Behavioural change agent

During my internship there were several situation where I experienced differences between Belgium and South Africa. In this assignment I reflect on behavioural and environmental level about a difference in the quantity of differentiation during PE classes (physical education). First I describe deeper indentity traits that influences my behaviour. Afterwards I reflect on the specific situation where in I'm trying to introduce differentiation in the classroom and how I tried to find a balance between a Belgian and a South African vision.

General reflection on deeper identity traits, based on the 'onion model'

Mission:

The very first reason I went to South Africa, (I have to be honest here), is that I wanted to complete my internship in the process to graduation.

However for me, going on an international internship meant much more for me. Experience (inter)cultural differences between South Africa and Belgium, especially focussing on the differences in vision on education. Curious about their ideas, thoughts, way of learning, mindset and services, I planned to achieve a better understanding of the circumstances and why they do things the way they do it. The reasons behind the visible aspects was something I am wondering about was my reason to be there.

Identity:

As a teacher I see myself as someone that's reliable and who's helpful and caring for learners. I'll always try to make people feel comfortable and to help them. Therefore I see my role as a teacher wider than teaching subjects. The personal aspects, both inside and outside the school, are for me even more important.

Beliefs:

My persuasion is that when learners trust you as a teacher and as a person, you can make them feel at ease which will lead to a good well-being. As a consequence of this the learner is capable to develop and improve in a better, more effective and more joyful way. This will have an effect on the learners well-being outside the school as well.

Competencies:

Getting in touch with learners about how they are doing at home, how they feel and what they're thinking. Showing interest in their personal lives and believes and be there to listen to them. Based on their thought I might be able to lend a hand to solve problems/challenges they are struggling with or to improve their development.

Reflection on the specific situation based on the reflection cycle of Korthagen

In the explanation of the different steps in the Korthagen's reflection cycle I make a distinction between 'behaviour' and 'environment'. By this way I would like to try to show that there is a close interaction between the environment (the class/school) and my own behaviour.

1. Action: What am I trying to do and why?
Due to observation I could see a difference in the quantity of differentiation. The level of control during the PE-classes (physical education) was quite big. In the Belgian school culture I was taught to differentiate a lot. Seeing the differences in skills between the learner I decided to try to introduce some Belgian differentiation methodologies. By doing this I wanted to connect the content of the lessons to the level of skill of the individual learner.

2. Looking back on the action.
While trying to introduce more differentiation I was aware that it might form a kind of a contradiction with the South African vision on education. Being mindful of that I knew I had to take small steps. It shouldn't look like I disagreed with the way of approach of the local teacher. Because I learned a lot about how my mentor managed the situation. There are not many materials available and that makes differentiation a lot more difficult. The fun my mentor created and the joy the learners had during the classes was amazing to see. So his approach definitely as not wrong. On the contrary, it was actually very good because he achieved the things he wanted to with the learners and created a lot of joy. Even though I was convinced that a little bit of differentiation could improve the joy and development of the students. 

2.1. How does it fit in the project/teaching practice/my mission? 
Introducing this step by step took a while and in my opinion it is a good example of finding a balance between your own culture, vision, ideas and the culture, vision, ideas of the people of the host institution (my mentor). Talking with my mentor about the different approaches gave me insights in the underlying meaning. This, together with finding a balance between two cultural vision, makes that this behaviour fits in my practice and connects to my mission as described above.

To receive freedom and trust from my mentor to introduce my 'differentiation plan', was great. My mentor and I accepted each other vision and we tried to put them together. The acceptance of my mentor and the empathy for each other thoughts felt great and it was for me an added value in my internship.

3. Awareness of essential aspects
As already described I thought small steps would be the key to introduce (more) differentiation properly. I focussed on giving the students more autonomy in their learning process. They were not used to this and in the beginning I got confronted with messy situations and students who did not execute the exercise as they should be. They start playing and lost the goal of the exercise out of their sight. On the other hand there were also students who managed with the given autonomy in very commendable way. For me this was a moment that some students did accept the methodology I was using. Even at a young age (8 years) they managed their autonomy and had a very good PE session! They utilize their autonomy by working in their own rhythm and their own level of difficulty. This showed me that I was on the right track in the process of introducing differentiation.

4. Previous skills and choosing a solution
How can these findings help me to improve the introduction of differentiation on individual level? In dialogue with my mentor I tried to find a solution to specify the limits of autonomy during the exercises for the ones who did not deal with their autonomy properly. As a result a decided to add autonomy in a more isolated exercise. They didn't have to decide their rhythm and level of difficulty for themselves of their group anymore. Now they only decided the level of difficulty for themselves. By doing this there was less possibility for interaction between the students.

5. Execute the solution: do the improvements work?
The improvements payed off! Still, there was a difference in how well everyone did deal with their autonomy but on personal base there was an improvement. It turned out that the 'small steps' I was taking, were not small enough for some of the students. By minimizing the steps more students could manage the autonomy that was given to them, in a good way.

Behaviour and environment are combined in the reflection cycle. This is consciously done because my behaviour was directly connected to the environment I was working in. Simultaneously, my behaviour was directly connected to my environment (the school/class) as well.

Defining the mission, the process and findings on outcomes

Mission

• Gaining insights in underlying meanings for particular methods and/or approaches to achieve a better understanding of their way of living and about why they do things the way they do it
• Experience a different culture. Especially focussing on education

Process

Gaining insights

• Start a dialogue with local. The people I met all were very open and kind and willing to have a conversation about lots of things. My mentor had a very open mindset and we discussed a lot of things about the approach of education. Thanks to these conversations I could gain insights about motives for how and why they approach and do things. It was very interesting to get more knowledge about this. It were these conversations (with my mentor, school staff, citizens) that showed me why I wanted to be abroad.

Finding balance

Because this has already be described in Korthagen's reflection cycle, this is just a short summary

• Open communication with my mentor
• Taking small steps
• Open communication with the learners about what I expect from them

Findings on outcome

There are several aspects I learned to understand better because the people explained the reasons behind it. These reasons made absolute sense to me which leads to a better understanding. Meeting people from different places and with different backgrounds I had the chance to experience the disunity the country is known for. But also behind the disunity there is a story. Every party has a different meaning, experience and therefore a different story. I am grateful that I talked to different people/parties to hear the story from different perspectives. This makes that I am looking back with a lot of satisfaction on my international internship. The reason I wanted to be there is fulfilled and that makes me grateful once again!

As for the more expanded outcome of introducing differentiation I would kindly refer to the Korthagen's reflection cycle above. In short, a balance between the visions was found and due to an open communication and support from my mentor I could introduce some small aspects of differentiation.

Let's hope graduation now can be achieved.....;)