Week 18 - Applied Practice Reflective Activity 2

Theme 2 - New views of equity, diversity and inclusivity discussed
using Gibbs reflective model (Finlay, 2009).

Description

I have changed my teaching pedagogy from what I have learnt through my mindlab journey. This years cohort of diverse students present with a range of fine motor abilities as well as attitudes towards learning. I have adapted my practice to be more inclusive, through social groups with learners that have different needs, moving beyond differentiated groups in the core subjects to making differentiated groups and individual learning for all learners across the curriculum as well as facilitating learning through a servant leadership approach.

Feelings

I felt that a big shift towards the wider view of equity, diversity and inclusivity discussed in Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd & Hipkins (2012), came during reflection and realising that what may work for one class may/will not work for another diverse class. I felt that I could adapt what had worked well last year to meet this years learner needs. However this years class is very unlike last years. Coming to this realisation made me feel deflated that such a successful 2017 could not be repeated in a similar way. It brought to mind Albert Einstein’s quote

This influenced how I reflected and changed my practice to develop my current students skills to work in a diverse 21st century community. Allowing inclusivity through engaging them in a 21st century model that they otherwise wouldn’t have been included.

Evaluation

I found it difficult to change how the task was achieved, especially when it was for one student in particular. My team leader and I discussed the need to meet the diverse needs of my class across the curriculum. Bolstad et al (2012) agrees with this approach, sharing an example that states “we openly discuss the situation for each child and recognise that programmes, expectations and routines will be different for different children. While many of these children have significant challenges, they also have significant skills that others do not” (p28-29). Changing my approach to the task contributed to greater learning and an enhanced level of skills whilst also engaging all of my diverse learners.

Analysis

My lack of knowledge of my students as learners created an issue in an initial art lesson which escalated to everyone, including myself, dreading art lessons. Absolum (2006) suggests “learning-focused relationships are about using the considerable potential in the relationship between teacher and student to maximise the student’s engagement”. Although this is always a focus of my practice, particularly at the beginning of the year, understanding my students across the curriculum is an area for improvement. By adapting my approach and changing my teaching pedagogy to a more inclusive and diverse model I have shifted the focus to “produce clades, life-long, independent learners with the capacity to live, work and prosper in a whole range of as yet unknown new environments” (Bolstad et al, 2012, p.26).

Conclusion

My practice has positively changed in my postgraduate journey. I can adapt and change my teaching pedagogy to best meet the needs of my learners, through developing strong learning focused relationships whilst fostering equity, diversity and inclusivity.

Action plan

“Rather, the future-focused education literature suggests we need to adopt a much more complex view of knowledge, one that incorporates knowing, doing and being. Alongside this we need to rethink our ideas about how our learning systems are organised, resourced and supported” (Bolstad et al, 2012, p.2). I could also alter the task and offer a variety of tools that could be used to complete the same task. This could be achieved by setting the task as a problem that the students need to solve and it is up to them how they solve it or present the outcome. I will continue to approach art (and all curriculum areas) with diversity and a range of tools to accommodate the needs of my diverse learners.

References

Absolum, M. (2006). Clarity in the classroom. Auckland: Hodder Education.

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching — a New Zealand perspective. Report prepared for the Ministry of Education. Retrieved from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/109306

Finlay, L. (2009). Reflecting on reflective practice. PBPL. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/sites/www.open.ac.uk.opencetl/files/files/ecms/web-content/Finlay-(2008)-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf