It's Queen's Birthday holiday today! Thought I would share a couple of great articles I have enjoyed recently.
Talk about the ultimate learning environment. 4 years,studying in 12 countries. I'm curious to know more about how it all works, but sounds amazing! http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/10109409/Life-changing-journey-for-student And here is the school website - employment opportunities?? http://thinkglobalschool.org I also really enjoyed this article from the latest Education Gazette. http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleId=8938&Title=Flexible%20space%20can%20be%20the%20right%20fit Lots of what we know about modern learning practice being confirmed by the experiences of Vauxhall school in Devonport.
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There were so many awesome ideas at the summit - here's a few of my favourite links. Julie Lindsay had these great tips for using Google Search:
A great intro for beginners with google docs.
Tips and tricks for clever google add ons. The ED tech team resource page. Lots of cheat sheets, tips etc. I stalked Jim Sill around the conference, because every presentation he did was AMAZING! Inspiring, funny, talented - it was like watching a comedy show and learning at the same time.
Check out the resources below: Jim's youtube site - Jim's site that will teach you how to tame you tube, make it safe in the classroom and use it to its' full potential. Jim's map site - Make sure you are using the NEW version of google maps! Jim's guide to the google art project- this is one of the most incredible resources I have ever seen. The art project will make you want to pack your bags and travel the world's museums! Truly beautiful. Make sure you visit the art project site. Jim also recommends http://photopin.com/, for free images to use on your blog/ site. Another piece of key learning for me, was to always SIGN IN to a google site - maps, art, youtube, chrome - takes what you can do to a whole new level. It was amazing to have the opportunity to attend the GAFE south summit in the first week of the holidays! (Just dropping in their that yes, teachers do work in the holidays!) Speakers and presenters from around the world presented about teaching and learning using Google Apps for Education.
In terms of collaboration and learning anywhere, anytime, Google Apps are certainly an awesome tool for teaching and learning. This post kind of serves as my notes for the conference, but I hope you can get some ideas too! Keynote: Adam Naor We need to make sure we are teaching WITH technology, not teaching technology. Focus on the real goal. For example, improving writing, not teaching WORD or PAGES. Teachers must know how to use tools well. The google design philosophy: What is the idea that will be transformative, a catalyst for immense change? Adam discussed current technological trends. He believes were are almost there with technology being mobile and 24/ 7. Within the next three years there will be a focus on learning analytics and open content. Within five years, 3d printing and virtual and remote learning laboratories will be the norm. Adam recommended a sound knowledge of Google Search - later in the programme, Dr Mark Wagner presented on this. Find the resources here. The fabulous team at Clarkville school were our hosts for the first MLE PLG for 2014. I was excited to return to Clarkville after my visit during my sabbatical term, to see how they were going on their journey using Modern Learning Practices. (Original blog post.) Pene and her teaching team relayed their story so far: What's gone? Bells, homework, desks, students only learning in class, students as learners of facts, curriculum coverage. Replaced with: Collaboration Choice - students are self regulated learners, there is a high trust environment. Connectedness - between the school, the community, the students and the teachers. Culture - a culture that is focused on learning. Consultation - student consultation team that provides authentic student voice, community in action (CIA) groups and workshops, relationships with early childhood providers and high schools, to develop transitions for students. Outcomes: Authentic learning opportunities. The development of a professional learning community. Critical friends - seeking feedback from professionals such as Christian Long. ( Christian Long blog post) A dynamic, responsive curriculum. Student think tank. All teachers teach all kids. Clear data shift. Enablers of a school wide culture shift: A strong strategic plan owned by everyone. Principal/ Board support. Co-teaching. BYOD. Professional development. Teaching as Inquiry. Clear appointments process. After this excellent introduction, some of the Clarkville students lead tours around the school. Teachers were able to spend time in each area of the school, talking with the students and teachers and seeing student work and learning environments. It was exciting to hear that some of the classrooms are going to be renovated and linked together, to enable collaborative teaching in a more open environment. The teachers and students are really excited for this next step to happen. There were almost 100 registrations to attend this PLG and all around I could hear teachers discussing what they saw, chatting together and being inspired by new ideas. A huge thanks to the Clarkville staff and students for sharing their vision, hard work and innovations. Recently a good friend of mine mentioned that her school was building a bus shelter. "Do you have any ideas as to how we could modify or improve the design?" was the question she asked, hoping to give the children a nicer place to be while they were waiting for the bus. I put my thinking cap on, and the ideas I came up with were painting the inside with whiteboard paint or blackboard paint, so that the students would have something to "doodle" with while they were waiting. I wondered about a vertical garden on the outside, where edible plants could grow. I thought about the floor and how it could be painted with markings. Then I found out the bus shelter isn't going to have walls -it will just be 4 posts with a cover overhead! So back to the drawing board! However, I thought it was great that the school's parent group was thinking about how they could maximise an opportunity. An important reminder that no matter how big or small a project is, there is always a chance to innovate!! So 2014 has started with a bang! Here at Clearview, we made the committment to teach collaboratively, right from Day 1 of the new school year. It has been interesting for me, as I have been released from my classroom for the first 6 weeks, to implement some ICT initiatives and provide support for teachers. This has meant the opportunity to spend time in all parts of the school and to see first hand how teachers and students are working together.
As part of our PD discussions last year, we decided that it was important that students and parents felt right from the start of the year, that there was more than one teacher involved in their education. In our 2013 "Meet the teacher" session, we had students meet altogether with the teachers who were to be part of their 2014 "power team." We made sure that on Day 1 of our 2014 school year, there were opportunities for students to all be together to get to know each other and their teachers. Last year when creating our new classes, rather than create them in a traditional way with each homebase getting assigned students, we created clusters of students, then separated them into homebases for management reasons. For example, in my team we created 3 clusters of 45 students. We looked across those 45 children for behavioural issues and diverse learners as you would normally. It did mean however, that we didn't need to worry if a student was "on their own" in a homebase at a particular level, as there would be others in their power class that they could be grouped with. We have also experimented with furniture and setup in different ways. In my team, classes are mostly working in power teams of 2 teachers and 45 kids. One room may be set up as a large open space, while another room may be set up as "rooms within rooms" for the children to work in. Different teachers are making use of the learning studio space in unique ways. Some using it as a watering hole space, others using it as a teaching space, others as a working space. Most often it is a mix of all three. We are developing ownership of the space, by making sure students have a presence in all spaces. One room might display art and inquiry work for all students. Another room might have maths and writing displays for all students. In our newsletters, we have made parents feel welcome to visit all teachers and all learning spaces that their children are involved with. As I have moved around our school, I have definitely noticed that the environment feels very welcoming and collaborative. It is very busy, but when you stand back and watch, you see students using all of our spaces, interacting with each other and a high level of engagement. I am about to head into my classroom for the remainder of the year, so exciting times ahead. The best thing about the holidays, is having some time to read! I have read my share of trashy books this summer, but I did come across this article from a couple of years ago that I liked.
Generation C: Transforming Learning and Teaching Practices by Janice Mertes. There are some good ideas on her Top 5 list, many of which we all do to some extent. Something I would like to do more of is involve experts in my classroom programme. With skype, that is something I can do easily and need to make more of an effort to organise. What would your goal be for 2014? If I had to create my top five list of instructional activities and tools for Generation C students to use, the list would include:
And just like that, another year is over! Reflecting back on 2013, it has been a year of great change. I have made significant changes to my teaching practice, based on new learning, understandings and ideas that I have gained this year. I am incredibly grateful to have had my term sabbatical and it was an awesome opportunity - although I could have spent the whole year on my topic and not run out of avenues to pursue.
Looking forward to next year, I will be taking on a team leader role within my school as well as having some time to implement some digital initiatives which I am really excited about. In Year 3/4 we will have a team of 6 teachers. At the moment we are planning to work in teams of 2 for most of the time, but also teams of three and sometimes even a team of 6. We are all excited to be moving forward after trialling and experimenting with lots of formats and ideas this year. When we grouped our students into new classes for 2014, we sorted the classes into " power groups", not traditional class groupings. We then separated the students into two homebases, mostly for management and pastoral care reasons - eg. school roll, talking with parents. We kicked off our traditional " Meet the Teacher" afternoon, by getting together with both teachers and classes, trying to send the message to our students initially that they have more than one teacher and a wide range of fellow learners. Wonderings: At this stage I think our challenges will be: Changing the traditional understanding of the role of a teacher and a class, for both students and parents. Constantly reflecting on our practice to ensure we are not slipping back into "what's comfortable". Developing " collective responsibility" among our teachers for all students. Refining and improving systems that ensure quality assessment and reporting information is available to students and their families, in an efficient and purposeful way. I'm sure their will be more - stay tuned in 2014! Taking my own advice about field trips, I paid a visit to Willowpark Primary School in Birkenhead, Auckland, adding on my CRT day to a weekend in the big smoke. Willowpark has modified their furniture and classroom layouts significantly in the past 2 years, moving from one desk per child to a variety of spaces created within their traditional classroom environments. There has also been a move towards Self Regulated Learning, with a variety of models being used throughout the school. Student voice and highly visible learning was evident in the classrooms I visited.
Discoveries at Willowpark Willowpark has set up MLE's in their traditional spaces. This has mostly been done with use of furniture. There are lots of different heights and spaces for individual and collaborative work. It was great to see Emma Winder running her fantastic My Learning programme. The students were articulate, well organised and engaged in their learning programme. Their reflection blogs showed insight into their learning and I was impressed with the range of activities the students were participating in. I visited Melinda Borland's awesome Year 5 class. Melinda makes extensive use of modelling books and these were very impressive. Her class constantly uses them as a resource to aid their independent learning. I really liked how every day activities were extended with thinking tools and student voice. For example, there are boxes of maths games and activities set up for students to practice their basic facts targets. For each activity, they complete a reflection about the purpose for their activity and how they did. Students were selecting maths games for their groups and making decisions about how they were progressing, deciding whether to change or not. Melinda uses Mondays as "setting up" days in the classroom. This is where modelling, and class activities are organised for the week. Tuesday through Thursday is group teaching sessions and independent personalised learning. Friday is a conferencing day, to meet with students and discuss their learning. It was interesting to see The Daily 5, a literacy programme running in a Year 4 classroom. This was one I hadn't heard of before, which I would like to find out more about. A neat gadget I saw was talking tins, being used by diverse learners for a variety of activities, including recording their thoughts for writing. Wonderings at Willowpark While seeing some excellent teaching and learning, I wondered, "How would this look if the teachers were team teaching collaboratively? How would their systems need to change? What would be the advantages and disadvantages? How do you streamline tasks such as student's planning their own timetables, so that it doesn't take up too much class time? (A question I should have asked!) I had a great day checking out the Willowpark teachers and learners. Thank you so much for having me to your school! |
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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