Week 1 - LDC Thought Leadership and Epistemology.

Week 1 LDC – Leadership in Digital & Collaborative Learning

Thought Leadership and Epistemology.

Epistemology -

Theory of Knowledge first used by  Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier. A new word to me and an interesting to further explore

Ontology? Epistemology? Axiology?

What is Knowledge?
In our groups we were asked to put our thoughts down for what we thought knowledge is. We brainstormed our ideas together and then we were asked to video this concept, upload to the portal all in 40minutes. 

I learnt how to how to quickly make a movie clip and upload it online

Here is the my July intake picture:

Here is my November intake picture:

Similar ideas have come across in both.

So I went to school this week and decided to do this same task with a group of learners.

A very engaging activity…

Here is what my Year 8's  came up with….. 

The learners were then asked to create an imovie trailer to show knowledge. These will be shared with me next week.  Look forward to sharing these next week.

PREP for week 2- 

Am I a thought leader???

Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise…they are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas, turn ideas into reality and know and shjow how to replicate their success.

(Richard Wells – Even NZ teachers can be thought leaders)

We as teachers are leaders. We lead classes, we lead meetings… we lead and share ideas with others. Well I would like to think most of us do..

READING:

 'Towards Reconceptualising Leadership: The Implications of the Revised NZC for School Leaders

Main points

"leadership is different from leadership associated with administrative or managerial roles, as it moves away from top-down, hierarchical reward/punish (transactional) practices towards practices of shared decision making, teamwork and community building (Urbansky & Nickolaou, 1997; Wynne, 2001)."

 According to Wynne (2001) the literature on teacher leadership offers a profile that defines teacher leaders as those who:

 • demonstrate expertise in their instruction and share that knowledge with other professionals

 • are consistently on a professional learning curve

 • frequently reflect on their work to stay on the cutting edge of what is best for children

 • engage in continuous action research projects that examine their effectiveness 

• collaborate with their peers, parents, and communities, engaging them in dialogues of open inquiry/action/ assessment models of change

Shift in practice - qualities of teacher leaders to be cultivated, a shift in leadership practices is also necessary (Wynnem, 2001).

We teachers need to keep up with the change and move forward for our learners...keeping up with the game is the key.

-        NZC challenges us to think very deeply about core values and beliefs and how these might look in practice

-        While distributed leadership could bring about more cohesive and collaborative curriculum development, existing traditional and hierarchical modes of leadership (supported by accountability processes) create a strong constraint.

S       Is the school I am in...with distributed leadership or one of hierarchy???  We are the ones leading the change.....