It all Starts Now. Key Change in my Professional Practice.

Coming to the end of my Mindlab journey is bittersweet in many ways. I feel a sense of achievement but also know that this is where I really take what has been learned and continue to grow from here.

What:
There are many things that have stood out over this learning journey, with a culmination of many changes impacting my professional practice, but possibly one of the biggest shifts for me has been the way I view and act out my role as a facilitator of teaching and learning in the classroom. So, (typical to me!) I have chosen to evaluate that change in relation to a combination of one element from the Hack Education (Parsons, Lynch, Han & Thorn. 2017) research- Future Focus, with one of the Ministry of Education (nd) Standards for the Teaching Profession- Learning Focused Culture.

Elaboration of the Learning Focused Culture Standard. Ministry of Education (nd).

Now what: evaluate the identified change

When teachers, or other professionals, critically evaluate their practice the use of a framework can be an effective tool to help identify and facilitate further change. The Cycle of Experiential Learning, recommended by Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, p.70), is what I will use during this evaluation. It is important to note that this process was not as neat or as orderly as it is presented here 😊.

Experiential Cycle stage	Analysis of My role as a facilitator of teaching and learning in the classroom.	Relation to Future Focused concept and Learning Focused Culture Teaching standard
Problem Identification: What was the problem? What drove me to make the change?	In my classroom I had noticed through the introduction of the ITL research (2012) collaboration rubric that although my students were cooperative they were not be being collaborative. If there were no behaviour issues, students were speaking nicely, taking turns and being respectful I had thought they were being collaborative. I was deciding on roles for students to undertake during the learning process also.	In order for quality and effective teaching and learning to take place students were behaving well but being quite passive recipients in their learning. Who was really owning learning? Was there much risk taking going on? Was diversity and the unique contribution all learners bring to the table, really being valued? For learning to be sustainable and future focused students need to be agentic.
Observation and Analysis: What data is gathered? What insights did I gather about the problem that drove change?	Both myself and my awesome trusty colleague worked together to develop collaborative skills in PE and in Inquiry. We took this time to sit back, and once given tasks to students, observed what the students were doing. How were they being collaborative? How was driving the learning? What changes were being made and when? Who were the contributors? Who made decisions that moved learning forward? Who didn’t do these things? Why? This was really insightful and through our observations, surveying students and other formative assessment methods we came to see that students found it very difficult to drive their own learning. They were very careful in not making ‘mistakes’ or putting themselves out there in from of their peers, they were hesitant in making their own way- which we believe is essential and at the heart of learning. During this time as well it became really important to see the supportive and collegial role my colleague and I were providing for each other and undertaking also. Our collaboration was visible and tangible for our students to see.	The concept of preparing students for an unknown future and equipping them with the skills and experiences in which to be risk takers and to drive their own learning became more and more obvious through this stage. Were we really providing learning opportunities in which our students were able to flex their cognitive and skill building muscles? If we didn’t provide these opportunities we ran the risk of maintaining the status quo which we felt would be a disservice to our students. Of huge concern for our students at this time because of their age group (12-13 yrs) was the idea that to be an effective learner is to be vulnerable- many of our students were just not ready for this and this needed to be carefully managed. In creating and maintaining a positive and safe environment for learning children need to feel safe- not just physically but also emotionally. This needed to be catered and planned for.
Abstract Re conceptualisation: What new learning theories or research provides useful background to implement change? What other perspectives be relevant to consider?	During this time we researched and designed learning activities that focused on students developing skills in context. The focus of setting the purpose for learning, the ways in which we all could be effective learners became of paramount importance. We then handed over the decision making process to the students. We could see the integration of the skills, the interactions leading to risk taking, choice making and collaboration in our classes.	An effective learning environment is one in which students are given the opportunity in which to be agentic. Together in our classrooms we were all learners- none of us had ever set up, planned or designed a web based television episode before. Students were reflective and able to identify their own next learning steps- ones that would be relevant and useful to them in the future. We were working with individual strengths but collaborating across classes, digitally. We were reaching out to our community and involving them in the process. We began to see a change in reluctance as students began to take over their learning.
Active Experimentation: What new strategies or ideas you have tried to implement in your practice? What have you learnt from the change/ experience?	What did I learn? I learnt that I didn’t need to direct and take the lead in the classroom; my students were more than capable of doing that for themselves. I had to let the reins go but that it was definitely not a free for all situation. The time effort and structure put in at the start led to the students feeling safe enough to take risks and move their own learning forward. Researching and investigating, design thinking practices and students’ agency over this time period has allowed us to have the confidence to know what we are doing is not just based on a whim or the next faddy thing out in education.	Our next learning step for our new group of students is to now work on establishing design thinking as a delivery method for student learning. We are building on agency, future focus, and creating problem solving, risk takers. All of which need to be fostered in an environment that has learning and growth at its heart. We have lots of opportunities to work with each child and grow their own strengths. We hope that these skills and the experiences they have will equip them for their futures, and that these skills will be sustainable and relevant in these futures as they find and solve problems they may face.

What next:

I want to continue to grow my professional practice. I am really aware of the need to maintain critical reflection and ensure what is happening in the classroom will equip my students for their future and build their learning capacity. I know that I truly value collaborative teaching approaches and see that teacher collaboration is vital in the progression of my teaching and learning programmes. Essentially I have learned that I can not do the thinking for my students, that they have to be given the opportunity to solve their own problems and be the agents of their own learning. I will continue to embed ICT into all my learning but know that this is an area I can really look into more next. I have HEAPS to do! 
I will try my best to continue to grow and I will always be a learner.

References:

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

Ministry of Education (nd). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

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

Parsons, D., Lynch, J., Han, B., & Thorn, R. (2017). Hack Education: Crowd Sourcing the future of education in New Zealand. In Spaces and Pedagogy: New Zealand Tertiary Learning and Teaching Conference Proceedings 2017. Auckland, New Zealand: EPress.

Road sign Future [Digital image]. (2017). Retrieved April 2, 2018, from https://pixabay.com/en/roadsign-future-way-sucess-2570954/ 

Communities of Practice

Curious minds coming together for a shared purpose, to grow and extend their (and other's) learning, AKA Communities of Practice.

Well, that's my definition of this concept. Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a social anthropologist and an educational researcher and practitioner respectively, were the first to coin this term (Wenger Traynor, 2015).

Wenger (2002) highlights three key elements of a CoP

• Joint enterprise: is a shared domain which is the “collectively developed understanding of what the community is about”. The topic of interest shared by the group. 
• Mutual engagement: the members engage through interactions within the community, building mutual trust in the relationships. The shared activities and interactions members have concern the domain. 
• Shared repertoire: is “the communal resources” that the community of practice produce (Wenger, 2000, p.229). Shared tools, language, and practices of the community etc.

I personally find being involved in CoP's important. Not just for the personal and group growth of knowledge and learning, but for the other aspects as well. Being involved in a mutually respectful team with people who have similar passions helps to motivate and drive the profession (or interest) forward. These sorts of organic groups are vital (in my opinion) for personal satisfaction and the challenge they can provide. There also seems to me, to be a vital element of choice within a CoP which makes the CoP seem more a more authentic group to participate in. The domain is not mandated by 'others' but driven by participants themselves to improve their 'practice'.

My main CoP would center around the Year 8 team members I work with, in my school. We are a very collaborative group and gain a lot from sharing our teaching and learning experiences together. We are led by a very capable leader who helps push and challenge us. We have a group vision based around doing the best we can for our students and who they are as people. Within this CoP and throughout our school other CoP's occur based on interest and need.
So how does teacher inquiry contribute and link learning in our CoP?
By interacting and endeavoring to learn, working together, sharing, researching and discussing we will construct new knowledge and understanding which should work towards improving our practice and the outcomes and benefits for our students.


Issues (or ideas for exploration) in my professional practice:

• As a team, we are always looking for ways to authentically engage our students in their learning. To grow and foster their academic and social growth. 
• Using digital learning tools in more creative ways. 
• Continuing to develop more opportunities for students to create digital content instead of mainly consuming content. 
• Using and applying higher levels of the SAMR model within classroom practices. 
• Helping students understand that mistake and decision making, as well as forging their own learning pathways is a key element to their learning. 
• Improving student autonomy and agency. (Probably a bit broader than the idea above). 
• Developing programmes that employ more problem solving and 21st-century thinking skills for students to engage with.

After sifting through a multitude of ideas (and believe me there were MANY) I have narrowed my inquiry ideas down to the following:


1. How can Augmented Reality be used to enhance student learning and curiosity during inquiry?

2. Can design thinking processes be used to improve student autonomy and agency within the classroom? 

Each of these topics for inquiries can be used to grow the shared understanding and knowledge of our CoP and address some of the issues currently faced. Moving forward from this and applying Kotter's change model (Kotter, 1996), early adopters will also be keen to take on and use what has been found out to help make the technological changes that can help grow our CoP's teaching/knowledge repertoire. This, in turn, should help equip students with more if the 21st-century learning skills (Lichtman, 2013) and fulfill the expectations of the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) that have been highlighted as being so important for students have and use in their futures. There will be both short and long term benefits.


What will we need to be aware of in a CoP?

• Time limitations- teachers are busy people and making an inquiry a priority can be challenging. 
• Researching and inquiring broadly (thanks lit review!). At times CoP's could be in danger of being 'blinkered' because those involved often think and act similarly, (Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 2004), we (or I) will need to stop and check in for academic rigor in the work done and the knowledge grown. 
• Critiquing work, highlighting potential biases and expanding perspectives. 

References:

Hodkinson, P., & Hodkinson, H. (2004). A Constructive Critique of Communities of Practice: Moving Beyond Lave and Wenger. (Seminar Paper). Retrieved December 4, 2017, from Oval Research 2004 website: http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/18014

Knox, B. (2009, December 4).Cultivating Communities of Practice: Making Them Grow.[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMPRZnRFkk

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Review Press.

Lichtman, G. (2013). What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills: Grant Lichtman at TEDxDenverTeachers [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZEZTyxSl3g

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/

Puzzle [Digital Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/phcommunities/resourcekit/intro/cop_approach.html

Too Many Choices [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2017, from http://awordywoman.com/1102/

Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246.

Wenger-Trayner, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015). Introduction to communities of practice. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/

On My Own... My Reflective Practice

Reflective practice is probably something most teachers do innately. Stopping and changing tack in the middle of a lesson, responding in a different way to the behavioural needs of students or thinking back about what worked or didn't work in a lesson and what to do differently for next time. I personally couldn't imagine a time or place where some sort of reflection has not been used in my own practice to help make sense of a situation or to try to make the best learning outcomes for my students. 

But what makes reflection meaningful and pushes us further in our practice rather than just a quick glance back into our day?
Findlay (2008, p10) states 'Done well and effectively, reflective practice can be an enormously powerful tool to examine and transform practice." A question and a complication from this statement arises: what is effective reflection and how can it be managed by busy teachers for a real and meaningful, transformative effect? 

What I enjoyed and one of the main understandings I got from Findlay's (2008) paper was that one size doesn't fit all. How, and when, and why teachers reflect, and for what purpose and outcome, can all vary. As with most things, choosing and selecting the type of reflective model that best suits you at the time is what will be of most benefit. Being exposed to a range of models and identifying the benefits and drawbacks of each type of model could empower teachers to increase the complexity and depth of thinking they participate in. Thanks to Craig Lineham for finding this link about a range of reflective models. 

Another thing I found useful when thinking about reflective practice was the challenge involved in reflection; personal challenge that makes us identify our own biases and assumptions; challenge in going deeper and not just skimming the surface of our understanding; and challenge towards incorporating reflection actively in our practice in a way that works for each individual.

So in critically evaluating my reflective practice, I completed a quick survey (based on the following questions) to get the brain juices flowing.

How often do you reflect on your practice at the following levels? (Rapid, repair, review, research, re-theorising and reformulating).
The second question of the survey is adapted from Zeichner and Liston’s (cited in Finlay, 2008, p.4) five levels of reflection:

• Rapid reflection - immediate, ongoing and automatic action by the teacher. 
• Repair – in which a thoughtful teacher makes decisions to alter their behaviour in response to students’ cues. 
• Review – when a teacher thinks about, discusses or writes about some element of their teaching. 
• Research – when a teacher engages in more systematic and sustained thinking over time, perhaps by collecting data or reading research. 
• Retheorizing and reformulating – the process by which a teacher critically examines their own practice and theories in the light of academic theories.”

Like many other teachers, I find it easy to reflect at the rapid, repair and review levels- I think that comes quite naturally. The question posed was what can help you reach a higher level of reflection?
I think, like with teacher inquiry, research and sustained thinking over time needs to have a clear focus or avenue of inquiry. What patterns keep occurring, what data can be produced? Actively working and finding a way to record and pursue reflective ideas can be challenging. Working through Mindlab and being 'made' to reflect and compare my reflections with current theory etc will be helpful towards achieving those higher levels of reflection and purposeful investigation into practice. Hopefully, this will become a habitual part of what I do...

How often do you reflect on your practice in the following ways? (conversation, journaling, tweeting etc)
I am probably more of an informal reflector. I personally get more from having conversations with colleagues or confidants about issues or things I am reflecting on and enjoy having someone provide prompting questions etc to make me think on a deeper level. From this, I can also identify that I am somewhat passive in my reflections; waiting for someone to prompt or question me is not challenging myself to ask those uncomfortable questions. I also don't particularly enjoy being asked uncomfortable questions and am not a person who can answer more probing questions straight away- I need time to process.I like to think and mull over ideas. In some ways I can be avoidant towards some trickier questions. So to make my reflections transformative and meaningful I probably need to ask and face those harder confronting questions.


I look forward to seeing the strategies and other ways teachers delve into the deeper levels of reflective practice.

References:
Finlay, L. (2008). 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 


Gross, S. (2003). It Sort of Makes you Stop and Think.[Cartoon]. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.art.com/products/p15063312757-sa-i6845266/sam-gross-it-sort-of-makes-you-stop-and-think-doesn-t-it-new-yorker-cartoon.htm

MindLab (2017). Evaluate your Reflective Practice – July 2017. Available from:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee9-DSqP0CG293TIgL5lq7H3c2Nbh5QyBrejnfWg1M0FAGsA/viewanalytics

[Reflective Practice Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://facilitationcourse.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/reflective-practice-collaboration-and-stakeholder-communication-4-638-1.jpg

Teacher Inquiry and the end of the First Half of the Mindlab Course

Sixteen weeks have just flown by. Sixteen sessions with the team. Three and a half assignments complete (currently halfway through one right now).  And now, we're about to start the next part of the course online. This course has been challenging and inspiring, and I've really appreciated the deeper understanding I am developing as a teacher and a collaborator of educational outcomes. I'm looking forward to this next stage.

Last week for session 15 we looked at Inquiry; both teacher inquiry and student inquiry - the parallels between the two are so similar. For this blog though, I want to focus in on teacher inquiry. Why? Because it is something I have really struggled with. Teacher inquiry, to me, has felt arbitrary and another thing to load on top of already busy teachers. Not the best attitude I grant you but that is/was my honest feelings.

I am naturally am a learner. I like to find things out; think I'm quite a curious person, like to get the positive results out of my students and do the very best I can.  I  naturally inquire into things from my observations of my class and students and work from there. Isn't that what teaching is about? The thing that didn't quite connect to me was the whole paper trail of proof (wasn't that in the results, the student voice, the formative feedback, assessment and student work?) and the top-down approach I would feel during this process. Cynical yes, but write it down, tick it off, let's look at it again next year and go from there.
But to be honest, often I would blank out when it came to that time of year and really not know what I wanted to 'commit' to as an area of focus. There are so many needs. Fear of failing and not meeting the 'right' target or showing enough growth always paralysed me.

Luckily, I have an amazing appraiser who has been able to see through my cynicism and 'teaching baggage' to help me do what I need to do, while still encouraging and challenging me in my practice. So when I saw we were going to do Teacher Inquiry as part of the course I wasn't too sure where this was going to go and whether I would be interested. I was pleasantly surprised though and have had some big shifts in my thinking.

The Spiral of Inquiry.

Timperley, H., Kaser, L. & Halbert, J. (2014).

Our school's current teacher inquiry model that we use is also a spiral based model but for some reason, it didn't connect with me. Maybe I didn't understand it properly or was a bit too close minded to appreciate it.  BUT after reading and learning about the Spiral of Inquiry by Timperly, Kaser & Halbert (2014) I feel like I've had a bit of an epiphany. Not only am I seeing the possibility of using this model in my own practice but I am feeling like I'm getting the bigger picture of the whole Teacher Inquiry thing! 😇

Using the spiral of inquiry:

•  Actively investigating in a teacher-led inquiry: "This requires a shift from student voice to developing learner agency, as the students help to identify and address issues in their learning environments. In the past it has often been adults who have decided what is right or wrong with learners, and what is good for them, without involving them in either identifying issues or developing solutions. Deciding what is going on for learners without their input lacks respect and is unlikely to be productive." Timperley, Kaser & Halbert, (2014.)

For this teacher-led inquiry to work, teachers must come at their inquiry with a mindset of curiosity. It allows teachers to suspend judgement and make changes based on evidence. What is happening and why? I love this!

• Scanning: open yourself/school up to honest judgement. Terrifying but I'm getting to grips with this not as an element of criticism but of opportunity for growth. Okay, I am a still a huge bit terrified.

I like this spiral of inquiry more because of the deep connected, human element to it. The learner's at centre, the teacher as a learner, depth over surface. 

The guiding questions and boxes in the article (referenced below) are Excellent! 

Two key questions posed that stuck in my mind were: Is it acceptable for some learners to be pursuing important questions in depth while others are restricted to ‘covering’ the curriculum? Is it all right for some learners to experience challenging and engaging learning in one class while learners in the room next door are not? WOW !!Food for thought. Those are hard, challenging questions.

I haven't gone through the rest of the model but these are some of the things that have stuck and resonated with me. I'm looking forward to exploring my own teacher inquiry and general teacher inquiry through the second half of the Mindlab course in more depth over the next sixteen weeks or so.

References: 
Timperley, H., Kaser, L. & Halbert, J. (2014). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Centre for Strategic Education. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/content/download/74475/611763/file/Spiral%20of%20Inquiry%20Paper%20-%20Timperley%20Kaser%20Halbert.pdf

Teaching Reflection + The Ghosts of Students Past

Kia ora! I had a day at work on this fine and fabulous Sunday. It was a bit of a shame but it was open day for our school (we show case the school for prospective students to come and have a look around and decide if our school is the school for them).
So we were just wrapping up and I was in the school hall talking to a colleague i walked past a young man who stopped and said Hi to me. I looked at him... no register.... nothing! I have never had that happen to me and felt so bad. But once he said his name it all came flooding back. KEVIN! So of course I was picturing the 12-13 year old boy in my mind and here was this stocky, handsome twenty year old young man! WOW! We spoke for about ten minutes and it truly was such a wonderful thing to be able to catch up Kevin. He was a bit of a twinkly eyed child you could say, but was always polite and just a great human being. He said some really lovely things about his fond memories from his time in Room 16 and we spoke about where other people were and what they had gone on to do. I truly feel so proud that I get to do this job and his conversation today was a really timely reminder. I LOVE what I do. It is NEVER easy, although you have some days easier than others. Thanks Kevin for taking the time to speak with me.

SO again on to my mind lab work. I really just wanted to post my first attempt at creating a screencastify video. Exciting and scary. I had to reflect on an aspect of my practice and relate this to the 21st Century learning skills created by ITL ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research.

My first screencastify.
I was really excited to get my first likes etc and was a little bit surprised at how much it meant to me to know others saw what it was that Holly and I are doing with our students. I find myself thinking about how we are using these 21st century skills all the time and how we can make the learning better in the future for our studnets.

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!