Applied Practice in Context

Activity 5: Create a reflective entry to discuss how you are addressing the context of different audiences and their perspectives while you are taking action. Step 1: My audiences My inquiry is centred around Hybrid Learning (a Blended Learning Model) with the aim of increasing student engagement. Although my students are at the centre of my teaching practice, there are wider audiences who must also be considered. Today I will reflect on the impact on, and perspectives of: Local Audiences - The teachers in my community of learning (COL) and subject association, the New Zealand Association of French Teachers National Audiences - National education policies International Audiences - International policies and educational trends Bolstad et al. (2012) identify several emerging principles of a 21st century education system. Although many of these principles are relevant to my inquiry, I will focus on the principle of "personalising the learning" in the context of my ...

Activity 4: Discuss how issues of ethics, society and culture are being addressed while you are taking action. Step 1 (What) : Identify an issue of ethics. Ethical dilemmas are unavoidable in the profession of teaching. T hroughout the ages,  research has been conducted on the subject, to create guidelines and codes for ethical practice. I was delighted this week, to stumble across the seven virtues of an ethical life, identified by none other than Saint Thomas Aquinas - after whom our school is named! These include faith, hope, charity, prudence, temperance, courage and justice (Christenbury, 2008, p. 38) and although written in the middle ages, still have great relevance in our Catholic community today. During the Action Phase of my inquiry, my students have been using Microsoft Teams as a digital platform for communication. Despite having clearly outlined my expectations around respectful use of Teams and particularly its "chat" feature, an incident of bullying ar...

Activity 3 :   Examine how indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness are informing the way you are taking action. I will use Rolf's Model of Reflection,  Finlay (2009),   for this weeks reflective blog post. Step 1 (What): What is your understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness? Culturally responsive pedagogy or Ako is a student-centred approach to teaching, where all students' cultural beliefs and individual strengths are recognised and celebrated (Kaupapa Maori Research, n.d.). According to Bishop in EdTalks (2012), culturally responsive pedagogy is focused on eliminating the disparities between our indigenous, Maori learners and pakeha in post-colonial society. Bishop points out that under Article 3 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Maori were garanteed opportunities to benefit from being citizens of the "new society", so as educators it is our responsibility to ensure Maori success. Bishop and Berryman (2009) state that "agentic ...

Activity 2:   Create a reflective entry in which you apply a reflective model to discuss something that has happened during your Inquiry so far, and how it impacts on taking  action I have chosen to use Rolf's Model of Reflection,  Finlay (2009),   for this weeks reflective blog post. Step 1 (What): Describe something that is significant and has happened during your Inquiry so far. I am now into the second week of my inquiry on Hybrid Learning in Year 9 French. After getting through the admin and class surveys last week, it was exciting to launch into the Hybrid programme. As my students logged in for their first computer based lesson, something unexpected happened. Joe (as I shall refer to him in this blog) announced that he had already completed the entire task, that was set to last the class 2 to 3 lessons. I had set the task the previous day using Education Perfect, which automatically generates an email to students, letting them know they have ...

The Spiral of Inquiry Spiral of Inquiry Adapted by The Mind Lab by Unitec Week 25 - Taking Action This week I have begun the "Take Action" phase of my teacher inquiry on Hybrid Learning and it has been a busy week! As outlined in week one of my action plan, I have emailed whanau of my key stakeholders - my Year 9 French students. The purpose of my email was to introduce myself and the Hybrid Learning initiative to parents as part of the students’ transition from the intermediate school into year 9. I have collected my baseline data through a survey on Microsoft Forms, and have introduced my class to Microsoft Teams - a real hit!  So far, I have been filled with enthusiasm and positivity. I have had some supportive and encouraging replies from whanau, pleased to hear that their child’s teachers are “keeping up with the times” and providing exciting, relevant learning opportunities for our students. Not only has this spurred me on and fuelled my growth mindse...