Key Competencies

My reflection on Key Competencies and my teaching Practice

I have spent just over a term teaching at Haeata Community Campus. I work with year 7 - 10 ākonga as part of the Kōrepo team.  Before this I was an Early Childhood Teacher for many years. My academic background is a degree in  Geography and Art Theory. I also have Graduate Diplomas of Teaching and Learning in Secondary and ECE. My main teaching subject was Geography and Social Studies, with Art History and Graphics and Design.

I am relatively new to using the terminology of Key Competencies but in ECE we use Dispositions. However these align fairly well. At Haeata we also use different names for our values and dispositions. 

Thinking

"Thinking is about using creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek, use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions."

Metacognitive Processes – Learning to Learn

Learners use metacognition to monitor the progress of their learning and to think about their own thinking and learning processes.

There is a close relation between cognition (thinking and learning) and metacognition (thinking about thinking and learning). Metacognition means being aware of how cognition is occurring.

English Language Learning Progressions: Introduction, Ministry of Education, 2007, page 17

Creative Processes - connecting ideas in a new way

1. Gather new material. At first, you learn. During this stage you focus on 1) learning specific material directly related to your task and 2) learning general material by becoming fascinated with a wide range of concepts.
2. Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind. During this stage, you examine what you have learned by looking at the facts from different angles and experimenting with fitting various ideas together.
3. Step away from the problem. Next, you put the problem completely out of your mind and go do something else that excites you and energizes you.
4. Let your idea return to you. At some point, but only after you have stopped thinking about it, your idea will come back to you with a flash of insight and renewed energy.
5. Shape and develop your idea based on feedback. For any idea to succeed, you must release it out into the world, submit it to criticism, and adapt it as needed.

"The creative process is the act of making new connections between old ideas. Thus, we can say creative thinking is the task of recognizing relationships between concepts."  5 steps to creative process James Clear

Critical Processes

1. Identification

• identify the situation or problem 
• factors that may influence it 
• then go deeper into an issue and its possible solutions.

Then ask these Questions:

• Who is doing what?
• What seems to be the reason for this happening?
• What are the end results and how could they change? 

2. Research

Arguments are meant to be persuasive but they also need to use independent and valid research. Use good sources that have "peer" reviewed and academic rather than popular posts.

3. Identifying biases

Be aware that bias exists and try to be objective. When evaluating information or an argument, ask yourself the following:

• Who does this benefit?
• Does the source of this information appear to have an agenda?
• Is the source overlooking, ignoring or leaving out information that doesn’t support its beliefs or claims?
• Is this source using unnecessary language to sway an audience’s perception of a fact?

4. Inference

• Sometimes we need to assess the information we have and draw our own conclusions. 
• An inference is an educated guess. 
• Making correct guesses is more likely if you gather multiple sources or types of informations. 
• When faced with a new scenario or situation to evaluate, first try skimming for clues—things like headlines, images and prominently featured statistics—and then make a point to ask yourself what you think is going on.

5. Determining relevance

What information is the most important to consider? Have a clear idea of what needs to be figured out. Use your end goal to guide you to find what is relevant. Make a list of priorities.

6. Curiosity

Don't take everything you see at face value. We increasingly need to have critical thinking. Ask open-ended questions about the things you see and follow up this by inquiring further information.

These ideas are summarised from this site: Critical Thinking Process

Using language, symbols and text

"Using language, symbols, and texts is about working with and making meaning of the codes in which knowledge is expressed.
Languages and symbols are systems for representing and communicating information, experiences and ideas.
People use languages and symbols to produce texts of all kinds: written, oral/aural, and visual; informative and imaginative; informal and formal; mathematical, scientific, and technological.
Students who are competent users of language, symbols, and texts can interpret and use words, number, images, movement, metaphor, and technologies in a range of contexts.
They recognise how choices of language, symbol, or text affect people’s understanding and the ways in which they respond to communications.
They confidently use ICT (including, where appropriate, assistive technologies) to access and provide information and to communicate with others."

Relating to Others

"Relating to others is about interacting effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts. This competency includes the ability to listen actively, recognise different points of view, negotiate, and share ideas. Students who relate well to others are open to new learning and able to take different roles in different situations. They are aware of how their words and actions affect others. They know when it is appropriate to compete and when it is appropriate to co-operate. By working effectively together, they can come up with new approaches, ideas, and ways of thinking"

Manage Self

"This competency is associated with self-motivation, a “can-do” attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self-assessment.Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects, and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow, and when and how to act independently."

Participating and Contributing

"This competency is about being actively involved in communities. Communities include family, whānau, and school and those based, for example, on a common interest or culture. They may be drawn together for purposes such as learning, work, celebration, or recreation. They may be local, national, or global. This competency includes a capacity to contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others, and to create opportunities for others in the group. Students who participate and contribute in communities have a sense of belonging and the confidence to participate within new contexts. They understand the importance of balancing rights, roles, and responsibilities and of contributing to the quality and sustainability of social, cultural, physical, and economic environments."

This information comes from the Mindab course and they got their information from this site:  NZ Curriculum Key Dispositions MOE