Team work to bring about transformational learning
Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu – with
feathers a bird can fly
Transformational learning is where learning is taking place
where there was none before. Often effective teaching cannot take place because
barriers to learning exist. Research has shown that these barriers to learning are
often cultural issues,low literacy or
behavioural issues. Beginning teachers need to be assured that they are not in
this alone, the government recognises that schools should be learning
communities where the teachers are learning as much as the students are
learning. Teachers collaborate and share resources and
ideas, they undertake professional development, they develop relationships with
whanau and the wider community to create an effective learning environment .
As a beginning teacher I need to remind myself of the one of
the drivers behind why I am driven to become a teacher. How when I worked with
rehabilitation of ex-prisoners I noticed the common denominator among all the workers
was having a low literacy level.How when I was on practicum I noticed those
whose behaviour was the most outrageous were often those who had greatest potential
.How those who seemed the hardest to reach would suddenly be transformed into
another being through acknowledgement of their culture. However finding a way
to ignite the spark and fuel the fire of learning requires teamwork “working in
supportive and rigorous learning communities with their peers and expert
support”(MoE,2005).
Examples of this transformative team teaching programmes are
Te Kotahitanga ,literacy initiatives and Positive Behaviour for learning.Te
kotahitanga is a research and professional development programme that supports
teachers to raise Maori student achievement through effectice teaching
practices.Students need to develop the literacy expertise to engage with the
curriculum and become independent learners.The government has developed an
online literacy portal that enables teachers todevelop teaching and learning programmes based on the literacy needs of their students.The
Literacy Learning Progressions is one of the professional tools details what is
expected of the student at the end of each year of schooling.Positive Behaviour
for Learning is a school wide programme that aims to develop a culture where positive
behaviour and learning flourish through
whole school behaviour management systems.Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate
embarked on a PB4L programme at the beginning of this year and recently more
than 100 students turned up to their afterschool homework sessions indicating a
school wide positive change in attitudes to learning.check out the video below to see how Wanganui High school student approaches to PB4L.
References.
Ministry of Education
(2005).Making a bigger difference for all students.Hingaia he huarahi hei
whakarewa ake i ngatauira katoa
No comments:
Post a Comment