Week 18- Reflecting on changes in my future oriented teaching practice

Reflecting on changes in my future oriented teaching practice

Theme 4: "Changing the script": Rethinking learners' and teachers' roles

Education must change if we are going to meet the needs of the children coming through the gates. This is the curriculum, way they are taught and how it is taught. As the saying goes, you "can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results".  Society is and has changed, therefore the children within the classroom are different. They think, talk and act different to children even a few short years ago. This means we must redefine what we do and as well as encourage clear pathways where they too can enjoy success. When I was training as a Reading Recovery teacher I was reminded that their are many pathways that lead to success. Not one way, but many ways. 

For this week I am exploring "Changing the Script" 

This year I have tried to step back and give the children more opportunity to share what they want to learn. If they have chosen what they will investigate then this will result in increased engagement and a sense of excitement from the children. At the time It was a sense of excitement as I started to pass control to the children. On the other hand it was a tad nervy as would I still be able to help them as I used to? What if it didn't work? What if the children didn't like the options. I think it was a good choice to given then choices about what they were learning because once the children were given a choice of what to do, I found that for most children they were excited about what they were learning. I had a sense of enjoyment as some children wanted to change the topic they were researching because they self reflected and realized what they had chosen was not for them. How exciting this was, rather than them being stuck in class thinking i have to do this, they had a choice to switch to something they were more confident doing. Some of the children were so engaged with what they were doing that they were accessing the learning platform from home (Google Drive). From this positive initial stages, it has encouraged me to apply this to other areas rather than reading.

According to Finlay (2009) part of changing the script is working with the children in helping them work to and identify their strengths. As mentioned above, giving children the ownership has allowed this as children changing what they were researching showing they identified areas of passion.  Part of this is recognising that me as a teacher is not the holder of all knowledge and filling the children with new knowledge, however supporting the children as they lead their own learning. I become more of a facilitator as I support, guide and encourage children in their learning.   While this is going on I am conscious of what Hipkins,  R.  (2010) mentions regarding being aware that children may limit their learning to what they know. Or in other words, stay within their comfort zone. Therefore I must ensure that I encourage and provide opportunities that extend their thinking.

In the future I will continue to build on giving choice and encouraging children to explore and build on what they know. I will be able to incorporate our school values and encourage the children to show courage by exploring areas they are less familiar or confident with. I am aware that part of changing the script is exposing children to new technologies. Part of future developments would be having the children use and explore these technologies as they acquire new skills which help them progress.

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Hipkins,  R.  (2010).  The  evolving  NCEA:  Findings  from  the  NZCER  National  Survey  of  Secondary  Schools  2009 Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.