Page 159 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

The development of agency and competency is not only a learning journey for learners. As educators, the ability to work collaboratively has been highlighted as a critical issue, especially as we begin to open-up our classrooms and develop spaces where educators and learners cohabitate. In a report written by Sarah Martin on the collaborative practices at Stonefields School, she highlights the critical nature of the relationships between the staff, and the results of explicitly working on these relationships.
At the heart of a high functioning team are conscious, self-aware individuals. They are open to learning; they continue to learn and to further their own learning for the betterment of self and the learners they serve. They are constantly growing and evolving their self-awareness through reflection, self-questioning and a drive to self-improve. Mental models are evaluated as learning continues. The outlook of an individual who contributes constructively in a team is one of a growth mind-set—they are optimistic, open and reflect on what can be learnt, changed, adapted in challenging times. These dispositions are critical when transitioning from an ‘I’ space to a ‘we’ space.172 Sarah Martin; Stonefields School
If we are to transition our profession from being teachers to being educator-learners, and work together in collaborative spaces with other educators then we must be willing to learn from each other and learn from the learner-educators we are working with. Sharing learning spaces requires us to have the capacity to initiate difficult conversations and have a clear understanding of the narrative that sits behind the emotions that we are all expressing.
The competencies empower our young people to take on these challenges as they grow and come to terms with their own existence and the life they choose to live. Everyone needs to understand the power that they hold over their own existence and the influence they may exert consciously or unconsciously on others they share their world with.
We can question our own world and make some sense of it and test it via our actions and observing the actions of others. Our self-awareness and our awareness of others, helps us manage our world. How much we are in control of our world is up to us but only if we take the time to encourage such thoughts.
Resource 66: The Competencies
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How we interact with others gives our life meaning, or not, depending on how well we interact with those in our lives and how honestly we can stand in their shoes and feel what they might feel, knowing they are not us. The ability to interrogate others thinking and our own, and have the difficult conversation with both self and others, underpins the strength of our relationship with self and others. This capability empowers our relationships with the potential to flourish, with trust.
172 Martin, S. (2016), Creating Collaborative Consciousness in an Organisation. Stonefields School, Auckland, New Zealand.
http://www.stonefields.school.nz/