How to engage team work for transformative learning
It takes a village to raise a child
Transformative learning is where learning is taking place
where there was none before .One of the greatest rewards for the beginning
teacher is connecting with those hard to reach students.To know that one is
really making a difference and transforming a student into a lifelong
learner is the reason why people strive to become effective teachers. However effective teaching often cannot take place
because barriers to learning exist. Research has shown that these barriers to
learning are sociological , stemming
from cultural issues,or are caused by low
literacy or behavioural issues. Solutions
to these issues are beyond the realm of just the classroom and must involve the
whole school in the context of the community.The government recognises that
schools themselves should become
learning communities where the teachers are learning alongside the students.
Teachers collaborate and share resources and ideas, they
undertake professional development and 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).
Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu – with feathers a bird can fly
Examples of these transformative team teaching programmes are
Te Kotahitanga Ministry literacy initiatives and Positive Behaviour for Learning(PB4L).Te
Kotahitanga is a research and professional development programme that supports
teachers to raise Maori student achievement. By focussing on self determination,acknowledgement
of the concept of wananga,non deficit thinking and developing positive
classroom relationships teachers can promote Maori engagement in learning(Bishop
et al.,2009).
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 available to teachers.It 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.
References.
(Bishop ,R. &Berryman,M.( 2009).The Te
Kotahitanga effective teaching profile.Set research information for teachers Set
2009:NZCER.
Ministry of Education (2005).Making a
bigger difference for all students.Hingaia he huarahi hei whakarewa ake i
ngatauira katoa
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