Last year when I was the Deputy Principal at Cobham Intermediate, I was asked to be filmed for an EdTalks special on cultural responsive practice and what this can look like in action in a school setting and how we were going about developing a culturally responsive environment. I focused my discussion on the way this happens from a relational position and how the staff at Cobham Intermediate began this journey together working on their practice, and then spread that learning to their classrooms. I tried to outline how important it has been for staff to consider the tikanga in the school and that the values they are developing around this practice will be beneficial for all, while reminding us all that the kaupapa of a school is developed as part of a school’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and being part of a bicultural nation, and that this is an important position for all schools.
Even though I have moved back into school life and am no longer a digital technologies advisor, I still have the absolute pleasure of being asked to co-facilitate the Ako Panuku 'Technology for teachers' hui each year with my good friend and co-facilitator Dee Reid.
Naturally at these types of hui, we get asked about what the 'best' apps/websites are for the classroom. And Dee and I always respond with the same answer - the technology is just a waka/vehicle or tool, you need to firstly understand what you trying to achieve, what is the learning task?
Ako Panuku created this very cool resource for teachers showcasing some possible apps that can be used as the waka/vehicle for different learning tasks e.g. researching, summarising, presenting etc. This was created in Thinglink - a powerful tool in itself!
If you hover over the app, a description will pop up. You can also hover over the different strategies and get a pop up description and if you click on the down arrow you can even download a word doc copy of the description and step by step how it can be used, including a link to a template.
Ngā mihi nui ki a Ako Panuku!!!
And if those apps don't satisfy your thirst for new and engaging ways to integrate tech tools into your classroom, then I am sure these will...
As part of our mihi whakatau process and work on a school graduate profile, we have been discussing what we feel is important for our Cobham graduates to have in their kete when they leave us to move onto high school.
We have now embedded tikanga and te reo practices across our whole school that means our kids know two karakia tīmatanga (starting blessings) and two karakia whakamutunga (ending blessings) as well as waiata Manu Tiria, a Ngāi Tahu waiata, who are mana whenua here.
I saw this waiata shared on Youtube by a fellow teacher colleague that is part of my Twitter and Flipped Classroom practitioners network and thought it might be a great one for our kids to learn too - he aha ou koutou whakaaro e hoa mā? (What are your thoughts my friends?)
I have been thrilled to have my babies come home from their school this week excitedly talking about Matariki. They are proud to tell me they "know lot's about Matariki" and we have been getting up early to go outside to try and find ngā whetu o Matariki (the Matariki stars).
Matariki is the Māori name for a group of stars known as the Pleiades star cluster. Contrary to popular belief, there are nine stars in the Matariki constellation instead of seven. The Māori New Year is marked by the rise of this star cluster and the sighting of the next new moon. This year, 2016, Matariki started on 6 June.
There are some amazing resources out there to support teachers sharing the kōrero and importance of Matariki. Firstly, try to connect to your local Māori community to find out if there are any events or local tikanga or history you should know about Matariki (like this awesome Matariki celebration happening locally where I live).
And if none of that helps you learn about the Matariki story, here is one of my daughters telling you what she has learned about Matariki so far...DISCLAIMER: please don't take it as gospel but rather a super cute version of a 5 year old from Aotearoa trying to summarise all the cool new things they have learned about Matariki this week! :)
The following review is a synthesis of key understandings and learning experiences that
have emerged throughout the year that I would recommend to my colleagues
considering transformation in education.
Exploring transformation and scoping educational change
Change can be difficult and stressful as it often stems from a ‘shifting context’, where
the status quo is no longer the best way forward. For positive and sustainable change
to occur, a ‘road map for leading change’ (Jansen, 2015) is important and must start
with the why (Sinek, 2009). This not only supports leaders to understand the why but
also to consider the key elements that will need to be explored while working through
the change process, like the where, how, who and what. Once leaders have this
roadmap in place, they can and should share it with all participants to ensure a
shared understanding of the context for change and what elements will need to be
explored when moving from the business as usual or ‘current state’, to the new
business as usual or ‘future state’ (Jansen, 2015).
When scoping for change, the drivers for educational transformation should be
identified. These are the things that are pushing or pulling your school towards the
need to make changes. I would recommend that all key stakeholders have the
opportunity to identify what external factors e.g. the global impact of technology or the
identified new skills necessary for the jobs of tomorrow (OECD, 2012) and what internal
factors, for example at my school, a whole school rebuild due to earthquake damage,
are influencing or already changing your educational context. Once these factors have
been identified by all key stakeholders, you can then begin to see what potential
risks/threats and what potential opportunities there are as a result of these drivers of
change in action.
Visioning and systemic thinking in strategic planning
Strategic thinking must be systemic, in that we need to be able to see the big picture
before we can understand the parts within it. To be able to make considerate and
effective decisions around whole school change, understanding the whole comes before
understanding the parts but the key element is actually in the interaction. If we do not
consider the way in which decisions or change in one area can impact on another, we
can be left with ‘unintended consequences’. An example of this could be where a
school decides to change the hours of instruction, starting and finishing earlier in the
day. This is based on good research that children will learn better in those hours but the unintended consequences could be huge e.g. increase of parents in need of after
school childcare or out of sync timetables for siblings at different schools. I would
recommend using key questions, relevant to your context, to create conversations and a
shared understanding of the bigger picture, the parts within it and how the interact or
influence each other. These questions could be used as a framework when working
with staff, leaders, governance, whānau and students, “what does a successful school
look like?” and “what are the factors that contribute to this and how do they influence
each other?” Another reputable change model I would recommend schools research
and apply to their own context by having staff collaboratively map out the change arena
applied to their kura, would be Davis’ ‘Arena of Change’ (2008), a model that applies an
ecological perspective to understand how teacher learning may be promoted for
educational renewal, and clearly identifies that “teachers are the keystone speciesin the
education ecologies of the twenty-first century world”.
Pedagogical shifts
Successful change to better meet the needs of modern learners in today's and
tomorrow's schools will require some dramatic shifts to traditional methods and practice
of teaching. ‘New pedagogies’ (Fullan & Langworthy, 2014) will present plenty of
challenges but excitingly, lots of opportunities to better engage and prepare our
students for a world that requires people with inquiry and problem solving skills, who
can effectively collaborate, innovate, create and communicate and who are culturally
responsive, digitally literate and globally aware. Derek Wenmoth (2013) from CORE
Education talks about the drivers for change being agency, connectedness and ubiquity
and these are driving some of the pedagogical changes that need to occur so that
schools become an environment that values and fosters student agency, collaboration,
co-teaching, self regulated and personalised learning. I would recommend that when
schools are considering pedagogical shifts, they need to begin with their students what
do they need to know, understand and do to be successful? Secondly what does our
learning practices and environments need to look like to accomplish this? Finally how
will we know what impact this is having on student engagement, enjoyment and
achievement?
Community, whānau and iwi engagement
When considering transforming education in your school context, it is imperative that all
members of your school community are included on this journey and can participate in
the decision making process he waka eke noa:a canoe on which everyone can
embark. One of the first steps needs to be identifying all key stakeholders students,
whānau, staff and Board of Trustees. As I identified earlier in the scoping process, it
would also be recommendable to reach further abroad and look for other potential
partners that could bring added value and richness to the transformation and future of the school through ‘civic engagement the action through which citizens join in new
conversations that have the capacity to alter the future’, for example, libraries,
community serviceshealth, police, social services, local community businesses or other
educational institutions e.g. Polytechnic or Universities.
Iwi engagement is also critical for all New Zealand educational settings. We know that
traditionally we have not met the needs of many of our priority learners, specifically
Māori and Pasifika tamariki and their whānau (MoE, 2013). Culturally responsive
practices embedded into the culture of our schools will ensure that schools are
upholding their obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and are providing
educational experiences that are authentic, meaningful and relevant for all learners, that
build on their prior knowledge and cultural connections and acknowledges and
celebrates diversity and the potential each child has within them to succeed. I would
recommend that schools reach out to iwi and build a reciprocal and meaningful
relationship with them. You will need their input and guidance around what culturally
responsive practices should be normalised in your school setting and perhaps even
establishing a ‘cultural narrative’ for your school, where schools can ensure design and
practice will reflect the rich history of your local iwi and whenua. More importantly,
schools need to address will be their tamariki, whānau and staff can support the iwi. A
reciprocal relationship built on respect and ongoing support for each other will reap
rewards for all and ensure the vision for Ka Hikitia (2013) of ‘Māori enjoying educational
success as Māori’ becomes a reality in your kura.
References
Davis, N.E. (2008). How may teacher learning be promoted for educational renewal with
IT? In J. Voogt & G. Knezek (eds.), International Handbook of Information Technology
in Primary and Secondary Education, (507520) Amsterdam: Springer
Fullan, M., & Langworthy. (2014).A Rich Seam: How new pedagogies find deep
learning. Retrieved from
http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf
Jansen, C. (2015). Road map for change: presentation at lecture #1 of EDEM630
course. University of Canterbury.
Ministry of Education. (2013). Ka HikitiaAccelerating Success 20132017.Wellington,
New Zealand:Learning Media.
OECD (2012). Education Today 2013: The OECD Perspective. Retrieved from
http://abdigm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2013_12/20023619_educationtoday2013the
oecdperspective.pdf
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action.
New York: Portfolio.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840)
Wenmoth, D., (2012) EdTalks; Ubiquity, agency and connectedness. Retreived from
http://edtalks.org/video/ubiquityagencyandconnectedness
I somehow got thrown in front of a camera to share a little bit about what Cobham Intermediate is doing to celebrate Chinese Language Week, but more importantly, to acknowledge and celebrate our Chinese students and families. Cultural responsiveness is one of our school focus areas for professional development and so far this year, this has been strongly aligned to working with our Māori and Pasifika communities, but with a 21% Asian student population at Cobham, how we welcome, support and celebrate the asian cultures and what they bring to Aotearoa is extremely important to me as an educator, to all of our students and of course to our wider school community. I don't think I will be getting a call from Hollywood anytime soon though ;)
Monday, July 20, 2015
Whakanuia te wiki o te reo Māori
Celebrate Māori language
week
The kaupapa for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2015 is ‘Whāngaihia te reo
Māori ki ngā mātua,' with the aim to encourage and support the language development of parents who can then whāngai the language to their children.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Greetings to you all.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori /Māori Language Week takes place this year
between Monday 27 July and Sunday 2 August. This special week provides
an opportunity to celebrate and learn te reo Māori, helping to secure its
future as a living, dynamic, and rich language.
I strongly urge and encourage you to really step it up and promote the use
of te reo Māori at school during this week and
hopefully beyond. Here are some practical ideas that I know all of you can
try next week with your class & around home and school: - Greet everyone in person, everyday in te reo Māori (kia ora, tēnā
koe/kōrua/koutou, mōrena, ata mārie, ka kite anō, haere rā, e noho rā) &/or
change your email greetings/signature to te reo Māori using these google
doc ‘Useful Phrases in te reo Māori' - https://goo.gl/ZgB0hH - Always start & end the day/session with our school karakia
- Sing a Māori waiata everyday http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Reo-Maori-resources/Hei-Waiata - Learn theseclassroom kupu-https://quizlet.com/subject/classroom-kupu/ & then create labels to stick them to the relevant objects in your
class, use the Māori names of the objects when possible
- Sign up to Te Kupu o te Wiki http://kupu.maori.nz/ - Share with your class everyday a different Whakataukī -
https://goo.gl/QEqJOAor Kīwaha-https://quizlet.com/subject/maori-kiwaha/ - Ensure you and your kids know how to pronounce Māori names correctly
(people e.g. Anaru, Hurihia, Awanui, Ngāriki and places e.g. Akaroa,
Rangiora, Ōtautahi)
- Celebrate all the Māori words you & your kids know already, you might be
surprised - make a class list & identify them all e.g. kai, marae, mana, kaupapa, whānau. Discuss their meaning, practice pronunciation but most
importantly, commit to using the kupu/words you already know in your
everyday conversations
- Know these two documents inside out & use them as key resources for
planning, teaching and assessing te reo Māori at school 1) Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te ako i te reo Māori Kura
Auraki http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines 2) He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora http://hereoora.tki.org.nz/ - Get to know your kids better by learning & sharing your own and as well
as their own mihi
- Identify & discuss important Māori values -
http://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-guidelines/The-importance-of-learning-te-reo-Maori/Exploring-shared-values. Decide as a class how we
can demonstrate, celebrate & promote these values at school
- Share some of the articles, videos, stories from the links below with your
whole class
- If you need help, please just ask. I am always happy to help with
pronunciation, support & encouragement!
Don’t just think about it - commit to it, kōrero Māori e!
Yesterday I attended the Burnside Learning Community Cluster un-conference. Held on the first day of the holidays, many teachers and support staff came together from almost all of the early childhood, primary and secondary schools in our cluster to network, share ideas and to learn.
The keynote by Dr Cheryl Doig from Think Beyond was called 'Into the Future' and raised some excellent points about the changes education is facing. I went on to several different breakouts afterwards but one particularly grabbed my attention. I went to see a secondary science teacher, @mattynicoll and his breakout called 'Rewind Learning' (see the video above of another time he has shared this presentation online).
I have been interested in flipped learning for a few years now but I was excited to see and hear examples in my own backyard. I first heard about a teacher at Breens Intermediate doing some cool things, just starting off by recording himself & posting it to his YouTube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/user/mrmteacherbreens.
This is exactly how Matt described his beginning too and that he just had to push past the fear of looking/sounding silly and embrace the possibilities that posting learning activities online would offer his students. Allowing kids to watch the video at their own pace, watch it after school hours, rewind and watch over and over, watch it before or after the actual physical lesson at school and to share it with others who might also have an interest in it and could work together with you on the concept is just a few of the awesome benefits to recording and sharing lesson content online. Matt's YouTube channel is also an awesome resource https://www.youtube.com/user/mattynicoll and its very cool to see just how well the lesson have developed and grown in quality and confidence!
The concept of flipping the classroom sounds time consuming and challenging at its most complex but what I got from listening to Matt share his experiences, is that you can take it at your own pace, to a level that you are comfortable with. All you have to do is give it a go, try something new, be innovative, take risks, step outside your comfort zone...you know, all the stuff we ask our students to do!
But don't take my word for it, I am by no means an expert. If it's an experts opinion you are after though, perhaps take a listen to this guy, one of my all time favs!
Michael Fullan: Technology, the new pedagogy and flipped teaching
Ka Hikitia! Ka Hikitia! The goal of Ka Hikitia to have Māori enjoying educational success as Māori is an admirable one. But one that does not happen overnight and not without a lot of time, effort and work.
When I think of what Māori enjoying educational success as Māori means to me, I think of the needs of Māori learners being met on every level. Academically they are achieving to the best of their ability, socially they are connected and confident, their mana and wairua are strong and their potential is recognised and celebrated. Their language, culture and identity is something to be proud of and the school celebrates and promotes this. It should be cool to be Māori and our Māori kids know it, feel it and own it - our teaching and learning programmes are tailored to their strengths and interests and support is in place when and where needed. Māori preferred learning styles are identified and teachers' practice strategies that engage Māori best. What do you think it means? Have you ever asked your staff and unpacked what it means to them, what is happening in your school currently and what you may need to improve on? Have you ever asked whānau and iwi what this actually means to them?
Being a fully released Deputy Principal, I have several key responsibilities as part of my role. Māori achievement is one I am passionate about. When I interviewed for this position I had read the schools great ERO report and had noticed that one of their recommended steps for improvement was in this area, which appealed to me as I felt I could get my teeth stuck into that. But where do you start? This blog post is about documenting some of the things I have been able to get underway in what has and will be an amazing journey for our kura.
The school had identified meeting the needs of Māori as one of our key priorities this year, so we have dedicated the whole of Term 2 to this kaupapa. One of the first places I wanted to start is with our key stakeholders and most importantly, our whānau and iwi. There had not been a whānau consultation hui at our school for several years. This is where I wanted to start and being an intermediate, you cant afford to muck around, as we lose 50% of our student population every year. So a whānau hui was planned to ask our whānau the following key questions and get their feedback, which was amazing. We had a great turn out and here are some of my tips for ensuring a successful hui:
Hold it in a neutral space, not a classroom
Provide a fantastic kai for your manuhiri, this shows them that you are good hosts who value manaakitanga and remember the mana of the school is at stake
Follow Māori customs if possible. We opened with karakia & waiata from our kaumatua, our principal then spoke in Māori and English and then we did mihimihi - all parents and kids together. After this we had a shared kai as a whole whānau
After kai, the kids left and were supervised by a teacher while we held group discussions with the parents. Provide supervision for kids so parents can come & don't have to worry about a babysitter
Most importantly, LISTEN and ensure you follow up afterwards. Often relationships break down with whānau because they only hear from you regarding negative things and then after a hui they have shared all their hopes and aspirations but don't hear back from the school again about whether any of these are being addressed
All of the parents and teachers who attended our hui had a fantastic time and were really enthused about what we could be doing for our tamariki. We have now developed a whānau advisory group with Māori parents and tamariki. They will meet with me once a term to firstly design an action plan, and then implement it, a step by step plan of how we will bring their aspirations to life.
Also during this term, my principal and I met with a representative from the education branch of Ngāi Tūāhuriri. Ngāi Tūāhuriri, of Ngāi Tahu descent, are our closest hapū, who have mana whenua of this takiwa. Our school is very keen to build a reciprocal and close relationship to our local hapū and so meeting with them was our first step. We are sending most of our staff to a professional development day in the school holidays at their marae Maahunui II, in Tuahiwi, to learn about Ngāi Tahu history and Ngāi Tūāhuriri tikanga and protocols. It is important to us that we uphold the tikanga of our hapū and that our Māori learners are connected to the history, people and land where their school and home is located first and foremost, whether they are of Ngāi Tahu descent or from other iwi. We intend to progress and develop our ongoing relationship with Ngāi Tūāhuriri by implementing some of the following ideas if possible:
Termly newsletters about 'Māori enjoying educational success as Māori' will be shared with all whānau, wider school community and Ngāi Tūāhuriri
Staff attending all PD offered by Ngāi Tūāhuriri and internal staff PD around Te Kete o Aoraki
Sharing of important school events and updates with Ngāi Tūāhuriri and also keeping informed of important events and updates from the hapū so we can support or attend any events that might be appropriate for our school to participate in
Encouraging our whānau to enrol our tamariki in events Ngāi Tūāhuriri are providing e.g. Kia Kūrapa, Taiaha Wananga
Sharing learning and achievements with Ngāi Tūāhuriri, especially those that are related to our Ngāi Tahu learners, Māōri students and any of cultural significance
So with whānau and iwi relationships being developed, it was important to hear from staff and students at school. This term, all staff PD has been planned around meeting the needs of our priority learners, in particularly Māori and as part of how we can best meet their needs, culturally responsive practice is also a main focus. We began the term looking at what does the MoE mean by priority learners, who are our priority learners at school and what do we know about them. We developed a google spreadsheet with all information and data collected about all of our priority learners right across the school. This information includes national standards and OTJs but more importantly it includes information about home life, strengths, interests, iwi links, languages, support agencies, behaviour etc etc. It is a holistic view of each child, shared with every member of the staff so at any time, all of us can read and add to the bigger picture of who this child really is. This information is also used to support teacher inquiries into how we are meeting the needs of these learners. The following week we were extremely fortunate to have Dr's Angus and Sonja MacFarlane present to our staff about cultural responsive practice and what this could look like in a school working with Māori learners and whānau. This workshop was opened up to all schools and staff from our learning community cluster as it is such an important kaupapa and it was such an honour to have them work with us that it made sense to offer this opportunity to as many kaiako as possible!
Next I collected student voice to share back to our staff. I wanted to hear from our Māori kids what it is really like being Māori at our school. Some of their responses were insightful, informative and at times brutally honest. I played the recordings back to our staff so we could hear what our kids thought and reflect on what things were working vs what things were not working. We also broke into groups to work through a 'cultural audit' of things that we are dong well and gaps we think need addressing. The senior leadership team will use all of this feedback, from staff, whānau and stduents to inform our action plan for what our next steps are. We also have Dee Reid, a professional development facilitator coming to take a staff workshop on Ka Hikitia: Accelerating Success and Tātaiako, in preparation for staff looking at how they can utilise the cultural competencies as part of their own goal setting and our appraisal process.
And this is just the beginning! The kaupapa doesn't end after Term 2. We made this the sole focus for this term but just so we could get going and start things off right, with the time and space to really assess where we are at and what we need to do. We have started daily karakia in all classes and model this as staff by also saying karakia together for staff hui and in assembly. I hope that soon when you visit our school, we will have developed our own protocols around how we welcome manuhiri, in line with Ngāi Tūāhuriri tikanga for mihi whakatau. All staff will be learning their mihi and karakia and waiata because we know that unless teacher proficency and confidence is developed, te reo me ōna tikanga Māori in the class will suffer. The whānau advisory group and myself will ensure our action plan is in place and being implemented so we can all develop our practice to better meet the needs of our Māori learners - it will be a journey for us all. And I can't wait!
I hope all you Kiwi's out there were singing along when you read the title of this post... it is in homage to the great Billy T James’ skit/waiata “They said the party was a BYOG” to the tune (of course) of YMCA. Every time I say BYOD I can’t help but think of that skit. And boy have I been thinking and saying it a lot lately!
Next term, Cobham Intermediate is going BYOD (bring your own device) school-wide. We trialled this in several classes last year and many students have already been bringing their devices to school this term but we officially become a BYOD school in Term 2. Yes, 640 odd Intermediate aged students have the right to bring their own digital device to school and use it freely (within reason) to support their learning - what are you thinking right now...chaos, asking for trouble or perhaps feeling jealous that you were schooled a generation too early? I have no doubt many of you will be thinking along the same lines as me, if we are to prepare our kids for their future and equip them with the skills and knowledge they will need for the workforce, then it is inevitable that technology and mobile devices will be part of that very future.
Cobham has done their homework and staff, students and community have had input into the decision as to why moving towards 1:1 mobile devices in the classroom is a beneficial and we believe necessary change to make. There is plenty of fantastic research, support and advice online and I have learned so much from the Enabling e-Learning site, CORE Educations EdTalk videos and the VLN (virtual learning network) community discussions on BYOD. Also you should all read this recent blog post by Warren Hall discussing which devices students might find best to support their learning - "Device choice in schools driven by the 'write' things".
A clear and consistent message was how the shift to BYOD needs to be strongly aligned with your schools strategic plan, student achievement goals and school vision. It cannot be a stand alone initiative introduced solely to ‘Keep up with the Jones’, but rather a well planned and managed move to integrate wider and more effective use of different digital technologies to support and enhance learning, with the ultimate goal of improving student engagement and achievement.
Creating a BYOD User agreement was done before my arrival but I can only imagine how much time went into creating something so detailed and explicit. All students and parents must sign this to be able to use the various devices at school. I understand the perceived risk schools feel they put themselves at when opening the doors to (possibly) hundreds of different devices being used at school. This just reinforced the need to put the teaching of appropriate use and digital citizenship at the forefront for our learners, our staff and our whānau. Cobham has kept our community informed at each stage of our thinking and prototyping and in support of our commitment to digital citizenship, cybersafety and professional development around the appropriate uses of internet capable devices, we have invited all of our parent community to a parents evening in week 1 of T2. We will have 2 guest speakers to discuss ‘Digital Citizenship’ and ‘Keeping our kids safe online’. Firstly, Janelle Riki from CORE Education (South Island Team Leader for Learning with Digital Technologies) will share her expertise and experiences about what digital citizenship is, what kids are doing online, cyberbullying-what it is, where it happens, prevention and what we can do if it occurs, safety tips-how to keep our kids safe online, parental controls, restrictions and how parents can be involved in kids online world e.g. set rules, boundaries, learn the language, having your own online presence. Our second guest speaker will be Senior Constable Richard Brunton, sharing his experiences as a police office and a parent of a Cobham student as to the importance of keeping our kids safe online. Our parents, BoT and wider community are integral to the success of our school going BYOD because our school believes that a positive home-school partnership will benefit all of our learners and that we need to be on the same page as to how to best support our students to appropriately use these devices for learning-at home and at school.
There seems to be a lot of debate and dare I say it, dramatisation, in the media (see here and here for starters) around schools going BYOD but I personally believe we are doing our kids a disservice if we don’t provide an environment where they can choose the right device or tool for each different learning activity. And yes, sometimes that might just be a pen and paper and sometimes it will be an iPad, a laptop, a camera or a smartphone. Whatever the tool is, as long as we have kids who are making appropriate choices about how to capture, create, publish and share their learning safely and proudly, then I am all for it!
But it's not all hearts, flowers and rainbows... there has been a lot of work involved! Three of the biggest issues that we have faced in preparation for BYOD has been around infrastructure, professional development and equity. But those huge issues are a post all in themselves so I'll tackle them next time...stay tuned!
Life is busy in a school. Anyone Everyone in education will be aware of that but slipping back into the fast current of a large busy school is a constant reminder to me that there is no job in education where you are not constantly busy. It often gets hard to focus on the big picture when we get bogged down in the small details, so often.
We started our first teacher only day this year with our principal @scottthelning sharing the video clip above. It was a good reminder about the creative journey we at Cobham Intermediate are on in preparation for a complete school re-build in 2016. Some key phrases immediately jump to the forefront when watching it...designing something requires focus, how do we want people to feel, it takes time, enhances each life it touches. These are some key drivers that should remain in mind when working through the design process and more importantly, the impact it's all having on our students.
Last year Cobham trialled a collaborative space by knocking out walls, opening/joining up the spaces between 2 old classrooms. This was the first stage of MLE (modern learning environment) prototyping. The 2 teachers in each of the 2 spaces had the opportunity to re-design their space, creating flexible learning areas to better meet the needs of the students. Students had input into this process by identifying what furniture they might need and why, where it should go and how the classes could work together and eventually become one. The teachers went through the same processes in regards to their collegial relationship as well. It was so successful that all 4 teachers insist that they could no longer go back to teaching independently in a single cell classroom. They felt the kids were getting a 2 for 1 deal by having access and support to 2 teachers at all times, built close friendships with more students and learned to work and collaborate with all types. The kids reiterated the same feelings.
So guess what, now we have 4 classroom blocks with holes in the walls. There has been no compulsory stand on this, no demand from leadership as to everyone must work in a collaborative space and by when. This has come from teachers identifying that they want to try it, in fact there was even an application process for the teachers as not all classrooms could be converted and there were more who wanted the opportunity to work collaboratively in an open space rather than those who didn't. These teachers want to take risks, do things differently, have some exciting new learning taking place and to have some epic fails. Which was awesome because they learned so much from these epic fails and shared this with their colleagues who are dipping their toes into the prototyping pool this year.
I can't wait to see who might put up their hand in the next school holiday block and ask for a chainsaw and some of our amazing builder Dad's to come in and attack their classroom next, if possible!
And to all those out there in the busy education world who are also in the prototyping phase-congratulations on taking the first step! Keep your focus, hang in there it takes time, remember you are trying to enhance each life your teaching touches!
