The Knackered Teacher

Week 32 Key change in my professional practice This week I reflect on my 32 week learning journey in which I critically evaluate one key change in my professional practice in relation to a theme from the Hack education research. I have documented and discussed this journey using Rolfe’s (2001) reflective model. What? My Mindlab journey has been a life-absorbing, life-changing, exciting and fast-paced ride, but a ride I have thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to next in line. It’s hard to pinpoint one key change in my professional practice as there have been so many. Really. However, the one key change that stands out from the rest would be collaboration, and the many platforms and mediums used to collaborate with both my learners, peers and colleagues. Using the Hack education starting statement ‘In the future education will be…’, as a prompt, I reflected on the changes I had made in my classroom that had really made a difference for not only myself in m...

Week 31 Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice I have created a reflective entry demonstrating my own critical understanding of indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness. I have discussed these understandings using Rolfe’s (2001) reflective model. What? The more I read, the more it appears that we are teaching in a 'white space' and not doing enough for our indigenous learners. I, myself, identify as both NZ European and Maori ethnicities, however, if I’m to be truly honest with myself, I really only identify with my NZ European identity. I know of and understand parts of my maori identity but I don’t relate to the ‘intangible’ (Teaching Tolerance, 2018) and cultural side of things such as language, values and beliefs as I was raised and schooled in a eurocentric environment. The school I currently teach at has a diverse range of cultures; 6% NZ Maori, 39% NZ European, 2% Pacific, 47% Asian and 6% Other (Sunnyhills, 2018). Our scho...