While in the process of starting a new learning community, reflection has been key.
But, how do you develop this practice in teachers, parents and students?
Why should we reflect and through what lens?
What part do the key stakeholders in this play? i.e the students
How does it impact on practice and outcomes? Does it?
When thinking about developing a learning community based on solid purposeful reflection, I was determined to make it impact on practice the most. I often think the practice link is the one missing from the equation, pedagogy can get in the way! People talk MLE/MLP etc but not at the grassroots level of learning and teaching. For me the movement needs to become about practice and the more reflective and sharing of it we are, the more powerful it becomes.
At a recent GPC we discussed "the art of teaching" and how this needs to be a focus. In Maurie's latest blog he references it as well with the strong push of just do it! I fully agree, but what do you "Just Do?"
You need a lens to think reflectively through. In a recent post I wrote about the importance of learning values, this to me is a good lens to look through when reflecting.
It works because you can target your reflection to an area, that as a team you have co-constructed the meaning of. There is a common understanding of the why, how, what. It means you can reflect, celebrate and question through a shared understanding.
We reflect using this lens around everything we do, whether it's questioning student engagement, asking students for feedback around our practice, reflecting on the learning design process, everything!
The framework allows staff to feel safe and ok about being challenged as it's through a lens we all own. They are now open to more critical conversations and challenge and can share celebrations in a concise way.
Another area that we have begun to reflect on is our essence of learning statements. We have asked ourselves is this the essence of learning are we living it out. Great conversations around the "why are we doing things" have continued because of this. Is the practice we are using actually getting us to the essence of learning and the outcomes we expect.
Honesty, courage, questions, growth mindset are keys to this reflective equation. Building staff capacity to see how it can increase student learning and engagement, as well as growing the staff as a learner.
An interesting aside is that we are seeing more and more that unless you engage with all of the learning values and link them, learning/reflection/design isn't as powerful.
Monday, 26 January 2015
Thursday, 11 September 2014
How important is knowing the learner?
Last Thursday I had the privilege of heading to Samoa with a combined group of students from Hobsonville Point Primary and Secondary.
Sharyn and Sarah had done a huge amount of work with the 19 students raising funds for both the school we were visiting and working with, as well as with for the students expenses. The amount of planning and support for the trip from these two was amazing.
My role in the process was not very big at all, so heading to the airport on Thursday I was interested to see what would be happening.
19 students greeted me in matching self designed shirts excited and nervous at the same time. I knew the students by name at least, some a little more, I looked forward to getting to know them over the next 5 days.
What happened over the next 5 days was not a surprise but reinforced the idea of authentic learning. These students travelling away without devices, without make-up to home stay with strangers showed massive amounts of resilience and self management. The dispositional curriculums within both schools were being lived out in ways we could never recreate at school. They learnt a lot about themselves through the actions of their hosts and the way they lived. The students were moved that their teaching inspired these amazing kids from the school we worked with. The developed an understanding of what their life is really like compared to others.
The students showed collaborative skills, caring and support for one and other and were very warm and demanding of each other and themselves.
This trip made me incredibly proud to be involved with these schools. The students were amazing, the learning they were getting was something I wish all students could get. The experiences both challenging and exciting were embraced with open arms, even to the the point of not squealing at giant cockroaches.
When I think about our learning values at HPPS all were present in this journey for the students. The only downside was only staying half the time. I am sure Maurie will also get as much out of it as I did.
I came away knowing more than their names, I came away knowing them as learners!
Sharyn and Sarah had done a huge amount of work with the 19 students raising funds for both the school we were visiting and working with, as well as with for the students expenses. The amount of planning and support for the trip from these two was amazing.
My role in the process was not very big at all, so heading to the airport on Thursday I was interested to see what would be happening.
19 students greeted me in matching self designed shirts excited and nervous at the same time. I knew the students by name at least, some a little more, I looked forward to getting to know them over the next 5 days.
What happened over the next 5 days was not a surprise but reinforced the idea of authentic learning. These students travelling away without devices, without make-up to home stay with strangers showed massive amounts of resilience and self management. The dispositional curriculums within both schools were being lived out in ways we could never recreate at school. They learnt a lot about themselves through the actions of their hosts and the way they lived. The students were moved that their teaching inspired these amazing kids from the school we worked with. The developed an understanding of what their life is really like compared to others.
The students showed collaborative skills, caring and support for one and other and were very warm and demanding of each other and themselves.
This trip made me incredibly proud to be involved with these schools. The students were amazing, the learning they were getting was something I wish all students could get. The experiences both challenging and exciting were embraced with open arms, even to the the point of not squealing at giant cockroaches.
When I think about our learning values at HPPS all were present in this journey for the students. The only downside was only staying half the time. I am sure Maurie will also get as much out of it as I did.
I came away knowing more than their names, I came away knowing them as learners!
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Values, are they for learning or behaviour?
Often values at schools are talked about in relation to how we want our kids to be. We use words like "trust" and "respect". These values are incredibly important, especially when thinking restoratively. However, they are behavioural values and are of course an important feature of growing the whole child, especially when they link to a dispositional curriculum. What about learning though, what do we value here?
I have been doing a lot of thinking around what we value around learning. Having a clear understanding of what these values are and why we need them is important. Reflecting through the 'lens' of these learning values is one way of living out what we believe.
We started by asking the questions "what is powerful to learn and what is powerful learning?"
This has led us to thinking about our values around learning. We spent a lot of time looking at the 'why' for a lot of values, in the end we came up the following five, Relationships, Innovative Practice, Collaboration, Personalised Learning, Authentic Learning. They link and one can't really happen without the other.
Each staff meeting we "Walk the Walls"of each learning space and celebrate and critique and question the collaborative staff on what is happening in their learning space, again through the lens of the learning values. Making sure that we see clear connections in their practice and identifying the links between the values, acknowledging it's most powerful when all are present.
Relationships is the first value we all co-constructed together. This I believe is key to all we do. Relationships are at the heart of powerful learning. Relationships lead to a clearer pathway to personalising learning at all levels, for staff and students. Without relationships, how do we know the learner. It also helps with our second value...
Collaboration! This value is mentioned throughout a range of research around 21stC learning as an important skill/understanding of the future. It also is a crucial aspect of growing our staff. Many staff who are working here have never truly collaborated, they may have team taught, or shared responsibility, but never got to the essence of collaborating. This is a great value to grow with the staff. The students take to this far more efficiently as it's a natural part of their make-up.
Authentic learning is a real "no brainer" creating connections for students is vital. What is authentic to one, may not be to another, so again, knowing your learner is key. Co-constructing the authentic aspect for each students learning is the fun part of the learning journey.
I have been doing a lot of thinking around what we value around learning. Having a clear understanding of what these values are and why we need them is important. Reflecting through the 'lens' of these learning values is one way of living out what we believe.
We started by asking the questions "what is powerful to learn and what is powerful learning?"
This has led us to thinking about our values around learning. We spent a lot of time looking at the 'why' for a lot of values, in the end we came up the following five, Relationships, Innovative Practice, Collaboration, Personalised Learning, Authentic Learning. They link and one can't really happen without the other.
Each staff meeting we "Walk the Walls"of each learning space and celebrate and critique and question the collaborative staff on what is happening in their learning space, again through the lens of the learning values. Making sure that we see clear connections in their practice and identifying the links between the values, acknowledging it's most powerful when all are present.
Relationships is the first value we all co-constructed together. This I believe is key to all we do. Relationships are at the heart of powerful learning. Relationships lead to a clearer pathway to personalising learning at all levels, for staff and students. Without relationships, how do we know the learner. It also helps with our second value...
Collaboration! This value is mentioned throughout a range of research around 21stC learning as an important skill/understanding of the future. It also is a crucial aspect of growing our staff. Many staff who are working here have never truly collaborated, they may have team taught, or shared responsibility, but never got to the essence of collaborating. This is a great value to grow with the staff. The students take to this far more efficiently as it's a natural part of their make-up.
Authentic learning is a real "no brainer" creating connections for students is vital. What is authentic to one, may not be to another, so again, knowing your learner is key. Co-constructing the authentic aspect for each students learning is the fun part of the learning journey.
Innovative Practice is another area we value. We get questioned on this a lot. For us, this is not about being trendy, having a device in every students hand, doing the latest fad. Innovative practice is how we reflect on the practice we are using. Asking- "Is it working for all of our students?" "Is it differentiating to meet needs?" "Are we asking ourselves why we are doing this?" These questions and reflections lead us onto our last learning value.
Personalising learning. This value is here not to look at individuals and create plans for each and everyone of them, this value is here because it links relationships, collaboration, authentic learning and innovative practice together to meet the needs of our students. Valuing them as an individual as part of a group. Valuing that they may need a different conversation than the student beside them, valuing the relationship they have with their family, valuing the needs they have. Again knowing the learner so we can positively impact on them.
This journey of living these values is an ongoing one for us as a learning community. The real power behind them, we have found, is how we use them as a reflective tool to see that what we are co-constructing is impacting on student outcomes.
Using the learning values as a lens for reflecting has empowered staff to own their practice and think deeply about learning and have challenging conversations.
Monday, 28 July 2014
The Why and the Practice
Learning and teaching is often a balancing act. How do you continue to grow a students world and also honour their voice? Taking students into the 'world they don't know, they don't know,' (John Holt has great stuff on this) is an important part of our job.
This then comes down to the importance of, 'WHY.' Why do we do what we do? Have we ever sat back and reflected on this? Do we constantly question ourselves?
Having never been a big researcher, the question of why has led me to read a lot more. Jane Gilbert's work around skills for the 21st C (we are after all, 14 years into it) as well as revisiting the NZC and honouring the Key Competencies. Recently, a great read on the development of the KCs was posted here.
The 'Why' I find easy however when I was involved in the start up of Discovery 1 School in Christchurch it was far more problematic. At that time, the research wasn't there to back up open spaces so we focused a lot on constructivism. Now, we have plenty to support the notion of student negotiated learning.
So, with the pedagogy in place the focus shifts to the question 'What is the andragogy?' More importantly, what is the practice? I believe now we can all access all the 'why' for both students and teachers however the practice is more challenging.
The conversations around practice are key. How do we honour the negotiation of a learning pathway and also honour the NZC? How do we impact on learning as an educator without putting out the fire? How do we look for progress in our students in a differentiated model? What is powerful to learn?
Asking these questions are the key in growing understanding around how practice can be challenged and changed. However, if you haven't looked at what you value about learning, it may all be in vain. My next post will be around "Learning Values" and how they drive change.
Having never been a big researcher, the question of why has led me to read a lot more. Jane Gilbert's work around skills for the 21st C (we are after all, 14 years into it) as well as revisiting the NZC and honouring the Key Competencies. Recently, a great read on the development of the KCs was posted here.
The 'Why' I find easy however when I was involved in the start up of Discovery 1 School in Christchurch it was far more problematic. At that time, the research wasn't there to back up open spaces so we focused a lot on constructivism. Now, we have plenty to support the notion of student negotiated learning.
So, with the pedagogy in place the focus shifts to the question 'What is the andragogy?' More importantly, what is the practice? I believe now we can all access all the 'why' for both students and teachers however the practice is more challenging.
The conversations around practice are key. How do we honour the negotiation of a learning pathway and also honour the NZC? How do we impact on learning as an educator without putting out the fire? How do we look for progress in our students in a differentiated model? What is powerful to learn?
Asking these questions are the key in growing understanding around how practice can be challenged and changed. However, if you haven't looked at what you value about learning, it may all be in vain. My next post will be around "Learning Values" and how they drive change.
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Students or Systems?
A constant battle going on with my thinking is what do we start with? Systems or students?
Students are important?
Do systems support students or make life easier for staff?
It always comes back to "what will impact more positively for students?" How is this using a growth mindset? What are we thinking?
Over the last few weeks we have been doing a lot of self review. This has included reviewing our induction for staff, induction for students, reporting to parents, SENCO and pastoral care.
The challenge for us has been around the systems that usually dictate how these areas function. From our first conversations as a team, we were determined to challenge everything we would usually do, and not start with teacher or management driven systems.
The rational behind this was that generally systems are in place to support staff. Often they have no impact on students learning or growth. With this in mind, everything we have developed has come from a student centred approach.
This approach has caused some angst, however, starting with the students and forgetting about how it will impact on staff often leads to great conversations. It leads to co-constructing the systems or strategies together as a team. Looking for ways of impacting on the students the most with our practice.
An area we have just realised we need a stronger system around is tracking those students who aren't "at" the SENCO level but need challenge or support. We co-constructed a way of identifying the students and created a clear pathway for the practice of the staff to impact on these students. The system fell out of a need rather than driving it without a clear purpose. With a clear purpose, the buy in from staff improves and the use, fits the need.
Creating systems to meet the needs of students has been challenging, but, so rewarding, to still see the students being the key focus. The work around this is not more, it's just different.
ERO this week, maybe that will clarify some of the thinking?
Students are important?
Do systems support students or make life easier for staff?
It always comes back to "what will impact more positively for students?" How is this using a growth mindset? What are we thinking?
Over the last few weeks we have been doing a lot of self review. This has included reviewing our induction for staff, induction for students, reporting to parents, SENCO and pastoral care.
The challenge for us has been around the systems that usually dictate how these areas function. From our first conversations as a team, we were determined to challenge everything we would usually do, and not start with teacher or management driven systems.
The rational behind this was that generally systems are in place to support staff. Often they have no impact on students learning or growth. With this in mind, everything we have developed has come from a student centred approach.
This approach has caused some angst, however, starting with the students and forgetting about how it will impact on staff often leads to great conversations. It leads to co-constructing the systems or strategies together as a team. Looking for ways of impacting on the students the most with our practice.
An area we have just realised we need a stronger system around is tracking those students who aren't "at" the SENCO level but need challenge or support. We co-constructed a way of identifying the students and created a clear pathway for the practice of the staff to impact on these students. The system fell out of a need rather than driving it without a clear purpose. With a clear purpose, the buy in from staff improves and the use, fits the need.
Creating systems to meet the needs of students has been challenging, but, so rewarding, to still see the students being the key focus. The work around this is not more, it's just different.
ERO this week, maybe that will clarify some of the thinking?
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Are we being responsive?
One of the challenges to the "mental model" teachers and leaders have is that staff should be very well planned. My question to this is, "how is this possible?"
If we are to be truly responsive to the needs of our students we cannot be over planned.
When designing immersion, I believe you can be strategic in what you design for students to help them develop a deeper understanding of the learning, eg if you have a science based immersion, the teach the students what a good procedure is, and why they need to know.
The link between the why and the how needs to be strong for students to retain that knowledge.
The real purpose for learning needs to be at the heart of what you are sharing with students.
Learning being linked/blended is important. Jane Gilbert talks of the fact that, "learning cannot be codified into disciplines." And yet, schools often run timetables that say maths, reading, writing. Isn't it all learning?
At Hobsonville Point, I ask staff firstly to design learning, not plan. I ask them to think about the natural links between a big concept, the dispositions we want our students to grow and then create clear connections to the NZC learning areas.
The result is a responsive learning design with a mix of just in time learning and learning designed for the immediate future needs of the students based around a real purpose.
Understanding, from a position of leadership, that staff will be on this journey at different rates is important. Knowing that the journey from novice to expert will be a challenge. Knowing the importance of 'rule governed behaviour' (scaffolding) in terms of providing support for staff on that journey. Leading staff to have PPK (Personal Practical Knowledge) means that you can watch the magic happen.
For me, it is a huge amount of fun watching staff challenge their mental model of planning and think responsive design instead.
If we are to be truly responsive to the needs of our students we cannot be over planned.
When designing immersion, I believe you can be strategic in what you design for students to help them develop a deeper understanding of the learning, eg if you have a science based immersion, the teach the students what a good procedure is, and why they need to know.
The link between the why and the how needs to be strong for students to retain that knowledge.
The real purpose for learning needs to be at the heart of what you are sharing with students.
Learning being linked/blended is important. Jane Gilbert talks of the fact that, "learning cannot be codified into disciplines." And yet, schools often run timetables that say maths, reading, writing. Isn't it all learning?
At Hobsonville Point, I ask staff firstly to design learning, not plan. I ask them to think about the natural links between a big concept, the dispositions we want our students to grow and then create clear connections to the NZC learning areas.
The result is a responsive learning design with a mix of just in time learning and learning designed for the immediate future needs of the students based around a real purpose.
Understanding, from a position of leadership, that staff will be on this journey at different rates is important. Knowing that the journey from novice to expert will be a challenge. Knowing the importance of 'rule governed behaviour' (scaffolding) in terms of providing support for staff on that journey. Leading staff to have PPK (Personal Practical Knowledge) means that you can watch the magic happen.
For me, it is a huge amount of fun watching staff challenge their mental model of planning and think responsive design instead.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
High Support and High Challenge or Warm and Demanding
One of the joys of working at Hobsonville Point Schools is the ability to sit back and watch. The PPP model (not a charter model) means that we have no property to manage. This allows me to be one of those annoying principals who hangs about, watching learning occur. I can ask questions, I can have learning conversations, I can make assumptions and I can engage with the learning.
This leads me to the title of the blog. One of the great benefits of two schools, with one board is the ability for us to learn collaboratively with staff from the secondary school. I am in the privileged position of having a weekly learning conversation with Maurie Abraham. Maurie often talks about the need for warm and demanding situations. I have always called them "high challenge and high support." I think I like Maurie's term better.
The freedoms I have mean I can create warm and demanding conversations with staff. The mindset needed is a growth one of course, and that is not always present at the start of their journey here, however it does shift with the more conversations we have. Kristyn, Lisa and Sharyn are working on a walk through and coaching model that will enable us to continue these warm and demanding conversations as we grow in numbers. It is a very exciting place to be in our journey.
As a leadership team we went to EduTECH a couple of weeks ago. For me this was a warm and demanding event. From the amazing Keynote speakers we had many warm moments of affirmation of what we are growing at HPPS for our learners. Creating an innovative, engaging and inspirational setting for learning to occur. The demanding part came when we thought collectively about how do we grow this with the sector. The advent of more MLE's, the need for more MLP, means we have to support other schools in developing new ways of learning. Change is needed and it's needed now.This is reinforced by this quote from the conference.
No generation in history has ever been so thoroughly prepared for the Industrial Age as the current generation.
David Warlick
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