on how I can lead effectively. Therefore I am grateful that I had the opportunity to grow myself professionally and personally through my involved in the [year long] Academy for Collaborative Futures' emerging leadership programme.
2. NPeW: My role is one of a Learning Facilitator and as a Junior School Teacher, after gauging interest from around the district, a Community of Practice for Junior Teachers have been started where we are able to discuss current issues and share best practice.

Although these are my two main communities, I am also part of these specific learning communities in which I aim to meet the goals and aims of my specific areas of my practice:
Online:
1. Twitter (share and partake in the many online "chats")
2. Virtual Learning Network (NZ) (and all the sub-groups that I belong to within)
3. New Entrant & Year 1 Modern Learning Pedagogy & Environment
4. Google+
5. TeachMeetNZ
Face to Face:
1. Whānau / Students / Local community
2. Connected Rotorua (Organiser and presenting at times)
3. Educamp NZ
4. uLearn

My final thoughts on a CoP:

Why having a Community of Practice?

It is not about bringing knowledge into the organisation but about helping to grow the knowledge that is needed internally within our organisations.

Benefits of a Community of Practice

1. Members share a repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice.
2. Various resources such as tools, documents, routines, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the community are being developed.
3. It involves ways of doing and approaching things that are shared to some significant extent among members.
4. Allows for sharing of experiences and learning from others.
5. Allows to collaborate and achieve common outcomes.
6. Provides the opportunity to innovate and create new ideas.

What are the key theories that underpins my practice?
1. Constructivism (Piaget, J., 1983 & Vygotsky, L., 1987)
This theory was formalised by Piaget who claimed that people construct new knowledge from prior experiences. He also believed children undergo stages of cognitive development that allows them to grow and develop as individuals, whilst Vygotsky claimed that learning is dependent on socio-cultural influences.

2. Pragmatism (John Dewey, 1916)
Within this theory it is believed that reality must be experienced. From Dewey's educational point of view, this means that students must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn.

Evaluation of my practice with regard to these theories.
1. Constructivism: Vygotsky stated that peer work and cooperation lies at the heart of learning. However, the way that people become more knowledgeable is through increased actions and interactions with the environment, as Piaget suggested, but it is essential that pupils interact with their peers to gain a true experience of what they are learning. Therefore I do make use of Learning Buddies, Co-operative learning groups and Tuakana/Teina.
Drawing clearly from Constructivist ideas, it is claimed that pupils should be able to use speech and communication to make connections between what they already know and any new experiences and ideas they may encounter. Therefore, our learning environment is one in which students feel encouraged and secure enough to be able to express and explore their thoughts, feelings and emotions. 

2. Pragmatism: Dewey believed that human beings learn through a 'hands on' approach. I have change my practice significantly this year by giving students the opportunity to learn in this way. It became evident that learners were actively engaged in hands on activities as learning was rewarded immediately. Students also have a better grasp about the new concepts they are learning and realise that their learning goals are achievable.

What is the impact?

Reflection is crucial. I really like Rolfe et al's (2001) reflective model which is based on three questions only:
What?
So what?
Now what?

My opinion: Although this model is based on three simple questions, it should not indicate that reflections should lack depth, but it should rather be as comprehensive as possible. 

Finlay also states 'Other authors argue for the concept of critical reflection, which is seen as offering a more thorough-going form of reflection through the use of critical theory (Brookfield, 1995)'. 

A more comprehensive [and formal] way to reflect on my practice is to use our very own 'Teaching as Inquiry' model as “...effective pedagogy requires that teachers inquire into the impact of their teaching on their students.” (NZ Curriculum, p35)

References:

Finlay, L. (2009) Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Finlayson,A.(2015). Reflective practice: has it really changed over time?. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 16 (6), 717-730.

Jurasaite-Harbison, E., & Rex, L. (2010). School Cultures as Contexts for Informal Teacher Learning. Teaching and Teacher Education,26(2), 267-277.

Ministry of Education (2009) Teaching as Inquiry. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-stories/Case-studies/Teachers-as-learners-Inquiry/Teaching-as-inquiry

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press,

~ "Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful." - Margaret J. Wheatley ~

Ethics and Research (Week 24)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Ethics and Research

This week explores the key ethical principles in educational research and several examples of how people or institutions are rethinking the relationship between research and practice in education.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key ethical principles in educational research.
• Engage with literature on different initiatives and approaches to the relationship between research and practice in education.
• Recognise some of the opportunities available to you going forward if you are interested in becoming more engaged with research.

'All social research (whether using surveys, documents, interviews, observation, or computer-mediated communication) gives rise to a range of ethical issues around privacy, informed consent, anonymity, secrecy, being truthful and the desirability of the research’ (Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., Tight, M. 2001, How to Research (2nd edn.), Oxford, UK: OUP.)

While as a teacher-researcher (undertaking research in your own classroom or school) one are not required to go through any formal ethics process, it is still critical to think about the ethical implications of your research.

The key principles of research ethics are:

• Voluntary informed consent. That is participants have the right to opt in and opt out of the research and may not be forced or coerced into participating. Issues of consent are particularly important when working with children and generally require more rigorous consent procedures (often including a parent or guardian giving consent on behalf of the child).
• Avoid deception. The aims and nature of the research must be clearly and accurately articulated to those involved.
• The right to withdraw. All participants must have the right to withdraw from a study at any stage. If a participant withdraws, none of the data previously collected on them can be included.
• Avoid detriment to participants.
• Respect Privacy. This often includes ensuring anonymity for participants.
• Consider disclosure.
• Aim to debrief participants.

Ethics in your own work:

Miles and Huberman (1994) suggest that to mitigate ethical issues it is not only necessary to follow the ethical guidelines of your particular institution but also to consider why the study is worth doing and how it will contribute in some significant way to the broader domain. Tracy (2010) further advocates ensuring the worthiness of the topic of study and considering the significance of the contribution it will make to the research field or to practice.

Therefore, when planning any inquiry projects in your own practice it is helpful to think carefully about the purpose of your inquiry. Think about what your research might be able to contribute and to whom, and also how you will disseminate and share the findings of your research.

~ “While it might be argued that there are few scandals in educational research (or scandals that become public) it is difficult for researchers to deny that ethical, moral and political questions do not surround their day to day experience of education and educational research.” 

- Burgess, R. (Ed.) (1989). The Ethics of Educational Research. Lewes, UK: The Falmer Press. ~

Interpreting and Using Evidence (Week 23)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Interpreting and Using Evidence

This week we are examining how we can interpret the data or evidence  collected during the inquiry project and use it to inform, direct and improve our practice.

Some Learning Outcomes are:

• Recognise different techniques for interpreting evidence and understand how these can be employed in your practice.
• Understand how you can use the evidence you collect to inform, direct and improve your practice.

Jonathan Gray wrote a very useful piece for The Guardian newspaper on the limits of data. It is well worth a read and is available from: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/may/31/data-journalism-focused-critical

Gray offers the following pieces of advice about data:

• Data is not a force unto itself. It is what individuals (or groups) do with data that brings meaning and power.
• Data is not a perfect reflection of the world. The choices we make about data, including what we choose to collect, how we collect it, how we analyse it and how we interpret our analysis all influence the findings and conclusions we can make.
• Data does not speak for itself. It requires interpretation and analysis (hopefully by knowledgeable individuals). In education especially, it needs to be understood within its particular context. This might be in relation to a particular class, school, community etc.
• Interpreting data is not easy. Really understanding what the data is telling us can be very tricky.

Supporting Resources:

• For a general overview of the principles of data analysis: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Using-evidence-for-learning/Gathering-evidence/Topics/Data-analysis
• For more specific tools and strategies: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Using-evidence-for-learning/Reading-and-analysing-data

Some interesting reads and advice as I continue to work on my Teaching as Inquiry project plan.

~ “Evidence-based education means integrating individual teaching and learning expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic research. Indeed, a central feature of evidence-based education must be the two-way process of broadening the basis of individuals’ experience and judgement by locating it within the available evidence, and generating research studies and evidence which explore and test the professional experience of teachers, students and other constituents of learning communities.”

- Davies, P. (1999). What is Evidence-based Education? British Journal of Educational Studies, 47(2), 108-121. ~

Collecting Evidence or Data (Week 22)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Collecting Evidence or Data

This week we have to focus on the different methods that can be used to collect evidence (or data) during an inquiry project.

The Learning Objectives are:

• Understand the importance of collecting evidence during an inquiry project
• Become familiar with the different types of evidence you could collect
• Decide on the types of evidence / collection methods you will use in your inquiry project

It is noted that the success of an inquiry project relies on the ability to collect evidence or data in order to determine the impact or influence the project is having. Data and evidence can take many forms, however, one of the defining features of collecting evidence in an inquiry project is that data collection is planned and systematic. Earl and Timperley (2014) suggest that evidence must be ‘fit-for-purpose, of sufficient quality to form an accurate representation of the situation being evaluated and be available when decisions are being made’ (p. 17).

Some helpful online resources:

• TKI provides some useful guidance on how teachers can use a range of assessment methods. (http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Using-evidence-for-learning/Gathering-evidence/Topics/Assessment-methods).
• The Ministry of Education has also produced some useful information to support teachers and school leaders in using evidence. (http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Pedagogy-and-assessment/Evidence-based-leadership/Data-gathering-and-analysis/Using-data-transforming-potential-into-practice)

Now to think about the methods that will best enable me to collect the evidence needed for my inquiry project...

~ “Imagine that Newton’s third law worked well in both the northern and southern hemispheres - except of course in Italy or New Zealand - and that the explanatory basis for that law was different in the two hemispheres. Such complexity would drive a physicist crazy, but it is a part of the day-to-day world of the educational researcher.”

- Berliner, D.C. (2002). Educational Research:The Hardest Science of All. Educational Researcher, 31(8), 18–20. ~

Literature Review - Synthesis

We have been busy following the process of looking at what is known already, as well as those for and against our literature review topic [question(s) not clearly defined yet].

I found reading through the academic publications and research on our particular topic to be quite interesting.

Some key points [in short] from the literature are:

• “...Students’ pride in themselves and motivation increased when their parents, whānau and families were involved in celebration of their learning.” (ERO, June 2008 p.18)
• “The School may affect home environments  in positive ways with it’s intentional, consistent interaction with parents” (Redding, Langdon, Meyer & Sheley pg1)
• “An ongoing conversation between parents and teachers about the role of each in children’s learning is key to building the relationship and understanding that enhances school performance” (Redding, Langdon, Meyer & Sheley p.7)
• “Successful engagement requires strong and committed leadership by the school, as well as opportunities for different members of each school’s community to take on leadership roles” (ERO, June 2008 p.45)
• “Knowledge of one’s self and intentions, having trusted relationships with Māori, and accepting the “unknowingness” of cross-cultural research all influenced how these Pākehā orientated themselves in kaupapa Māori research. Everyone discussed the individual and collective challenges and benefits they experienced as a result of involvement in kaupapa Māori educational research. For example, Christine reflected that in her experience “there are an increasing number of places where Māori are in control of decision-making, and Pākehā have something to contribute. It’s exciting and I don’t have to worry as much as I have in the past when Māori were advisors but not decisionmakers.” (NZCER - Alex Barnes, Oct 2013 p.23)

Now to start looking at what is relevant to our review...

~ "The more you know about your topic, the more effectively you can tackle your own research problem. It all starts with the literature review." - Unknown ~

Planning my Teaching as Inquiry Project (Week 21)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Planning your Teaching as Inquiry Project

As part of Assessment 2 we have to think about how the Teaching as Inquiry project we design will engage various communities in your school (i.e. students, teachers, whānau etc) as well as how it relates to Kaupapa Maori research...

I have started to think about my own inquiry project and community engagement plan that results from the literature review I am compiling. It will focus primarily on the design of my project, but will gradually move into actually implementing the plan in my school context and in my practice.

This inquiry will be relevant when looking at our latest ERO report with our area for development "... community partnerships need to be reviewed in order to sustain school development and improvement."

I will therefore base my inquiry on "How can we use communication/digital technologies to engage parents, as schools are not leveraging communication/digital technologies to improve collaborative learning for all stakeholders."

The following video is quite appropriate for my inquiry as it not only covers the variety of meaningful uses for technology, but also the misconceptions about the role of technology in education.

~ “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” - Mother Teresa ~

Teaching and Research in the NZ Context: Teaching as Inquiry (Week 20)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Teaching and Research in the NZ Context: Teaching as Inquiry

As a teacher you are constantly evaluating and reflecting on your teaching practice, making judgements on what to do next. Adopting the stance of teacher researcher formalises these evaluative and reflective processes. 

As Wilson (2013) explains: Researching our practice presents the opportunity to problem-solve more intelligently, through drawing on existing research findings and by using rigorous methods to collect evidence which helps clarify our thinking. Experiences of participating in an informed way, and acting freshly, offer the teacher for whom teaching has become a routine a sense of freedom, of meaning, of worthiness and consequently increased self- esteem. (Wilson, 2013, 5)

Schon (1983) developed the concept of the reflective practitioner, invests teachers with an active role in the procurement and development of the specialised knowledge that they require to become expert teachers. Schon believes that teachers’ personal, practical knowledge is developed only when teachers reflect on their actions: 

He [the teacher] reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carriers out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation. (Schon, 1983, 68).

Two main themes why teacher research is important

The first relates to the importance of teacher-created knowledge for improvement in teaching and learning, and in particular student outcomes. The second centres on notions of teacher professionalism. Some quotes that represent various reasonings behind the importance of teacher-research or teacher-inquiry.

It is a community of teachers that is needed to work together to ask the questions, evaluate their impact and decide on the optimal next steps … Such passion for evaluating impact is the single most critical lever for instructional excellence – accompanied by understanding this impact, and doing something in light of the evidence and understanding (Hattie, 2012). 

Teacher research has the potential to act as an important source of teacher and academic professional renewal and development because learning standards at the core of this renewal through the production and circulation of new knowledge about practice (Sachs, 2003).

Teaching as Inquiry goes beyond the reflective practices teachers regularly employ to develop a more systematic approach for investigating and evaluating practice.

Notes:
Graeme Aitken’s background paper 'The inquiring teacher'
TKI has some useful readings and inks on Teaching as Inquiry
Graeme Aitken’s a video on Teaching as Inquiry

This video shows an expert opinion on enhancing children’s curiosity with technologies.

~ “My role, as teacher, is to evaluate the effect I have on my students.” 

- John Hattie ~

Writing a Literature Review (Week 19)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Writing a Literature Review

A handy tip is to search for resources in Google Scholar.

The journey of seeking out research articles and to critically interpret and evaluate research reports and findings is a lengthy process. Sorting them into appropriate 'categories/themes' is time consuming, but critical evaluation is important.

Once satisfied with the number [and range] of resources and ensuring that the materials are relevant to all the aspects of the research question(s) I will be able to analyse and evaluate them. Then... time to start writing...

~ "Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words." - Mark Twain ~

Using Research as a Practitioner (Week 18)

Researched and Community Informed Practice (R&C) - Using Research as a Practitioner

This is the week to focus on my understanding how to search for and locate education research and how to critically interpret and evaluate research reports and findings. Then to choose and define a research area inquiry topic that is investigated in literature.

Learning Objectives for this week from the portal:

• Understand the different types and formats of education research
• Know how to search for and locate education research
• Develop skills to interpret and critically evaluate research

1. Undertake some general background reading on the topic, familiarizing yourself with the topic and some of the key ideas and issues.

2. Create research questions and key words

3. Identify possible sources (also consider 'grey literature' - which is academic material that has not been formally published)

4. Organize and keep track of resources

How to interpret and critically assess literature?

It is important when you read research literature that you are critically engaging with it. Critical reading requires you to:

Interpret: understand the significance of the data or findings

Analyse: examine the text in detail to determine its meaning

Question: interrogate the assertions and assumptions presented in the text

Reason: develop your own point of view on the text

Evaluate: judge the credibility or strength of the text based on its reliability, validity and generalisability

My chosen area for a literature review is to focus on the 'Community' (Parents and Whānau)

I am choosing this topic to demonstrate the benefits of digital learning opportunities

The purpose is to make parents/whānau realise the benefits to students when they engage in digital learning opportunities

Now to think about the research question(s)...

~"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein ~