Mindlab reflection 1: Transformation 2

 1. Critically reflect on your learning journey so far in digital and collaborative teaching and learning (What?)

I began this journey to improve my eLearning skills and gain more knowledge on digital technology.  My Kura, along with myself, were in the emerging stage of the eLearning framework. I noticed from the framework that my school was not working in partnerships with the community, whanau, and networks to reflect and plan (MOE, d.u) and digital technology is used to supplement teacher-directed tasks. My class had only a small amount of interaction with Chromebooks at a substitution level in terms of the SAMR Model. I knew that as a teacher, I needed to do more quality learning with digital tools. This led me to join the Mindlab program.

At the beginning of my learning journey, I listed all the things I wanted to accomplish with the Mindlab program, so far I have learned that in my classroom my students needed more development in collaboration. In the real world, you are required to work in teams to work together to meet an end goal. My students weren’t doing this, they were cooperating, and they were able to work together in many different circumstances but they were not really collaborating. When looking at the collaboration rubric from the ITL Research(2012) Collaboration rubric, my students were only doing number 2, working together but they don’t have shared responsibility. 

As I joined more Mindlab sessions, I began to gain more knowledge on how to be more collaborative in class. My students are now collaborating and collectively completing tasks together. They understand everyone collaboration helps people interact with one another in order to achieve a specific goal or develop an end product (Panitz, 1999). Using scratch enabled my students to share each other's knowledge and ideas. By doing it together, everybody learned and had a better understanding of the process and arrived at the outcome for their thinking. Not only was this a success but it showed me the real benefits of collaboration: 

Greater engagement 

Development of shared understanding 

A deeper understanding of learning tasks

This enhanced my belief in collaboration.The Mindlab program involved new learning and some concepts I have heard about before were flipped learning, blended learning, and familiar digital technologies. Flipped learning resonated with me, especially when teaching during the pandemic lockdown. It was a beneficial approach during the lockdown, given in class lessons were impossible to provide. Flipped learning provided an opportunity for student agency and collaboration. Shifting the responsibility for learning to the student (Panitz, 1999).  By fostering this approach students become more empowered to learn and encourage student engagement. I assigned work and provided resources and clips to students, providing students the opportunity to take their learning into their own hands. I now use this concept in class, assigning group tasks with materials and presentations that can be viewed with groups in rotations. This approach allowed students to be prepared for teaching sessions and have ideas and solutions for problems, this optimizes learning time during class. 

At the beginning of the Mindlab program I understood my own teaching practice was far from perfect, I was a technology consumer rather than a creator. During the Mindlab session, I began to shift away from being a consumer and utilizing technology to create. My classroom is now using technology to create. We have created stories on book creators, and animations on scratch and have blogs. I could see the shift through the eLearning framework, the shift from the emerging stage to the empowering stage. Students are getting equipped to take part in society as informed citizens and developing broader technological knowledge (MOE, 2017). 

As I joined the Mindlab sessions I found tools and time to observe and analyze my own teaching practice. I have made changes in my classroom to help students, and now have the 21st-century learning skills on the wall in my classroom.

Reference list

ITL Research. (2012). 21CLD Learning Activity Rubrics. Retrieved from https://education.microsoft.com/GetTrained/ITL-Research

Ministry of Education (n.d.) E-Learning Planning Framework. Elearning.tki.org.nz

Ministry of Education. (2017). Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum. http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/content/download/167461/1235900/file/Technology%20in%20the%20New%20Zealand%20Curriculum%202017

Panitz, T. (1999). Collaborative versus Cooperative Learning: A Comparison of the Two Concepts Which Will Help Us Understand the Underlying Nature of Interactive Learning. ERIC. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED448443

2. Evaluate the links between leadership concepts and culturally intelligent innovations in education (What?)

Our school environment currently has four teachers as syndicate team leaders. I notice some leadership styles are different and more effective than others, and that certain leadership styles are more suitable and effective in terms of my personality and who I am as an educator. The following leadership concepts are the leadership styles mainly shown in our Kura. I will be discussing and evaluating three of the leadership concepts and how they affect me as a teacher. 

Franciosi(2012, p.g 5) states that transformational leadership “emphasizes the quality of relationships between leader and follower through ethical role-modeling, motivation and care for individual needs”. Transformational leadership can be considered “the more flexible approach that serves to empower and guide rather than to control subordinates” We know from this that a transformational leader is more motivating and encouraging. This type of leadership style leads their followers to achieve their goals (Dai, Dai, Chen & Wu, 2013), a leader not only knows when to lead but also when to follow. This also aligns with Servant leadership. 

In my workplace, transactional leadership is the style of leadership notably seen. Franciosi(2012) explains transactional leadership emphasizes a contractual relationship, between the leader and the follower based on extrinsic rewards and punishments. Burns(1978) outlined ideas on transactional leadership, leaders approach followers with a view of exchanging one thing for another. This type of leadership has seen teachers feel unvalued and ideas/thoughts unappreciated. Leadership that steers towards a transactional style works with their followers to gain results without being considerate of how they feel, this contributes to the point that transactional leadership building strong relationships is not essential. Followers of transactional leadership have a high level of commitment and are at risk of pain in order to achieve the results that are asked of them. I feel I have struggled under this type of leadership, this style of leadership has not benefited my learning journey. 

My school is diverse, there are many staff members from all ethnicities. Cultural intelligence will help ensure that every leader and individual within an organization can thrive in culturally diverse settings, creating a more inclusive, innovative, and successful New Zealand(Chua, 2017). This is a clear pathway for learning, and adapting to another culture of leadership. A lack of culturally intelligent leadership can lead to problems such as inappropriate cultural expressions of traditional knowledge (Marketing Week, 2001). A culturally intelligent workplace can understand each other and interact more effectively. Cultural intelligence and transformational leadership are strong components in creating culturally intelligent leadership(Steinmann, 2020). Our workplace needs this type of leadership to grow, as it will help ensure learners develop and strengthen their capabilities for living and learning (MoE, 2014). 

Reference list

Bowman, R. F, (2005). Teacher as Servant Leader. Clearing House: A Journal of Eduactional Strategie, Issues and Ideas, 78(6), 257.

Dai, Y. D., Dai, Y. Y., Chen, K. Y., & Wu, H. C. (2013). Transformational vs transactional leadership: which is better? A study on employees of international tourist hotels in Taipei City. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(5), 760–778. doi:10.1108/IJCHM-Dec-2011-0223

Franciosi, S. J. (2012). Transformational leadership for education in a digital culture. Digital Culture & Education, 4:2, 235-247.

Gotsis, G., & Grimani, K. (2016). The role of servant leadership in fostering inclusive organizations. Journal of Management Development, 35(8), 985–1010. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-07-2015-0095

Marketing Week. (2001). Lego draws up toys cultural code of conduct after Maori controversy. Marketing Week, 24(39), 8.

Ministry of Education. (2014). Leadership and the key competencies. Retrieved from https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Key-competencies/Tools/Leadership-and-the-key-competencies/Culture

Steinmann, M. (2020). Exploration of the contribution and limits of non-Māori leadership within Māori communities: a research thesis on cross cultural leadership and cultural intelligence. Master's thesis. Unitec Institute of Technology. https://www.researchbank.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10652/4948/MAP%20%28SP%29%202020%20Martin%20Steinmann%20%2b.pdf

3. Critically reflect on your own leadership and followership so far in the context of changing educational environments (So what?)

I am both a leader and a follower, moving back and forth along the continuum. Greenleaf suggests that we are on a continuum during our lifetime(Crippen, 2012), and I couldn’t agree more. We are constantly moving along this continuum and neither one nor the other is better(Crippen, 2012). Both leader and follower are equally important, and good followership creates good leadership. That is, without people who are willing to follow there would be no opportunity for anyone to exercise leadership  (Katen, 2010).  Hollander (1992) notes that "the role of follower can be seen as holding within its potential for both assessing and taking on leadership functions. In addition to directing activity, these include decision making, goal setting, communicating, adjudicating conflict, and otherwise maintaining the enterprise".

I have adopted more of a servant leadership model. According to Greenlaef(1977) the focus of servant leadership is on others rather than on self and an understanding of the role of the leader as a servant. I feel that my own personal beliefs and Samoan upbringing play a role also, to serve our elders, family, and community. Apulu(2010) says “You must always remember your position and ensure that you accept it in order to receive many great blessings from Aiga you must learn to see service as a blessing, not a burden." Service is important in the Polynesian community, to serve with absolute integrity and Alofa(Love). This helps build strong relationships, that is how leadership is built upon, connecting and relationships, "Tautua, service, is typically Samoan because it means providing service to others, family, religion, and society, without hope of reward. (Vaá, 2009)", service is the path to leadership. I am respectful and respectful of hierarchy, as a member of the Polynesian community I understand that we respect our elders and those who are more experienced than us, we know our place and will not overstep. As someone who understands this more than anything, I tend to focus on the feelings of others and listen to what they want and need. This is why I lean more toward the servant leadership model. Global Woman (2015) says you should “Build a relationship with individuals and your team before anything else '' building strong relationships is important, you will get more out of the team if you understand one another and be able to contribute to building the future. I agree with Global Woman (2015) “Pacific people connect with their hearts before we connect through our heads” which is why certain leadership styles are hard for me to follow. 

Kelley (1998) identifies two ways that people follow, those that are independent critical thinkers and those that actively engage in creating positive energy for the organization. Based on his two dimensions, Kelly(1998) found five basic styles of followership, the fellowship style I lean more towards is the Yes-people. According to Kelly(1998) Yes-people are positive, always on the leader’s side, but still looking to the leader for the thinking, the direction, and the vision. If the leader asks them to do something, they’ve got the energy, and they’ll go forward with it. Before I started my Mindlab journey I was definitely a Yes-person, I saw it as being a team player and playing my part in our team's success. Now I understand that there are various types of fellowships, and have learned what an effective follower is. Pushing myself to challenge viewpoints and offer constructive alternatives this year, as I want to be an effective follower who makes their own independent evaluation, rather than agreeing because I should. I have now changed my mindset on followership and leadership through Kelly(1998) advice on how followers can be more effective by Redefining Followership and Leadership, Honing Followership Skills, Performance Evaluation and Feedback, and Organizational Structures That Encourage Followership. 

I plan on using many concepts in how I lead. I hope to build stronger relationships, Global Women(2015) states “Provide your staff and team members the opportunity to celebrate and share their culture with others. This opportunity allows Pacific people to bring all of who they are into the workplace which in turn supports organizational development”. I feel that my cultural background will be beneficial when interacting and working with others. Spiller and Stockdale (2013) note that "Leaders can act as catalysts for transformation by helping others connect to themselves through relationships with nature, the spiritual domain, ancestors, culture, and people.". Adopting the Wayfinder leadership by Spiller, Barclay-Kerr, and Panoho (2015) will help me to go beyond what I know and journey on voyager sif discovery to new horizons. Wayfinding teaches us how we can increase our responsibility, and the ability to respond and avoid reactivity, especially in the face of great challenges(Spiller & Lindsey, 2016). The Wayfinder has a deep understanding of themselves, their crew, their waka, and the environment, this is what I hope to be achieve when leading a team. 

Reference list

Apulu, M. T. J. (2010). Tautua faatamalii: Servant hood with absolute integrity, engaging with Samoan young people. Unpublished master’s thesis, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand. https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/2914 

Crippen, C. (2012). The Importance of Followership in Schools: First, Teacher Awareness. EdCan Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/the-importance-of-followership-in-schools-first-teacher-awareness/

Global Women. (2015, September 2). Cultural Intelligence: Anne Fitisemanu from a Pacific perspective. https://www.globalwomen.org.nz/inclusive-cultures/cultural-intelligence-anne-fitisemanu-from-a-pacific-perspective/ 

Greenleaf, R. K. (1970). The servant as leader. Robert K. Greenleaf Publishing Center.

Hollander, E.P. (1992). The Essential Interdependence of Leadership and Followership. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(2),71-75. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=leadershipfacpubons.unl.edu

Katene, S. (2010). Modelling Māori leadership: What makes for good leadership. Mai Review, 2(2), 11-12. http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/mrindex/MR/article/view/334/477.html

Kelley, R. (1988, November). In Praise of Followers. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/1988/11/in-praise-of-followers

Spiller, C., Barclay-Kerr, H., & Panoho, J. (2015). Wayfinding leadership: Ground-breaking wisdom for developing leaders. Huia Publishers

Spiller, M. M., & Lindsey, E. (2016). Good Vibrations: Mastering the Wayfinders’ Code for Leadership. International Leadership Association newsletter, (5), 15-18 https://wayfindingleadership.co.nz/page/132/articles-for-downloading

Vaá, U. L. (2009). Samoan custom and human rights: An indigenous view. Victoria U. Wellington L. Rev., 40, 237. https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/vuwlr/article/download/5388/4715

4. Critically reflect on your potential to lead educational transformation based on the insights you have gained into digital and collaborative learning and leadership (Now what?)

In order for me to improve my teaching practice I will need to better understand pedagogical leadership. I have been a member of the same team for the last three years, and have yet to be exposed to pedagogical leadership. Abal (2016) says “Pedagogical leadership is about supporting teaching and learning. It includes instructional leadership - supporting classroom teachers in their key role of implementing the curriculum.” In order for me to better utilize the tools and information gained from the Mindlab program I must be more knowledgeable about the pedagogical approach. Leadership practices associated with pedagogical leadership are better predictors of student results (Robinson, Hohepa, Lloyd., 2009). Supporting teaching and learning, not only motivates teachers and encourages those to take responsibility for pedagogical issues. Pedagogical leadership is more important in an educational context. Pedagogical leadership is “a theory of educational leadership that is embedded in evidence about how to improve teaching and learning.” (p.72). According to Male & Palaiologou (2015, p. 226) “Pedagogical leadership is a praxis that goes beyond the practice within the immediate learning environment and the key focus is a threefold development of Interactions in the ecology of the community, activities with all participants and construction of knowledge using all available resources such as technology.” 

With pedagogical leadership, teachers can truly optimize learning opportunities. Collaborative leadership is my next point of reflection. The ultimate goal where the Collaborative Leadership Growth Cycle is concerned is to choose an area in which leaders can be more collaborative at the end, as outlined in De Witt and Slade (2014). De Witt (2016) states “A collaborative leader is someone who uses evidence to meet stakeholders where they are, models how to do it, and motivates them to improve.” Being a team of five members, often, it is the members who collaborate and the team leader observes. De Witt's Collaborative Leadership Framework, it suggests leaders will use different types of leadership contexts, but they should always aim to be collaborators. In our team working together to co-construct goals and be driven by open communication and transparency will enable us to achieve better results. Using the Collaboration Leadership framework as a tool of reflection to study and understand how I might be goal-setting and leading. 

Understanding that change is different for everyone is important. Osborne (2014) states if people have a lot of themselves invested in the old way of doing things, it’s understandable if they feel a sense of loss when that old way comes to an end. Change is difficult and it takes time to stop using time-honored strategies and approaches that have served the school well over the years. I know that within my team, some members are hesitant to change their ways, and value what they know. Change often leads to people feeling personally threatened because the skills and strengths for which they have been valued and respected in the old order may not be as important or valued in the new order(Osborne, 2014). Changing behavior will take time, by supporting to see the point of the change and agree with it, role modeling, reinforcement system, and the skills required for change will help them to move forward (Lawson & Price, 2003, as cited in Keller & Aiken, 2009)

Lovely(2019) four lessons for leading change are to be a multiplier, take responsibility for the outcomes you get, listen and learn and unleash the power of yet. There are many leadership styles and one student can have multiple. Not one leadership style is right for every manager under all circumstances. Instead, contingency-situational theories were developed to indicate that the style to be used is contingent upon such factors as the situation, the people, the task, the organization, and other environmental variables(Bolden, Gosling, Marturano & Dennison, 2003). To be a teacher and agent of change is raising “Deep educational change can only happen through teachers and school management and their interactions and relationships with the learner. This kind of change has to see teachers, truly, as the key agents of change” (NCCA. 2009, p. 16). I hope to be an agent of change and help lead education transformation.

Reference list

Abal, M. (2016, April 25). Why Pedagogical Leadership? McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/why-pedagogical-leadership/

Bolden, R., Gosling, J., Marturano, A., & Dennison, P. (2003). A review of leadership theory and competency frameworks. Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter. http://business-school.exeter.ac.uk/documents/discussion_papers/cls/mgmt_standards.pdf

De Witt, P. (2016). Collaborative Leadership: Six Influences That Matter Most. Corwin Press.

De Witt, P. & Slade, S. (2014). School Climate Change: How Do I Build a Positive Environment for Learning? ASCD.

Keller, S., & Aiken, C. (2009). The inconvenient truth about change management - Why it isn’t working and what to do about it. McKinsey & Company.

Lovely, S. (2019). Ready for Anything : Four Touchstones for Future-Focused Learning (Innovative Teaching Strategies to Prepare Students for the Future). Solution Tree. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/themindlab/detail.action?docID=5851069

Male, T., & Palaiologou, I. (2015). Pedagogical leadership in the 21st century: Evidence from the field. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 214-231.

NCCA. (2009). Leading and supporting change in schools: A discussion paper. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. https://ncca.ie/media/1082/leading_and_supporting_change_in_schools_a_discussion_paper.pf

Osborne, M. (2014). Inviting innovation: Leading meaningful change in schools. Set, 2, 3-8. https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/journals/set/downloads/set2014_2_003.pdf 

Robinson, V., Hohepa, M., & Lloyd, C. (2009). School leadership and student outcomes. Identifying What Works and Why Best Evidence Synthesis.

Mindlab relfection: Innovation 2

 Innovation 2 Assignment: Implementing innovation in educational practice

Entry 5: Critically evaluate the successes and challenges you have encountered so far while implementing your innovation

My group and I decided to utilize technology to create an interactive tour of the school setting and made this tour bilingual to engage more of our community. Engaging children and communities using their home language is important and should be included in school interactions and programs. During the process of creating and implementing this innovation, we were faced with many successes and many setbacks. 

The New Zealand Technology Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2018) highlights the importance of teaching our students to become avid users of digital tools to enable them to participate as active members of society. My group and I were guided by this document when implementing our innovation. We wanted our innovation to encourage our learners to broaden their knowledge of and familiarity with different digital technologies. Our innovation allowed us to introduce our learners to newfound knowledge, expanding their knowledge of digital tools. 

I would say the collaboration was a success during the implementation of our innovation. As a group, we spent a long time collaborating and discussing what our students need, and the challenges the community is facing with COVID-19. We did our best to set a time limit, stay on topic, and encouraged a safe environment where we could put forward our ideas no matter how outrageous they may have seemed (GP Practice, 2021). We understood our student's and families' challenges and that digital technology in school is emerging. We agreed our innovation needs to encourage the development of all of the key competencies of thinking, managing self, participating and contributing, relating to others, and using language, symbols, and texts (Ministry of Education, 2014). Working together as a group enabled us to interact with one another in order to develop our innovation and achieve our end goal(Panitz, 1999).

We understood that digital technology in school is emerging. According to Google's "Future of the Classroom: Emerging Trends in K-12 Education" report (New Zealand Edition), 8 in 10 New Zealand principals say that digital technologies are positively impacting student achievement, but 72% report that professional development among staff presents either a “major barrier” or “somewhat of a barrier” to the use of digital technologies in schools (Google for Education, n.d). Although we had amazing ideas, we didn’t know where to start with implementing this into our classes, school, and the wider community. An interactive tour was the idea we all agreed on but were unsure of where to start to create a prototype. We had to create a floor plan that included outlines of the schools, an understanding how to implement languages into it, and virtual reality. It can’t say it was a “major barrier” but it was “somewhat of a barrier”.  

Culture and Identity are important for our students and families which is why our group has decided to create our 3D Virtual tours in Te Reo Māori and Pasifika languages. We wanted to ensure that our communities will be able to take part in the innovation. Reaching out to our communities and various networks, to get input, ideas, and data wasn’t the easiest task. We needed family and community input and also on board, as it is important to involve whanau in learning conversations. We have worked hard to establish and maintain strong relationships with whanau, however, there are some who we rarely hear from or get hold of. This issue is one of our biggest challenges, engaging and getting in contact with our families,  and it isn't one that is going to be removed any time soon. We initially wanted to work collectively together with our families to help us translate and write up subtitles so they too can be a part of it. I understand that we may not be able to get in contact with many families, but without the support of our whanau our innovation has its limits. We will continue to reflect upon how we can help these students and their whanau. We are realistic about the fact that, regardless of where we teach, or what community our students are from, there will always be some families who are harder to connect with than others.

The learning theory that our innovation relates to and is guided by is connectivism. Connectivism challenges the old-age idea that teachers hold all of the knowledge, and looks at the new world of learning that holds new and exciting opportunities for learners as they can access and gather information from and share information with the rest of the world (Siemens, 2005) & (Downes, 2010). Seeing our innovation into action will provide great opportunities for our learners to connect with each other, seeking and sharing, as well as looking into issues and perspectives from all over the world. This is a success in my eyes and surely the rest of my group would agree.

References

Google for Education. (n.d). Future of the Classroom: Emerging Trends in K-12 Education NZ  Edition. http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/new_zealand_future_of_the_classroom_country_report.pdf

GP Strategies (2021). Webinar Design Thinking: Empathize. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91ujUV4juf0

Mercier, O. R., McFadgen, B., & Rata, A. (2017). Keep teaching this! Engaging Māori Studies students with digital cultural mapping tools. In H. Whaanga, T. Keegan & M. Apperley (Eds). He Whare Hangarau Māori- Language, culture & technology, (pp. 97-101). University of Waikato.

Ministry of Education. (2014). New Zealand Curriculum. Key Competencies. 

Retrieved from: https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Key-competencies

Ministry of Education. (2018). NZC. Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum Insert Web. Wellington, New Zealand.  Retrieved from: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology

Panitz, T. (1999). Collaborative versus Cooperative Learning: A Comparison of the Two Concepts Which Will Help Us Understand the Underlying Nature of Interactive Learning. ERIC. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED448443

Siemens, G., 2005. Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), pp.3-10.

Entry 6: Critically reflect leadership during the implementation of your digital and collaborative innovation

Leadership during the implementation of my group's innovation varied in some ways and not. Before beginning the planning and thinking stages of the group innovation, I wanted to adopt a leadership style that steered towards the Agile leadership. To be a leader that accepts that change is inevitable, think creatively, envision a successful outcome, and be able to articulate that vision and the process to achieve it (Herrmann, 2016). To create and implement our innovation, agile leadership was the way to go. 

During the beginning of our discussions around the challenges of our students, I quickly fell into the realm of Servant leadership. Focussing on the other members of the group, letting them know that their ideas and thoughts were heard. Gotsis & Grimani state that for servant leadership to be effective it needs  “inclusive behaviors stemming from inclusive mindsets” (Gotsis & Grimani, 2016, pg.17). When we started brain dumping ideas, I ensured everyone's ideas were thought out and discussed so nobody felt unappreciated. I wanted to create a positive environment and ensure everyone felt good to be a part of a collaborative working group, and ensure everyone felt supported and motivated to work for the success of our innovation (Franciosi, 2012). I felt that servant leadership contributed to our group, as it helped to create a safe space for sharing ideas and working together without the feeling of the need to withhold ideas that may or may not be beneficial to our overall goal. 

There are clear links between Servant and Agile Leadership. Beck and Andres (2004) see Servant Leadership as a key component of leading agile teams. The agile leader should: Facilitate, remove obstacles, encourage reflection, be a servant leader, create a safe environment and allow teams to self-organize. The one I feel clearly represents me during our group meetings was “be a servant leader”. The two key points that I struggled with were facilitating and removing obstacles. I played the role of listening and understanding everyone in my group really well, which gave the opportunity to facilitate and action our plan difficult for me. I took a step back from it and was more of the lending hand, rather than the frontman. This was an obstacle that I couldn’t remove for myself, the fear of messing up and getting it wrong. In order for me to be an agile leader, I need to be able to do these two things. These were my goals further into the implementation of our prototype. Although I couldn’t do this in the beginning, it was something I wanted to improve on, and slowly but surely I did. I was able to step forward and facilitate communication networks to connect with our families and communities and help come up with different ways to connect with our whanau.

Franciosi(2012, p.g 5) states that transformational leadership “emphasizes the quality of relationships between leader and follower through ethical role-modeling, motivation, and care for individual needs”. As our group continued to find networks and build relationships with our whanau and families, we were finding it hard to make these connections. During this time it was crucial to be flexible, and empower and guide my group members. I made zoom meetings more interactive, and shared pallets and notes about our readings in case some of us missed them. We all had a clear idea of what we wanted for our group, so more motivation and encouragement will lead us to achieve our goal for our innovation. It was clear to me that my goal of becoming more of a transformational leader was achievable, it may not be achievable now but it’s the beginning of something.

References

Beck, K. & Andres, C. (2004), Extreme Programming Explained (2nd Ed.) Addison-Wesley. Schwaber, K. & Beedle, M. (2001). Agile Software Development with Scrum. Pearson.

Franciosi, S. J. (2012). Transformational leadership for education in a digital culture. Digital Culture & Education, 4:2, 235-247.

Gotsis, G., & Grimani, K. (2016). The role of servant leadership in fostering inclusive organizations. Journal of Management Development, 35(8), 985–1010. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-07-2015-0095 

Herrmann, D. (2016). Agile Leadership. Leadership Excellence, 33(6), 25.

Entry 7: Critically reflect on what kaupapa Māori principles informed opportunities for digital and collaborative innovation you will be passionate about focusing on in the future

Kaupapa Maori principles informed our design thinking process in numerous ways. Rangahau (d.u) talks of the Māori principle Āta which is explained as the principle relating to building and nurturing relationships. Knowing that I work in predominantly Māori and Pasifika schools, being aware of the principle āta when initiating, building, and maintaining genuine relationships with our students and their whanau are part of culturally responsive practice (Tapasā, 2018). The principle Rangahau (n.d) explains that in kaupapa Māori the principle of whānau sits at the absolute core of kaupapa Māori, and acknowledges the importance of whānau engagement.

The well-being of our learners and whanau has been impacted in various ways, this has also caused challenges for students who have had to transition back into a foreign school setting that is constantly changing. Rangahau (d.u)  explains the principle of Whanau acknowledges the relationships that Māori have with one another and with the world around them. It’s important to strengthen our relationships with families to better support our learners. The well-being of our students and their whanau is important, by allowing our whanau to be at the forefront of our innovation and by using their voices in the virtual tour will contribute to our learner's well-being and their whanau. Rangahau (d.u) talk of the Whanau principle acknowledges the responsibility and obligations of the researcher to nurture and care for these relationships and also the intrinsic connection between the researcher, the researcher, and the research. This meant Kia whakaute, kia whakamānawa i te tangata - respecting and showing gratitude towards people (Smith, 1999) knowing that we were handling our community intellectual property, kaua e takahia te mana o te tangata - not trampling over the mana of people (Smith, 1999) By supporting our whanau and learners and providing opportunities for our whanau to be involved and be the center will contribute to their overall well-being. This also relates to the principle of Ata - The Principle of Growing Respectful Relationships, which is a transformative approach relating specifically to the building and nurturing of relationships.

Learners will be empowered through the Kaupapa Māori principle of Tino Rangatiratanga - The Principle of Self-determination as the way we are expecting our tamariki to work promotes control, self-determination, and independence. By facilitating students with the right resources and knowledge, they will be able to work independently and be self-determined to use their digital skills to create their own virtual tours of landmarks, or places we could visit if we go into lockdown again. The overall goal is to provide students with the knowledge to become digital citizens. The notion of Tino Rangatiratanga asserts the goal of Kaupapa Māori initiatives, to control their own culture, aspirations, and destiny. This provides the platform for teaching and learning practices that are inherent and unique to each individual (including our Maori learners). Our students are used to the expectations of teachers, families, and peers. Through the principle of Tino Rangatiratanga, they will be at the center of their own learning rather than performing to someone's expectation of them. This innovation is the beginning which is to reconnect with our whanau and community to better interact with them. Our next steps and the overall goal is to support our learners and give them a sense of control over their own learning, culture, aspirations, and destiny (Rangahau, d.u). 

References

Rangahua. (n.d.). Kaupapa Māori Derived Methods. Retrieved from

 http://www.rangahau.co.nz/research-idea/27/ 

Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books.

Tapasa (2017). Cultural Competencies framework for teachers of Pacific learners. Retrieved from 

https://tapasa.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/files/Tapasa-Cultural-Competencies-Framework-for-Teachers-of-Pacific-Learners-2019.pdf#page=10

Entry 8: Critically reflect on how you could lead future change in the digital and collaborative learning context taking account of your learning experiences on the DCL program

During the Mindlab program course, I’ve gained insight into what digital and collaborative learning really is. It’s been a full-on journey, but the growth in knowledge and as a teacher has been worth the effort. I start this journey with a not-so-clear understanding of what I wanted to change in my practice, like Osterman, K.F., & Kettkamp, R.B. (2015) describes, I wanted to improve my practice but was unsure of the actions I needed to take to be more successful, for the most part, I would quickly move to solutions rather than focussing on problems. I realized that the issue wasn't that I understood there were gaps in my knowledge, but that I wasn’t seeing it as a critical problem to my teaching nor understanding the processes required to improve my practice. 

Digital responsibility is a way I will be leading future change in DCL. Digital responsibility is one of the emerging trends that educators have been addressing is how to teach our learners to have d healthy relationships with technology and to be safe and confident explorers of the digital world. It is important that we educate our learners on how to be safe when using digital tools. I firmly believe that it is beneficial to learners if we teach them how to manage themselves online, and what to do if they are in an unfamiliar situation. I’ll be honest, I have yet to do this and will be implementing this into my classroom.

Student agency is also how I will be leading future change in DCL Prior to Mindlab, I understand student agency as independence, to do learning tasks provided independently and taking learning into their own hands. As I attended the Mindlab classes, I realized students' agency is more than that. A classroom focused interpretation of agency ‘emphasizes students’ active engagement within richly furnished curricular settings with the support of teachers who encourage student risk-taking and active, self-directed experimentation with the alternative possibilities available in such settings” (Martin, 2004, p. 144). Student agency builds lifelong learners, and prepares learners for life not just in school but beyond it. 

I understand that digital devices impact humans and society change over time." (Ministry of Education, 2018). Our learners need to know 21st century skills. The Mindlab program involved new learning and some concepts I have heard about before were flipped learning, blended learning and familiar digital technologies. This new way of learning shifts the responsibility to learners, which isn’t the traditional way. I believe that utilizing these concepts like flipped learning into our classrooms is beneficial for our learners, it gives them the opportunity to create on their own and learn at their own pace. Hipkins (2021) claims that “Familiar pedagogies from industrial-age schooling often work against the development of a disposition to understand the world in complexity terms. They are typically underpinned by linear models of cause-and-effect thinking, and may not make space for the sorts of critical/creative conversations that complexity thinking demands.” (p. 38). These concepts that I have learnt through Mindlab will be used in my classrooms, so they become digital citizens equipped with 21st century skills.

I was a technology consumer rather than a creator. During the Mindlab session, I began to shift away from being a consumer and utilizing technology to create. I also learnt that leadership in teaching isn’t just those in positions of leadership, I will be a leader that supports and strengthens those around me, so that my students are equipped to take part in society as informed citizens and develop broad technological knowledge (Ministry of Education, 2018). Mindlab has given me the skills and knowledge to justify change, innovation and engage students in meaningful learning experiences.

References

Hipkins, R. (2021). Teaching for Complex Thinking. NZCER Press.

Martin, J. (2004). Self-Regulated Learning, Social Cognitive Theory, and Agency. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 135-145.

Ministry of Education. (2018). NZC. Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum Insert Web. Wellington, New Zealand.  Retrieved from: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Technology

Osterman, K. & Kottkamp, R.(1993). Reflective practice for educators.California:Corwin Press, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/RefPract/Osterman_Kottkamp_extract.pdf