Reflections

As the end of the school year approaches, I can’t help but reflect on the year that is almost over. 2016 has been a particularly productive year and one in which I have made significant gains. One important aspect of this year’s achievements that particularly resonates with me are the relationships I have developed and how they have benefitted the teaching and learning in my classroom.

We all know that the relationships we develop with our students are key to gaining trust and directly influence the learning that can happen in our classes. However, it’s the relationships with others aside from students that have been beneficial to my teaching and ultimately, beneficial to my students learning. Some of these are:

·         Teacher – Parent

·         Teacher – Community

·         Teacher – Teacher

·         Teacher - Boss

Teacher – Parent

Parents can be a challenge… but they can also be great allies, supporters, volunteers and sources of expertise. By involving parents in some of my classes & design thinking opportunities this year, I have found that they really want to know what their kids are doing. Not just the conversations after school with their kids like “What did you do at school today?” When I invited Parents top the learning space they turned up in droves to see and participate in their child’s learning. This then, sparked conversations between Parents and their children about their shared learning experience.     

Earlier this year I hosted a 2 day design symposium for year 3 students where they got to design & build the air travel experience of 2028. One group was working on catering and early on the second morning a year 3 girl told me she had discussed at length the night before with her Mum, the decisions her group had made & the thinking that went behind those decisions. Her Mum had apparently made all types of suggestions and things to think about. When I asked her if she was going to make those changes she replied “I considered them, but I told Mum it was my design and that she should find her own. Two things resonated with me about that conversation. I LOVED that that girl had gone home and discussed what she was doing in the design symposium. She was engaged, excited, interested in what she was doing & without even realising, went home & kept on learning through reflection with her mum. The second is that through having that child engaged in the task, she went home & wanted to explain & discussed her learning at home.

Teacher – Community

Some might think that being a Design Technology Teacher lends itself to connections with community and it probably does, but you still have to actively make those connections. This year the theme for Morphing Week was ‘We Can Fly!’ so the obvious community connection was the airport. I was lucky to meet someone from BAC who put me in contact with some Project Managers and Engineers who happened to use Design Thinking. What happened from there has been mutually beneficial on so many levels. We both realised that the Design Models that we use are essentially the same (although their budget is slightly bigger than ours) and we both had human centred design as our focus. Through this connection, BAC jointly facilitated our Design Symposium making the learning more authentic than I could have thought possible. The students have since been on a guided tour of the airport to see firsthand the sorts of things BAC deal with in their planning of such a large scale and real life problems.

The off shoot from this connection was the realisation of mutual interests, ie Design Thinking and its possibilities. This in turn has had flow on effects in terms of the concept being introduced to other people from within BAC and from other outside agencies. Of course this produces more professional dialogue as well as possible connections/opportunities for authentic learning for our students.

Teacher – Teacher

One of the things I push with my Design students is the sharing of ideas. “Combine your ideas and don’t be afraid to critique each other’s ideas. Your idea/ solution can only be better for it!” Yet I am guilty of not practising what I preach within my own department. We all get busy and some things get neglected but I think this is really important. If it’s important to teach our kids, it has to be important to practice ourselves.

How often do you walk past a fellow teacher in the school yard and never take the time to say more than good morning? These are people just like us that possibly teach kids that we teach, have similar educational interests, goals and expectations and are a possible source of knowledge and expertise at your fingertips. I have been lucky enough this year to facilitate some staff training and have essentially forced me to have professional conversations with people I don’t normally. I can’t believe the wealth of knowledge and expertise I have missed out on. The links between subjects in terms of similar thinking and the learning opportunities through collaboration that are possible. These people are in my backyard! One of IDEO’s(global design company) philosophies is to meet and mix with a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Regardless of the size of your school there is always someone that you haven’t met. Mental note to self… Change that!          

Teacher – Boss

The last relationship I wanted to reflect on is that with your boss. Let them know what’s happening in your class. Invite them to see the learning and the teaching. They haven’t got to the position they are without experience on their side. Draw on their knowledge and expertise in your lessons. They may be able to nudge you in the right direction of assistance or advice. They may have connections or know parents upon which you can draw on also as discussed above.