Where East meets West

Reflective Practice -  Where East meets We

Soon after graduation I embraced teaching as my career. I believed learning is essential and hence took onboard as a part of my own and professional growth. I had opportunites that came along to help me enjoy my practice in earlychildhood, primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.  Whilst in India I had the privilege to travel various states to see and embrace learning and teaching. Learning was child centred and the modern classroom democratisation (Zalipour, 2017). I had to develop myself to the needs of the changing societal demands by adapting new learning and use of technology in our day to day to learning. It was imperitive to stay onboard with new learning to be able to impart knowledge  more as a role model for the students.

Migrating to New Zealand in 2003 had changed my own perspective of teaching and learning. It paved smooth pathway to enter the teaching  panorama by volunterring in the schools that my children attended, later I pursued the one year Diploma inTeaching Primary which set me up for my career in the Western world. The innate drive and the need to stay on top of the new developments in learning promulgated me to upskill to a secondary teacher and also to pursue a research paper. With  the integration of technology, teaching and learning have taken a new diemension which forced me to learn new methods  and applications to be able to facilitate learning within my own classroom.The child centred learning with a holistic approach became the norm. I was able to redefine my practice through extra professional development on the job  provided by the schools that I worked for and also extra courses that I enrolled to pursue my own learning.
This career has definitely set me up for life long learning, which on hindsight are inherent, embedded values and thrist for knowledge developed  in me by my teachers, parents and colleagues who have been wonderful sources of inspiration and encouragement both in India and New Zealand.

Having a love for learning with flexible fun loving colleagues, employers offered more avenues to develop deeper insights of teaching and learning. For eg: The Word work programme helped me analyse the sound, vowels, consonants , blends  with the newentrants, whilst the digital and collaboration in practice had developed curiosity and avenues for a myriad ways of enticing student population of all ages and stages. The wonderful nature of technology integration provided all curriculum engagement and empowerment to all learners.

The education system whether  in the East or in the West  had similar approaches- respect towards learning, enhancing skills and knowledge, providing the learner with power of personalisation and ample opportunities to make informed choices about their own learning.  Learning is multidirectional -Students can learn from one another, adults and and experts with various modes of communications presented by the innovative technolgical devices. The role of teacher is more  of a participant and a facilitator to the group of students in her care. Learning therefore is lifelong and happens all along, in all contexts and varied circumstances.Taking notes and asking questions with my collegial community and other stakeholders helped me gain knowlege and skills to be  part of this modern learners in the 21st century, which I am very proud to be part of. Whilst, values form the foundation, on which the skills and knowledge are embedded, emancipating and expoentially increasing the potential of the learner to learn. Feedback from my students(Provenzano, 2014) is crucial for my own evaluations regarding my own practice and helps me adapt and upskill myself to suit the needs and styles of my learners.

Lastly with a twenty plus years of teaching, I firmly believe successful planning through inclusion, co-constructed lessons have left an indelible mark on my own practice. Respect for learning, learners, colleagues  had been universal, across East and West.Reflections across ranged from daily, weekly, annually and school wise(BBC, 2017). Reflective thinking help me age with grace in the teaching profession where I can confidently connect to all learners and communicate with ease and facilitate learning with more precision.

References

BBC. (2017, January 31). www.teaching english.org.uk. Retrieved from Reflective teaching: Exploring our own classroom practice: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/reflective-teaching-exploring-our-own-classroom-practice

Provenzano, N. (2014, September 25). www.edutopia.org. Retrieved from The Reflective Teacher: Taking a Long Look: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/reflective-teacher-taking-long-look-nicholas-provenzano

Zalipour, D. A. (2017, January 31). Reflective Practice - University of Waikato. Retrieved from Reflective practice : https://student.unsw.edu.au/sites/all/files/uploads/reflect.jpg

Digital Learning in the Classroom

Digital Learning is facilitated by technology or instructional practices that make optimal use of technology. Digital learning occurs on most mediums including.

• game-based learning & virtual learning
• accessing digital content
• collaborating locally and globally
• assessment and reporting online
• active participation in online communities
• using technology to connect, collaborate, curate and create (vic.gov.au)

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• By the forementioned criteria most teachers cannot replicate the learning styles that were accustomed to them in their formative years. Emphasis is placed on usage of high tech devices like smart phones and laptops and teaching students to use them effectively both for learning and also teach them to deal with the vast network of connectivity they provide. Students in the classroom need to be have coping mechanisms in place to deal with the level of interactivity available to them.
  The definition of digital learning differs from place to place. Some just view it as designated computer time for the student while others take is as far as having the students create their own learning agendas while having access to internet and social network sites.
  By educating the students to be adept in digital learning practices you are effectively having them check off five very important boxes.
  Personalisation: By educating them to be effective communicators and empowering them to the internet. You are letting them add their own strokes to the blank canvas. They have an incredible reach and have access to like minded people to share an idea or ask a question.
  Accessibility: Gone are the days where classrooms had a dictionary for every student. Now a days every query can be answered in a very broad manner by just typing it out in a search engine. So this gives them access to vast amounts of data. It is imperative that teachers do their best in teaching them to filter out the good from the bad.
  Efficiency: Digital learning makes the process more efficient, Teachers no longer need to print out a copy of the notes to every student instead they can just direct them to the relevant hyperlink and have them get started in the work at hand. Also the submission of assignments and homework can be done online saving time and making the feedback process more efficient.
  Cultural Relevance: In the day and age where every kid carries around a smart phone, by not being an active participant in the aforementioned mediums students are limiting themselves vastly. This could set them back from fulfilling their true potential in a competitive world.
  Performance: Studies have shown positive impact of technology based learning on students. The level of interactivity has boosted retention rates due to the forever changing nature of the learning.It also offers an interesting way to interact and digest information.
  
  References1. Victoria Gov (2013) Teaching with digital technologies. Retrieved From  http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/Pages/elearningcurriculum.aspx
  2 Huffington Post (2014) Technology for School and Teachers 5 reasons why digital learning matters. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-steinberg/technology-for-schools-an_b_2805201.html