Week 19: Contribution of Teacher Inquiry Topics to my Communities of Practice

Descriptive

My two inquiry topics.

The two inquiry topics that I have chosen are ‘Implementing digital technology in the classroom, and ‘Developing a growth Mindset’  (Carol Dweck).

During my reflection on ‘The role of current emerging technologies’ I found myself referencing the SAMR model a lot.   I think that this is an area that I want to inquire into and unpack with the teachers in the Year 7 & 8 team.

Developing a growth Mindset is also of huge interest to me.  The children that I work with really struggle in this area. They are afraid of failure and often disengage from learning when they find it to hard.

My Communities of practice

• School Staff
• Senior Leadership Team
• Year 7 & 8 Team
• Professional Learning Group (aligned to my TAI)
• Uru Manuka
• The Mindlab

Comparative

Implementing digital technology in the classroom

My Community view

To ensure that teachers and students are getting the biggest impact from the affordances of digital technologies they need to understand the SAMR model and ensure that they are creating learning opportunities that are ‘modification and redefinition’ on the SAMR scale.  We don’t want chromebooks being used as a really expensive textbook.

Research

“At this level (Redefinition) we see dramatic improvements in student outcomes.  This is the level at which students who were failing are now successful and the students who were already successful are going places you’ve never seen students go before.” Ruben Puentedura

Growth Mindset

My Community view

That all children in the right environment and support networks has the ability learn.   They need to understand what the learning process is and strategies to use when they are in the learning pit and finding learning difficult.

Research

Empirical studies have revealed that growth mindset has positive effects on student motivation and academic performance (Dweck, C. 2009)(Blackwell, L.S. 2007)

“Recent research has also shown that mindset is related to student outcomes and behaviors including academic achievement, engagement, and willingness to attempt new challenges.”(Vedder-Weiss, 2013) (Yeager, D.S.; Dweck, C.S. 2012)

Critical Reflection

I am pleased that I have chosen two inquiry topics that I can see will have a positive impact on what I am already doing.  This will complement and strengthen my Professional Learning Group and Teacher as Inquiry.

Because I can see real purpose to both of these topics and see how they can connect, this will give me motivation to research and gain a better understanding of both of these areas.