Tilly's Mindlab Journey

Week 32’s blog is structured using Rolfe's model of reflection. Step 1 (What?): I am thankful for the skills and tools I have encountered during my Mindlab journey. There have been many changes to my practice and my pedagogy and but a key change is my confidence in using reflective practice and inquiry learning as a way of assessing and refining my practice. It is strongly linked to the standard of Professional Learning from Our Code, Our Standards (Ministry of Education, 2017). This standard involves using inquiry, collaborative problem-solving and professional learning to improve professional capability to impact on the learning and achievement of learners. Osterman and Kottkamp (2015, p.66) note that "awareness is essential for behavioral change. To gain a new level of insight into personal behavior, the reflective practitioner assumes a dual stance being, the actor in a drama and the critic who sits in the audience watching and analyzing the entire p...

My reflections on indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness will be structured using Rolfe's model of reflection. What? This week’s task requires that I define the terms 'Indigenous knowledge' and 'cultural responsiveness’. I believe that everyone has a 'culture'. For those who are a part of the dominant culture, this may not be acknowledged as being culture - but 'it's just what we do'. Cultural responsiveness for me personally means, teaching and thinking in a way that promotes pride and equity in one's culture and beliefs.   Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined by Gay (2001, p.106) as “using the cultural characteristics, experiences and perspectives as conduits for effective teaching”. It is reflected in five elements including knowledge about cultural diversity, the culturally integrated content in the curriculum, the development of the learning community, the ability to communicate with culturally diver...

In this reflection, I use Rolfe et al.’s (2001) model to focus the impact of digital learning, how it influences education and how has it been addressed by educational institutions. What The trend of digital learning caught my attention as in our school all staff implement the use of devices into teaching. Teachers in our school are utilising technology in the best ways possible. As a BYOD school from Years 3 to 8 with iPads provided in Years 0-3, teachers use technology to engage students by using applications or by making them part of digital communities (blogs, google sites, etc.) Daggett (p.4, 2014) says that “using technology effectively in everyday learning can help students to strengthen their learning experiences and build on their intuitive technology skills”. Teachers are comfortable when teaching students to use devices for “publishing” or for research. They are using technology in creative ways to teach the students to become digital citizens but do tea...

Week 29 Activity 5 I am using Jay and Johnson’s (2002) reflective model to reflect on my use of social online networks and Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) in my professional development. Step 1 Various social media like and many other social networking sites complement many facets of our lives. The Personal Learning Networks I use are Blogger and Google+ Community   and The Personal Learning Environments I use are: Khan Academy, Pinterest, TED Ed, TED Talks, Facebook, YouTube and Netflix. These platforms give me the opportunity to share and interact with online information and to connect with like-minded people. They also allow me to to engage in discussions with other educators and to gather teaching ideas. Using online tools is also a good way to gain professional development. Thanks to the Mindlab journey that I have been on, I am now more aware of the various social media tools that I can use in my professional development. I was pleasantly surprise...

In my Week 28 post, I am going to use Rolfe, Freshwater, and Jasper’s (2001) reflective model to address Influence of Law and Ethics in Practice. This takes the form of three simple questions, “what”, “so what” and “now what”. What? As the use of technology in the classroom increases, we must become conscious of ethical issues that arise. It is important to gain an understanding of the ethical issues affecting our classrooms so that this will help us understand how to address them. I found myself in such a situation this year when I introduced my intermediate class to our google site. This was new and exciting for both students and parents. Students were to post a blurb each day of what had transpired during the school week. Parents were encouraged to write comments alongside their child’s work. Little did I realise that students could type over and change each other’s publications. Then a student in my class (X) brought to my attention that her work had been tampere...