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Metacognition and Self-Regulation for students

Posted on September 1, 2020 by admin

This week, my colleague and I created a report based on feedback from our staff about Remote Learning 2.0. An important theme which came through in this feedback, was that students struggled with meta-cognition and being self-regulated learners. Evidence from the “Evidence for Learning” Teaching & Learning Toolkit suggests that the use of metacognition and self-regulation can lead to learning gains of +7 months over the course of a year, when used well. Nonetheless, it can seem an elusive topic. ^a Self-regulated learning includes the cognitive, behavioural, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning. By teaching our students specific strategies for planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning, we can increase their success, confidence and engagement, but how do we go about doing that?

Continue reading “Metacognition and Self-Regulation for students”

Metacognition and self‑regulated learning | Evidence for Learning | (2020). Retrieved 23 September 2020, from https://evidenceforlearning.org.au/guidance-reports/metacognition-and-selfregulated-learning (back)

Appreciative Inquiry: Conversations worth having

Posted on August 22, 2020 by admin

Our new Head of Campus introduced me to ‘Appreciative Inquiry’. Here is an oft cited definition of what ‘AI’ is: “At its heart, AI is about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the strengths-filled, opportunity-rich world around them. AI is not so much a shift in the methods and models of organizational change, but AI is a fundamental shift in the overall perspective taken throughout the entire change process to ‘see’ the wholeness of the human system and to “inquire” into that system’s strengths, possibilities, and successes. ” ^a

I read the book “Conversations Worth Having” ^b on Scribd. This is a subscription service, you pay $9 AUD a month and get fantastic access to books, documents and podcasts. I like reading non-fiction on Scribd because of the easy highlighting you can do with both Scribd and Diigo. I like Scribd better than Audible and Amazon.

What is ‘Appreciative Inquiry’?

AI can be the catalyst for organisational or behavioural change and can be used in all situations where humans interact. Stavros describes it as follows: “AI consists of the cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them and that solving tough problems from that perspective results in creative solutions, which is life-giving for people.” ^c The idea of Appreciative Inquiry resonates with me because I try to always take a strengths based approach in my dealings with people and the world, rather than a deficit approach. I try to see the best in people, situations and organisations. AI is all about looking at strengths, rather than weaknesses and deficits.

Appreciate inquiry is so called because you ask questions about and investigate what is good. Your inquiry appreciates and builds on the good and the successful, rather than identifying and investigating what is negative and wrong. Continue reading “Appreciative Inquiry: Conversations worth having”

Excerpt from: Stavros, Jacqueline, Godwin, Lindsey, & Cooperrider, David. (2015). Appreciative Inquiry: Organization Development and the Strengths Revolution. In Practicing Organization Development: A guide to leading change and transformation (4th Edition), William Rothwell, Roland Sullivan, and Jacqueline Stavros (Eds). Wiley, source (back)
Link to Conversations Worth Having on Scribd: . https://www.scribd.com/book/375406194/Conversations-Worth-Having-Using-Appreciative-Inquiry-to-Fuel-Productive-and-Meaningful-Engagement (back)
From Conversations Worth Having, Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful, Engagement, Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres. Page unknown because I took notes in Scribd via Diigo, which didn’t include page numbers, further citations will just be “Conversations worth having” (back)

Changing the “Grammar of Schooling”

Posted on July 28, 2020 by admin

I watched a seminar today, by Melbourne Uni MGSE: Professor Yong Zhao on “Education leaders must reconsider the way we teach and learn”. He challenged us to think about different possibilities in education in response to Covid.

Here is the article Zhao wrote on that: https://kami.app/zVi8JPKpWFe7 I made some highlights and comments in Kami, you can add your own if you are so inclined.

It raises some interesting questions about the lessons we have learnt from lockdown, particularly when it comes to flexibility and trust.

Abstract (TL:DR) is below. Abstract: Speak a Different Language: Reimagine the Grammar of Schooling, by Yong Zhao

Quality Teaching Rounds: Talking about great teaching

Posted on March 29, 2020 by admin

Quality Teaching Rounds, developed by Jenny Gore and Julie Bowe, involves teachers working in professional learning communities (PLCs) of four or more to observe and analyse each other’s teaching (Bowe & Gore, 2017) ^a. The QTR is a protocol using a set of “good teaching practice” criteria with which a lesson is “coded” and then discussed by a group of three or four teachers. The three dimensions and 18 elements are grouped in three domains of good pedagogy: Intellectual Quality, Quality Learning Environment and Significance.

How it works:

A group of four teachers (three could work, but four is optimal) observe a lesson by one of the group. The three observers “code” the lesson using the Quality Teaching criteria. After the lesson, the group of four get together and discuss the lesson. The discussion is not an appraisal of the teacher; it is about discussing the elements of good teaching.

Below are my notes of an excellent two day PD I was lucky enough to attend ^b, guided by Professor Jenny Gore. She was insightful, interesting and showed us how the QTR model is one of the few ways in which teachers can have safe and constructive discussions based on lesson observations.

I have blogged about Jenny Gore’s QTR before, but at that time, I didn’t fully get how useful and great this protocol actually is. Now I do, and I can’t wait to start working with it at my school. Here is the blog post from June 2016.
Continue reading “Quality Teaching Rounds: Talking about great teaching”

https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1336&context=research_conference (back)
On the 25th and 26th of February 2020, at Lauriston Girls’ School (back)

Effective Mentoring, VIT

Posted on March 29, 2020 by admin

I attended a VIT refresher course on Thursday the 5th of March 2020, led by Catharine Hydon and Matt Woodley from the VIT. My main take-away was how important it is to have a clearly defined induction and mentorship program with well trained and committed mentors. At my school, we have a lot of good people and great intentions, but we have some way to go towards properly formalising our processes.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be. (Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring)
As a process, mentoring may be generally described as a dynamic interpersonal relationship involving two or more people. Mentoring in early childhood is often perceived as “a peer relationship” (Nolan, 2007, xvii), where a more experienced practitioner provides professional guidance to one or more novice practitioners, either on a 1:1 basis or as a group. (Wong and Waniganayake 2013)
Need to have a written down protocol or policy to support VIT teachers.

What mentoring isn’t

Performance management
Training
Peer friendship and support
Counselling
Rescuing

What good mentors do?

The good mentor is:

committed to the role of mentoring.
accepting of the beginning teacher.
skilled at providing instructional support.
effective in different interpersonal contexts.
a model of a continuous learner.
The good mentor communicates hope and optimism. ^a
My notes here

Continue reading “Effective Mentoring, VIT”

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may99/vol56/num08/The-Good-Mentor.aspx (back)

Evaluating Professional Development

Posted on February 29, 2020 by admin

My school is currently trialing and evaluating different forms and modes of professional development. I did some reading to gain perspectives on how to evaluate the effectiveness of professional development.

I read two articles about PD evaluation, both by Thomas Guskey, who seems to have made this his academic niche.

Article 1: What Works in Professional Development?

Abstract of “What works in Professional Development“: ^a A research synthesis confirms the difficulty of translating professional development into student achievement gains despite the intuitive and logical connection. Those responsible for planning and implementing professional development must learn how to critically assess and evaluate the effectiveness of what they do.” You can read the article with detailed comments by a broad group of educators here: https://kami.app/J15eQMqxFzOk.

While this article is interesting, it is also questionable because its quite considerable conclusions seems to rest from just 9 ‘valid’ studies. All the other studies were dismissed because of problems with the methodology. So; it is too hard to do valid studies into the efficacy of Professional Development and its impact on student outcomes? Can we make any statements about the impact of PD on student outcomes? Jenny Gore would say she has evidence for the effectiveness of the Quality teaching rounds model.

Continue reading “Evaluating Professional Development”

What Works in Professional Development?
Guskey, Thomas R.; Yoon, Kwang Suk
Phi Delta Kappan, v90 n7 p495-500 Mar 2009
https://tguskey.com/wp-content/uploads/Professional-Learning-5-What-Works-in-Professional-Development.pdf Accessed 29/02/20 (back)

Getting students to talk about pages in a textbook

Posted on February 23, 2020 by admin

I try to get the students to talk through their understanding and ideas as much as possible. Some days I’m more successful than others. It can be challenging to deal with long text book passages and making the info on those pages ‘stick’. The other day I tried a new activity, I call it Study Group Tabata. It worked well. It is roughly based on Ron Ritchhart’s MicroLab and allows students to talk through new information from a textbook, and then work towards answering a central question. It can be adapted to any subject.

Aim of the task: To understand a complex issue (in this case Gleichschaltung in N*zi Germany) and then answer a central question (“How successful was Gleichschaltung?”)
How: Break down the complex issue into elements. (In my case, political parties, trade unions, regional states: This was based on pages and topics in the textbook)
- Activity:
  - - Groups of three.
    - Student 1 discusses subtopic 1 for 45 seconds.
    - Student 2 discusses same subtopic 1 for 45 seconds.
    - Student 3 summarises subtopic 1 and highlights the key issues and knowledge. Student 3 could be a note-taker too.

Continue reading “Getting students to talk about pages in a textbook”

Better conversations, Jim Knight

Posted on February 15, 2020 by admin

I have really enjoyed reading Jim Knight’s “Better Conversations”. It is inspirational in the way it makes you mindful of what we do all day: Talk. We talk at, about, with and to each other. We all know how great it feels to have a truly wonderful, productive and invigorating conversation. What if more of our conversations could be even better? Knight provides some common sense approaches, but to call it ‘common sense’ is unfair because if having great conversations is common sense and easy, then why do we have bad/unproductive conversations, or conversations which could have been better?

I picked the 5 chapters I found most interesting and relevant, and used the mindmaps Knight provides at the beginning of each chapter as my guide to form my own notes and understanding. For this I used the software package MindJet Mindmanager, which our school provides for our students and created this mindmap overview: Better conversations Jim Knight (also see below)

Better conversations (Ch1)
The Better Conversations Beliefs (Ch 2)
Ask better questions to foster inquiry (Ch5)
Redirecting toxic words and emotions (Ch8)
Building Trust (Ch9)

My key takeaways: Continue reading “Better conversations, Jim Knight”

Pareto Principle; work smarter not harder

Posted on December 18, 2019 by admin

I had heard of the 20/80 rule, but had never really looked into it deeply. It’s such a great strategy for teachers in many ways. Basically: “Find out what is vital, ignore what is trivial, and you can maximize results.” ^a When making a to do list (which I do often), identify the top 20% and focus on finishing those off first. Here is a distillation of my reading and understanding (all links provided) : Continue reading “Pareto Principle; work smarter not harder”

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/10/01/the-80-20-rule (back)

A week on #edutweetoz, in polls

Posted on December 7, 2019 by admin

Twitter continues to be my favourite form of professional development. The networking and ideas I get from it are just invaluable to my teaching practice. I had another go at hosting @edutweetoz for a week (from 24/11/19 till 01/12/19). It was great fun, but it also made me realise how used I am to my own posse of people on Twitter. It felt quite different to interact with a whole new (and much bigger) group of people. One of my themes for the week was to run lots of polls because they are easy to interact with and can start some interesting conversations. Below are the polls I ran. Some interesting data about the working life of teachers:

43% of respondents work through recess
45% of respondents stay at work until after 5pm
47% of respondents eat lunch at their desk
65% of respondents use Sunday to prep for Monday
77% of respondents are a member of a teachers union

See more polls below, in random order: Continue reading “A week on #edutweetoz, in polls”

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