Recently our long serving principal announce his retirement. Our current (acting) principal has spoken at staff and HOD-Admin meetings about preparing for change. I think his initial presentation to staff was generally misinterpreted, his follow up discussion to HODs more focused and understandable. His main point is that regardless of who is eventually appointed principal it is illogical to assume they will lead and manage as our retired principal did. In other words, we need to prepare for change, change that is inevitably going to happen but at this point is difficult to predict. The acting principal has suggested that when a new principal is appointed it would be easy for them to target the “low hanging fruit.” It was this comment of low hanging fruit that drew most criticism from the general staff, however the point he was trying to make is relevant. The obvious underperforming elements of a school would be easily noticeable by new leadership and be a logical target for refinement.
So do I have any “low hanging fruit.” Most definitely. We were asked to consider his reflections, or cultural observations, that he categorised as “pillars” and “dark matter.” His point of dark matter was that it may be occurring, but it is not obvious as a consistent, whole school approach or evidence is lacking. The dark matter as identified is;
focus on data driven improvement
strategy
shared accountability
holistic behaviour management
performance development
I definitely have some things to consider in this list. Data driven improvement across the faculty is lacking. We have mechanisms to review data, but it is mostly achievement data. I think there is other data we can gather and reflect upon for improvement. I need a process for this to occur to ensure my staff engage and take this seriously, because at this point most don’t. There is very little reflection on student achievement, student satisfaction and student engagement. The vast majority of our reflection and refinement is based on teacher opinion, a system which is lacking in my opinion.
Use of data could be tied into strategy. As could performance planning. Currently there are a number of things happening separately not connected to a faculty improvement strategy – I can feel a mind map coming on! I’ve been challenged to develop a school wide strategy for the advancement of digital pedagogy, so a faculty improvement strategy should be similar in design process. The problem is our school wide strategies are disjointed. These need to be refined before I can comprehensively develop a faculty level strategy.
There are definitely some challenges here for me as a leader and manager. Combined with the Vocational Education rectification processes identified in a recent internal audit, development of documents for a tertiary credit partnership, review and planning for the Digital Pedagogy License Advanced Community and planning for 2010 – this is going to be one hell of a busy finish to my working year.
This is a brief, generally unplanned farewell speech I delivered to my year 12s at our final lesson together this year. They are a very special group and have been a significant influence in my development as an educator. If interested, the recording is here.
Now that I have my staff selected, I believe my time is best spent exposing them to the software that will enable transformative learning. My first focus will be on software that enables sharing of information. In this initial phase I will install software that utilises data stored on the local hard drive. This is purposeful so that I can facilitate use of the team site for the project to share files.
FireFox is essential for the functionality of the add-ons, particularly on the Windows powered laptops provided to teachers in our organisation. Zotero is a notebook and research tool. We will build notebooks and share them out to the learners. FoxIt toolbar allows the markup and annotation of PDF files. Simply choose “Save As” when finished and all markups and annotations are saved as part of the file. X-mind is a concept mapping program, within which we will build learning maps for the units we implement. Each of these programs are cross platform. I’m aware there are platform specific programs that may perform these functions more effectively however I want a solution that can be modelled in class and implemented on any platform.
Tomorrow I will install these items on my staff’s laptops. I will then provide them with the Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework file (PDF). They will be tasked with opening it within FireFox and using the markup tools to identify the indicators they believe they are currently demonstrating. As well as providing them exposure to PDF markup and file sharing via One Portal, this will also provide base data to map performance improvement upon.
Its been reassuring that both staff have been showing real interest in this and a desire to learn.
Yesterday I invited two staff members to be the teachers in this project. Both seemed excited by the invite which is a good thing. I have purposely picked them for a number of reasons.
Staff member A sits in the main HPE staffroom and I believe has the potential to be an excellent teacher. 2010 will be their 3rd year at our school. They are well organised and always working within timelines from myself or administration. They have spent large amounts of time preparing resources for their classes, and although this will change tact with this project the time commitment is important. Their learning management needs refinement, and I believe this process will allow them to critically reflect on their influence on the learning environment and improve their practice acordingly.
Staff member B is my most energetic and motivated staff member. They are constantly seeking advice and feedback on performance and show an ability to critically reflect and adapt their practice. They sit in a staffroom across the other side of the school, which should result in a spreading of the influence of the project. The fact that they like to talk about their teaching will aid this process. This will also encourage me to leave the main HPE staffroom more often to interact with my other staff. This staff member is well organised and always works within timelines. They seem to thrive in team situations, although I see the potential for leadership within them.
So now I am getting excited. At this point there are three priorities that need to be addressed. First and foremost I need to formalise the plan for the project. As it is an action learning project I need to frame it as such. This includes the recruitment of critical friends. I’d like to have critical friends for each of the following aspects;
syllabus implementation
staff development
student achievement and satisfaction data
pedagogical practices
digital pedagogy (incl. use of specific tools and processes)
There may be other areas I incorporate critical friends and no doubt they will become evident in the plan formalisation process. I have not yet identified the requirements or commitment of critical friends, but if you are interested in being one for this project then I encourage you to let me know. If you can’t dedicate the time (I know we are all busy) there will be opportunity to read our progress and comment as such.
Secondly I need to provide a range of readings to my staff to increase their understanding of transformative theory. I will do this through the creation and transfer of a Zotero notebook, demonstrating to them the use of such technologies that I want incorporated into the project. Thirdly, we need to meet to refine the work program so that it enables the success of the project. Aspects like the use of physical activities that allow the teachers to be “close” in the early stages. Our classroom is next to our hall, so if the first unit of work has an activity in the hall the teachers will be relatively close. This will enable student choice and teacher support of each other.
I can feel the momentum building. I am excited, I am heartened by my staff’s excitement. And I am strong due to your support. Those that are reading this and sending comments via the blog, twitter, email or facebook are keeping me strong. Thanks to those who have already volunteered to be a critical friend.
After a couple of attempts, I finally have a viewable video of the project pitch to staff online. I’m hosting this one on Vimeo as it is slightly longer than 10 minutes.
I’ve been asked to present this to the executive administration today, after which I will need to select staff to work within the project and begin professional development and specific planning. Exciting times.
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a leadership breakfast. These are an initiative of the district office of my employing organisation. They provide an opportunity for Principals, Deputy Principals, Heads of Department and school based leaders (such as year coordinators) to attend an informal breakfast with a keynote presentation. This latest breakfast was accompanied by a keynote presentation on feedback. The pitch of the presentation was centred around providing feedback to staff, however I believe it has equal application to our roles as teachers.
One salient point the presenter made was to consider the underlying messages that are interpreted as feedback. What are we doing that provides feedback to others about our feelings, thoughts, professionalism, intent, knowledge, concern etc? Are there reactions to students that may be providing feedback that does not enhance or support our image as professionals? I see examples of this regularly, comments from teachers that undervalue theoretical knowledge in HPE relative to practical performance. I hear comments (value judgements) on students’ nutritional choices that could be interpreted as more than friendly advice on health. This is potentially a minefield. Feedback can often be associated with fear. Negative feedback reinforces this. Ineffective provision of feedback can reduce performance, taking their mind off the job and focusing it on perceptions of who they are, not how well they are doing. We need to consider that in our teaching and management, and consciously counteract the fear component. So how do we do this.
The suggestions from the presenter centred around changing the role and understanding of feedback. Make feedback helpful. It should be a shared interaction, a process that enhances performance. We need to create a shared context and a shared focus. A shared context occurs in terms of background and support. All parties need to acknowledge existing relationships and any history. This can be particularly difficult if previous history involves negative situations with feedback. The shared focus is about understanding individual and collective goals from the feedback process. Is the feedback linked to goals and priorities.
I had the opportunity during the week to use my organisation’s installation of Elluminate (we call it iConnect) to deliver two virtual presentations. The first was part of a two day conference for Heads of Department to provide them information, knowledge and skills to lead their faculties towards a connected learning environment. This was my first attempt at presenting virtually and I must say it was an interesting experience. The fact that I could not see the audience, and the fact that this was probably their first experience with the technology for web conferencing, restricted the engagement I normally seek with a group. It was also interesting just simply plowing through and not stopping to answer questions or querying looks. I think the group was inhibited from asking questions due to the delivery method, something I will need to facilitate if I get the chance again.
If you ask @joram10 who was “the boss” for the workshop, there was most likely a distinct advantage to the web conference. She could send me messages in regards to timing. This allowed her to keep to the set agenda more firmly.
If you are interested in watching, you should be able to access the recording here. Password is hods. Enjoy.
I have successfully pitched the project concept to my immediate supervisor, who reported to the principal and I have their support for this (relatively) radical project. The project is based on my understanding of Transformative Learning, as proposed originally by Mezirow and built on concepts such as Connectivism and 21C learning skills. Why do I term it relatively radical – quite simply nothing like this has been implemented at my school previously therefore staff and students have not experienced this approach to learning. I’ve blogged my thinking that has lead to this project before – A potential project; Constructing purposeful learning spaces; Planning my learning environments for 2010; and Learning 2010 – an update.
So my thinking has formalised into a project proposal, that in a rough form was pitched to my supervising Deputy Principal. I pitched the idea using one slide and a lot of talk. I’ll need to refine that when I pitch to staff. The slide used is embedded below.
As you can see, there are three learning foci; content learning, conceptual / contextual learning, and reflective learning. It is the interaction of these three learning foci that will determine the success of this project for students and parents. I believe it is the support and professional development of teachers that will determine the success for teachers. These two (2) vital components need to be combined and considered at the forefront of the project for success to be achieved. A lot of work, but exciting times.
The final question that will form the framing of the action learning project is yet to be finalised, however the one I am proposing when pitching the project to my staff on Tuesday is included in the project pitch here. Details of the project are still forming in my head (and my evernote), however the teachers who decide to be involved need to be included in the final development of the project plan. This in itself will be an exciting process as I encourage my staff to unlearn then re-learn. I intend to post more here as the project develops.
The existing infrastructure that enables this project includes blocking the 2 classes onto the one timetable line – which means they are both in PE at the same time. This ensures the two teachers teach the cohort instead of singular teachers teaching their classes. The National Secondary Schools Computer Fund ensures I can have 30 laptops in my classroom, and convert 5 LAN points to wireless access points. I’ve been given permission to research and purchase (partially funded through the facilities budget) alternative furniture that will align with the goals of the project. The HPE department already owns a large number of devices that can be utilised.
Fingers crossed it will be well received. It is significantly different to anything they have considered previously.
Today I published the first iUse video. My goal is to produce a number of videos that will explain how I use certain software programs to achieve various learning and management goals in my day to day life. I began with Evernote. This will be a multiple episode exploration of one of my favourite pieces of software.
The videos will be posted in my YouTube Channel. The first – iUse Evernote: Setting up can be found here.
At a conference today, used wallwisher.com as a backchannel for my presentation. Embedded here is the result. Not too bad a technology, could definitely find its way into my classroom.
Easy to set up and run. Just need to refresh often so you can see the posts.
