I have a favourite clip from the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that I have used many times in my presentations and workshops. It’s where the teacher is attempting to elicit responses from an extremely unresponsive and disinterested group of … Continue reading GWITTH Learning
The real process of education should be the process of learning to think through the application of real problems. John Dewey I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, and at one point in my career I was an outdoor ed teacher. I relished the opportunity to take young people into the outdoors where they were often pushed beyond their comfort zone and had to learn to overcome challenges, relying on others to achieve what needed to be done together. The decisions you make and the actions you take in this environment matter. There are consequences (i.e. you’re either warm or cold during … Continue reading Designing Authentic Learning
A brief blog post today to share a video of a presentation by Valerie Hannon at [Re]Learn2020: The Learning Innovation Festival. (see below) It seems to be a timely reminder, a year since first aired, of the things we as … Continue reading So much reform… so little change
Climate change is complex in that it is connected to many other issues from global poverty and social inequality to biodiversity loss and natural resource depletion. This complexity makes climate literacy and awareness of what it takes to shape a … Continue reading Education’s response to the Climate Crisis
Helping students learn at high levels while developing social and emotional sills is part of our school’s vision and mission. We ensure equity and eliminate barriers to learning by providing opportunities for students to experience personalised learning by addressing each student’s individual academic and social and emotional needs while embracing student voice and student choice and student interests. This is incredibly important work. Shelly Poage, Principal, John Tyson Elementary School This week I had the privilege of presenting a workshop at the Aurora Institute’s Virtual Symposium with a group of colleagues from the US. Our collaboration all stems from a … Continue reading Agency by Design
In his article titled A Fundamental Puzzle of School Reform, Larry Cuban poses the question “Why do schools and classrooms resist repeated and sizeable efforts to change them?” That article was published in 1988, but I’m certain is just as … Continue reading Reform resistance
This post has been prompted by a recent McKinsey article I read titled What matters most? Five priorities for CEOs in the next normal. It’s one of a series from McKinsey on how leaders can adapt to a different future. I need to acknowledge this from the outset as the source of the five priorities I’ve used below – my post here is simply a reflection on how these might apply specifically to the context of educational leadership, most particularly, school leaders. The driver for this reflection is the experience we’ve all had of the global COVID-19 pandemic. As the … Continue reading Five priorities for education leaders in the next normal
Digital devices are already an integral part of New Zealanders’ lives, and their use outside theclassroom is likely only set to increase. However, the emerging research detailing their impacts onlearning and wellbeing leads to clear recommendations for a cautious, purposeful, and well-researched approach to their use. PISA 2018: Digital devices and student outcomes in New Zealand schools (page 18) As someone who has spent the best part of a 40 plus career in education researching, innovating and supporting the use of digital technologies in education the recent publicity about the findings from the 2018 PISA study on digital devices and … Continue reading Devices and learning
In my previous post titled ‘caught by surprise‘ I reflected on how, despite all of the signals, so many schools and businesses appear not to have been as prepared as they might be for the eventuality of another lockdown. I received a significant amount of feedback in the various forums I shared my post on – many giving personal anecdotes to illustrate agreement with what I was saying, but several pointing out that there were also schools and students who had a far better experience, and who were better prepared for the current lockdown. In my post I did acknowledge … Continue reading Taking it in our stride
Now is the time to ensure that EVERY young person regardless of their school and postcode can stay connected to their learning, and not just survive but thrive! Many students have access to devices, many homes have wifi, but if we genuinely care about inclusive education that genuinely puts each and every young person at the centre of their educational experience, we need to equip them, and get on supporting all teachers and leaders to amplify learning and supporting learning relationships online. Come on Aotearoa – let’s close the digital divide!! Claire Amos The quote above appears at the end … Continue reading Closing the divide