I am slightly late with my reflections for this week as submission of the proposal took priority. The main focus of the lectures and workshops were to assist each other with our proposals.
I was very positive about my proposal and after talking to Sall’ee I know I am heading in the right direction. It became apparent to me that a few of my colleagues were a bit off the mark of what they needed to achieve for the written proposal. As I had a better understanding of what the intent was I felt it necessary to assist them during the workshop. I have noticed that the negativity that has occurred during this semester has made me more focussed to assist others in understanding what is required from them as a professional educator. I need to make sure thought that I do not force my opinions onto people as this can be seen as arrogant and condescending to many. I feel it is good that I can turn around negativity to a positive.
Project progress
I have submitted the surveys to the teachers of the focus years this week and am waiting for their responses. Hopefully I will receive some qualitative data to build the student surveys from.
I had a very useful discussion with one of the year five teachers this week that assisted me in organising my thoughts. He inquired as to what the actual project focus was and what the timeline of the project is (six weeks). He asked me questions such as; how long are you going to have with the students per week? How much can you do in that time? What students do you think you will get a response from?
These questions alerted me to the fact that I have a total of twelve hours spread over six weeks with the students. How much can I truly teach in that time? Not every thing on my concept map I have made. As the year five teacher commented “do something small really well, not something big badly”. I need to focus on a particular software application or tool that will improve the student’s skills. It needs to be useful and exciting and relevant to them. They need to be able to implement it and use it in their everyday lives and lessons. I now have a more refined focus for the project.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Week Four
The lecture for this week was again engaging us as a professional educator within a community as a researcher. It gave us an insight into how to achieve correct results for reporting and collecting data for research. I found this very useful as I am concerned as how I am going to achieve the collection of data that is required and how I am going to justify it as qualitative information. It is my understanding that useful research does not need to be correct or right it just needs to build on relevant data therefore concluding if the initial goal was right. I believe it isn’t to prove something wrong or right, but you need to make connections between your own research and others.
The workshop was very interesting as we were given the chance to discuss data collection tools. We engaged in a jigsaw activity and found each other’s interpretation of each tool. I found we were quite similar in many respects. The discussion turned towards the actual project and how to collect data during the project (observations, anecdotes, surveys etc). This was when a rather heated discussion occurred about how we as pre-service educators have not been given enough information (by the uni) to achieve the best results for the project. I was not in complete agreement during this discussion as I believe at this point in our careers we need to be far more proactive. It is the responsibility of us as future educators to research, investigate, report and engage with information. We need to do this now and learn how to do this otherwise when we become teachers in the classroom an un-proactive nature will transpose onto the students we are teaching. There was also a complaint with the amount of workload that is being evoked upon the current cohort for the duration of the internship. I was on the opposite side of this opinion also as I believe as educators the workload will increase far more than what we are currently engaged in. By the response in the workshop this week many disagree with me and I am in a minority with my current work ethic (a worrying thought).
Project progress
This week I have managed to make a fair bit of progress on my project. As mentioned in a previous post I found that I am a very visual person. I was having difficulty seeing were pieces of the project were going and how many parts to it there were, mainly which software to include. I decided to create a mind map to achieve the structure and organisation I require to start creating tutorials and surveys. I will also create a digital version of this, so watch this space. It has helped immensely to work out what questions I need to ask and realise that the project is an Action Research project and will need to continuously evolve and change. This will be at the request of the educators, students and school community’s needs. This has been a very good and productive week in regards to the project. I need to now finalise my proposal for submission hoping I am on the right track.
Cheers for now
Al
The workshop was very interesting as we were given the chance to discuss data collection tools. We engaged in a jigsaw activity and found each other’s interpretation of each tool. I found we were quite similar in many respects. The discussion turned towards the actual project and how to collect data during the project (observations, anecdotes, surveys etc). This was when a rather heated discussion occurred about how we as pre-service educators have not been given enough information (by the uni) to achieve the best results for the project. I was not in complete agreement during this discussion as I believe at this point in our careers we need to be far more proactive. It is the responsibility of us as future educators to research, investigate, report and engage with information. We need to do this now and learn how to do this otherwise when we become teachers in the classroom an un-proactive nature will transpose onto the students we are teaching. There was also a complaint with the amount of workload that is being evoked upon the current cohort for the duration of the internship. I was on the opposite side of this opinion also as I believe as educators the workload will increase far more than what we are currently engaged in. By the response in the workshop this week many disagree with me and I am in a minority with my current work ethic (a worrying thought).
Project progress
This week I have managed to make a fair bit of progress on my project. As mentioned in a previous post I found that I am a very visual person. I was having difficulty seeing were pieces of the project were going and how many parts to it there were, mainly which software to include. I decided to create a mind map to achieve the structure and organisation I require to start creating tutorials and surveys. I will also create a digital version of this, so watch this space. It has helped immensely to work out what questions I need to ask and realise that the project is an Action Research project and will need to continuously evolve and change. This will be at the request of the educators, students and school community’s needs. This has been a very good and productive week in regards to the project. I need to now finalise my proposal for submission hoping I am on the right track.
Cheers for now
Al
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Week Three
Tutorials & Lectures
The lecture this week was thinking about engaging within a professional community and how educators need to correctly reflect on their own professional practice and pedagogy. The importance of the reflective nature of teaching is apparent throughout all the lectures so far this semester. What was different in this particular one is how we need to be calculating when we are reflecting on things. It is not enough to just sit there and write thoughts, ideas and narrative. Higher order thinking and connections to theory need to be established to achieve proper and useful reflective practice.
Also in the lecture was the discussion of the collaborative nature of an educator within a learning community. Establishing the educator as a ‘key’ to a successful learning community is imperative and this can not be done without educators functioning as professionals.
The workshop for this week was to assist us with researching books, journals, articles, literature and resources for our project. Some useful tips were given by the library staff and the new search engine on the library website is useful.
Project
This week has been a mixture of anxiety and confusion as I had lost track of what my goal was for my project. I was unable to see a clear vision of what I am trying to achieve in the six weeks whilst on my internship. This came about whilst looking for resources in the workshop. I was very happy looking for computer literacy, digital world and ICT in education books online, but it struck me that I was being too vague with my literature research. After asking Sally (lecturer) and having an extended conversation with her, she asked me a question which left me wondering even more. What are you actually researching? I didn’t have an answer. I was stumped. I was also a little scared. If I don’t know at this point in time what I am actually researching surely I am setting myself up to fail. I needed to get some more information and decide to see the course examiner Joan. After explaining my dilemma she helped me to visualise the project and extract the main points I wanted to achieve, thus determining my goal. Listed below are the items discussed:
Computer literacy – This is the over arching theme which I am basing my project on and which the literature I will find will back up the need for computer literacy in schools.
Computer Club – This is the practical application of my project. I am going to put one in place where there isn’t one currently.
Employed teacher to continue work – The main goal is for an established teacher, who works at the school, will recognise the benefits and upon my recommendations continue the work already begun.
That’s it for this week
Cheers
Al
The lecture this week was thinking about engaging within a professional community and how educators need to correctly reflect on their own professional practice and pedagogy. The importance of the reflective nature of teaching is apparent throughout all the lectures so far this semester. What was different in this particular one is how we need to be calculating when we are reflecting on things. It is not enough to just sit there and write thoughts, ideas and narrative. Higher order thinking and connections to theory need to be established to achieve proper and useful reflective practice.
Also in the lecture was the discussion of the collaborative nature of an educator within a learning community. Establishing the educator as a ‘key’ to a successful learning community is imperative and this can not be done without educators functioning as professionals.
The workshop for this week was to assist us with researching books, journals, articles, literature and resources for our project. Some useful tips were given by the library staff and the new search engine on the library website is useful.
Project
This week has been a mixture of anxiety and confusion as I had lost track of what my goal was for my project. I was unable to see a clear vision of what I am trying to achieve in the six weeks whilst on my internship. This came about whilst looking for resources in the workshop. I was very happy looking for computer literacy, digital world and ICT in education books online, but it struck me that I was being too vague with my literature research. After asking Sally (lecturer) and having an extended conversation with her, she asked me a question which left me wondering even more. What are you actually researching? I didn’t have an answer. I was stumped. I was also a little scared. If I don’t know at this point in time what I am actually researching surely I am setting myself up to fail. I needed to get some more information and decide to see the course examiner Joan. After explaining my dilemma she helped me to visualise the project and extract the main points I wanted to achieve, thus determining my goal. Listed below are the items discussed:
Computer literacy – This is the over arching theme which I am basing my project on and which the literature I will find will back up the need for computer literacy in schools.
Computer Club – This is the practical application of my project. I am going to put one in place where there isn’t one currently.
Employed teacher to continue work – The main goal is for an established teacher, who works at the school, will recognise the benefits and upon my recommendations continue the work already begun.
That’s it for this week
Cheers
Al
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