This week I was lucky enough to go back to my old 'hood at Clearview Primary. I was catching up with Tori Wilby ( @miss_wilby, @Clearview7and8) who has been using Hapara Workspace with her Year 7/8 class. I've long been a fan of Hapara Teacher Dashboard - such an amazing way to organise google apps, which let's you take the collaborative GAFE suite next level! Hapara Workspace builds on the features of the dashboard, by allowing you to create learning pathways/ sequences of work for your students. Students are able to easily access selected resources, complete activities in google drive, collaborate easily and receive and respond to feedback. If you already have Teacher Dashboard, you have Workspace available to you also. When I visited, one of the Year 7/8 reading groups was in the process of finishing up working on the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. A challenging text, but the students were so engaged and told me how much they had enjoyed the novel. Most students had the novel as an ebook, and some had it as a graphic novel. ( Love this differentiation - following the principles of Universal Design for Learning.) To support this novel study, Tori has run guided reading sessions, where there has been close analysis of selections from the text. Vocabulary development and comprehension have been they key focuses of these sessions. Student discussion and collaboration is planned for in these sessions. Student learning activities have then been available on the "Workspace." Tori has added relevant resources such as videos and weblinks, then attached a range of google docs/slides/forms that the students need to access in order to complete their reading task followups. Workspace allows you to sort students into groups to allow for even further levels of differentiation. Some of the activities are collaborative, with a task shared amongst a group of students and some are for individuals. When Tori opens Workspace, she can see all the learning pathways she currently has running. This is what the "Frankenstein" workspace set up looks like. You can add learning intentions/ goals, rubrics and more! Tori highlighted the key benefits of using workspace in her classroom and for this unit of work:
An added feature in Workspace is the ability to set due dates for assignments. Once a student has submitted their work, Tori is able to assess it. If necessary, she can send the work back to the student for editing. The newly added "see recent changes" feature in google docs lets her see modifications instantly once the students resubmit their work. When Tori is happy with the completed work, she marks it as assessed. Workspace then makes a copy of the work and puts it in a separate folder. This means Tori is now the owner of that piece of work and has a final copy from that moment in time. The students get their own copy back and could make modifications if they wish, but Tori still has the finalised copy. She can then easily download these as PDF's and will sometimes make into a class book - either by printing, or importing into a programme such as Book Creator or ibooks author. It was great to touch base with the students and talk to them about their learning. Some benefits that they highlighted from this unit of work were:
A huge thanks to Tori and the Challenge Team for having me along to their class. And MIND BLOWN: Did you know that Frankenstein is NOT the name of the monster in the story, but the name of the monster's creator?? STILL SHOCKED. Maybe I need to add this book to my summer reading list. To end with, check out these amazing thoughts from the students - the slide show below is from their K-W-L slides that they had worked on throughout the novel study. These are some of the "L" learned slides.
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Used with acknowledgement and cited below: Introduction/ Executive Summary The future that we face today is unknown. Often we are surprised! Mistakes and failures will happen and it is important that we fully understand these to create a context for learning and growth. The world no longer rewards people for what they know. Being able to extrapolate from what we know and apply learning to new and novel situations is key. Creativity and Innovation are required. Education is now more about ways of thinking,communicating and collaborating, using technology well and the development of social and emotional skills. It will be more important to be a VERSATILIST - able to apply a depth of skill to a wide range of situations, capable of changing and adapting at a rapid pace and being able to reposition oneself in fast paced environments. The focus is shifting from individual achievements, to acknowledging the power of collaboration to support innovation and development. The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey found that 2/3 of teachers said their schools were "hostile to innovation." Innovative Learning Environments still remain the exception, not the rule. Drivers for change include the penetration of technology, employer's interest in education, global connections and new learning providers. Page 12, 13 of Executive Summary - A Learning System that that has a thoroughly integrated ILE framework will have: Chapter 1 Education has become more and more important world wide. Driver of this is economic and based around education's role in maintaining competitiveness in the world. Global interdependence has fuelled comparative measures. These have led to pressures to reform education. Key issues - engagement of students, especially teenagers, perceived role of teachers in society and the value placed on the profession, slow pace of change in education, systemic change needed rather than isolated innovation. Learning systems extend well beyond schools and to enact change, we must look beyond the traditional partners and structures. Page 18/19 - Framework for ILE: The 7+3 model. Page 20 - The C's! Common features of ILE strategies and Initiatives Time - system change takes TIME. Time for relationship building, connections and interaction. A system transformation - there will have been a matching shift in educator's views, knowledge and practice. Widespread use of social media and technology. Culture of evaluative thinking and self-review. Distributed leadership. Evidence based decisions. Chapter 2 What kinds of broader changes and conditions are needed in order for the "7+3" to become commonplace features of learning systems? What will the indicators be? 1)Reduce Standardisation, Foster Innovation, Broaden Institutions. Standard rules and procedures should not be barriers to innovation. Allow for non-formal learning opportunities, both face to face and in online communities. 2) Accountability and Metrics for 21st century learning. Page 25/26 - ALL these messages are key! 3)Promoting leadership, trust and learner agency. Effective, distributed leadership is critical. Learners must be active partners in their learning establishment's design, curriculum and decision making. High trust environments and connectedness with all stake holders. 4)Widespread collaborative expert professionalism. 5) Ubiquitous Professional Learning. Professional development opportunities in evaluation and evaluative thinking. The real and virtual environments inhabited by teachers should be conducive to professional exchange and dialogue. 6) Connectivity and extensive digital infrastructure. 7) Flourishing cultures of networks and partnerships. Horizontal connection and collaboration. 8) Powerful knowledge systems and cultures of evaluation. There needs to be a culture of diagnostic expertise and evaluation. Indicators of the widespread adoption of the ILE framework: Chapter 3: Promising Strategies for spreading ILE's From studies of 26 countries: Culture change: more important than surface change, but much more difficult to realise. Clarifying Focus: Don't have too many things going on at once. Innovate, but remain focused. Doing the "same old" has not improved student achievement and quality. Capacity Creation: Knowledge and Professional Learning. Generate knowledge about student learning and how that knowledge will be acted upon. Collaboration and Co-operation: Collaborative professionalism is necessary for innovation.Professional Learning Networks are key. Communication and Technology Platforms - supporting the development of an ILE. Change Agents: people who are able to provide influence on the ground and provide the expertise and drive to maintain innovation. Chapter 4: Growing Innovative Learning through Meso - Level networking. Chapter 5: Transformation and Leadership in Complex Learning Systems.
Sockburn School held their Professional Learning Group session this week. Marc, Rachael, Sarah and Lucy walked us through their journey so far with collaborative teaching and learning. The meeting began with principal Heather Wilkinshaw discussing how in 2014, they modified some of their existing buildings in order to begin making some pedagogical changes. In 2018, Sockburn School will move to a new, purpose built site at Wigram Skies. To prepare for this move, all staff felt it was important to begin working collaboratively. Sockburn's vision is "Together we learn, Together we succeed," so working in this way very much supported this. Rachael outlined how they got started. "In 2014, we had two archways cut out of our existing classroom walls. So 3 single cell classrooms became a teaching space for 2 teachers and a mixed year 1 and 2 class. We had to discover how to adapt and work together. We initially started with teaching our reading collaboratively, then expanded into other curriculum areas. We wanted to see how people were being creative with existing spaces, so we visited lots of other schools to see how they were operating. At the end of 2015 we were able to choose some new furniture which was really exciting. In 2015 we moved to a power of 3, so three teachers work in the space with around 60 children." The Sockburn team now plan and teach collaboratively in this way:
The Sockburn team have the following recommendations to create a cohesive and connected team: Be professionally reflective - in the beginning, things would sometimes change hour by hour, based on discussions and reflection. Transparent conversations are vital. Constantly question. Examine effectiveness - look at outcomes in a global way - relationships, social skills, achievement. Think about tracking a cohort. Allow staff to be creative. Think about how you offer support. Consider diverse learners. What modifications might you need to make for individuals? Instant feedback for teachers allows for people to develop their own self-worth as educators. Check out the Pohutukawa Team Blog to see their awesome learners! The conversations following the PLG presentation were amazing. We toured the Sockburn team's learning spaces, had some wonderful kai and talked and talked! These PLG meetings are such a great opportunity to network and talk to others about their collaborative teaching and innovative practices. |
AuthorMy name is Ngaire Shepherd-Wills. This website is a record of my TeachNZ sabbatical, Term 2, 2013 and then I have continued to share my wonderings and discoveries about Innovative Learning Practices. I now work for CORE Education. Views are my own. Tags
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