Viv Hall from 'The Connected Learning Advisory' organised a webinar on being 'a Connected Leader'. She was supported by Karen Melhuish Spencer from CORE Education.
My part in the Connected Learning Advisory presentation for Connected Educator Month was to talk about 'What does a Connected Leader look like?'
Ideas:
Reach our for your own professional leader/ learner support. Model growth for others. The power of connections both online and offline for professional learning. Networking locally is great, but networking globally even more powerful. Model connectedness for students and colleagues. Make connections, taking risks and dive into being connected to empower yourself.
Stephen Lethbridge'In your role as a connected leader, what do you do to support/ model/advocate/facilitate e-learning?'
Ideas:
Don’t talk about e-learning in the sense of electronic - e for effective. Being connected need to be effective before digital - why before how. Widen connections outside education, follow people who you don't agree with outside of education - Dissonance is just as important as finding like minded people. Hire teachers via Twitter and reading their Blogs. Try to walk the talk of connectivity. Tools to get connected: todoist, slack, ifttt
Justine Driver'What attributes do you think you need most, to make this role successful?
Ideas:
Growth mindset to connect strategically using digital technologies to improve student learning, systems that promote. Collaborative - collective wisdom & collective action - the right people are the right people in the stream/conversation. Echo Chamber effect - Filters the stream, doesn’t necessarily go along with group think to keep the conversation going, asks WHY? To what extent do the communities that we are involved in challenge our own thinking. Questions & adds value to create dialogue in whatever platform - Google +, facebook, twitter. A digital resident - models citizenship in online forums - makes connections. We also need to ask who is not connecting with us? Whose voice is not in the room and how to get people engaged (hence the reason for this webinar)
Rachel Boyd'What’s in it for me’ about being a Connected Leader?
Ideas:
Connection regardless of distance. Exposure to alternate views different to local Principal/AP/DP group. Exposure to experts. Development of conversations & connections via shared interests. Ability to ask/answer questions. Opportunity to grow self - self directed learning. Find out what is/isn’t working for others. Gain a world view - external to your school. If you have ever felt like “an island” this is the place for support.
Annemarie Hyde'How do you encourage a reluctant teacher/leader to get connected?'
Ideas:
Online connections lead to face to face connections and rich conversations. Mentor new folk and encourage people beyond their first step. Connect with them, help, respond to tweets. Challenge educators/ leaders to be online. Important to have an online presence now for jobs. NZC asks us to be connected and actively involved.
This year the uLearn programme was structured around the following strands:
> Re-imagining learners and learning
> Re-imagining teacher practice
> Re-imagining leaders and leadership
> Māori medium
> Pasifika Strand
Keynote 3: Pat Snedden - The transformational journey to improve student achievement through public good partnerships in Manaiakalani at Tamaki
Day 1:
Breakout 1 - Teaching with thinking dispositions with Karen Boyes
The world has change and we can't go back. Citizens of the future will have to create their own jobs. So, what do we do if we /don't know?
Life is about making things easy for you - look at how cleaning products advanced from 'jif' (elbow grease) to 'spray and wipe' to 'wet and forget'. Helicopter parents (who hover) and/or lawnmower parents (who 'push the mower through' to clean the path to make it safe for students) does not help to fight learned helpless. Parents need to be re-empowered to parent. As teachers we [also] rescue kids too fast and too often students see themselves as passive participants. We need to let them struggle (1. Persisting) - the struggle makes you strong.
Kids are good at avoidance when things are hard. What do they do when they try to avoid work in the classroom? Some examples: they need a drink of water; sharpening a pencil; help someone else; look busy; tidying up etc. Students even admitted to hide their pencil and spend 15 minutes looking for it or pretend to be writing and when the teacher comes close, look like they're thinking.
The best ways to deal with avoidance is to address the ‘elephant in
the room’ and simply talk about it. Make students aware that you know the behaviours they are exhibiting are about avoidance and then teach
explicit strategies to overcome the avoidance by simply name the behaviour and offer support. For
example: “You are doing x to avoid x, is there anything I can do to
help you?” Students have to realise that it is not about the end product. Think about the
process, what happened and the next learning to occur. (3. Listening with understanding and empathy) How often do we taught listening? Although, we should not worry that our students are listening to us. We should worry that they are always watching us, as the brain is wired to mirror and reflect actions that we see from role models. Sitting at the dinner table where children can talk and are listened to, helps them to be good listeners. (11. Creating, imagining and innovating) Restrict access to
resources, cut technology time and have time with no agenda, to help kids to be creative. Use of genius time or 20% time. Kids have to be allowed to be bored (16. Remain open to continuous learning) We should teach students to find out what they don't know. This is the information that they need to learn. Don't get excited with an A+ as this only shows that they have not been pushed and that they don't know what to learn next.
Using the 'Growth Mindset' from Carol Dweck, we have to find the point where the natural talent is not enough, to enable students to learn and grow. Never work harder that the students and don't do for them what they can do. We have to switch roles. Conclusion: Thinking dispositions is
not a thing you 'do', it's to be used all the time!
Breakout 2 - 1:1 Starting out in a junior classroom - One app wonders with Karen Belt
Students use Explain Everything to learn, create and share. This session only highlighted [for me] the value of this app that I am using with my 5 year olds.
Other involvement:
Day 2:
Breakout 3 - Modern Learning Curriculum with Mary Anne Mills
We started this session by watching the following video:
'Challenge' questions we were faced with included:
> What messages does this video convey about the curriculum in these schools?
> What is future focused about the curriculum being offered?
> What would a video convey about the curriculum offered in your school?
Today we should be designing a future focused curriculum that addresses the needs of all learners
-shifting ownership of learning
-learner centred design
-supporting a knowledge building curriculum
Design from the inside out:
> Vision, values and beliefs: Mutually agreed upon and owned by the school community (the basis of a common sense of purpose made explicit in vision/mission statement) > Principles: Derived from values and beliefs (captured in policy statements) > Practices: Living expression of you values
Further discussion included:
The 6 themes in the NZCER's Future Orientated Learning and Teaching
> Personalising learning
> New views of equity and diversity
> Rethinking learners’ and teachers’ roles
> A curriculum that uses knowledge to develop learning capacity
> A culture of continuous learning for teachers and educational leaders
> New kinds of partnerships and relationships 7 principles of learning - OECD
> Learners at the centre of what happens in the classroom
> Learning is a social practice and can’t happen alone
> Emotions are an integral part of learning
> Learners are different
> Students need to be stretched, but not excessively
> Assessment should be for learning, not of learning
> Learning needs to be connected across disciplines
Taking a learner-centred approach is one of the significant shifts in the NZ Curriculum, used to contrast with a 'content-centred' approach that was said to characterise much of our previous curriculum approach.
Learner Centred Beliefs or Principles in a school, eg. student voice in selecting topics and context must be authentic and can guide the planning for a more learner-centred approach to a curriculum implementation.
Curriculum is always contentious. Differing views of knowledge.
What is important to learn? (What is powerful to learn in your school or learning area?)
What is powerful to learn? (What is so important you cannot leave to change?)
Why have learning ares? NZC p.17 (What are the big ideas students will develop understanding in?)
What do you emphasise in 'Learning Areas' and 'Key Competencies' and why?
Redesigning Curriculum
> Re-configurations around grouping learners
> Re-configurations around time as a flexible resource
> Re-configurations around distributing leadership Designing Curriculum
> What is the body of knowledge that we in New Zealand Aotearoa consider to be essential for our learners to engage in?
> What is powerful to learn?
> Whose knowledge is important?
> Who chooses this knowledge?
> What conditions are needed for a knowledge building curriculum?
Our Curriculum
> What do we do well?
> How do we know (What evidence do we use?)
- Qualitative?
- Quantitative?
> What are we measuring against?
- School vision and mission?
- Targets?
- Values?
We concluded with the question: "What matters in your school for a school leaver? What should they know, value, understand and demonstrate?" And then, time for some relaxation at the Gala Dinner...
Day 3:
Breakout 5 - Harnessing the collective power of our learning community with Emma Alaalatoa-Dale
"Why are we motivated to learn and implement new things?
Why do we wake up at 2.00am with a solution to that problem that has been annoying us?
Why are we o.k. with failing, re-grouping and trying again?
Why are we at uLearn15 in our holidays?
Why do we do what we do?"
Because we are passionate, invested, driven and motivated. By what?
Change is what motivate others. This includes the students in our classes and schools. How can we ensure that learners are motivated, passionate and inquiring? This can be done through a process of inquiry that evolves over time to meet the needs of our students.
Five things that can make inquiry successful and necessary to harness the collective power of your learning community:
Connected (Planning is responsive to the world around us, our students, their families, our community and the wider needs and opportunities in our world. What is being talked about around the dinner table in my students homes? Do I know what my students are talking about in the playground? We understand that we don’t hold all the knowledge and so accessing the experts from our learning community and beyond is imperative if we are delivering a full curriculum. Am I providing a balanced, rich and full experience for my students to answer their questions? Or am I inadvertently placing a ceiling on what they can learn? Who or what can I access to help me smash that ceiling? We work as a whole team, a whole school. Our 5 year olds are talking and sharing about the same things as our 12 year olds. Am I allowing my students to collaborate with ALL of our community? Are my students feeling connected to their school through their learning? A year of inquiry is connected through a mantra. For instance last year was ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ And this year has been ‘Learn from the past to lead the present’ Can your students see the connectedness between the the different things that they are learning?)
Encompassing (The inquiry question infiltrates EVERYTHING, all curriculum areas, assembly, conversations in the playground, home and community communications, all staff)
Tangible (Your Learners and wider communitycan see it, can touch it, can experience it and can reflect on it’s effectiveness)
Consistent (The process is consistent from inquiry to inquiry. We are not teaching knowledge anymore we are teaching students to be motivated, inquiring, problem solving learners. This means that as the world continues to change and the knowledge continues to change they will continue to be fully contributing citizens)
Student Led (After students are ‘tuned in’ it is about THEM asking the questions, about THEM evaluating their information sources, about THEM deciding who to collaborate with, about THEM holding the conversations, about THEM deciding on the solution/s, about THEM creating their solution, about THEM evaluating and reflecting on the change that they have / haven’t managed to make and about THEM deciding their next steps)
A great visual to support questioning:
Then it was time to fly home and I was able to sit back and think about the many thoughts swirling around in my head...
So what's next for me? > Be prepared to be uncomfortable, embrace disagreement and provocations that challenge me. > Be constantly open, inquisitive and adaptive. > Stay positive when faced with diversity and remember that I can make a difference for others.
Note: As part of Connected Educator Month some uLearn15 events were also Live Streamed.
~ "Individually we are one drop. Together we are an ocean - Ryunosuke Satoro ~
One of the EdblogNZ challenges for this week is to find two bloggers I admire at ULearn15 and take a selfie with them to post on my blog, although the [hidden] rebel in me made me choose four bloggers instead...
Sonya Van Schaijik (an eFellow of 2011) is a person I admire immensely. She is a connected, multi-talented and inspirational educator. On her blog, she always reflect effectively, is constantly thinking about her 'where to next' and inform about her education experiences.
The following three bloggers are my fellow eFellows of 2014. They (with Bec, Ben and Rowan -who are not active bloggers) have inspired me throughout our year of research/inquiry and... they still do!
First up is the amazing Anne-Louise Robertson with her blog 'A Box of Thistles'. I enjoy her transparency, short and to the point posts with outstanding content.
Tim Gander cover relevant topics in his blog, 'Future Learning' and it is full of practical posts, applicable information and great ideas.
Although a 'sporadic blogger' (as Vicky Hagenaars refers to herself) I do like to read her thoughts on her blog 'Vix Voice' as she has so much knowledge to share...
~ "Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others"
We had/have: '21st Century Learning', 'Future Focus', 'Modern Learning Environment', 'Modern Learning Pedagogy' and were more recently introduced to the [new] buzzword 'Innovative Learning Environment'
Does all these words not describe what we (as educators) are already doing.
Educators are aware that there is a new meaning for 'knowledge' and that students should be actively involved in their learning, rather than being passive recipients of information. Is this not why we give our students agency?
I am aware of the differences in 'Personalised' and 'Individualised' learning, but does it really matter which one is being used in a learning environment?
It is my perception only, that everything I do should be about my learners. I believe that a teacher who knows his/her students well, know how to integrate learning that will benefit a students' individual needs. I certainly want my students to achieve success by making learning enjoyable and meaningful.
Do we need to refer to these buzzwords at all?
~ "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
I value the opportunity I have to learn from other educators and hearing what they have been doing and implementing in their learning environments. I truly believe that you will not grow if you only have yourself as role-model and to be honest, these people have challenged my thinking!
So, what's next for me?
Working on empowering my students to be [more] connected and to be confident decision makers when blogging. (Thanks Fiona!)
To connect with my 'Critical Friend' (Thanks Ros!) and to be an effective one.
My Storify:
Presentation:
~ "Observe and reflect, and become a little wiser every day." - Doe Zantama ~
EdblogNZ is setting a blogging challenge as part of Connected Educator Month. There will be three challenges set in each one of the levels every week.
The three levels in this challenge are:
Absolute Newbie (e.g. “I don’t even have a blog set up yet”)
Casual Blogger (“I blog occasionally when I remember or feel I have something useful to say”)
Blogging Legend (“I blog regularly [at least once a week] and have great interaction/ contribution on my blog from commenters”)
I'm choosing to write a post on the challenge 'Write a blog post about why you blog professionally and some of the things you blog about. Share it using the #EdBlogNZ hashtag so the newbies can get further ideas to blog about.' in the 'Blogging Legend' level. Not that this is something that I see myself as, but the topic for this challenge was relevant to me.
Why I Blog:
to grow professionally
to share my experiences and knowledge
to express ideas
promoting my work
sharing knowledge and [hopefully] make a difference
to keep a record to look back on to view my professional and personal growth
to remind me of the ideas I once had and to help me re-evaluate them
to reflect on my practice, setting goals and to clarifying my thinking
I do sometimes feel blogging to be a huge 'challenge', as I take way too much time thinking about how to put all the thoughts I have in my head into a post. In the end though, I feel a sense of accomplishment after expressing my thoughts, which makes the whole process all worth it.
~ "To Blog is To share, To connect, To create, To inspire" - Anonymous ~
