Reflecting on changes in my future oriented teaching practice!

Kia ora,

This week I have reflected on the changes I am making towards becoming a future oriented teacher.

I have used Gibb’s reflective cycle to structure this reflection.

After reading the ‘Supporting future oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand Perspective’, I have chosen to focus this reflection on ‘Theme 5: A culture of continuous learning for teachers and education leaders’. This theme, shares that as  teachers there are certain attributes and capabilities we need to work towards to become 21st century teachers, or arguably facilitators of learning.

I began this Mind Lab journey, with the mantra, practising what I preach, to show my kids that I am a learner, just like them, taking risks and letting my curiosity run wild. An example of how I have taken risks, is after reflecting on my reflective practice only last week I realised that filming by self teaching could be a step towards being self-reflective and make space for collaborative reflection. Using a film to observe myself teaching, is a way of rethinking the way appraisal process, and possibly creates space for more critical reflection leading to better teaching and learning for my learners.

Filming myself teaching was uncomfortable for myself and my learners. But growth stems from this place of discomfort right? After I’d given it a go and worked up the courage to watch it back, and reflect on the teaching and learning that took place. I felt encouraged to try it again, and I think my learners would begin to feel more at home with it as well, as it slowly becomes a part of everyday classroom life.

Keeping the filming simple (an iPad balanced on the top of my whiteboard), made filming my practice something I could repeat again and again with no preparation or effort. I’m all about working smarter, not harder!

I was transparent with my learners by sharing with them why I was filming our lesson. I intentionally used the same language I would when talking to them about their learning journeys.

This way of re-thinking reflective practice stems from my learning at The Mind Lab about lean education and disruptive technologies (follow the links to view my blogs about these topics). As is shared by  Gada, K. (2014), disruptive technologies constantly underperform against existing technology BUT are adopted by fringe customers who value different things. A film of my teaching practice is never going to be the same as actually being in my classroom, observing and taking part in the learning experience.  But, I think, filming our teaching has the potential to disrupt reflective practice. As it makes for greater critical self-reflection and collaborative reflection. The opportunities of both of these are greatly reduced through physical classroom observations.  Peha, S. (2011), shares the idea that “Meaningful learning” is more important  the “Measurement of learning”, and I think this same sentiment can be held for teacher reflections. Although, the quality of the observation may be less, the professional learning that stems from it is more meaningful.

Something I could try in the future, as was suggested in the comments on my blog post last week, the use of a swivel camera could enhance films of my teaching practice.

For now, I’m working on becoming more comfortable with having the iPad recording, and watching it all back and critically reflecting to add value to the learning in my classroom. Making a habit of filming some of my teaching, and following it up with critical reflection and in the future collaborative reflections. Collaboratively reflecting will cast my net wide, opening up my teaching practice to feedback from a wider audience. Something that takes some courage and a respect for my learners, as it is not just my teaching, but their learning that is caught on camera.

Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui!