Explain how your application of a digital and collaborative innovation relates to national educational policies/guidelines and contemporary educational theory and compare it to existing delivery models and needs
Innovative Practice: Use of Kanban Board to visually represent tasks students complete in class so that they have success in task completion.
Each school works under the umbrella of NEG’s (National Education Goals) and NAG’s (National Administration Goals) as set out by the Ministry of Education. This legislation guides schools.
The National Education Goals focus on teaching and learning programmes. This is the relationship between my innovative practice and the goals:
National Educational Goal 2 (NEG 2): Equality of educational opportunity for all New Zealanders, by identifying and removing barriers to achievement.
AND
National Educational Goal 7 (NEG 7): Success in their learning for those with special needs by ensuring that they are identified and receive appropriate support
The use of this innovation was aimed at ensuring a barrier for our learners was removed. Visual timetables are just one key to success. By providing students with a structured approach to tracking their learning and give them a valued outcome
Many educationalists (Webster, Hume, Ministry of Education) promote the use of a visual timetable. Students require “structure’ or support to have success in task completion. Webster (2020) says the use of these tools “are effective for managing student workflow, motivating independent work and helping students with disabilities understand that they are reinforced for a certain number of completed academic tasks.
Many learners in classrooms around New Zealand lack opportunities to learn and be successful. They are not being provided with the tools needed to overcome their personal barriers and therefore being successful at their level. This is the same within my own educational context. Our learners require a variety of strategies.
Many teachers use task boards for students to know what is happening in the classroom however, this approach is a general “what to do” in the classroom therefore the Kanban board becomes a personal approach based on individual students and what they are required to achieve in learning. Tracking the specifics of tasks is beneficial to their own outcomes as ako.
National Educational Goal 3 (NEG 3): Development of the knowledge, understanding and skills needed by New Zealanders to compete successfully in the modern, ever-changing world.
The Kanban Board on Trello was providing a digital tool where learners can develop knowledge and skills they can apply to the world that is their future.
The Kanban Board, taken from the software/project management world, is a strategy/technique that allows you to both visualise and manage the flow of activities.
“A Kanban board …[ is designed to] maximize efficiency” (Rehkopf, 2021). The concept of the Kanban Board was taken from the ‘real’ world and used in a classroom. This approach has been successful across a number of fields within the business world including the business Scaborough Fare, a horticulture herb business in Waiuku District. They use a number of Kaizen techniques including the Kanban Board to track monthly and weekly tasks, ensuring they have an efficiently run business model.
National Administration Guideline 1 (NAG 1)
through the analysis of good quality assessment information*, identify students and groups of students:
who are not progressing and/or achieving;
who are at risk of not progressing and/or achieving;
who have special needs (including gifted and talented students); and
aspects of the curriculum which require particular attention;
develop and implement teaching and learning strategies to address the needs of students and aspects of the curriculum identified in (c) above;
Through discussion with teachers about their students, we were able to identify a group of students in Years 3-6 who would benefit from using Kanban boards as a resource to support their individual learning needs.
On reflection, and the next steps to extend this, if to introduce the Kanban Board, with modifications, to our gifted and talented students. This will extend to introducing them to the Trello Board from the onset as opposed to the physical laminated board used in this innovative project.
While the innovative investigation supports the NEGs and the NAGs by our Ministry of Education there are still a number of other areas that support this innovative practice.
The Ministry of Education has developed a Digital Technologies Curriculum to support schools in the implementation of the NEGs (especially NEG 3). Chris Hipkins (2018) was quoted on the TKI website explaining the thinking behind the introduction of Digital Technologies to the Curriculum:
“The digital curriculum is about teaching children how to design their own digital solutions and become creators of, not just users of, digital technologies, to prepare them for the modern workforce."
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| Digital Technologies Curriculum |
There are many learning theories within the education world. In particular, and in relation to the digital world, is Connectivism. Our world is changing very rapidly. The digital world we are currently living in is changing rather fast. Siemens (2004) states that “Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era” (p 9). Learners now will be entering a world much different from now, what technology advances will they face we are unable to predict. As educators, we should explore this theory and its implications to the education world and the ever-changing ‘real world’ in what learners need in their toolbelt.
References
Hume, K (2018). Visual Schedules in the School Setting. From: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/visual-schedules-school-setting
Ministry of Education (nd). Legislation around NEGS and NAGS. From:
Ministry of Education (nd_). Digital technologies and the technology learning area From:https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Curriculum-learning-areas/Digital-technologies-and-the-technology-learning-area
Rehkopf, M (2020). What is a Kanban Board? From: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/kanban/boards
Scarborough Fare Blogpost (2017). Kaizen - A Small Focus on Improvement. From: https://www.scarboroughfare.nz/blog/2017/11/28/news-item-2
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Ekim, 6, 2011.
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