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Changes in Practice - Mindlab Week 32


Where did those 32 weeks go?
I finish these blog posts with a sense of pride, camaraderie, and impending adventure. I’m proud of the work that has been completed, which has pushed my pedagogical thinking in ways that I had not considered. I’m also proud of the work I’ve completed together with my colleagues - we’ve worked very closely together to undertake this course, and I’ve learned an incredible amount with and from these wonderful teachers/friends. Our sense of camaraderie throughout has helped drag us through the incredibly busy periods where we have had to balance work, study, family, and sought success in all areas. Hooray for collaboration! Hard work is more satisfying when shared. Hooray for digital tools! Collaboration and connection have never been more possible. And thus, there is a sense of an impending adventure - armed with new skills and experiences, we go forth into the rest of the 21st Century as forward-thinking educators. What a time to be alive!
It will be difficult to sum-up all the thinking that has been transformed over the past 32 weeks, so I’ll use Rolfe's (2001) model - “What? So What? What Next?” - and discuss changes regarding the following Practising Teacher Criteria:
  • Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.
Having come to the teaching profession later after working other contexts, I have thought of myself as a beginning teacher when compared to the enviable wealth of experience of the colleagues who surround me. My initial teacher training still seems so recent, and so I hadn’t really considered that I would be undertaking further study so soon into my teaching career. I’m so glad that I have! Not only has the Mindlab programme been valuable in terms of my professional learning, but it has also reinforced the importance of research-based practice for me, and the place of it in my ongoing development as a teacher. Educational thinking - not limited to digital learning - is constantly evolving, as it should do. There is definitely a place for seeking ‘just-in-time’ solutions to make differences for our students - but I have a refreshed commitment to ensuring that my ongoing practice is underpinned by intentional choices regarding my professional learning.


  • Criteria 5: Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning. Professional knowledge in practice.
I have always thought of myself as someone who doesn’t readily look for new ways of doing things - perhaps through a lack of self-confidence or experience, I am more likely to look to the other leaders around me and presumed that I was not a leader myself. I’m lucky to be surrounded by incredible educational leaders, and in reflection I have developed a fixed idea in my mind about what ‘leadership’ looks like. I can now see that successful and effective leadership takes many forms. I am actually able to lead from where I am and make a difference. With continued reflective practice and ongoing development in my research-based pedagogy, I know I can continue to make an effective difference in the teaching and learning I am part of.
What next?
There is much to do in the ILE my colleagues and I are working in. I think our next steps are to continue questioning our long-standing practices and keep working to refine and redevelop our programmes so they more  effectively develop 21st Century Skills in our learners. Our school’s current school-wide inquiry is about seeking to improve Student Agency, so this is an ideal opportunity to apply some of our Mindlab thinking. The Mindlab experience has increased my confidence to contribute thoughtful, research-based, critical thinking towards the ongoing conversation in our highly successful and creative school and profession. Watch this space for more blogs!
**This post was prepared as part of the requirements for CISC8100 Applied Practice in Context, for the fulfillment of requirements of a Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Practice (Digital and Collaborative Learning) via Mindlab for UNITEC.
References
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001).Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

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