Activity 8: Key change in my professional practi

In this my final blog I will be using Rolfe et al’s (2001) model of reflection as well as Osterman & Kottkamp’s experiential learning models to reflect on my Mindlab experience. 

I will specifically relate this to the professional learning section of Our Code, Our Standards (2017).

What? (Identify one key change in your professional practice)

I am a constantly evolving reflective professional. My passion is teaching and learning.  My personal philosophy is that unless I remain professionally up to date, I am not doing my student's justice. It is my job to ensure that my teaching pedagogy is current to meet the educational needs of my students now and in the future. While embarking on this Mindlab course, I have experienced dramatic shifts in perspectives.  Through this professional learning, I am in a position where I am constantly inquiring and reflecting on my own practice to ensure that I am delivering the most up to date, equitable, current and future responsive educational opportunities for my students.

So What? (Evaluate the identified change)

Problematic Experience

When I began this Mindlab course I was what I would call digitally obsolete.  I was well and truly in the learning pit and also scared to leap into the great unknown of digital innovation and 21st Century preparedness.

Problem Identification

I guess I was in teaching cruise mode.  My students were achieving, my teaching pedagogy was sound and well-meaning, but the digital technology was changing so fast and I knew that I had to do something to ensure that I did not miss the boat completely. I had limited devices in my classroom to deliver digital education, limited knowledge and skill base to teach new innovations, no knowledge of digital and collaborative task design and assessment, a closed mindset around connected learning and cybersecurity.  So not only had I missed the boat, but I had also fallen in the water and I was sinking.

Observation & Analysis

Right from the beginning of the Mindlab journey, I was reflecting on my abilities to plan and assesses the knowledge and skills needed to deliver 21st Century learning.  By using ITL (2012) 21st Century rubrics and TPAK and SAMR assessment tools (Puentedura, 2010), I was able to identify where my present digital knowledge and skills lay, and what I would have to to do improve them. Every week during the Mindlab course we were learning new collaborative and leadership initiatives and we were actively putting them into practice through completing assignments.

Abstract Reconceptualisation

My mindset shifted from a deficit (we have no computers in our room to try out my new digital teaching pedagogy), to agentic (why don’t I crowd-source to get computers donated to my classroom). I approached a multinational company and asked if I could have any laptops that they were no longer using.  I was given 40 amazing laptops within the month.  I was able to begin to utilise my new found digital innovations in my classroom.

I have always been a very private person.  The prospect of going public with my learning journey terrified me.  But then I began to see the benefits of connected learning and collaborative knowledge construction.  I even joined many collaborative discussion groups to negotiate the Mindlab course material.

Active Experimentation

I started small by Identifying and justifying the need for better communication between home and school. I planned to use Class Dojo as a digital and collaborative learning innovation and applied to a specific area of your practice. My parents were now active participants in my classroom program.  The doors of my classroom had been opened to my wider school community.

I learned how to use Blogger as a means of documenting my own learning journey.  I then implemented it into my classroom and taught my students how to actively blog their own learning.  Through the leadership assignment, I collaboratively delivered professional development instruction to my colleagues to instruct them how to use Blogger to evidence and document their Professional Teaching Standards for the teaching profession.  I used change management and leadership models to ensure that my innovations were accepted by all the different types of adopters. I specifically catered to the different types of adopters by designing tasks to meet their specific needs. I used gamification and competition motivate and engage learners. I used surveys and analysis to collect pre and post-innovation data.

Now What?(Share your next plans regarding your future professional development or your future practice).

My plan is to just keep learning.  To move away from archaic styles of education delivery to more innovative, collaborative, connected, digital and future-focused styles of delivery.  To facilitate rather than dictate. To seek evidence base for hunches and collaborate with my colleagues to find educational solutions. To use inquiry models to guide my future investigations in a collaborative and connected way. To think outside the square to find innovative solutions to address the inequalities that are prevalent in our current education system to ensure that my students of the future have equal opportunities with their peers throughout New Zealand.

There are many guiding lights to assist me on this journey.  Bolstad & Gilbert et al, 2012), in my opinion, give educators a guiding blueprint for supporting future-oriented learning and teaching.  I intend to let these factors guide me in the future. Personalising the learning, building an inclusive learning environment, developing a school curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity, rethinking learners’ and teachers’ roles, building a culture of continuous learning for teachers and school leaders and developing new kinds of partnerships and relationships (Bolstad & Gilbert et al, 2012).

Though the connections I have made with other Mindlab colleagues, I now have a ubiquitous network of digital collaborators to also support and guide me on this journey.

References

Bolstad, R & Gilbert J, et al., (2012).Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching – a New Zealand perspective

Education Council Matatū Aotearoa. (2017). Our Code Our Standards Tikanga, Ngā Paerewa, Matatika Ngā. (Education Council Matatū Aotearoa, Ed.). Wellington. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our Code Our Standards web booklet FINAL.pdf

ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research


Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators: professional development to improve student learning.(2nd ed.) New York: Skyhorse Publishing.

Puentedura, R. (2010). SAMR and TPCK: Intro to advanced practice. Retrieved August 2017 from http://hippasus.com/resources/sweden2010/SAMR_TPCK_IntroToAdvancedPractice.pdf.


Rolfe et al. (2001) Reflective model Retrieved February 2018 from https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Activity 7: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice

For the purposes of this activity, I will be using Rolfe et al’s (2001) model of reflection.

What?

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 knowledge about cultural diversity, the culturally integrated content in the curriculum, the development of the learning community, the ability to communicate with culturally diverse students and culturally responsive delivery of instruction (Gay, 2001).  

Twenty years ago, when I was training to be a teacher.  The buzz word was “cultural capital”.   Bourdieu (1973) used the idea of ‘cultural capital’ to help explain social inequalities. Cultural capital, comprising the norms, values and practices of a society, is like economic capital, a resource that can be used. It includes, for example, informal interpersonal skills, habits, manners, linguistics, educational credentials, lifestyle preferences (Berger, 2000).  

Zepke & Leach 2005 compared the success of teaching pedagogy based on assimilation to teaching pedagogy based on recognising, valuing and accepting learners’ existing cultural capital by adapting their processes to meet diverse learner needs (Zepke & Leach, 2005). They found that teaching through the acknowledgement of cultural capital was far more effective.

Bishop in Edtalks (2012) suggests that a teacher whose pedagogy is culturally responsive and have agentic thinking, believing that they have skills and knowledge that can help all of their students to achieve.

During my 20-year teaching career, I have always taught in low decile schools. Usually with high numbers of Māori and Pacific Island students. I have consistently endeavoured to infuse culturally appropriate teaching pedagogy to ensure that education is not an alien experience for my students to provide equal educational opportunities.

I have tried to ensure that my students are in a constant state of active engagement.  Similar to what Pohatu (2011) refers to as Mauri Ora. I have worked hard to take students from a state of Mauri Moe (inactive state which can be thought of as “being dead”) to a state of Mauri Ora.

So What?

Focus area 1

For the purposes of this activity, I will be focusing on communication methods to maximise the engagement and success of Māori students in my classroom. This is an area that I feel is very successful in my present teaching practice. “Teacher-student relationships are a key component of classroom climate: high-quality teacher-student relationships help facilitate academic motivation, school engagement, academic success, self-esteem, and more general socio-emotional well-being”. (Eccles 2004, p. 129).  I know my students, I know their families, I know their iwi and hapū.  I have worked very hard to understand Tikanga Māori and Te Reo Māori so that I can deliver as much lesson content as I am able in Te Reo Māori.  My learning activities are designed to tap into the culture of my students.  We learn together with laughter.  Everything is taught in a hands-on practical way.  Students are encouraged to question, to share and celebrate mistakes. If they are unable to grasp a concept, I make it clear that it is not their fault, it is mine.  I tell them it is up to me to figure out a different way of teaching them so that they can grasp the concept. Successes are shared with whānau and the wider community.  Whānau are consulted on educational matters and their input is sort and valued. Tikanga Māori is a living concept that forms the backbone of all learning.

Focus area 2

The second area that I will focus on is school-wide activities - in particular access to kapa haka for all students at my current school.  This is an area where I believe there can be an improvement.

I am presently teaching in a school that is made up of 85% Maori students.  There are 260 students in our school.  We have a whakataetae kapa haka group.  Which contains the top 40 kapa haka students in the school.  We also have a Ngahau kapa haka group, which contains a further 40 students.  These groups are limited in numbers, so potentially 180 students in our school are missing out on learning kapa haka.

In a report that analysed the benefits of kapa haka in New Zealand schools, Pihama et al. (2014) found that kapa haka is valuable in terms of Māori identity and also our national identity.  The researchers found that kapa haka also linked the cultural value of strengthening identity to broader social benefits, including educational achievement.  They also found kapa haka to be a potent expression of Māori identity and pride.

Now What?

Focus area 1

I intend to keep going as I am.  To keep teaching my students about their incredibly intelligent, innovative and respectful ancestors.  To continue to infuse all aspects of Māori culture into the classroom, and to teach in ways that foster angitu (being successful), ngākaunui (striving for excellence), manaakitanga (being supportive and kind).

Ko tā tātou mahi he whakatītina i ngā ākonga me te whakapakari i ō rātou kiritau.
(Our task is to encourage the students and to strengthen their self-esteem).


Focus area 2

Now that I have the evidence base to support my proposal, I intend to approach the staff and principal to see if we can make kapa haka more accessible to all students at our school.  I am going to offer my services in supporting the creation of more kapa haka groups in our school because kapa haka is a cultural birthright that should not only be available to a select few.

References

Berger, J. B. 2000. “Optimizing capital, social reproduction, and undergraduate persistence: a sociological perspective”. In Reworking the student departure puzzle, Edited by: Braxton, J. M. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press

Bourdieu, P. 1973. “Cultural reproduction and social reproduction”. In Knowledge, education and cultural change, Edited by: Brown, R. London: Tavistock.

Eccles, J. S. (2004). Schools, academic motivation, and stage-environment fit. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 125–154). Hoboken: John Wiley.

Pohatu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking human wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/index.php/MR/article/v…

Pihama, L., Tipene, J., & Skipper, H. (2014). Ngā Hua a Tāne Rore The Benefits of Kapa Haka: Scoping the research needs and options for developing a better understanding of the contribution that Kapa Haka makes to Aotearoa New Zealand society.

Rolfe et al. (2001) Reflective model Retrieved February 2018 from https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Zepke, N. and Leach, L. (2005). Integration and adaptation: approaches to the student retention and achievement puzzle. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6(1): 46–59.

Activity 6: Contemporary trend in New Zealand or internationally

For the purposes of this activity, I will be using Rolfe et al’s (2001) model of reflection.

What?

In the next 20 years the world population will grow to 8 billion people and for the first time in history, most will not live in poverty (Pearson, 2013).  Pearson advocates that in order for educators to meet the future focused educational needs of our students, education will need to be accessible, affordable, effective, personal and scalable.

KPMG (2014) also advocates that by 2030 60% of the world’s population will be middle class.  This will mean that fewer people will be living in poverty and have access to a higher standard of education and living.

This trend resonates with me because it indicates that people will no longer be trapped in generational poverty. 

Working in a lower decile school, with some families that are third or fourth generation unemployed, as an educator, I am constantly trying to battle with the complex social issues that surround poverty. I endeavour to shift the mindset of some of my students. To show them that there are more choices available to them than poverty and state dependency. To show them that through creativity, innovation, connectedness and collaboration they have the ability to create their own destiny.

I see the digital revolution as a way for students to break out from the chains of poverty.  Through crowdsourcing, I have been recently able to access devices to ensure that my students can digitally access learning and use these technologies to create, innovate and collaborate.

So What?

The statistical data reveals that there will be a real shift from those living in poverty and that there will be a rise in middle class.

My first challenge was to counter the digital divide by accessing devices for my students to work on.  Only this week have a been able to secure one-to-one devices to ensure my students are working on an equal playing field with most of their peers throughout New Zealand. Through the use of these devices, I now have to find ways for my students to become 21st Century learners. I need to facilitate activities that encourage collaboration, innovation and global connectedness. My classroom environments will need to change from desks and chairs to modern and Innovative learning environments that are created and designed by students, for students. I will need to rethink my own educational paradigms to cultivate creativity and acknowledge all types of intelligence (Robinson, K, 2010).

Teachers across New Zealand can follow my lead by accessing multinational companies and asking for the donations of devices that they perceive as being out of date, but are still viable as classroom devices.

Now What?

The trend of the shift from poverty to the middle class is being addressed by schools shifting to a more future-focused style of education. As educators, we are changing our archaic paradigms of education from “chalk and talk” to “facilitate, collaborate, connect and communicate”

Through having ubiquitous access to education and conquering the digital divide, then access to educational opportunities will no longer be a luxury only accessible to those that can afford it. 

Yes, although there will still be those living in poverty in the future, it will not be so much of a generational foregone conclusion. Through the adoption of 21st-century skills in the classrooms of there future, there will be more opportunities for students create their own destiny.

So how might the curriculum be delivered to equip the students with adequate competencies to cope this changing trend and the shift out of poverty? Bolstad et al (2012) advocate the following shifts in curriculum delivery are needed.

1. Learning needs to be personalised.
2. We need to develop new ways of thinking about equity, diversity and inclusivity (Eg. by seeing diversity as being a strength).
3. A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity (Eg. actually doing something with the new knowledge and providing practical applications).
4.  "Changing the script": Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles.
5. A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders.
6. New kinds of partnerships and relationships: Schools no longer siloed from the community.

The adoption of these initiatives will not only prepare us for this global trend, but it will also perpetuate it.

References

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Council for Educational Research Press.

KPMG (2014) Future State 2030 – Global Megatrends. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8

Pearson. (2013). Global trends: The world is changing faster than at any time in human history.[video].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

Robinson, K (2010). Changing educational paradigms.  Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

Rolfe et al. (2001) Reflective model Retrieved February 2018 from https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Activity 5: Using social online networks in teaching or professional development

Social Media - A critical reflection

In order to unpack the complexities of social media, I will use the model of reflection used by Eby’s (2000).

Self Awareness - How is social media being implemented in my present practice? Presently, I do not use social media such as Facebook to engage with my parents. This platform has been unsuccessful in the past because it is difficult to stop parents from making negative or defamatory comments. So I have opted for Class Dojo, which allows me to bring the happenings of my classroom into the community. I also use Blogger for students to record and share their learning. It allows students to post information, but it locks down the parents to responding only to the teacher, or to their own child. I use Google plus, Facebook, Blogger and Twitter, TKI, NZ Maths as a collaborative learning group for my Mind lab journey and other professional learning. I also follow many of the people and organisations mentioned on the 'network recommendation' padlet. Reflection - How are others using social media? As a specialist teacher of students with special needs, I engage with a variety of different classrooms. Some teachers in my school use Facebook to share learning and events and gain feedback from parents. Some teachers in our school use Blogger to share learning. I have also seen teachers successfully using Chapter chat on Twitter to connect learners throughout the world in relation to reading. I have seen classrooms that have connected to buddy classes around the world using Twitter. I have seen teachers connecting to various teacher sharing social media that bring to the table good practice and innovative ideas. Critical Thinking - What can I take from what has been written by others around social media? There is an exciting atmosphere of connectedness that is now upon us as educators. No longer are we in our single cell classroom. We are able to connect with the best teaching practice from throughout the world. Most researchers into social media advocate that it is still important for learners to have face-to-face contact in conjunction with social media.“Social media blend and coordinate learning in ways that are inclusive and flexible, making the most of online environments as well as face-to-face contexts. It would be worthwhile to explore the opportunities that social, collaborative learning, enabled by participatory technologies, might offer to make developing practice visible.” (Melhuish,2013, pg187). Not only does social media provide connectedness. “Social media can bring learning to life by summoning up different times, spaces, characters and possibilities. They can support creativity, collaboration, communication and sharing of resources”(Sharples et. al, 2016). Therefore enhancing student engagement across the curriculum. So teachers are now falling more into the role of skilled facilitator. “The coordinator must be able to inspire and engage people because anyone can join at any time and anyone can leave at any time. A skilled facilitator can keep people engaged and actively contributing for many years. (Sharples et. al, 2016) Although there are obviously huge benefits to this connectedness, there is ‘dark side’, as it can be used for harm, not only by some adults but also by the young people themselves. Social media are being used by young people to bully peers. (Campbell, 2005). Unidentified cyberbullying will obviously totally inhibit the flow of constructive learning through social media.

Reflective Practice- How will this all affect my practice? The potential beneficial scope for this connectedness is unending. Through these networks connection with other students and classroom is possible. We can find solutions to environmental issues, connect members of cultural groups, foster understanding between cultures, sharing the cutting edge developments in technology to all professions, reducing the impact of socio-economic factors on education - to mention but a few! I now realise the importance of modelling connected behaviour to my students. I show students where I found my good teaching ideas and the networks that I use to enhance my teaching. In a wider context, it would be great to have a national platform for sharing our teacher inquiry projects, potentially educating the entire country and beyond! In the future, my students will continue to blog, tweet and share their learning. I will, however, be more vigilant in checking the feed of these interactions. Explicit and comprehensive instruction on digital citizenship for both parents and students is required to ensure that the process is safe and constructive. In a wider context, teachers need to be aware of the content of their schools' social media policies for their own protection. These policies need to incorporate ethical models to ensure all parties are heard and that decisions are made in a balanced manner. References Eby, M.A. (2000) Understanding professional development. In A. Brechin, H. Brown and M.A. Eby(eds.)Critical practice in health and social care.London: Sage.

Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educator 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 Sharples, M., de Roock, R., Ferguson, R., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Koh, E., Kukulska-Hulme, A., Looi, C-K, McAndrew, P., Rienties, B., Weller, M., Wong, L. H. (2016). Innovating Pedagogy 2016: Open University Innovation Report 5. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://proxima.iet.open.ac.uk/public/innovating_pedagogy_2016.pdf Campbell, M. (2005). Cyber Bullying: An Old Problem in a New Guise? Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 15(1), 68-76. doi:10.1375/ajgc.15.1.68

Activity 4:Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

I will be using Rolfe’s (2001) model of reflection to structure this reflection

What

For the purposes of this activity I will focus on a fictional, but quite a believable scenario.  What would I do if I came across photos on a facebook page of my colleague being very intoxicated at a party? These photos were posted by another person, not the teacher in question. In the photo’s she is shown in an intimate position with a man who was not her husband.

So What

Using Ehrich et al. (2011) ethical decision-making model to unpack this ethical dilemma within this scenario will assist me in formulating an ethically appropriate plan of action. 

Firstly I will discuss the critical forces that impact on my decision making.  For the purposes of this activity, I will focus on the critical forces of professional ethics, Society and community and Institutional context as those are the forces that directly impact this scenario.

Society and community

• How will our teaching staff be perceived if our parents and community tar us all with the same brush?

• What kind of role modelling is this to our students.

• Will another member of the community see this and report it.

• Does this teacher have unaddressed addiction issues?

• Are there other social stresses here that are unknown to me

Professional Ethics

• In the teachers' code of professional responsibility (Education Council, 2017), we are required to have a commitment to professionalism by demonstrating a high standard of professional behaviour and integrity.  This behaviour is in direct opposition to this.

Institutional Context

• As teachers, we are bound by our codes and standards, our individual school contract and to represent the institution with integrity.  

• This may reflect badly on our school and all the schools in our area.

The individuals that need to be considered here are -

The Teacher

• Does she have addiction problems

• Does she have problems in her marriage

• Is there stresses at work that impacts on her behaviour

• Does she actually know that these pictures have been posted

• This teacher has not actually posted these pictures herself

• What she is doing is not illegal

• In her professional life, she is an exemplary teacher who meets all her professional standards

The Students

• Will they be able to respect this teacher shown in a compromising position?

• Will the students discuss it with their parents?

• How can this situation be contained quickly so that the students don’t see it?

• Will the students then perceive alcohol abuse and sexual promiscuity as acceptable behaviour?

Colleagues

• Will they all get tarred with the same brush

• Will they judge or try to support this person

• How can the colleagues take action while protecting the mana of the teacher

The husband of the teacher

• Has he seen the photo’s and what impact will the decisions have on him

• Is the marriage already in trouble

• Is he aware of any drug and alcohol dependencies

The person that posted the photos

• What was the motivation of the person posting the photos

• Why did they not get permission before posting

• Should this person be reported to the police

Choices

To Ignore

• Do you not advise the authorities, inform the teacher of the existence of the photos, get them removed and seek help for your colleague

• To come to the realisation that actually this teacher is the victim in this scenario

To act

• Do you ruin this person’s career by advising the board, principal, Education Council

• Do you make an example of this person, make it public and potentially ruin the reputation of all teachers

Now What

In trying to decide on the action that I would take in this scenario, I feel that a more holistic and balanced method of analysis is needed.  Schwimmer & Maxwell (2017) argue for three key conditions when formulating any code of ethics:
1.  They should be open and flexible.     

2.  They should encourage critical judgement and people should be free to hold or express opinions.  

3.  While they should not be used to excuse unethical actions, They should avoid being used as a moralistic device to vilify those who do not meet such lofty goals. 

To guide me in this decision making I will also be using our professional ethics are outlined in Our Code, Our Standard (Education Council, 2017).Some of our values state that we should follow these principles -

“MANAAKITANGA: creating a welcoming, caring and creative learning environment that treats everyone with respect and dignity.

 PONO: showing integrity by acting in ways that are fair, honest, ethical and just. 

WHANAUNGATANGA: engaging in positive and collaborative relationships with our learners, their families and whanau, our colleagues and the wider community.

To use the guiding principles of these values, I need to protect the Mana of the teacher involved. What she chooses to do in her spare time is her business.  She has not chosen to post these pictures.

In our code of ethics, it states that teachers should be “demonstrating a high standard of professional behaviour and integrity”.  Although she has not been portrayed in a favourable light in these photos, the posting of the pictures was not a decision that she made willingly.

In her professional life, this teacher is an exemplary teacher and meets all the professional standards (Education Council, 2017).Taking all the ethical dilemmas into considerations, I think that I would take the following action.

• Inform the teacher of the existence of the photos

• Get them removed

• Seek help for my colleague if she has any addiction issues

• Go with the teacher as a support person to advise the principal of the situation

• Encourage the teacher to find out what is motivating the person who posted the photos and supports her in any defamation proceedings

(I would then take my final decision to a mentor to make sure I had made the right decision)

The defamation laws in New Zealand are outlined as outlined by Stephen Price (2009) in the Medial Law Journal clearly states that in order to build a defamation case in New Zealand "The publication of a statement about someone that lowers him or her in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally, where no defence (usually truth, opinion, or qualified privilege) is available".  Classically, there are three elements a plaintiff needs to prove:

1. The publication of a statement,
2. which identifies the plaintiff, and
3. contains defamatory meanings about them.

These three elements are discussed in turn below.

Further, as a result of a High Court judgment in 2015, there is now a developing fourth element a plaintiff must also satisfy: that the publication has met a "minimum threshold of seriousness" - i.e. can be regarded to have caused a serious degree of harm to the plaintiff's reputation.

Therefore, according to New Zealand law, there are good grounds to lay a defamation case here because the publication sent a message that this teacher was a drunk and a philanderer.  She is clearly identified and the message was most definitely defamatory. Also, the publication brings a serious degree of harms to the plaintiff's reputation.

References

Ehrich, L. C., Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards.Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf

Price, S. (2009). Defamation: Media Law Journal. Retrieved February 2018 from 
http://www.medialawjournal.co.nz/?page_id=273

Rolfe et al. (2001) Reflective model Retrieved February 2018 from https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Schwimmer, M., & Maxwell, B. (2017). Codes of ethics and teachers’ professional autonomy. Ethics and Education, 12(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2017.1287495

Week 28 - The influence of law and ethics in practice.

50 Shades of Grey - Educational Ethics

Personal ethics, being your individual interpretation of ethics, helps shape your ideas about justice, morality and virtue. As we have all been born into different households that hold different values, different cultures, have different idealls, different religious beliefs and different socioeconomic opportunities, there is no black and white, just many different shades of grey. “It is in the grey zone that teachers’ morality is tested in their everyday work” (Ehrich et al,2011)

Obviously, due to changing times, codes of practice are fluid and are constantly changing to meet acceptable behaviour of the times. Shown below is the 1872 rules for teachers (Open Culture, 2013)

If we compare this document to, our professional ethics are outlined in Our Code, Our Standard (Education Council, 2017) 

I guess what I am trying to highlight here is that codes of ethics and behaviour are constantly changing as society changes. Ethics is all about best practice behaviour when working in the teaching profession and dealing with communities. 

Although our code of ethics is a guiding document, that is all it is.  Schwimmer & Maxwell (2017) argue for three key conditions when formulating any code of ethics:

1.  They should be open and flexible.    
2.  They should encourage critical judgement and people should be free to hold or express opinions. 
3.  While they should not be used to excuse un-ethical actions, They should avoid being used as a moralistic device to vilify those who do not meet such lofty goals. 

These guidelines are more realistic and recognise the ethical dilemmas faced by teachers with a more compassionate light.

With the growth of the digital age, confronting ethical issues have been raised about

• Improper use of social media within the context of school
• Cyberbullying
• Blurred personal and professional boundaries in electronic communication
• Abuse of ICT in school
• Plagiarism and intellectual-property violation
• Violation of privacy and confidentiality and misuse of student data
• Digital divides associated with gender, social-economical status, race, and bias

There are many ethical models that guide people through the grey area of ethical decision making. Ehrich et al. (2011) present an ethical decision-making model that helps to explain decision-making processes when teaching professionals encounter ethical dilemmas.

Although this is a well-thought-out model it over complicates the situation.  Using a model that simply asks:

What is the incident?
Who are the stakeholders in the incident?
What is the ethical dilemma?
What are the possible implications of the decided actions?

Fortunately, the Ministry of Education (2015) produced the DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY Safe and responsible use in schools booklet to guide teachers with decision making around digital ethics. It also provides a comprehensive guide to the legislation and laws and how they impact on the ways that incidents are managed.

References

Ehrich, L. C., Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards.Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf

Ministry of Education. (2015).DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY Safe and responsible use in schools. Wellington: New Zealand: Author. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf

Open culture (2013). 1872 rules for teachers.  Retrieved February 2018  from http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/rules-for-teachers-in-1872-1915-no-drinking-smoking-or-trips-to-barber-shops-and-ice-cream-parlors.html 

Schwimmer, M., & Maxwell, B. (2017). Codes of ethics and teachers’ professional autonomy. Ethics and Education, 12(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2017.1287495

Week 24 - Planning Your Teacher Inquiry Project

Throughout the course of the Literature Review, many questions/challenges have come to light.  These include-

•  A lack of ‘teacher friendly’ checklists for teachers to use to ensure that 21st Century skills are being delivered to a high level?
• How do you assess the level attainment of 21st-century skills that a student has achieved?
• How can our schools enable parents and the wider community to more effectively engage in 21st-century learning of their students?

I have selected the last one to focus on because it is becoming very clear that parents are being left of-of the digital revolution and that unless we as schools address this, we are in essence contributing further towards the digital divide. (Sylvester, Allan, Toland, Janet, Porore and Pouaka , 2017)

This will allow educators to work as a unified team creating triangulated a collaboration between schools, students and parents.

It was very interesting to note the introductory survey methods (Peters, Irish, n.d.).  This will come in very useful when writing the survey that will eventually be one of the proposed forms of data that we will collect during the inquiry. It was particularly interesting to note that a survey should only be 15 - 20 mins long and that you need to field test your survey.

1.Clarify your research question(s)
a.What do you want to know?
b.Has the research been done before?
c.What will you do with the data?
d.Who cares?

2.Identify the main subjects of your interest
a.Do you have access to them? Can you gain access to them?
b.How many do you need to survey to get a meaningful answer?(power calculation)
c.How many can you get to survey?
d.What is the likely response rate?

3.Determine what information will be needed to answer the research question
a.Brainstorm questions or items that might be included in the survey
b.Differentiate between critical information & “nice to know”

4.Decide how to administer the survey
a.Online (e.g. Google Forms that creates the answer spreadsheets
automatically or Survey Monkey)
b.Paper
c.Telephoned.Face to face (Would you film these?)

5.Write questions appropriate to the means of administration, question, subjects, time
a.Keep in mind that 10-20 minutes is the usual tolerance level
b.Oral surveys require subjects to remember question + response options to be clear and succinct
c.Using the same response options speeds up response time but may lead to response set & lack of variation
d.Using different response options heightens focus and variation
e.Open-ended items provide depth but must be recorded carefully & lengthen survey time
f.The more response options the more material the survey needs to be (e.g., many items to rank require being able to sort into preliminary and then more refined piles)


6.Field test surveys
a.Invite people who are like target subjects but avoid dipping into pools of respondents
b.Measure time to complete survey
c.Ask respondents to identify terms or whole questions they did not understand
d.Ask for general comments & suggestions

7.Analyze & refine survey items
a.Read responses carefully to determine whether data answer your question
b.Go beyond analysis to write a preliminary paragraph describing responses
c.If a response is ambiguous, rewrite and retest the item




This "Focusing Inquiry" information was also incredibly useful.  This will be used as a guiding start to support me during the inquiry process.

Teacher Inquiry

The first thing you need to do is to clearly establish your topic area. This would ideally be the topic,
or a subset of the topic, that you focused on in your literature review.

The direction that I initially chose for my Inquiry was-
“How can our schools enable parents and the wider community to more effectively engage in

21st-century learning of their students?”

After participating in today’s webinar, this question seems too broad.  I need to make it more specific by either identifying a school or year group.  Or by breaking down the 21st Skills to hone in one or a few.  This will be decided through collaboration with my inquiry team.

I will be easy to justify the reasoning behind our inquiry because it directly relates to our

Literature Review.

• How the literature on your topic supports your area of focus (Done by linking directly to the Lit Review)
• Why your topic is particularly relevant to your school setting (Done by relating this to our school setting)
• How your topic will support your community (Our topic is all about how to engage communities)

The inquiry needs to be culturally responsive. This will mean looking closely at the Ministry of
Education. (2009) called “Teachers as learners: Improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students through inquiry”.
The community needs to clearly defined.  For the purposes of this inquiry, I will focus on Frankleigh School because that is the school that the rest of my team is working at.  But it will be easily tweaked to meet the needs of Waitara East School.

Stages of Inquiry

• Designing the focus of your inquiry
• Gaining initial feedback on the design of your inquiry
• Choosing the methods you will be using to collect data
• Planning the data collection process
• Planning the analysis of your data
• Organizing the presentation of your findings

During the inquiry, we will be talking to each of these points in relation to the inquiry project.  It will
be useful to use these exact headings.

Data Collection

During the webinar today it was highlighted that careful planning needs to go into the types of data that are collected. The lecturer commented that by using both surveys and interviews as a means of data collection, a more holistic view can be gained.

Mindlab Week 24 course notes pose some useful questions to ask ourselves when collecting data.

• What baseline data do you need to collect? Baseline data is data collected at the start of an
  inquiry project that allows you establish the current situation and will enable a point of comparison for data you collect throughout your inquiry.
• What data would you need to collect throughout your inquiry project? Do you need feedback
  
  
• from students? Do you need student achievement data? Think carefully about the best way to collect this data. Data collection methods include tests, surveys, focus groups, interviews, classroom observation and student portfolios of achievement.
• What summative data would you need to collect? This is data collected at the end of the
   inquiry project that will enable you to see what has worked and what has not worked.

It will be useful to reflect on my Week 24 which looked at Peters, T. & Irish, J. (n.d.). “Introduction to
Survey Research Methods”. This incorporated useful strategies for creating surveys.

By seeking initial feedback from colleagues and perhaps my school principal, the inquiry direction may be tweaked.  I feel that my present principal has a particular passion for implementing 21st Century skills, so I am actually really looking forward to the feedback that he will give.

The last stage will be to reflect on the possible impact the findings of the inquiry will have on the community.  This is where we will have to take an educated guess at the outcome.  Perhaps more
than one scenario will be discussed here.

This week they gave us exemplars of the inquiry projects of past students.  The main things that I
learned were:-

1. It is incredibly important that your inquiry question is specific because otherwise your inquiry leaks like a sieve. What I mean by that is that it leaks out in all directions, not capturing the essence of the inquiry. (I know too many baking analogies).
2. Using slides for the presentation definitely makes for a clearer and more concise presentation.  
3. The headings used in exempla 3 flowed well and was easy to follow.  It would be great to use
    a similar format of presentation.

References

Ministry of Education. (2009). Teachers as learners: Improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students through inquiry. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-stories/Case-studies/Teachers-as-learners-Inquiry

Sylvester, Allan; Toland, Janet; and Parore, Pouaka, "Is the Digital Divide Still relevant in 2017? Two Cases from Marginalised Communities in Aotearoa-New Zealand" (2017). PACIS 2017 Proceedings. 123. http://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2017/123

Peters, T. & Irish, J. (n.d.). Introduction to Survey Research Methods. Retrieved from http://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/assets/…