Week 19 - Community of Practice

Contribution of Teacher Inquiry Topics to my Communities of Practice

Communities of practice (CoP) are groups of professional learners, supporting each other to achieve a shared vision through common commitment in the process of interacting and learning together, Wenger (1998). They provide a vital part of professional development where mutual understanding drives practice, Spillane (2002).

Billett (1998) shows how the expert and the novice develop both knowledge and ability.

The inquiry topics that I have identified as an area to develop in my practice are;

1) Innovative and Collaborative Teaching: How can I/we monitor student learning in a collaborative environment?

2) How can I use digital tools and collaborative practices to improve the learning of our students? 

Inquiry 1: Innovative and Collaborative Teaching: How can I/we monitor student learning in a collaborative environment?

Descriptive: Monitoring students progress can be challenging in a collaborative environment from feedback from people I have spoken with. There is a team of teachers who plan and deliver the curriculum content in my Hub.  I currently work in the middle school which works collaboratively providing the space we have (3 seperate classes. I feel quite positive about the collaborative learning but would like to work out how we can make it work the best for our current situation. I am unsure with the space we have. What can and are we doing that is ensuring the children are getting consistent feedback and monitoring. 

Comparative:

Views of Others: 

Most staff acknowledge the benefit of prompting and emphasising our strengths to students in a collaborative approach.  They currently think we need to be in a large open space to make it work authentically. However, some have expressed concerns about variances between the teaching styles. Some staff are concerned about an increased in their own workload as when you first start it takes time to create clear systems and consistency. 

Learning Theories: Trudge (1992), talks about Vygosty and how powerful collaboration can be as learners scaffold each other in the learning process. Because we have a composite year level, their is an open scope for Tuakana Tenia approach (Winitana, 2012).  We have a large section of high needs within our year level.  Meadan, H., & Monda-Amaya, L. (2008) talk about how powerful collaboration can be for children with mild disabilities. 

Critical:

For me the inquiry related to the collaborative for our Hub will be extremely rewarding. Working collaboratively with staff and students will build knowledge, resources, relationships and mutual respect. I can contribute to this inquiry by collaborating with staff to create and share knowledge, skills and resources. I can identify early adopters and ensure a cohesive and united approach to collaboration and monitoring is administered. 

Inquiry 2:  How can I use digital tools and collaborative practices to improve the learning of our students? 

Descriptive: 

As mentioned in the last post,its about looking at rewriting the scripts for teachers and children. Therefore looking at how we can use technologies to increase student engagement and progress. Currently within the CoP I have my team who work on using digital tools and working collaboratively.  This would help with the 3 key domains of CoP. Community as we create and build those relationships which will foster excitement for the children. Domain, as we each see the effect of the work we are doing.Practices. Each of us would support and sharpen each others practice as as our desire is to create a place where our children excel. 

Comparative:

Views of Others: 

The general vibe from the CoP is that IT is part of our curriculum. Part of what we do. e.g. its like pen and paper. However what can we do to lift this so it extends what we do, much like the SAMR model. Not replace, but the higher levels. An ipad is an expensive tool to merely replace pen and paper. 

Learning Theories: 

The theory of connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era (Siemens, 2004) which could be useful.  Aspects of Seely-Brown’s situated cognition learning theory could also contribute to this topic as learning while interacting with others through shared activities and language could occur for teachers (Olson, 2015). In order for teachers to work collaboratively they need to know the difference between collaboration and cooperation. In cooperation, partners split the work, solve sub-tasks individually and then assemble into the final product (Dillenbourg, 1999). In collaboration, partners do the work 'together'.Exciting learning times. 

Critical:

For me the inquiry related to the collaborative for our Hub will be extremely rewarding. Working collaboratively with staff and students will build knowledge, resources, relationships and mutual respect. What am i doing to use digital technologies to enhance and foster learning? Am I using it to increase the levels of achievement within my group?  Who is using IT to enhance the learning and not merely replace the other tools available? Its important that I start small and build up over time. 

Dillenbourg, P. (1999). What do you mean by collaborative learning? In P. Dillenbourg (Ed.). Collaborative-learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches. Oxford: Elsevier

Meadan, H., & Monda-Amaya, L. (2008). Collaboration to promote social competence for students with mild disabilities in the general classroom: A structure for providing social support. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(3), 158-167.

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. eLearnSpace. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Tudge, J. (1992). Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development, and peer collaboration: Implications for classroom practice. In L. C. Moll (Ed.), Vygotsky and education: Instructional implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology (pp. 155-172). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press.

Winitana, M. (2012). Remembering the deeds of Maui: What messages are in the tuakana teina pedagogy for tertiary educators. MAI Journal: A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous Scholarship, 1(1), 29-37.