Post on 18-Dec-2015
What you can expect today!!
•A good time!!
•Lots of ideas on developing some inspiring classrooms
•Various challenges to your own thinking
What about your own engagement here today?
Use the Rubrics Key to assess the quality of your own engagement in this workshop
Can you clarify some descriptors for
Slack; and
Sensational
The Rubrics Key
Poor effort Sensational
EnthusiasmYawning
Not taking part
Fully focused
Contributing lots of ideas
Quality of thinking
No meta-application
Always analysing
how to use ideas
Living A Full Life• Six domains to human existence?
• Physical / Social / Mental / Financial / Professional / Spiritual
• Four steps to attaining quality practice
• What I presently do well
• What I’d love to take further
• First steps
• Success Indicators
2nd Millenium Living 3rd Millenium Living
A Job
Focus on time
Work
Focus on energy
Avoid stress Seek stress
Focus on problems Focus on solutions
‘Nice’ culture Demanding culture
One-way learningTwo-way / three-way
....learning
Neo-millenial classrooms will require....
•A massive rethink on the application of neuroscience research and new learning perspectives (eg with theories such as ‘connectivism’)
•An alignment with the Web 2.0 environment (collaboration collaboration collaboration)
•Adults (and students) who can engage in substantive high trust dialogue and ongoing learning
•High energy and inspiration
Theories on thinking and learning??
Behaviourism
Constructivism
Cognitivism
Connectivism (connectivism.ca)
Right here and now...
10-year-old children set up businesses online
8-year-old Chinese children develop World Of Warcraft avatars, and then sell them online
Quadraplegics move their wheelchairs with their own thinking
Toyota have spent over $1 million on advertising in Second Life
Making Connections•Web 1.0 (one-way)
•Internet banking
•Most applications of Google and Amazon
•Web 2.0 (two-way)
•YouTube
•Blogs / wikis
Deeper applications of technology
Web 1.0• Net banking• Most search engines• Amazon• Wikipedia
Web 2.0•YouTube•MySpace• Facebook
Web 3.0• Avatar synchronisation• Ubiquitous computing eg wearable technology
Web 4.0• Everyday CyberLife• Download of entity onto Web2030• Human / robot interface• Walking brains
Team Learning??
oUse collaborative learning strategies as often as possible (NB be aware of the difference between ‘groupwork’ and ‘cooperative learning’)
oGenerate a supportive classroom environment
oExplicitly teach social skills eg listening; encouraging
Generating a supportive c’room environment
• Respect respect respect
• Help students to know more about each other
• Some fun activities:
• Social Venn diagrams
• This Is My Life
• 2 truths and 1 outrageous lie
Learning a social skill
• 1. Draw up a T-Chart (Looks like / Sounds like), and write the name of the skill at the top eg Top Listening
• 2. Rolemodel the skill to the group
• 3. Clarify the specifics of the skill with the T-Chart
• 4. Practise it immediately
4 hot classroom hints on student ‘engagement’
• 1. Focus on what is presently working; and do more of it!!
• 2. Consistently offer the most engaging possible curriculum and pedagogy
• 3. Analyse the research on Net Gen; and then create learning experiences that reflect these findings
• 4. Integrate the use of computer games / simulations / contemporary ICT into curriculum delivery at every opportunity
Some upfront points on ‘engagement’
• Are we talking about a 20th C or a 21st C response to the ‘issue’ of student engagement?
• What IS engagement? How do you know when a student is engaged?
• How engaged are YOU every day? (NB beware the concept of Shadow Self)
Some critical points
Schools with good teacher-student relationships, and with high expectations for student success, have more engaged students
Technology by itself is not sufficient; the interest level of the task also matters
One of the most important factors is that students believe they can succeed
Teach them how to self-talk
Baby Boomers Generation X Net Generation
Birth Dates 1946–1964 1965–1982 1982–1995
Description Me generationLatchkey
generationMillennials
AttributesOptimistic
WorkaholicIndependent
SkepticalHopeful
Determined
LikesResponsibility
Work ethicCan-do attitude
FreedomMultitasking
Work-life balance
Public activismLatest technology
Parents
DislikesLaziness
Turning 50Red tape
HypeAnything slow
Negativity
Chris Dede (Harvard Uni)
Implications for Net Gen classrooms
•Inject some emotion into the learning
•Use visual reinforcement at every opportunity
•Give students time to process the learning
•Heighten the intellectual rigour
The ultimate ‘engagement’?
• A fantastic unit of work!!
• An exemplar unit could include:
• 1. Authentic learning projects (or at least, an essential question)
• 2. Core understandings
• 3. HOT questions
• 4. Engaging classroom strategies
1. Authentic learning projects
• ICT: Internet café in aged care home
• Science: School rubbish analysis
• Math: Analysing how a bicycle really works
• Integrative: Developing a Brain Policy for your school
• Social Science: Travel Buddies
• English: Developing podcasts about a novel study
• ICT: Digital folios
The need for 21st century solutions to??
• The influence of robotics?
• Applications of nanotechnology?
• Global warming?
• Active citizenship and local contribution?
• Specific global issues eg land mines? Access to drinking water?
2. Core Understandings
• What really do you want your students to understand by the end of the unit?
• ie KidSpeak for objectives
• Provide explicit displays of these Core Understandings (eg with prominent wall displays)
3. HOT questions• Eg ICT: Why are at least 90% of websites around
the world written in English??
• Eg Minibeasts: How do wings work?
• Eg Local Study: Who really is the most influential person in our area? Why?
• Eg Design: Which toy would choose you?
• Eg Music: Why do most foreign countries write their hit songs in English?
• Eg Social Science: Was exploration the 19th century version of extreme sport?
Developing HOT questions• Choose a unit or area of study
• Brainstorm a key question about the unit that would even ‘stretch’ an adult
• It must be a cognitive challenge
• It must be relevant to the topic
• It must be (one of) the most important possible question(s) about this topic
• Then reframe it to suit the age group
• Use this process 100s of times every week
Curriculum-framing questions
• A unit on ‘Food For Thought’:
• Essential QuestionHow can I stay healthy?
• Unit QuestionsHow do my eating habits affect my health and growth? How do I plan a healthy, nutritious diet? What factors influence my food choices?
• Content QuestionsWhat is the food pyramid?What is the right number of calories for me?
More Curriculum-Framing Questions
• • Essential Question How does literature help us better understand ourselves?
• • Unit QuestionHow does Shakespeare still speak to a 21st century audience?
• • Content Questions* Who are the characters in Romeo and Juliet, and how do they contribute to the deaths in the play?* What is imagery, and what are some examples of how Shakespeare uses imagery in Romeo and Juliet to present a compelling and powerful message?* What are the themes and issues in Romeo and Juliet that are relevant to today?
4. Engaging strategies
• An explicit focus on thinking strategies such as
– Graphic organisers
– Decision matrices
– Rubrics
• A consistent use of team learning strategies eg
– Expert Jigsaw
– Paired Interviews
– Academic Controversy
– Doughnut
Adult brains love to be inspired and challenged
•We need a life and learning ethic, not a work ethic
•Gen Y teachers: “How can you help me to discover more about myself while I’m working here?”
•High energy schools attract high achieving teachers
• It’s not hard work that tires us out.
• It’s negative work that tires us out.
•People make energy choices in their lives:
•Energy creators
•Energy neutrals
•Energy consumers(Brighouse and Woods; cited in Fullan, 2005)
Quality schools
have high energy
Energy Creators
•Are enthusiastic and always positive
•Use critical thinking, creativity and imagination
•Stimulate and spark others
•Practise leadership at all levels
•Are able and willing to scrutinise their practice
•Wish to improve on their previous best
Energy neutrals•Competent sound practitioners
•Willing to address the task
•Good at ‘maintenance’
•Sometimes uncomfortable accepting examination of their practice by others
•Capable of improving on their previous best
Energy consumers
•Have a negative view of the world
•Resent change and practice blocking strategies
•Use other people’s time excessively
•Not feel good about themselves
•Be able and unwilling to critically examine their teaching practice
• Appear not to want to improve on their best
HIGH ENERGY
Mental• Consistent focus
on optimistic thoughts
• Meditative practices
Physical• Nutritional food•Sufficient water
• Regular exercise
Spiritual• Having a deep purpose for your life• Believing in something greater than yourself• Experiencing the flow of achievement, every day
Your own energy?
•Q. Is it possible to be inspiring all of the time?
•Q. If the answer is NO, is it simply because we are resigned to our past neural pathways?
•Q. Which of the 3 energy groups are you in right now?
Strategies for supporting your learning?
• Learning Circles
• Blogs, chatrooms
• Earlybird breakfasts
• Reflective journals
• Professional Buddy systems
• Learning Expos• Teacher-led PL• Rituals for sharing of
great practice• Conferences (virtual,
real)• Credit card systems• ??????????
From here.....From here.....• 1. What do you need to achieve?
• 2. What is happening now?
• 3. What could you do?
• 4. What will you do?
• 5. How and when will you do it?
• 6. How will you sustain success? • From “The Leadership Coaching Guide”
After today??• Debrief on this workshop content with at least
one other person by next Friday
• Personally revisit this info
– One day from now
– One week from now
• Include something (anything!!) new in your daily life for the next two weeks. Use a brightly coloured pen to write these ideas / changes in your diary.
• Find a life coach
Make a differenceQ. How inspired are you by education?
The world needs you to know that you make a difference
It gives you a purpose for your work
Remember the Ripple Effect
The power of everyday actions
Everyone?? Every One !!