Week 32 - Activity 8

Activity 8  Week 32
Problem Identification
The problem that I identified was that our parents did not engage with their child’s learning and we really struggled to get our parents in to school events that we put on regardless of time. So because of this we knew we needed to do something different, we needed to look at the way we approach things as a school. This inquiry/journey has led us to understand our parents more and has built stronger connections. This would not have occurred without this inquiry.
Observation and Analysis
As a group we were initially going to just survey the parents from our classes, but because we are a part of the management team we decided to take it out to the whole school. We put together a survey asking parents a range of questions about how involved in their child’s learning they currently are. Do they receive enough information from the school? What ways good we improve as a school to make connections with whanau? We also took time to interview a few parents that were available as well. From this data/information we found the true reason why our parents don’t come into school and engage with us around their child’s learning. So that enabled us to make changes to our practice to rectify the problem. We now use digital platforms such as Facebook and Seesaw to engage with our parents.  
Abstract Reconceptualisation
One of the learning theories that were useful for our inquiry has been Siemens, who talks about connectivism in a digital world. We know that, that is important for our students but the same principles can be applied when talking about collaborating and engaging with parents. We need to move away from our old way of thinking and doing things and move with the times which is very much a digital way of life.
Active Experimentation
From completing this learning journey I am open to taking on new ideas and am constantly reflecting whether  my practice is the most effective it can be. After seeing the benefits that this inquiry has led to I am certainly keen to keep this going. There is so much more that needs developing at our school and I now feel confident to start an inquiry and carry it all the way through. I will be able to share my knowledge with the wider staff and see improvements made across the school.
The two highlights from completing this paper have been using the In-class flip model which is making positive changes to my students learning and the genuine engagement and collaboration that I now have with my parents/whanau. I look forward to continue to make positive changes to my practice and that of our school in the future.  
Reference
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. eLearnSpace. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

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