For our ICT Change Plan to be a living firebreathing success, we will need to consider closely the motivations of our colleagues. We'll probably show this RSA animate to them during our PL sessions. The PL sessions are interesting so far because we run them on a Tuesday morning before school and the focus is purely on teacher learning.
Yong Zhao referred to Reiss' 16 Basic Desires Theory last week, which links well with Daniel Pink's commentary. To make our ICT Change Plan (which by the way, we are considering referring to as our Learning Growth Plan :-) ) effective, we will need to be aware of and acknowledge the different motivators held by our colleagues.
Understanding the key motivators of our colleagues will help us to speed up or slow down our responses and be flexible (but still high) in our expectations. One key message Chris and I have taken on board has been to take small bites of the elephant...small steps, and testing, evaluating and reviewing along the way. High expectations, YES, but penalties for missing the mark NO!
We will need to make sure that our purpose is clear, our expectations are clear and consistent and that colleagues have support, within the ICT Change Plan.
Saturday 30 May 2015
Parallel Lines, not blurred lines
Once you get out of your own sphere of influence (be it large or small) sometimes you discover that the same things are happening in different forums. Everywhere I look I see the power of collaboration.
Last month I attended a seminar for business and professional women in the Goulburn Valley, where Janine Garner's collaboration message is encapsulated in the title of her book From Me to We.
I watch Hawthorn FC with interest as the coaching panel is dominated by professional coaches who are also school teachers....powerful collaborators who are committed to a shared vision and purpose. I observe the lack of this in the Carlton FC executive, which is why the most experienced AFL coach is now at liberty to be a full time grandad. I support Melbourne - I am nothing if not loyal and steadfast. :-)
I watched SBS Insight on Tuesday evening because it was about Shepparton, and how the community is facing challenges going forward. The most wealthy people in the town claim to be unaware of the rates of teen pregnancy, drug use and poverty. SERIOUSLY! COLLABORATION is desperately needed in this major regional centre where I live and work.
Yesterday at the CEP Conference I listened to Maggie Farrar share with us the power of schools collaborating in clusters in the UK. I also sat next to her to hear about the brilliant work being done at Bright P-12 and Apollo Bay P-12 colleges in collaborating with the Wadeye community. The day before Yong Zhao spoke about the role collaboration plays in developing entrepreneurial skills in our students. The key takeaways from the conference for me were how relationship building plus passion for change and progress in education plays an essential role in improving opportunities and outcomes for students in rural communities.
If I haven't said already, the CEP is the Country Education Partnership and they ran a Twitter feed live for the 2 days of the conference. The Twitter conversation brief included the following questions:
Q1. Rural learning: How can we seize the potential to focus on education on what really matters?
Q2. How can we create powerful, relevant learning opportunities that inspire young people within and beyond the "school gate"?
Q3 How can we inspire our communities to seize and embrace opportunities to cultivate holistic education approaches?
Q4 How can we generate and grow collaborative approaches so we can be at the forefront of connecting and boosting learning, outcomes and pathways?
As you can imagine I answered Q2 and Q4 numerous times - check out #RLSeize, but a crystal clear answer for me is for teachers to do PL in courses like LSDA (assuming there is one that can match it). For me all of these questions can be answered by employing innovative teaching and learning via new pedagogies and digital technologies.
So I put this idea forward to you, my patient blog readers. Schools in rural areas recognise the need to provide powerful learning opportunities that inspire young people. Young people, like the Rural Youth Ambassadors present at the CEP conference told us that is what they and their peers want and need. Not once in the last 2 days did someone stand up and say the data tells us we need to change. The most important evidence of need for change is in the uncertainty of life/work/society/community as we move further into the 21st century.
Maggie Farrar shared a line from David Whyte - "start with the first thing close in, the step you don't want to take.
School leaders and teacher leaders are morally bound to do this.
Last month I attended a seminar for business and professional women in the Goulburn Valley, where Janine Garner's collaboration message is encapsulated in the title of her book From Me to We.
I watch Hawthorn FC with interest as the coaching panel is dominated by professional coaches who are also school teachers....powerful collaborators who are committed to a shared vision and purpose. I observe the lack of this in the Carlton FC executive, which is why the most experienced AFL coach is now at liberty to be a full time grandad. I support Melbourne - I am nothing if not loyal and steadfast. :-)
I watched SBS Insight on Tuesday evening because it was about Shepparton, and how the community is facing challenges going forward. The most wealthy people in the town claim to be unaware of the rates of teen pregnancy, drug use and poverty. SERIOUSLY! COLLABORATION is desperately needed in this major regional centre where I live and work.
Yesterday at the CEP Conference I listened to Maggie Farrar share with us the power of schools collaborating in clusters in the UK. I also sat next to her to hear about the brilliant work being done at Bright P-12 and Apollo Bay P-12 colleges in collaborating with the Wadeye community. The day before Yong Zhao spoke about the role collaboration plays in developing entrepreneurial skills in our students. The key takeaways from the conference for me were how relationship building plus passion for change and progress in education plays an essential role in improving opportunities and outcomes for students in rural communities.
If I haven't said already, the CEP is the Country Education Partnership and they ran a Twitter feed live for the 2 days of the conference. The Twitter conversation brief included the following questions:
Q1. Rural learning: How can we seize the potential to focus on education on what really matters?
Q2. How can we create powerful, relevant learning opportunities that inspire young people within and beyond the "school gate"?
Q3 How can we inspire our communities to seize and embrace opportunities to cultivate holistic education approaches?
Q4 How can we generate and grow collaborative approaches so we can be at the forefront of connecting and boosting learning, outcomes and pathways?
As you can imagine I answered Q2 and Q4 numerous times - check out #RLSeize, but a crystal clear answer for me is for teachers to do PL in courses like LSDA (assuming there is one that can match it). For me all of these questions can be answered by employing innovative teaching and learning via new pedagogies and digital technologies.
So I put this idea forward to you, my patient blog readers. Schools in rural areas recognise the need to provide powerful learning opportunities that inspire young people. Young people, like the Rural Youth Ambassadors present at the CEP conference told us that is what they and their peers want and need. Not once in the last 2 days did someone stand up and say the data tells us we need to change. The most important evidence of need for change is in the uncertainty of life/work/society/community as we move further into the 21st century.
Maggie Farrar shared a line from David Whyte - "start with the first thing close in, the step you don't want to take.
School leaders and teacher leaders are morally bound to do this.
Thursday 28 May 2015
Connected Collaboration and Country Education Project Conference
Today has been inspiring. We heard from eight ( I think) Rural Youth Ambassadors at the CEP Conference in Melbourne today. Follow @countryedproj There are teachers here from across the state, from rural and regional centres.
Did you know that 38% of CEOs in top Australian companies were raised in the country? That means that a rural education prepares almost half of our business leaders.
We have had a MASSIVE reminder of the power student voice has in the achievement and engagement of students in rural and regional areas.
For me new pedagogies coupled with current and future technologies are a MAJOR part of ongoing achievement for students in rural and regional areas. Also, because they are unique communities shaped by their environments, rurality, remoteness and history, they have the capacity to produce unique individuals who will light the way through the fog with their red noses. (Thank you to Yong Zhao for the existential explanation as to why my nose is always red)
Great day - dinner to come with Harold Mitchell speaking - and another day tomorrow.
I hear the day with Eric Sheninger was equally AWESOME. More power to the LSDA futureniks.
:-)
Did you know that 38% of CEOs in top Australian companies were raised in the country? That means that a rural education prepares almost half of our business leaders.
We have had a MASSIVE reminder of the power student voice has in the achievement and engagement of students in rural and regional areas.
For me new pedagogies coupled with current and future technologies are a MAJOR part of ongoing achievement for students in rural and regional areas. Also, because they are unique communities shaped by their environments, rurality, remoteness and history, they have the capacity to produce unique individuals who will light the way through the fog with their red noses. (Thank you to Yong Zhao for the existential explanation as to why my nose is always red)
Great day - dinner to come with Harold Mitchell speaking - and another day tomorrow.
I hear the day with Eric Sheninger was equally AWESOME. More power to the LSDA futureniks.
:-)
Tuesday 26 May 2015
Nimble Agile Innovators Leading Into Tomorrow
After watching the 21st Century Schools video and as I head off to the CEP (Country Education Partnership) Conference tomorrow night, I am wondering how they will define the approach to take in rural settings for the future and nail it.
As a measure of comparison with our LSDA Odyssey I will be interested to know how many times the words agile, nimble, innovation and new pedagogies are used at the conference this Thursday and Friday!
And bah - the news right now says kids can't write because of iPad overuse.
What rubbish. - where's the evidence beyond a 10 second sound grab from ONE early childhood teacher and a parent.
Sunday 24 May 2015
Project Withdrawals
Literacy Co-ordinator
Project Proposal
Mini Action Research Project
– May to December 2015
Logging Reading
Responses
Question: Can
students’ enjoyment, confidence and reading comprehension skills be improved by
using reading logs via www.learn2earn.org
?
Summative Assessment –
How will we know if it is
successful?
Reading Climate Survey Feb and May
Total minutes reading – track each
week
Improved student achievement in
on demand and PM benchmark.
Saturday 23 May 2015
How can you not be excited?
PV 10 Week 13
More and more over the last few weeks I have been feeling as though I have been living under a rock and stuck. Technology allows me to have a network miles beyond my home, my school and my everyday life....it is exciting. The future for teachers is more exciting than it is scary. <3
More and more over the last few weeks I have been feeling as though I have been living under a rock and stuck. Technology allows me to have a network miles beyond my home, my school and my everyday life....it is exciting. The future for teachers is more exciting than it is scary. <3
Tuesday 19 May 2015
PL small school style
As we move towards the end of the course, I am wondering how to keep using my blog after we take flight from the LSDA Launchpad.
So I thought I would reflect on our professional learning; small school style.
Today we explored aspects of traditional vs new pedagogies - sorting different elements into two columns. The discussion was in depth and positive. We identified that there was clearly room for direct teaching (which is a major feature of traditional pedagogy) and we were also able to visualise the changes that have taken place since each of us were at school. Given that we are all over 40, we had similar experiences to start with.
To follow up we watched a video about learning and the brain http://trainugly.com/portfolio/learning/ on www.trainugly.com
Positive discussion from that too - especially about the clarity of the video and its message, and how it could be used with students.
We then linked our work at school in mindsets to the mindfulness work being done in our local early childhood centre....should all fit together nicely.
Clear moral purpose, thorough preparation, time allocated for teacher PL and focus on student learning led to quality discussion....FANTASTIC!!
Have also finished my report for leading instructional practice and the ARP for LSDA. Life is good!
Sunday 17 May 2015
Letter to Queensland...letter from my past.
Exactly - he makes you want to read on because he congratulates you for your hard work and achievement so far. Then he gently tells of the possibilities and wonderful opportunities literally at our fingertips.
The key message from Stephen Heppell for me is to be gentle, not combative.
I also LOVE the line "inoculated against poverty with learning".......if I haven't said it before........my great grandfather was a miner in the Bradford Pit in Manchester. He died at 64 from heart and lung disease. He had ten children. His eldest son (my grandfather) emigrated to Australia and sadly, never looked back, BUT my sister is a doctor, I am a teacher, one of my uncles is a world leader in his field of laying asphalt, another is a media CEO. Courage and risk-taking plus learning inoculated me against a small life of limitations and the much smaller spaces of MCR, which I love.
One of the ways I choose to relate to my school community is to tailor the language to meet their needs (ie level of understanding, aspirations and life experience). Simon's letter to Cardross was motivational and conveyed high expectations...our community needs to be supported and prepared before they are ready to understand.
The key message from Stephen Heppell for me is to be gentle, not combative.
I also LOVE the line "inoculated against poverty with learning".......if I haven't said it before........my great grandfather was a miner in the Bradford Pit in Manchester. He died at 64 from heart and lung disease. He had ten children. His eldest son (my grandfather) emigrated to Australia and sadly, never looked back, BUT my sister is a doctor, I am a teacher, one of my uncles is a world leader in his field of laying asphalt, another is a media CEO. Courage and risk-taking plus learning inoculated me against a small life of limitations and the much smaller spaces of MCR, which I love.
One of the ways I choose to relate to my school community is to tailor the language to meet their needs (ie level of understanding, aspirations and life experience). Simon's letter to Cardross was motivational and conveyed high expectations...our community needs to be supported and prepared before they are ready to understand.
Thursday 14 May 2015
ICT Change plan......from caterpillar to..........
Well, we've done some work on our change plan for school. I am really keen to do as Fullan suggests and have our leadership do the professional learning with the staff. I am also really keen to have achievable goals so we can experience success and build confidence.
I'm also spending some time each day having brief informal chats with colleagues about the work we are doing in LSDA, and how we can make it work in our context, with our small staff and how setting SMART goals will help us.
Also keeping a record of the questions people raise about using technology and how these questions flag perceived obstacles:
ie -
I'm also spending some time each day having brief informal chats with colleagues about the work we are doing in LSDA, and how we can make it work in our context, with our small staff and how setting SMART goals will help us.
- disrupting learning
- interfering with classroom work
- not enough time to learn how to use it
- devices don't work
- where is the evidence that this works?
- when shown examples of more tech based schools - questions about $$$ and resources
- should we continue to "push" technology at primary school when at secondary schools the students "stop using it"
So my next thought is to develop scripted responses to these comments which are measured and allay fears and concerns while simultaneously reinforcing the expectations that a change in practices will occur
Monday 11 May 2015
Your ARP Progress
I reset the publishing date on this post just to push it to the top of your blog feed Angela.
It is great to see the enthusiasm with which you are engaging with your ARP Angela. Below is a summary of your progress with this task. This is just intended as a handy guide for you, me and the course facilitators. Your ARP is located in Google Docs HERE
Your Big Question Iterations:
1st: What do I need to do to establish the value of digital learning in my early years classroom?
2nd: What do I need to do to promote the learning in my classroom using digital tools?
3rd: What understandings and skills do I need that will enable me to role model how digital technologies can be used for gathering evidence?
4th: What do I need to do to promote the learning in my classroom using digital tools?
5th: What skills and understandings do I need to enable me to promote the digital learning that is occurring in my classroom?
As at April 17 my feedback was that the word "promote" is somewhat vague and suggested: What understandings and skills do I need that will enable me to role model the effective use and application of digital technologies within my teaching in the Early Years?
Your final Big Question
* Mentor feedback required before progressing
It is great to see the enthusiasm with which you are engaging with your ARP Angela. Below is a summary of your progress with this task. This is just intended as a handy guide for you, me and the course facilitators. Your ARP is located in Google Docs HERE
Your Big Question Iterations:
1st: What do I need to do to establish the value of digital learning in my early years classroom?
2nd: What do I need to do to promote the learning in my classroom using digital tools?
3rd: What understandings and skills do I need that will enable me to role model how digital technologies can be used for gathering evidence?
4th: What do I need to do to promote the learning in my classroom using digital tools?
5th: What skills and understandings do I need to enable me to promote the digital learning that is occurring in my classroom?
As at April 17 my feedback was that the word "promote" is somewhat vague and suggested: What understandings and skills do I need that will enable me to role model the effective use and application of digital technologies within my teaching in the Early Years?
Your final Big Question
What understandings and skills do I need that will enable me to role model the effective use and application of digital technologies within my teaching in the Early Years?
. | STAGE | Stage Due Date | Current Progress | Comments |
| 1* | 27 March | Complete (19/4) | |
| 2 | 27 March | Complete (19/4) | Make sure your timeline completes Stage 3 by May 1. |
| 3* | 1 May | Complete (17/4) | Be sure that the data you are collecting addresses the Big question. Identify the skills and knowledge effective school leaders exhibit. You need to look outside your practice and at what others are doing. This was one reason why I thought Kory might help. What does she do? |
| 4 | 8 May | Complete (9/5) | Don't forget to include what you learned from the small PLN we formed with Kory. |
| 5* | 15 May | Complete (16/5) | ARP due to be submitted to course facilitators |
* Mentor feedback required before progressing
Sunday 10 May 2015
Lifelong Learning
Why do we have to be
lifelong learners?
When we get a new phone, car, TV, game, toy, any appliance
Driving a car
Riding a motorbike
Driving a forklift
Becoming a tradesperson
Moving house
Going on holidays
Buying a house – borrowing money
Starting a new job
Taking up a new hobby – craft, sport, etc etc
Tracing family history
Understanding the news
Meeting new people and making friends.
When we get sick
When someone dies
Moving out of home
Travelling
Visiting a new place
Doing something new – anything!
Going to hospital
Going on a train, plane or hot air balloon
Going on a ride at the show.
When we are in conflict with someone and we want to sort it
out.
It could be argued that our attitude towards new and different
things is based on our attitude towards learning.
Saturday 9 May 2015
Stratosphere
Whole system reform
Technology growing in leaps and bounds
unused in a focused way in schools
Beyond what we're able to do now without technology
Pedagogy
Technology
Change knowledge
How to make them work together naturally under the umbrella of whole systems reform
In the beginning, disruptive innovations are not always improvements
We are seeing the natural affinity between technology and pedagogy - you can only go so far in pedagogy without technology - reach more kids, reach more information, do team stuff around the world
Beginning of a really radical improvement cycle
Criteria for integrating technology into pedagogy
Technology growing in leaps and bounds
unused in a focused way in schools
Beyond what we're able to do now without technology
Technology
Change knowledge
We are seeing the natural affinity between technology and pedagogy - you can only go so far in pedagogy without technology - reach more kids, reach more information, do team stuff around the world
- irresistibly engaging
- easy to use
- draw on technology 24/7
- steeped in real life problem solving - PBL - captures 21st C skills
Students major beneficiaries
makes school more interesting and exciting for students
Flipped roles of students and teachers
Teachers as active designers of learning, as change agents
Researchers are working globally and have found that the evidence for change is there and cannot be denied.
Attractive and clear
To be excited and energised CRYSTAL CLEAR.
Dissatisfaction with the status quo + phenomenal excitement of new technologies.
Great need and a great solution + whole system reform = powerful transformation.
Ask yourself, how is technology in your school being used for student learning?
Tuesday 5 May 2015
MetacogNation
So on our drive home at the speed of light, we came up with this. Be warned it may not related to LSDA but we thought if we pretended that the points in the ATSS/POS/SOS (school climate surveys) were worth $1000000 each, we could pretend our improvements were like profits...and how would we feel if we were losing profits??? Anyhow, we killed half an hour and 60km with names for our school currency....Brain Bucks, Brain Bonuses, EdCoins, ooh just adding Cogbits...
Just really want you to know that we enjoyed the two days and the pressure and support you provided to keep us thinking, questioning and on track.
Just really want you to know that we enjoyed the two days and the pressure and support you provided to keep us thinking, questioning and on track.
Sunday 3 May 2015
Silverton PS and Auburn HS
Great day visiting two schools - very different schools, but both have leaders who clearly communicate their moral purpose.
https://twitter.com/AngeHoller/status/595028745053818880/photo/1
https://twitter.com/AngeHoller/status/595028745053818880/photo/1
Saturday 2 May 2015
Leading into the ICT Change Plan
So, my thoughts leading into developing the ICT Change Plan centre on:
Identifying the areas for improvement within our 2015 AIP and Strategic Plan. This year is our Peer Review year, so I would like to use the ICT Change Plan to contribute to the goals for the review.
An example of a top 3 areas for improvement in my school are:
Q1 How can we improve our literacy and numeracy results?
A1 Use explicit teaching approaches in areas identified from assessment such as on demand testing
Explicitly teach students about developing a growth mindset (we are using Class Dojo,
A2 Learning experiences where students work at their own pace can have a significant impact on student achievement. Explore the use of learning management systems
Q2 How can we improve the perceptions in the community about teaching and learning in our school?
A1 Audit the range of ways in which we currently communicate,
A2 survey parents about additional ways we could use social media to share their children’s achievements - website, FB page, Twitter, YouTube, SchoolTube, Instagram, Class Dojo, Remind101
A3 Evaluate after at least 12 weeks
A4 Blog as a class - check out successful bloggers like Kathleen Morris, Kathy Cassidy
Q3 How can we improve trust and collaboration between teachers? How can we collaborate? How can I best demonstrate the power of connecting with others?
A3 share the blogging and twitterings from the LSDA courseHungry for Ken Robinson
I really wish the politicians and media hacks who seem to be driving the public debate about OUR world in education would watch AND listen to Ken Robinson. Never mind the Keynesian focus on the market and the economy or Smith's invisible hand or Bentham and Mill's utilitarianism, where it seems to me that everything we do in education must be of use....for generating more money.................
We take for granted that these beliefs from 100, 200 and 300 years ago will continue to be the prevailing attitude...
I cast my mind back to my schooling and can only imagine what my life would have been like if the linear model of learning had not been in place. Unfortunately my school parents are my age and below but they want the same model from 1976 for their children.
So our job is to motivate and teach the kids, the parents, the media and the politicians..........we definitely need higher salaries!!!!
We take for granted that these beliefs from 100, 200 and 300 years ago will continue to be the prevailing attitude...
I cast my mind back to my schooling and can only imagine what my life would have been like if the linear model of learning had not been in place. Unfortunately my school parents are my age and below but they want the same model from 1976 for their children.
So our job is to motivate and teach the kids, the parents, the media and the politicians..........we definitely need higher salaries!!!!
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