In a New Zealand education context the Ministry of Education (nd.) has a set criteria for Standards for the Teaching Profession. Of the 6 standards, Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership, Professional Learning, Professional Relationships, Learning-focused Culture, Design for Learning and Teaching. I feel I have had the most growth relating to the standard of  
     
Professional learning - Use inquiry, collaborative problem-solving and professional  
     learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement
​     of all learners.

​Specifically my key change relates to the depth and quality of my reflective practise. 

​Osterman and Kottkamp (1993) contrast the traditional approach of professional development by outside experts delivering workshops for schools with a reflective practice model. They suggest the traditional approach results in knowledge acquisition whereas reflective practice can lead to change in behaviors via self-awareness. ​

I feel have always been a reflective practitioner but while completing this course came to the realisation that outwardly, in a digital sense (online)  I merely 'list' what has happened rather than critique, question and analyse.

Scales (2013) states
"The most inadequate reflections are those which merely describe what happened in a teaching and learning session. On its own, this is of no value. But it is a start."

In the future I would like to continue to explore the Maker Movement in more depth as this course has afforded me the opportunity to now have the research and understanding to back up the implementation of this movement across our Kura. With the new understanding of what is quality reflective practise I will be able to make a greater impact on both our learners and the educators who follow my blog.

After being prompted by the Week 31: Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Responsiveness task I have also began a Te Reo Level 2 Certificate to enhance my knowledge of Te Reo and tikanga Maori. 

As I constantly strive to grow my professional practise I am left reflecting on the statement by Scales (2013)
"Finally, and most importantly, reflective practice is the key to improvement. If we don't think about, analyse and evaluate our professional practice we cannot improve."

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective Practice for Educators.  California.  Corwin Press, Inc. Retrieved on 7th May, 2015 from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files.

Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (2015). Reflective practice for educators : professional development to improve student learning.(2nd ed.) New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
​
Ministry of Education (nd). Our code, our standards. Retrieved from 
https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/our-code-our-standards

Scales, P. (2013). Teaching in the lifelong learning sector. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.

Step 2: (now what)
Our school's vision encapsulates a 'Know me before you teach me' philosophy and our core values reflect the commitment to ensure Maori students reach their full potential. Tane Bennett (Deputy Principal) best sums this up in the video link below when he states "the culture of the child can not enter the classroom until it enters the consciousness of the teacher". This video also shares our school wide delivery of Te Reo via our Radio Station, where every learner regardless of ethnicity is taught to speak Te Reo from the day they start school, this programme has been recognised nationally.  

Step 1 (What): Currently the trend 'STEM'  captivates my attention. There is currently rapid growing interest in programmes targeting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM), which focus on educators and others looking at preparing students for jobs in the future. I facilitate a dedicated Makerspace where STEM/STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics is at the core of student learning. The science purists tend to frown on the arts being embedded but I believe all of these disciplines draw on design as well as creative concepts and the arts should sit seamlessly with them. I also run our Makerspace differently as the challenges and passion projects are ignited by the use of a picture book, my initial research into the maker movement found significant negative critique relating to the growth of making and demise of reading and literacy skills so I developed a way of fostering and nurturing both. 

Step 2 (So What): As stated within the Ten Trends resource "The critical thing about STEM education is that it is intended to be an interdisciplinary curriculum. Rather than teach these four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates into “interdependent” learning units based on real-world applications". In a Makerspace the lines often blur within a challenge station, for example I run 4 or 5 challenge stations in every session, where the students choose their station but rather than these just being standalone Science, Technology, Engineering, Art or Maths, they may in fact be a Science station with an Art infusion or an Engineering station where building and mathematics play an integral role.

See below for an example of a Science experiment adapted to produce stunning pieces of Art that while producing, students not only learnt the concept of 'change and reaction' but also took it to another level by gaining an awareness and understanding that art is a process of exploring ideas and using a variety of skills, techniques and media while persevering to create a quality finished product for an audience to appreciate.

Visit my Makerspace reflective blog, Whare Waihanga for more authentic examples 
http://www.takpmakerspace.co.nz/blog

This integration into 'interdependent' learning units changes the way that teachers have previously looked at the curriculum which was subjects in isolation, this will pose a challenge to many teachers. Those that grasped the previous trend of curriculum integration, as discussed by Fraser and Deane (2010), will be better equipped for this change.

Core Education. Ten Trends 2018. Retrieved 11 March, 2018. http://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/2017/

Fraser, D., & Deane, P. (2010). Making a difference: Agents of change through curriculum integration. set: Research Information for Teachers, 3, 10–14.

​Jamieson, P. (2017).  Whare Waihanga - Makerspace. Website http://www.takpmakerspace.co.nz/blog

Minstry of Education. (2017).  Digital Technologies. Retrieved 11 March, 2018. https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/consultations/DT-consultation/DTCP1701-Digital-Technologies-Hangarau-Matihiko-ENG.pdf

Roffey, Sverko and Therien (2016).  The Making of a Makerspace: Pedagogical and Physical Transformations of teaching and Learning. Retrieved, 4 February, 2018. http://www.makerspaceforeducation.com/uploads/4/1/6/4/41640463/makerspace_for_education_curriculum_guide.pdf

​Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical Reflection Model. Retrieved from: https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/ReflectiveModelRolfe.pdf

I have used social media tools extensively in my teaching practise and as a professional development tool, this includes a range of blogging platforms (Class Blogmeister, Blogger, Weebly and Wordpress) as well as Facebook and Twitter. Twitter has become my social media tool of choice for professional development.

Over the years I have built up a meaningful collaborative network with ground breaking and innovative educators and I find that the power of hashtags throughout global conferences and events that many of these educators keynote at, enables me to 'attend' virtually and to have an insight into the content shared and this provides new learning opportunities for me. I feel connected and can comment and contribute even though I am remotely situated. This feature could benefit teaching and learning across Aotearoa as our geographical position is no longer a barrier to accessing high quality professional learning and rigorous critique and conversation. Twitter also provides me with an insight into global trends and technological advances.

In  the “Using Social Media in the Classroom” (2013) video, Kathy Cassidy shared how she uses social media in a classroom. I particularly related to her comments about Twitter and how this platform enabled her learners to consider what was the same and what was different about classrooms around the globe. I wonder how many teachers have considered using Social media as a way to teach empathy?  

I have used blogging platforms for sharing students work and progress and as a platform to share my professional practice but have only used Twitter as a professional sharing and development tool, never with students. I hold my global relationships formed through Twitter in such high regard and see them as essential for me to keep at the forefront of education and when considering this and the impact this tool has had on students in classes such as Kathy's I would like to introduce this to our staff as a way to broaden our students perspectives, to build relationships and to encourage global connections. 

When embedding new tools and moving through an ever evolving digital landscape I realise that I have become proficient at using the tools myself and in many chances es take them for granted but as my role inn schools has changed and I have moved into a management role I have missed the step of sharing and transferring these powerful tools onto our tamariki. I now have the ability to build teacher capacity and to empower our teachers to take on this challenge. 

 I am aware very few of our staff use Twitter for their own professional practice. Also knowing our staff I would introduce a video such as Kathy's as this shows how social media can have a direct impact on student outcomes and with our every increasing workloads and demands on our time I can see many of our teachers using Twitter in class to improve student outcomes rather than in their own time to improve their own, which is somewhat of a contradiction.