Cat's MindLab (Ghost Hunters) Blog

Here we are in my final week of my Mindlab course and this week's challenge is to talk about my 32 week journey and reflect on the change in my practice using  Rolfe’s model of reflection . Step 1 (What): Identify one key change in your professional practice One of the things that came from participating in this course is that I guess it has forced  me to actually 'do' the things and 'make' the time required to be an effective practitioner. I have had to find time to research articles, find evidence to back up my theories and learn more about effective teaching styles and theories. This course has been intense and massively time consuming which in hindsight I wouldn't have undertaken considering my already hectic schedule as a Deputy Principal and classroom practitioner. I found myself doubting whether I could actually complete this course and if it weren't for the corroboration and collegial support of a friend and colleague I doubt I would have mana

Week #31  Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice Using  Rolfe's Model  of Reflection What? My experience of Indigenous knowledge has been limited through a white middle class upbringing and schooling system. I was oblivious to cultural differences and just saw people as people and not as any particular race. High school was my first experience with Måori culture and language and I was really interested in it particularly as one of my best friends was Måori. I was also interested in other cultures and languages and took French and German as these were the only 2 options available to me. Education has come a long way since then and the Ministry of Education developed a document (Ka Hikitia) to support the importance of celebrating Måori culture and accelerating success for ALL students. (Above is an image from this document, while relevant to this post, is also dear to my heart as it features one of my gorgeous nephews.) My understanding of Cult