8 Mind-frames
1: My fundamental task is to evaluate the effect of my teaching on mys students learning and achievement.
Totally agree! Teaching is our job, and to be a great teacher we need to be able to know that our students are learning. However not only do we need to know that our students are learning, we need to know why they are learning (or not learning). This allows us to structure further learning (and teaching) in ways that will promote students and their specific needs. Having said that formal assessments aren't everything, and capturing student voice is also essential in creating a larger and more important learning picture for the students in our classes.
This year with my MIT project I have seen shifts in achievement, but more than that I have seen huge shifts in confidence, ability to discuss learning and the general use of blogging within our classroom. It has become more of a hive for where children and parents go to look things up. Also this has shifted parents perceptions and given them a voice in their students learning. In a way that they weren't using before. This links to data collected at parent teacher meetings which was all completely positive.
2: The success and failure of my students learning is about what I do or I don't do. I AM THE CHANGE AGENT!
We totally are the change agent for our students. We are the ones that encourage them in their struggles, we are the ones that look for that next challenge we can present them with, we are the ones that pick them up when they experience failure and tell them that its OK, and a big part of learning. We are the ones that either have those conversations that lead to light-bulb moments or we are the ones that provide the collaborative learning experiences that allow students to have these light-bulb moments with each other.
However I firmly believe that if we as educators have Mind frame 1: Evaluating the effect of our teaching on students learning and achievement, OUR STUDENTS ALSO HAVE TO BECOME OUR CHANGE MAKERS! This has definitely been the case with me throughout this MIT journey this year. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to actually stop and listen to what our students are saying when it forces us to consider change. Not because we don't listen but sometimes we listen with out putting on our students glasses and seeing it through their eyes rather than our own.
If we are constantly looking for those things that are going to help individual students, groups of students and our class as a whole, this has to become a natural progression of learning together. Having this Learning together partnership with our students this is also empowering for both us and our students.
3: I want to talk more about learning and teaching
This one is both easy and hard.
Its easy to talk about learning with our students, and teaching with other teachers.
The idea of talking about our teaching with our students and how it impacts on their heir learning is sometimes more complicated. This has to do with language barriers around the language that we use as educators with our students, and this sometimes sometimes will contradict what we think . Through to lead on from here is that this is something we need to do more, so that this language barrier is reduced and this will help us to truly know more about our effect. From my experiences both in the past and i guess heightened this year as I have had more of a focus on looking into the effect I am having this actually isn't as scary or as hard as we might initially think. But it does require us as educators to be open to change (Mind frame 2 - We are the change agents).
The other part that for many this is easy but for me personally is the hardest, is the talking about this learning and teaching in wider contexts. Talking with other professionals both within education and other professions. This is HUGELY important as we get into our own little bubble and if we don't expose ourselves to different perspectives we lock ourselves into a restrictive mindset and our ideas, methods, strategies become locked into this restrictive mode too. This is one that I am working hard on as a result of this MIT journey as I know that its easy to just work, talk, share with those we are close to.
4: I seek out feedback. Assessment is about my impact on student learning.
Like Hattie stresses "Know they impact" The only way we will know our impact is to seek out feedback. This needs to be from a wide range of stakeholders. So asking feedback from other teachers on how we are going is not enough. We need to seek feedback from our students and also our parents. The seeking parents feedback is the most challenging as often we are in a rush to get to meetings or they are in a rush to pick up other children or take children to after school activities. Last term as part of this inquiry I ran a survey at our Student Led Conferences (SLC's). This provided amazing feedback and is definitely something I want to do again. This term being changed from Discipline duty each day to playground duty has been rewarding in being able to catch up with parents after school as they do pickup. However this is not actually enough.
5: Teach through dialogue, not monologue.
For learning to happen there has to be active participation from the learner in what they are learning. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to create dialogue or conversations that facilitate this active participation in their learning. However having said this the context or purpose of the conversation has to be authentic. The children have to have the ownership of how this conversation relates to them. In addition to there needing to be an authentic context for discussion, there also needs to be a culture that encourages conversations and different view points and a culture that values every child's input and also push for explanation for students view points. Within my inquiry trying to encourage and create this culture is what empowers everyone in Team Maunga and this inquiry itself.
6: I enjoy challenge and never retreat into "doing my best".
I think this is why most teachers teach, and also why I have signed on for this MIT. As for "doing my best". I am actually a firm believer that "we can only do our best". The difference in this second statement by many accounts is that the later statement is about what we can do as a collective.
Collectively we can do more than we can on our own, collectively we challenge each other, collectively we encourage and spur each other own through challenges, collectively we inspire change through excellence. Doing our best is about accepting and engaging in educational challenge.
7: It is my role to develop positive relationships in the classroom and staff rooms.
This links to all of the above mind frames. Having positive relationships is key. This relates to students, and staff but also to parents and the wider school community. As a Maori Proverb goes...
He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Truly connecting with others inspires mutual respect that can only happen if each values the other. Its not about being able to always agree, and always share the same ideals, its about negotiating our way through these differences to create a fuller, richer, more real and rewarding solution to the experiences/challenges and successes we experience as educators (and as individuals).
8: I inform everyone about the language of learning. I am passionate and promote growth.
Earlier this year I attended a workshop that was titled "growth mindset". This is workshop re-highlighted how having positive language, and using terms like "I can't do ____, YET" are what inspire. From my perspective being able to navigate the challenges, failures, struggles, improvements, successes and light bulb moments is what creates passion in others and promotes further growth.
However in addition to this growth mindset language, we as educators need to have a sound knowledge of key learning areas and an open mind of how we can infuse these with things that are currently inspiring our students.
Anyway ... These are my ramblings with regards to the following John Hattie video. I hope you enjoyed.
John Hatties golden rule for educators: KNOW THEY IMPACT
Kia ora Kariene!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your notes and thoughts. You have a pleasant style of writing which is very enjoyable to read. It is both informative and inspiring. I am encouraged by your passion for discovery and growth.
Nga mihi,
Alethea