I have spent some time thinking about how we are going to do this and I havent shared it with my department at all before this. There is a concept called re-profesionalisation and transformational professionalism (Poskitt, 2005).
“... characterised by ‘inclusive membership, public ethical code of practice, collaborative and collegial, activist orientation, flexible and progressive, responsive to change, self-regulating, policy-active, enquiry-oriented and knowledge building’...” (p. 16). Sachs, 2003.
It is a good fit for a future-thinking direction in education, given the fast pace of change in society, for example apps and social media. The introduction of T-shaped Literacy and developing it as established practice in Visual Arts through the LCS Inquiry framework is a re-professionalising action. It is hoped that what the Visual Arts department does is alway based upon this definition.
The following three points are appropriate tools and reflections that will positively affect progress with the department for the betterment of the learners:
1 - Video recording of a teachers teaching
Filming oneself in the act of teaching is to "confront one's image of teaching with ones' actual teaching" (Tripp & Rich, 2012, p 729). There exists a precedent for filming oneself teaching over the past four decades, with Schon in 1983 setting in motion the concept of a 'reflective practitioner'. The ongoing improvements to capturing moving images until the present is not only astounding, but sharable at the click of a button, and available immediately for reflection. It is only natural then that the capability of filming oneself for reflective practice becomes a norm within a school setting.
Rich and Tripp cite the following points as advantages to the process in their 2012 study:
● Enabling the identification of patterns in practice
● Identifying gaps about teacher's perception and the reality of practice
● Helping to identify what a teacher believes they are implying in their actions towards learners and whether this is visible, therefore useful
● Allowing teachers to notice aspects they were unaware of and analyse these
● Assessing strengths and weaknesses, in a rewindable fashion, without needing an expert observer to retell, reframe and possibly inaccurately reconstruct events
The filming of teaching sequences can be made visible and therefore, transparent for outside analysis. The usefulness here is that these points fit the pedagogy of the Manaiakalani Education Trust - Learn, Create, Share; making visible a ubiquitous, rewindable, empowering learning process.
2 - Inquiry based model of applying T-shaped literacy as a visible and understood practice architecture (Edwards-Groves & Kemmis, 2018)
According to the theory of practice architectures, all knowledge is learnt by ‘doings’ ‘sayings’ and relatings’. These three components are not sitting within a vacuum, they are influenced, interfered with and interacted with outside world knowledge and values. They are also inseparable from each other for true learning to occur. By establishing our own current practice architecture on teaching literacy before, during and after the process, (see previous post on T-shaped Literacy) one is hoping to see growth and have another tool to be able to reflect upon for the betterment of the learners. It sits neatly within the Inquiry cycle (inside the ‘create’ section of the LCS model) as well as beyond Inquiry. Hardy (2014) aligns the doings, sayings and relatings with the overall inquiry process, however, the writer feels that is too simplistic.
“...The research reveals the Inquiry Cycle approach as characterised by specific actions, dialogue, and relationships – “doings,” “sayings,” and “relatings” – productive of the development of a learning culture focused on significant curriculum reform; overt support for whole-school “explicit” approaches to teachers’ pedagogies; and active/robust critique of data-focused assessment processes…”
Regardless of whether a practice architecture can fully encompass all of the nuances and directions of a full and rigorous TAI, the end point of attaining a tele affective formation is still the ultimate purpose. In this instance, somewhat discretely as T-shaped literacy.
“... the most fundamental task of a teacher is, and always should be, to change lives, through initiating people into practices…” Edwards-Groves & Kemmis, 2018 - pp115.
The theory of ‘practice architecture’ as explained by Edwards-Grove and Kemmis in “Understanding Education” pp 115 - 158, as a way of making visible the interactive process that occurs and is required to make connections and new meanings in learning - through “doings, sayings and relatings”. By making this visible throughout the duration of the Professional Learning programme, one hopes that a greater clarity of one's own process of teaching successfully is developed. The intention is strengthening the Inquiry cycle with a process that the 'Learning', 'Taking Action' and 'Checking' aspects of Timperley’s revised model are directed for the teacher with rigour. By seeing the overall impact of the Inquiry model as a practice architecture, one can see how this should become embedded across education as established practice, where it is not already. The doing, saying and relating concept works well in modelling and generating base, progress and end data from a qualitative point of view.
3 - Moving from the work to implement to a product for innovation
Timperley, H., Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2014), speak extensively about innovation coming from rigorous Inquiry processes. An inquiry should not ‘finish’, it should by its nature lead to where-to-next type questions. There is a risk in placing a defined outcome at the end of this process as limiting the creative opportunities for where-to-next, but there is also something that can be aspired to also, as an MIT participant.
We have been observed by Woolf Fisher research independently, twice a year since beginning with the outreach. This year, their contract comes to an end and Manaiakalni Education Trust takes up this wero. The whole department is adept at screen-recording themselves for aspects of their teaching sites to assist with the learning process. Generally, as a planned activity, recording instructions to employ in future teaching sequences, rather than a record of what has happened. This Kura’s open setting, where the practice is exposed to anyone passing by, and the numerous high-coverage security cameras that are reviewed for disciplinary reasons frequently means the fear of seeing oneself reflected as a recording is lowered. The whole Kura and cluster have engaged in a Teaching as Inquiry model as an expectation of appraisal for the past two years, including across cluster Professional Learning Groups with a thematic focus, with mixed results, so the language of inquiry already exists and is not new. As a school with an emphasis on creativity - A "Centre of Creative Excellence", the concept of a product developed from an inquiry is not left field but does represent the innovation expected at Hornby High School currently. We have the option of submitting the plan and intention for the development of a product to the Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher (MIT) programme (Manaiakalani Innovative Teachers, N.D). The full direction of such an application will come to light towards the end of term three, 2021, in time for application closing dates for the 2022 cohort (traditionally week one of term four - TBC for 2022 cohort).
Professional learning plan:
Colour Key for the checklist:
So, there you have it. A plan for us implementing T-shaped Literacy over the next 13 months.
There will be gaps and we will right things as we find them slightly wrong.
References:
Edwards-Groves C., & Kemmis S.(2018) Education, Practice, and Practice Architectures. In:
Understanding Education. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6433-3_4 pp 115-158
Guskey, T. R. (2002). Does it make a difference? Evaluating Professional Development.
Educational Leadership: Journal of the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development,
N.E.A, 1, 45–51.
Ian Hardy (2016) In support of teachers’ learning: specifying and contextualising teacher inquiry as professional practice, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 44:1, 4-19, DOI:10.1080/1359866X.2014.987107
Killion, J. (2008). Are you coaching heavy or light? t3; Teachers TeachingTeachers, 3(8), 1–11.
National staff development council. www.ndc.org
Poskitt, J. (2005). Towards a Model of New Zealand School-Based Teacher Professional Development. New Zealand Journal of Teacher’s Work, 2(2), 136–151.
Sachs, J. (2003) The activist teaching profession. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Timperley, H., Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2014). A framework for transforming learning in schools: Innovation and the spiral of inquiry. Centre for Strategic Education; Seminar Series Paper 234, 1–27.
Tripp, T. R., & Rich, P. J. (2012). The influence of video analysis on the process of teacher change. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(5), 728–739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.01.011
