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.

goodbye

Why?  They deserved it.

Thanks to our eLearning branch (Department of Education, Training and the Arts – Queensland) I had the opportunity to be involved in a webinar with Stephen Heppell on the design of learning spaces.  As he presented a range of ideas and pictures of various learning spaces from across the globe, the participants in the webinar commented and discussed as ideas came to them.  As is always to be expected, many barriers to changing existing spaces were presented, including budget, actual space allocated and others.  This always seems to happen when someone presents radical ideas on changing practice.

For me, my mind started to race on how I could change my learning spaces within the boundaries I have. My room has 4 walls, and furniture must be contained within those 4 walls.  My room will have 30 computers in it sometime next year.  But beyond that the slate is clean.  I can move desks, I can create spaces within the room.  I can access learning spaces outside the room.  I already do this on a small scale.  When I want to have a discussion with my students, I implement what we have termed a discussion circle.  We all grab our chairs, head outside and find a suitable place to sit in a circle.  There is also a great space in out library where there is a set of round tables in the middle, and 10 computers against the wall.

These existing spaces and some ideas from Stephen has my mind racing on how I can set up my room.  (I should point out the room in question is a shared classroom for my faculty, used by 8 different teachers).  I like the idea of a personal learning space – comfortable furniture where learners can listen to podcasts, watch documentaries / vodcasts, or read.  To enable this I would need to dedicate at least one computer but I am thinking it needs a dual purpose monitor.  One of those monitors that has TV reception and a built in DVD player.  I like the idea of computer pods throughout the classroom.  I like the idea of a presentation area where there are no desks.

Now I just need to see if I can fit these in, and whether the planed space is something students would be keen to learn in.  Part of this project will need to be professional development of my staff on how to use the space effectively. This will be my biggest challenge as I attempt to break down the perceived comfort zone of rows of desks facing the fromt of the room where the teacher feels the need to stand.  I’ll need to do some reading, and I think I can see my first Google Sketchup project in the design of my room.  There will be more to come on this.

The last lessons of the term offer a unique opportunity for me as a teacher to interact with my students in real life learning.  For these lessons I search out relevant stories for us to indulge in and reflect upon.  There is a common undercurrent of emotional inspiration to the stories I collect for this purpose.  Sharing these stories and the discussions that result are times when I feel most like a teacher for life long students.  We’re not restricted by the syllabus and its requirements of the learnings that students elected to be a part of when they enrolled.  These lessons provide a small window to experience valid and valued learning.  I understand many teachers’ need to offer a relaxing or recreational lesson, however I find enjoyment in the company of my students with the discussions about inspirational characters overcoming disadvantage.

This term I sought the help of my PLN to gather stories from inspirational people who have overcome a physical disability.  I added an exceptional story from a African child soldier.  So my playlist for the lesson was as below;

1. Emmanuel Jal – rescued child soldier
2. Stephen Hawking – amazing intellectual
3. Bethany Hamilton – teenage surfer who lost an arm in a shark attack
4. Aimee Mullins – double amputee pioneering prosthetic development
5. Dick Hoyt – amazing story of a dedicated father who carries disabled son through Hawaii Ironman
6. Clay Dyer – bass fisherman born with no legs, one disformed arm
7. Randy Pausch – famous professor whose last lecture teaches us to live our childhood dreams

During each of the videos I played, there was absolute silence from the students.  At the end of each there was some discussion of the context, with an overriding expression of awe.  Each of these stories taught us a number of things, but most important was – I really don’t have it that bad.

I’d encourage any teacher to take the opportunity to indulge in these opportunities when you can.  The benefit to the relationships within the class is huge.  The learning experiences is immeasurable.

Well exam day is done and there has been some learning indeed.  Personally, I really enjoyed engaging with the students in a blogging environment.  Having (taking) the time to read the entries of each student and then commenting as necessary added a new level of interaction within the class that I believe improved upon the asynchronous conversations project I conducted earlier in the year.  It wasn’t all roses though.

Once the exam was completed and grades awarded, I reflected upon individual and class achievement.  Generally, the class performed more poorly in this assessment than the other types we have used this year.  Reflecting back on previous years, the essay exam (which this blog exam replaced) was also the worst performing across the class.  This suggests I need to work on my ability to teach students the skill of responding to a stimulus with depth of thought and demonstrating evaluation and synthesis.  The class still achieved the range of results, surprisingly the “A’s” achieved were by the students who engaged in the process most.  There was a direct correlation between the statistics (number of times logged in, number of personal entries, number of other blogs read) and the grades awarded.  This is powerful feedback as I can show the students directly their interaction with the learning.

I also surveyed the students to collect their thoughts.  Specifically I asked them what they thought limited their blogging, and whether my withdrawal from direct delivery of content affected their learning.  I’m blessed that my students are honest and self reflective.  Most exciting feedback was that they saw the reason for me pulling back from direct delivery of content.  Despite never explaining the process to them, quite a few recognised that their learning next year would require this type of approach and appreciated it beginning in what they called the safe environment of our class.  Secondly, they recognised (before I showed them statistics) that their engagement in the blogging was the major influence on their ability to blog.  The minority blamed technological barriers, as is to be expected.

One significant problem I have encountered, and am yet to find a reasonable solution, is the export of the blogs from BlackBoard.  Individual entries can be exported, but comments are not.  As the comments are important in this exam it is important they are exported in context.  The best I can do at this point is print each entry with its comments.  (export is needed for external moderation processes.)

So despite the grade analysis suggesting otherwise, I believe this process was a success.  The learning achieved certainly met my goals, and I’m excited that quite a few of the class have asked if the next assessment item can also be a blog.

It is that time of year when many teachers are responsible for the development of a pre-service teacher (university student) who is inevitably in the final practicum of their degree.  Whilst some teachers avoid working with per-service teachers, and some of my students openly disagree with having to learn from a pre-service teacher, I find this responsibility one of the most important aspects of my role.  There are a number of reasons for this.  First and foremost, I seriously consider myself a significant influence on the development of a few pre-service teachers.  I want students to learn, enjoy learning and grow from learning.  The pre-service teacher is also a learner.

Secondly, my particular subject area is one marginalised by the push for a national curriculum.  Health and Physical Education has always been seen as non-compulsory and a poorer cousin of the big three (English, Maths, Science).  Without a guernsey on the national curriculum, the status and inclusion of HPE is under threat in many schools.  By nurturing teachers in my subject area I can help that little bit by ensuring HPE trained teachers are always part of the teaching workforce.  They will advocate for HPE in their schools and continue to promote the benefits of physically active learning.

However, the most significant reason for wanting to incorporate a pre-service teacher into my learning environments is that I need my students to learn how to learn from others.  I pride myself in the relationships and rapport I have with my students.  I take pride in the learning the demonstrate from learning activities within my learning environments.  But I also realise I will not always be there for them.  They need to learn from others, and learn how to manage their own learning.

A colleague posted recently on her blog, Making Connections: Proud moments about nervousness in taking a step back.  She has regularly tweeted about this nervousness.  To me this is great.  It signals here is a teacher who is concerned about the learning of her students.  Here is a teacher who is focused on her students and the engagement she has managed to engender in a subject area not normally embraced by today’s students.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling nervous about drawing back.  Especially when you consider the class she is speaking about is year 11.

Yet I pose these questions to her, and others who are hesitant when it comes to “handing over control” to a developing teacher;

1. Is the learning you are proud of existent due to you?
2. Could the students (and do they) demonstrate the same learning in other classes?
3. Are you establishing yourself or the students as the dependent factor in this learning equation?

If you answer these thinking that the students are the central reason behind the learning, then it should not matter who is teaching.  If you really establish the student as the dependent factor, they will demonstrate learning despite the teacher or the learning context.  To me this was the central theme, and most exciting area of personal development, of the Digital Pedagogy License Advanced when I undertook the course last year.  It is my interpretation of the concept of transformative learning.  I see the benefits daily.  Learning processes nurtured in my learning environments transferred across contexts.  Other teachers talking to me about what little Johnny does in their class that they said I taught them (students’ words).  The learner becomes the dependent factor.

So I want my pre-service teachers to be the dependent factor in their personal learning equations, and my students will learn reagrdless of who “delivers the content.”

I have challenged my pre-service teacher in this unit we are currently doing.  There is not a lot of “content” that the students need to know.  However they must be able to form an educated opinion and validate that opinion through evidence and discussion.  I have challenged my pre-serice teacher to not deliver content.  Any content she requires them to consume or pay attention to can be delivered to the students by students, guest speakers or research.  I have told her she is not allowed to provide them information about the topic.

This has caused her some stress, noe the least because it is completely different to anything she has been taught in her university study.  However, only 2 weeks in she can see the benefits.  She realises when she walks into class she is going to engage in conversations with the students, not content delivery.  If you relate this to Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain then foundation thinking (knowledge, understanding, application) is completed by students under their own management.  We as teachers then concentrate on developing the higher order abilities (analysis, evaluation, synthesis / creation) when we have direct contact with them.  How she has managed this is impressive.  Essentially the class is split in two.  One half is provided access to the computers to manage their own learning, the other half is taken outside where they discuss a topic in a community of inquiry.  At the halfway mark they switch.

So in reality, we have reduced our dependence on the learning equation.  And what we are witnessing is impressive.  Students learning from each other.  Students reaching out into the world in search of relevant knowledge.  Students teaching us also.

Does this reduce the importance of the teacher?  No, in fact I think we become more important as we guide students along a path of discovery and encourage them to learn from each other.  We are still responsible for the measurable product of learning (which is a debate for another time) and the relationships within the learnign environment.  I think this approach requires more work outside of traditional class time, and significantly increases the maount of time in conversation with students.  But it is worthwhile, and a system I am happy to dwell in.

So should my colleague be nervous about “letting go?”  Definitely.  But please don’t let that stop you, it is important for the development of both the students and the pre-service teacher.

My two previous posts have referred to a professional development session which I was fortunate enough to be invited to, discussing a framework for eLearning.  At this professional development conference I had the opportunity to experience productive and collaborative collation of notes and resources with @jnxyz, @gayleenjackson, @checkingboxes, @hoyshane and a number of other conference participants, and demonstrate the power of this to other conference attendees.  For me it was exciting to participate, and ultimately rewarding when I reflect back on the portfolio of information, links and resources we have developed.

Initially a conference tag needed to be set, and this can be seen in my previous posts.   I have invested more of my time into consistently tagging my information across various platforms recently, and realise the convenience of setting and using such a tag.  When we explained the tag to the group, my perception was that many did not understand what I was talking about.  If you do not,search in google for #WTDW and you will see the benefits of a common tag for an event. @gayleenjackson set the tag, and we were away.

The collaboration consisted of tagged tweets in Twitter, public notes in Evernote, bookmarks in Delicious, a conference Ning and an etherpad.  These allowed us to post links to resources, import RSS feeds and sort information for our liking.  Through this whole process I see two significant benefits;

1. All the information is stored in the cloud, and is therefore accessible to anyone.
2. Collaborative memory is more extensive than individual memory.

My brain has been running since thinking how can I incorporate this in my teaching.  Currently I use tags, and searches of tags, to provide feeds of information from my work to students.  I could definitely use public evernotes to proide links to my notes.  Currently I export Zotero notebooks to students who use Zotero.  The same could be done for students using evernote.  We do collaboratively research and store this in a wiki within BlackBoard, but this is generally typed, copied or links.  I could expand this by educating students on RSS feeds and tags.  However one main difference remains.  In this collaborative experience, we each contributed how we were comfortable and then shared with each other.  Some conference members were only comfortable sharing within the Ning blogs.  What is important is the sharing, the collaboration.  The location is simply a function of familiarity and choice.  The colleagues I worked with on this day are more comfortable with the tools mentioned, and this is where I regularly interact with them.  My students however collaborate in entirely different forums and environments.  It is unreasonable for me to expect them to move to my way of thinking (as I have with Zotero) without similar adaptation in reversed roles.  I should be learning about their environments more concentratedly, and exploring options to utilise that for productive communication, collaboration and learning.

The power of networked learning outperforms that of any individual.  It was great to experience real collaboration (common goal and unrestricted sharing) and I’ve no doubtmy learning has benefitted.

The TPACK framework has inspired me to work within my own school to build and implement an eLearning framework – something which has been sadly lacking.  I’m excited to work with @skhill_03, a senior English teacher who is our nominated Digital Pedagogy Leader (a regional program conducted by @djone91) and the Deputy Principals responsible for IT and Pedagogy.  We will base the framework on Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain as it is already instilled as a framework for our academic excellence program.  We intend to develop a community approach to sharing productive digital pedagogy which ties in with the staff review and performance plans that will be implemented later this semester.  As this project progresses I will undoubtedly report on it here.

I’ve been reading, thinking, concept mapping, reading again, thinking more about Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework as briefly outlined in my previous post.  In particular I have been thinking how this might actually look within the context of my practice.  Reflecting on the diagram embedded from the official TPACK wiki (in my previous post) the focus of intent is the represented in the centre, as the intersection between the three knowledge types.

However, in thinking about how I progress through a unit of work and how it can be related to the TPACK diagram, I come to the conclusion that I tend to act like a circling shark.  I don’t begin at the central point of the TPACK framework, but rather aim to end up there.  I see that focal point as the point at which the students are experiencing a range of learning experiences within which they negotiate the pathway.  If the three arms of the framework have been implemented effectively, learners may not see the distinction between the separate knowledge types.  I am aware there are times where I focus specifically on development of content knowledge.  I am also aware that simply because Content Knowledge is the focus at that specific time, I am not ignoring Pedagogical or Technological knowledge.

Within the discussion on the Classroom 2.0 site where TPACK is presented, Punya Mishra (one of the professors credited with development of the TPACK framework) states that the framework is a continuum, in reference to teacher development.  I am beginning to think that it may also be a continuum in reference to point in time learning management.  I envisage myself as a single point roaming through the diagram, progressively getting closer to the central focus.

The reflection above does take the point of view of the TPACK framework as a working / implementation framework.  If I consider it as a planning framework then I recognise a very different approach.  I’m not quite sure how this might look in application.  The point Punya Mishra makes on the Classroom 2.0 discussion is important though – The important goal is that opportunities to develop TPACK, whether for a beginner or an expert, deal with all three of these components together, not independent of each other.

As I write this, it becomes clear to me that the three types of knowledge are well known.  Whilst at university I took many courses built on Content Knowledge and a few built on Pedagogical Knowledge.  Since teaching I have had many opportunities to experience Professional Development built on Technological Knowledge.  Rarely have I experienced them in partnership though.  So this will be a real challenge for me.  Especially as I (possibly) use it to develop my ability to build capacity of teachers.  Currently within my school I am working in a range of paths represented by this framework.  For some teachers I am definitely focused on pure Technological Knowledge.  I don’t believe that individually I can target the convergence of the three knowledge types.

Consider that I am trained within a specific subject discipline, and therefore have specialist knowledge.  This would suggest as an individual I could only build the TPACK capability of teachers within the same subject discipline.  As an individual I could address the convergence of Technological and Pedagogical Knowledge within teachers not teaching within my subject discipline.  And this in itself highlights a very important factor in the continual development of teachers – an individual approach cannot be completely effective.  Any person responsible for the Professional Development of teachers needs to engage in a team setting, and I suggest this is most effectively done with the specific clientele who have elected to attend your seminar, workshop or session.

My brain is exceptionally jumbled with the thinking around this framework (could you tell?) at the moment, hoping for some clarity on Tuesday.

The title to this post is grabbed from the title of a professional development session I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to next week.  I have indulged in some pre-reading around the concepts which I have to say has been enlightening and somewhat thought provoking.  I have assumed from the agenda that the we will be exploring two frameworks as tools to design learning experiences that encourage critical thinking.  The two frameworks are Bloom’s Taxonomy and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK).  I have worked in depth with Bloom’s taxonomy throughout my teaching career, however this is the first I have experienced of TPCK.  The concept maps that are published in relation to it explain the concept simply enough.

When I viewed this for the first time, my initial thoughts were “Of course, that’s obvious.”  My initial reaction was one that teaching and learning should be targeting the juncture of technological, pedagogical and content knowledge.  But as I continued to read it has caused me to reflect – “Do I actually target this juncture?  Do I purposely plan and implement for learning to occur where these three concepts meet?”  This is a question that I am not so sure about.  No doubt my involvement in the professional development next week will provide me stimulus for reflection and planning to ensure that this is my targeted area. Currently I fear that perhaps I target the three areas, but do not converge them effectively.

My researching found me this blogpost from Sean Nash, which has two videos.  Watch these in order and you get an idea of the focus of TPCK. http://nashworld.edublogs.org/2009/04/08/a-tpack-video-mashup/

There is also a great wiki with lesson ideas – http://clifmims.wetpaint.com/page/TPACK.

I encourage anyone on their journey with digital pedagogy to explore the concept of TPCK.  During the PD session there will be a twitter backchannel running, using the hashtag #WTDW, feel free to watch this to get an idea of the discussions we are having.  After the event I will no doubt reflect further on my own practice and ramble on about it here.  I am excited about this opportunity, and can see it not only driving my development of my personal practice, but informing and guiding my training of others.

I had an interesting experience this week.  Something I have never experienced previously but something which certainly put to the test everything I have ever put out there in regards to digital pedagogy and my practice. I was approached by a school who requested access to and observation of my practice.

So how do I keep myself honest and ensure my practice is sound – open my classroom to them.  The three visiting teachers were invited into my classroom to observe, and encouraged to them to interact with my students.  This allowed them to ask questions about anything I’ve claimed to have done and gain honest reflection from my students.  I previously informed the students what would be occurring, and encouraged them to be honest in their answers – and I have confidence this group of students would be.  The fact that I know not all of my students are enjoying or even participating in the journey of digital pedagogy to the extent that I am, and this honest reflection can only be helpful to others striving to begin their own journey.

This visit has caused me to further reflect on the ways in which I provide information.  Without being egotistical, I’m aware others wish to learn from the journey I am in.  The level of learning differs depending on experience and interest, and some just simply want to know “how to.”  It is my intention to keep this blog as a reflection on digital pedagogy and not a “how to” for the digital tools I use.  To cater for this I am investigating other spaces that could cater for this service.  Once I have these reconciled I will no doubt link to them under the “Other ShaneTechTeach Spaces” links that appear to the upper left of this blog.

So, consolidate your practice and keep your self honest by inviting others to share and comment on your teaching and learning.