Learning to learn

 In the video below Guy Claxton explains that learning to learn is a deep seated attitude to your own mind. He explores the difference between expecting that our ability to learn is fixed, rather than being able to grow our capacity to learn.

As you view this clip, consider the following...

1. What are you doing to 'stretch your student's ability to think?" in your programmes?
2. What is the crucial shift he considers important for teachers to make?
3. What is the place of 'essential' or 'core' knowledge in the type of curriculum approach Guy speaks of?

Click here for Video

Digital Technologies

 Modern learning practice with digital technologies

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There are a number of ways that digital technologies are being  used to support modern learning. The links below are provided to give you the opportunity to become familiar with some of them...

• Flipped classroom - a pedagogical model in which the typical classroom-based instruction and homework elements of a programme are reversed. This Edutopia resource provides numerous links to articles and videos that illustrate how this is changing the nature of practice in traditional classrooms.

• BYOD (bring your own device) - Hundreds of schools across NZ have implemented "bring your own device" (BYOD) strategies, where students are either told or allowed to bring electronic devices such as iPads or laptops to assist their learning. The BYOD group on the VLN is a useful place to find what other teachers in NZ are doing, and to access the policies and planning ideas they are using and sharing. 

• Differentiated learning - one of key ways that digital technologies have impacted modern classrooms is the realisation of enabling learners to learn at their own pace, following their own interests, with resources pitched at their own level. This approach is broadly referred to as differentiated learning, and while the principles behind it have been around for a long time in education, digital technologies are making it actually happen in more ways than before. 

• Enabling e-Learning - The Enabling e-Learning website brings together relevant information, resources, and communities to support teachers and schools in developing their e-learning practice.

• New tools for existing activities - you don't have to look too far on the web to find a plethora of digital tools that allow students to do in new and creative ways many of the things that have been done in traditional pen and paper form. Thissimple chart illustrates the variety of tools that are available, matching them against the sorts of learning activities that will be familiar to most teachers.
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This collection of resources gives teachers a chance to explore the different ways schools are using digital technologies. 

Student Engagement

We have been talking about student engagement and challenging ourselves to really think about whether our students are engaged in their learning. It is a timely module, as we begin to ask ourselves what teaching and learning will look like at 2015. The table below provides great discussion starters.

Relevance	Address the “Why should I do this?” question. Learners will engage more readily when the purpose and application of a problem has relevance to them and their context.
Challenge	There needs to be a genuine level of challenge in the learning activity - enough to 'stretch' the learner(s) and force them to engage cognitively. This is covered in more detail further down.
Choice	By this we mean real choice not pseudo choice. This means making sure the choices contribute to the quality of the task. Choices include the nature of the activity, who they work with, how they will present their work etc.
Contribution	It is often said that modern learners must shift from being consumers to being contributors - this is another way of describing the need to develop a culture of participation in all aspects of our teaching and learning.

Private Vs Collaborative Teaching Practice

Further ideas about de-privatising teacher practice. Great tool for self and whole staff reflection...

The grid below (which is taken from the Educational Leaders website where the video comes from) explores the differences between collaborative and private teacher practice.

In “private” practice teachers…	In collaborative practice teachers…
Are isolated in individual classrooms and work alone	Are in frequent contact with other teachers
Determine their own goals and expectations for student learning	Commit to shared goals and expectations for student learning
Have sole responsibility for the learning and behaviour of the students they teach	Share responsibility for the learning and behaviour of all students in the school
Do not feel at ease having other teachers observe their teaching or sharing their student work with other teachers	Have a shared expectation and structured time to observe and reflect on each others’ teaching
Do not have access to offer or receive feedback from peers	Act as critical friends to improve practice
Plan and devise their programmes on their own	Jointly share with others the challenge of creating programmes that meet the needs of students
May have friendly relationships with others, but do not have conversations that can impact on the teaching of others	Have purposeful conversations such as creating common assessments, discussing and moderation student work, analysing student data
Are not encouraged to share dissenting views about contentious issues	Disagreements are expected and teachers learn to positively address differences of opinion

How teaching is changing?

Read this article by Terry Heick about how teaching is changing

This article made me thing about what is changing in the way we approach our job as teachers. 

What role(s) do we need to prepare ourselves to play? What practices do we need to 'let go of'? 

There are two ideas that are important in both what people are talking about and evident in successful modern learning environments.

1. The first is the notion that teaching is now a de-privatised activity. As teachers we now need to understand the level of transparency required in all we are doing. 
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3. The second is the fact that teaching has moved from being an essential individualistic activity, to one that his highly collaborative.

How do we build these two concepts into Tuakau School next year??????

What do we think makes a great teacher?

We had to write definitions of what makes a great teacher.

Here are our definitions.

Tina

Great teachers spend time building

relationships with students and making connections to their lives.

Great teachers find different ways to engage students and create

motivating learning opportunities.

Vanessa

Great teachers celebrate and nurture the unique abilities of all students. The best teachers recognise that they are learners - they must constantly reflect, change, take risks and grow.

What makes great teacher great?

What makes great teachers great?

I watched this video and was reflecting on...

• What makes a great teacher?
• What are the characteristics of a great teacher?
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Research out of the US indicates there are characteristics that can predict whether a teacher will be a great teacher before they even get in the classroom. And that's important when other studies show the teacher is one of the most crucial factors in your child's school success. A poor teacher can set your child back forever; a great teacher inspires them forever. The panel interviewed in the video above talk about the difference between the good and great teachers out there.

John Hatties metacognitive study on effect size says that the teacher has one of the most major effect size.  (see 4. Quality teaching)

Rank	Influence	Studies	Effects	ES
1	Self-report grades	209	305	1.44
2	Absence of disruptive students	140	315	.86
3	Classroom behavioural	160	942	.80
4	Quality of teaching	141	195	.77
5	Reciprocal teaching	38	53	.74
6	Prior achievement	3387	8758	.73
7	Teacher-student relationships	229	1450	.72
8	Feedback	1276	1928	.72
9	Providing formative evaluation to teachers	21	21	.70
10	Creativity programs	658	814	.70