Ali's Ramble

As a teacher of science, the increase in use of digital technologies is exciting in its' potential to enhance the investigative learning experience. As a result, I regularly ask my students to photograph and/or video evidence as part of an investigation. It’s not generally a requirement of students to be “in shot”, however it has occurred to me that this could potentially be abused. Several instances in the past couple of years in my school have highlighted the need for greater vigilance in regulating or monitoring this practice. Students and teachers have been photographed without their knowledge, with the resulting media being uploaded to social media. Recently, a teacher was filmed during a disciplinary situation with a student. In each circumstance, families of these students have supported them, even going so far as to encourage it. At this stage, lawyers become involved. There are obvious legal implications here. The New Zealand Police say that photographing or...

At the heart of a culturally responsive pedagogy lies culture itself; the filters that help us make sense of everyday things. These can be visible such as art & technology, or invisible such as values, beliefs & perspectives. It’s important to understand that culture is a trait of an individual rather than a “one size fits all” perspective of a group or race e.g. NZ Maori. (Gay, 2002) One analogy used in Teaching Tolerance (2010) is that teachers are “cultural translators”. Our students aren’t blank slates - they come with prior content and cultural perspective. Teachers as cultural translators need to help them build on this to make connections and meaning in an education setting. The way I see it, teachers are like electrical adapters plugs for international sockets; we are the link between similar actions in different settings, separated by different perspectives. This supports Gay (2002) definition of culturally responsive pedagogy as “using the cultural charact...

We live in an interesting age; change is occurring faster than ever, thanks to globalisation in an increasingly connected world. The concept of family has changed drastically over the last 50 years. My own family is so different than the one I grew up in; I can see differences in psychology, relationships and attitude in my children that are most likely related to this change. This is why I have chosen to examine the “family matters” as a trend and issue that influences education (OECD, 2016). A trend can be defined as a change or development in a general direction (“Oxford Dictionary,” n.d.). Definitions of family tend to be influenced by context and location however the UN proposes that “the family is the basic unit of society and should be protected by appropriate legislation and policy”. Due to rapid modernisation, family structure is changing in developed countries and trends such as slower family formation, higher divorce/separation rate etc. are also now being see...

In my last post I wrote about how relational trust is an integral factor in the progression of a community of practice. Of course, there are practices that address this, all of which contribute to the professional climate - not only within my faculty, but the school community. A school is indeed its’ own community. Although made up of representatives from the wider community, the culture and climate of a school is vital for the wellbeing of its’ members. School culture is influential as well as unique to its’ members. A culture is like glue that holds an organisation together in the way that it goes about its’ business. Climate is more consistent and about the attitudes, perceptions and psychological environment - all of which help to build culture (Hongboontri & Keawkhong, 2014). The culture and values my school community aspires to are defined by: NZ curriculum values (e.g. excellence, equity, innovation, integrity) Cornerstone values (e.g. honesty & truthfulness, ...