"If I knew what I know now back then."
Coming into the end of the Mindlab course through Unitec I am starting to realise that I have undergone significant growth. As 8 teachers continue to battle on juggling the demands of school, life, and the mindlab course we all feel enlightened and better off for the experience. I feel fortunate that I am in a school which is able to support a community like this, as there are teachers taking part in the same course from 3 or 4 teacher schools, with no one to bounce off.
I would say that the main community of practice that I am part of is our school, Masterton Intermediate, as a whole. As a sub group of like minded people are the 8 mindlabbers within the school. I would consider being part of a syndicate of 4 teachers is a significant community of practice which impacts my daily life. Being part of the literacy team is another community of practice which I am passionate about.
The reason why I opened up with the quote about the advantage of hindsight, is because I feel I have undergone a growth spurt as a teacher and as a person in the last few months. If had a different mindset and set of skills 5 years ago would it make a difference to my students, or did I have to grow naturally to get to the position I am in now?
When I think about the educators that have captured my attention there are some common qualities; They are always thinking, searching, and reflecting. They are the kind of people that are immersed in multiple communities of practice.
Ever since I was a young boy I guess I was involved in communities of practices in the form of sport. I guess the objectives and mindsets were already decided for us when we were young whipper-snappers running out onto the fields on cold Dunedin Saturday mornings. As I got older I had more input. It got to the stage that, through sport, we would work collaboratively (engagement) to reach our objective; to win (mutuality) Wenger (2000). Similar things happen frequently in educational settings, although it always seemed to be easier to achieve in sport!
A bit of a walk down memory lane, although not too heavy for a first blog reflection.
Wenger, E.(2000).Communities of practice and social learning systems.Organization,7(2), 225-246 (Link to the article in Unitec Library).
I agree, Niheta, we are fortunate to be part of several communities of practice here in school already. Being part of this MindLab course has been an excellent way for those of us in different syndicates to become more aware of each other's thinking and I have been impressed with the collaborative and sharing culture that has developed.
ReplyDeleteWhile reflection was probably already part of our (teachers) daily practice, we were, perhaps, more inclined to mostly reflect backwards. I feel there is more analysis and forward thinking / next steps now. The 'coffee conversations' are frequently practice oriented and I would really miss that if I was the only person in a school undertaking this course.
Thank you for your insights and sharing. We all have different past experiences and so we bring different analogies and examples which makes the personal learning really rich.