Monday, November 11, 2013

Writing Workshop

Staff Meeting 12.11.13

Writers' tools and supports (Nardia)
p43 The Writing Book

  • Relevant
  • Accessible
  • Age Appropriate
Writing Wall - co-constructed with students, students to revisit, share in group work.
  • Constantly changing
Mini Lessons
p70 The Writing Book
  • Target specific skill eg adding adjectives



Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Positive Behaviour 4 Learning Conference

Rotorua, 19 ~21 September


Keynote Two: Dr Terry Scott

Professor and Distinguished University Sholar
College of Education and Human Development
University of Lousiville
Louisville,, KY 40292


Snowball analogy - preventing the at risk students rolling down the hill (and getting bigger).
The further a student rolls into the failure, the harder it is to stop him/her from rolling and push him/her back up again.
How do we keep kids in Tier 1 in Tier 1.  Instruct, teach, encourage, remind ...  (influenza comparison).  Need more than one plan for Tier 2 students.  Need to develop a logical sequence - safe > small risk > bigger risk > outside help.  No logic in jumping right to the outside help.


Sometimes need to give up some accuracy to get to reality.

  • Student behaviour won’t change until adult behaviour changes  - Adults Matter

  • All behaviour change is an instructional process - Instruction matters.
Instruction is our fix.

  • It’s all about probability - what’s the simpliest way to make a differecnce in the success:failure ratio of a student - Practices Matter

What really works with teaching, works best with kids with behaviour disorders.
Biggest effect 

Start with engagement. - The teacher has a  disproportionate amount of responsibility on the adult for the quality of the relationship with students.  
  • Need to spend ALL time in class and during the day engaging with students and not ‘paper work’.
  • Aim for 3 OTR per minute.
  • Feedback 4: 1 positive:negative feedback.  


Student characteristics + School/Teacher Control = Desired State
(Home, community...) Curriculum, expectations, measureable
routinesmm examples, outcomes
physical arrangements (skills, behaviours)
engagemetn, prompts
time, feedback



OTR - opportunity to respond
iPad app for observing engagement ( check it out on slideshow and see if worth getting)



Warren Dawson
The Nuts and Bolts of Classroom Management

Missouri Mini modules

Awareness of staff changeover
Orienting new students in place

Relievers resource pack

Importance of data - don’t spend time supposing what the problem is, gather data, observe, talk with teachers, students ...

Expectations vs Rules
  • Be a learner vs be prepared before school starts.

Outcomes and criteria

Student voice - but adult has final say

Class rules need to align to school rules

Guidelines for classroom rules. observable, measureable, positive, understandable, applicable...

Term 1 - teach rules in week 1 and review 2 x a week
Term 2 - review rules once a week
Term 3 - periodically based on table
Term 4 -         “

Consider
Relievers, job sharing, common year level, new students, new teacher/TA

Procedure - Transitions
  • Everyone puts work into desks
  • Put desk lids down quietly
  • Quietly move to the mat
  • Sit quietly in the correct place, facing the teacher
  • Teacher praise for quick, quiet and respectful movement.
  • Group 1 moves off to their activity and begin quietly - praise
  • Repeat with Group 2, Group 3 ...

Schoolwide - one focus per week (one way of doing it)

Reinforcement - win a seat in a deckchair at assembly one week, drink bottle, 
  • focus on improvement and effort

Peer observations and coaching

ODR - Office Descipline Referrals



Insoll Avenue Primary School

What it means to be an Insoll HERO?

Long time to agree on what a Major, Minor or Crisis behaviour.


Teacher and student walk through of classrooms.  Daily goals at the front of the class.  Teachers walking through can feedback to individuals who are achieving the goals.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Class to Cloud

Today I attended a session organised by Telco Technical Services (TTS) at Saint Peter’s College in Newmarket.  Saint Peter’s College shared their story of the last year as they introduced iPads to all year 7 students.

Overview

Read ‘School ICT Infrastructure Survey Report 2013’
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/school-ict-infrastructure-survey

Modern shared learning environments
Community  - is the main driver and enabler of MLE
Key Technology Improvements
SNUP
UFB
Network for Learning

Nimbus - Business Management System - http://www.nimbus.co.nz/

St Peters College - iPads for Learning
Ultranet - used for weekly resources for students, conversations between students -      students helping each other.
Wireless
BYOD  - checked out what other schools are doing/have done (Orewa College)
Capabilities within staff including Network Manager.
Key People -IT Team - include Senior Management and Principal must be behind it!
Costs for school and students - every teacher needed an iPad, device and apps,     consider how to help the students that can’t afford to buy their own.
Start slowly - do things right the first time.

The Vision
iPads are a tool to assist learning
allows for greater independence in the classroom
allows a link between school, home and beyond - everything on Ultranet page - open - everyone on the same page.
a tool for all - levels the playing field (reader/writers, etc)
organisational tool
engagement
student teacher relationships - opportunity for T to move around and interact with the students.

St Peter’s Teacher’s Perspective
Visited Tamaki Primary and saw how they used google docs, blogs, interacting with other schools
Developed and formed ideas and structures -
Rules around use and storage - no question is too small
What apps?  teachers were given an itunes card to buy and play with iPads - practical apps,
Engagement
Ultranet!!! Using what we already have.
Used in place of common learning tools -
Is not replacing writing - yet
A positive side afeect is less photocopying

First month
Cover the Basics - Apple ID, security, correct use
Using Ultranet
Keeping things simple
Rapid pace of skill development - esp in students - skills, creativity.
1st presentations - within first month

When is it being used?
every period possible
everyone uses it in different ways

Planning/Teaching
easier
online - parents can also see it
involves responsibility, teacher circulation, trust
helps S with learning difficulties

Moving Forward
WEBDAV - http://www.webdav.org/ - storage of work on a server, submit assignments, work is safe.
Project based learning - integration, cross-curricula, as little T input as possible
iBook author - for planning
tumbles

Storage
lockable filing cabinets
locking
charge each night at home

Upgrading iPads
- not considered yet, will need to in a few years

4 Key areas - mindshift These were decided by the school as the 4 main reasons to have iPads
- Self management
- Thinking skills
- Move from paper to online learning
- Computer based learning

Criteria to judge success of iPad implementation
St Peters has 14 criteria, 13 achieved but end of Term 2

Q and A

If internet is down
can work offline with iPads
work downloaded first week of term (or whenever)

Contingencies
- Loan devices supplied by the school
Consequence if student using iPad inappropriately

Support
full time tech person
part time person working in Ultranet

iPad apps/ tools /tricks and websites  (John Gray)

Reflector     - creates a virtual apple tv
        - cross platform
can record what you are doing - create own video resources
can have multiple devices connected at the same time.
       
Show me     - whiteboard app

Bookmarks vs
Reading list - allows you to read offline
        -
Socrative.com - survey, vote, website, free online (not an app)

Collaboration
- Padlet
Evernote
lino.com - like a giant corkboard
corkboard.com
stixy.com
noteapp.com

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Living on the Future Edge - The Age of Disruptive Innovation

Lee Crocket
Keynote 3

Moore's Law - Twice as much power for half the money every 24 months - held true since 1979, now down to every 12 months

Augmented Reality
  • How does it impact our teaching? - 
    • culture teaching will be more important the language teaching
    • inspirational teaching - a learning facilitator
    • 'In the future, people who need managing will not be employable' - Lee Crockett
    • The Arts are not ornamental they are fundamental - creative and service skills are needed
Disruptive Innovation
  • Changes in technology that make something or someone obsolete
  • There's a better way to do things
  • eg phones, computers, cameras, tapes and cds, - all ways of delivering information
  • Need to get your head around it and move with the times or become obsolete
  • 'Nobody needs obsolete excellence' - Ian Jukes
Can't see what is happening right in front of us! Need to step back and think about what is happening for our kids and their futures.

3 'un' that lead to downfall
  • unaware
  • unwilling
  • unable
1 action you are going to take starting right now.

The Same Thing in a Different Way - Day 2

Lee Crockett and Andrew Churches

Focus on Solution Fluency for 1 ~ 4 terms before introducing other fluencies.


  • Ask
  • Acquire
  • Analyze
  • Apply
  • Assess

Google

Lee Crocket
Email :   lee@fluency21.com
Twitter : @leecrocket

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Same Thing in a Different Way

Lee Crockett and Andrew Churches



Service class jobs are replaced by technology
Creative class jobs are facilitated by technology
  • freemium games - make most money
  • apps design 
  • Need to develop visual communication for app designs and the future

What are the critical skills students need to be successful in life beyond school?
Our list

  • teamwork / collaboration
  • creativity
  • communication
  • resilience
  • risk taking
  • problem solving
  • critical thinking 
  • managing self
  • social analysis - ethical thinking
  • filtering information
  • dreaming
  • interacting and contributing
Lee's list
  1. Problem soloving
  2. Creativity
  3. Analytical thinking 
  4. Collaborate
  5. Communicate
  6. Ethics, Action, Accountability
21st Century fluencies have nothing to do with hardware
but more to do with headware and heartware


Solution Fluency
define
  • importance of assessment to be shared 
discover
  • relevance and context
  • understand and unpack the problem
  • understanding strengths and weaknesses
dream
design

  • What happened before that?
  • learning progressions 

deliver
debrief
  • review each of the steps and the outcome and consider how could you have made the product and the process better?
What do we want out of 21C Fluencies
  • Relevance
    • present work in a format that students will relate to eg videos, language...
      • Start with the curriculum and identify a standard you would like to address.
      • Who would encounter this in the world beyond school?
      • What would be relevant, in context, or applicable to your students?
  • Creating
  • Real World


New Vocabulary

  • Edutainment
  • Creatical thinking - creative and critical thinking
  • Describe - give a detailed account - who, what, when, where
  • Explain - give a detailed account include causes, reason mechanisms - how and why
  • Analysis
  • Evaluation
  • Elevator pitch - 60 secs to promote your idea.


Kiva.org
Khan Academy - https://www.khanacademy.org/
oDesk - Changing how the world works




  • accountability and transparency (esp when work is outsourced)

Misbehaving Appropriately - A Blueprint for Teaching in the 21st C Our Way, Island Bay: A Curriculum for the 21st Century


Keynote - Perry Rush

The Learning Purpose in the 21C - we need a shared sense of purpose as individuals

  • to enable the individual to be fulfilled to their satisfaction - cater to individuals
    • diversity in our students
    • if we are compelling students to come to school it needs to be an experience worthy of the time they spend at school
  • to build capability to be successful in the 21C knowledge economy
    • Catching the Knowledge Wave - Jane Gilbert
    • The new meaning of knowledge
      • is a process not a thing
      • does things
      • happens in teams not individuals
      • develops in the now when it is needed
      • develops to be replaced not stored
      • just in time, not just in case
    • Minds are
      • resources - that can be connected to other resources in order to generate new knowledge
  • to enable deep learning
    • The difference in quality of inquiry is the teacher 
    • Student initiative with deep 
  • to grow students that are able to question the status quo and act on their beliefs
    • Be quiet and listen to the kids
NZ Curriculum
  • Student learning at the centre, not coverage
  • Designed to reduce compliance and simplify requirements - essence statements
  • Emphasis on local meaning ... what is important in your community
  • Participatory view of learning... gaining knowledge is not enough... you need to be able to do things with what you know
  • More generic,,, essence statements, reduced AO's...increased professional judgment
  • Demands vision... is a significant shift from what we have known
  • The Hidden Lives of Learners - Graham Nuthall
    • most children's significant learning experiences were self selected or self generate even in traditional classroons
    • need to develop clarity about how we learn - philosophy, culture, practice
21C Pedagogies the Grow Deeper Learning
  • Conceptual curriculum
  • Teaching for Understanding as opposed to knowledge acquisition
    • Project Zero, Harvard University - http://www.pz.harvard.edu/
  • Teaching by design
  • Inquiry based learning
    • its not about the inquiry model its about the teaching of the inquiry model
Personalised Learning 
  • Discovery time
  • Passion Projects
  • Personal inquiry prompted by shared inquiry
  • Children teaching children
  • Writer's notebook