Labour weekend 2019

.....and this is a bit of a surprise..... I have been writing a lot, just not in this format. With my Masters dissertation now nearly completed - all going well it will be submitted on time - it’s quite nostalgic to be back here. I needed to find out how to log in because this blog used to be connected to G+ which was shut down months ago.... A shame as we had some really great work in the Communities. Everything changes over time.

Feels a bit like this - am I in or not?

Where did the time go?

....I can't believe its been over 6 months. I've dipped into this blog a couple of times since last September with the intention of an update and just haven't done it. Since my last entry my Grad Diploma in Tertiary Teaching has been completed, graduated in December 2016 and the award framed and hung on the wall. I am very proud of the work that went into achieving that and the support from my class mates and lecture was incredible. I am already close to the end of my first paper studying for my Master on Educational Leadership and have just outlined my last assignment for this one. The work so far has been just as challenging to decipher , and I finally find myself understanding the written work we are reading, There is a big change from teaching to leading and all that goes with it, especially once you begin to unpack what your own experiences are an a leader or an emerging leader such as myself...who knows what effects this will have on my own perspective of my work and position?

Looking at my reactions to the learning taking place I am becoming much more aware of my surroundings and those within it. Hopefully I have some better idea of where people come from and that everyone has things to offer from their own context of learning and working together with others. I see that it's good to read things more than once and make notes as I go. It's still challenging to read with a critical eye, as mt tendency to soak up the information still takes over, but slowly I hear thoughts pop up that need to be noted in certain parts of the readings. There are quite a few new readings for me to look at now so I will go and look at them and see what sense I can make of emerging leaders who find it challenging to define their place in their work context.

Not quite what I am reading currently, but I can see it arriving!!!!!

Time to reflect and write

..... well, I do that every week or two really, don't I?

Today I had to bring my library books back, now my desk is half empty. For the first time I had them there in front of me for two months, and did not look at them except to go quickly through the chapter headings.  As a result I had to choose very quickly what to make note of and sacrifice the rest - that's what happens when you break your new habits.

When I got back home I was straight on to Amazon to look for some more books, but better to wait a bit - might need to see where my study takes me next year as I am still working through that.

Class on Saturday was great, a lot of insight into teaching, others thinking and a lot of laughter, that always helps the day get better. Feedback was good overall despite me giving my feedback with Page 2 first, as you couldn't really tell this week where it started and ended (and I saw that most of my paragraphs were quite self contained when I wrote it out....)

Going through the criteria for the second assignment I noticed that we are to reflect on and evaluate our learning taking per feedback into account. What I have written in my Patchwork texts is not a problem, but what I have neglected to do, is to take stock of our collaborative conversations offering insights and interpretation, that went so naturally, I better go back through this blog and see what I might have hiding as comments or noted statements. It refers mostly to the first and the third reflection, so I should be able to gather something out of my ramblings. It was all so organic I haven't consciously captured enough in my waking thoughts - so that might take some effort. Going through the Community should help as there will be some comments and queries to trigger my recollections.

So my goals for last week were all achieved and on time, yay for that, there was a LOT to get done. The voice over to the TE application turned into a marathon nightmare, I couldn't get the microphone and sound settings to stick and ended up going to bed at 1am an 3am for 2 nights. However I was very happy with the end result and so was Marc, who has always been a very fair critic to me. This has taught me that each computer will sound different though and the quality of my laptop speakers is really not that great - am I thinking about investing in a laptop again after all that and working from a usb stick after all? I'm not yet inclined to do everything through Google Drive although I can certainly see how and why I would ......

Goals for this week:

1. Make a good start on the MLT Assignment - I really have to dig around in my brain (due on Friday, 21 October) for how I can set out the collaborative and interpretive part of the feedback process
2. Make a great start on the TPA Assignment, as that is due in 4 days earlier (due on Monday 1 October)
3. keep a few in the moment times as well, Myrddin posted a great reminder of that this morning as he was enjoying his morning coffee in the sun.

The seeds of learning have all been germinating and now it's up to me 

to nurture them into strong trees for knowledge 

The value of preparation and forward thinking

Next Saturday is the last class for the Grad Dip in Tertiary Teaching and I'm feeling nostalgic about that. In all it's gone a lot faster than I expected. Starting in July 2015 I expected to finish in July 2017, but in September 2015 it was announced that no more enrollments would be accepted. This meant I had to do double courses as there was no further opportunity. My first thought was how pleased I was that I had finally signed up! I'm still considering what to do next, I have an idea but need to look more closely at the actual direction.I was speaking with someone the other day who took on an MBA more for the sake of the learning, and it was really interesting to hear how he was dealing with the pressure and how he would miss the learning once his studies were finished. This sounds familiar, it has been a busy year for me too with continuous updating of curriculum, study and then the learning curve with Canvas and more recently, making all of the videos and planning the group work for my study and then translating that into my teaching.

TPA

That has been truly beneficial and the intention for today's blog entry was to discuss the progress of the group work and how students are experiencing that. While I write these words I become aware once more that the project is about my own professional practice, and that is what I should be writing about. Students have responded well to the structure I put in place - so what that means to me is that my more conscious approach to a structured group activity has been focused in the right direction, and taken as intended: that groups that come together under careful guidance find the worth of the work intended and are able to collaborate with the good of the whole in mind, thus putting their personal agendas aside. 

What I observed last Wednesday in general were two large groups (12 in each) that were respectful, listened to each other and were interested in what needed to be accomplished. My impression was also that those who  would usually be less involved actually paid more attention than they otherwise might have.

As for my teaching practice - as a result of that I am spending some more time each week refining the day's intent and looking out that the online instructions are clearly set out so they can be found and followed easily. I do still forget to publish the video page for the next week's viewing, but at least it's ready to go. I'm able to prepare the homework announcements in advance again which allows me to adjust when needed, and they publish at the time I set.

So I'm building up a nice well prepared course delivery once again ready to repeat for the next trimester, so I'll be able to update the theory workbook which is very much needing attention, and after that look at more video presentations for various tasks. 

I'll get some more student feedback tomorrow, this time looking for how they feel about working in their groups and if they feel they are working effectively - and why that is the case - or not...

Goals for this week:

1. Write the reflection for Saturday's Mobile Teaching class 
2. Write a summary of Teaching Practise progress
3. Recording for my Teaching Excellence PowerPoint due on Friday - I now have all the attachments in the right places and also made sure all the evidence I wanted is in there.
4. Update my mobile spreadsheet site according to feedback given where I think it will benefit the learner experience and fits my vision - I do always leave gaps and some I can fix easily, others need a bit of attention. 

Making Progress at last

Last Wednesday was the second theory lesson and I began with a small piece of paper with 3 questions:

1. How's Canvas? Why?
2. How did you feel when you finished your homework this week?
3. What did you do for your directed study hours?

Answers were clear.
Many in the class were feeling confused about Canvas - difficulty navigation, or uploading files and a few other issues, which we clarified immediately.
Those who did homework felt good of course. Others were worried they couldn't get it done in time and were worried about what to do next.
The directed study responses became interesting. The whole point was to get students working together on their group work and begin their collaborations, and about half did other stuff,so we went back to what directed study entails.

It feels like a good way to get feedback and I think I might do this more often as it's easy and quick to do. It's not personal as there are no names required and I can react on the spot if there is something getting out of control.

We went through a few more things to put the class at their ease and already the response was a lot more positive. 

Next I got some feedback on how they felt about the groups I had allocated for the Shops and this was quite cool. One group had reconfigured some of the pairings to suit their skills better and who they knew better (not quite my intention but I'll have to see how that develops). I think a combination of what I say and what the group members need to function is a fair solution. Both groups displayed  clear automatic leader and follower sets, and the discussions from both seemed to be quite effective despite having to work in a crowded computer lab. In all, though they felt confident that they knew what was expected of them and they were happy with the set up and information given to them last week. I was interested to hear comments that this Shop felt to be easier to plan than their last one, even though there is more work and input expected in this course.

Perhaps the fact that they don't have to choose groups and and allocate all tasks, but can get on with it, coupled with the preparation we did last week about working together and solving problem, is paying off already.
I'd like to think so!

Next week I'm asking the same questions on the same format and I'll see what difference there is in general with the few changes and explanations. In all, I'd say a positive start to a new way of presenting this Shop Group Assignment.

As a result we went straight to Kahoot!

and it was a massive success! It's been quite  while since I used it in class myself and it was such a buzz to see them so enthusiastic!

Goals for next week are:
1. keep the reflection up to date
2. monitor the group progress and feeling moving forward
3. trouble shooting the spreadsheet progress as planned now that this is also clearer

the maze is amazing

Wow its nearly 4 weeks since our last class and I'm quite amazed at how much I've achieved - and not done as well. Its almost as if, for each task I complete, another 2 sprout into existence. As usual, some incredibly productive days were  balanced with some lazy ones, but ultimately I have produced an online activity I am proud of and which should translate quite easily into the new Learning Management System (Canvas) at work which I am about to use with my new class from Wednesday. That was the second great milestone for this month, 2 weeks ago I was told I'd be using it from Sept 6th and I was only for 15 % confident in its use, not close to ready to train my workmates and certainly had only the vaguest idea how to create what I could so clearly see in my head as my new student website! Roll on to today and the feedback from 2 of my colleagues has been positive for the online activity as well as for the student site. Marc as well, was very positive ans let me know he found it to be clearly set up and that the flow is logical. 

Hooray!

Feeling really satisfied - until this morning when a  new student mailed to let me know she found it to be a bit greek - I HOPE its because it's a completely new look and feel and she isn't clear on what the course is all about...yet....

I'm pretty sure I saw a few of these guys along the way during my journey to the other side of the amazing maze I've created, hopefully they have found their way out and I've left enough viewpoint for the students to get their bearings. The homepage should do that nicely. A few inconsistencies to tidy up and we shall see.

So, the Teaching Action Plan: building Canvas first was the right thing to do. I tried to have all my files ready and uploaded, then I tried to have all my thumbnails ready as well. That got me quite a long way but the more I made the more I had to do, to complete the vision. I think for me the process of creating a new site and activity is an organic one. One thing leads to another and the process of building shows me what is needed in the next step. At least I  know this and don't get too stressed anymore - I gave myself enough time to get it all together, which was great. The hardest thing was to start on my Teaching Goal of resetting the way in which I establish group work, which for some reason seemed to be a really big mental hurdle. I'd done a bit of hunting around and had a few likely things lined up ready to use, then at the last minute did another search and ended up with other ideas that seemed to be right, which I will use from tomorrow. It feels like what I know, what I have been reading and searching for, allowed me to cherry pick what felt right from the resources I found, so hopefully that bears fruit over the next few weeks.

The activities to help introduce and hopefully motivate solid group work next Trimester are pretty much outlined and set up in Canvas. A video, a questionnaire, an icebreaker for another angle on the personality test all contribute to that. The Shop assignment is is going to be a Google Shared file again, I just need to see if it will be a collaboration or I just set up sections (groups) and give access that way. Interesting discussion with Des about ownership - should the students own the responsibility for their submissions or should we create more access for ourselves so we can keep monitoring their progress - how often is too often? (I believe the students need to take the responsibility and that I should check once a week - more often and surely that becomes interference and not a trust you extend to them to work for themselves). How else will we give our students the beginnings of independence? I fully understand the need to guide and support, but we can't be mollycoddling and holding hands for everything they do.

The production plan has grown organically - it's now a study guide timeline on an editable calendar sheet and it shows what students are advised to do and when so they keep on top of things. I'm curious to see how successfully this more structured approach will be received and how much it will be acted upon. Need to build triggers into the lesson plan so I remember to monitor activity on a weekly basis ans set the tone of the coming week's work for them.

At this point what is resonating with me the loudest is that I feel much more focused into what the students will be going through. When I am honest with myself the symptoms of failed group work were visible much earlier and more often than I took the time or had the head to recognise. I hope in the future I'll take note of these signs more quickly - at the same time it takes time to refine new programmes and when you are working on a Trimester basis the challenge is balance. Now that the assessments and lesson plans are 95% complete there has been space to consider the problems I ave last time and really address them. Of course taking I've used it for my study as well thus forcing the issue, but realy I would have to as the timing is very good and I am pleased with the relationship between the online activity of completing the spreadsheet order, and making sure group work is meaningful and concludes positively.

This week's Goals:

1. Reflection for the MLT and where that is at

2. A summary of how the TPA Action plan is progressing

3. start implementing the action plan in class this week (make the lesson plans for that tomorrow)

Reflection on Action

In conversation about this week's progress it's coming to me that I am working backwards to find the way forward. This is fine because it was the act of looking back that gave me the idea to improve my group work so that our Shops can be planned more effectively by the students.

What has bothered me this week is the fact I am having difficulty figuring out how to consciously recognise any progress in my professional development.

As I was talking to Des (lecturer Diploma Culinary) this morning it came to me that conversation is where I articulate a lot of what is going on in my mind.

I know that I think better out loud and that through conversation a lot of good ideas come up. Then I go away and work them out, which is exactly how it went this week.

By spending time looking, talking and thinking about what, how and why I needed to change things, when I finally sat down to work on those changes, they really did flow fairly fluidly onto the screen.

This allowed me to achieve some of last week's goals
1.  I am finding activities to help introduce and hopefully motivate solid group work next Trimester. The Shop assignment is updated and I have completed both a production plan and a task list for the students to work from.
2. Adding milestones is kind of done - just need to add in the class dates - the lesson schedule will be confirmed this week which will help with that.I'll put into the class calendar as well so there is complete clarity.
3. the story board made way for Canvas, I spent a frustrating Sunday afternoon working on it - I don't enjoy learning new systems especially when I'm told it's so easy! I have such clear visions of what I want I get on my own way when I don't see how to achieve that straight away.However, by yesterday morning I was a whole lot happier about what I had accomplished. After a night's sleep I saw that it will be quite good. Now to work out how I want to do the group and individual collaboration files.

So what am I learning about my teaching practise? Looking further back at my action plan I realised a lot of points were covered by the end of the day's work, and that once I organise some good tactics to introduce improvements to group work. Above all I want to avoid this!:

I think then with this hindsight, part of my plan would be to be more mindful of the impact of our expectations on our students. While talking with Des I realised that a lot of the time as lecturers, we are 70% there in our heads and don't reflect enough on how it will look to the student - where do they start from and where will they end. I know I wrote about this in my reflections on the Special Topic and Research, but I still have more to do getting this to be a part of me so I think back in better detail and get the consequences in front of me ore effectively. This meta-cognition takes time and effort, unfortunately I don't always want to listen to those voices that tell me (they can be very quiet and I can be good at putting them aside until the consequences SCREAM at me - by which time I have to RUN!) to make improvements.

Time for some story boards - I seem to be avoiding it yet I am fairly sure it will help to keep my focus so off I pop!