The Amazing Hand Puppet exploration AKA Collaboration

Session Two: planned as possible!
I read what was mandatory and wrote down what I thought were some pertinent notes.

What I was really excited about on a practical level was the ITL 21 Century learning skills rubrics (ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research ). I really enjoyed reading these especially as our school has been undergoing a transformation in our approach to foster learning that is more of a skilled based curriculum. I just loved the practicality of these rubrics. Well defined, easy to use and don't even get me started on the flow charts. AMAZING!

Any who... I still need to get my head around the Knowledge Construction rubric. This is important to me because as we have been designing our PRIDE inquiry model of learning as a school, one part that has been, not neglected, but steered away from, is the development of knowledge through content. Many times it has been uttered, it's not the content nor the context that matters, it's the skills. I get that, but if we don't have a meaty, perspective rich area to explore, we are not paying nor acknowledging the importance of having a good understanding and KNOWLEDGE in which to apply, develop and practice these skills on. I think its like reading and writing- the two are inextricably linked.  But that's just my opinion.
What I do need to clarify is...

1. I am not too sure I understand all aspects of this rubric clearly and...
2. I think knowledge construction may be lacking in my practice. 

Do I really (truly) give my students the opportunity to construct their own meaning and create NEW understanding? I always thought I was good at getting students to do that but maybe I am only just getting them to reproduce (or regurgitate) what I provide for them to explore? This is an area that I am going to try to really think about as I go along in this journey. The whole creation aspect of learning.

Which takes me to my next part: exploring a collaborative approach to explore the ITL's rubric of COLLABORATION!

Last session we were given the task of recreating one of the rubrics and after looking at the actual task that is posted on our learning portal I am unsure if we actually have completed that task properly? 

(Choose one of the ITL rubrics and reflect upon the activities you provide for your students/staff. Film part of that reflection. You can use any device. Make sure the video is no more than 3 minutes long. Publish your video to the Google+ Community with the hashtag #21CSreflection, remember, as always, to add your location specific hashtag. This is your chance to familiarise yourself with your devices, and to honestly reflect upon your own practice.)

But anyway here is our collaboration. 

#OTT #whatabouthatvoice? #givingthingsago #washeapsoffunforus

What I really enjoyed about this collaboration was that in doing this task I truly feel like I have such a deeper and better understanding of the concept. Already in my teaching classes I have tried to use this approach multiple times because it really was of benefit for me. I had my students create their own definitions of volume in math. Sounds really simple and boring but by just using key questions my students were able to clarify and distinguish the difference between volume and capacity, give definitions in their own words, create their own understandings. My fav was Alice and Mackenzie who said the volume was just 3d area. I loved it. They showed the transference of the concept we had learned before in a way that made sense to them and built on previous learning. So much more powerful than me giving them a definition and a formula. Students used a variety of digital methods to show their understanding and shared it on Gclassroom. Although I have always done this sort of thing, I have put myself in my students seats and am handing a lot more of the discovery over to them. I get them to clarify each others ideas. We make mistakes together and fix them together too.

One of the reflections we were asked to complete was to identify 3 or more issues or problems in our practice and how this applied to either the 21st C skill rubrics or The NZ Curriculum key competencies: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum.

Problems, Challenges, Frustrations or Concerns In my practice:	Related to Key Competencies or ILT 21st C Skills
Am I really promoting Knowledge construction with in my classroom programme? Do students really get to use HOT skills and critical thinking in the classroom? Is student thinking surface or deep?	21CS: · Knowledge Construction KC: · Thinking
How can I get my students taking more ownership over their spelling skills and proficiency in the classroom?	21CS: · Knowledge Construction KC: · Using language, symbols and text · Thinking
How can I design learning tasks that show true collaboration or promote true collaboration?	21CS: · Collaboration KC: · Relating to others · Thinking · Managing self · Participating and contributing
How can I promote the use and competency of our PRIDE learning model with other staff?	21CS: · Collaboration · Problem Solving · Knowledge Construction KC: · Relating to others · Thinking · Participating and contributing
I would like students to use and have a digital presence through documenting or sharing themselves, our school etc, their learning  through the use of Blogging or VLogging.	21CS: · Collaboration · Problem Solving · Use of ICT for Learning KC: · Relating to others · Using language, symbols and text · Thinking · Managing self · Participating and contributing Problem Solving

 There are many more things I could look at and I am sure that I will refine this even more but it's just a starting point at the moment. 

The other reflection we were invited to do was identify which 21st C skill we would like to work on for our assignment. I am a bit divided about that at present because there are lots of things i would like to focus on. Collaboration- helping grow such an important skill with students who are very cooperative but not necessarily collaborative. Use of ICT for learning- apart from the old G Suite and google classroom etc, I know this area of my practise could definitely be improved. Am i teaching really good ICT skills for learning too? Knowledge Construction- as mentioned above am I creating learning experiences and tasks that really deepen thinking and promote the students own construction of knowledge? Problem solving and innovation- I think I do this at a minimal level. This is one area i find myself not really interested in for my homeroom class- so maybe this is what I should look into more because I really am unsure how successful I could be and how I can really help the kids make a positive difference. I see a lot of really fluffy problem solving or innovative things go on. Students who were involved in another teacher in my school doing Mindlab last year really sort of negated what it was that they achieved (and they achieved something good too)- they seemed almost disconnected in a way where as the teacher was highly engaged. How could I do something authentic that the kids were proud of and valued too?

Sooooo as you can see this session has brought up more questions than anything else for me. I have't blogged on the leadership portion of last weeks session- that may be for another time. And this has taken me far too long to do!