Being an Associate Teacher in a Digital World

Having been invited to be a Digital Associate Teacher, I was not 100% sure what to expect, given that it was going to be a completely online experience. However, I am so glad that I took up this opportunity as it made me look at my online learning site from a whole new perspective, and gave me an opportunity to talk through my site with people who were looking from the outside in.

Meeting my four student teachers was an interesting and fun experience. Using Google Meet, we were immediately faced with the usual tech difficulties - frozen screens, microphones not working, dropping connections...

However, with everyone able to problem solve, we were quickly able to get in to our meeting and introductions. After a few minutes, everyone was relaxed and I was so impressed with these four students and how they were tackling their studies in such a challenging situation. I can only imagine how hard it must be, in a one year teacher training programme to be unable to go out in to schools and interact with children face to face!

Touring my class site, discussing how my classroom works and sharing resources with them was an enjoyable experience. It did not actually feel like this was the first time meeting them, as they were so open to discussion and were able to ask a range of thought provoking questions. They were also able to see how things are in a normal classroom, as although we did not have any students present, there were certainly plenty of interruptions from other staff coming to ask questions about other matters, as well as my wonderful 8 year old who is very well equipped to interrupt online meetings!

We were able to unpack the range of abilities within my classroom, and how using online tools can support students at all levels to access their learning. We discussed the difference between using a class site as the front facing environment, while using Workspace allows me to group and collate student work, with a public view, and a private view where only I can see student work. We also discussed the use of pen and paper versus digital, and how in trying to meet all needs in the classroom, we use a range of both! We also discussed the Manaiakalani pedagogy of 'Learn, Create' Share' and why this is so important in a classroom setting. I will look forward to hopefully seeing my student teachers commenting on some of my student's blogs in the coming week.

Operating on the idea that giving students choice around their learning is more often successful than only giving them one option, I have posed a few different briefs for my students, all of which relate to the area of Literacy.

• I have a group of learners who are still at the decoding stage of reading. They are needing to sound out or break words down in to letter/sound patterns in order to read the words in the story.
• I have a group of students who struggle with inference when reading a text/story. While they are able to quickly find answers to ‘within the text questions’ (as long as questions are in the same order as the text), they struggle to answer “why do you think..” type questions, that encourage them to think beyond the text.
• I have a group of students who need to expand their understanding of vocabulary in order to access and understand higher level texts. For example, when faced with unknown words outside of the essential lists, many do not have the vocabulary knowledge to unpack new words and understand what they are reading. When faced with new or unknown words, they do not use known reading strategies such as reading on to try and make meaning. 
• I have a group of students who are still not using basic punctuation such as capital letters and fullstops consistently within their writing. As a result, their sentences run together and they lose meaning.
• I have a group of students who love to try and use dialogue within their creative writing. However, they are not able to consistently use punctuation such as speech marks and supporting punctuation (Question marks, exclamation marks) to show different speakers within the story. 

I am very much looking forward to meeting up with my students again, and seeing what digital tools they have created, based on one of the above briefs. I have also said that I am happy to use their designs in Week 12, so that they can get some actual student feedback on their work, or see what students are able to create, based on their site.

KPMG Day 2 - Re-affirming my MIT2020 challenge

Our KPMG Day 2, kicked off with a bit of shaking here in Levin. It has been an interesting exercise sitting at home with small and frequent after shocks occurring!

Today was an opportunity to reflect and look at where to next. It was reassuring for me to hear that others had also not made as much progress with their projects for a variety of factors. I still firmly believe in my challenge:

"Young people develop wellbeing and resilience strategies at different rates and some require additional support when faced with challenging situations".

However, the part I know I will most likely struggle with is gathering the data to show that what I have created, or done is working. I am still not sure about this.

So, where to next? I really need to spend some time developing a prototype - I have a base google form for checking in, but one of my goals is to develop a form linking to supporting resources based on a student's responses (for example - students selecting 'feeling anxious' are directed to supporting resources about how to identify, and manage anxiety.)

I also want to develop a site that is user friendly (aimed at students) and incorporates an interactive Gratitude Journal, as well as our daily focus (Mindful Monday, Terrific Tuesday etc).

But still...how do I gather the data to prove effectiveness? How do I measure this?

Also of interest from today was looking at the new surveys for the Manaiakalani research team, and thinking about how they are conducting observations. It will be interesting to see the results from the observations, as I think 'in person' observations have the ability to capture the data around learning conversations and feedback etc that online 'site and blog' observations will not. I do like the new student survey questions!

Meet - 7th May - Reconnecting

Today was all about reconnecting with the rest of the 2020 MIT team. It was great to see everybody and catch up on where everyone was at with not only their projects, but also in terms of how lockdown was going for them and their learners.

This was a good opportunity to revisit my project, which has not progressed to the point I would have liked. Trying to teach from home, alongside having other family members at home trying to do their learning online, as well as all of the other challenges associated with being in lockdown, has meant that my project has not had the time given that it requires.

I now need to think about where to next. With a lot of ideas floating around in my head, I need to try and pull it all together and get my prototype started.

KPMG - DAY 1

Having already made the decision not to travel to Auckland for the KPMG day, due to personal circumstances, I had sorted myself an office space at home and was ready and waiting to sign on to our google Meet.

Connecting in this way was not new for me, having used this for a number of online meetings in the past, as well as during DFI in 2019. What was new, was the reason that we all ended up having to meet in this manner - Covid19. When we met in February for our Hui, I do not think any of us would have predicted the rapid pace with which this virus took over the world, sending countries in to lockdown and instilling fear and uncertainty in to our current space.

With this in mind, and with the way in which the government had been approaching the virus, this was a good opportunity for us to put in to practice some of the potential tools we would be using if the country went in to full lockdown. Of course, when we started meeting in the morning, we were only at Level 2, school was still open and life was going on mostly as per normal. Thinking about what my project might look like in a fully digital environment was an interesting concept and I am still not 100% sure where I am going to head.

This meeting provided us with an opportunity to revisit our ideas, thinking about what impact a lockdown might have on our projects and future meetings. It was also a chance to think about what teaching and learning online might look and feel like. I appreciated the opportunity to break off and connect in a small group, meeting with Alethea to talk about our respective projects, before we broke for lunch. Matt also shared his prototype learning from home page on his class site, which gave some good food for thought about my own site and what I want to do with it.

As we returned from lunch, we were all distracted by the Prime Minister's press conference, where she announced that NZ was moving in to Level 3 for two days, followed immediately by the country moving in to Level 4 lockdown for 4 weeks minimum in order to try and halt this virus within NZ. At that moment, everything felt quite surreal. I felt absolute sadness and regret that I was not at school with my class when they received this news, as well as to give them any resources and materials I could for them to use at home for the period we were in lockdown. I knew that I would not see them face to face again, in person for the for seeable future, and for some of them, this would be an incredibly stressful situation. I also felt incredibly lucky that we are a digital school, and most of our children are well prepared for connecting online.

When we left the hui, to begin reconnecting with school, working out what we needed to do in the next two days and to try and process what was happening, I think we were all thinking of the potential of what we could do, as well as with the prospect of what might come to be.

Crazy 8's - IDEATE

Our final activity for the weekend - the opportunity to think about what our solution might be, with the key proviso that it has to be digital.

This involved us coming up with 8 ideas (Crazy 8s), with no limit on what they could be. Initially this was simple, we all had pre conceived ideas of what we though we might do coming in to the weekend, although mine had changed significantly.

My Crazy 8s

Discussing my Crazy8s with the team

We then had to go and look at the other proposals and vote on their ideas, with a final vote on the one idea we thought was the best one. While we do not have to go with what people have voted on, it is a good indicator of what might work or what other teachers see as a tool that could be valuable for them in their classrooms, with their students.

I had two ideas that came out at an even number of votes. The one that I am leaning towards is the following:

A portal that combines key aspects of my ideas, including:
Online, interactive gratitude journal
daily mood form
rewindable learning
What could you do? (videos and activities)

For me, a portal such as this would enable students and teachers to use the aspects that meet their needs, while having choice.


I would like to say a huge thank you to the amazing team. I am looking forward to continuing this journey alongside you, sharing ideas and having fun along the way! Even though I changed my original proposal, this was met with an assurance that this was ok, and that was a huge relief!

The Team - MIT 2020

Connections & Resource people (who)

So who can we use to support us? Who are the people and where are the resources to support us as we continue on developing our solutions to our challenges?

This was a task that required us to really dig down in to who might support us on our journey. No resource or person was out of the question, as it was an opportunity to think big!


We also followed a thinking key process for this by using the BAR key - Think big, add someone, remove/replace.

This activity encouraged me to think about all of those who could support or assist me with finding information, developing tools and who my key stakeholders are.

We then had the opportunity to briefly present these back to the group, and to gain ideas from others.

How Might We- bringing multiple optimistic viewpoints to the challenge

Our next step was completing a 'How might we..' process in relation to the challenges people had decided on. By this stage, my challenge had changed, and was now:

'Young people develop wellbeing and resilience strategies at different rates, and some require additional support when faced with difficult situations'.

Our reworded challenges were displayed on the wall for all to see. Our task was to then go to everyone else's challenge and ask a 'How might we?' question to try and provoke thinking around our chosen challenges.

I found this an empowering and beneficial process to go through. It enabled us to again see our challenges through the lens of someone else, but in an optimistic, problem solving manner, rather than thinking about the negatives of a challenge.

The questions others posed for me to think about were:

How might we...

• Provide relatable resources for students to engage with?
• Better understand the 'why' behind the differences?
• Use digital tools to create rewindable learning for those that need more support or repetition?
• Identify and frame up the essential list of strategies needed for this?
• Determine why young people develop coping strategies at different rates?
• Use students who have strengths in resilience to support and guide those with lower resilience capabilities?
• Create a support network for students outside of their whanau?
• Enable students to utilise additional support resources independently?
• Identify which students require additional support? What measurement?

Empathy

Our next session involved us buddying up with our '5 whys' partner, to create a role play that reflected our challenge. As I was in the process of completely reframing my challenge, we focussed on Ange's challenge for our role play. We also spent some time talking about my redefined challenge, and throwing ideas around about this.

Ange's challenge is related to maths and students not choosing maths as a subject, or having a low self esteem about their abilities when related to maths.

This is not just an issue facing students and teachers in maths, but in a range of subject areas and year levels. By role playing what it might be like for both student and teacher, it enables us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, to try and understand what the issue might be like from their perspective.

This is both eye opening and real, as it allows you to then start thinking of solutions and what you might be able to do to help.

We then completed a visual poster of what our students might experience if they were faced with this issue. What would their needs be? What does it look like for them - actions/words?
I had already begun to think about my new challenge, so did this activity from the perspective of a student experiencing high anxiety, or low self esteem.

Tweaking and Redesigning the Challenge

After the school board hui, we were given the opportunity to 'rethink' our initial achievement challenge and proposal. Coming in to this process, I already knew that my data from my 2020 class, did not support the same achievement challenge, that my 2019 class did. I was starting to rethink my whole proposal, and was told that this was ok (whew!).

What did I think? Well, from the first few weeks of school, and in my role as a pastoral leader, I realised that our students are facing significant challenges around their mental and emotional wellbeing. I had fielded more phone calls and emails from parents about children experiencing anxiety in the first few weeks of this year, than I had over the course of a whole year in 2019. I think this also signals that society is changing as well.

I began to throw ideas around about challenges facing students around wellbeing, anxiety and mental health. This is also an area I have become quite passionate about in recent years, after experiencing the loss of young people within our kura and community, and seeing the impact that this had on so many people.

School Hall scenario bringing a wide range of perspectives to the challenge ( a confronting experience for some!)

Role play...one of my worst nightmares come true, and no chance of getting out of it.

For this scenario, we were all given the roles of parents within a school community. We were invited to a school hui, where the Board Chair wanted feedback on the school's variance report and targets for the Ministry of Education. As we commenced the role play, we we then confronted with our own achievement challenges being presented as the school 'Achievement Challenges' for the variance report.

This was quite confronting, and was an eye opener as to how wordy and confusing some challenges actually were. Hearing people responding with their thoughts and ideas about your proposal, while in role was also thought provoking and made me begin to question my challenge. I wondered how I could reword the challenge to be more relatable and understandable for a wider audience, as we as achievable. This activity also took some of the barriers away when presenting your own ideas in front of an audience. We were all in the same boat, but had to remain in role when we recognised our own challenges being presented. In role, I was able to question my own proposal and it was at this point that I started really rethinking my whole proposal!

The 5 Whys...

After completing our Moonshot proposal, we were buddied with another member of the MIT 2020 team. I was partnered with Angela, whose subject area is Maths (and for those who know me well, they know that this is one of my challenge areas!).

Our challenge involved asking five 'why' questions. This was actually a much harder process than it first appeared, especially when asking about someone else's challenge, in a subject area we were maybe not familiar with. On the flip side, this also enabled us the opportunity to dig that little bit deeper in to our own identified achievement challenge areas, seeing our challenge through the lens of someone else. It made me question my proposal, as well as really think about the 'why' it is such a challenge for students, and background reasons for this.

Moonshot Proposal

Prior to attending the hui in Kuaotunu, we were asked to complete a Moonshot proposal. This required us to share a brief statement on our achievement challenge, any supporting data and some ideas of where we were headed.

Towards the end of 2019, and when applying for MIT, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do and what my achievement challenge would be. I had plenty of data to back this up, both anecdotal and from our Woolf Fisher data. I wanted my focus to be in the area of literacy, in particular around the area of vocabulary knowledge, as this is something many of my learners were lacking in.

My original Moonshot Proposal is below.