Week 32 - Key change in Reflective Practice

When I reflect on my journey of learning in the Mindlab course, I am thankful for skills and tools I have been given. It has required hard work and effort, but has been fruitful and rewarding.
I have found it difficult to focus in onto one element that has become a key change because there have been many changes to my practice and my pedagogy over the course.

What?

When I look at the Ministry of Education (2017) Our Code, Our Practice, I can see that through this Mindlab course it has impacted my professional learning and relationships, and the designing of learning that occurs in the classroom. However I feel that this course has really shown how professional learning is important for educators.
Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, p.66) note that "awareness is essential for behavioral change. To gain a new level of insight into personal behavior, the reflective practitioner assumes a dual stance being, on one hand, the actor in a drama and, on the other hand, the critic who sits in the audience watching and analyzing the entire performance." I feel that one tool that has allowed me to do this is Spirals of Inquiry. This has caused me to become more observant in my classroom and reflect on what is working and new learning needed to help my learners. I am becoming more aware of how I design learning affects my students, and have aimed to provide more opportunities for student agency, collaboration and giving feedback.
throughout this course as Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, p 68) have suggested is important for a reflective practitioner I have had to observe what is happening in the classroom and step back and ask "What was the nature of the problem? What were my intentions? What did I do? What happened?" I feel that Spirals of Inquiry (2014) have given me a tool to reflect not only myself but with my colleagues and provide opportunities to collaborate and learn together.

Now What?

Stage 1: Problem identification
In my classroom students have limited skills in collaboration and ability to give feedback, especially in writing. It is important to develop this skill so that I prepare my students for their future and encourage their ability to skilfully communicate and collaborate.

Stage 2: Observation and Analysis
Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, p. 73) Said "To be a reflective practitioner, then, requires finely honed observational skills. Clear and careful description of experience (observation)..." I have found when using the Spirals of Inquiry the hardest part was to observing impartially and looking at what was happening so that I could develop a hunch. In my classroom I found if students weren't given defined roles or shared fairly, they struggled to work together to complete a task. Often students would argue or just complete work independently. The ability to share responsibilities fairly, working together, making decisions together and the product to the result of interdependence (ITL, 2012) is key to success in collaborative learning.

Stage 3:Abstract Reconceptualization
This relates to the new learning aspect of Spirals of Inquiry, thinking about what I need to learn and develop in the classroom. The ITL (2012) research into 21st Century skills provides a great framework to observe progress in students ability to collaborate together and skilled communication. For my classroom looking into blogging and encouraging students to give feedback to their peers more is something to develop. 

Stage 4: Active Experimentation
This connects well with the taking action and checking in part of Spirals of Inquiry. This is the part where I take what I have learned and implement it in the classroom, check back on whether this is having the impact I desire. It is important to set goals and have specific targets so that I can see improvement or reflect on further changes required. In my practice I plan to set up more opportunities for students to give feedback not only to their peers but for me. I want to design more collaborative tasks in the classroom.

What Next? 
Otterman and Kottkamp (2015, p 86) describe their reflective practice  "...as a four-step process, in reality, the stages often merge together. I feel this resonates with Spirals of Inquiry, which encourages practitioners to constantly reflect and loop back to earlier stages in inquiry to get to the root of the problem. This is something I hope to continue in my practice as an educator. I aim to provide more opportunities to develop 21st Century Skills and to use the Spirals of Inquiry as a tool to really observe what is happening in my classroom.

References

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

Ministry of Education. (2017). 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. 

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user's guide.  Basingstoke" Palgrave Machmillan. Retrieved from
https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

Timperley, H., Kaser, L. and Halbert, J. (2014). A Framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Victoria: Centre for Strategic Education.