Reflective Entry #5

 Reflective Entry #5 

Critically analyse issues of ethics, society, culture and/or professional environments that have been relevant to the digital and collaborative learning innovation you applied in your practice. 

The collaborative learning innovation that we applied for our assignment was to implement the digital platform Seesaw for Schools in our Junior and Middle areas of the school, ultimately, with the goal of promoting digital capabilities for our students, improving whānau engagement and raising student achievement for our students. 

So when adopting digital technology within the classroom, where does the issue of ethics come into play? The amount of ethical, social and cultural concerns digital technology raises within our professional environment is, in our opinion, a very grey and often unexplored area in this current digital age. Thinking of recent global events and the impact companies such as Facebook and Twitter have had on social and political issues, such as the recent US election, it reminds us of the different value systems held by so many. Therefore, we were ever-conscient that defining ethics can result in a very “broad statement of moral obligations and ethical principles.”  (Soltis, 1986) 

When planning and developing this innovation, ethical concerns that came to mind were of; privacy, student confidentiality, abuse of technology i.e. cyberbullying, and what the impact of introducing “social media” into the classroom context would have on our school culture. Especially of concern in our specific school context, was the equity of the platform across race, and socio-economic divides. In short, in choosing this digital innovation, it seemed we were entering an ethical ‘minefield’. 

We had recently unpacked the Codes and Standards (Ministry, 2017) as a staff and while the values of whakamana, manaakitanga and pono certainly play a part in all we do, it is the value of whanaungatanga, the positive and collaborative relationships with our learners, their families and whanau, our colleagues and the wider community, that resonated most when considering the ethical responsibility that sat alongside introducing a tool such as Seesaw into our school’s culture.

Knowing what innovation we were asking our staff to implement, with the approval of our principal, we also held a staff meeting to unpack how, as a staff, we could introduce and uphold the ideals around Digital Responsibility and Digital Citizenship. As it states on the TKI website; “With the increased use of digital technologies and borderless spaces online, we need to be able to nurture and teach our young people to become discerning, responsible digital citizens able to confidently conduct themselves when connecting to people, resources and information in real-world contexts here in Aotearoa and in the wider global community.”

Fig 1.   https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Digital-citizenship

As a staff we have committed ourselves to building into the teaching and learning programme, specific expectations across all levels in unpacking and promoting the concepts behind Digital Citizenship such as; using technology to relate to others in positive and meaningful ways, demonstrating honesty, integrity and ethical behaviour when using technology, respecting the concepts of privacy and freedom of speech in a digital world, and contributing and actively promoting the values of digital citizenship. Ethically, we acknowledge the responsibility we had as educators to prepare our akonga before introducing new technologies to them, such as the tool Seesaw.

Also important to reflect on is the impact our professional environment has had on the implementation of our digital innovation. “Strong professional environments are related to individual teachers’ improvements that align with the growing recognition that such environments benefit teachers and students systematically” (Kraft & Papay, 2014 p.31). Some factors that came to the forefront during our roll-out were the accountability of coworkers to follow timelines and connect with families with the same frequency as others, building trust between our staff, students and their whanau, and the onus of staff to continue the professional development and learning around the use of digital technologies. We quickly recognised the challenges these issues would bring to our staff and made sure we took the opportunity for staff to reflect and discuss issues that needed to be addressed as we moved forward with the implementation of Seesaw for Schools.

We knew from the recent lockdowns that even though we faced issues such as many families not having access to digital devices, and some families were unable or unwilling to communicate with staff through digital tools; the majority of students and whanau that benefitted from having access to online tools far outweighed the barriers we faced. 

During the most recent lockdowns, we were able to see how the Seesaw tool enabled us to continue a teaching and learning programme, keeping both our younger tamariki and their families engaged in their learning. The children and families valued the connections that were able to exist outside the physical classroom environment and our students transitioned back to school with ease and little disruption to the learning programme. 

When collecting feedback from families and staff, some highlights we noted were: teachers appreciating the collaborative and collegial benefits of Seesaw- sharing resources, workload, and responsibility of students across their team, and many parents commented on the ease in which to use the programme.

While introducing the Seesaw platform brought about many ethical and social concerns, we reflected on this quote:

“In any innovative approach to digital teaching and learning there is a potential tension between moving ahead with pioneering projects and the maintenance or enhancement of equity. How is it possible to ensure that ‘all boats rise on the same tide’ while not being held back by the valid needs or attitudes of minorities?” (Parsons, D., 2017).   We hope our boats continue to rise. 

910 words

References

Parsons, D. (2017). Stakeholder, Corporate and Policy Perspectives, in J. Traxler (Ed.), Capacity Building in a Changing ICT Environment (pp. 81-90). Geneva, Switzerland: International Telecommunication Union. https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/phcb/D-PHCB-CAP_BLD.01-2017-PDF-E.pdf 

Kraft, M.A. & Papay, J.P. (2014). Do supportive professional environments promote teacher development? Explaining heterogeneity in returns to teaching experience. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(4), 476-500.

Soltis, J.F. (1986). Teaching professional ethics. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), 2-4.

https://teachingcouncil.nz/professional-practice/our-code-our-standards/

TKI  https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Digital-citizenship

Reflective Entry #6

 Reflective Entry 6 

Critique and address issues of law, regulations and/or policy that have been relevant to the digital and collaborative learning innovation you applied in your practice.

                                                                                                                         Image one

With the exponential growth of digital technology in the last ten years, the education sector has had to develop and establish digital laws that cover all aspects of digital use.  Protection from fraud and online abuse is needed in a digital society where everything is online and people are open to a variety of experiences that are not as easily accessible in the material world.  The issue of digital use in the classroom and society has only recently been researched in the light of its purpose in education and how effective it is in bringing up student achievement and maintaining overall growth in the educational arena.  What is still being discovered is how the laws that have been put in place are serving our digital students and protecting their digital citizenship especially in our context of using Seesaw in schools.  

In the education community, we have procedures and plans in place to make sure that we are giving protection to our Kaiako that is appropriate and clearly defined. These plans flow from the Education Act, this act was updated in August 2020.  The newly improved education act was “intended to make education legislation simpler and more user-friendly than the previous framework.” (MOE 2020)   This new look act has also given schools more authority over personal devices in schools which is shown in one part of the act where it states that schools can remove devices from students if they have sufficient proof that the individual is inappropriately using their device.  The act also helps to advise schools when there are issues with inappropriate use of the internet or devices such as cyber-bullying through social media and texting or the underage use of adult websites.  There can be a perceived gap between the Act and dealing with younger members of society.  As educators, we need to maintain the boundaries of teacher/student and this new update of the Act may seem to some as bordering on taking away the rights of students.

We did not have any inappropriate use of the internet using school devices when we developed and began our initiative of Seesaw in schools.  Our students are not allowed to use cell phones in school.  The only devices they are allowed are chrome books and they are logged into the school network, which is monitored by Linewize.  This company has set up an algorithm that looks for inappropriate websites and games that students may access and blocks them from using them as well as regularly notifying the school if students access them. This then allows our school to discuss internet use with students and parents if needed.

In using Seesaw our students had a very clear understanding of what they could and could not post and then the post needed to be verified by their teacher before it went public to the class.  We did however have a problem when one of our teachers set up a class blog that became public and one of our students had a no photo order on their digital agreement. This of course was against our school user policy so the teacher had to go through this policy again with our Deputy Principal to make sure that she was clear on the boundaries of the use of Seesaw and we then completed another staff PD session on that specific aspect of Seesaw “class blogs” and how to check our student’s digital user agreement for the approval of their photo being used in the public domain.

Our school has also instituted a digital use agreement for our students and their families.  We believe that the skills involved in being a digital citizen as outlined by Netsafe are many that our tamariki/children will need to master to face the future with confidence in themselves and consideration for others. Netsafe recommends digital citizenship be planned for, and addressed, through multiple contexts including structured activities, however, currently at our Kura there is no I.C.T strategic plan. The ‘Cyber Safety Use Agreement’ we currently use is based on the NetSafe® Cybersafety Use Agreement for Junior Primary Students Template from January 2007.

In light of this, we conferred with our wider school community and asked what they felt a ‘Digital Citizen’ should be. Then as a staff, we used the feedback we were given and made a definition that we use in our Digital Technology lesson plans and have made it accessible to the wider community through the Seesaw blog. 

                                                                                                                                                       Image two

 Image two is the definition that we developed in consultation with the wider school community including our Kahui Ako. Our students then complete Digital citizen lessons of learning and discuss scenarios on what it is to be a digital citizen and what can hamper this.

In our professional standards as teachers, there is a specific elaboration underneath the teaching standard number six; “I use an increasing repertoire of teaching strategies, approaches, learning activities, technologies and assessment for learning strategies and modify these in response to the needs of individuals and groups of learners.” This, paired with the new digital technologies curriculum from year 1-13, shows the emphasis that our Ministry of Education has put on the use of digital technologies in schools. This is also discussed in the digital principles from the digital fluency framework; TKI states that a digitally capable student is “demonstrating values when working digitally; being an ethical, respectful, and responsible digital citizen” This is exactly what we as a teaching staff envisioned in the implementation of our innovation. Seesaw, a tool that encourages student agency and develops learners who have the skills that will make them successful digital citizens for the 21st Century.

945 words

Cybersafety Use Agreement for Junior Primary Students Template retrieved from http://www.cybersafety.org.nz/kit/Use%20Agreements/agreements/junior_primary_ua.html

Digital Citizenship and the New Zealand curriculum.

Retrieved from https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Digital-citizenship

 

Digital Technology: Safe and responsible use in schools. Retrieved from https://education.govt.nz/school/digital-technology/digital-technology-guide-for-schools/digital-technology-safe-and-responsible-use-in-schools/new-cd-page-3/the-legislation-and-rules/

 

Education and training Act 2020.

Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/legislation/

Image one: Image of a Digital citizen. Retrieved from https://www.netsafe.org.nz/digital-citizenship-and-digital-literacy/

Reflective Entry #7

 Reflective Entry #7 

Explain how your application of a digital and collaborative innovation relates to national educational policies/guidelines and contemporary educational theory and compare it to existing delivery models and needs.

When implementing digital technologies the Ministry of Education has put together a plethora of resources that can help our teachers to develop digital programmes. Their MOE’s main goal is “supporting teachers, kaiako, ākonga and students to confidently and effectively use digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.”(MOE 2015)  So it is of utmost importance that as educators we use the right tools that will enhance our student’s digital literacy, principals and capabilities. 

Digital fluency is of high importance to the Ministry of Education and its policymakers and this is shown in the current professional development opportunities on offer in the digital learning environment.  Our Government wants educators to be users of digital tools that can enhance our students' learning and in turn raise their achievement in the classroom.  Therefore, the policy and the legislation that governs all New Zealand schools supports the desired outcome within St Joseph’s, that “all teachers and kaiako can confidently and effectively use digital technologies, programmes and devices to enhance teaching and learning.” (MOE 2020)

The aim of Seesaw at St Joseph’s was to avail ourselves of a fully digital tool that was collaborative and engaged our student body, their whānau and the wider school community.   We needed a safe space online where staff and students could share their teaching and learning programme. Siemen’s (2005) posits in his learning theory Connectivism, “when students are making connections with their learning they begin to develop a deeper understanding of why it is important to them”. With Seesaw our students can apply new understanding to their prior knowledge and accomplish this through an “authentic learning experience”.

Our school’s E-learning framework is still being developed by a working group that includes people from all areas of our school community.  However, when we had a staff meeting on how to guide our students in becoming full Digital Citizens we discussed the framework from the MOE (see image 2).

We felt through implementing Seesaw that St Joseph’s was at the  “Engaging” dimension.  

• “Our leaders of learning are trialling initiatives and using these within curriculum planning collaboratively throughout our school.”

• “We are accessing Professional development for all staff around training and developing a curriculum that will benefit our students” using Seesaw. 

• “Our entire school has now got access to Seesaw and we collaboratively plan using this tool.”

• “We are involving our Whanau and wider community which has had an instant impact.” Just this year we have initiated a process for lockdowns and home learning.

Image one 

The Constructivism theory sits well within our digital learning plan for our tamariki.  It states that “Constructivism is the philosophical and scientific position that knowledge arises through a process of active construction." (Mascolol & Fischer, 2005) In regards to St Joseph’s school, we want to develop learners who “actively construct” their knowledge through agentic learning experiences.  This is where Seesaw is a great digital tool for our learning community.  Our teachers can see our students work in realtime and utilises an ongoing process of feedback/feedforward.  Peers can also ask questions and critically evaluate the work to encourage an active learning process,

Experiential learning theory also relates to our innovation.  Kolb, elucidated it as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb 1984) Our students through the use of Seesaw are creating their knowledge and then transforming it through their experiences and the feedback they receive from their peer group and teachers, and whanau.  This wider range of experiential learning helps students to not only feel that their learning experience is being appreciated in a real-world context but is helping others to improve in their learning journey.  T. G Roberts extended this further discussing that in Experiential learning theory it is important to select the right learning experience and then if it is not giving the desired result that the educator needs to alter it so that the experience gives the best outcome.  As I stated earlier Seesaw is a digital learning platform that has an ongoing feedback loop and it has a simple interface so that educator can tailor it to the experience that best fits their student.

In looking at our journey so far it has become increasingly obvious that the Connectivsm theory is the new way of Education as it takes the learner beyond themselves and uses Digital technology and social networks which make the learning experience more flexible.  However, both the constructivist theory and the experiential learning theory are still valuable to the 21-century learning experience. With the use of Seesaw our school is “forming connections with Technology and people” and discovering that even though our Seesaw journey is not at empowering dimension on the E planning framework, our students are already benefiting from this new way of teaching and learning. 

Our biggest achievement so far is the wider implications for our Whanau and community they are feeling more connected and thus more engaged in their tamariki and their learning.  The use of Seesaw in our community aligns with the Ministry of Education’s goal “that our students will be equipped to be confident, connected, active, life long learners”.

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References

https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/uploads/Towards-Digital-Fluency.pdf

https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Digital-fluency

e-Learning Planning Framework updated January 2014, Te Toi Tupu Consortium, on behalf of the Ministry of Education. Retrieved from 

https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Professional-learning/e-Learning-Planning-Framework

Kolb, D. A. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall; 1984.

Roberts, T.G. (2003). An interpretation of Dewey’s Experiential Learning Theory.

MOE (2017) The New Zealand Curriculum. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum

Reflective Entry #8

 Reflective Entry #8 

Evaluate the outcomes of a digital and collaborative innovation in your practice from an educational research perspective.

Our end goal was to introduce an innovation within our school, Seesaw for Schools, that would ultimately promote digital capabilities for our students, improve whānau engagement and raise student achievement for our students. 

Promoting Digital Capabilities

Looking at the addition of Computational Thinking, and Designing and Developing Digital Outcomes to the new Technology Curriculum, has meant many schools have had to consider how to integrate and measure achievement of these capabilities into their teaching and learning programmes. As stated in the Curriculum Handbook, “These two areas also significantly contribute to students developing the knowledge and skills they need as digital citizens and as users of digital technologies across the curriculum. They also provide opportunities to further develop their key competencies.” 

Our students were able to demonstrate these skills through their use of Seesaw in the classroom and during their home learning programmes. Through student voice gathered after the recent lockdown, we were able to celebrate that the majority of our students felt confident using the technology, in most cases a Chromebook, to access the programme and the majority found using the Seesaw tool itself ‘easy to use’.  For example, our students as young as eight years of age were confident in adding a photo, making a recording, and uploading work for their teacher to comment on. Students were also able to connect to their teachers through the Google Meets links sent out on Seesaw.  Our tamariki were able to develop many of the Key Competencies through this process; especially Using Language, Symbols and Texts. 

Improve Whānau Engagement

We were very fortunate to have created and adhered to the timeline that we created on Visme  for rolling out our initiative to introduce Seesaw for Schools at the start of this school year. It meant we were able to introduce the tool to students and send home the QR codes to parents and whānau so that by the time the first lockdown occurred in Auckland, a vast majority of our families were able to access Seesaw with confidence. 

Unfortunately, we were not able to have our parent information evening around the tool because of the rescheduling of so many events, which meant, when we entered the second lockdown, we still needed to support quite a few parents in accessing work online and supporting them digitally to submit work completed. Once we have returned from lockdown, we will try to return to our timeline schedule, with the priority being parent support, in the event we return to home learning once again. 

On a positive note, parents were asked through a Google Form survey about their experience with the Seesaw for Schools programme to date, especially through the two recent lockdowns. Overwhelming, parents expressed their appreciation in having easy access to their child’s learning programme, the variety of tasks on offer, the ease of submitting work, and they especially appreciated being able to contact a range of staff for technical support when necessary. 

Raising Student Achievement

After the lockdowns of 2020, many educators expressed concern over the damage these ‘breaks’ from traditional learning settings would have on students' achievement and movement across the learning progressions; would there be regression? Analysing our end of year school data, we saw very little regression in our student’s progress. The students that did not make the expected progress were the students that were not engaged in their online learning programme and/or families were difficult to connect with during lockdowns and the school year. 

Our staff commented after this most recent lockdown that once we had allocated Chromebooks to students with no access to devices, it was quite an easy transition to the home learning programme. Both students and parents commented that they appreciated the agency available to them offered through the Seesaw programme; the choice in the tasks they completed, the opportunities to collaborate and share with their peers, and freedom over the time and pace in completing the tasks. They also appreciated the variety of options available when submitting their work. 

Teachers found the tasks completed were of a very high standard as students were able to follow areas of interest and an unexpected benefit was the frequency in which they involved their local resources, with parent engagement and support. The quality of work produced did not diminish outside the parameters of the classroom and face to face time with their teacher; rather, in many cases, they were enhanced. 

When considering the Emerging Trends in K-12 Education NZ Edition, we feel we have acknowledged and touched upon most if not all of the 8 emerging trends, suggesting a positive outcome for our project.

Coming to the end of this assignment, we found the words of Sir Ken Robinson very empowering. “Innovation is hard, because it means doing something that people don't find very easy, for the most part. It means challenging what we take for granted, things that we think are obvious.” 

Have we used our innovation to prepare our tamariki for 21st Century Skills? While it was hard, challenging and not easy at times, we hope we have made an impact on the digital school culture of St Joseph’s Primary School in Pukekohe.

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References

https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology/Learning-area-structure#collapsible2

https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Key-competencies

https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_learning_revolution/transcript

https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/new_zealand_future_of_the_classroom_country_report.pdf?utm_source=web&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=FY19-Q2-global-demandgen-website-other-futureoftheclassroom

 

Reflective Entry #1

 Reflective Entry #1

After seven years of funding delays, the wait is finally over. The digger is on-site and we are ready to replace our six, 1950’s single-celled classrooms with a new purpose-built two-storey flexible learning environment. What has been clearly evident throughout this planning exercise is that we need to have clear systems and processes in place before we shift to this new teaching and learning space.  We have the perfect opportunity to research the principles of UDL- Universal Design for Learning to ensure our student’s many diverse needs were catered for within this new space and discover how this approach utilises collaboration and digital technology.

In Moore’s article on Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, she states that “at the heart of UDL is the view that ‘failure to learn’ is not a measure of the inherent capacity of the learner but a reflection of learning systems that fail to address the needs of all learners.” (2007)  Therefore, we need to consider; how do we incorporate this philosophy and the main principles of UDL into the design and development of our new classroom block that will represent our school’s pedagogy around collaborative and digital learning that will address the diverse needs of all our learners? As the Ministry of Education states "what matters most in schooling" is "achieving equity and excellence in outcomes for an increasingly diverse student population" (Ministry of Education, 2015, p.7). 

Neuroscience has established that each person’s brain activity is unique, not one person is the same. (Kanai 2011) Which means every student’s learning needs are as unique as their fingerprints.  This then makes the case for UDL where Al-Azawei, A., Serenelli, F., & Lundqvist, K. (2016) in their review of UDL, state the “traditional teaching approach of  ‘one-size-fits-all’  cannot meet learner diversity in contemporary learning” anymore. Each student will develop and learn in a very different way to their peers. This is where the UDL guidelines that have been set out so that the educators can design the learning in a way that can cater to the individual needs of each student.

Universal

If we are to understand UDL we need to fully explore each term and it’s potential in the UDL framework.

Universal means that any student anywhere in the world can access and understand the curriculum content, so true Universal learning is ubiquitous and equitable.

Figure 1

                                                                  Flow chart on Brain Networks

Note. Explanation of the three primary brain networks. From Cedar Education. Website URL. https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/mtss-udl-di-dev/UDLstart.html

Learning

Cedar education as seen in figure one names the three primary brain networks in learning that guide the set up of a UDL space.  Recognition, skills and strategies, caring and prioritising. (Cedar education n.d)  Below are the networks and the way in which they have been developed within the UDL model.

Figure 2 - The different networks pathways

Note. Primary brain network. From Cast.org Website URL. 

https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

Caring and prioritising- (Affective network) Why we are learning

This has also been called engagement. This is where interest is stimulated and the motivation for learning occurs. Cast states in their guidelines that many factors affect this area of the brain some are; “neurology, culture, personal relevance, subjectivity, and background knowledge”.(CAST n.d) Our learners are motivated intrinsically by different external factors. Some are motivated by exciting sensory experiences others find this frightening and would rather strict routines to adhere to. 

Recognition network  - What we are learning

Another term for this is Representation, our learners perceive information differently, this can be because of a special need, culture, familial background or some may find it easier to listen and others to visualise.  So it is vital in a UDL setting that students have a variety of representations of the curriculum for them to learn especially in a digital environment.

Skills and strategies (strategic network) - How we are learning

This is namely action and expression. Each child will express themselves in a very diverse way.  Again this is affected by their physical ability as well as their own experiences.  Some students may enjoy speaking rather than writing information others may find that they can show someone their understanding rather than voice it and so on. It is also important to utilise multiple media forms to teach students as well as allowing them to use that same media to demonstrate their own understanding, in UDL no child will be singled out which shows that it is also a collaborative philosophy.

Design

Design is how we tailor the curriculum and learning experiences to fit the unique fingerprint of our students’ learning needs.  The guidelines also give a framework that teachers can use to make sure that they are covering all aspects of the UDL philosophy.  Core Education as shown in figure 5 has developed a framework for educators to use when they are considering their UDL and if they are truly making it inclusive, collaborative and accessible for all students.

Figure 5 - know your learners

Note. Predictable variability. From Core education.or

UDL develops the 21st-century skills that our students need to ensure their success in the future.  With this philosophy, students will also be engaged in their learning and have access to all the tools for learning, including digital, available to them.  UDL engages not just our tamariki but also their whanau and the local community.  It also supports genuine inquiry with our students and their interests while allowing students to grow in their collaborative relationships with peers.  For this reason, we know that as a school, implementing UDL in our newly built learning environment will enhance our teaching and learning programme and develop agentic students providing them with the tools they will need to succeed.

Al-Azawei, A., Serenelli, F., & Lundqvist, K. (2016). Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Content Analysis of Peer-Reviewed Journals from 2012 to 2015. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(3), 39-56. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v16i3.19295

CAST.  (2011).  Universal  Design for  Learning (UDL)Guidelines version  2.0. Wakefield,  MA: 

Retrieved from http://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm.

CAST. (2015). CAST. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.VW1yKyFViko.Center for Universal Design. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm.

Jonassen, D. (2001). How Can We Learn Best from Multiple Representations? The American Journal of Psychology, 114(2), 321-327. doi:10.2307/1423521

Kanai, R., Rees, G. The structural basis of inter-individual differences in human behaviour and cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci 12, 231–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3000

Moore, S. (2007). David H. Rose, Anne Meyer, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. In Educational Technology Research & Development (Vol. 55, Issue 5, pp. 521–525). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-007-9056-3

Reflective Entry #2

 Reflective Entry #2

The world of education has had a dramatic shift, it has moved from being driven by content knowledge to a focus on our tamariki's wellbeing and their diverse educational needs. We as educators need to find a way to bridge the gap between what we know works as educators while still involving our stakeholders, bringing them into the new era of education where they still feel safe and informed. Bae states “without a systematic way to interrupt current practice in the classroom the impact of these barriers is repeatedly faced by each generation without significant forward motion to break the cycle once & for all” (2018). Therefore, our stakeholder's views are integral to the development and implementation of UDL within our school. While researching the principles of UDL we have discussed the needs of our Tamariki, the influence of our local community, the alignment to our national education system and connections with current global theories.

In the design of our new building we have discussed, researched (and stressed) over the setup and what will work for our tamariki and the various stakeholders. We have discussed how we can use digital technology and collaborative practices to empower our tamariki to produce better student outcomes.  We have researched the ways in which we can develop systems where our stakeholders are aware of the philosophies we are using and how they are improving our student's knowledge and behaviour.  We have dissected the various ways that our national colleagues are approaching education and best practice in UDL.  Finally, through research, we have noticed a trend developing internationally where there is a growing shift towards a more inclusive and collaborative approach to teaching and learning.

 

When looking at the perspective of our students using UDL, it allows for equal learning opportunities over all the subject areas.  They have access to tools as well as the support to discuss and show their own learning in ways that work for them as an individual.  Their teacher will be responsive and be open to discussing their next learning steps and invite feedback on their own teaching methods. UDL also encourages problem-solving and the development of students learning through their own interests, and encourages student problem solving and decision making. 

 

The lack of this is a massive issue in single-cell schools in New Zealand, where timed tests, whole-class instruction on the mat and no chance for "student voice" has been the norm. Boaler (2005) states that time limitations for learning can have a very negative impact on learning outcomes. She discusses how students who have to do tasks in a certain amount of time will then avoid answering any questions that need deeper problem solving or decision making.  The Ministry of Education states that UDL actually “ identifies and removes barriers to learning hidden in the way we routinely do things”.  This is our goal; a newly designed space that is made with the individual student in mind with a curriculum that allows them to discover and reach their full potential.

The Ministry of Education states that as educators implementing the Universal Design for Learning philosophy, we need to “partner with whānau and welcome their diverse perspectives” (n.d)  These are our second set of Stakeholders.  Traditionally, parents are on the periphery of education, they wait at the door at the end of the day to pick up their child and might see their child’s teacher once a year to look at their child’s progress.  With UDL our parents are invited in to not only discuss their child's progress but to participate in the development of the learning environment for their child, being involved from the ground up.  With UDL our whanau will see that we understand that their child is unique and that their teacher and the environment that they learn in will be catered especially for them.  Most importantly, their child’s learning needs will be met.  In our diverse culture at St Joseph’s Pukekohe, we will also have a range of digital tools available for our students where it will not matter the socio-economic status of their family.  All of our whanau will have equal access to all learning opportunities.

 

The Ministry of Education is very clear in the development of the NZ Curriculum and the goals that they have set share philosophies similar to UDL in all schools. The Ministry states that “a foundation principle of The New Zealand Curriculum is inclusion….As every student learns differently, schools must create flexible, barrier-free learning environments if all students are to become successful, lifelong learners.”(n.d)  The Ministry is spending time and money making sure that all new schools and building are being built to support this type of educational philosophy.  They are also encouraging schools through a very thorough professional development process to develop the knowledge and skills of their staff in areas such as collaboration and digital literacy.  Nationally, more and more research and money have been invested into UDL to guide deliberate coherent innovation in inclusive design for learning.

 

When we look at the wider world context we can see a shift in the way that education is being delivered.  Since the World Declaration on Education for All (UNESCO 1990) and the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO 1994), inclusive education has been a major focus worldwide. The Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education (UNESCO 2009) add strength and urgency to this discussion.  

 

Globally, UDL is a recognised philosophy that encourages input from all stakeholders and values their perspectives.  In developing our new space and in growing our capabilities in collaboration, digital technology, culturally awareness, we are excited as we can see how this will promote inclusive education and the philosophy where children of any background, ethnicity and needs are encouraged, inspired and given every opportunity to reach their full potential.  

 

References

 

Boaler, J. (2014). Research Suggests Timed Tests Cause Math Anxiety. Teaching Children Mathematics, 20 (8).

Bae, S., Ofiesh, N. S., Blackorby, J. (2018)

 

Ministry of Education. (n.d.-a). Developing an inclusive classroom culture. TKI. https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/developing-an-inclusive-classroom-culture/

 

The IRIS Center. (2015). Early childhood environments: Designing effective classrooms. Retrieved from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/env/

 

World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs. (1990). World declaration on education for all and framework for action to meet basic learning needs adopted by the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990. New York, N.Y: Inter-Agency Commission (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank) for the World Conference on Education for All.

 

UNESCO (1994). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. Adopted by the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality. Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June. U.