Right... so I spent some time talking with Milla and Catherine and Rob and a few others on Wednesday. Came up with a plan of how to approach these next assessments. We talked also about how we are already blogging and what should come from the blogs - how they are different from the blogs we may already have...
So I am first going to respond to the following provocations:
• How would you define the context in which your practice is situated?
• What is the purpose and function of your practice?
• How does your context of practice relate to other contexts of practice?
Defining the context of my practice:
The school is a large (2200 students) decile 9 Girls High School on the North Shore in Auckland.
It is reasonably ethnically diverse with 46% European, 6% Maori, 5% Pasifika, 25% Asian, 5% Filipino, 5% Indian and roughly 8% 'others'. The school reflects the local community and also the large proportion of South African members of the community who are represented both by staff and students.
The community influence on the school is not overly strong. There is a supportive parent population but there is little in the way of 'over management' or 'over engagement' by parents that is reflected in the way some private girls schools of the same decile have to operate. A number of other secondary schools exist in the immediate area and the regional population is divided between them. This means the community of the school is fairly 'closed' (School, parents, community) and the population can be defined quite easily. We do to an extent share the community of the Boys High School as families are often divided between the two schools.
The purpose and function of my practice:
Purpose:
I was appointed to fulfil the Ministry of Education requirement to have a Specialist Classroom Teacher in the school. There had previously been such a person but the role had never been defined, he was given it in conjunction with another role and could not manage both and then he was placed on long term sick leave at which time I applied for the position. I was fortunate to have experienced working in a previous school with an excellent SCT and so had a good model of what the position should look like.
The aim of the SCT role is to contribute to the enhancement of such quality teaching practices in all schools by providing support for the professional growth of other teachers in the school. From Guidelines for the appointment of Specialist Classroom Teachers (SCT) in Secondary Schools, MOE/PPT/NZSTA - Last updated 21/11/2007
In the case of my school (as in many others) the role also includes responsibility for Provisionally Registered Teachers. I am to provide an induction and mentoring programme for the Provisionally Registered Teacher as part of their induction.
Function:
The outcomes of my job are judged by the achievements of others! A positive outcome is when I manage to re-energise an experienced teacher so she goes back to her class with new skills and enthusiasm for her practice. Or when I support someone through a rough time with a class or a difficult situation they have found themselves in. It's also when I successfully mentor and coach my PRTs through their second year of teaching and they gain registration. It is helping a first year teacher to survive the rigours of the job and enable them to navigate the complexities of the world of education. It's the effect of the day to day positive feedback I give people about how they are doing their job. It's not always immediately measurable.
How my Context of Practice relates to other contexts of practice:
Here is where it gets tricky. As I said before in the blog....
my community/communities of practice revolve around the school and my colleagues there, and the Mindlab community I guess. The shared domains of interest further delineate my communites of practice. There are the PRTs, the SLT, the classroom, my department, the e-learning group....The community - the day to day interactions with other teachers in pursuit of the same goals, the interactions in meetings working towards the same goals...our shared repertoire of resources brings about the practice. The meetings, the discussions, the sharing of resources and conversations.
So the activities - the questioning, comparing, advising, sharing, problem solving, discussion, visits and communication through Twitter and email all consititute the Community of Practice. Its a PLN a lot like my Twitter pln....I have a school PLN too.
But I do not belong to an EXCLUSIVE Community of Practice - I move between a number of them. Is this going to be a problem? It's not even like I move on my own. There are members of each community who have another in common with me.
My school community of practice is not distinct from other communities of practice with which I am involved
I think it is going to take some diagrams to explain this....
I am an SCT, A classroom teacher and a 'learner'
These dont exist in isolation - as an Sct I work with PRTs and this involves sharing my practice as a classroom teacher - often practically - as in - come into my classroom - watch this video I made... invite me to your classroom.
I also belong to a deptal community that fully involves me as a classroom tchr, involves some of my PRTs as teachers within my dept and within which I work to motivate and mentor other teachers
On top of that I am an e-learning champion working for my dept to bring technology and innovation to the dept - AND the PRTs AND the class teachers AND I am involved in the community of e learning champions in the school
All of this exists within my wider plns - those of mindlab and twitter
I would repeat that many of my colleagues also move between these same communities of learning - this gives us common ground and helps strengthen new pedagogy
Part of my job is to assist teachers to maintain these standards and to help them when they are seen to be struggling or having problems meeting the standards outlined in the code of ethics, RTCs and competency markers. These requirements are there to ensure public peace of mind.
The professional requirements within my field are more those of confidentiality and impartiality. I am required to NOT be part of the Senior Leadership team. This makes my role rather separate from the running of the school and yet I am regarded (almost) as a senior leader. I am given responsibility for working with staff and professional discretion is exercised by management. We have hypothetical discussions and talk about generalities. At times I am required to work to help a teacher retain their position when clearly they are not popular with senior management. This leaves me in an interesting position and means that I am limited in what I can say to either party. I often feel like 'the woman who knows too much'
So I am first going to respond to the following provocations:
• How would you define the context in which your practice is situated?
• What is the purpose and function of your practice?
• How does your context of practice relate to other contexts of practice?
Defining the context of my practice:
The school is a large (2200 students) decile 9 Girls High School on the North Shore in Auckland.
It is reasonably ethnically diverse with 46% European, 6% Maori, 5% Pasifika, 25% Asian, 5% Filipino, 5% Indian and roughly 8% 'others'. The school reflects the local community and also the large proportion of South African members of the community who are represented both by staff and students.
The community influence on the school is not overly strong. There is a supportive parent population but there is little in the way of 'over management' or 'over engagement' by parents that is reflected in the way some private girls schools of the same decile have to operate. A number of other secondary schools exist in the immediate area and the regional population is divided between them. This means the community of the school is fairly 'closed' (School, parents, community) and the population can be defined quite easily. We do to an extent share the community of the Boys High School as families are often divided between the two schools.
The purpose and function of my practice:
Purpose:
I was appointed to fulfil the Ministry of Education requirement to have a Specialist Classroom Teacher in the school. There had previously been such a person but the role had never been defined, he was given it in conjunction with another role and could not manage both and then he was placed on long term sick leave at which time I applied for the position. I was fortunate to have experienced working in a previous school with an excellent SCT and so had a good model of what the position should look like.
The aim of the SCT role is to contribute to the enhancement of such quality teaching practices in all schools by providing support for the professional growth of other teachers in the school. From Guidelines for the appointment of Specialist Classroom Teachers (SCT) in Secondary Schools, MOE/PPT/NZSTA - Last updated 21/11/2007
In the case of my school (as in many others) the role also includes responsibility for Provisionally Registered Teachers. I am to provide an induction and mentoring programme for the Provisionally Registered Teacher as part of their induction.
Function:
The outcomes of my job are judged by the achievements of others! A positive outcome is when I manage to re-energise an experienced teacher so she goes back to her class with new skills and enthusiasm for her practice. Or when I support someone through a rough time with a class or a difficult situation they have found themselves in. It's also when I successfully mentor and coach my PRTs through their second year of teaching and they gain registration. It is helping a first year teacher to survive the rigours of the job and enable them to navigate the complexities of the world of education. It's the effect of the day to day positive feedback I give people about how they are doing their job. It's not always immediately measurable.
How my Context of Practice relates to other contexts of practice:
Here is where it gets tricky. As I said before in the blog....
my community/communities of practice revolve around the school and my colleagues there, and the Mindlab community I guess. The shared domains of interest further delineate my communites of practice. There are the PRTs, the SLT, the classroom, my department, the e-learning group....The community - the day to day interactions with other teachers in pursuit of the same goals, the interactions in meetings working towards the same goals...our shared repertoire of resources brings about the practice. The meetings, the discussions, the sharing of resources and conversations.
So the activities - the questioning, comparing, advising, sharing, problem solving, discussion, visits and communication through Twitter and email all consititute the Community of Practice. Its a PLN a lot like my Twitter pln....I have a school PLN too.
But I do not belong to an EXCLUSIVE Community of Practice - I move between a number of them. Is this going to be a problem? It's not even like I move on my own. There are members of each community who have another in common with me.
My school community of practice is not distinct from other communities of practice with which I am involved
I think it is going to take some diagrams to explain this....
I am an SCT, A classroom teacher and a 'learner'
These dont exist in isolation - as an Sct I work with PRTs and this involves sharing my practice as a classroom teacher - often practically - as in - come into my classroom - watch this video I made... invite me to your classroom.
I also belong to a deptal community that fully involves me as a classroom tchr, involves some of my PRTs as teachers within my dept and within which I work to motivate and mentor other teachers
On top of that I am an e-learning champion working for my dept to bring technology and innovation to the dept - AND the PRTs AND the class teachers AND I am involved in the community of e learning champions in the school
All of this exists within my wider plns - those of mindlab and twitter
I would repeat that many of my colleagues also move between these same communities of learning - this gives us common ground and helps strengthen new pedagogy
Part of my job is to assist teachers to maintain these standards and to help them when they are seen to be struggling or having problems meeting the standards outlined in the code of ethics, RTCs and competency markers. These requirements are there to ensure public peace of mind.
The professional requirements within my field are more those of confidentiality and impartiality. I am required to NOT be part of the Senior Leadership team. This makes my role rather separate from the running of the school and yet I am regarded (almost) as a senior leader. I am given responsibility for working with staff and professional discretion is exercised by management. We have hypothetical discussions and talk about generalities. At times I am required to work to help a teacher retain their position when clearly they are not popular with senior management. This leaves me in an interesting position and means that I am limited in what I can say to either party. I often feel like 'the woman who knows too much'