Hāpara Champion Scholar - My Digital Teaching Philosophy

 Hello everyone, 

Another activity on my Hāpara Champion Scholar journey was to create a "Digital Teaching Philosophy." At first, the thought of this scared me... how do you sum up your thoughts or 'philosophy' into one document or blog post? I then realised this is a great example of 'lifelong learning.' My philosophy shouldn't be stagnant. It should change and evolve and I change and grow as an educator. With more experience, time and guidance behind me, I should be able to review and reflect on this in a year's time and be able to say, "yeah, that made sense, but now I think... blah blah blah." 

I was hesitant to share and put my thoughts out there, however, I think for my own professional development and growth it is necessary. It will allow me to revisit this philosophy in the future, rather than get lost in the black hole that is my Google Drive. One thing I enjoyed learning about was the ISTE standards and how this seamlessly matched up with so much of what I believe my own pedagogy is, based on the Learn, Create, Share method I have been using through Manaiakalani. I look forward to seeing my own understanding of the ISTE standards develop over time. 

If you have any feedback, please feel free to comment below. 

Chelsea Birtch • Digital Teaching Philosophy (2021) 

Note: In my teaching philosophy, you will find words in te reo Māori, which is the native language of Aotearoa (New Zealand), where I teach. It is an integral part of my practice to incorporate te reo into my teaching. I will include the translation in the first instance of the word, should this be unfamiliar to you. I have also included a glossary of terms at the end. 

Next January, I will be entering my fifth year of teaching. Some days I feel like I’ve got it under control; I know what I am doing, but most days I feel like I am still learning. That’s what we aim to instill in our tamariki (children) isn’t it; the idea of lifelong learning, and finding success in a 21st century world? As teachers, our profession is constantly changing and evolving. The newest tech, trends in education, the influence of social media in the classrooms, teaching through online video call... It seems as if there is something new to learn each year. 

As professionals, it is necessary to upskill, keep current either through PD or online courses, such as the Hāpara Champions, in order to improve our digital fluency and pedagogy to match these 21st century changes in education. Only then, once we have a solid understanding of what this looks like, can we work to pass on the knowledge and skills to our akonga (learners). 

Nothing has filled my kete (proverbial basket of knowledge) more than my delve into digital learning and the Manaiakalani Outreach Programme in which my school is a part of. I am a kaiako (teacher) within the Uru Mānuka cluster of learning, in Christchurch, New Zealand and I began my teaching career within a 1:1 digital device high school in 2018. Technology and using digital tools underpins everything that we do within our teaching and learning. 

Through Hāpara and the Google tools we use within our kura (school), we have great resources to use in order to scaffold our children to become independent, 21st century learners. To me, 21st century learners are tamariki who are cybersmart, creative thinkers and innovators. They are akonga who know how to keep themselves safe in the online world and to be kind, courteous and respectful to other online users. They can use digital tools and resources to problem solve, to think outside the box and find solutions to real-world problems from the touch of their fingertips. 

Regardless of the career path they choose, our tamariki will be using tools that we have had to teach ourselves to use as adults, or digital platforms that have not been invented yet. While we cannot teach them what we do not know, we can use the time we have with them to teach them critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills that will be transferable to any endeavour they choose to pursue. 

The ISTE Standards for Students provide seven clear intentions for akonga in our schools. It is our job as educators and kaiako to facilitate the learning through these standards. For my Digital Teaching Philosophy, I have decided to focus on three of the standards which I believe are important to the development of my tamariki and the student-centered teaching I aim to provide within my classroom.

Empowered Learners: The ISTE Standards for Students (rev. 2016) define empowered learners as, “[students who]... set personal learning goals, build networks, customize their learning, use technology to seek feedback, demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways, troubleshoot, transfer knowledge to emerging technologies….” Within my classroom, these are skills that are utilised every day. Tamariki have the opportunity to reflect and set goals each term based on the NZC Key Competencies, specific learning outcomes they have been working on in their classes, and their interpersonal skills. Within our Year 7-9 Wānanga (home room) structure, students spend three years at the start of their high school journey building networks and connections with their peers and their Wānanga Learning Advisors. 

My job as a Learning Advisor is to support them with how they choose to customise their learning. This may be through choosing how they will present their termly Project Based Learning (PBL), selecting their Options courses or looking into pathways that may better suit them as they graduate into the senior school. Within this time, we explore the Cybersmart curriculum as provided to us within our Uru Mānuka cluster, as well as having the chance to work alongside the students to decide what learning they want to pursue as a class. 

Digital Citizens: This standard is about keeping safe online while navigating the web. A digital citizen can engage positively, safely, legally and ethically (ISTE Standards for Students, 2016). I want students to be technically savvy, confident with a computer and other digital tools, but as teachers, this needs to be explicitly taught. It is my job as the kiako to facilitate a learning environment where students have the ability to safely engage with the online world, while also teaching them to think critically about the materials they are accessing. 

The Hāpara suite provides me the support I need in order to do this, as well as being transparent with my students. My tamariki know the purpose of Hāpara in our classroom and exactly what the teacher has access to and why. By having open and honest conversations about the purpose for online safety, students can begin to understand the inherent importance of being a good digital citizen and carry this with them throughout their lifetime. 

Global Collaborators: New Zealand is a small country, and as our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern discovered, we sometimes aren’t even on the map! I am from Canada and moved to New Zealand solely for the purpose of teacher education during a time when there was an overpopulation of teachers in Ontario, where I was living, and a shortage of teachers in Aotearoa. I have a very different perspective on the global world than most of the students I teach, some of whom have never been into our City Centre, let alone, on an airplane before. 

I want to encourage and empower our akonga to see themselves as global contributors and collaborators; to see beyond the classroom walls, the boundaries created by vast oceans and realise the great potential that is out there. By using my personal experiences, keeping students curious about the world and connected using digital technologies, I hope I begin to foster that potential. 

One way we do this is through using student blogs through Blogger. Students can see the analytics of their posts and where in the world people are visiting their blogs from. We use our blogs to share our learning, by publishing our work online to a public platform, this eliminates the need for teachers to take home stacks of books for marking. I can leave feedback in the comment section of the post, and the student gets an email notification letting them know someone has left them a comment. This provides them a chance to review their feedback or comments on their own time, and take ownership of either fixing up any corrections that have been suggested, or replying to the commenter to answer any questions they may have. 

Overall, I want students to feel that digital tools and technology help them to be active participants in an ever changing world. However, I do not want students to lose the basics. Technology is a tool for success and a privilege for us to have access to within our kura. Like any toolbox, each tool has its own purpose. Not all resources are the same. I want learners who may have differentiated needs to find success with the support of technology, not be hindered by the need to learn complicated online platforms. I want students who are technologically advance to take on the leadership role and support the learning of their peers, and even teachers! 

Digital connectivity is the way of the 21st century world, but it is not in place of what we already do now, and what we have done for many years. The most important aspect of digital teaching to me, is that it supports what we already do that works, and adds to our kete. It provides us opportunities we may not have had otherwise, it adds robustness to the learning experience and prepares learners for a future beyond school. 

As stated, my school is part of the Manaiakalani programme and the pedagogy and common language all Manaiakalani schools use is: Learn, Create, Share. I cannot have a personal teaching philosophy that does not align with what I do, and have done, each day at school. I feel that for me, Learn, Create, Share partners seamlessly with the ISTE Standards for Students in a way which can summarise my digital teaching philosophy simply. 

Empowered Learners are learning the skills to thrive in a 21st century world. They are taking the digital sphere into their own hands and using their prior knowledge to support their new learning. They are connecting what they already know with what they are about to learn. Digital Citizens create new experiences. They respectfully communicate online with others, navigate the web through their online platforms and accounts in a safe way. They will create knowledge around new skills that they can then add to their kete to use in the future. Global Collaborators share their knowledge with others. They are confident to share what they have learned by being empowered digital citizens to make the online world a meaningful place. They can confidently navigate through the digital world for personal and professional use, and can then transfer their skills to others locally and globally. If my students can achieve this learn, create, share digital cycle by the time they leave my classroom, then I know I have prepared them for their journey, wherever it may take them in this ever changing, technologically advancing world. 

Chelsea Birtch
Educator
Christchurch, New Zealand
2021 

Glossary of Terms: 

Te reo Maori - native language of New Zealand 

Aotearoa - New Zealand 

Tamariki - children 

Akonga - learners 

Kete - proverbial basket of knowledge Kaiako - teacher 

Kura - school 

References: 

Manaiakalani Outreach Programme (accessed 10/2021) 

Uru Mānuka Cluster of Learning (COL) (accessed 10/2021) 

Cybersmart (revised 2021) 

ISTE Standards for Students (revised 2016) 

NZC Key Competencies (New Zealand Ministry of Education: 2007) 

Learn, Create, Share - Manaiakalani pedagogy (accessed 10/2021)