Busy brain overload and "Which 21st Century skills related area of your practice would you like to focus on in your Assessment 1? Why? Would your students agree? How do you know?"

My sub conscience brain has been on overload thinking about the upcoming assignment - in the shower, out walking, doing xmas shopping ...my brain is ticking away on Mindlab and not all of it helpful thoughts.  I'm hoping a bit of mental download in my blog might and help clarify some things!

First thought: Which 21st Century Skills realated area of your practice would you like to work on - I would like to focus on use of ICT for teaching and learning.  It's scary but that and being outside is what has really engaged my students this year.

Ideas so far for Assignment 1:
- the problem being my lack of a classroom, my various roles at two different schools loss of teaching/learning time, a lack of engagement and cohesion with my online presence and resources.
- i have a blog but engagement is patchy
- i have a YouTube channel, but do the students know about it?
- i have a 'mygooglemap' but oops i've forgotten to use and develop this idea with my senior classes
- be great to lead and learn along side student in the use of ICT.
COULD I MAKE MY OWN mRS dANIEL WEBSITE??!!

- my lack of ICT profiency is a concern
AND how will this effect learning outcomes for my students?  could it create a model for them to then do themselves?
- in terms of my own pedagogical beliefs i am definitely all about transparency of planning, sharing of learning experiences and child agency.
- really my own profiency and to some extent the tech infrastructure are my main concerns - Sunnyhills is currently a very tech innovative place i feel!  My other workplace would be another matter...

My video should include:
- snippets of other videos i have made
- cartoon illustrations
- great lighting
- music that rocks
- links to theory and educational articles
- a reference list
- subheadings

Further thoughts:
- what's a rubric?
- i really gotta read the examples of previous assignments and the rubrics
- i really gotta make a set time to do each weeks class tasks as well as assignment work
- collaborative time needs to be positive and constructive
- collaboration needs to happen as and when it can - staffroom and sideline chats all good!
- goodbye sleep ins hello Mindlab.  At least i can work with my laptop in bed!

Final thought - the system is broken and it's going to take some work and effort to help fix it!

Identify 3 problems, challenges, frustrations or areas of concern you have in your own practice. Consider how do those relate to the Key Competencies / He Tikanga Whakaaro or 21st Century Skills?

What 60 schools can tell us about teaching 21st century skills - Lichtman

What 60 schools can tell us about teaching 21st century skills - Lichtman -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZEZTyxSl3g

How can we teach critical thinking and problem solving in a post industrial education world? Our children should be asking questions more than giving answers. We should be breaking down the compartmentalism into subjects. Finding problems instead of solving problems.

• Schools are not good at innovation (politics and risk adverse)
• Schools are doing it but need to connect
• Change is thought of as hard but it shouldn’t be - it’s uncomfortable, complicated and messy
• Student ownership of learning is messy and chaotic
• Schools should be telling children from juniors how they learn, be online and meld subjects.
• Authentic reflection to improve self correction and innovation
• Schools should be creative spaces, fail fast, iterate, fail forward
• Need to drop industrial age learning models
• Schools can be an ecosystem part of a global ecosystem - the 5th sphere - the cognitus sphere - universal access to knowledge that connects us all.
• Limitations to collaboration and innovation - ego, dams (subject), silos (departments, divisions)
• Teach into the unknown (difficult, uncomfortable and messy)
• Teach children to be self evolving learners.
• We need to be self evolving organsitions and embrace constant change.
• Prep students for their future not our past

Mindlab Notes - a link, some pics and an inspiring quote

Notes shared here - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-juZSZLfYRUY4Dlm8Rtfu3vWcKO5AZTQh-P8J83jmAY/edit?usp=sharing

Some pics from our first week - thank Susan!

 What does our play dough masterpiece show?  Me presenting our grand vision. I love Sarah's expression!

 A playdough depiction of our understanding of the purpose of education

A collaborative definition of knowledge and purpose of education

Mindlab Notes for Leadership & Digital

Mindlab Notes:

https://docs.google.com/a/sunnyhills.school.nz/document/d/1-juZSZLfYRUY4Dlm8Rtfu3vWcKO5AZTQh-P8J83jmAY/edit?usp=sharing

What you consider a good leader to be like?

What you consider a good leader to be like?

Some ideas:

Inspiring and empowering

Open to suggestions

Up to date and innovative

Kind

Resolve conflict quickly and effectively

Articulate

Fair

Responsible

Good sense of humour

Respectful and a good listener

Helpful

Unselfish

Great communication skills

How is my understanding of the purpose of education visible in my 'classroom'.

First point to note; I don't have a classroom.  My Enviro and release work see me working in the outdoors and squatting in other teachers classrooms up to six times a day.  I do however have three display boards, an edible garden, seedling house, Enviro Blog http://shsenvironmental.blogspot.co.nz/ and native bush walk.

 “Our job as teachers and parents is not to prepare students for something; our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.” (Juliani, n.d.). 

The action planning model I use in my enviro teaching definitely increases learner agency and problem solving skills in authentic contexts - i would hope this is helping them prepare for anything.


The purpose of education is threefold - qualification (being able to do something), objectification (existing in society) and subjectification (being autonomous).  Much of my enviro work is focussed around whanaungatanga and kaitiaki - an understanding of the interralatedness of everything and our roles as gaurdians.  This readily lends itself to the area objectification.

How to include m understanding of the purpose of dcuationin my 'classsrooms' is an area to develop in 2018.

My Followership

My followership definitely changes according to how much agency I feel I have in a situation.  At the beginning of my career I was definitely more of a 'Yes' person - less critical in my thinking but still active.  I'd like to think I've developed into an effective follower, although at times I will become Alienated Follower if a leader acts in a way that is against my political or ethical beliefs.  I can also move into an independent survival mode as the workload piles up and I begin to communicate less with leadership.

At times i have not questioned leadership when i can see a possibly better way as i thought it might seem not my place - this is a yes person trait and i need speak up to be an effective follower.  It is a balancing acti - no leader wants to have to reflect and justify every time they give a direction with a follower when a decision has been made - perhaps though they are wise to, as a way of empowering others.