This page becomes the space for each of you to report on the impact that the conference has on you and your teaching practice or influencing your leadership role and what is your goal, achievable over the next few months. As you begin to embed and try out the ideas you gained from the conference, the expectation is that you will reflect here and update during the next 4 months. Extracts and summaries from the information you supply, will be used in the milestone report in June as this is one of the national goals.
Another of the cluster milestone objectives is to use an array of thinking tools.
I developed a L'n'P reflective tool that you may like to try. L - what did you Learn N -what did you kNow but now can see a purpose for using P- what do you Promise to Put into Practice when you get back to school
David Heyle created some really useful thinking maps.
Perhaps one of these tools may assist you to clarify your thinking and help you introduce something new from the conference to your students or your staff. I believe it would be really good if you were able to include a thinking map here with your reflections. If you need some assistance this can be one of your objectives for Jocelyn's work with you when she visits your school.
Dave Robinson
I had an interesting time this year with my focus mainly on values and teaching rather than web 2 tools. Julia Atkin had some thought provoking things to say about values and how they are embedded in your classroom programme. Seemed a bit like the work we did building a classroom climate 20 years ago when I trained to teach and has just been part of what I do but is seems society has now changed and we feel the need to write it down and make it a part of actual teaching. The best part of the conference ( apart from the great dinner! Yeah right!) was a breakout called Thinking without hats and keys. An amazing look at a teacher from 1949 who was well ahead of his time. He showed us how, with the use of the environment and the children's interest he could motivate and get them to achieve well beyond expectations and like many trail blazers was constantly hastled by the Department of Education for not following the curriculum. Seems good teaching has always been a part of our history and we should not lose sight of that teachable moment!
Tracey Harrold
Lynda Taylor
Having spent some years away from an ICTPD cluster, as a new principal, this conference was (to coin a favourite Julia Atkin phrase) very 'just in time' learning for me. It was a great opportunity to re-focus and hear again from Juia Atkin and Cheryl Doig. Both speakers talked about how to engage the community in determining values and beliefs and Julia reminded me of her model where our values and beliefs drive our principles, which in turn drives our practice. The power of the New Zealand Curriculum is that it gives schools greater flexibility to design and implement the curriculum through collaborative engagement. So, for me that's my next step - to engage our community in creating and implementing a curriculum that is truely lived and owned by everyone. What is the Leeston Way? What does success mean for our students? How involved are our students in the planning and implementation of their learning? How can we help students better know themselves as learners? What messages does our school give about learning? And so, my action over the coming weeks is to talk to our children about their learning, and ask them to tell me what learning is. I'll put together a dispaly which will I hope be the start of many discussions as we think about what we value and believe, and how these will drive our principles and our practice here at Leeston.
Olivia Brown
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference this year. Being a first year teacher it was all very overwhelming but I got many new ideas and plenty of inspiration. Unfortunately i forgot that it was only myself and Lynda at the conference and when we came back I quicky remembered that not all of us had been away and school had been running as normal. We are beginning to set up an Inquiry model of our own so the workshops that were chosen were applicable to this. It is prooving to be difficult to motivate staff who weren't there but this is something we are working hard on now.
One workshop which was really usefull was one presented by two ladies from Weymouth School called "The Steps to Success". It clearly outlined how to set up an Inquiry model and the different reflections which staff had.
A great week in all.
-Since being back at school...
We have esablished a curriculum team and dedicated time in our meetings to develop our Inquiry model further. I have researched many different models with no real preference. It is now up to us as a whole team to design and implement a school wide Inquiry model which we are all happy with. Ou on-going goal is to have a drafe Inquiry model by the end of the term and have it implemented in term four this year.
Chris's goals:
To share what she has learnt with staff and students.
To achieve this she will:
Offer PD at staff meetings
keep the enthusiam of the staff up
keep staff aware through publications
keep staff aware through being a lead teacher
inform staff of whats going on in the cluster.
Karen Sinclair
Rachel Couling
I have included my top 3 outbreaks to share. I enjoyed all of the outbreaks and found that I got something useful out of all of them. Some where very practical and others where inspirational.
Effective ICT Planning
(Megan Marshall & Victoria Geor)
Key Competencies (Trevor Bond)
Juniors can do “IT”
(Rachel Boyd)
What I learnt
I learnt some new strategies for allowing all staff to contribute to ICT focuses for each term and allowing various staff to work on task that they are comfortable with.
By downloading a digital version of the Curriculum Document you can then do searches that will bring up every page that mentions your search word. Eg. key competencies
Some different ideas and concrete activities that could be used with junior classes, particularly showing how to use photography in different ways.
What I knew but can now see a purpose for.
Stand alone ICT sessions is not the best way to develop competence use of ICT
i)That it is really important to clarify what is important for our kids and go from there.
ii) when advertising for staff the vision should be included in the advert (looking for someone who fits your school’s vision not just various subjects.
I have always used the camera for class activities and feel quite confident in this area. I also feel that the older children have become good at photography. Through this outbreak I have learnt some new ways of using the camera and incorporating thinking skills.
What I promise to put into practice
To include in staff meetings the opportunity to talk about current topics and collectively discuss inclusion of ICT at all levels. This means teachers at all levels will have a list of possible ICT items and can choose from this.
Writing up notes and sharing with other staff.
I have already used some of the activities that Rachel shared with us and will definitely try others, in appropriate situations.
Vals using SOLO taxonomy here. Pam Hook the 2nd key note introduced this in her address. He is a jpg of Val's reflection so you don't have to download her doc. J
I have introduced the solo taxonomy to the children and have found the examples and sentence starters a great help for guiding the children in their thinking. The use of this tool will be ongoing. From the conference I have also used Skype to interact with another school and have realised some of the possibilities of using 'Youtube' within the class. Reflecting on MY growth in the ICT area so far this year I question where will I be next year without this support and these opportunities!!!! Val
Andrea Klassen
Created in Inspiration and saved as a gif or a jpg. Andrea Klassen - Rotorua Reflection Update.11th May
Sorry my Inspiration page is very fuzzy - no you don't need to go for an eye test! Haven't figured out why it did this. It was perfectly fine on Inspiration - it lost it in transition! So what has happened since Rotorua? I have made good use of the idea from David Anderson of the parrot on the shoulder asking "What is the purpose?" for my classroom programmes. I find that it really directs my teaching. As a school we have done a lot on questioning to try to get the children to ask effective questions and to be deeper thinkers. I have continued work on my Toolbox and the children now have quite a range of Thinking tools and Graphic Organisers to use as they need. I have put a sheet, titled "What I have used out of the Toolbox today" on the wall above the Toolbox for the children to write what they use out of it so that I can see what is useful or what I may need to model more so that the children are confident in using them.I have started to set up displays of the Thinking Tools in the classroom. I have found hats for all the colours and have them on the wall and I am now working on the Thinkers keys for display. This is to encourage one of the things I wanted to put into practice from Rotorua - Don't work harder than my students - let them do the thinking, the wondering, the inquiry....
The other workshops I went to in Rotorua were on the curriculum development. Since Rotorua, as a school, we have done a lot on our curriculum ie vision and graphic, values, principles and beliefs, plus consultation and feedback. I have found the workshop that I went to with eTime's Faye Le Cren most useful for this as she gave us clear guidelines and a step by step action plan to follow which have pointed a clear direction for me. I am feeling more excited and also feel that I know what to do to lead the curriculum development since that workshop. We have also hired eTime to work with us on our Teacher Only day.
Cheryl Morrall
My second trip to Rotorua.
I know that I have learnt so much since last year.
I know that the more I learn the more there is to learn.
I know that technology can still let us down.
I know that I was really fortunate to go to Rotorua again and have come back excited with great ideas that are making a difference for my students.
The breakouts that were highlights for me were all classroom related.
Their titles say it all
Establishing a questioning culture in a junior classroom
Walk, Talk, Live Values in a Junior Classroom
E-learning in a Year 2 classroom
My goal is to make the very most of my time within this learning community.
However I worry about sustainability when the contract finishes, and hope that the connections made will continue beyond this year.
6.5.09
Since Rotorua I have worked on developing a "questioning and thinking culture" in my classroom. I have also contributed to our schoolwide development of the revised curriculum. I have enrolled in a Learnz fieldtrip for the first time in an effort to engage some reluctant boy learners.
My worry about sustainability remains, to be addressed later in the year.
James Petronelli
Tamara Bell
I had some great and no so great breakouts this year. The best breakout for me was E-Portfolios - a personal space for learning. Presented by Ian Fox and Lenva Shearing from Buckland Beach Intermediate.www.cooltoolsforschools.comwww.ian.fox.co.nz www.electronicportfolios.org (Dr Helen Barrett)
They are using KnowledgeNet to produce e-portfolios for all their students and spent the session sharing what their portfolios contained and showed us samples of kids work and final portfolios. It was excellent to see the high quality work being produced by the kids and the use of so many ICT tools. The portfolios included· video, podcasts,mp3,blogs, goals, achievements, teacher feedback, personal info, digital pics, presentations, reflections, samples, examples, goal setting. Parents and teachers were making text comments and even audio podcasts to give the students feedback and input into what their goals should be or their own assessment of the childs achievement.. The best thing about this breakout was that we have taken something purposeful away from it that we can implement in our school.We are now going to head down this track and as of this year will begin e-portfolios in the senior class, Year 7/8s as a 'trial run'. Very cool stuff - I can see the benefits for our teachers, parents and most importantly our students-who by the way, are going to be very engaged and excited by this!
Linda Sweeny
This was my first year and I took advantage of the breakouts that I felt would benefit my teaching of ict in the classroom. I collected information about free internet resources that I can use to support my teaching and the learning of the children in my class this was presented by Karen Rolleston of Manzana, see Delicious and search Manzana for what was shared. My second breakout was with Edith Cross who has won the Hollyoake Award and spoke about the use of SOLO to support her interactive classroom. My breakout on effective use Keynote, GarageBand, KidPix and IPhoto in the junior classroom was inspiring and I left with great ideas about using these with my senior class.
GOAL - Impliment Eportfolios into senior class
REFLECTION - After Rotorua I continued to research the use of Eportfolios and visited Kerry Hall at Cashmere Primary to find out how she producing Eportfolios in her classroom. This term my class has developed ppt.s and are uploading school portfolio requirements and reflecting on their learning. These will be used to support learning conferences at the end of the term.
GOAL - Introduce the use of Eportfolio at home as a reflective tool between children, parents and school.
Sarah Wiki-Bennett
Rotorua Refelction With a large staff turnover it was important to ensure the Management team had a good base and understanding of the direction the school was heading in regards to the integration of ICT and the development of the school curriculum to reflect the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC).The biggest impact the Rotorua conference had for KMS was that all members of the Management team were present at the conference and had time together to reflect on the past two years and to further develop ideas for a clearer strategic direction for the school.
All team members were interested by the work of Pam Hook (keynote and feet first breakout) and the use of SOLO taxonomy in student’s learning.The first step to implementing this idea is to understand what is currently being done in classrooms along the lines of using thinking tools.Aligning this with the work on the NZC and ensuring teachers are supported to reflect and evaluate their own learning and needs for professional development in this area.
Rotorua Refelction Update Gathering and Analysing Thinking Skills Data Principal to:
View each teachers planning and identify the number and range of thinking tools and strategies used.
Evidence of Teacher Improvement After sharing the thinking skills data with the staff, many staff reflected that they integrate thinking tools in their class.However it is evident that this is not reflected or transferred into the planning stage. Discussions ensued as to the need to preplan the use and integration of thinking tools to ensure that thinking tools are scaffolded throughout the learning.
A teacher came to me and discussed that she refers to the use of a Y chart on the wall and all her students know where it is and how to independently use it.She then returned two days later mortified as after observations and questioning through the day only 50% of her class (27 pupils) knew where the Y chart example was on the wall and only 15% of her class were able to use it effectively.
The teacher’s professional reflection on data shared has been positive as it has now moved into an action research cycle where all teachers will pursue integration of thinking tools for students to use effectively but more importantly to bring about awareness of explicitly teaching thinking skills.
Next Step Give each teacher an opportunity to extend their experiences by sending them on a unique PD experience.All teachers except for the management team will attend an eTime Apple Tour in August.
Rotorua Refelction With a large staff turnover it was important to ensure the Management team had a good base and understanding of the direction the school was heading in regards to the integration of ICT and the development of the school curriculum to reflect the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC).The biggest impact the Rotorua conference had for KMS was that all members of the Management team were present at the conference and had time together to reflect on the past two years and to further develop ideas for a clearer strategic direction for the school.
All team members were interested by the work of Pam Hook (keynote and feet first breakout) and the use of SOLO taxonomy in student’s learning.The first step to implementing this idea is to understand what is currently being done in classrooms along the lines of using thinking tools.Aligning this with the work on the NZC and ensuring teachers are supported to reflect and evaluate their own learning and needs for professional development in this area.
Rotorua Refelction Update Gathering and Analysing Thinking Skills Data Principal to:
View each teachers planning and identify the number and range of thinking tools and strategies used.
Evidence of Teacher Improvement After sharing the thinking skills data with the staff, many staff reflected that they integrate thinking tools in their class.However it is evident that this is not reflected or transferred into the planning stage. Discussions ensued as to the need to preplan the use and integration of thinking tools to ensure that thinking tools are scaffolded throughout the learning.
A teacher came to me and discussed that she refers to the use of a Y chart on the wall and all her students know where it is and how to independently use it.She then returned two days later mortified as after observations and questioning through the day only 50% of her class (27 pupils) knew where the Y chart example was on the wall and only 15% of her class were able to use it effectively.
The teacher’s professional reflection on data shared has been positive as it has now moved into an action research cycle where all teachers will pursue integration of thinking tools for students to use effectively but more importantly to bring about awareness of explicitly teaching thinking skills.
Next Step Give each teacher an opportunity to extend their experiences by sending them on a unique PD experience.All teachers except for the management team will attend an eTime Apple Tour in August.
KMS Strategic Plan 2009
Management Team to attend Rotorua learning@schools conference
From reflections of conference management team to pursue a focus to develop with the whole staff
Share with the staff the strategic plan for 2009
Align the school’s charter with the new focus
Opportunities to change ideas and develop further as a team
Opportunities to share skills with colleagues
Observations of teaching and analysis of planning
Plan a whole school inquiry unit for implementation in term 2
ICT lead teacher to take techie sessions on new ICT’s
Teachers to share their own ICT skills
Share data with staff
Create professional goal around teaching thinking skills
Work through an action research cycle
Collaborate across the cluster
Teacher’s only day – develop the school’s curriculum reflecting the NZC
Teachers have the opportunity to attend Apple Tour
Barb Kennedy
Rotorua Reflection Having the opportunity to attend Rotorua with the other two members of the management team was one of the biggest highlights for me.The team had an opportunity to reflect on the past two years and get one new team member up to speed with the curriculum vision we’d set two years ago.I would really recommend that teams are sent to this conference because it has been the catalyst for the sustainability strategy that we have begun to put into place.
Pam Hook (keynote) had a huge influence on my learning.I really enjoyed her keynote and what she had to say as far as using SOLO taxonomy with students of varying ages.I attended her Feet First outbreak also.The information contained in this unit is enormous and anyone could easily follow it and sustain the learning in their classroom for a whole year.Feet First is a programme which provides online content and inspiration around the global ethics of care and concern for our own, and our communities well being.Students and teachers will have the opportunity to consider the wider issues related to walking such as urban design, community development or the environment.The approach focuses on encouraging learning opportunities and supporting safe walking.To register or for more information visit www.feetfirst.govt.nz
Rotorua Update Once the team had time to reflect we were able to get together early Friday morning before leaving Rotorua.It was important to reflect while our learning was still fresh in our minds.The team decided that incorporating SOLO taxonomy into our inquiry model was something that we wanted to pursue.We did not know however, what thinking tools were currently being used by the teachers and if they were effective.It was decided to complete observations and analysis of planning to collect data to help teachers make decisions about their own professional learning goals.Information was shared with the teachers.
What Next Teachers will be working with a Management team member to devise an action research plan around how to build on using thinking tools and strategies effectively in their classroom programmes.
Scott Jermyn
"Follow the nipples"!!
I found Pam Hooks presentation extremely valuable. To hear and see Yr 6 students so articulate and knowledgeable about their learning warmed the cockles of my heart. To be able to marinade in her ideas for a couple of weeks then spend more time with her has been very useful. I can see the solo taxonomy fitting into my learning programmes extremely well, and hopefully I can present some articulate and knowledgeable students who "like the pictures" too.
SCOTT'S THOUGHTS.
Having even more time to think about the Learning@schools conference and my previous reflections on the value of hearing Pam Hook speak AND also spending time working with Pam and Julie through KMS's participation in a EHSAS contract I now can see the relevance of integrating ICT into the SOLO Taxonomy. SO my goal is to integrate ICT into the SOLO taxonomy and have children assessing their work using the SOLO taxonomy.
I think this will assist the children to be more accountable for their learning and will also assist them to become more autonomous.
SCOTT.
Another of the cluster milestone objectives is to use an array of thinking tools.
I developed a L'n'P reflective tool that you may like to try.
L - what did you Learn
N -what did you kNow but now can see a purpose for using
P- what do you Promise to Put into Practice when you get back to school
David Heyle created some really useful thinking maps.
Perhaps one of these tools may assist you to clarify your thinking and help you introduce something new from the conference to your students or your staff. I believe it would be really good if you were able to include a thinking map here with your reflections. If you need some assistance this can be one of your objectives for Jocelyn's work with you when she visits your school.
Dave Robinson
I had an interesting time this year with my focus mainly on values and teaching rather than web 2 tools. Julia Atkin had some thought provoking things to say about values and how they are embedded in your classroom programme. Seemed a bit like the work we did building a classroom climate 20 years ago when I trained to teach and has just been part of what I do but is seems society has now changed and we feel the need to write it down and make it a part of actual teaching. The best part of the conference ( apart from the great dinner! Yeah right!) was a breakout called Thinking without hats and keys. An amazing look at a teacher from 1949 who was well ahead of his time. He showed us how, with the use of the environment and the children's interest he could motivate and get them to achieve well beyond expectations and like many trail blazers was constantly hastled by the Department of Education for not following the curriculum. Seems good teaching has always been a part of our history and we should not lose sight of that teachable moment!Tracey Harrold
Lynda Taylor
Having spent some years away from an ICTPD cluster, as a new principal, this conference was (to coin a favourite Julia Atkin phrase) very 'just in time' learning for me. It was a great opportunity to re-focus and hear again from Juia Atkin and Cheryl Doig. Both speakers talked about how to engage the community in determining values and beliefs and Julia reminded me of her model where our values and beliefs drive our principles, which in turn drives our practice. The power of the New Zealand Curriculum is that it gives schools greater flexibility to design and implement the curriculum through collaborative engagement. So, for me that's my next step - to engage our community in creating and implementing a curriculum that is truely lived and owned by everyone. What is the Leeston Way? What does success mean for our students? How involved are our students in the planning and implementation of their learning? How can we help students better know themselves as learners? What messages does our school give about learning? And so, my action over the coming weeks is to talk to our children about their learning, and ask them to tell me what learning is. I'll put together a dispaly which will I hope be the start of many discussions as we think about what we value and believe, and how these will drive our principles and our practice here at Leeston.Olivia Brown
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference this year. Being a first year teacher it was all very overwhelming but I got many new ideas and plenty of inspiration. Unfortunately i forgot that it was only myself and Lynda at the conference and when we came back I quicky remembered that not all of us had been away and school had been running as normal. We are beginning to set up an Inquiry model of our own so the workshops that were chosen were applicable to this. It is prooving to be difficult to motivate staff who weren't there but this is something we are working hard on now.One workshop which was really usefull was one presented by two ladies from Weymouth School called "The Steps to Success". It clearly outlined how to set up an Inquiry model and the different reflections which staff had.
A great week in all.
-Since being back at school...
We have esablished a curriculum team and dedicated time in our meetings to develop our Inquiry model further. I have researched many different models with no real preference. It is now up to us as a whole team to design and implement a school wide Inquiry model which we are all happy with. Ou on-going goal is to have a drafe Inquiry model by the end of the term and have it implemented in term four this year.
Chris Quinn
If you are unable to open the above file click on the link below! Had to go on You tube!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_5NcUZP5s
Chris's goals:
To share what she has learnt with staff and students.
To achieve this she will:
Karen Sinclair
Rachel Couling
I have included my top 3 outbreaks to share. I enjoyed all of the outbreaks and found that I got something useful out of all of them. Some where very practical and others where inspirational.(Megan Marshall & Victoria Geor)
(Rachel Boyd)
ii) when advertising for staff the vision should be included in the advert (looking for someone who fits your school’s vision not just various subjects.
Val Blackwell
Vals using SOLO taxonomy here. Pam Hook the 2nd key note introduced this in her address. He is a jpg of Val's reflection so you don't have to download her doc. J
I have introduced the solo taxonomy to the children and have found the examples and sentence starters a great help for guiding the children in their thinking. The use of this tool will be ongoing. From the conference I have also used Skype to interact with another school and have realised some of the possibilities of using 'Youtube' within the class. Reflecting on MY growth in the ICT area so far this year I question where will I be next year without this support and these opportunities!!!! Val
Andrea Klassen
Created in Inspiration and saved as a gif or a jpg.Andrea Klassen - Rotorua Reflection Update.11th May
Sorry my Inspiration page is very fuzzy - no you don't need to go for an eye test! Haven't figured out why it did this. It was perfectly fine on Inspiration - it lost it in transition! So what has happened since Rotorua? I have made good use of the idea from David Anderson of the parrot on the shoulder asking "What is the purpose?" for my classroom programmes. I find that it really directs my teaching. As a school we have done a lot on questioning to try to get the children to ask effective questions and to be deeper thinkers. I have continued work on my Toolbox and the children now have quite a range of Thinking tools and Graphic Organisers to use as they need. I have put a sheet, titled "What I have used out of the Toolbox today" on the wall above the Toolbox for the children to write what they use out of it so that I can see what is useful or what I may need to model more so that the children are confident in using them.I have started to set up displays of the Thinking Tools in the classroom. I have found hats for all the colours and have them on the wall and I am now working on the Thinkers keys for display. This is to encourage one of the things I wanted to put into practice from Rotorua - Don't work harder than my students - let them do the thinking, the wondering, the inquiry....
The other workshops I went to in Rotorua were on the curriculum development. Since Rotorua, as a school, we have done a lot on our curriculum ie vision and graphic, values, principles and beliefs, plus consultation and feedback. I have found the workshop that I went to with eTime's Faye Le Cren most useful for this as she gave us clear guidelines and a step by step action plan to follow which have pointed a clear direction for me. I am feeling more excited and also feel that I know what to do to lead the curriculum development since that workshop. We have also hired eTime to work with us on our Teacher Only day.
Cheryl Morrall
My second trip to Rotorua.I know that I have learnt so much since last year.
I know that the more I learn the more there is to learn.
I know that technology can still let us down.
I know that I was really fortunate to go to Rotorua again and have come back excited with great ideas that are making a difference for my students.
The breakouts that were highlights for me were all classroom related.
Their titles say it all
My goal is to make the very most of my time within this learning community.
However I worry about sustainability when the contract finishes, and hope that the connections made will continue beyond this year.
6.5.09
Since Rotorua I have worked on developing a "questioning and thinking culture" in my classroom. I have also contributed to our schoolwide development of the revised curriculum. I have enrolled in a Learnz fieldtrip for the first time in an effort to engage some reluctant boy learners.
My worry about sustainability remains, to be addressed later in the year.
James Petronelli
Tamara Bell
I had some great and no so great breakouts this year. The best breakout for me was E-Portfolios - a personal space for learning. Presented by Ian Fox and Lenva Shearing from Buckland Beach Intermediate.www.cooltoolsforschools.com www.ian.fox.co.nz www.electronicportfolios.org (Dr Helen Barrett)They are using KnowledgeNet to produce e-portfolios for all their students and spent the session sharing what their portfolios contained and showed us samples of kids work and final portfolios. It was excellent to see the high quality work being produced by the kids and the use of so many ICT tools. The portfolios included· video, podcasts,mp3,blogs, goals, achievements, teacher feedback, personal info, digital pics, presentations, reflections, samples, examples, goal setting. Parents and teachers were making text comments and even audio podcasts to give the students feedback and input into what their goals should be or their own assessment of the childs achievement.. The best thing about this breakout was that we have taken something purposeful away from it that we can implement in our school.We are now going to head down this track and as of this year will begin e-portfolios in the senior class, Year 7/8s as a 'trial run'. Very cool stuff - I can see the benefits for our teachers, parents and most importantly our students-who by the way, are going to be very engaged and excited by this!
Linda Sweeny
This was my first year and I took advantage of the breakouts that I felt would benefit my teaching of ict in the classroom. I collected information about free internet resources that I can use to support my teaching and the learning of the children in my class this was presented by Karen Rolleston of Manzana, see Delicious and search Manzana for what was shared. My second breakout was with Edith Cross who has won the Hollyoake Award and spoke about the use of SOLO to support her interactive classroom. My breakout on effective use Keynote, GarageBand, KidPix and IPhoto in the junior classroom was inspiring and I left with great ideas about using these with my senior class.GOAL - Impliment Eportfolios into senior class
REFLECTION - After Rotorua I continued to research the use of Eportfolios and visited Kerry Hall at Cashmere Primary to find out how she producing Eportfolios in her classroom. This term my class has developed ppt.s and are uploading school portfolio requirements and reflecting on their learning. These will be used to support learning conferences at the end of the term.
GOAL - Introduce the use of Eportfolio at home as a reflective tool between children, parents and school.
Sarah Wiki-Bennett
Rotorua RefelctionWith a large staff turnover it was important to ensure the Management team had a good base and understanding of the direction the school was heading in regards to the integration of ICT and the development of the school curriculum to reflect the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). The biggest impact the Rotorua conference had for KMS was that all members of the Management team were present at the conference and had time together to reflect on the past two years and to further develop ideas for a clearer strategic direction for the school.
All team members were interested by the work of Pam Hook (keynote and feet first breakout) and the use of SOLO taxonomy in student’s learning. The first step to implementing this idea is to understand what is currently being done in classrooms along the lines of using thinking tools. Aligning this with the work on the NZC and ensuring teachers are supported to reflect and evaluate their own learning and needs for professional development in this area.
Rotorua Refelction Update
Gathering and Analysing Thinking Skills Data
Principal to:
Evidence of Teacher Improvement
After sharing the thinking skills data with the staff, many staff reflected that they integrate thinking tools in their class. However it is evident that this is not reflected or transferred into the planning stage. Discussions ensued as to the need to preplan the use and integration of thinking tools to ensure that thinking tools are scaffolded throughout the learning.
A teacher came to me and discussed that she refers to the use of a Y chart on the wall and all her students know where it is and how to independently use it. She then returned two days later mortified as after observations and questioning through the day only 50% of her class (27 pupils) knew where the Y chart example was on the wall and only 15% of her class were able to use it effectively.
The teacher’s professional reflection on data shared has been positive as it has now moved into an action research cycle where all teachers will pursue integration of thinking tools for students to use effectively but more importantly to bring about awareness of explicitly teaching thinking skills.
Next Step
Give each teacher an opportunity to extend their experiences by sending them on a unique PD experience. All teachers except for the management team will attend an eTime Apple Tour in August.
Rotorua Refelction
With a large staff turnover it was important to ensure the Management team had a good base and understanding of the direction the school was heading in regards to the integration of ICT and the development of the school curriculum to reflect the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC). The biggest impact the Rotorua conference had for KMS was that all members of the Management team were present at the conference and had time together to reflect on the past two years and to further develop ideas for a clearer strategic direction for the school.
All team members were interested by the work of Pam Hook (keynote and feet first breakout) and the use of SOLO taxonomy in student’s learning. The first step to implementing this idea is to understand what is currently being done in classrooms along the lines of using thinking tools. Aligning this with the work on the NZC and ensuring teachers are supported to reflect and evaluate their own learning and needs for professional development in this area.
Rotorua Refelction Update
Gathering and Analysing Thinking Skills Data
Principal to:
Evidence of Teacher Improvement
After sharing the thinking skills data with the staff, many staff reflected that they integrate thinking tools in their class. However it is evident that this is not reflected or transferred into the planning stage. Discussions ensued as to the need to preplan the use and integration of thinking tools to ensure that thinking tools are scaffolded throughout the learning.
A teacher came to me and discussed that she refers to the use of a Y chart on the wall and all her students know where it is and how to independently use it. She then returned two days later mortified as after observations and questioning through the day only 50% of her class (27 pupils) knew where the Y chart example was on the wall and only 15% of her class were able to use it effectively.
The teacher’s professional reflection on data shared has been positive as it has now moved into an action research cycle where all teachers will pursue integration of thinking tools for students to use effectively but more importantly to bring about awareness of explicitly teaching thinking skills.
Next Step
Give each teacher an opportunity to extend their experiences by sending them on a unique PD experience. All teachers except for the management team will attend an eTime Apple Tour in August.
KMS Strategic Plan 2009
Barb Kennedy
Rotorua ReflectionHaving the opportunity to attend Rotorua with the other two members of the management team was one of the biggest highlights for me. The team had an opportunity to reflect on the past two years and get one new team member up to speed with the curriculum vision we’d set two years ago. I would really recommend that teams are sent to this conference because it has been the catalyst for the sustainability strategy that we have begun to put into place.
Pam Hook (keynote) had a huge influence on my learning. I really enjoyed her keynote and what she had to say as far as using SOLO taxonomy with students of varying ages. I attended her Feet First outbreak also. The information contained in this unit is enormous and anyone could easily follow it and sustain the learning in their classroom for a whole year. Feet First is a programme which provides online content and inspiration around the global ethics of care and concern for our own, and our communities well being. Students and teachers will have the opportunity to consider the wider issues related to walking such as urban design, community development or the environment. The approach focuses on encouraging learning opportunities and supporting safe walking. To register or for more information visit www.feetfirst.govt.nz
Rotorua Update
Once the team had time to reflect we were able to get together early Friday morning before leaving Rotorua. It was important to reflect while our learning was still fresh in our minds. The team decided that incorporating SOLO taxonomy into our inquiry model was something that we wanted to pursue. We did not know however, what thinking tools were currently being used by the teachers and if they were effective. It was decided to complete observations and analysis of planning to collect data to help teachers make decisions about their own professional learning goals. Information was shared with the teachers.
What Next
Teachers will be working with a Management team member to devise an action research plan around how to build on using thinking tools and strategies effectively in their classroom programmes.
Scott Jermyn
"Follow the nipples"!!I found Pam Hooks presentation extremely valuable. To hear and see Yr 6 students so articulate and knowledgeable about their learning warmed the cockles of my heart. To be able to marinade in her ideas for a couple of weeks then spend more time with her has been very useful. I can see the solo taxonomy fitting into my learning programmes extremely well, and hopefully I can present some articulate and knowledgeable students who "like the pictures" too.
SCOTT'S THOUGHTS.
Having even more time to think about the Learning@schools conference and my previous reflections on the value of hearing Pam Hook speak AND also spending time working with Pam and Julie through KMS's participation in a EHSAS contract I now can see the relevance of integrating ICT into the SOLO Taxonomy. SO my goal is to integrate ICT into the SOLO taxonomy and have children assessing their work using the SOLO taxonomy.
I think this will assist the children to be more accountable for their learning and will also assist them to become more autonomous.
SCOTT.
Jocelyn.