Reflections of the first Face-Face sessions commencing 28/09/2015.

My reflection day 1
by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Monday, 28 September 2015, 2:19 PM
After the initial introductions I was totally overwhelmed by the reliance on tech for this course. But
with the guidance of the facilitator I started coming to terms with the need to get out of my
comfort zone. The course expectations become clearer and I started to embrace the need for this
added focus with a view to making myself more relevant to my teaching and my charges. The
support and assistance of the group in a collaborative environment have made e-learning more
accessible. The group dynamics at our table helped foster more effective learning. It does not
seem so daunting anymore in that there is a realization that you are not in this alone and this is
adequate enough to start feeling positive.
The overview and the baby steps through the initial requirements was an interesting preamble to
understanding of the curriculum requirements, developing and refining the portfolios and
ultimately leading to more effective teaching and learning.

My Reflection Day 2 Tuesday 29 September 2015

For some reason I cannot seem to access this reflection although I did this but cannot find it.

Reflection - Day 3
by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Wednesday, 30 September 2015, 3:59 PM
We looked at Teaching as inquiry and discussed its meaning and relevance. More importantly i
have now come to realize that there is a difference between 'Teaching Inquiry' and 'Inquiry
Learning' I have erroneously used this interchangeably. All teachers who want to be effective
practioners need to constantly assess, refine and adapt to be relevant in focusing on the teaching
-learning relationships, working on collaborating forums, research inquiry and accessing data to
make a difference in the classroom and in their students. We need to also focus on what has
happened as a result of our teaching and how this would impact on our future lessons.
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed about the discussions and completion around assignment two. It
may appear to be clearer to those who have been teaching recently but as I have been on
sabbatical for the couple of years and just taken up relieving again I still seem to be little at a loss
about how I am going to be able to complete this satisfactorily. BUT while this may be so I am
going to reading further and reviewing what we have done.

Reflections - Day 4
by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Thursday, 1 October 2015, 6:57 PM
Neil Intro.pptx

Today was a very productive day for me as the focus was on NCEA, learning intentions. Unit
versus Achievement standards and Assignment 4 requirements.
We were guided through the process of accessing information by navigating through the NCEA
and TKI websites which proved to an invaluable in assisting me in the completion of the
assignments. The exercise in working through the NCEA terms and their definitions cleared a
great deal of misconceptions that I had. Especially useful also was the clarity around internal
verification and moderation. The discussions around units standards and achievement standards
were particularly useful when looking how schools can structure their assessments. The
scavenger was empowering in that I now feel an increased confidence in how to find relevant
material and to be able to address some of the concerns I may have.
The following slide best covers my thoughts on the afternoon session. [click on attachment]
Reflection - Day 5
by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Friday, 2 October 2015, 3:20 PM
Today we discussed Effective Pedagogy and looked at the six related strands. The Bus Stop
activity allowed us a chance to learn from others via their statements and this enhanced .my view
of understanding effective Pedagogy. The subsequent step by step guidance through the
planning unit provided great clarity on how to almost guarantee effective teaching and learning if
done with a sincere focus on improving our lot as teachers. Teachers must not only know what to
teach but to organized and structured in their work.
The Balloon Activity made one realize that your cannot complete a task well without success
criteria but after being given the progressive success criteria and modelling it became clearer.
This has tremendous implications for our teaching
The time we had to explore and collaborate with others made my understanding less murky. I
now feel more confident in attacking these tasks with more gusto.
REF: New Zealand Curriculum Document.

Reflections on Practicum

My tenure at Aorere College as a Physical Education teacher during which time I

completed my practicum has, for number of reasons, re-affirmed why I still want
to be a teacher. Having been out of the on a permanent basis for over five years
there has an almost paradigm shift in my approach to the my teaching given the
changing dynamic in schools, curriculum delivery and teaching and learning . I
have had to reflect a great deal on my own practices and develop new strategies
to make myself more relevant.
At school I was involved in:
Planning of Programs of learning for the different year levels within the
framework of the NZC and the school- strategic planning.
Having an overview of the core requirements and the expectations of the NZQA
helped give
direction to developing these programs.
Planning and organization of unit plans and lesson preparation.
It was obvious that planning and preparation was a guaranteed recipe for
success and
achieving the learning outcomes. It takes a just a little more thought and time to
develop
lessons for more a more productive outcome.
Year 10 Camps
This was an amazing practical experience that reinforced the learning in an
outdoor setting
and reinforced the teaching in the classroom. Besides this complementing the
teaching learning
process the relationship building that takes place is crucial
to the interaction between teachers and students which translates to a better
classroom dynamic.
Professional Learning Groups of which I am aligned to PB4L [ Positive
Behaviour for
Learning] and Digital Learning.
This college is going fully Digital in 2016 and there has been a series of PDs on a
weekly basis to facilitate this transition and huge strides have been in this
regard. I had some major trepidations as I felt that I did not have the requisite
skills but these intensive Digital Drop -in Workshops was a hands on process that
addressed gaps in individual teachers understanding
I attended a two day Professional Development Seminar for training in
Reciprocal Teaching.
This was an insightful view into what the research shows about the need for this
program in
schools and now the school is going to timetable this rather than use the
withdrawal system which
really was counter- productive as the very target students were being removed
from class. The
reciprocal period also was inclusive and while it requires more planning on the
part of the

facilitator it does remove the stigma attached to identifying students with

learning needs.
An interesting initiative has been the collaboration with the community in which
we had an
advocacy meeting with interested stakeholders [ community groups] where we
had a massive buy
for these learning initiatives.
Being back in the P.E. Department I have had an increased role in managing the
various sporting codes and attending matches after school hours and on
weekends. Some of the issues that seemed to be problematic is that these
placed tremendous demands on teacher time. These constraints did impact on
the level of my involvement in matches and tournaments. It does demand a
great deal of time management.
While I am now more confident around NCEA assessments and related matters I
have come to realize that there are areas that I need to address if I am going to
be more effective teacher.
The experience has given me a great deal of food for thought. .

Reflections Day 6 of Face-Face Session

by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Tuesday, 8 December 2015, 9:16 PM

Today we had discussions around the following:

Reflections on aspects of the practicum

Use of the reflection tool [321RIQ] with students

Surface and Deep level questioning

How to use Kahoot

Requirements and completion of Assignment for Module 4

It was interesting to hear about the different experiences that teachers had during their practicum
and the varied perspectives that were shared with the group. The experiences of others brought
a new dimension to some of the expectations of being in a school in a full time capacity with its
attendant requirements. I clearly identified with some of the initial trepidations expressed by some
teachers but as the practicum proceeded with the collaboration of staff and management I was
able to navigate successfully through this process. I have come away richer and wiser from this
experience.

The clarity provided around surface level and deep level questioning made me realize how often
we ask surface level questions and that if we want to make the teaching - learning process more
meaningful then yes we have to make a conscious effort at looking at how we question if we want
the desired outcomes and keep our learners fully engaged.
Kahoot was a real revelation and would be an excellent tool to be used in our teaching. Irene's
modelling on Multiple choice questions would certainly engage students in a fun and interactive
way. I am now motivated to learn more and add it to my arsenal of strategies.
The final session on unpacking the assignment component for Module 4 cleared up a great deal
confusion I had around completion of this assignment. Irene did an excellent job of teasing out
individual aspects of the questions and what the requirements were. It does now not seem so
daunting now.
A great day all round. Really came away feeling empowered. Thanks

Reflection Day 7
by Anildutt Bridjlall (Neli) Batohi - Tuesday, 8 December 2015, 9:56 PM

Completed some aspects of admin. Discussions around Teaching as Inquiry was next on the
agenda. While this session looked at the some of the inquiries conducted by teachers I felt that
the points of elucidation provided by Colleen would have been invaluable before we conducted
our own inquiry. I certainly would have avoided some of the gaps in my inquiry. I learnt of the
importance of qualitative versus quantitative data. The discussion on the spiral of learning helped
to focus my inquiry. The importance of the student voice is something I am definitely going to
take on board as we need also to do some introspection on our our own teaching because
sometimes we need to take responsibility for why the desired outcomes have not been achieved.
While the session on 'Reporting to Parents' had more relevance to the Primary sector there are
obvious implications for all teachers as all stakeholders have to be kept in the loop if this process
has to have any forward momentum.
Kay Neilsen's presentation on "English Language Learners" was thorough and informed. While I
did get something out of it and this is no indictment on the presenter I just felt overawed by the
volume of information that we had to process during this time. I am aware that there would have
been time constraints but there should be a review about having a few sessions on this. However
the resource materials that were brought to my attention [I would never have thought looking for]
will certainly have implications for my teaching.
REF:

Timperley,H. Kaser,L and Halbrt,J A Framework for Transforming Learning in Schools: Innovation
and the Spiral of enquiry. (2014)