NCEA review

It is sounding like the review of NCEA might result in more generalised programmes of learning. e.g. A many-faceted learning area like social sciences, which currently consists of the likes of history, geography, etcetera, would become social science. 

While this fills me with a lot of stress in terms of writing entirely new art programmes, I am also heartened. 

This opens up opportunities in terms of place-based learning and dealing with wicked problems through a knowledge building lens. It also makes a lot of sense in terms of aligning with arts pathways, with most art schools in New Zealand taking a multi-disciplinary approach and many contemporary artists working across the traditional art disciplines.

While there is still much to be worked out, I am excited about the implications for broadening learning opportunities for our rangatahi.

DLO effects and Knowledge Building

I am participating in an online toolkit workshop tonight about 'quality sharing' in student blogs. I was reading through some of the supporting resources in my non-contact and was really intrigued to see knowledge building and the writing of Scardamalia and Bereiter referenced.

I am quite excited to hear about something that I am really passionate about and am curious to find out how this will be woven in.

Professional discussions - Knowledge Building

In the past few weeks, I have participated in an online knowledge building group, focused on knowledge building within the NZ context. We've been looking at some of the big questions, like why knowledge building, how to support and develop it in New Zealand, and how to develop critical literacy.

It has been so energising to discuss pedagogical issues I care deeply about with likeminded colleagues. The discussion has been really expansive. In fact, we've decided to keep an ongoing discussion open about knowledge building. I invite you to join us if you are interested in learning about knowledge building or conversing with colleagues about the big ideas and problems of practice within knowledge building. Email me and I can let you know how to get connected.

Computational thinking?

I have to admit that I am struggling to figure out how I can connect computational thinking to the Visual Arts and Art History and how I can meaningfully fit this into an already full teaching inquiry.

I had a professional development session that left me cold on computational thinking, and perhaps I started off on the wrong foot, but it didn't seem to me to encourage creativity or the higher level thinking skills that I am working to develop with my classes.

When I compare computational thinking, to a progressive inquiry-based pedagogy like knowledge building, it just seems a bit reductive.

Maybe I've missed something?

Can my colleagues in the creative fields win me over to computational thinking? I just can't currently see how it will fit with my pedagogical philosophy and the kind of thinking I am trying to foster within my classes.

Problems of practice

How can community be developed in the online space and how can authentic learning be captured?

These are the issues that I wrestle with in my teaching practice. I see community as totally pivotal to good online teaching, yet it is challenging to develop real community in a virtual environment where class members might be dispersed across the country. I see knowledge building communities as offering a relevant and innovative approach for online teachers. Knowledge Building, as I see it calls for students to work as a research team to solve authentic and emergent problems. The heart of the issue for me is how to create the space for authentic learning and inquiry, where the tail (assessment) is not wagging the dog (learning). In my view, online teaching has the potential to provide that space to step outside of the bounds of traditional school culture. This is what excites me about teaching. If this resonates with you, check out my video to find out more.

https://hail.to/nex/article/YUWWccu

Looking to the future

As I finally start to close the door on 2017 and look to 2018, I am increasingly excited.

I have some amazing opportunities ahead of me. I am studying for my Masters (and will get paid my salary while I do this). I will be a part of a knowledge building research group, that will regularly review literature and produce resources together.

I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity. Watch this space as I share my learning journey with you.

Kāhore taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini

Trends in education - Students as creators

A trend that has really captivated my attention is that of students as creators.

As an Art Teacher and a teacher with a strong practical interest in developing a knowledge building community within the classroom I have to ask what are we talking about when we say 'students as creators'? Are we talking about nurturing creative thinking? Or are we talking about students genuinely innovating and advancing ideas? What's more in a rapidly developing world where innovation is highly valued, what role might the arts play in this?

The Ministry of Education's aspirations for 2025 highly prize innovation "Learning to learn’ is a key component of the New Zealand Curriculum With complex problem solving, communication, team skills, creativity and innovation recognised as necessary skills for success" (Ministry of Education, 2015)

Gilbert (2006) describes a knowledge society. It is a reframing of the 20th century 'industrial' education model. It is no longer fit for purpose for all to recieve a 'one size fits all education' , in fact we need to change the way that we think about teaching and learning. Gilbert identifies the dominant form of production is that of ideas rather than things. Education in this framework is no longer about remembering a body of ideas, rather creating to solve authentic problems. In order to help our learners to navigate the knowledge ecosystem (Poe and Molloy, 2000), we need to shift the pedagogical framework and reimagine the roles of teachers and learners as knowledge creators.

This trend is identified at an international level  as cited in  The NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition (2016). There is a shift from consumption of content to creating to explore subjects. This has the potential to transformational for education - in the right environment. It was found in a recent study in 43 schools in Turkey that when teachers were empowered to make autonomous decisions and experiment in the classroom, this provided fertile ground for students to take risks, innovate and take ownership of their own learning. 

We have to look at our own context though. I believe that there is a disconnect between aspiration and practice in New Zealand classrooms and that this is a systemic issue.

We aspire towards innovation but we don't make room for it in education. In the age of national standards and the constant measuring of whether a child meets the standard there is no room for risk taking and failure. Roger Moltzen (Professor of Human Development, Waikato University) identified this as a concern in 2011 (as cited by Andrea Vance on Stuff.co.nz) when national standards were in their infancy "An emphasis on compliance in the classroom is 'counter to creativity' ... I think that one of the things that concerns me about education is there seems to have been a devaluing of the creative aspects in education."

The siloing of subject knowledge at secondary level is also counter-intuitive if we are aspiring towards nurturing creative minds. We overload our students in the pursuit of NCEA credits. It is insanity that students are entered into to 130+ credits when the requirement is 80. Students anxiously prioritise fulfilling the requirements of the standard. This feels a like a production line. Too often I hear "but is it worth credits" or "what do I need to do to get the credits". Yes, clarity in the classroom is important and can be empowering for student learning, but I feel that we are approaching learning from the wrong end with the hyper focus on assessment and accumulation.

We need to shift the focus from assessment to inquiry. Ultimately achievement should be a byproduct of engagement. "Research shows that students engage when they act as their own learning agents working to achieve goals important to them. They must believe they can learn and know how to deal with failures and learn from those experiences." (T Stephens, 2015). If teachers were to shift from credit farming with their students, to offering a smaller range of achievement standards but  designing meaningful learning experiences, we find that there is room to 'fail', learn and innovate. 

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." (Beckett, 1983)

Reference List:

Beckett, S. (1983). Worstward ho. New York: Grove Pr.

Gilbert, J. (2006, August). Catching the knowledge wave? Presented at the Curriculum corporartion 13th National confernce.

Ministry of Education. (2015). NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION IN 2025: LIFELONG LEARNERS IN A CONNECTED WORLD. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Initiatives/Lifelonglearners.pdf

NMC, & CoSN. (2016). Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf

Vance, A. (2011, September 15). National education standards `devalues creativity'. Waikato TImes.

Poe, G., & Molloy, J. (2000). NURTURING SYSTEMIC WISDOM THROUGH KNOWLEDGE ECOLOGY. The Systems Thinker, 11(8), 1–5.

Stephens, T. (2015, August 21). Encouraging Positive Student Engagement and Motivation: Tips for Teachers | Pearson Blog. Retrieved from https://www.pearsoned.com/education-blog/encouraging-positive-student-engagement-and-motivation-tips-for-teachers/

Ethical dilema - Idea sharing and authorative sources

Understanding constructive use of authoritative sources.

I teach Art History online with a wide range of learners, through NetNZ. My learners are diverse. They come from a range of schools (special character, area school, urban, rural etc), deciles (there is a wide range), locations and are guided by a range of different values. With such diversity, there is a huge range of learning and life experiences.

What we do in our class is framed around community and knowledge building (2017). We are guided by knowledge building principles such as idea diversity, community construction of knowledge, community ownership of ideas, and constructive use of authoritative sources. This is a mindset shift for students whose experience of learning has been individual and internal. 

The concept of communal knowledge can be confusing for students and needs to handled very carefully. The idea is that once an idea has been shared with the community, it can be developed and improved by the entire community. The skill is developing a mindset of asking explanation driven questions and critical thinking. A Knowledge Building Community should enhance depth, originality and idea advancement (Lai and Pullar, 2014) when it is functioning really well.

However not all students understand academic etiquette, therefore we need to directly address the constructive use of authoritative sources, intellectual property and general good academic practice. 

An ethical dilemma I have previously encountered was a student who didn't have a good handle on this and had plagiarised a section of a text word for word in a part of their assignment, without acknowledgement that they had done so. This presented a problem. How to best support the student, whilst maintaining professional integrity.  Hall's ethical problem solving mode (2001) offers guidance for navigating ethical problems. He asks teachers to consider what their professional obligations (above personal values) are and to consider what we owe students and the wider community when weighing up contentious issues. So what would be lost if plagiarism and theft of intellectual property were not addressed and what are the possible impacts for students when addressing plagiarism.

There is clear and supportive guidance to navigate this issue. At a national level the Education Council Code of Practice is underpinned by the value of Pono. "showing integrity by acting in ways that are fair, honest, ethical and just."  Further to this intellectual dishonesty is in disharmony with the principles of knowledge building (Scardamalia, 2002), which ask for "respect and understanding of authoritative sources, combined with a critical stance toward them. " To respect the knowledge building process, students need to acknowledge sources and develop a critical position. To wholesale present a sources' ideas as ones own is profoundly lacking in respect. 

It was not an option to ignore the intellectual dishonesty. This would have lacked integrity and a disservice to my students and to the art history community.

The ethical and just action was to address the plagiarism. The dilemma then became how to address it. As I saw it there were a range of options. Option a would be to inform the student and their eDean that I was failing them outright for plagiarism with no reassessment opportunities. Option b would be to inform the student that they did not achieve due to plagiarism and that they would need to address and rewrite the  plagiarised section of their assignment before it could be resubmitted. Option c would be to do as I would in option b, but to also examine as a class how constructive and respectful use of sources can enhance our critical understanding of an idea. I was guided here by institutional policy. NetNZ requires that we assess work according to NZQA requirements and that receiver (home) schools assist with ensuring authenticity of work "this may include helping investigate any situation where authenticity of student work is brought into question" (NetNZ ,2017).This led me to examine NZQA's conditions of assessment for level 3 art history. "Authenticity of student evidence needs to be assured regardless of the method of collecting evidence ... Any texts used must be acknowledged or referenced ...Where manageable, one further assessment opportunity may be made available for all students " (NZQA, conditions of assessement, n.d.)

This provided clarity for the situation. I absolutely needed to highlight to the student and the receiving school that plagiarism had occurred. I was not obligated to offer a reassessment opportunity. However failing the student with no further assessment opportunities was an avenue that I was reluctant to pursue as an eTeacher as I only saw my students once a week (and even then online). If I were to deny them an opportunity to rectify the situation there would be a high risk of the student disengaging entirely from the course. The course of action I took was option b, to offer the student a chance to resubmit work that was their own and to remark the work. If I were to be in this situation again I would proceed with option c to address gaps in understanding how to critically engage with authoritative sources. This situation was a learning experience for me. It became really apparent that knowledge building principles need to be embedded and well understood within our classroom practice. This wasn't just going to 'happen'. "If a KBC is to be effectively set up in a class then a good understanding of the knowledge building principles is essential." (Lai, 2014) Orientating students towards Knowledge Building principles and academic best practice has become a part of our course.

Reference List:
Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers

Knowledge Building Gallery. (n.d.). Introduction. Retrieved from http://thelearningexchange.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/KB-Gallery-0-Introduction-Accessible.pdf

Lai, Kwok-Wing, & Pullar, Ken. (2014). Designing knowledge building communities in secondary schools.

NetNZ. (2017). NetNZ Memorandum of Understanding. Retrieved October 27, 2017, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/16TJsi60eavaipoJ-dB_FD2hKbxlbjQaKTehuZdeZ0MY/edit

NZQA. (2016). NCEA level 3 art history, Conditions of assessment. Retrieved from NZQA website: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=ncea.tki.org.nz/content/download/3380/10837/file/arthist_CoA_L3_jan16.doc

Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In Liberal education in a knowledge society (pp. 67–98). Chicago: Open Court.

Culturally responsive classroom - being at home at school

After reading about culturally responsive teaching, the idea that stuck with me was power-sharing (Cowie et al, 2011, p. 3, tuākana teina in action). Within ako, and the concept of tuākana-teina there is a valuing of cultural knowledge and the expertise that rangatahi bring to  the classroom. This is a massive mindset shift for some teachers, yet is completely in line with 21st century pedagogies such as knowledge construction within Knowledge Building Communities. (Student centred learning, authentic contexts, diversity of ideas, valuing of student knowledge and expertise) Another concept that resonated was valuing and drawing upon community knowledge. "The teachers used an ensemble of strategies to welcome and highlight the value of community and student funds of knowledge" (Cowie et al, 2011, p. 3, para 4) . Akonga are more likely to engage with learning that reflects them and values them.

Milne (2013) critiques mainstream education in NZ,  'Colouring in the White Spaces' referring to the pervasive hegemony of Pakeha culture in education. Her case studies all designed learning environments that reflected their community and their values. This ranged from the physical design to values. Students felt valued, felt empowered and felt at home at school. Milne's recent blog post ('Why not whiteboy's writing, October 15 2017) powerfully critiqued the pervasive deficit thinking in our schools around Māori achievement. If we believe that our learners are able and we actually work at engaging with te ao māori and connecting with learners, connecting learning to their worlds, then maybe we'll see a shift. " the knowledge we value—and measure—is also White and it, therefore, benefits the children whose values match, and whose values are embedded in and reproduced by our schools ... We need to learn to read the world of our Māori children and craft our pedagogy around that world." (Milne, 15 Oct 2017) As teachers, we need to look at where our locus of control is and that starts with us and our pedagogy.

I will critique communication methods and learning activities within my school, against the Mauri model (Potahu, 2011). Communication is how a school connects with akonga and the broader community, through the said and the unsaid.  Learning design inevitably has values behind it.  As a school we have some work to do around these areas. A recent ERO report identified that Māori students felt confident in their learning within te reo and kapahaka, however, this is not translating to the broader school. This suggests that our learners are in a state of mauri moe (withdrawn). As a school, we need to look at our practices and ask 'why'. To move into Mauri Oho (proactive), we need to recenter our learning design to enhance Mahana (warmth) and relationships in learning. This involves taking time to connect with our learners and to really be present, connecting with their values and more than that, designing an environment where student values inform their learning.  

So, as a digital immersion school  with 1/3 Māori learners how do we design a space (physical and virtual) that is authentically Māori, and affirms Māori learners?  The symbolic levels of communication (what is valued, what is celebrated, the kind of language we use to describe ourselves in a public space) speak volumes to our Māori community.

Bishop's An indigenous approach to creating knowledge (1998) is useful here. He refers to a 'whanau of interest', describing the metaphorical whanau as a place for constructing shared meanings guided by mutually understood protocols.  "it is the concerns, interests and preferences of the whanau that guide and drive the research processes". There is much to be learnt from Bishop. How powerful would it be if teachers were to define their classes as 'whanau of interest' and value the ideas and ambitions of their learners?   

Reference list:

Bishop, R. (1998). Freeing ourselves from neo-colonial domination in research: A Maori approach to creating knowledge. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(2), 199–219.

Cowie, B., Otrel-Cass, K., Glynn, T., & Kara, H., with Anderson, M., Doyle, J., Parkinson, A., & Te Kiri, C. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogy and assessment in primary science classrooms: Whakamana tamariki. Summary Report Wellington: Teaching Learning Research Initiative. (PDF - 76.84 KB)

Knowledge Building Gallery. (n.d.). Introduction. Retrieved from http://thelearningexchange.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/KB-Gallery-0-Introduction-Accessible.pdf

Milne, A. (2013). Colouring in the white spaces : reclaiming cultural Identity in whitestream Schools (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10289/7868

Milne, A. (2017, October 14). Why not White Boys' Writing? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.annmilne.co.nz/my-blog/2017/10/14/why-not-white-boys-writing-1

Potahu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking Human Wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12.

Thoughts about teachers as knowledge creators

" ... the teacher has to play a key role in modeling knowledge building through being creative and innovative in pedagogical practices. Professional learning and development will best be supported when teachers can share, create, and improve new knowledge on teaching, learning, and assessment as a KBC." (Lai, 2014, p18)

This is a thread of interest that has emerged following a huge amount of reading into constructivist pedagogy. This thought echoes a problem in day to day teaching. We're encouraging our students to follow Learn-Create-Share  in their learning, doing innovative things in our classrooms but we forget to share as teachers. Too often, we're too shy, too busy, too much in our classroom siloes.

As a teacher, I live in a bit of silo. I am the only visual art teacher at my school, the nearest colleague being 35 km up the road. It can be quite isolating.

I have been really lucky to have had the generous support of colleagues as I've explored what knowledge building looks like with my art history class.

I wonder though how we can make the innovations in our practice more visible and accessible to our community?

 

Lai, Kwok-Wing, & Pullar, Ken. (2014). Designing knowledge building communities in secondary schools.

Community and belonging

Having finally completed a literature review into how knowledge building communities might enhance engagement and self-efficacy, I have been wrestling with some emerging questions about the community aspect of knowledge building communities. Establishing a culture of collaboration is fundamental. The problem is, how can trust and connections between community members be developed?

How can an authentic community be developed in the online environment?

I would love to hear from teachers who have been tinkering with knowledge building communities. What makes a difference in establishing a culture of knowledge sharing?

Also in general, NZ teachers what does whanaungatanga look like in your class?

Inquiry research

I am wrestling with how to form a really good question for a literature review (part of my Mindlab study this year)

I am planning to focus on my online art history class. We collaborate using Knowledge Forum a lot (Kwok-Wing Lai, 2014), to explore big questions and construct an understanding of art history concepts as a class. 

I am a bit hesitant to box myself in with the term 'knowledge building' in my research question. I guess I want to be able to compare other collaborative models with knowledge building, which will require a more open question.

I am interested in how collaborating in an online setting can affect engagement (lots of barriers in online teaching) and epistemic agency 

I've formed a few possible questions, that you are welcome to critique:

1. How can use of 21st-century technologies and constructivist models enhance student engagement and epistemic agency in the online environment?

2. How can collaborative tools increase epistemic agency in the online environment?

3. How can knowledge building communities enhance student engagement and self-efficacy in the online environment?

Feedback, please! I'm trying to write a really rich question that's neither too broad or too narrow.

Knowledge Building video article

I wanted to share a video article I made for the NetNZ annual report around Knowledge Building.

So a little bit of background. Part of my job is to teach level 3 art history online with NetNZ.
Over the last couple of years, I've been working with a model called Knowledge Building Communities in art history and inquiring into how this can engage and extend a diverse range of learners from a diverse range of schools.

So this is my first attempt at making a blog style video and I have to say it felt a bit vulnerable to put myself out there in such a public forum. That said if you watch it and it sparks some kind of interest, I would welcome any questions or indeed feedback.

NB If you're interested in reading more about Knowledge Building feel free to check out my appraisal website, I based my inquiry around the work I'm doing with Knowledge Building and have heaps of background info about the big ideas and how it works on there.