Week 29 - Consider your audiences (Take action)

During my inquiry into the use of robotics in maths to increase engagement in maths learning, and subsequently to improve learner outcomes, I have made changes in my practice. My plan is for this change to filter down through my team to other Year 5 teachers at my school. Here I will critically reflect on my wider audiences using Rolfe’s Model of Reflection.

Step 1 - What

Looking at my practice within a wider, national, context I need to consider the future of education and the role of new technologies within this. Bolstad et al (2012) suggest that 21st-century learning is ‘an emerging cluster of new ideas, beliefs, knowledge, theories and practices”. Whilst their research project is now 7 years old, one of Core Educations 10 trends for 2019 is Human Capital which states that “we must keep learning and changing to acquire skills and dispositions that meet the needs of different contexts and emerging opportunities.” Essentially 21st Century Learning for 2019.

Step 2 - So What

“In New Zealand, at least four strategies have been used to support educational ICT developments” (Bolstad et al, 2012). Bolstad suggests that all four strategies are needed to support meaningful changes in practice and I will consider each of them in relation to the action I have taken in my inquiry.

Linked strategies needed to support educational ICT innovations (Bolstad et al, 2012)

Inspiration, The Big Picture and Improved Capability
Staff have had multiple ICTPD opportunities over the past few years from 1 on 1 sessions; to team and staff meetings; to conferences such as uLearn. Professional development has been aimed both at big picture 21st century learning to specific activities that they can walk straight back into the classroom to teach. The robotics activities I used in my lessons came from a combination of ideas from conferences, staff meetings and those I thought I would try myself.

Provide Enabling Tools and Infrastructure
On the whole, our school has better tools, infrastructure and internet access than ever before, especially with the rollout of ultra-fast broadband. This has lead to greater use of products such as G Suite for school administration. Some teachers have embraced digital tools such as seesaw for real-time reporting, another of Cores 10 trends for 2019. I used Bee-bots for the robotics activities in my inquiry, to engage students in their maths learning.  

Innovation
At our school, we have rolled out iPad apps, Chromebook extensions and other tools to provide a range of learning opportunities including coding and 3D modeling, all of which directly support the learning of 21st-century skills. The use of these digital tools has been modeled by our innovators and early adopters (Robinson, 2009).  

Step 3 - Now What
Despite all of our initiatives, we are still a long way off embedding 21st century learning into teaching practice for the majority of staff at our school.

There have been multiple exposures to the big ideas around transforming education, from a number of sources, yet most teachers are still fixed in their old ways of doing things - they have worked up until now, so why change is their excuse.

Our new technologies are not always maintained due to monetary and time constraints. I found that when implementing my inquiry a number of Bee-bots would not charge and batteries were missing. For teachers dabbling with new ideas for the first time, this can be a huge barrier and a better way to manage our equipment needs to be found.

When implementing future inquiries I need to add the role of new technologies to both the ‘Scan’ and the ‘Learn’ phase of Spiral of Inquiry. ‘Scan’ to check out what is currently in place and ‘Learn’ to see what new technologies could be implemented and how we, as a school, can ensure that both the rollout and long term implications are well thought through.

References

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching — a New Zealand perspective. Report prepared for the Ministry of Education. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306

Human Capital » CORE Education. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2019, from http://core-ed.org/research-and-innovation/ten-trends/2019/human-capital/

Kaser, L. & J. Halbert. (2017). The Spiral Playbook: Leading with an inquiring mindset in school systems and schools. C21 Canada. Retrieved from http://c21canada.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Spiral-Playbook.pdf

Otago Polytechnic. (n.d.). Reflective Writing. Retrieved from https://www.op.ac.nz/assets/LearningAdvice/Reflective-writing.pdf

Robinson, L. (2009). A summary of Diffusion of Innovations. Changeology. Retrieved from http://www.enablingchange.com.au/Summary_Diffusion_Theory.pdf