My postgraduate learning journey has involved lots of new learning and reflecting on my practice that has seen new challenges, successes and sometimes going back to the drawing board to problem solve. I have enjoyed all the new learning that has partly been hands-on, sharing with other educators, staff members, colleagues and the students.
Professional relationships and professional values:
- Criteria 1: Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all Äkonga.
Students using e-learning tools like Google, Blendspace, Book Creator and Prezi to share information about themselves has helped me get a better understanding of my students. I've also used some of the above tools to assess students prior knowledge and misunderstandings to help plan activities to address these misunderstandings.
To facilitate and grow the partnership between home and school I post student learning onto the class page on our school website and a closed Class Facebook group. The use of social media like Facebook has helped to keep parents informed i.e. what is happening at school (Book Fair, Hot Breakfast, Values Assembly) and to share their child's or children's learning with them.
- Criteria 4: Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice.
Participating, collaborating and reflecting throughout this journey on The Mindlab postgraduate certificate has made me more aware of how e-learning can be used to enhance student learning. I've used nzmaths and Virtual Learning Network to inform and develop my professional personal practice. I have learnt how to use Blendspace to create a flipped learning environment and the students have learnt how to use Blendspace and Prezi to present their presentations. Part of my learning journey has involved reading research papers and writing a literature review on game-based learning that has helped me understand the importance of on-going professional development and the benefits and implications of game-based learning.
Professional knowledge in practice:
- Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment.
I have promoted e-learning collaboration through online student assignments, home learning, teacher feedback, peer feedback using Google Slides, Docs, Classroom, and Blendspace. These have been great tools along with online resources such as Kahoot, Google Maps, and many others to recognise and value the cultures that the students bring to class.
Plan and justify two main goals for your future development:
I plan to continue developing my teaching practice and implementing and adjusting the learning to meet the needs of my students and to challenge how they learn and to think outside of the box through creating an effective digital learning environment in my classroom. As educators I believe it is our responsible to be informed and be able to justify our teaching practice to the parents and the children we are teaching. I have applied to enrol in the TESSOL programme that I believe will give me the strategies along with my e-learning knowledge to support these learners.
