The theme of uLearn21 was Aotearoa e tōnui nei - Thriving Aotearoa. I am always excited about uLearn and have been attending for many years. Due to our current situation in Aotearoa, this year's conference was online. My excitement was tempered a little bit by Tāmaki Makaurau heading into Week 8 - or is it 9? - of our current lockdown. We've had four so far and this has been the longest. I'm always a bit of a Pollyanna, but this one is even getting on my nerves, so I wondered if I could be as enthusiastic as I have been in the past about the incredible learning that is uLearn. I needn't have worried. You know that saying about 'something you didn't know you needed?' I always know that this is a conference I need, but this year's one had something extra special. It came along at the right time and has given so many of us an incredible boost, along with awesome tools that we can incorporate into our practice.
Most importantly, it made us think, question, reflect, and have a driving need to take action. The four keynote speakers, alone, created so much energy that the ever-present focus on lockdown just disappeared. There was so much incredible food for thought over the two days that there will need to be many blog posts to not only reflect on what I heard but importantly, to reflect on what action I will take in my life and teaching practice to make and support changes needed - not only personally, but also in terms of Education in Aotearoa. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to learn and teach in a kura that is already so well on the way in this journey of thriving.
As a bit of a taster, here is one of the Keynote Speakers presenting at a recent TEDxWelington. Jase Te Patu has a very special way of connecting with his audience and challenging us to be more and do more.
Jase Te Patu (Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa)
TEDxWellington 2019
Having an online conference has many benefits including:
- People who dislike crowds can participate more confidently;
- If you have hearing loss, you are more than ably catered for - the sign language interpreters often stole the show!
- As all sessions are recorded, there is plenty of time to be able to go back and revisit those that really got you thinking and, importantly, to be able to watch the sessions you weren't able to attend because you were at another incredible session.
As a conference that is inclusive, this is a fantastic example.
Although the theme was #ThrivingAotearoa, I noticed another theme that seemed to run through nearly every session I attended - and also the ones I've watched since - the theme of space. Space to think, space to dream, space to be listened to (and heard), space to be individual and unique self, space to just be. This theme, particularly in the current challenging climate seems to me to be just as important as the main theme.
Perhaps it is this 'space' for what we need individually that leads to us thriving? What space do you need this Term to be able to thrive?
Today's prompt is one that could make you laugh...or cry...depending on the way you look at it and also what your background experience is. The 10 ways to annoy a gifted child are listed below. I thought about ways to reflect on these statements. The author's (Lisa Van Gemert) perspective is funny with a touch of sarcasm. But this is a serious issue and after nearly 20 years in the profession, I've decided my reflection will be a serious one - with hopefully a dash of humour and a whole lot of positivity around how we can make things better - for our gifted students and also ourselves. First of all, I was going to reflect on how I have seen every one of these statements for myself over the years - and often despaired - but it's not in my nature to be overly negative. I'd much rather reflect on what I've learned - and am learning - and create solutions for these points. Have I been guilty of some of these? You bet I have - you don't know what you don't know, or so a very wise colleague said to me one day when I was beating myself up over something. So here goes...
1. Force them to remain at the “right” grade level.
This is a curious one. Why do we do this? Often we hear it discussed that it's because students 'wouldn't cope with different-age peers' but hang on...what about the mixed levels in smaller rural schools? Students have been coping exceptionally well in these learning environments. In fact, when I was head of Year 7 in a large College a few years ago it was always quite easy to identify learners from these environments as they were often - not always - but quite often, more comfortable around people of all ages. It was what they were used to. So what's stopping us?
2. Insist that they show their work.
This is another interesting one and one that has, in the past, been dictated by people other than those at the whiteboard face of teaching and learning. The Numeracy Project was good for this. I remember during one interview where students have to explain their thinking/strategies a student asked me why I needed them to do this. My reply was the standard one about needing to know what strategies they could use so that I could find the right level for their next learning. The next statement from the student really made me think - they were one of those amazing students that just 'got' the answer. A truly gifted mathematician by every definition and description. The response - "But is the answer right?" "Yes," I replied. "Well then telling you how I got it isn't going to change it to being anything else then is it?" The student had a point.
I think with gifted students it's very different. With a student who is struggling, explaining or showing their thinking can really help them understand what they're learning and how something works. For gifted students, this just frustrates the heck out of them when they are more than ready to move on to the next challenge.
3. Force them to read along.
Fortunately, I've never done this (quickest way to kill a passion for reading) but I have seen it happen so many times! Back in about 2003, I developed a NZ version of Literature Circles. One of the guidelines was around just this. The group could only DISCUSS what their group was reading up to the part where the slowest reader in the group was up to - and being a slower reader was also a cause for celebration as they were often the ones who were also picking up the finer details as much as the gifted readers. We really pushed and valued this in my class. It was always something to be as proud of as being a gifted reader. The more capable and gifted readers could read as much as they wanted. It was all about flexibility.
You can read more about this version of Literature Circles by clicking through the presentation image.
There's differentiation and then there's real differentiation. It's not about giving more of the same to our gifted students or slightly harder work. It's about truly knowing our students and differentiating to meet their specific needs. This is becoming increasingly challenging as class numbers increase and the primary sector relies more on relief teachers to fill gaps.
Differentiation is not about putting our gifted students in the 'top group' or mixed ability groups all the time. To really meet their needs, our classrooms need to be organised to have clusters of gifted students in them so that they have the opportunity to learn and teach with like-minds. This is crucial for their social and emotional development and careful grouping - and ranges of grouping are key. Differentiation is all about differentiating the content, process and product. The toolbox link below explains qualitative differentiation for our gifted students really well.
We may have better opportunities for this with the new FLEs (or ILEs/MLEs depending on which acronym you use). However, a caution with the new environments is that they may not suit all of our gifted students - particularly the twice-exceptional (2e) students, and there has yet to be a significant amount of research conducted into their effectiveness. I'm excited about the possibilities though - but we need evidence and we also need professional learning and development (PLD) in order for these to work well as they necessitate a shift in pedagogy.
5. Make passive aggressive comments about their intelligence.
There's not much to say about this one. We've all heard one of our colleagues say this and it is not acceptable. Even as a joke. Gifted students can often be very sensitive and this is just damaging to identity and self-worth. Never start a sentence with "But you're so smart..."
6. Only allow same-age friends.
This goes back to #1 but it is also more than that. In order to be able to interact with like-minds it's crucial that students can interact with all ages. Sometimes it's often by this interaction that we as teachers can start to identify a gifted student - or very importantly - one who has been flying under the radar and not indicated a great deal of giftedness in the classroom setting. These are often our underachievers or students who may have behaviour issues. Because gifted students often develop asynchronously, it's vital to let them find their 'tribe' - people who can meet their social, emotional and intellectual needs.
7. Don’t let them linger over things that interest them.
This is such a tricky one and the cause of this happening is so often beyond the control of the student's teacher. The pressures from curriculum and assessment demands have, in the past, put enormous pressure on teachers to 'get through the work'. It's honestly crazy. The changes since I began teaching in 1999 have been enormous and the workload and expectations are sometimes out of kilter with what we know to be absolute best practice in teaching and learning. I hope we can push back on this a little now that National Standards have gone but there's going to need to be professional learning for many who trained under the NS system so that the focus goes firmly back on our fantastic - and I still believe - world-leading National Curriculum.
This curriculum allows for passions and interests to be followed. Genius Hour and Passion Projects fit so well into this. It has differentiation and personalisation at its heart. It was designed to begin with the Key Competencies and build the curriculum for our learners from there. There's always 'wriggle room' in our planning and assessment. Imagine the power of that!!
No one is perfect and most certainly I am not! I have learned so much more from failing than I ever did from getting things right - something I've had to work on being the perfectionist that I am. We need to take the negative pressure right off our able and gifted students. They are individuals and a human being first and foremost. If we don't remove that pressure or teach them how to combat serious perfectionist tendencies then we are contributing to the mental health statistics.
10. Make them repeat the same things over and over.
I will not dye my teacher's hair red.
I will not dye my teacher's hair red.
I will not dye...
Oh - not THAT kind of repetition!!
Repetition kills the joy of learning. Yes, some students need repetition to help them master new learning but not all do. We have to ask the question "What is the point in repeating something that a student already knows or has mastered?"
I think the key point in all of this - and helpful in not always annoying your students (let's be honest, we're human, we all annoy each other at some time!) is to keep them (individually and as people) at the heart of everything we do. If we do that then we can't go wrong - and we'll only annoy them a little bit.
Friday's chat on #whatisschool was all about the sweetness and light of teaching - appropriate seeing as it was #nationalgumdropday - did you know there was such a thing?? I did not, but I'm very happy that there is. (You should learn something new every day).
Back to the serious issue at hand. When was the last time you celebrated the 'sweetness and light' of being a teacher? Of teaching and learning? Take a moment to think about that one. I know I did when I saw what the topic was for today's chat. It wasn't so much the topic - it was the questions that really challenged me and then the chat itself even more so. That's the power of a PLN (Professional Learning Network). It doesn't matter whether they're face-to-face or online. As long as they push you to reflect on your practice, to really get down deep into your thinking and beliefs about what you do, then they're really worth their weight in gold.
I love my online PLNs because they include such a wide range of educators from all sectors and from all parts of New Zealand and the globe. That's real real power and real challenge if you truly want to be a reflective practitioner. I've blogged about this many times before, (A few links to previous posts are below). It's something I'm really passionate about and believe it's essential if we want to be the best we can be - for our students and also for ourselves and our colleagues.
Image source: #whatisschool Twitter chat
It really was the questions - and the discussion - that got me today though... Sweetness and light?
I love a laugh but teaching and learning is a serious business - isn't it? I wasn't too sure about this one... Then, as always the chat started and made me really question my own thinking and practice.
When was the last time we did this? Have we ever done it? Have we forgotten how to celebrate the joy of what we do?
What would happen if we stopped to take 10 minutes in each professional learning session or staff meeting to celebrate what we do? How would that change our environment? Is this something you already do? What difference would it make to you? To your teaching and learning? Could it be a way of addressing teacher burnout?
Maybe we need to sometimes just take a little time out to reflect and celebrate the sweetness and light - the gumdrops of this crazy profession.
If you'd like to read through the gumdrops of wisdom from the chat today, please click this Storify link.
#whatisschool chat can be found on Twitter at 12.00pm NZDT.
LINKS TO PREVIOUS POSTS ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE and PLNs
Day 27 of the +TeachThought blogging challenge
My first year teaching was 1999 and my weeks looked something like this...
Monday - Friday: Arrive at school by 8am, work all day, including through lunchtime, leave school around 5pm or earlier if my son had sport, have dinner, start working again, finish at about midnight, bed, then up again at 6am to start all over.
Weekends - sport with my son but I could multi-task if his games were at the school grounds and then mostly preparation for the following week with breaks to spend time with my son.
I took this career so seriously and wanted to give the best I could to my students - I still do - but I was missing out on time for me and also for my son. I was a single parent so I should have been more aware of this. I'm very lucky he's turned out to be such an amazing young man whom I'm incredibly proud of but...
This 'routine' which was exhausting, went on for many years. I started to question it, however. The more I reflected on what I was doing and the more aware I became of the lack of balance I began to realise that if I kept going at this pace then everyone would miss out...my family, my students and school and also myself. There's nothing like a reality check for you to realise that by leading a more balanced life and taking breaks and holidays, you actually become a far better teacher - and learner. A colleague taught me this when I moved from a large college back to a primary school. She is a teacher whom I admire immensely and she was managing to be a 'super teacher' in my eyes, had a fantastic family and is also a very talented artist - who was still managing to create beautiful works of art and be an amazing teacher. I paid attention and had many discussions with her. I learned so much about balance and how to get there. Not always easy when you are a perfectionist.
So how am I doing 15 years down the track from that first year? Well... I reflect on this a lot and know that I probably have a way to go on the balance aspect of my practice but I'm a work in progress and I try to participate in as many activities as I can because I know that a more balanced life makes me a better person, and a far better teacher / co-learner and leader for my staff and students.
Day 23 of the TeachThought Reflective Teacher Blog Challenge
I think there seems to be a theme running through many of my posts and it centres around blogging!
Over the years I've used many different ways to connect home and school because the learning partnership is so crucial for students' success and confidence. I've held parent information evenings for eLearning, reading, writing and maths, etc but one of the best ones was the one almost completely organised by my Year 3 students - 7 year-olds. It was an Inquiry evening built around their Inquiries for the term. A lot of food was involved and also a lot of ICT. (This was back in 2000). It was so successful and gave parents an insight into the power of Inquiry.
While I love these opportunities, I wanted something that was more regular than phone calls home or emails to share positives. These are still important to me but I needed more. This is where the blogs came in.
The classroom blog became a source of information and communication for parents with many of them saying that it was the first time they really felt in touch with what was happening in their child's learning.
With a change in giving homework to Prep for Learning, there was also a shift in parent participation. Parents were starting to get involved in the discussions that lead to 'at school' learning. Something important was happening for us and it really opened up the lines of communication. We also posted videos and links to daily learning, photos from the day and links to help parents understand what we were doing and why. This was particularly valuable in maths / numeracy which is very different in many areas and in the strategies taught from when parents were at school. It helped parents feel confident in asking questions and supporting their child's learning.
One of the most powerful ways I've involved the global community in our learning has been through ePals If you haven't looked at this yet, I highly recommend it, along with Skype In The Classroom. Both of these tools will help foster collaboration and connections and the shared learning that is created across the world is real and relevant to our students. ePals has many ideas for structured and less-structured learning and it is a completely safe environment for students and teachers to learn in.
I've written about this before but I believe in it so strongly that I'm not worried about sharing it yet again. This motto was created by my class and I a few years ago. The students were aged around 9 and 10 years-old. It's become my driving force or mantra and I absolutely believe in it. I am a learner alongside my students.
I don't have issues with sharing learning or 'retaining control'. I never expect that I should know more than my students. Yes, content knowledge is important as is curriculum and teaching knowledge but these are ever-changing things and we, like our students, need to be able to adapt, construct and reconstruct knowledge and understanding. This is why I love what I do! It's the chance and opportunity to learn something new, to be exposed to new knowledge and create knowledge in our learning communities and environments. That's what makes what we do so exciting! Trust and respect are key. I never demand respect from my students - I have to earn that too. (I do demand good manners while earning their trust, however!) It's all about mutual respect and trust and a whole lot of fun and reflection.
I'm not the 'sage on the stage' nor am I the 'guide on the side' - sometimes I'm both, a balance and mix of the best of both I hope. My students are also the sages and guides. I'm a student, facilitator and lifelong learner alongside my students. I need to know the 'right' questions to guide curiosity but sometimes the most powerful questions will come from the students themselves. I'm a reflective practitioner and I expect my students to be reflective also.
This is a true community of practice and it's not limited to a specific age group.
Thinking about my favourite part of the school day is really difficult. Generally it's any part where there are challenging discussions happening, where students have gained confidence to share their thoughts - and challenge the ideas of others. It can also be those moments where a student sees another student needing help to understand a new concept so they patiently explain and support for as long as needed alongside me to make sure that someone else can have the understanding that s/he has - that's incredibly special.
It can be those moments in the playground where a group of students encourages someone to join in. Seeing someone pulled into a new group of friends and made to feel welcome warms my heart as do the moments when you see a student stand up for someone or something they believe in. It could be that they are doing the right thing and not allowing bullying to happen in any form, or it could be when they stand up for themselves because someone has judged them in some way...and been wrong.
I love the times when we're all sharing books and can't wait to recommend them in our Literature Circles groups. To hear the excitement about books, especially from those who were not so passionate about reading in the beginning is simply magic!
Every minute with my students - even in the 'challenging' moments...these are my favourite times of the school day.
Day 10 already! I'm a little behind as yesterday I went with my partner to Government House where his father received his Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for his amazing commitment to the New Zealand Fire Service over the years. It was an incredibly special day and we all got to meet the Governor General who is the Queen's Representative in New Zealand.
So, onto the post...
5 Random Facts About Me
I can still do the splits - even at my age...
I've been told my impersonation of Frank Spencer is pretty top notch - check out the link. (Completely mad British comedy character from the 70s).
I've flown a glider.
My Year 8 students dyed my hair bright red - from blonde - a few years ago while on school camp.
I was originally going to become a doctor.
4 Things From My Bucket List
Travel to as many places around the world as I can
Run a marathon (hopefully completing my first official half in November)
Complete my Masters (2014)
Begin my Doctoral Studies - hopefully 2015
3 Things I Hope For As An Educator This Year
Returning to education in an 'official' position by the end of the year. Currently I'm completing my Masters and also working for TeachThought, etc.
That we begin to understand and see the value our teachers have for our students. The students and parents often see and understand this, but we need the wider community and the 'powers that be' to also acknowledge this.
That we can grow our TeachThought online community into something very special and form a community and supports, grows and encourages each and every member.
2 Things That Made Me Laugh Or Cry As An Educator
There are too many to name in this category. Every day there is something special. On memory that stands out though, is a very special young man I taught who went away to have surgery when he was about 7 years old. While he was being operated on he had quite a major stroke. His recovery was expected to take many months but, with his determination and also his wonderful mother's determination, he was up and walking soon after. The day he returned to school, still in his wheelchair, but got up and walked towards me will be a day I will never forget. He remains one of my greatest inspirations to this day.
1 Thing I Wish More People Knew About Me
That I am now completely deaf in my left ear and I'm not being snooty or ignoring you - I just can't hear you so you need to either be on my right side or tap me on the arm, pull my hair or something to get my attention. :-)
This is a link to previous posts on reflective teaching and the responsibility we have to our profession - and ourselves - to be practitioners who are able to reflect on what we do on a minute-by-minute and day-by-day basis to be the best we can be. The ability to be able to critique our own practice and to allow others to do the same within a safe and nurturing environment, such as Critical Friends, is one of the most valuable gifts we can give not only to ourselves but also to our students and our profession.
One of the previous posts was written at the beginning of 2013 when I was beginning my final Masters paper. I can remember being so excited to finally be completing what I had dreamed about for many years. I was also excited about keeping my class together from the previous year - something that had only been done once before at our school. I've always been excited about learning and teaching and this year was no different, even after 15 years I was still just as passionate and excited about my profession as I was the first day I walked into my own classroom which, as I recall, was most likely the first day of the December holidays!! I couldn't wait - still can't.
What happened next in 2013 was one of the steepest learning curves I've experienced to date. By July I was having major issues with my balance and I had lost most of the hearing in my left ear. I was still functioning well as a classroom teacher and had received a glowing appraisal. Whatever was going on wasn't going to stop me from meeting the needs of my students!
On August 15 I was diagnosed with a very large benign brain tumour called a Vestibular Schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma - I nicknamed this space invader 'Arthur' and was told that Arthur needed to be evicted and that this would be done within the next month. I was completely unimpressed as we'd worked so hard to keep my class together and I loved what I was doing.
To cut a long story short, Arthur was evicted on September 20 and I have made a full recovery, have run in the Auckland Round the Bays which had long been a goal, (less than 5 months after 8 hours of surgery), received a year-long extension from the fabulous team at the University of Otago so that I can finish my Masters (just about there!) and I'm training to run the Auckland half-marathon in November, raising money for CanTeen whom I'm a Senior Volunteer for. I haven't returned to full-time school as yet but am wanting to in 2015. I decided I needed to be fully fit and raring to go. I can't wait and will try to get back into a leadership role when I return as the past year has given me time to reflect on what I really want to do in education. I've met some amazing people and have found challenges in becoming part of the TeachThought team which I've loved. There have been far more positives than negatives from all of this.
What has this post got to do with teacher self-reflection? A lot as it turns out. Before diagnosis I was beginning to think that I wanted to do something outside of education. The past year has made me even more certain that education is where I belong despite the challenges we sometimes face in our profession. Ultimately it's the students who are at the centre of everything we do and I want / need to continue to be a part of that. To almost have that choice taken away from me was an incredible 'wake-up call'. I can't wait for 2015!
What a year! Over the past couple of months I’ve been reflecting on my learning journey and what my decision to take a break from teaching for most of the year to begin my Masters has meant for me. To be honest, the ‘break’ from teaching and learning didn’t really happen as I spent a large part of it still teaching and learning!! What could be better?
I finished the first term as a teacher and Deputy Principal at my previous school, which produced many mixed emotions, as I loved the school, the staff and the students. The decision to leave and study was in many ways not an easy one, but in other ways was a bit of a ‘no-brainer’. I had always wanted to challenge my own learning and see how far I could push myself. As the children in my class said to me – I was following my own advice that I was always giving to them about continuing our learning journeys throughout our lives. Very wise those 9 and 10 year olds!! In my very humble opinion, if we don’t continue to learn or are not prepared to keep learning, we are not modelling this to our students and perhaps teaching is not the vocation for us after all.
The learning journey itself has been fantastic. I’ve completed 5 of the 6 papers and have been challenged in my thinking and also in my pedagogical beliefs about best practice in teaching and learning. Some of my learning has confirmed and reinforced my pedagogy and some of it has challenged my own beliefs and thinking in a very positive way and has resulted in changes in my practice.
In the last term I was asked to relieve at a school where I was lucky enough to teach and learn with a fantastic group of 6 and 7 year olds. They were quite honestly wise beyond their years and I learned a great deal from them as they shared their thinking about the world as they see it though their eyes. They were insightful and often picked up on issues that we don’t give them credit for because they are so young. The lesson – never underestimate the knowledge and wisdom of children – no matter what their ages. I’ve always believed this and it is a belief I hold very dear in teaching and learning. Teachers don’t know everything and, if they think they do and are not prepared to learn with and through their students, then they are most definitely in the wrong vocation.
For me, this year has only reinforced these beliefs and I can’t wait to begin working with my next classes of amazing teachers and learners. Yes, we are ALL teachers and we are ALL learners in any classroom in which I find myself. My classes have always had this as their motto and it is something I will always keep in my mind as I carry on my own teaching and learning journey.
I’m now in Auckland – a rather big move from Invercargill some would say. So why has this move been important, why have I done this? I want to push my teaching and learning further, to challenge myself in a range of different teaching and learning environments. My ultimate will be to go as far as I can with eLearning however I seem to always have trouble getting away from my passion for Literacy. Not the worst problem anyone could have. Combining the two works perfectly for me as I’ve found that the pedagogy of eLearning provides the perfect platform to motivate, enthuse and excite students in their learning.
An interesting post about the growing division between early and late adopters. Is there a growing division in teaching and learning? Would love to read your thoughts.
