Wednesday, 27th September

Your Professional Context: socio-economic, culture & professional environment...

Activity 2: Current issues in my professional context

The school I teach at opened at the beginning of 1964 with 207 pupils.  There were six classrooms.  The school now has an increasing roll of 552, with the ethnic composition of NZ European 76%, Maori 10%, Chinese 1%, Fijian 1%, Indian 1%, Southeast Asian 1%, Other Asian 2% and Other European 8% (Education Review Office 2013).  

Hilltop School is a decile 8 rating.  This decile rating may seem high but there are families who financial struggle on a daily bases.  Deciles are used to provide funding to state and state-integrated schools to enable them to overcome the barriers to learning faced by students from lower socio-economic communities. The lower the school’s decile, the more funding they receive (Ministry of Education).  

I have lived in this community for the past 18 years, firstly as a parent and then as a teacher.  During this time I have seen both internal and external changes take place in the school culture and climate. Stoll (1998) defines school culture along three dimensions, the relationship among its members; the organisational structure including the physical environment and management system; and the learning nature.  Because of it’s central location and outdoor opportunities the community was predominantly retired and holiday homes.  It continues to have holiday homes, however due to changing lifestyles many younger families are now living in this area.  

The school is at a transition stage with a new leadership team and a clear vision for the future gaining momentum.  (Stoll, 1998) in midlife, the school is well established but needs to continue growing and renewing.  As a school our values of respect, responsibility, integrity and kindness are strongly promoted by leaders and teachers and contribute to the school's positive tone for learning.  Stoll and Fink identified 10 norms that reflect the school culture.  Many of these I can relate to as our school strives to educate students in the the 21st century and not become ‘stagnant and decline’ (Stoll, 1998).  Introducing electives, BYOD and moving towards FLS are ways that enhance collegiality and are shaping our children’s future.  This does not mean change is easy, it can be uncomfortable.  Changing mindset within the school and working with the community to develop a shared understanding of educational initiatives will promote a positive culture for the school.        

References:

Education Review Office

Ministry of Education

Stoll. (1998). School Culture. School Improvement Network’s Bulletin 9. Institute of Education, University of London. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Understanding-school-cultures/School-Culture

Community of Practice

CISC 8100                              

Applied Practice in Context

Practice 1: Title Critically examine and contextualise the application of your teaching practice

Before I began my reflective journal I had to have a clear understanding of what Community of Practice (CoP) was.  This became the starting point for me to critically reflect on how (if) I was participating and contributing to a CoP.  

My initial thought was meeting regularly with a group of teachers working at the same year level was an example of a CoP.  However, on further research I discovered that a CoP is a phrase coined by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger citied in Wenger-Trayner ‘Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.’  

In all cases, the key elements are:

The domain: members are brought together by a learning need they share.

The community: their collective learning becomes a bond among them over time.

The practice: their interactions produce resources that affect their practice.

The team concept however has specific objectives such as, a team can disband once the project is complete, individuals are selected for ability, there is a hierarchy and results need to be delivered.

What I have found is some CoP are small and others are larger groups of people that come and go.  I have identified CoPs can vary between professional and personal.   

An example of a small CoP is working collaboratively with a Mindlab colleague.  I have created a shared working culture that supports our learning.  Following on from this, meeting with a wider Mindlab group to collaborate and share knowledge.  We choose to participate in this group (domain), share and discuss new learning (community).  Google+ has also allowed us to expand and reach a wider audience.  Completing collaborative and individual assignments allows use to (practice) what we have learnt and incorporate this into our classrooms.

Some other examples of CoPs that I am involved in are BOT, Teacher Facebook and committees.  All these activities engage directly as social interactions, collaborative and support new learning.  

The outcome of CoP supports people as lifelong learners, which positively impacts on the teaching of children.  The challenge will be to maintain momentum as we move towards the end.     

What I have learnt is that we move in and out of CoP without realising it.  As we evolve and change personally and professionally you become energised by certain tasks.  This can also swing the other way.

References:

Innovative Learning

http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/communities_of_practice.html

Wenger-Trayner

http://wenger-trayner.com/resources/what-is-a-community-of-practice/