Where to next?

31st May 2016 - Mindlab Graduation Celebration

Winter will be here tomorrow so this is a good checkpoint to stop and reflect. I'm celebrating the fact that I'm not studying at the moment and that I've thus had more time with my class and to concentrate on the kids' learning.  I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing with my focus group kids at the moment, particularly in maths, as the kids are responding so well.

It was exciting to finish MindLab, having developed a different perspective, and be moving into yet another phase of our great profession.  Learning and teaching is a challenging business to be in and I'm always growing as a result.  Learning alongside some great teachers over the past year has given me different experiences and I feel grateful for all my learning.

Looking back on times like these I wonder where I'd like to head next.

I particularly enjoyed studying and stretching myself into new learning territory.  I'm still interested in taking on a TeachNZ study award to try to go further with my learning.  I'm really interested in Leadership and in Change Initiatives in particular.  I had some interesting conversations with my ex-Principal, Nik House last week, when I visited him, and would love to continue to learn from him and his experiences.  He had a lot of important information to share and I would be interested in how I could best utilise this knowledge over the course of our change toward modern learning environments at GisInt in the future.  Collaborative teaching could be a great move for many of us.... AND will need significant scaffolding, support and inquiry learning processes to be in place in order for us to be successful.

He mentioned Michael Fullan, who writes on change leadership, so that will be an interesting next step.

Getting to know my learners....

It's day 6 of the school term. Our learners haven't read a piece of text yet (unless you count instructions on the board, Scavenger Hunts or Digital Device and Camp Agreements).  They haven't done any math (unless you count using their ruler to measure out spaces for letters in their Paul Klee name artwork) or writing (unless you count formulating their 2016 aspirations to share with their whānau or coming up with Two Truths and a Lie for our ice-breaker).....

This aside, the past week has been one of my most fun, heartwarming and successful starts to any school year.  Why?  I'm sure it's down to a number of factors (not least that I have a simply
A-MAAZING class this year) but one of these reasons is that we have slowed down.

Hitting the pause button has allowed me to reflect on this process and what I think slowing down has sped up......


Taking time to play games has meant I've seen more smiles and watched our learners grow in confidence.  Developing confidence in the fact that they are safe... with me, with our learning whānau, in our routines and in our   space....  as well as in the games we're playing.

Taking time to undertake some integrated activities slowly, such as our name art (math, art, spelling, celebrating diversity, managing ourselves, developing patience, practicing persistence, aiming for excellence) have enabled us to discuss how each of these activities helps us to Grow Great People.... espousing our new school vision.

It has helped me to see where our strengths lie; who can ask for support, who is a perfectionist that never finishes and which of us are the procrastinators who never start.  Who can use a ruler.  Who can follow instructions.  Who has their own high standards and who is still moving along that continuum.

Taking time has given me time to sit with our learners, to get to know them as people and to share of myself in order to encourage them to view me as a person too.

Taking time has meant we've all enjoyed our time together more without feeling stressed or pressured to complete endless activities at speed.

We've had time to talk about checkpoint assessments... about taking the time to reflect on what we're doing well, where our next step on the continuum might be next and how we might get there.  It's allowed me to have time to ask our learners what they've tried, rather than giving them the answers. This time has allowed me to connect with learners I might usually struggle to get to know and to build strong trust relationships early.  It's allowed the kids to see that I know they're a person first and a learner next and that I value them for who they are, not what they can achieve on any one particular test or activity.

Taking time has meant I have had time and energy and enthusiasm for emailing and calling and texting parents.  Calling parents at the beginning of the year is one of the most rewarding things... because the short amount of time it takes leaves a big boost for whānau and learners.  The value in this is phenomenal.  Some parents don't answer the first time.  Taking the time to let them know your call is positive and calling again has meant that I've experienced some lovely moments where parents are truly surprised and bubbling with happiness at the fact that I've made time to call and tell them what a great kid they have.  They are great kids.

The best thing is that because I've made time to get to know each of these great kids, when I call, I have real information to share.  About the student who made a huge community contribution when they agreed to visit other schools and share their violin learning in order to encourage other learners to come to our school for lessons.  The fact that they demonstrating bravery on the sports field when I watched their lunchtime game, where a few days before they had hung back, shy.  About the student who helped to welcome a new student to the class and show them where to put their resources.  About the student who was so helpful to me and offered to tidy up an area or set up our class game.  Or the student who picked up rubbish in the school grounds without being asked to.  This stuff matters more than what stanine they achieve in a standardized test.

Calling families doesn't come naturally to me.  I can be quite shy and when a phone call doesn't get answered or no answer phone picks up, it can leave me even more hesitant about dialing numbers.  I know however, that the more I practice this, the better it will get... and that these positive phone calls are so important to those waiting at home.  Sometimes it's been a long time since a parent has had a positive call.

Taking time to hold a Meet the Teacher night meant I got a chance to find out important information about our learners and are parents.  The school's commitment to trialing a new format for this night meant I spent less time talking at the front of the room and more time chatting with parents.  About what is important to them.  About their child's concerns and about their aspirations for their children.  How many of their parents' goals for their child centred around confidence?  They know their child worries.  They know there are plenty of things that can (and does) drag their child down.  They are excited when they hear someone who's ready to build their child up.  Taking time has helped me to see how much of a difference that positive rapport-building time has made.  To their children... and in turn to them.... which again benefits their children when they pass that on.

Taking time has meant that I noticed when one of my lovely quiet young men came to me and told me he didn't think his Dad would make the Meet the Teacher night.  Stopping what I was doing I noticed how worried he looked as he asked me if his family HAD to come.  I told him gently how important it was that they come.  He replied, "Dad will probably say... Awww nah!"
I replied with an encouraging smile "Well then it's your job to help Dad understand how important it is.  So you can share your goals with him.  And so Dad can share with you what he would like for you to achieve in your Year 8 year".

A few minutes later he returned again, looking a little tearful.
"I don't think he'll come, " he told me.
"Just do your best," I said.... "tell Dad it's nothing formal, just a chance for him to meet me so that he feels comfortable coming in to see us - so he knows who I am. And if he doesn't make it, we'll catch up some other time, I'm sure"

This young man and his Dad came along a little later in the evening.  I managed to bump right into them on my way back to our classroom from the pool.  Dad looked a little nervous.  His son glowed with pride.  We chatted, they set goals, Dad told me about his son's challenges. They went on their way, into the night.

The next day, I caught up with this young man, who had grown in confidence overnight and patted him on the back.  We shared a treat to celebrate his part in encouraging Dad to come to school.  He smiled, a little more bravely than yesterday.

The best time has been in taking time to reflect on this.  To run through the past week in my head... noting down all the celebrations and positives that have come out of slowing down and making my main focus on the kids.  How in doing so I've had time to talk about their goals and aspirations, and to ensure that these are SMART goals.  How in doing so we've built in a lot of self-reflection, a bit of peer reflection and some class reflections.  How we have discussed assessment for learning and my goals around that this year for them, and alongside this, our new school vision and values.  Reflecting, I realise, has given me time to really relive all of these great moments and to consolidate in my memory what has gone well, in order to help me to remember to continue with it throughout this year and into the years to come.

It's time.  To take time.

Digital Learning Communities

I really wanted to call this post 'brain explosions' as I really feel as though what's in my head is overflowing tonight. I'm really learning this year. 

I'm sure I learn every year, but in my role as co-leader of e-learning as well as facilitator of learning in our classroom (with an e-learning emphasis) I've been thrown: 
* into the Pit
* onto the silly bridge
 * out of my comfort zone

However you want to put it - I'm a learner again in the true sense of the word and it's exciting to be undertaking this journey alongside my students.  We are redesigning learning; together, and as a team. Co-constructing, it seems.

 Today, Saunil Hagler (iseeteaching.com) from Cyclone came to Gisborne to work with us on the next step in our e-learning journey.  (The whole idea of e-learning journey is an interesting one really - as many of us feel that the technologies we're using are simply tools for learning - there is no e-learning anymore, just learning).  We defined, we critically analysed, we discussed, we theorized, we idealised, threw aspirations around and developed and refined plans.  It's an exciting journey.

By the end of the day I'd learned everything from how to fix my GMail problem to how to shut all tabs to the right on my busy browser, to how to create links to learning to autonomise learning for our students in a digital learning community.  Never, have I been part of such a huge paradigm shift in education that has taken place over such a short space of time.  True, my "e-learning journey" began last year, but the bulk of my shifts in practice and pedagogy have taken place in the few short weeks since the beginning of term one.  Seven weeks.  The critical thinking I'm engaging in, the designing I'm doing and the collaboration and reflection in effect throughout this process is phenomenal.  I've never been more excited about my role in our classroom, in education in general.
Daily, life is chaotic, blurry and overflowing with learning.  Daily, I have to mentally 'shut tabs' in my head that force my brain to work overtime.  Daily, I am invigorated by the learning that I am doing.  I'm so encouraged by that, because I know that in order to be enthusiastic about learning, my students need to see I'm enthusiastic in my role as facilitator of that learning.

Saunil was knowledgeable, a patient teacher and an engaging facilitator.  We began the skeleton of our learning community.  As a staff and for our students, this platform could open up learning to all of us.  How effective would that be in terms of shifts in our practices as both teachers and learners.  Giving the steering wheel back to our students means they will regain autonomy in their learning.  It's scary to let go of that wheel for some of us.... but I'm excited about the journey - where will our students' learning journeys take us? I can't wait!

Best Evidence Synthesis

Taken from the Best Evidence Synthesis Website:


"The ten research-based characteristics of quality teaching derived from the research are generic in that they reflect principles derived from research across the curriculum and for students across the range of schooling years in New Zealand (from age five to eighteen). How the principles apply in practice is, however, dependent on the curriculum area, and the experience, prior knowledge and needs of the learners in any particular context. The body of this synthesis provides examples from the research on learning and teaching to illustrate the principles for different curricular areas across schooling from junior primary to senior secondary classes.

The ten characteristics generated out of the synthesis are summarised below.

1. Quality teaching is focused on student achievement (including social outcomes) and facilities high standards of student outcomes for heterogeneous groups of students.

Research-based characteristics

• Quality teaching is focussed on raising student achievement (including social outcomes).
• Quality teaching facilitates the learning of diverse students and raises achievement for all learners.
• The teacher establishes and follows through on appropriate expectations for learning outcomes and the pace at which learning should proceed.
• High expectations are necessary but not sufficient, and can be counterproductive, when not supported by quality teaching.

2. Pedgogical practices enable classes and other learning groupings to work as caring, inclusive, and cohesive learning communities.

The learning community concept has arisen out of the research literature and denotes both a central focus on learning and the interdependence of the social and the academic in optimising learning conditions.

Research-based characteristics

• Pedagogical practices create an environment that works as a learning community.
• Student motivation is optimised and students' aspirations are supported and extended.
• Caring and support is generated through the practices and interactions of teacher(s) and students.
• Pedagogical practices pro-actively value and address diversity.
• Academic norms are strong and not subverted by social norms.
• The language and practices of the classroom are inclusive of all students.
• Teachers use class sessions to value diversity, and to build community and cohesion.
• Teaching and tasks are structured to support, and students demonstrate, active learning orientations.
• Teaching includes specific training in collaborative group work with individual accountability mechanisms, and students demonstrate effective co-operative and social skills that enable group processes to facilitate learning for all participants.
• Students help each other with resource access and provide elaborated explanations.
• Pedagogical practice is appropriately responsive to the interdependence of socio-cultural and cognitive dimensions.

3. Effective links are created between school and other cultural contexts in which students are socialised, to facilitate learning.

Research-based characteristics

• Teachers ensure that student experiences of instruction have known relationships to other cultural contexts in which the students have been/are socialised.
• Relevance is made transparent to students.
• Cultural practices at school are made transparent and taught.
• Ways of taking meaning from text, discourse, numbers or experience are made explicit.
• Quality teaching recognises and builds on students' prior experiences and knowledge.
• New information is linked to student experiences.
• Student diversity is utilised effectively as a pedagogical resource.
• Quality teaching respects and affirms cultural identity (including gender identity) and optimises educational opportunities.
• Quality teaching effects are maximised when supported by effective school-home partnership practices focused on student learning. School-home partnerships that have shown the most positive impacts on student outcomes have student learning as their focus.
• When educators enable quality alignments in practices between teachers and parent/caregivers to support learning and skill development then student achievement can be optimised.
• Teachers can take agency in encouraging, scaffolding and enabling student-parent/caregiver dialogue around school learning.
• Quality homework can have particularly positive impacts on student learning. The effectiveness of the homework is particularly dependent upon the teacher's ability to construct, resource, scaffold and provide feedback upon appropriate homework tasks that support in-class learning for diverse students and do not unnecessarily fatigue and frustrate students.

4. Quality teaching is responsive to student learning processes.

Research-based characteristics are specific to curriculum context and the prior knowledge and experiences of the learners.

• Teachers have knowledge of the nature of student learning processes in the curriculum area, can interpret student behaviour in the light of this knowledge and are responsive, creative and effective in facilitating learning processes.
• Examples of teaching approaches that are intended to exemplify this characteristic are the dynamic or flexible literacy models, the numeracy strategy focus and the Interactive Teaching Approach in science education.
• Classroom management enables the teacher to be responsive to diverse learners.
• Responsive teaching is important for all learners and particularly critical for students with special needs.

5. Opportunity to learn is effective and sufficient.

Research-based characteristics

• Quality teaching provides sufficient and effective opportunity to learn.
• Management practices facilitate learning (rather than emphasising compliant behaviour or control).
• Curriculum enactment has coherence, interconnectedness and links are made to real life relevance.
• Curriculum content addresses diversity appropriately and effectively.
• Quality teaching includes and optimises the effective use of non-linguistic representations by teacher and students. (This assumes the concurrent and rich use of oral language and text as central to literacy across the curriculum.)
• Students have opportunities to resolve cognitive conflict.
• Students have sufficient and appropriate opportunities for practice and application.

6. Multiple task contexts support learning cycles.

Research-based characteristics

• Task cycles match developmental learning cycles of students.
• Task cycles enable students to engage in and complete learning processes so that what is learned is remembered.
• Optimal use is made of complementary combinations of teacher-directed groupings, co-operative groups, structured peer interaction and individual work (including homework) to facilitate learning cycles.

7. Curriculum goals, resources including ICT usage, task design, teaching and school practices are effectively aligned.

Research-based characteristics

• Curricular alignment: The use of resources, teaching materials and ICT is aligned with curriculum goals to optimise student motivation and accomplish instructional purposes and goals.
• Curricular alignment optimises rather than inhibits critical thinking.
• Pedagogical strategies are evaluated in relation to curricular goals.
• ICT usage is integrated into pedagogical practice across the curriculum.
• Quality teaching is optimised when there is whole school alignment around evidence-based practices.
• The school maintains an 'unrelenting focus on student achievement and learning'1.
• There is whole school alignment and coherence across policies and practices that focus on, resource and support quality teaching for diverse students.
• Pro-active alignment across the school supports effective inclusion of diverse students within the school community.
• Whole school alignment optimises opportunity to learn, particularly in language immersion, literacy, ICT, social studies and health.
• Whole school alignment enables a common language, teacher collaboration and reflection and other synergies around improving teaching.
• Whole school alignment minimises disruptions to quality teaching and sustains continuous improvement.
• School policies and practices initiate, and support teachers in maintaining, school-home partnerships focused on learning.

8. Pedagogy scaffolds and provides appropriate feedback on students' task engagement.

Research-based characteristics

• Tasks and classroom interactions provide scaffolds to facilitate student learning (the teacher provides whatever assistance diverse students need to enable them to engage in learning activities productively, for example, teacher use of prompts, questions, and appropriate resources including social resources).
• Teaching develops all students' information skills and ensures students' ready access to resources when needed to assist the learning process.
• Students receive effective, specific, appropriately frequent, positive and responsive feedback. Feedback must be neither too infrequent so that a student does not receive appropriate feedback nor too frequent so that the learning process is subverted.

9. Pedagogy promotes learning orientations, student self-regulation, metacognitive strategies and thoughtful student discourse.

Research-based characteristics

• Quality teaching promotes learning orientations and student self-regulation.
• Teaching promotes metacognitive strategy use (e.g. mental strategies in numeracy) by all students.
• Teaching scaffolds reciprocal or alternating tuakana teina2 roles in student group, or interactive work.
• Teaching promotes sustained thoughtfulness (e.g. through questioning approaches, wait-time, and the provision of opportunities for application and invention).
• Teaching promotes critical thinking.
• Teaching makes transparent to students the links between strategic effort and accomplishment.

10. Teachers and students engage constructively in goal-oriented assessment.

Research-based characteristics

• Assessment practices improve learning.
• Teachers and students have clear information about learning outcomes.
• Students have a strong sense of involvement in the process of setting specific learning goals.
• Pedagogy scaffolds and provides appropriate feedback on students' task engagement.
• Teachers ensure that their assessment practices impact positively on students' motivation.
• Teachers manage the evaluative climate, particularly in context of public discussion, so that student covert or overt participation is supported, scaffolded and challenged without students being humiliated.
• Teachers manage the evaluative climate so that academic norms are not undermined but supported by social norms.
• Teachers adjust their teaching to take account of the results of assessment."

This challenges me because so much of this could be done without technology.  But I feel strongly that students are so engages by technology now and it's such an integral part of their lives now that it's vital to integrate the use of e-learning in order to bridge the gap between student lives and school life.  How do we do that in a way that is collaborative and creating a culture of learners where learning is valued and shared?  I feel this must be the next part of the equation. 

Persistence

At this time of the term, I'm having to model for my students what persistence really looks like.  It's hard to keep up with everything.  It's hard to be patient.  It's hard to feel like we're moving forward when there's so much to do.  But we are moving forward.

I have to persist in trying to find time for everything though.

I had two blocks of release today.  And although I got lots done, there are always more needs that keep popping up - more to keep up with - more to feed back to people about, more to teach and infinitely more to learn.

It's cool though, that in my job I am actually learning loads - and it's compulsory.

My priorities are challenging:
Meeting the needs of a highly challenging class.  I think they're wonderful.  I still find them challenging  - daily.
Meeting the needs in my role as a practicing facilitator of e-learning for my kids.
Finding ways to get e-learning to be practical and useful for them.
Meeting the needs of whanau around my core group of learners.
Meeting the needs of the school in terms of e-learning, when we are still relatively new to the opportunities around us.  Digital learning has been taking place for years.  I wonder if it's ever been so accountable and had such high expectations placed on in - to be the be-all and end-all of everything.

So I persist.

I persist in filling in endless forms and records around my kids.  Having endless meetings with specialists and parents, conducting endless Reflection Room visits and having many conversations with students about their choices.

I persist in trying to find time for e-learning myself.  To be able to back up what I'm saying with pedagogical evidence of what I'm doing!  It's all urgent and busy and requires patience and persistence.  I'll get there.

In the process, I'm learning what if feels like to be the real learner again - out of depth and frustrated with high expectations and too little time to make sense of it all, but persisting in embracing that feeling.  Because it's what my kids feel.  I'll have to throw up my hands occasionally, like them and say, "Miss! I'm in the pit! And I'm learning!"

Professional Leadership

Leadership.  

It's interesting what this entails sometimes.  It leaves me wondering if we shared it with our students - our journey - that they may have some insight into where we want them to head?

Today I sat through a photoshoot for my new profile shot for TeachEXPO which I'm presenting at in July.  I find it hard to fathom how I've come a full 360 degrees from where I was at last year.  From struggling to see how my sense of self fit within my teaching persona, to now, feeling that I'm more comfortable and excited about my role than I've ever been.

It's not just the technology.  The e-learning is fun, and important.... but I think it's the fact that through this I feel learning environments are now becoming more relevant to the real world and how it's altered over the past 50 years.  I no longer feel like I'm in the classroom asking students to do something irrelevant.  Now I'm looking for more and more ways to link what we're doing to relevant tasks because it's easier to do so.  I no longer feel I'm asking them to do the impossible... I'm now working through relevant and challenging tasks alongside them and we are all winning.  I'm doing what my Leadership Challenge book suggests - I'm handing over to others in order for them to develop their leadership.  And it's opening up ideas and passion for learning that I thought I'd lost.

I'm thinking about how I'm formulating my profile and thinking about how we could offer students leadership to do the same.  Could we get our students involved in this planning process?  How much more would we get buy-in if we could have students create the learning.  Get them to find the tools, build in their passions, create the plan, develop their profiles and present.  How cool would that be for developing leadership.  Giving our students a real voice.  They could then take this to a class and teach their lesson.  The teacher could be present and they could then learn too.  Maybe we could start with small groups.  My student could be released to work with that class's specialists and the teacher and they could take the lesson back to class too.  Wow.  Potential.  How to make it happen?

Planning

Planning:

Where to next?  Beginning the year, I know I have a desire to move towards a model where all my students can learn at their own pace.  Where I can act as the facilitator, allowing; perhaps aiding in the development of their learning so that they are all engaged and motivated and determined in their learning process.

I find myself in a quandary though.  I currently have some lower level learners - one or two who are quite disruptive to myself and the other students.  My issue is - how do I cater for these learners as well as allocating enough time to ensure the others - 95% of my students - are able to access and excel at mastery of the learning we are planning on doing.

Catering for the individual while promoting the group ethos?

Leadership

Throughout the past year I've really been thinking about the idea of leadership.  How it works in schools on a staff level, but also within a classroom.  I came across a quote today in a leadership book I'm reading on iBooks called "The Leadership Challenge" by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.

'The best leaders are simply the best learners, and life is their laboratory' p 88

This fits well within a school setting, particularly one like ours, which is undergoing such change.  The leadership within the classroom relates to me as well as the children.  They have their own pockets of leadership, and I have a part in leading the class too.  So what makes great learners great leaders?  Probably the fact (as the book alluded to) that they 'learn from their errors and failures as they experiment, try new things, and incrementally move projects forward'.

So in order to be one of the most effective leaders in our class, where we are in the guinea-pig-phase of a new project, it's important that the kids can see me making mistakes and moving forward, having a goal I'm continually working toward.  And it's important for me to create opportunities for them to fail and then persevere, sharing those failings with others in a way that is proactive, positive and collaborative.  How to?  Hmm.

The goal is such a big one:
Create a classroom where students set their own goals based on their needs, work consciously and consistently towards these goals, driving their own learning and reflecting along the way, so that at the end of it, they are able to be in control of their own learning - engaged - and MOTIVATED to do so.

So where to from here?

It's important to break it down I think.... to make it into smaller goals where I actually feel I can be successful.
Goal setting
Tools
Habits
Reflections
Identification of needs
Goals

Well that's a start.
Now to attempt to lead the way ;)

Motivation & Engagement vs Routine & Expectations

Early in the year as a teacher it's easy to fall into the trap of embarking on the learning journey full steam ahead... Leaping into the engaging aspects of learning rather than reining it in and taking the time to go over routines and expectations.

As I go over the expectations and watch the frustration of students who have done it all before; their eyes eager for the opportunity to 'just get on with it', their school-ready personalities honed in on what all the teachers before myself have expected of them and their stationery and mindsets at the ready. A few of them try not to but I notice the eye rolls and the placid expressions that belie the 'brakes only barely held on' beneath the surface. And I can't blame them. I remember what that felt like.  

My eyes lift from theirs and roam the fringes... And then I am reminded why I do this. The students that are hanging back, dubious. The ones who are already distracted... Poking their neighbour in the ribs. I think about the importance of this. And then I try to find a middle ground.

How can I get the classroom agreement done, the expectations set, the team building done... While maintaining the focus on the ground-rules for those that need that constant reminder... And still allow the brakes to come off a little for the others... So that they CAN get on with the business of learning and experience the exhilaration and success they are capable of. So that I'm not holding them back... And the ones who need the constant reminders are not holding them back... So that everyone gets what they need? 

This, I feel sure... Is the most important part of personalising learning. Research suggests that children are born with the instinct to learn... Every day, all day. Inherent ability. So the first thing I must do is not squash that by holding them back or letting them go too soon. To create a programme where the balance is in favour of each individual. This, I feel, will not be an easy task.. But one I need to master to feel successful as an educator. How to? This will be next.