On the precipice of change

The Profession of Teaching is facing a plethora of change. Its like the tsunami that we know is coming and have been told to expect... yet there are so many questions around what the actuality will be. Personally this year, I have quite a dramatically different role in that, I do not have my own classroom. I feel as though the tide has shifted and I am heading in a dramatically different direction. One that I have potentially been reluctant to embrace over the past year as the ground has already been shifting underneath me.

My backstory

Back in late 2021, I had applied for an Outreach Position within my Kahui. While I didn't win the position, one of the Principal's on the panel offered to meet with me and discuss the interview and what my next steps might be. This meeting was fundamental in me starting to look ahead towards the future in terms of career progression. In the interview, I had worn the hat of a teacher, rather than that of a leader, with which the successful applicant needed to utilise. Key areas to hone in on when preparing for another opportunity were advised.

The question was asked: 

"Have you ever thought of becoming a Deputy Principal?" I had not. 

"Why not?"

This put the wheels in motion for beginning to think beyond being a mere classroom teacher. I had already been a Leader of Learning in my Kahui for a number of years. 

Fast forward to March 2022. The Earth as I knew it upended it's axis and everything was flipped on it's lid.

I had a brain tumour removed... followed by Radiation and Chemotherapy. The focus wasn't on the next career step... it was on survival. The odds were stacked against me, but the silver linings started coming in. My tumour was treatable. That wasn't an automatic option.

It was HARD! I'm not one to do things by halves, but when you experience every side effect that there was a slim chance of experiencing... It's hard going.

My focus wasn't on work, although I was still teaching three days each week. (A family's got to live!) My focus was on surviving to be able to be there for my kids. I couldn't stop being a Mum, and my kids really proved their mettle in the way that they too came through the battle they themselves faced throughout.

My #3 child chose to participate in his school's "Shave For a Cure". He did it off his own back, after a few years of growing his hair, before he had a personal reason. He raised $1,448 for Canteen! His goal had been $1000.

My whole mindset was focused on preparing my kids for a future I might not be around for... along the way I like to think "my other kids" (the one's in my classroom) did a lot of learning along the way too.

On the left is "Before surgery" on the right is "After Treatment".

2023 was a Recovery year. Four cycles of chemo, out of the six I was meant to undertake. The organs had decided they were done. Ironically, after years of thrashing my liver, it was after a year of no alcohol that it packed up! By the end of the year, I was able to work four days a week. I had modified the way I did things and was listening to my body more in order to physically get through. The unknown of what my future career might look like living with the reality that is a brain injury. (*once you have had neurosurgery, you are considered to have a brain injury. You have to learn to accept that the way you do things and process things is quite different).

By 2024, I'd "Recovered". It's not Remission. It's not "over". It's called "watch and wait". Every 6 months I had an MRI to "watch and wait" for the tumour's return. I began working full-time again. Albeit, in the classroom three days, while working as an Across School Lead two days each week. Progress was being made, yet it was still hard to look towards what the future might bring. 

It's hard to put a finger on "when and how", or "why and what" brought about the Biggest mind-shift. Suddenly I was embracing whatever the future might be. In a way, I'm blessed with the knowledge that I'm not here for a long time, so I'd best make the most of the time I'm here. I was becoming dissatisfied with where I was at. How could I be best utilised? How could I improve my own practice? and what did I even want that practice to be doing?

I've really enjoyed embracing the leadership space over the last year.

 Which leads to the precipice of change...

Profession:

• New curriculum.

Kahui

• Modified role from Curriculum to Opportunities.
• Forging a footing to reinforce my role.

Kura

• New Teaching Teams.
• New role - adapting to not having my own classroom
• Refreshed outlook: Leading

So now what?

Crawl before you can walk

 It appears to me that there seems to be a prevailing thought from our Beginning Teachers that they are stepping into the profession on an equal footing with their experienced counterparts.

I can't help but wonder if this also coincides with their counterparts letting them find their feet and not setting a scene where the expectation is that they should be seeking and receiving support.

Why are we letting them fall, before helping them up? We have learned that this practice does not work for our ākonga, yet we still place our colleagues in this position.

What damage will this create?

There are two categories:

1. The sponge... They are eager to learn. To soak up everything and everything that they can, in order to be the very best that they can be and learn from as many as possible.

2. The stone. They try to convey experience and capability, without showing any sign of vulnerability. They forge ahead with the knowledge they know, without contemplating the changes and adaptations their counterparts may have made, from learned experience.

What I've observed in the past few years is that there is a backwards slide due to several factors. Beginning teachers don't seem to be equipped with collaborative teaching pedagogy. They default to what is happening or modelled in the kura. Sometimes this may not be the best practice.

There is a lack of peer support systems. Back in the semi-dark ages, when I was a Beginning Teacher, I attended Provisional Teacher Development Days. A room full of teachers from across the province, all teaching similar year levels, with a specific focus for each day that they could openly learn and share ideas. Teachers were able to share questions, barriers etc in a safe space, with feedback or ideas given from the group with the support of an experienced facilitator, should there be a need to put specific steps or strategies in place.

How can we support our newcomers to the Profession of Teaching to embrace the short period where they can utilise their "training wheels" and extra Classroom Release Time to build on their limited practice?

To be seeking or accepting support is not a weakness, but a strength.

Reigniting Collaboration

As we perch on the cusp of the 2025 school year, it's hard not to pose and ponder the questions that may lie ahead.

Reading Derrick Wenmoth's blog post 'Creating the future' brings a few wonderings to mind.

It is very clear that, like no other year before that I have taught in, the government is going to have a huge impact on what is occurring within the walls of the classrooms. Whether it is due to:

• the stipulations placed on the teaching time allocated to the core curriculum areas of Reading, Writing, and Math.
• the new curriculum implementation.
• Implications of increased CRT on classroom continuity.

So many changes in a short time span can only be disruptive. 

As always, there is the disparity between the declarative knowledge of what the expectations are, and the functional knowledge actually being implemented within classrooms and kura. It is only as strong as the collective understanding.

Already I am seeing differentiation around the expectations that are held from teachers, Leadership Teams, Kura... In a situation where there appeared to have been a very clear and consistent message delivered, the message on the ground does not appear to have been received or interpreted quite as clearly.

Up until the middle of term 4, my Across School Leader role covered the implementation of the new curriculum, so I like to think that I have an in-depth understanding of it, due to the countless hours I delved into every document published, and the many posts of other who were also seeking to gain an in-depth understanding. I have found it somewhat confusing, disconcerting and alarming that many in our profession have picked up unusual lens' with which they are viewing the changes.

Collaboration.

One of the best innovations that I have seen within education in the past 15+ years can be summed up by collaboration.

Teachers used to hold resources, lessons, ideas anything they had created for themselves, or found from another source... It would be kept close to their chests. On the rare occasion somebody ventured into their classroom and spotted a fantastic specimen, the praise would be welcomely received, however, it wold often not be readily shared. Teachers were in silos and expected they needed to reinvent the wheel day in and day out. 

It is one of the best changes in education, having teachers eagerly sharing ideas, resources, and creations not only among their inner circle but happily with strangers across the motu. Is this not the type of society we wish to create?

Students learning to effectively collaborate is one of the most important foundations of social skills that has come to fruition in that same time period. It's long been known how much of an impact classroom design has on effective teaching and learning. Once upon a time, hours were spent on seating plans and desk layouts. I for one was a child for which this shirt would be appropriate:

 

As I said, it's been many a year since I ditched the desk layout. I had a collaborative space, where there was a mix of group tables and individual/pair seating options for students to explore working at. I firmly believe that this encourages them to be accountable for their learning by choosing an area they can work well, as well as those individuals among their peers that they work well with. They are also required to be accountable for positive learning behaviours. After a year of observing a highly teacher-directed learning environment, it is these key aspects that were missing. These were the key aspects of learning behaviour that I saw slipping. 

One of the first things I find myself observing when visiting a new classroom space, is the ability for learners to collaborate in learning tasks.

In the 1980's, open-plan classrooms first appeared under various names. They had sliding doors that were quickly utilised by teachers who didn't want to adapt their practice to embrace the change. Post-earthquake Christchurch saw schools demolishing walls to retrofit classrooms in preparation for replacement buildings that were being built. We learned from the past... well "We" did in the kura I was in. It was identified that teachers understanding the pedagogy behind collaborative teaching, and the various models was of utmost importance. Teachers who learned this, and adapted practice, thrived... and I like to think that their learners did too.

Fast forward to now. Many of our spaces have had doors installed, where walls were once removed. 

Where is the encouragement for the early adapters? Why are the reluctant adapters often in positions of decision-making?

Reviving the blogs

 Over the last couple of years, the interest in our learner blogs has dwindled. In my opinion, this is down to teachers not placing importance and therefore time on it, as well as an assumption that learners "aren't up to it". Time is placed on the things that we value. We know that this year will be next level, with all of the curriculum changes; Teaching level changes; Device changes, therefore practice. I'm heading into the new school year with a mindset of how we can accelerate learning and practice.

We have students who slowly build, like the momentum of a train as it leaves the station, picking up the pace and quality of their posts. The end of the year has seen a number of students suddenly posting for the Summer Learning Journey, encouraged by the regular comments that they receive from the Manaiakalani team, as well as their peers.

So how do we keep the momentum going?

It has to come from both angles. Output and Input. The context for this year is that there are fewer students who are in the habit of posting on a blog. The seasoned ākonga will all be in one of the 4 classes. There are many students in the other three classes who have never had a blog before. We need to up the ante with them, while building good effective practice with the other learners.

Posting

Those students who are already in the routine of posting their learning to their blog need to be encouraged to allow this to not only continue but grow.

In order to facilitate this, there are a number of things being implemented at the beginning of the term. 

• Our Kawa of Care will be given to parents at the Discussions that precede the school year, with an emphasis on learners not being on devices until this is signed and returned. This sets clear expectations for Teachers, Learners and parents alike.
• Blogs have already been set up for all learners before the term begins so that there are no hold-ups or barriers. Each Teacher has their class attached to them, with an expectation that they will be managing and monitoring these.
• Cybersmart lessons are a must. These need to actually be being taught to enforce and reinforce the key messages. Over the holidays I have spotted that some learners had posted their Mihi to their blog. This tells me that the cybersmart message of Privte v Personal is not getting through, to both the learners and the teachers.
• For students new to blogging, they can be facilitated to start blogging with the Cybersmart lessons, then transferring the learning into posting from other learning areas. 

These are the foundations.

Commenting

Without the comments, what is the purpose? This is what builds the authenticity of the posts.

• Accessing Blogs from the Learning Site. Digital Learning Objects have been set up for each class, with links to each students blog. It's easy to read as well as use. 
• I am going to recreate something that has been successful in the past. Bloggers of the week. There will be a slide Deck with one student from each class identified on a slide. Students will read and comment on theose blogs throughout the week. Fish tickets can be utilised as a positive reinforcement for completing. This is easily set up in advance, and the front slide being the current week's focus. Alongside this slide deck will be the Effective Blog Comment Rubric, for easy reference.
• Backing up the Bloggers of the Week, I will personally make sure I am commenting on other students posts. I will set aside time to do this throughout the week. I will also encourage the other teachers to be doing this too, choosing a minimum number of students from their home class to comment on.
• To emphasise authenticity, I am going to utilise our School management database and subscribe with parent emails to their child's blog. Spoon feeding ensures it's done. All they need to do is click accept in an email. 
• I will send a message out to parents to encourage family/wider whanau to subscribe to the learner's blogs too.

What will success look like?

• By the end of term one, students will be posting a minimum of three blog posts each week.
• I will monitor the statistics and identify patterns. 
• Is the teacher needing support? 
• Is the learner needing more support to help their ability to post?
• By the end of term one, all students will have at least three comments on their blog. The next Step will be to encourage Replying to those comments.

Like anything, there needs to be aspirational expectations (How can we?) in order to progress forward, rather than the negativity that spawns from excuse-making (We can't because...").