Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

So this week I received my new practising certificate from the Education council.

I respectfully read the little pamphlet that came with my shiny new card and pondered to myself had I actually ever considered what these were before.

Code of Ethics for certified teachers

Ngā tikanga matatika mō ngā pouako whai tiwhikete whakaako

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 and do good and minimise harm to others
4. Truth: to be honest with others and self

As a avid user of facebook (I get of accused of being addicted to it from my husband). I have it for reasons such as keeping in contact with family and friends from all over the world. As well it is a great photo diary of my little boy, who enjoys looking at old photos of himself.

I have accepted friend requests from old students, more the older ones as they are all grown up and starting their own lives. If a student asked me to be their friend and they were under the age restriction I definitely would not accept their request. Also I would not accept a friend request from a current student.

I become friends with with an old school friend who I went to primary school some 35 years ago on facebook. Thought this was good, great way to catch up on how each others livest. Until this year, when her child ended up in my class. I are very aware of what I post and also what  I can share or comment on. Not that I think this old friend would be concerned by it, it is whether it would go out further into the wider circles of parents. It has come across my mind to unfollow her.

Last year some parents went on facebook rant  complaining about  some of the teachers at school. This then got back to the school via a parent who let us know what had been said.

Legally though the  school had no grounds to do anything about it as these were private posts that just happened to be also seen by others in the school community. The principal did seek advice from the school’s lawyer and stated that there was nothing that could be done.

This is not nice for the teacher concerned and definitely makes for shaky ground as a Principal as you are not able to defend the teacher even though they are been vilified on social media and really have no way to defend themselves.

So  on reflecting on our code of ethics, I wonder whether actually  if the parents should have a code of ethics that they have to follow and show towards staff and educators of their children. Just a thought!

References

Code of Ethics For Certificated Teachers. Retrived from http//: www.educationcouncil.org.nz

Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness

My own pedagogy of indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy has been one that I challenged myself to develop. When I  first attended University I came from a very white middle class background and my cultural awareness was pretty lacking. So I took Maori studies in both Te reo and Tikanga at university. I was on a steep learning curve.!!!

My first job 22 ago years was as the teacher of Maori studies in a high school. I engaged my learners. I went on Marae trips, I discussed beliefs, I explained their importance and relevancy. I was teaching in a small conservative, predominantly Pakeha town so I was meet with some disdain, from the parents but it made me more determined.  It was tough.

From here I have developed as a teacher. I am very aware that positive student relationships are essential. This an area that I would say that I have a strength in and try to foster and

develop relationships with all my students.

The six elements of the Effective Teaching Profile (Bishop & Berryman) are a relevant and useful profile to help teaching Māori.

Manaakitanga – teachers care for their students as culturally located human beings above all else.

Mana motuhake – teachers care for the performance of their students.

Nga whakapiringatanga – teachers are able to create a secure, well-managed learning environment.

Wananga – teachers are able to engage in effective teaching interactions with Māori students as Māori.

Ako – teachers can use strategies that promote effective teaching interactions and relationships with their learners.

Kotahitanga – teachers promote, monitor and reflect on outcomes that in turn lead to improvements in educational achievement for Māori students.

I  think Bishop and Berryman strongly know what a Maori student needs and how that as a learner they can achieve and succeed. I also feel that these points correspond to many learners and this would correspond for all cultures. As a school with 47 different nationalities and over 20% of our students receiving ESOL funding we have a diverse range.

How our school addresses cultural responsiveness

Our school’s vision is a commitment to Kapa Haka. Every child  in the school attends sessions and the Year 7 and 8 team are all in the performance Kapa Haka. It is compulsory.

I think you need to be able to experience and be led and role modelled by Māori and this is where our Kapa Haka tutors are outstanding. Our students have for the last three years successfully performed at the Christchurch Cultural festival, where we are  given excellent feedback. I do not see this as tokenism, I see this as students immersing themselves into a culture through the arts and the language. As well I feel that  the students can connect together, all learning something new, all being culturally responsive.

Recently I was on a team who organised a Whanau Hui for those students and families that identify as being Maori for our cluster. The overall aim of the hui is to ensure that people are there to meet others who to are in the minority and that it is okay to identify as Māori. The night was a huge success (helps always to put on some awesome kai). People were mixing and talking and most importantly making connections.

I was also very proud on our speaker, who two years previously had not spoken much Te Reo, and two years on he got up and presented his whaikorero proudly and confidently and it was  great to see how immensely proud his son was of him. I feel that as a school we have given him this opportunity, he was so proud and we had given him mana, a place to use his language and be to be proud.

To others these may seem insignificant, but within the community we have and only having 12 students who identify as being Māori , it is huge. We need to keep the momentum to  ensure that it is not just a must do, that it is relevant, and worthy.

References

Bishop R. Source:Edtalks.(2012,September 23). A culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49992994

Broader Professional Context

Learning Environments

An issue and a trend that is currently in the forefront of many schools is having 21st learners  who are working in 20th century buildings.

There has been many schools that have  attempted to reconfigure and change their old  existing  buildings but often are constrained by the types of classrooms. Often spending money  on a patch up job that is actually not sufficient.

The new style of collaborative teaching and learning is one to be admired and the benefits for the students are definitively positive as stated by case study by York-Barr, Ghere and Sommerness (2007) whose  research, conducted in a Midwest urban elementary school found that ‘collaborative teaching relationships were productive and rewarding’ (p. 301) with a substantial increase in student achievement.”

As our teacher inquiry we looked at MLE/ ILE’s and went to a couple of schools to observe and ask questions. One MLE/ ILE had just been purposed built and was struggling with issues for staff who were finding the change difficult. As well the noise was quite challenging as the building had been built on piles.

The other school was using half a library,the old technology classroom as well as the cloak bay. Here the differences were that the kids were in three different areas, but they did not all like the technology room so all squashed into half of the library. The programmes that the teachers were putting into place were of a high quality, but the physical side was not  at all appropriate.

Our school is due for refurbishment in 2018 in our old single cell ‘Canterbury blocks’. I am relieved that the Board have had the foresight to wait, to ensure that the buildings are renovated with some research and with careful consideration . Fortunately one of our cluster schools is currently renovating its ‘ Canterbury blocks’  and creating exciting and usable new innovative learning environments.  As a staff we were able to see this and discuss the different issues and what they would do differently. Another point is will our staff be able to work collaboratively, it will definitely make for interesting times. How will this change be led?

Self Regulated Learning

Another issue or trend is that of self regulated learning and although is has been has been around for a long time. It is one that is currently taking centre stage, it may present itself in different forms such as flipped learning, blended learning or self directed learning.

This type of learning in my school has not happened until recently. I have introduce a self directed maths programme into the team, some have embraced, while some are still doing what they have always done. The teaching is good and yes, getting results but  they need to move with the times.

Spiro, (2010) notes that many change initiatives fail because “participants may feel uncertain and unprepared for what is to come, stakeholders may oppose disruption of their current influence, or people may feel disempowered.”  

So we need to ensure that as stakeholders, we help and encourage our colleagues. That we help them realise that change is happening and that they should be prepared for it. As well as giving them time to absorb the new changes and to encourage them to have a go.

Spiro, Jody (2010). Leading Change Step-by-Step: Tactics, Tools, and Tales. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

York-Barr, J., Ghere, G., & Sommerness, J. (2007). Collaborative teaching to increase ELL student learning: A three-Year urban elementary case study. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 12(3), 301-335.

Culture and Climate of my school

The values that underpin all of the culture and climate of my school is respect, citizenship and excellence. These are by our school ACCTS which are aim high, communicate, co-operate think and self manage.

Our school is lead by an experienced practitioner who has a lot of respect from his staff. His expertise and knowledge is always called upon by other Principals, who seek his advice in many areas.

The culture of the school is one that is a very measured and conservative approach, change is not done without careful consideration.The climate of the school is one of high standards and the level of teaching is of a very high standard.

Change in our school is meet with skepticism and staff are resistant to change things. Many aspects of the school have run the same way for a long time. The climate of the school is one of high standards and the level of teaching is of a very high standard.

New initiatives are researched carefully and changes within the delivery of the curriculum are never taken lightly.

Recently though our  Y7/8 team implemented BYOD. This initiative has allowed more freedom in both teaching and learning. So far there has been encouraging feedback from all stakeholders.

What challenges are occurring in the context of your profession? How would your community of practices address them?

The challenge we face with the BYOD  implementation for the is the support of other teams. It is expected that the Year 5/6 team will be BYOD at the beginning of next year. The challenge is how will the younger students managed their devices, will parents take this onboard considering their student is 3-4 years away from secondary school? How can we as a team support our colleagues as we are that journey one year on.

As well to ensure that we are delivery a comprehensive and stimulating programme that we will ensure that these students are 21st century learners. In a way the challenge is that us as well as the students. As a community of practice and as a team we are working on these  programmes together, learning how we can become competent GAFE teachers.

Another challenge for the school is the redevelopment plan for the school. It is to begin in 18 months and the school has been using its teacher inquiry to research and analyse what the best type of ILE would be and how would it cater for all students. In general the community of practice ( teachers) did have debates and discussion.