Contempory Trends

What is a trend?

Definition of trend

1.

a :a prevailing tendency or inclination 

b :a general movement 

c :a current style or preference 

d :a line of development  

2 :the general movement over time of a statistically detectable change; also :a statistical curve reflecting such a change 

 

3 :a line of general direction or movement 

There are many definitions for the  word "trend". Then there are the "megatrends" which are patterns in social, economic and environmental patterns that will change how we live. 

After reading "The Paradox of Progress" (The National Intelligence Council, 2017), I was feeling more than a little depressed. The future is looking a little dire to say the least. Then I thought about our role as teachers in this fast paced changing world. 

Trend - Global Connectivity 

Technology will connect people like never before (The National Intelligence Council, 2017), which means we have an obligation to prepare our students for this trend. With greater global connectivity comes competition for for jobs and with one million young people from India joining the workforce every month for the next 20 years, our students will need to be competitive. Location is becoming irrelevant when it comes to applying for positions. Our children are also the hope of the future and there are many obstacles facing our planet.

The Pros of Global Connectivity

• Coming from such a small country won't be a problem as we can promote ourselves or businesses worldwide. 
• More up to date information from all over the world will be available.
• It will be harder for crimes against humanity to go unnoticed.
• Education is available to students who, for a variety of reasons, can't or prefer not to, attend an educational institution.
• Jobs in IT will rise.
• You can work from home. 
• Parents and children can be in contact at any time.
• Easier to stay connected with loved ones who live in other countries. 
• People from all parts of the world can work together to come up with solutions for problems 

 

The Cons of Global Connectivity

• Cyber crime will become more of a threat to countries. 
• Online bullying is already a problem. Will it escalate?  
• Terrorists  can infiltrate all areas of society anonymously.
• Health affects of looking at a screen for hours at a time.
• Are we disconnecting socially?

These are just some of the pro's and con's that come to mind. So where do we, as teachers, come into this?

We need future generations to undo the damage done to the world. Therefore we need creative, critical thinkers who have a social and moral conscience. We need our students to have respect and compassion for all races and religions and most importantly we need these new generations to connect with like minded people all over the world, as the trends that are coming are going to need global solutions. Coordination and cooperation (Trends Shaping Education 2016) is going to be essential in solving the worlds problems of climate change, food shortages, pollution and population growth and global connectivity will play a huge role in creating the conditions for this to happen.

With greater global connectivity comes a responsibility to use it for the betterment of the world. Therefore we must educate our children from a young age about the power connectivity has and the dangers.  Using digital devices to work collaboratively and build positive relationships throughout the globe may just be our saving grace.

  "While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections. We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today. "
- Mark Zuckerberg





References:

Trends Shaping Education 2016. (2016). Trends Shaping Education. doi:10.1787/trends_edu-2016-en 

National Intelligence Council. (2017). Global trends: The Paradox of Progress. National Intelligence Council: US. Retrieved from https://www.dni.gov/files/images/globalTrends/documents/GT-Main-Report.pdf 

While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections. We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today. Mark Zuckerberg
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzucker739593.html?src=t_connecting

While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections. We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today. Mark Zuckerberg
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzucker739593.html?src=t_connecting

While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections. We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today. Mark Zuckerberg
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzucker739593.html?src=t_connecting

Professional Context

Professional Context

Professional context includes the socioeconomic status of the community, school culture and professional environments, which includes structures. All of these different aspects of a school must be taken into consideration when implementing change, which leads to improvement. My school is at the beginning of the journey towards Innovative learning Environments.

Socioeconomic Status of the Community

Our school rating is decile 8. This is probably quite high due to the many vineyards, orchards and farms in the area and does not necessarily reflect the families of the children at our school. The families  within the local community come from varied backgrounds, including  farmers, blue collar workers and professionals.

Parents are very supportive of the school and it is the hub of the community. The community is a close knit one and the majority of parents attend parent interviews, which indicates the importance they place on their children's education. 

Even though there is a relatively large difference in some families financial situations, this does not appear to cause issues within the school and children are generous and respectful towards each other. 

The educational attainment of our students is high with 85% of students achieving at or above the National Standard in writing and 90% at or above in reading (Curriculum Report, 2016).

This level of attainment can be attributed to the families and the experience and quality of the teachers. The American Psychological Association states on their website, that school conditions contribute more  to differences in learning rates than family characteristics do.

I think we are fortunate at our school to have such a supportive community, which has produced respectful children who are keen to learn.

School Culture

I really like this quote from Mark Wilson (2013), "A school's culture is the beliefs and priorities that drive the thoughts and actions of the people at the school." He also talks about the need to have purpose and autonomy in order to work towards mastery. I think this is a little simplistic when you take into consideration the different elements involved in a school's culture. The culture of a school is influenced by history, context and the people in it (L, Stoll 1998). 

The culture of our school could be described as a mix of three teaching Cultures, Contrived Collegiality, Collaboration and Bulkanisation. (Hargreaves 1994). 

Contrived Collegiality

Some teachers are co-teaching in open plan classrooms, which is quite a new thing for our school and when I talk to them about it they are very positive about the experience. This collaboration, although compulsory, seems to be working well. A certain amount of whole school planning also takes place.

Collaboration/Balkanisation

Some teachers even though they are not in connecting rooms or open plan classrooms are choosing to share ideas and ways of teaching. Some are making plans to observe each other but as yet it hasn't happened. I do wonder if this is because we have been insulated/isolated for so long that it is difficult to make the first move and perhaps we feel like we are imposing or it may be the lack of time.  These smaller groups, which are not part of the whole, you could point to Balkanism. 

Professional Environment

The professional environment includes structures, time and space. Some of the classrooms at my school have sliding doors between them, which allows for greater collaboration between teachers, but most of them are single celled classrooms. For me though, it is more about what is happening in the classroom that is the important thing and the underlying culture of the school. You can spend as much money you like on the environment but if the culture is not one of collaboration, mutual respect and a shared vision then moving forward can be difficult, if not impossible.  

I am looking forward to a more "future focused approach" but I do know it won't be an easy transition. As with anything, where  people are involved, there are multiple considerations.

 

My Community of Practice

What is a Community of Practice?

Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner (2015) on their website define a Community of Practice as  "...groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly."

They have identified three characteristics of Communities of Practice, which I will use to look deeper into my practice.

 

The Community

This relates to the members who share a common interest, goal or key issue. They interact and learn together to make improvements to their practice. I see my whole school as one community, my syndicate as another and certain staff members as another. 

As a staff we have identified the school wide goal of “Improving literacy among boys”, so we have a shared goal and we participate in professional development, have conversations, share stories, create/develop resources and work towards a solution. 

I sometimes find this community  difficult to embrace, as with any group of people there are a range of personalities and as Cheryl Doig points out, in her Edtalk video, "Working with people is the hardest skill". Having been brought up in the 1960's, it is often difficult for me to put forward my ideas and opinions, fearing I may be out of line or just plain wrong!

   

My syndicate however, strive towards a range of goals. We share stories, resources, ideas and learn from each other. This is at a more informal level, which I find comfortable and I am more than happy to interact in this environment. In this arena I feel more of a sense of belonging due to the relationships we have built. In the video "Cultivating Communities of Practice - Making them Grow" there is an emphasis on nurturing participants and allowing them freedom to have different levels of interest. Lets face it, we are not always going to have the same degree of passion for every issue or goal. 

My final community of learning are those teachers I share a vision with and whom I relate to on a personal level. This is the community that I feel the most "myself" in. It is the one that is built around trust. I enjoy learning in this community because I feel strongly about our shared vision, which centres around providing our students with the skills to take them into the future.

   

The Domain

This is the shared interest, inquiry or issue of the group.  Sometimes as a staff we may not all agree on the issue or on a way forward. I think it is important for all members of the group to have some input but I understand you are never going to get 100% buy-in all of the time. Looking at my own practice it can be difficult to decide which issue to tackle first and sometimes my idea of what is important varies from the mainstream. I really like Gibbs model for reflection and am keen to try it out because I think examining your feelings, regarding an issue, is a good starting place as it will help me reflect honestly.  

 

The Practice (Also called the shared repertoire - Wenger 2000)

This refers to the shared resources, experiences, stories, tools and "...ways of addressing recurring problems", (Wenger-Trayner, E & B, 2015). I am always keen to try new ideas in an effort to improve outcomes for my students. Sometimes though, I need to carry out more research before I go charging in with all guns blazing! Because I like to use digital technology to engage my students, I tend to implement them before I have fully worked them out. Sometimes this is okay as we can learn together but other times it becomes a problem, which causes students to disengage. 

“Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”
― Yvonne Woon

References:
Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

 

Collaboration

I love how teachers help teachers. I put out my teacher inquiry project and almost straight away one of the many amazing teachers out there sends me another web based reading programme to look at and then another sharing, caring teacher points me in the direction of a programme to help students with spelling. Thanks so much to Michelle Lawson and Jocelyn Brodie.

Sunshine reading programme

STEPSweb