Play,PassionandPurpose TonyWagnerTEDxNY

10/15/2013 0Comments

In2007,inhisbookTheGlobalAchievementGap,TonyWagneroutlinedsevenskillsthat studentsneedtomasterinordertoflourishinthe21stcentury. 1.Criticalthinkingandproblemsolving 2.Collaborationacrossnetworksandleadingbyinfluence 3.Agilityandadaptability 4.Initiativeandentrepreneurship 5.Effectiveoralandwrittencommunication 6.Accessingandanalysinginformation 7.Curiosityandimagination Sincethen,theeconomyhascollapsedandunemploymenthassoared.Herealisedthatin suchacontext,whereemploymentdoesnotexistinthesamewayanymore,theskillshehad outlinedwerenotenough.Arguingthattheeconomyisbasedonamodelthatisunsustainable environmentally,economicallyorspiritually,hestartedtolookforwhatmorewasneeded. Andhefoundtheansweritininnovation.Producingmorebetterideasthatrespondtomore anddifferentproblems. However,heargues,thecultureofschoolingaswehavegrownupwithisradicallyatodds withthecultureoflearningthatproducesinnovatorsin5essentialrespects.

1.Celebratingindividualachievementinnovationisateamsport 2.Specialisationsubjectareasinnovationisinter/transdisciplinaryandaboutproblem basedlearning 3.Riskaversionandpenalisingfailurestudentsandteachersdiscouragedfromrisktaking. Innovationisabouttakingrisksandlearningfrommistakes. 4.Passiveconsumptioninnovationisaboutactivecreation. 5.Relyonextrinsicrewardsformotivationinnovationaboutintrinsicmotivationmakinga differenceintheworld. Patterninbehaviourofthosecreatinginnovationinyoungpeople:PLAYTOPASSIONTO PURPOSE. Exploratoryplay. Findandpursuepassion. Developpurpose. Clearmessagegivebackmakeadifference.

Sowhatdoesthismeanforourworkaseducators.Whatcaneachoneofusdo? Wehavetobeinnovators.Wehavetomodelthevaluesandbehavioursofinnovation. Wehavetobewillingtotakerisksandmakemistakes. Wehavetoworkmorecollaborativelywithourcolleagues

Aboveall,weneedthinkaboutwhereandhowweareencouragingtheplay,thepassionand thepurposeineverythingwedowithyoungpeople.
AddComment

Whatkindofteacherareyou?
08/26/2013 0Comments

Yesterday,Iwasreadinganarticleby,ChristopherDay,whoseworkIadmirealot,about teacherqualityandhowitrelatesnotonlytotheirknowledgeandskills,buttotheirsenseof

identityandthepassiontheybringtotheirwork.Effectiveteachersdon'tonlyknowtheir subjectbuthaveadeepsenseofselfandanabilitytounderstandtheemotionsofthemselves andothers.Hispointwasthateducationpolicyandteachertraininglargelyignoresthese factors,buttobetrulyeffectiveandsustainthateffectivenessovertime,teachersneedtobe abletounderstand,createandmaintainapositivesenseofpersonalandprofessionalidentity. Then,thismorning,thisblogentryturnedupinmyinbox.Icouldn'thaveexpresseditbetter myself(althoughIreallyshouldtry,giventhatitissoimportanttoknowtheanswertothe questionwhatkindofteacherareyou? "Whatkindofteacherareyou?"Aparentwhosechildwillbeinmyclassthisyearaskedme thatafewdaysago.Itwasanhonestquestion,andoneI'veansweredbefore,butthistimeI wasthrownforabitofaloop.Blameitonlackofcoffeeortoomanythingsontheschedulefor theday,butafterwardsIfeltmyanswersoundedlikegibberish.So,withafewhoursdistance andanothercaffeinatedsoda,here'stheanswerIwishIhadgiven: IamaResponsiveClassroomteacher.Ibelieveeverychildcansucceedinacademicsand behavior,butIdonotassumethattheyalreadyknowhow.Iteachinwaysthathelpthem developcooperation,assertion,responsibility,empathy,andselfcontrol.Iguidestudentsto learntoselfmonitortheirbehaviors,andtounderstandthattheiractions,words,andchoices affectothersaswellasthemselves.Ourclassroomcommunityisbuiltgraduallyontrust,with acommonlanguage,throughrulesthatwecreatetogether,andbypracticingproceduresuntil theybecomenearlyautomatic.Iuselogicalconsequencesandotherresponsesto misbehaviortohelpstudentslearntoselfregulate. IamaResponsiveClassroomteacher.IbelievethewordsIusemyteacherlanguagecan beavaluabletoolforconveyingtochildrenandparentsthateachchildisunique,important, andabletomakeprogress.IbelievethewayIcommunicatecansupportorpoisona classroom,andthatmystudentsarelistening,ALLthetime.SoIspeaktostudentsinways thathelpthemreflectonhowtheyaredoingwithallsortsofchoices,bothacademicand social.Ialsouseteacherlanguagetoreinforcewhentheyaredoingthingscorrectly,toremind whenthingsaregettingoffcourseormightbetricky,andtostopandredirectmisbehaviors beforesituationsgetoutofcontrol.

IamaResponsiveClassroomteacher.Iusetheresources,materials,andeducational standardsIhavetoworkwithtoengagemystudentsinreallearning.Ibelievethatchildren wanttolearn,andthatit'smotivatingwhenclassmatesandtheteacherareexcitedabout learning,too.Whetherwearepracticingspellingwords,readingtoapartner,findingwaysto make10,orhypothesizingaboutwhyappleslicesweighlesseachdayweleavethemoutin theair,IstrivetomakelearningmeaningfulforthechildrenIteach. IamaResponsiveClassroomteacher.Iusethepowerofanapproachtoteachingthatbuilds positivecommunity,resultsineffectivemanagement,andleadstoengagingacademics,so thatmystudentscanachievetheirhopesanddreamsforfirstgradeandbeyond.

AddComment

Findingawaytoswitchoff
08/25/2013 0Comments

IfIhadapoundforeverytimesomeonehadrespondedtometellingthemIamateacherby saying'ohnicelife,finishatthreeandlongholidays',Icouldprobablyaffordtogiveup teaching.Iusedtotryandcorrectthembyexplainingtherealityofmyexperienceasateacher (especiallyinmyfirstyearofteachingthelonghours,theneverendingmarking,the meetings,thestress,thefeareachdaythatyouweren'tquitewellenoughpreparedtomake thisthedaycountforallthosekidsyouwereresponsiblefor,thefeelingoffailureattheendof thedaythatyouhadfailedtoengageeveryone,theknowledgethatyouwereseveralweeks behindonmarkingalreadyandtherewouldbeanotherloadcreatedthenextday).While teachinghasundoubtedlycausedmeanxietyandstressovertheyears,Ihaveneverbeen abletoleaveit,forthebeliefthatisthemostworthwhilethingIcouldeverfindtodoonthis planet,andIhaveevenlearnedtorelaxandenjoyitmostofthetime. Learningtoswitchoffhasbeenakeypartofthatinthelasttwoyears,Ihavetakenup running,meditating,singingandacting.Committingtoactivitiesthatmeanyoucan'tbe worryingabouthowtohelpJimmywritebetter,orhowtohelpBethanstopactingoutandstart learning,etcistheonlyreallywaytostopthinkingaboutwhatyoudo.

AddComment

Mindfulnessistheanswer...?
05/25/2013 0Comments

Idon'tclaimtobeanexpert,butevenasanoviceinthephilosophyofmindfulness,Icansee howthestrategiesinherenttoleadingamindfullifemighthelpchildrencopewiththe multitaskingthatisdemandedoftheminlifetoday.Weneedtobetalkingtochildrenabout howtodealwiththesedistractions/stimulationsintheirlivessotheyremainpositive opportunitiesratherthanharminvasions.

AddComment

Teaching(andlearning)howto befocused
05/25/2013 0Comments

Inamultimediafreneticera,itcanbecomeincreasinglydifficulttofocus.Iknowthisfrommy ownstudying.Whiletheinternetandonlinejournalsprovideaccesstoawealthofinformation, IfindIhavesomedayswhereallIdoisdownloadmorearticlestoreadoropenmoretabs, withouteveractuallystoppingtoreadtheinformationIamaccessing.EvenwhenIdoread them,IfindithardtoconcentrateasIamthinkingofalltheotherthingsIwanttoreadtoo.The abilitytofocusissometimesonethataludesme. Yetasaneducator,Iknowtheimportanceofteachingchildrenhowtoprioritise.Childrenare livinginhomeswheretherearetelevisionsinseveralrooms(includingbedrooms),everyone hasmobilephones,laptops/tablets(withgaming)aboundandinternet(withitssocial networking)is24/7.Yetthecostsofmultitaskingaregreat,asresearchshows.First,tasks takelongertocomplete.Second,workingonseveraltasksatoncecausesmentalfatigueand

third,learningisimpairedbymultitasking,duetoreducedprocessingandstorage.
AddComment

The7disciplinesfor strengtheninginstruction
05/06/2013 0Comments

TonyWagnerarguesthattherealchallengeinschoolstodayisnotjusttogetmorestudents topassmoretests,buttocreatenewknowledgeabouthowtoimprovethelevelofinstruction forallstudents.Heoutlines7keyprinciples,whichshouldbeimplementedasapackagetobe trulyeffective. 1. Theschoolcreatesanunderstandingandasenseofurgencyamongteachersandthe communityforthenecessityofimprovingallstudents'learningandregularlyreportson progress. 2. Thereisawidelysharedvisionofwhatgoodteachingis,whichisfocusedonrigorous expectations,thequalityofstudentengagement,andeffectivestrategiesfor personalisinglearningforallstudents. 3. Alladultmeetingsareaboutinstructionandaremodelsofgoodteachingpractice. 4. Therearewelldefinedstandardsandperformanceassessmentsforstudentworkat allgradelevels.Bothteachersandstudentsunderstandwhatqualityworklookslike, andthereisconsistencyinstandardsofassessment. 5. Supervisionisfrequent,rigorous,andentirelyfocusedontheimprovementof instruction.Itisdonebysomeonewhoknowswhatgoodinstructionlookslike. 6. Professionaldevelopmentisprimarilyinternal,intensive,collaborativeand jobembedded,andisdesignedandledbyeducatorswhomodelthebestteaching andlearningpractices. 7. Dataareuseddiagnosticallyatfrequentintervalsbyteamsofteacherstoassesseach student'slearningandtoidentifythemosteffectiveteachingpractices.Thereistime builtintoschedulesforthissharedwork. Therealconversationthatneedstobehadamongquestionsshouldbearoundquestions suchasWhatdoesgoodteachinglooklike?Howdowecreatesystemsofschoolswhere everyteacherhastheopportunityandthesupportneededforcontinuedimprovement.

AddComment

Iflearningisattheheartofit all...
05/02/2013 0Comments

...howdoyouknowwhatlearningistakingplace? Recently,ourschoolhasbeenfocusingonbecomingmorelearningaware.How?Well,weve startedinthreeways. First,wediscussedwhatlearningisaharderquestionthatitmightseem.Butwithoutaclear ideaofthis,oratleastanengagementwithitinourownminds,howcanteachersknowwhat theyaretryingtodoonadailybasis?Wealsothoughtaboutthebenefitsofmakingchildren moreawareofwhattheywerelearningand,moreimportantly,why.Theseincludedimproved levelsofengagement,enhancedmetacognitiveskills,developingasenseofresponsibilityand independenceandhelpingthemfindpurpose,withoutwhich,letsfaceit,whywouldanyofus doanything. Nextwedeveloped6essentialquestionswhichwecoulduseintheclassroomstoengage childrenintheprocessofthinkingabouttheirlearning(actuallywecameupwithover20,but agreedon6thatwouldbeusedinALLclassroomssothattheybecamesecondnaturetothe children).Andwebrainstormedideasforhowthesequestionscouldbecomepartofourdaily practice...plenaryballspostersluckydipsconversationetc. Oursecondstepformakinglearningmoreexplicitwastolookatourdisplays.Displays matter.Why?Forstudents,theyareavisiblerecognitionoftheirlearningtheirworkisworthy ofalargeraudience.Forthewiderschoolcommunity,displaysinandouttheclassroomsend apowerfulmessageaboutschoolcultureandthevalueitplacesonlearning.Finally,learning displayscandriveonthelearningprocess,byprovidinglearnerswithremindersofwhat theyvealreadylearntandbygettingthemtoengagewithit,whichprovidedifferentwaysof

challengingstudents. Successfulandmeaningfuldisplayreflectstheethosofaschool,andanexciting, learningfocusedenvironmentmakesforexcitedlearners.Anenvironmentthatmirrorsrespect andcaremakeslearnersfeelcaredforandrespectedbytheplaceinwhichtheylearn.This positivelyimpactsonhowwellstudentslearn,howhappytheyareastheylearnandthe respectandcarewithwhichtheytreattheirschoolthesameappliestostaff..Ifwecare aboutourschoolenvironmentandourclassrooms,itshowswecareaboutourstudents,our colleaguesandourschools. Whiletherearemanylovelydisplaysinourschoolandthisissomethingthathasimproveda lotinthelastyear,whenwereflectedonhowwelltheyhighlightlearning,werealisedwecould makesomeimprovements,likeusingmorelearnercentredthatdrawsattentiontothelearning thathastakenplaceincludingquestionstothedisplaysthathelpengagethelearnersinprior orfurtherlearningtomakeanefforttorefertodisplaysinteachingandtokeepchanging them(eveninsmallways)sothatstudentskeepnoticingthem. Finally,wedecidedtotriallearningjournals.Thisisafledglingidearightnow.Whileacommon practiseinmanyschools,ourschoolhasnotusedthembeforeandneitherhavemostofour teachers.Thegoalsaretobuildindedicatedtimetothetimetable,duringwhichchildrenhave theopportunitytoreflect,share,questionandevaluatetheirlearning,inordertomake encourageasenseofresponsibility,independenceandmotivationaroundtheirlearning,while alsoencouragingcreativityandbuildingclearcommunicationsskills. Whilesometeacherswereconcernedthatsuchskillswouldbebeyondthechildrenweteach, especiallyasitisnotKhmerculturetoengageinthistypeofreflectionathome,mostteacher wereexcited.Andiftheresonethingaboutmetheyknow,itsthatIhavethehighest expectationsofwhatourstudents(andourteachers)canachieve,andIwillnotgiveupon thoseuntilIhavetriedandtriedandtriedagain. Watchthisspace.
AddComment

FocusonLearning
05/02/2013 0Comments

Ourstafftrainingthismonthlookedatwaysinwhichwecouldmakeourclassroomsmore learningfocused,wherethefocusisonwhatthechildrenlearn,notonwhattheteacher teaches. Webeganbyaskingourselves4keyquestions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Whatislearning? Whatdoesitmeantobealearningfocusedschool? Howcanweidentifythelearningthatistakingplace? Howcanwehelpchildrenunderstandwhatismeantbylearning?

Wewerenthopingtonailtheanswerstothesequestionsinthissession,buttointroduce themintooutmindsetsandbeawareoftheminourreflections. Wethenchosethreestrategies,drawnfromresearchintoeffectiveschooling,touseinour classrooms. Firstwecollaborativelydeveloped6keyquestionsaboutlearningthatwecoulduseinthe classroomtogetthechildrenthinkingmoreabouttheirownlearning.Webrainstormedtimes andwayswecouldintegratethesequestionsintodailyclassroompractice,suchasplenary balls,pickingquestionsfromahat,issuingquestionsatthedoorasstudentlefttheclass,etc. Next,wethoughtabouthowwecouldmakeourdisplaysmorelearningfocused.Whileour schoolhasdevelopedthequalityandquantityofdisplaysoverthelastyear,thereisoftenlittle reflectionofhowthedisplayslinktochildrenslearning.Weagreedwecouldremedythisby addingdescriptions/captionstothedisplaysthathighlightedthelearningthathadtakenplace usingquestionstoengagechildreninthedisplaysandcontinuetheirlearningandweeven discussedwhereweshouldplacethedisplayssothattheyengagedthechildrenattheright timeswithoutdistractingthematothers. Finally,weplannedtheintroductionoflearningjournals,whichwewillusetohelpchildren engagewithandreflectontheirlearning.

Atournexttraininginamonth,wewilldiscusshoweachoftheseisgoingandifthereneedto beanychangesmade.
AddComment

SchoolwideLearningGoals turningtheoryintopractice
05/02/2013 0Comments

Afterdiscussioninlastmonthstraining(IntroductiontoAccreditation),itbecameclearthat, whilestaffwereawareofandapprovedofourschoolwidelearninggoals,asaschoolweare currentlystrugglingtomakethemmorethansentencesonpaper.Aftertrainingatthe beginningoftheyear,someteachershaddevelopeddisplaysthatreflectedthesegoalsand wehaddevelopedpupilstatementsthatweredisplayedinbothEnglishandCambodianinthe schoolhallway.However,whenwereflected,wefeltthatmostpupilswereprobablyunaware ofthemandthatwhileourschoolandclassroompracticesdidprovidesomeopportunityfor studentstodeveloptowardsthosegoals,itwasmorebychanceordefaultthanbydesignor intentionality. Weagreedonthreeactionstotryandimprovethis. 1.Afterreviewingthepupilstatements,itwasdecidedthattheyshouldbemadeintocolourful postersthatshouldbedisplayedinallclassrooms,andaroundtheschoolgrounds.We decidedtousestatementsthatweresuitableforGrades16,sothatacommonvocabulary wouldbeembeddedinthechildrenslanguagesurroundingtheschoolspersonal,socialand emotionallearninggoals,althoughsomeadaptationsweremadetouseintheKindergarden classrooms. 2.Teacherswillbemorereflectiveabouthowtheyareprovidingopportunitiesforpupilsto worktowardsthepersonallearninggoalsacrossthecurriculum.Aswellasplanningactivities, forexample,thathelpthemmeettheMathlearninggoalsforGradeteacherswillchoosea rangeofactivitiesthatwillprovideopportunitiesforchildrentoworktowardstheschoolwide

learninggoals. 3.Teacherswillstarttolookforevidenceinchildrensworkandactionstoshowhowchildren aredevelopingtowards/meetingthosegoals.Initiallythiswillbejusttoimprovetheirown awarenessandunderstandingofwhattheyneedtodotofacilitatesuchdevelopmentinthe children,butthegoalwillbetoinvolvechildreninbeingabletotakeresponsibilityfortheirown developmenttoo. Asalways,thechallengewillbefollowingthroughontheseactionsandfindingwaystoembed theminschoolpractice.Butsustainingchangeisatopicworthyofitsownpost.

AddComment

Gettingtotheheartofit: teachingorteachingtolearn?
05/02/2013 0Comments