Educating the Dragon

Final VPLD Hot Seat for the year

Christina Ward: Teaching as Inquiry

Session Overview

“Teachers are at the heart of school improvement, and with all the change in the
world and new understandings about learning it is essential that they too keep
learning. “
(Stoll, Fink & Earl, 2003)

In this session we will explore teaching as inquiry by:

discussing the process and its place in The New Zealand Curriculum,
taking a look at the characteristics of schools and classrooms where high
levels of teaching as inquiry are evident
sharing examples from New Zealand schools, and other useful resources.

Bio:

Christina Ward manages New Zealand Curriculum Online. Since 2004, she has worked with the education sector to ensure schools have access to quality information to support curriculum development and implementation. She also encourages them to contribute to the online environment, share their stories and make connections with each other.

Christina is also closely involved in a number of online environments, including Key Competencies Online, Middle Schooling, Secondary Middle Leaders, Community Engagement, Software For Learning, and Te Manawa Pou.

Christina was a classroom teacher before launching into curriculum resource development and publishing, then Social Studies Online and the exemplar project.

Follow up notes, summary and material available.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Roberta Gbowee

Leymah Roberta Gbowee has been awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. She is a Peace Activist in Liberia responsible for leading a women's peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.

She began organizing Christian and Muslim women to demonstrate together, founding Liberian Mass Action for Peace and launching protests and a sex strike.

They staged protests that included the threat of a curse and a sex strike: "The [sex] strike lasted, on and off, for a few months. It had little or no practical effect, but it was extremely valuable in getting us media attention."In a highly risky move, the women finally occupied a field that had been used for soccer; it was beside Tubman Boulevard, the route Charles Taylor traveled twice a day, to and from Capitol Hill.To make themselves more recognizable as a group, all of the women wore T-shirts that were white, signifying peace, with the WIPNET logo and white hair ties.Taylor finally granted a hearing for the women on April 23, 2003. With more than 2,000 women massed outside his executive mansion, Gbowee was the person designated to make their case to him.Gbowee positioned her face to be seen by Taylor but directed her words to Grace Minor, the president of the senate and the only female government official present. [1]

She is a wonderfully gentle woman with a warm heart and a generous spirit.Her dry sense of humour was evident on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. She should be an inspiration to all of us...

Duffy Hero Assembly...anyone??

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Useful Links:

[1] Wikipedia article: Leymah Roberta Gbowee
Wikipedia article : Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace
Leymah Roberta Gbowee website
Purchase the Book

Top tips for Maths and ICT: Presentation

D9 Teacher presents...

When: 15th November 2011
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Venue: St Matthew’s School, Hasting, NZ
Using ICT software tools to empower students and maximize teaching and learning.

Using ICT to support the Maths curriculum on Prezi

The presentation went well today. My Prezi - viewed above may, or make not make much sense without the explanation but I figured I'd share it here anyway.

The main section requiring further detail is below...

What makes a quality Maths lesson?

An inclusive classroom climate

Students should be within an enviroment that fosters confidence and the ability to take risks, to discuss with others, and to listen actively. Provision of a well-organised environment that maximises students’ learning time are critical. The valuing of student diversity – academically, socially, and culturally – is fundamental to the development of positive relationships between teacher and students (Bishop et al., 2003). Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: The Māori Education Strategy 2008–2012 and Pasifika Education Plan 2008–2012 support schools to provide inclusive classroom climates for all students.

Focused planning

Both formal and informal assessments identify needs of students. Planning is personalised to the students needs. Students are aware of (and sometimes set) the learning goals. These goals change and grow as learning occurs.

Problem-centred activities

Cross-national comparisons show that students in high-performing countries spend a large proportion of their class time solving problems (Stigler & Hiebert, 1997). The students do so individually as well as co-operatively. Fundamental to this is a shared belief, between teacher and students, that the responsibility for knowledge creation lies with the students (Clarke & Hoon, 2005).

Responsive lessons

Differentiation is the key here. Where teachers constantly monitor their students’ thinking and react by continually adjusting the tasks, questions, scaffolding, and feedback provided.

Connections

Teachers use powerful representations of concepts and transparently link mathematical vocabulary and symbols with actions on materials. The use of realistic contexts helps students to connect mathematics with their worlds.

High expectations

Teachers ask questions that provoke high-order thinking skills, such as analysing, synthesising and they have high expectations for student achievement. They encourage students to regulate their own learning, make their own learning decisions, and be self-critical. Successful teachers provide incentives, recognition, and support for students to be independent learners.

Equity

Success for all students is a key goal, and quality teachers provide extra time for students with high learning needs. They promote respect and empathy in their students for the needs of others.
From TKI:National Standards: Standards and effective teaching