Thursday 6 August 2015

VLN Astronomy!

Just finished my third session in the Virtual Learning environment of the VLN.  Things are so hectic in there I have not taken any screens my self yet - but my co-ordinator did!


This was from the second session where we dipped our toes into the galaxy just to see what that was like... the numbers out there are RIDICULOUS!

The start of today's session involved a triad of multi-tasking. Not just two things but three for a minute or two. That gets the blood pumping and the synapses firing!!

I have been creating and expanding the potential for more interaction (something I perceive as vital to engage students in a format that has the potential to slip into a mundane fact filled lecture) - however that system is not entirely in my control as it involves students actually remembering to do the small tasks such as going outside and spotting for the moon - so that they DO have something to contribute in the next session.

If today's session had not been taken up with ten minutes of techie issues it may well have scored low on my expectations for interaction because no one did go outside and look at the moon this week 
(and it was a blue one too. Figuratively, not literally...).

Have sent a follow up email to the principals of the schools with students in the class to try and gain some support for those issues. I am quite uncomfortable with just lecturing at them as I know that is potentially a wretched yawnfest!

Another strategy is to come up with more mindsparking deep thinking questions that are opinion based but time is a bit of a limit there as well, perhaps. 
We discussed our nearest star today - I had asked them 'how long it would take to get there and who would go' as their between class thinking last week - however not everyone did that so the deeper thinking part (who would go) did not actually spark for some of them until they heard in today's show that it was 78 000 years.
So then we talked about the Battlestar Galactica concept - a community of people travelling through space to a destination that they themselves would never reach but many many generations in the future would.

Then I blew that all away by saying that then it would be too late because in 33 000 years time that wouldn't even be our closest star anymore, MUWUHAHAHAHAH!

P.S. Yes, I realise there is a danger that my sense of humour is really only funny to me.


Friday 17 July 2015

eTeacher...

I have taken on a professional challenge!
This term I am to be an eTeacher for the VLN.
I am starting by teaching a 6 week Astronomy course.
I found out today that there are already enrolments for my course and I start on Thursday!

I am quite nervous about how to engage learners in what is basically a lecture style format - small group webcam/skype kind of thing with a screen sharing function - a set up I have not used before!

I am doing a flurry of research as Astronomy is not something I consider myself an expert on - but that is not a concern I have.

A nice boost today was the release of my eTeacher profile written by one of the VLN co-ordinators...

Shine is an experienced classroom teacher living in sunny Nelson. She is passionate about the environment, loves hiking and geocaching; also playing Minecraft and Lego. Shine places a high value on equality in education, promotion of student directed learning and collaborative learning. Shine has been an environmental educator, with strengths in Science and eLearning. Later this year Shine will be travelling to Nepal with with First Steps Himalaya to build earth bag education facilities.

All that and I can whistle too!

The resources and discussion board for it will be up on WeLearn but that is user only viewing  - I will attempt to keep you all updated with some screenies at some point.

:)

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Tilda's School

Interesting read about the school actress Tilda Swinton co-founded...

A sentimental education: inside the school that Tilda built

 When Tilda Swinton’s twins reached 14, she wanted them to continue their Steiner schooling without the stress of tests. So two years ago she helped found a new school. Aaron Hicklin meets the students and joins them on their annual trip to Colonsay.


Late last year, Drumduan Upper School received its first government inspection. In an era of merciless performance targets and obsessive testing, any school administrator would naturally feel apprehensive. Drumduan’s head teacher, Krzysztof Zajaczkowski, a working-class son of Polish immigrants who has an instinctive distrust of authority, expected to be shut down. He had not forgotten his last school inspection, 10 years earlier, which he compares to a visit from the Gestapo, and he worried that Drumduan’s radical ideals – no exams, no tests, no hierarchies, no sitting at desks whenever possible – would count against the school. That is not what happened: the inspectors sat in the classes and watched the students. And if you watch the students at Drumduan, you soon notice they are confident, articulate, highly motivated and respectful. These are, in fact, the words used by the inspectors in their subsequent report. You might even believe the students at Drumduan wanted to be there. The inspectors clearly felt so, but it was when they had retired to an office to confer that Krzysztof, a master of the spontaneous gesture, delivered the coup de grace. He sang to them.
(Article title is the original link)

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Mindfulness in Schools : Airy Fairy or Vital?


I have seen a lot of discussion lately about schools in New Zealand introducing elements of Mindfulness into their school culture and the wildly varying reactions to this. From the parents that think it's great, to those that don't mind to those that think it's taking away from the important stuff (I assume they mean reading, writing and maths...) to those that think it is airy fairy nonsense and those that oppose it on religious grounds.
"Some members of his congregation felt mindfulness was inappropriate for children, he said." stuff.co.nz
I found this notion dumbfounding and did some digging to discover that this comes from Christianity (in NZ). Mindfulness (and hence the resulting self-empowerment) is linked to meditation which is linked to religion (as it is a foundation practise of Buddism, for instance).  Christianity relies on people getting their strength externally through Christ and they see mindfulness as a threat to that (I could spend a whole blog post delving into the validity of this kind of linking but that is not a great use of MY attention right now...).

Richard Burnett is the creator of a Mindfulness in Schools programme to provide a fundamental skill that benefits all people. Training the muscle of our attention - the foundation of mindfulness.
In the TEDX talk below he talks about where we put our attention and how important this is. He mentions his experience and also current research by others showing our mental health and happiness are profoundly shaped by what we do with our attention.


I have to say that I believe, based on my personal and professional experience, that Mindfulness is a crucial skill. This has been a fundamental part of my pedagogy for a long time now. Through my experience  with connecting and re-connecting (especially those) 'at-risk' students with a love of learning (or in the very least a respect and appreciation for it!) and the curriculum.
In the very least it provides the mind the down time it needs to do what it does - sift through a vast amount of information and make connections to come up with unique solutions to our problems and create pathways forward in our life journeys.

I have linked to some more mindfulness resources below (some I have not viewed in depth yet).

  - Just breathe
 - Mindful Schools In-Class Instruction
 - Mindful Schools Curriculum Training - Sample Footage
 - Mind in a Jar - Planting Seeds: The Power of Mindfulness for Children
 - Mindfulness in Education
 - Teaching Mindfulness at Children at Home and In Schools


If you are feeling annoyed, frustrated and overwhelmed with all the things you have to do in your days, you need some mindfulness in your life. It may seem counterintuitive to put aside time to just 'do nothing' - but that time will support your brain to more effectively deal with all the stuff you are throwing at it. Try it yourself, you will be surprised! In the very least experiment with it on your class and watch their learning outcomes and social interactions improve!

Mindfulness is VITAL to enhance personal happiness and success in whatever we are doing to sustain ourselves in this life. 

Monday 25 May 2015

Finland: Happy Teaching, Happy Learning

While this is a US perspective (<--- That's the link btw) it's still well worth the read for the outline of the factors that this, obviously disheartened (see quote below), US teacher identified.
The teachers and students that I observed were happy. Students seemed to actually be enjoying their learning experiences, and teachers appeared satisfied and valued.
 The observation of someone who must spend the majority of her time unsatisfied, amongst a group of unsatisfied teachers and students.


It seems like more and more I am hearing about the consuming amount of time that testing is taking up in US schools (and increasing number of 'opt-outs' students refusing to take the tests). They seem to more and more be the source of all the negative things I hear about schooling (because, certainly in my experience, NZ classrooms are not a dull life sapping hell hole!).
Recently John Oliver (who consistently takes his 'comedy' medium to deliver wonderfulness to the world) did a piece on standardised testing in the US that left me wondering just what IS it that our National Party here in NZ finds remotely merit-able about THAT?!



So - quick version of the list (the author of the article expands a little, giving insight into her experience in US schools btw...) - my comments on each point in italics
1. Heavy emphasis on play - play encourages creative problem solving, de-stressing, communication...
2. No high-stakes standardised testing - memory & knowledge stealing time from developing creativity
3. Trust - teachers know what they doing and have space to come up with more great ideas
4. Schools don't compete with one another - because all schools expected to be good!
5. Out-of-this-world teacher prep programmes - teaching is valued and selection for teaching recruits is vigourous. 
6. Personal time is highly valued - I love this! Setting children up to realise it is important to have your own time so you can re-energise and focus. What a great life skill!
7. Less is more - Start school at 7 years old. School days shorter. High school hours more flexible.
8. Emphasis on Quality of life - Hallelujah! Happiness of teachers valued.
9. Semi-tracked learning - two different pathways to chose from and both highly valued
10. National Standards are valued - teachers have choice on how to implement these
11. Grades not given until 4th grade - early  education has lots of blue thinker's hat and learning how to learn - and I assume developing that love for learning and a growth mindset - YAH!
12. Ethics taught in the primary grades
13. Collaboration and collaborative environments strongly encouraged

I am sure I have another Finnish Education reading somewhere - I need to look for that!

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Twitter PD: Growth Mindset...

I actually missed the session - having reminded myself many times during the day! Thankfully they have a Transcript so I can catch up!

Question 1: What does it mean to have a growth mindset?

I emphasis a knowing.. a belief that challenges are fun and that you can improve your own outcomes with practise and effort. Failures are part of the process of learning. Effort is positive. Finding a way to get it done.
That learning itself is a dynamic entity and not a destination.

Q2: Why is it important to have a growth mindset?
 I would have to say so you can have an empowered, happy, sustainable, positive life. You have peace of mind knowing you can move through any challenges you are presented with - because change is inevitable (and change is a challenge!).
Sustainable because your efforts feed your confidence for future efforts.

Q3: Watch video first.


What does this video tell you about learned helplessness?

That people get stuck in tradition/routine and can be sheeple* - especially when under pressure or "busy". People forget their power and wait for someone else to "fix it" for them.  Can present as entitlement.

Q4. So - how do we begin to develop those growth mindsets in our students (and ourselves)?
What I know so far is you have to be careful with lavish praise. Praise needs to be on process and effort  ("You must have worked hard!") rather than blanket smartness/intelligence ("You're a genius!").
Have discussions about "Who had a fabulous struggle today?"  Emphasis on the things they (and you) put effort into and work hard on - the challenges you meet as the thing you can be proud of - rather than praising for something they did quickly with little effort (because who will bother to put effort into something when you got awesome praise for something you didn't even try for).

Encourage opportunities to fail, embrace them as learning opportunities for reflection (reflect on the journey rather than focus on the destination).
As their teacher let them see you fail and react in a growth mindset fashion (model learning - teach how to think not what to think). Show them you problem solved your way through your challenge and the world goes on.
Teach how to support failure - with reflection rather than ridicule.
Remember to model also with examples and student voice (photos of students on wall with speech bubbles of their proud struggles).

Change FM to GM example  What my students found out   (Kerri Thompson)

Steve Mouldey Growth Mindset Activities for Students

Q5. Describe a particular time when you saw a student change their mindset.
"I don't know what to do. He took my flax. I can't make a raft, I have never made a raft, this sucks, I suck." Then he turned around to expertly help another student WHO WAS HAVING A PROBLEM MAKING THEIR RAFT!

 What needs to happen after this kind of situation is a reflection/debrief clarifying what just happened with some process praise and curating to encourage acknowledgement.
(I seem to be identifying more things for Q4 above now!) - for those students who are so deeply into their fixedness perhaps the class can come up with strategies for a wall display to both recognise when you are slipping into fixed mindset and steps to proceed. "Unpack" just what it is those growth mindset people seem to do when faced with a challenge - a Y chart (what things do they say, do, feel?)

Q6. How does setting goals help to develop a ?
For those students who are doggedly fixed mindset, curated goal setting helps you clarify what you want and provides something to work backwards from to work out what you can do to get there (steps that are not so daunting and conceivably achievable). It is something you put effort into to move forwards/towards.
It is empowering (ownership) and intrinsically motivating.

Q7. Describe a time you overcame your fixed mindset about a particular obstacle and how it relates to ss perspectives

I have to point out that I know as a teen I was VERY fixed mindset. I did not meet learning (or anything really) with any sort of esteem/hope in high school.
When I first encountered Dweck's work during in-house PD in 2013 I was very clear that people can move from fixed mindset to growth mindset because I clearly remember doing that in my 20s.

I still battle/struggle with the concept of "wanting to be a better teacher" not meaning that I am "not a good teacher" right now. Let's not get sidetracked into that discussion in this post though!

 Resilience  - is this the key to opening a growth mindset lifestyle to a fixed mindset person? I will think about this more because in hindsight I was very resilient and that is what a growth mindset person is...

I am making a connection here that Growth Mindset stuff should be incorporated in the "How We Learn" unit I like to start a new class with... for me teaching is not just about Knowing Your Learner but also encouraging your leaner to Know and Accept themselves.

Q8. What is the next thing that you are working on to build your growth mindset? Next goal?
Apart from the struggle I mentioned in Q7 above (!)... Solid concrete methods for growing a Growth Mindset and incorporating them into my pedagogy.

Media tools for developing growth mindsets

And just a tad more Dweck :)




*Sheeple - people that act like sheep. They just blindly follow what everyone else is doing and panic when they look up and everyone is gone.

Previous blog post on Growth vs Fixed Mindsets...

Saturday 16 May 2015

Me he te!

Have been scouting for some fresh Te Reo and I scored some! Me he te! (Like a boss!)

Kiwaha (which is kind of a Maori term for idioms - things that don't really make sense in translation so you just have to know them...).

Found this - which has the term in English, then in Maori , then a sound file to listen to!

Also some images from He Maori Ahau Facebook page




Tuesday 28 April 2015

What Should They Learn?

Part of a series...


So... I started to read this article about a Stanford Study to do with apps and "what will my child learn?" and before I was even through the start of it I could hear my head saying... "just what do you WANT them to learn... really?"

In a classroom students can't be forced to LEARN... at best you can co-erce them into activities (including 'playing' with apps) that consolidate learning, reinforce concepts, drill, etc - but it is all mostly just lower level Blooms stuff - remembering knowledge, reorganising knowledge, regurgitating knowledge - if you are lucky they may independently apply knowledge.

But can you please have a stern pedogogical talk with yourself... what do you actually want for your children/students? What is the point.. the end game of putting them in the public education system.

The traditional mainstream education system is still largely the same as it was when it was created - a factory for producing a person that fits into and supports that hierarchical / pyramid system for industrialised society.


The goal of this system was to produce clones for the British Empire that could be plonked anywhere in the world to run various branches of their colonisation.

To be continued.... (e.g. Not finished but I have a huge back log of draft posts and I need to get some of them published!! I will get back to this ASAP! and link it).




Wednesday 22 April 2015

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

Looking for ways to turn around fixed mindset pre-teens right now.
Below is an outline of Growth and Fixed mindsets.


Basically fixed mindset means you think you are as smart as you're ever going to get - this is reinforced by parent/teacher comments about how smart you are, if you won, how high was your score...
 It is likely that if you have a student who rolls their eyes at new tasks, blames others, has anger outbursts when it's time for assessment, hides their mistakes and declares they "suck at this" has a fixed mindset. They belief that effort is a BAD THING and if you have ability you should not have to apply effort. They believe that making an effort means you are not smart.
Fixed mindsets sap learner motivation!

Growth mindset is when you know that with effort and practise you can improve performance - reinforced by comments about how hard you worked and your process - did all your hard work pay off, what new things did you learn...
People with a growth mindset understand that mistakes are a part of learning. They embrace effort and challenge.

I have been noticing the difference in myself and others with the use of "yet" at the end of some of my critical statements.  Most recently I used this with some of the young folk in my loom band workshop at IDEC (International Democratic Education Conference).
The video below is where I got the idea to start with.



Learner: "I'm not good at maths"
Teacher: "...yet..."



BEWARE LAVISH PRAISE!
Praising intelligence actually turns people off to learning.
Praising process encourages a growth mindset.

Monday 16 March 2015

Play Based Learning


PLAY-BASED LEARNING: PRODUCING CRITICAL, CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE THINKERS

Go inside any primary school classroom and look for the ‘play’. Where is it? When did we become so serious with our students and forget to include play? It was only 15 years ago that we could go into any Year 1 classroom and find children playing with play-dough and creating the most spectacular creatures, painting a masterpiece or gluing together toilet rolls to make a spaceship. They were engaging with each other, negotiating, sorting out arguments and establishing friendships. They were imagining, exploring and inventing. It was through taking risks, discovering new ideas and putting these ideas into action that learning took place.
Now it seems such acts of play are a thing of the past. We walk into a typical classroom and find containers of maths equipment that only come out at maths time, musical instruments gathering dust while they wait for the designated timeslot to learn percussion and Lego in buckets under the reading shelves waiting to be used on rainy days.

Reminds me of the early 2000s when we were schooling our primary students in ICT and HOTS and sending them to high school and watching all that enthusiasm for learning and thinking disappear - declaring that we wished the high schools would have a re-think about how they could do more of what we were doing...

EDIT (MAY 2015): This is on my current reading list - adding it here in the event I forget to get back to it now

Thursday 5 March 2015

Loosing what makes New Zealand, New Zealand!

As New Zealand becomes increasingly more urbanised and our teaching programme becomes more crammed with national standard requirements  and our profession more pressured into being competitive with each other - it is more important than ever to make sure we are transferring to our ākonga those things that make us New Zealanders.
Unique! Our point of difference.

For year and a half I had the incredible opportunity in the late 2000s to work as an Environmental Educator for the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary - a development here in Nelson with the aim to do this very thing - protect our point of difference! An area of bush fenced with a predator proof fence where native species can thrive in an environment close to what it was like before we all started coming here. New Zealand has a biodiversity that is truly unique globally - which is already impossible to maintain without human intervention. There are a number of sanctuaries springing up in New Zealand now - please support them. A fenced sanctuary on will give many people the opportunity to see things on Mainland New Zealand that you just can't see anymore (unless you get the opportunity to travel to an offshore island that has been kept pristine from introduced pests... but those chances are rare indeed!).
In that role I saw class after class of students not just with a lack of knowledge but also a lack of appreciation (bordering on apathetic!) about our uniqueness.
Could this apathy be the result of a 'taking it for granted' culture in our generation?

I worry that we will get in a self perpetuating cycle here - increasing urbanisation and resulting disassociation from the natural landscape resulting in break down of transfer to the next generation. Transfer of not just a knowledge of how special we are but ways to keep us that way! I am emphasising our environment here, I know, but extinction is for ever.
Already when our parents were born the natural landscape of New Zealand was much changed to what it was before people started arriving here. Most bush we might happen to wander into now barely resembles the pre-colonisation bush - we are so used to the introduced species we are blind to their real impact on our native trees.
It is so hard to actually take Joseph Banks (an early 'naturalist' who came to NZ on Captain Cook's first voyage) at his word when he described the birdsong as deafening.

I can't even imagine what "tens of thousands" of kaka flying off the Takaka Hill could even be like but I have read many accounts of these numbers from the early 1900s.

Please get your students and children and families involved in conservation in your area. Use the DOC website to find local groups and get out there! Find ways you can support natives in your gardens. DOC website also has many teaching resources and plans that you can modify for your own area.
If you can't get out and about (usually a local council does plantings that students can go on for instance) then follow a conservation website - like Kakapo Recovery (Sirocco even has his own Facebook page!).


Get in touch with passionate people (usually volunteers!) that can support you in inspiring the generation that come after us to continue to Keep New Zealand Beautiful! (and unique!).

Some useful Conservation/Educationy type links:


Thursday 26 February 2015

IDEC in NELSON!



So IDEC is coming up!  It is the International Democratic Education Conference - so exciting as it is IN NELSON and I CAN GO!

I am going to be the Youth Zone Volunteer and I will actually get to see Yaccov do his talk!


Monday 26 January 2015

10 Obvious Truths?

Ten obvious truths about educating kids that keep getting ignored
There is no end to the debate about school reform, but there are certain things about education that seem like no-brainers. The problem is that they continue to be ignored by policymakers and in schools. Alfie Kohn lists 10 of them in the  post linked with the heading above, which he first published in the American School Board Journal in 2011, but which holds as true today as it did then.

... If we all agree that a given principle is true, then why in the world do our schools still function as if it weren’t?
Do we agree? Let's look (Shine style!)

1. Much of the material students are required to memorize is soon forgotten
Of course it is!  Remember cramming at Uni for exams? Yes. Remember anything that you crammed. Not likely!
Shine reminds: Teach students how to think, not what to think! Remembering and knowing at at the lower end of Bloom's.
TICK
2. Just knowing a lot of facts doesn’t mean you’re smart
 See number 1 above!  :) Plus... knowledge is pretty useless if you can't apply it.
TICK

3. Students are more likely to learn what they find interesting
Were children born knowing how to play Minecraft? Need I say more!
TICK
P.S. Interest bolsters motivation. Motivation bolsters achievement/success. Success bolsters esteem. Esteem bolsters confidence.  This fulfils Shine's Concept of Sustainable Learning® and ™ (I trademark that just in case!)
I heard (and probably blogged at least once about) a quote along the lines of "You can't teach a student something they don't already know" - which I translated as meaning that it is our job, as the facilitator/curator of learning, to set them up with activities they find interesting that make them believe they discovered it/thought of it themselves.

4. Students are less interested in whatever they’re forced to do and more enthusiastic when they have some say
Ever actually tried to force someone to learn something... the only thing they will actually learn is TO HATE IT and detest/resent doing it (and probably you as well!).
This is why negotiated rubrics bolster motivation.
Imagine student motivation and enthusiasm when they feel they have ALL the say...
TICK

5. Just because doing raises standardized test scores doesn’t mean should be done
TICK.
P.S. Can I have a hallelujah on resenting the fact that in NZ we are now in the position of doing all sorts of circus type manoeuvres to blend motivating, contextual and government requirements into our daily programme (more time in the day anyone?!)

6. Students are more likely to succeed in a place where they feel known and cared about
This has been a biggy for me in recent years being the ONLY successful strategy to engage a particular set of severely at risk/disenfranchised students. It was a hard road with far to many disapproving looks - but all worth it to see a change in attitude and "success" (both national standard wise and confidence wise (I could easily digress on this one for quite some time!).
So.. yes... TICK!

7. We want children to develop in many ways, not just academically
Holistic education - YOU BET! Integration is a NZ teacher's best friend for many reasons! Get those values and key comps in there! Use those ICTs and recognise those Multiple Intelligences. Foster that Growth Mindset!
Many roads lead to Rome - Rome being the goal of education (which is in my opinion to produce an individual that is happy, confident and sustainable.
TICK

8. Just because a lesson (or book, or class, or test) is harder doesn’t mean it’s better
This one caused me pause momentarily - positively meeting effort, persistence and challenge are the building blocks of a happy confident person. However sustained 'rigour' or rigour just for the sake of constantly pushing a learner (or actually any time I hear the word rigour)  is not something I feel good about. In the very least it needs to be very carefully implemented so...
TICK

9. Kids aren’t just short adults
Indeed they aren't -  they much more confident, playful, enthusiastic, kind, creative, resourceful, unbiased, friendly, tolerant  and masterful at problem solving. LOL!
TICK

10. Substance matters more than labels

I turn to the article to explain this one...
A skunk cabbage by any other name would smell just as putrid. But in education, as in other domains, we’re often seduced by appealing names when we should be demanding to know exactly what lies behind them. Most of us, for example, favor a sense of community, prefer that a job be done by professionals, and want to promote learning. So should we sign on to the work being done in the name of “Professional Learning Communities”? Not if it turns out that PLCs have less to do with helping children to think deeply about questions that matter than with boosting standardized test scores.
The same caution is appropriate when it comes to “Positive Behavior Support,” a jaunty moniker for a program of crude Skinnerian manipulation in which students are essentially bribed to do whatever they’re told. More broadly, even the label “school reform” doesn’t necessarily signify improvement; these days, it’s more likely to mean “something that skillful and caring teachers wouldn’t be inclined to do unless coerced,” as educational psychologist Bruce Marlowe put it.
In fact, the corporate-style version of “school reform” that’s uncritically endorsed these days by politicians, journalists, and billionaires consists of a series of debatable tactics — many of them amounting to bribes and threats to force educators to jack up test scores. Just as worrisome, though, is that these reformers often overlook, or simply violate, a number of propositions that aren’t debatable, including many of those listed here.

TICK!


So... I agree. Have I convinced you too? If not, go read the supports on the actual article and maybe then you will!
Can we start doing them more overtly now please?!