Underneath it all, we are all MacGyver

I read a quote in the Education Review Office (2014) report that made me mad.

"New Zealand prides itself on its child-centred approach to learning, yet ERO's        national evaluations would suggest that practice is not matching rhetoric." (p13)

At first I was furious! How dare they say that.  But after time to think, and read a bit more, I understood what they meant - data (National Standards/NCEA) is becoming more important to some schools than the students and what they need to learn.  How can this be changed?  What can we, as classroom teachers or school leaders, do?

MacGyver: The Maker Movement personified

The Maker Movement is an innovative approach to learning, with roots in the learning theories of constructivism and constructionism. Globally, educators are turning to this approach to learning in order to incorporate all areas of the curriculum and 21st century skills/key competencies.  The Maker Movement "values human passion, capability, and the ability to make things happen and solve problems anywhere, anytime" (Martinez and Stager, 2014 p13).  

The student, or maker, is the centre of this approach.  The Maker construct their knowledge as they create artifacts that have real-world value.  This knowledge construction is done in both formal or informal settings, with adults and children working together.  Classrooms that "celebrate the process of design and making...produce students who start to believe they can solve any problem" (Martinez & Stager, 2014 p13).  This brings the student back to the centre of the learning focus.

Through my own experience of using a Maker approach with my Year 5 and 6 students, I have seen my students become more collaborative, more able to solve their own problems.  Students who did not previously choose to work together (unless made to) are now having discussions about how to use equipment and what they think could work better.  Students are talking to each other more, asking each other for help rather than expecting me (the teacher) to just give them the answer.  Now when I say that I don't know something I'm always told "Well have you tried looking it up yet Miss?"  My students are beginning to come to the realisation that they

can make their own knowledge, they don't need to rely on me to give them what they need to know - but they know that I'm there to back them up and help them if they get stuck.

Educators have the responsibility to help our students navigate the changes in how the education system works for them.  Our students have the challenge of not knowing exactly what jobs/occupations will be available to them when they leave the education system in 10-15 years.  I believe that by embracing the Maker Movement in our schools, our students will be more prepared for the unknown - they will be problem solvers, they will be able to collaborate effectively with others, they will be able to manage themselves appropriately for the situation.  By embracing the Maker Movement the future will be less uncertain than it would be otherwise, our students will be prepared for the unexpected.  Our students will be like MacGyver.  

References:

Education Review Office. (2014).  Evaluation at a Glance: Priority Learners in New Zealand Schools.  Retrieved 27 September from http://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/evaluation-at-a-glance-priority-learners-in-new-zealand-schools/ 

Martinez, S. & Stager, G. (2014).  The maker movement: a learning revolution. Learning & Leading with Technology 41(7) pp 12-17.  Retrieved 27 September from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading

photo credit: classic_film Richard Dean Anderson, MacGyver, "The Wish Child," 1986 via photopin (license)

What's up in my world... (Current issues in my professional context)

The relief that was felt in our staffroom in November 2014 was immense.  We received our decile rating change - dropping from a 4 to 1B.  It wasn't the money side of things that we were relieved about (although we knew that would be great!), it was the multitude of programmes that we were now eligible for that got us most excited - KidsCan, Duffy books, Fruit in Schools for starters.  We knew that "our kids" needed extra help to achieve their potential.

Our students receiving jackets from KidsCan and the
NZ Warriors (Wed 24 Aug 2016)

One of the most pressing issues facing our school currently is the low attendance rates across the school.  Over the past 3 terms, attendance rates have been monitored with term averages for classes being between 80 - 90%, and a few students with attendance rates below 70%.  To begin countering this issue we have put the following ideas into action:

• building positive relationships with parents and whanau
• Being involving in programmes,such as Kids Can, Fruit in Schools, Milk in Schools
• extrinsic motivation, in the form of "prizes" for attending school each day for a week
• senior students (Years 5 - 8) and parents being made aware of how much school they have missed through conversations, letters home
• investigating different teaching pedagogies and learning styles that will engage students

APA (2016) states that students from low SES households and communities develop academic skills at a lower rate than those from higher SES households/communities.  This is one reason why the current attendance rates are so alarming.  Not only are our students missing out on learning opportunities, but research has showed that they may have delays in their learning. 

Alongside of the attendance issue, we also have a high level of transience.  Just under half of our school roll have started at our school within the last 12 months.  These are not 5 year olds - these students are spread throughout our classes from Year 1 through to Year 8.  The high rent within the Auckland housing market is one reason behind students moving.  Within the past 3 terms I have had two students from my class having to move out of their houses due to the landlords selling.  Luckily these students are still about to continue to come to our school - but with a significant distance to travel.  

Snook and O'Neill (2014) discuss the varying opinions on the correlation of students SES and their educational achievement.  I somewhat agree that some students who have grown up in a low SES household are disadvantaged when they begin their formal education.  These students may not have the chance to participate in extra curricular activities that broaden student's learning opportunities.  

As their teacher, I believe that it is part of my responsibility to ensure that their time in our class is full of learning experiences that cover all curriculum areas and expose the students to different ways of learning.  While in my class I want all of 'my kids' to be engaged and motivated to learn, I want them to want to come to school everyday.  Unfortunately the high transience levels are something that is out of our hands, however I believe that if students are settled, achieving to their potential and are enjoying going to school, parents will try to keep their children in the school.

References

APA. (2016). Education and Socioeconomic Status. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education.aspx

Snook, I. & O'Neill, J. (2014). Poverty and inequality of educational achievement. In V. Carpenter & S. Osborne. (Eds).  Twelve Thousand Hours: Education and Poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 19-43) Auckland, New Zealand:Dunmore Publishing

Who are my people?

Humans are social creatures.  We gravitate towards others who we see as having similar goals/values/mindsets.  Throughout our lives we move in social groups - family, whanau, friends, colleagues. These social groups are often also groups from which we learn skills and values we use in our lives.  So this begs the question - who belongs to my Communities of Practice?

My main work-based Community of Practice consists of my teaching colleagues at school.  We are a small staff, who are very supportive of each other.  We have all taught students at a variety of levels, and are able to understand and empathise with each other.  Reflecting on why we seem to work so well as a Community of Practice, I look towards the article written by Wenger (2000).

Wenger (2000) states there are three elements that define the competency of a community of practice (p. 229).

1.  Members are bound together by their collectively developed understanding of what their community is about and hold each other accountable -  there is a sense of joint enterprise.

2.  Build their community through mutual engagement; interacting with each other, establishing relationships and trust.

3.  Build a shared repertoire of resources and use it appropriately- language, routines, artefacts, tools, stories, etc.

When reflecting on these three competencies, it is clear that our teaching staff have a strong Community of Practice.  With such a small teaching staff, it is vital that everybody is about to interact positively with each other.  Everyone works towards a shared vision.  This is true for larger schools as well, however at a small school there is nowhere to hide - everyone is accountable all of the time.  When stressful times occur, members of our COP work together making sure everyone is able to get through and achieve what needs to be achieved.

Of the seven teaching staff members, four have been teaching in the school together for six years or more.  The trust in each other that has been developed over the years is essential for a community to work successfully.  These four members have had to work together through difficult times, helping each other achieve their work and personal goals.  The three newer members have similar values and work ethic which has made it easy to assimilate these members into the Community of Practice.

The third element has been enhanced this year with our school starting on PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning).  We are consolidating our shared language and routines around our school.  We share stories with each other, either for venting purposes or to ask for help and ideas.  We are all open with each other - we want each other to reach their potential.

I've always known that our school was special.  The people (staff, Board of Trustees and students) work hard to help each other.  The article by Wenger cements the idea that our little community is as good as we all believe it is.


References

Wenger, E.(2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization,7(2), 225-246