gail dyer

What is a future creating curriculum?

gaildyer — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:55:18 +0000

To develop such a curriculum is neither difficult nor time consumming. The role of the teacher is of utmost importance; not as the fount of knowledge but as the listener, the guide, the facilitator, the skills’ expert.

It is the teacher’s role to focus on students learning how to learn. Teachers have many skills that enable us to achieve this; the school is committed to supporting and providing all staff with any additional skills they may feel they need to achieve the goal of creating the path to the future.

How will learning be organised?

1. Routines

- housekeeping

- management

- learning

- thinking

2. Curriculum

- timeless, ie, things that don’t change eg. tables, area of a circle, history

- timely,ie, passions, interests, noticing what is happening in the world around us

3. Programming

- Scoping sheet

- Program matrix : learning styles mapped against thinking routines

- Backward mapping of short sharp authentic work elements

- Class Profile

- Teaching Philosophy

- Weekly shared evaluation

4. Teacher Professional learning

- Study Group Support

- Personal Action Plans

- Thinking Routines

- Learning Styles

- GROWTH Program

- Thinker keys

- Technology

- Timely passions

- Collaboration / negotiation

5. Resources

- CSIRO Science Activities

- My place in the World ES1 Personal

S1 Community

S2 National

S3 Global

- NEWS, BTN online,

- Mapping Progam, Google Earth, Google Maps etc.

- Sustainability Guides

- Mathematics

- Communication: English, CAPA, PD/H,

- Mathematics

AUTHENTIC LEARNING requires there is a PURPOSE For LEARNING.

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What will the future look like?

gaildyer — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 04:12:13 +0000

The uncertainty that this question conjures in me, a settled mature adult, is deep. How then can we expect our students and children to know what the future holds given the exponential rate of change we are experiencing in the field of information. The 19th and 20th Century core values are being clutched at by many to combat the uncertainty. To be able to spell, punctuate, recite tables and rote learn facts is a great skill. However, they are not skills that will stand our future citizens in good stead and allow them to adapt to a world not yet conceived.

There is a quotation from the Australian Commission for the Future (1989), that has been a guide.
The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.
The paths to it are made, not found, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and destination.

To help our students on their quest for the future we need to develop a timeless and timely curriculum which allows them to think, explore and wonder. A curriculum which provides structure but allows for the pursuit of passion and depth of understanding. This curriculum needs to be negotiated, co constructed and co created with teacher learners and at times the learner teachers.

The aim of this curriculum is to enable young people to become:
Successful learners who enjoy learning nd know how to learn,
Confident individuals who will be able to live fulfilling lives, and
Responsible citizens who will be capable of making positive contributions to their world.

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Leadership is strongest when shared.

gaildyer — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:33:50 +0000

Shared Leadership is central to all that is happening in our school. Sure the Principal, as line manager, has to accept responsibility for all that occurs in the school;however, if the Principal can learn to let go and work with the strengths of those about them then the working/learning environment becomes its own powerful model for education into the future.

How does one let go and share leadership? Much the same as a teacher in the classroom, take a deep breath look about you, look, listen, create structures and work with the enhancers to create a vision and then work to co construct it.

The following things have underpinned the sharing of leadership in our school:

1. knowing the staff, recognising their strengths and encouraging them to lead at appropriate times, building on these strengths
2. developing structures which encourage participation in the creation of our school learning community
3. symbolising shared leadership on a daily basis
4. utilising expertise and experience of staff, students and parents as resources
5. involving everyone in leadership by encouraging collaborative patterns of work and activity
6. developing our vision and direction as a whole learning community
7. Constant evaluation and critical reflection upon practice.

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Leadership qualities

gaildyer — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:04:37 +0000

Desire to keep on learning, exploring, discovering and recognise everyone is a learner
Continually accept new challenges
High expectations of self and others
Taking risks
Daring to be different
Open to ideas from all sources
Flexibile
There is a time for everyone to lead, the more leaders the better
A desire for personal power is not a key motivator
developing a happy, safe working space where learning is stimulated and celebrated
Communicator
Modelling expectations, leading by example . . . don’t do as I say do as I do.
Teamwork
Collegial relationships
Trust and respect for all people
Always find the positive in a situation
Learn from mistakes
Choose the hill to die on
Persistent
Sceptical
Make time and space for dialogue about teaching and learning with colleagues
Understand that change is a constant and it’s like sitting on a picket fence . . . there is no time for complacency.
Have a vision and enjoy the voyage, know the tide charts, understand the currents, enjoy the eddies, weather the storms and be prepared for the tsunamis.

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To be teacher you need to be a prophet

gaildyer — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:24:23 +0000

Profound words from George Brown so many years ago. This is the second day of the ACEL Conference 2007. It was a treat to listen to Peter Senge this morning. His message was basically “learning is not teaching” and as educators we need to find a way to reach kids and meet them in their reality because at present there is a misfit between their reality and schools.

How can we know what kind of world kids are growing into? Things are changing so rapidly. John Connell made the comment that by 2020 the volume of information on the Web will be doubling every 40 mins. How does learning the names of all the rivers in NSW rate in a kids world? Why learn something like that when you can Google the answer in a trice?

How relevant is what and how kids are being taught? Heidi Jacobs promoted the idea of learning about that which is timeless and utilising that which is timely. She advocates talking, talking and more talking in the classroom. Senge’s Theory of the U promotes thinking and acting at deeper and deeper levels.

John Connell talked about how Web 2.0 and all its tools have changed the relationship between teachers and students. Isn’t it timely because now we have the chance to develop truly meaningful relationships as the boundaries between us are becoming so blurry. Who teaches? What is to be taught?

We need to listen to the kids. At our school the mantra is “Do It! Talk it! Write it! Read it! Very powerful, Web 2.0 tools, social software, making games and a variety of other digital technologies are being used to promote this and give the kids a chance to lead the learning and to co-create knowledge with their teachers.

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Students do it their way and they do it well!

gaildyer — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:06:19 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure to witness seven Stage 3 students from our school demonstrate their skills at making games to an audience of 80 teachers at the NSW Department of Education and Training’s Connected Learning Conference last week.

Three of the students presenting at the Conference had formal training in how to use Gamemaker at the end of 2006. At the end of that project the students said they had enjoyed the experience and learning about Gamemaker but they hated the way they were taught.

Before the next round of game making began students involved negotiated a Design Brief for the games they were to make. Brainstormed elements of a good game and developed a rubric with the criteria for evaluating their work.

The other four students were then taught by their three expert peers using a pedagogical method that suited their purposes and which would have sent me crazy. Between them, in 10 school days, they had created 4 maze games for students in a Stage 2 class to play as part of their unit on the Solar System. These games were also entered in a Learning Resource Awards competition for students.

The Belmore South students in their presentation demonstrated to the audience that their learning had incorporated most of the qualities identified in the NSW quality teaching model. The two students Sam-James and Sharliyah who demonstrated how to make a basic game showed a deep and thorough understanding and knowledge of the requirements of programming a digital game. The other panel members Aisha, Farabee, Yilmaz, Martin and Jasmeen demonstrated their games. They too demonstrated a deep understanding and knowledge of digital games structure and programming.

The panel chaired by Naomi, a Year 4 student, revealed the students’ evaluation of how their gamemaking experience progressed and why this kind of learning activity has an important part to play in their classroom.

It just goes to show you that if we listen to students and respond to them they will show themselves to be learners who are:

self motivated
enjoy taking ownership of a project / activity
capable of purposeful creativity
enjoy peer to peer teaching and do it very well.

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Future Scenarios . . . Learning Futures Symposium

gaildyer — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:00:07 +0000

Facilitator’s Introduction to Future Scenarios Session

We need to come to terms with the fact that the basis for the educational vision of the future will be radically different to those visions which informed schooling of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Traditional education has been based on the transmission theory, ie, one person transfers information to others who passively take it in at the same rate as all the others while continuing to focus on the person at the front of the room.

The learner of today and into the future needs to be an active learning partner rather than the passive recipient, “subject to a universally applied educational experience” where there is a one-size-fits-all solution.

There is now a greater emphasis on the need for learners to be actively constructing knowledge in stimulating environments that encourage the exchange of information, recognise the importance of building on prior knowledge and offer opportunities for rehearsal and feedback.

The need has become imperative because of the emergence of digital technologies and as we move into the future learning will become more connected with greater access to information and resources.

Digital technologies will promote:

The ability to work with and learn from a range of communities of interest and practice without the constraints of time and place and this will open up a whole range of possibilities for the reconfiguring of learning spaces.

The creation of international learning communities will become increasingly achievable as will opportunities for authentic learning with the increased ability to connect with, share information and learn from others.

Opportunities to generate, share, edit and publish materials will continue to grow, as will the emergence of new forms of digital creativity.

All of the above will encourage and facilitate greater collaboration rather than individualism.

Social software now part of everyday life for many will grow in popularity and offer huge potential for the self organisation of learning and peer to peer interaction.

As information sources and resources proliferate it will be increasingly important for learners to know how to acquire and build knowledge in social contexts, how to assess its quality and how best to apply it.

It is time to re-imagine and re-think relationships between staff and pupils and the processes learners go through as they progress through the education system.

Heppell,Chapman,Millwood,Constable and Furness(2004) Building Learning Futures, ULTRALAB suggested four scenarios outlining radically different directions that could be taken and which could influence the design of future learning environments.

ONE: No physical school at all. Learners are in the home learning from each other and experts who are online and maybe located in any part of the world. Tutors monitor and support vast numbers of learners who are following highly personalised curriculum.

TWO: The “dissolved secondary school” which is like a university with faculty centres spread across town each concentrating on an area of expertise. This model is a shared resource for the whole community with learners being of any age and offers greater potential for flexibility and a strong emphasis on lifelong learning.

THREE: The ‘extended’ school is so all embracing that it is the community. Life is spent on the campus and learning can take place wherever and whenever it is needed rather than following a traditional timetable. It offers almost infinite flexibility.

FOUR: The fortress school. Security is all. The learners are protectedfrom society from behind high walls, watched by security cameras and focussing at all times on the business of formal learning until they are ready to be reintroduced to the dangers of society.


Reference:

Tim Rudd, Carolyn Giford, Jo Morrison and Keri Facer (2006)What if . . .  re-imagining learning spaces, Futurelab.
S.Heppell, C.Chapman,R. Millwood, M.Constable and J.Furness(2004) Building Learning Futures, ULTRALAB 

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DS Lites   . . . expand students’ capacity for learning while playing.
gaildyer — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:18:03 +0000
While in Scotland, more precisely Dundee. I had the pleasure of visiting Derek Robertson in LTS  Consolarium. My colleague Kim and I had an amazing time engaging with hardware and software that appeared to have great potential in the classroom.
LTS were running a trial using the Brain Training Program and Derek reported that all students had shown improvement from point of pretest to the time when we were talking to him ( see Derek’s Blog).
Kim and I left Derek with so many ideas swimming around in our heads.
The first thing we did was go and buy 2 DS Lites and a couple of the programs Derek had recommended. That night rugged up warm and cosy by the fire in St Monans we played with the DS Lites, engrossed and engaged by the challenge they afforded us as adults, and adult learners at that.
The programs we had were Dr Kawashimas Brain Training, The Big Brain Academy, Phoenix Wright, Sponge Bob Square Pants and a Tamagochi style program, the name of which eludes me. Since then we have purchased many more as well as another 8 DS Lites for the students in Stage 3 ( Years 5/6).
These little machines and their programs were easy for us to master and neither of us would consider ourselves amazingly good with technology;however, we were hooked. As educators we could see the possibiities and the benefits were potentially enormous.
First of all of the programs we looked at are those that claim to be Brain Trainers . . .  Dr Kuwashima’s Brain Training picked up on a clever marketing ploy when he named his program Brain Training. The program requires a Brain Age Check. It uses the Stroop test and 20 x calculations to determine this. The the student undertakes daily brain training, which is charted over a period of time, to develop their brain age to the ideal 20 years. Each activity / game played trains the brain. Initially braining training involves only 3 components: Calculations x 20, x 100 and reading aloud. All depend on accuracy and speed. When the program determines the student is introduced to the other components: Low to High (numbers); Syllable count; Head Count; Triangle Math; Time Lapse and Voice Calculation. Sudoku games are also available for practice.
Our school has a couple of copies of Dr Kuwashima’s Brain Training. There has been huge demand on this program because of clever marketing program where it was promoted as a package that developed learning and delayed the onset of altsheimers in the elderly. We found the basic facts elements of the program really good and the training sound; however, the passages to be read in the initial test were way out of the range of our children. English as a second language also limited accuracy for reading the the speed passages as well. The notion of a younger brain is all very well for older people it is not as motivating for younger people. Our students will;however, trialling this on a daily basis
The program that we are more positive about testing at our school Belmore South Public School is The Big Brain Academy. It works on the principle of increasing the brain’s weight. This is more more appealing to the students. The program offers a test that is taken to determine intial Brain Weight. The student’s results are anlaysed and a diagram informs them of their areas of strength and weakness. They choose to practise accordingly. They test themselves on a weekly basis to test overall improvement. They practise skills daily.
The categories that determine the brain weight are ability to : analyse (reason), think (logic), compute(math), memorise(memory) and indentify((visual). In this program the games, their structure, the graphics and the challenge are all is engaging and motivating for the students.
Each category consists of three different activities with three levels of difficulty. When the students achieve a cetain score they achieve either a bronze, silver or gold medal for their effort.
Another advantage that the DS lites have is that they can be connected via wirelss. This allows the students not only to practise skills singly. They are also able to test their skills against their peers.
The DS Lites also provide a reasonably inexpensive way for our students to play a variety of computer games. This is good preparation for when we begin to analyse games in preparation for them developng their own Games.  They are asked to evaluate the games in terms of what constitutes a good game.
 They will begin to do plan and develop their own games in Semester 2 using either Game maker 7.0 or Mission maker. They cannot make a game without developing an appropriate narrative for its context. To play as many games as possible critically will give them good background.








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Technology, Games and the whole damn thing . .
gaildyer — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:48:59 +0000
While it is really good to be living in the peace and relative freedom that exists in this large land of ours, Australia, it has enormous drawbacks and detractors.
Our country is so large, our population so small and so isolated. To engage in dialogue with educators who have similar views and ideals is nigh on impossible. I am lucky that Kim Pericles and I work in the same school.
We are fortunate in that the experience we had in the UK earlier this year has made us aware of all the possibilities that exist when it comes to integrating technologies with classroom teaching practice.
We came home full of enthusiasm and a desire to make a difference and since then we seem to have been standing still caught in a web of indecision, so much to do, where to begin and how to begin.
It is wonderful to see that so many of the people we spoke to in the UK are now working together on things that we were talking about with them. They have taken Gamemaker, Missionmaker, Neverwinter Nights and Thinking Worlds and begun to do some serious study into the effects that game making has upon children’s learning and creativity.
They have the backing and the blessing of Learning Teaching Scotland, they are able to communicate face to face working within 60 minutes of each other, to share ideas to develop pedagogy and appropriate practice.
We feel like we are lone voices in the wilderness. Our system and the bureaucrats are obsessed by literacy and numeracy results. Each Principals’ meeting I have been to this year has been obsessed with the data and how we (our area, our region) look as a reult of the zillionth analysis of the data. Why can’t we let go and try something different that might actually engage our students and switch them on to being self directed learners.
We have applied for an ASISTM (Science, Technology and Mathematics) Grant to work across NSW BOS, with NSW DET Centre for Learning Innovation, Macquarie University and several professional teaching associations and a cluster of five schools, 2 High Schools and 3 primary schools. We want to look at developing the use of play and gamemaking in the development of creativity and enrichment of our students language learning experiences and also as a means of turning students onto programming, maths and physics. It seems like the decision about whether we are a worthy project is taking forever. Meanwhle LTS are motoring along doing great things.
And now you have elive to look forward to.
The NSW Centre for Learning Innovation is about to release a video on using Gamemaker in the classroom, we have been sharing teaching / learning strategies about the Interactive whiteboard and this has been filmed by the CLI for use in classrooms across NSW, especially as now the NSW Government has promised 1 interactive whiteboard per school as a matter of policy.
The NSW DET Centre for Learning Innovation has been fantastic they are a group of educators who want to fly ahead with encouraging teachers and students to use technology in a variety of different ways in the classroom. They can see the possibilities and have provided our school with enormous opportunities and encouraged Kim and I in our endeavours.
The NSW Board of Studies are also interested in promoting the use of technology, especially as they are undertaking the rewriting of the primary Science and Technology syllabus. Technologies, web 2.0, gamemaking and the mobile technologies all being well suited for any scientific explorations. The technologies;however, should not be limited to the science subjects. There are all manner of creative, language and social benefits acruing from the imaginative and creative use of these tools. if only we could get rid of this noose that is about our necks.

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Back in the Classroom
gaildyer — Mon, 07 May 2007 00:19:43 +0000
In March I was just beginning to get a roll on with writing my Blog. Then it happened we were one teacher down and a class out of control. (I could take the mickey out of myself and say “Super Principal to the rescue”) I had to go into a classroom and shock horror actually teach children. You know that thing that I used to do, for the past 15 years all I have done is tell teachers what, where, when and how they should be teaching. Now, alas, all eyes are on me. Can she really practice that which she preaches? That’s my excuse for the silence. Hours of preparation making sure content is right and structures are in place in the class to ensure the students have their best shot at becoming independent, motivated, engaged learners, using technology the lot. All cliche but really so much hard work to make it look easy as it comes to fruition. I wanted to write in our holidays but wasn’t ready the warm sunshine, the beautiful birds, the bushwalks, the clean air of the mountains not conducive to sitting with a computer on the lap, especially when the sun is so bright the screen can’t be seen. I wanted to write when I heard 3 old female teachers sitting at afternoon tea lamenting the fact that children come from primary school knowing nothing. All they seem to do there is these ridiculous activities they don’t learn anything. I felt like jumping up there and then and asking them to define learning so that I had at least an idea of what their concept of it was and why they felt kids coming to them knew nothing. I was twice as aggravated because there I was (in my holidays) sitting with a literacy teaching strategies book poring over it to ensure the activities I was planning for the children were appropriate to their needs while being engaging, motivating and to a degree (depending of level) self directed. I wanted to ask them how often they had reviewed and revisited their lessons for their classes in the past 30 years. I wanted to know if they ever engaged in meaningful conversation with their students. Had they ever asked their students to critically reflect upon their learning and the teachers teaching? What technology did they use? What activities had they co-planned with their students? Had they negotiated an assessment rubric with their students? But in the end the view and the fresh clean air calmed, the activities were planned and I thought how glad I was that I didn’t know teachers like them!! I had only been taught by some. Why is it that teachers can’t see that often they are the biggest turn off and the biggest joke to the kids because they take themselves and their subject so seriously. They love being the centre of the classroom, the fount of knowledge which (in their mind) puts them in a powerful position and because they believe this that the students are in a lesser position. No wonder kids of today are switching off in droves.

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