Shifts in Practice

As a team we meet weekly and we have the practice of focussing on a school each week that one or more of us are working in to see what is happening and how shifts in teacher practice are occurring. 

Our discussion in these meetings will bring in a range of pedagogy and ways to scaffold the learning for all learners. As we meet we give feedback to one another about both what and how we are modelling in classes for the hour we are there each week. We look at the evidence on class sites and individual learner blogs and we notice what shifts are happening in changed pedagogy when we are not in the class as this is what shows there has been real change. 

Sometimes the success stories from other schools challenge my beliefs about what could work in another setting. These discussions challenge me to learn further about a particular innovation or pedagogy. It might be something small in terms of an attitude shift on my part or it might be looking at the learning another way entirely. 

 One of the shifts I have made in one class is to using 'Create to learn' as a way to engage learners. Although I was fully aware of Create to Learn as a powerful approach I have to admit I tended to stick with Learn, Create, Share as a linear progression and seemed to work through this process with little variance. However in one class the Learn, then create then share was not working. Learners were not engaged and we were stuck on the Learn. This was brought home as part of our discussions as a team, particularly as I saw what another facilitator was doing and the learner outcomes. 

After discussion with the teacher whose class I was working in, I changed my approach and started with Create. Here is my example of Create to Learn on the class site.

 I had learners who had been unwilling to work and who had resisted engaging with the learning now coming to me asking, "What do I have to include in the creation to show the learning?" - a complete switch. When I scanned what learners were doing, they were all on task and were engaging with the content.

This was a reminder that I can get stuck in a teaching practice and need to keep challenging myself to change and that professional discussion is a great way to encourage this reflection and change.

Curriculum Progress Tools

About the Learning Progression Frameworks

Workshop presented by Jenny Ward and Sue Douglas

Based on National Standards

LPF initially developed to sits behind the PaCT.

Once National Standards no longer used the LPF brought out as a tool to be used in its own right.

PaCT developed for teachers to use to support literacy and numeracy progress.

Power is in understanding the LPF.  The PaCT tool is a data-entry exercise - to track the progress.

LPF helps teachers to know what is important to notice. The big picture.
Helps to show on-going progress. Based on Marie Clay.

Not designed for reporting against curriculum levels.

E-assTTle writing not used to track progress. This is more fine-grained and at a point in time,
i.e. what they did today.

Explain Everything Pecha Kucha

We were set the challenge to create a Pecha Kucha to share a skill or tool that is being used where we are teaching.

A definite challenge.

My learners are teachers and leaders so I created a Pecha Kucha to inform these people about how Explain Everything is used in a junior class on ipads.

Barriers and Enablers

Are our learners engaging deeply with cluster-agreed transformative digital pedagogies:

learn, create, share?

As part of my own learning, I am focussing on helping school leaders in our learning cluster to consider this question.

It's nearly been a year since the journey as a cluster began. Trust is building and understanding around 'learn, create, share' is jelling for school leaders. It seemed a good time to use a tool to reflect on progress and look at next steps.

Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/cooperate-collaborate-teamwork-2924261/

Doing the Work

The next step in my Google project is to read and reflect on Chapter 5 in The Mentees Guide, entitled Doing the Work.

As part of the idea of keeping the focus on learning, I am looking at the objective of journaling.

Journaling

The concept of making journaling a specific 'to do' appeals to me. To record thoughts and be able to reflect on them. To see my thoughts perhaps in a new light as I come back to them again and again.

Journaling would also be a good way for me to develop those thoughts further as I know I can often go round and round with the same ideas, the pros and cons, the why and why nots and not actually make progress. Journaling is a good vehicle to help me move my project forward by writing to reveal what the next step is and then trying it out.

Could Journaling be Blogging?

Somehow I feel that journaling could be just a brain dump but perhaps by using the discipline of a regular blog as a journal it might mean that rather than a brain dump, it is a creative and disciplined act.  The discipline is both the hard part and the one that I think will generate the best outcomes.

One problem I can see is that I am so busy journaling that I am not doing the work of the project, just writing about it. Currently, I focus on my project once a week for an evening. This is not enough as it is. Journaling as well will mean I need to put more time in! Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet and do it. Just do it!

Some journaling tips from the book

1. As you write, keep in mind three words: head, heart, and action. Include factual material, reactions, feelings, goals, and tasks.
2. Write regularly, after each meeting and in between. Even if you are not a journal person by nature, write something down.
3. Schedule journaling writing time. If you don't schedule it, it will get lost on the back burner.
4. Review your entries regularly. Doing so will help you monitor your progress.

Template

A template to help me in journaling when thinking about a mentoring relationship:

1. The most important work we did today.
2. The most valuable lesson.
3. How will I apply what I've learned?
4. What are the biggest challenges ahead for me?
5. What questions still remain for me.

A regular, (weekly?) journal is a good aim. I can try this for three weeks and reassess if it is working in terms of time input and outcomes. Outcomes would be that I am seeing progress in my thinking and doing.

Learning Opportunities

Where can I get exposure to new learning? I can take opportunities that arise through #GEGNZ, ULearn and other informal learning opportunities. Also, I need to remember to play as I learn lots by just giving things a go.

Cybersmart Content

Are you Cybersmart?

Smart people are powerful people.

Cybersmart learning allows learners to be powerful. It needs to be in the timetable for every class.

Digital Content

Testing out what it is like as a learner using a chromebook.
We tried out Digital Dig on a chromebook when we were signed in a guest.

I found out that the bookmark bar and extensions do not show when on guest mode.

Explain Everything

We had a play with EE on ipads as learners.

Google Exam 

I am working towards the Trainer Certification. I am creating a video to showcase my training of teachers.

Teaching is a Public Activity

Visible Teaching

Teaching that is visible via class sites promotes 'equality vs equity'.  It enables opportunities for learners to access learning in multiple modes and to rewind the learning as needed.

It allows learners to know what is coming up, whānau (family) to see what their child is learning.

Google Keep

Focus on the Share

Learn, Create, Share | Kia Ako, Kia Hanga, Kia Tohatoha

Share

We were given a resource as a starting point and asked to create a site for an audience.

We were asked to make the site multimodal; using different modes to get the message across.
The aim of being multimodal is to increase:

• Engagement
• Personalised learning 
• Acceleration
• Empowerment

My audience is an NCEA level 1 or Year 11 Science class. 

I am focussed on empowering the learners to create digital learning objects to teach others. 

My aim is to encourage personalised learning by giving the resources and a wide enough brief with no restrictions on how the learning is presented. 

I have hands-on activities along with theoretical learning with content that I hope is engaging.

Acceleration is optional. I have added Can-Dos and Must-Dos.

Please test out my site and give me feedback as to how this might be improved.

(still working on it as this post is published)

Creating to Learn

Whether on YouTube, drawings, slides, we are all creative and can create.

Live Streaming 

Might be your class, a rugby game or cross country live-streamed on YouTube.
A camera, drone and streaming encoder along with live-streaming set up on YouTube channel.

Kent Somerville made it look simple and oh so effective. I think everyone in the room wanted to do it too!

YouTube Channel

Thanks for sharing all your expertise, Fiona Grant. 

The settings for the Channel and 'the why' for these settings was worthwhile for me especially the upload defaults.

Drawings - one tool to rule them all

Started a portrait using polyline in drawing. Bailed!!

I still think Drawing tool is the best.

Slides Animation Learning

More opportunity to practice and learn how Dorothy does it. 

Creating our Digital Pepeha

A good opportunity for me to update and include my Gisborne living arrangement!

Drive, Chrome, Extensions and more

Drive and Chrome

We have learnt the basics of Drive and Chrome. Great to see someone else presenting on this and what they do and use.

Chrome Extensions

Adding and managing and removing extensions. Some extensions that I hadn't used before.

• UBlock as an adblocker
• Sideplayer to play a video 

Learners new to schools

What do schools do to transition learners into a new school?

I am wanting to find out what intermediate and secondary schools are doing, how we might share good practices and how we might help one another improve these practices.

Please help me out by telling me what you do in your school using the form below.

Learning Stations in Secondary Schools

Okay, I thought learning stations was such a 'primary' idea that it could never work with older learners.

Turns out I was way wrong...

Progress on Transitioning Learners

I am slowly distilling my aims for my Google Education Innovation project. This is taking me a long time as I seem to be stuck on Learn, Create, Share and Cybersmart learning. A great pedagogy and curriculum respectively, however, I think they are only a part of what I need to think about rather than the whole. 

I want to see learners transition well from primary to secondary school and to help schools, teachers and learners to do this. 

In the year I am formally focussing on this project, what can I expect to achieve? 

As, Lenva, my patient and thoughtful mentor said:

"You may not do anything new in one year but you could open the door to new ideas"

Deep Learning

Derek Wenmoth presented re Deep Learning.