My Respons to Finlay (2008)

I found Finaly's (2008) reading 'Reflecting on Reflective Practice' really insightful from the first words on the page. What especially resonated with me was the main question/idea - what really is reflection? Since the beginning of my journey into education we were always told to reflect, reflect, reflect. I remember being given a short tutorial on the Smyth (1991) model and told 'go'. As an 18 year old about to go into my first practicum I remember feeling pretty anxious about the whole situation. What did it all mean? Would other people read it? How deep did I need to go? I also think that if I am honest with myself (and you the reader) I still feel some apprehension about the whole process!

Another point that I can relate to is that question of  what do we need to reflect on and when? The idea I could see helping me with this question is Dewey's thinking on the problem and having a trial and error approach (1933) and also Schon's (1983) reflection on and reflection in practice. When reflecting I definitely try to use my prior experiences in order to help me in my future practice.

Am I using a model?

At our school we use the computer programme Appraisal Connector. This is to encourage and enable us to be more reflective in our practice. It is set with a space to write our reflection and then align it to the Registered Teacher Criteria. Professional Development was given to teach us a little about the mindset of a reflective practitioner and how to use the programme effectively. However it was just given as a tool and the space for our reflection remained blank until we could put our words down on paper. As previously mentioned my only tool for reflection at this time was the Smyth model given to us in 2007 at the University of Auckland, so with a using what I know approach Smyth got the call up.

Figure 1 http://michellefepuleai.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/reflecting-on-reflective-practice-for.html

However in a one size does in fact not fit all I found this structure quite restricting in what I could do and would often just write the title of each section in bold leave an unthoughtful comment underneath and tick it off my appraisal to do list. It carried on this way for quite a while until I came across Borton's Model (Mindlab 2016). As seen below it has a three W approach. I have found this model incredibly helpful as it has really made me critically think about what I have done, what I am doing and where I am going to take my practice next. I will continue to use this model for now as this is what I have found the most helpful in actually being 'real' with myself and actually being reflective.


Figure 2 http://myreflectivepracticejuanes.weebly.com/burtons-model.html

Finlay, L. (2009) Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved fromhttp://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Mindlab (2016).  Reflection Models.  Retrieved from: https://app.themindlab.com/media/8209/view

Reflection on Learning and Practice

My journey through MindLab started with a bit of a push in the right direction from a keen colleague who thought it would be a great idea to help us in the . Admittedly the scholarship and the chance of furthering my education was also a factor, and while sitting in her classroom during a CRT session she helped me fill in the forms. After I pushed send I felt a little nervous.. would I be accepted? Would I get the scholarship? Was I prepared to going back to assignments and late nights? After much soul searching I had decided that I did in fact really want to start this course, even though I was going in totally blind and had no idea what to expect!

When I finally turned up to the first Monday, nervous even about where to park, what door to use and where I would sit I finally plucked up the confidence to walk in. What met me surpassed my expectations! I always thought technology was my weakness (even mentioning it in interviews) but I had no idea how behind I was or where the world was going.

Throughout my first 24 weeks I have been amazed, shocked, scared, and in awe of what technology is doing and how it will impact our lives (DRIVERLESS CARS?????). My journey has definitely changed the way I look at the world and more specifically the way education needs to continue to change and the need for me as a teacher to keep up.

A survey in week 3 (which I had even forgotten I had participated in) showed responses about where we see ourselves within the Key Competencies. I had responded that my strengths were in Thinking and Managing Self which through reflection I came to the conclusion that if asked again I would respond the same. I still feel that these are my strengths but they have improved further throughout my time at MindLab.

Thinking is probably my biggest area of improvement even though I have used it as my strength. A favourite quote that I have heard quite often recently is "You don't know what you don't know". Changes in this key competency area were especially in the are of reflection. It has always been an important part of being a teacher, how we reflect and what we reflect on, but I now find I am much more inclined to use Driscol's Three W method of critical reflection focusing in a lot more on the what next? Deeper thinking into this model has really affected how I think about my practice.

Participating and Contributing has also been an area of improvement for me. I have always been the teacher at the staff meeting who always thinks they have a really good idea but wasn't quite confident enough to actually say it and hear it coming out of my mouth in a shared forum. After attending the MindLab I have found that I am more willing to share what I know and be called upon by others to help explain processes. When discussing our impending move into and ILE (although I did hear this week this term could be changing again) I feel more confident that in this environment I won't let my voice get lost in the crowd.

One area where my practice has changed has been my thoughts on the difference between group work and collaboration. I now take a lot more time explicitly teaching my students how to work collaboratively rather than just sending them off in a group and expecting collaboration to happen. This has also changed the way in which I also work with my colleagues. It was a big eye opener for me as I actually thought that they were the same thing!

Another area where my practice has changed is thinking about the authenticity of the tasks I set. Questions I ask myself include: Is this relevant to my students lives? Are they going to be interested in what they are learning? What do I know about my students that will help me to create or find authentic tasks? Can my students help me to plan these authentic tasks? I have found that the students are much more engaged in the learning process when they see "the point" of a task rather than setting something "just because".

I think the term lifelong learner, really sums up this course for me, and has really encouraged me to keep pushing boundaries, researching and reflecting on my teaching practice.

First Post!

Hi all,
My name is Imogen Macartney and I am in my sixth year of teaching in a primary school setting. This year I have a Year 5/6 class, but I do have experience in the junior classroom. My teaching approach was to continually learn and now after learning at the Mindlab in Auckland NZ I have been trying to be more collaborative in my approaches. I continue to change my classroom environment to enable my students flexibility to learn in a more innovative learning environment while still being in a single celled classroom.
I am looking forward to sharing my journey with you.