Comments for bluyonder

Comment on Teaching the educators by Kerry Gestier

Kerry Gestier — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 01:13:55 +0000

Well said Greg. The paradigm “Together we learn from each other” serves educators well particularly when good relationships have been established between all contributors and there is trust to learn together.

Comment on Delivery or design by FManning

FManning — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:23:23 +0000

Hi Greg,
I’ve just read an great article that compliments your thoughts on teaching in this post: “Which Came First, the Practice or the Policy?”http://tinyurl.com/c775457by Nancy Flanagan. It is a good one to read.

Nancy concisely sums up the nature of good teaching. She state that “(the)- most important practice-dissector is the teacher herself; what matters is her skill at analyzing what students have actually learned, and her ability to figure out what to do next, based on that analysis”. I like the way Nancy has ‘packaged’ a number of big ideas about teaching and the curriculum in this article. She hits the nail on the head when it comes to focusing on what is important.

Knowing that it is a change in mindsets that will be the key to the change, as a leader, I believe our starting point is conveying that trust in our teachers & their professional judgements about learning. True education, true learning is based on developing wisdom- a personal and individualized attribute. Such learning is achieved by personalized instruction that builds on and caters for the specific learning needs of each child. Teachers who have the confidence to take the risks and trust in their data informed judgements about where each child ‘is at’ with their learning & where they need to go, will help pave the way. Leaders need to focus on supporting & assisting teachers by developing the skills & trust needed for such learning to take place.

Comment on A global village by Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:34:13 +0000

Sounds a great learning experience. I imagine being invited was an acknowledgement and humbling experience at the same time. In some ways I’m reminded of Elmore’s quote “if you cannot see it it isn’t there” (he was talking about challenging learning tasks) when the principal spoke about an effective school is one full of good teachers (some in the making) led by one who builds capacity – (if you cannot see good “instruction …….. ” ).

Comment on Schools of inquiry by Greg Whitby

Greg Whitby — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 23:44:44 +0000

NZ has good reputation for ed research and training. Good luck with your teaching career – feel free to share your reflections on aspects of teaching. It’s always good to hear from practitioners.

Comment on Schools of inquiry by Isaac Crandell-Tanner

Isaac Crandell-Tanner — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 06:09:29 +0000

I have just completed my first year of teaching having graduated from the NZ Graduate School of Education (NZGSE) in Christchurch, New Zealand. They way ‘teacher interns’ (as we were called during our training) are trained is vastly different from any of the University programmes available in this country, and is almost like an apprenticeship. It involves roughly 2/3rds practical teaching practice with individual observation and feedback roughly twice a week from tutors. At the end of each term interns reflect on their most recent teaching practice and state how they have met the requirements of the course. I can honestly say that this preparation gave me much confidence going into my first teaching job in April last year. I am glad this discussion is happening – good luck.

Comment on Delivery or design by Greg Whitby

Greg Whitby — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 23:38:32 +0000

Barbara, these are all important questions and why effective leadership at school and system level is so critical. We need to provide the support and structures to enable teachers to become architects and designers. Michael Fullan always says behaviours change before belief so perhaps teachers need to work like architects and designers now.

Comment on Schools of inquiry by catrionao

catrionao — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:13:51 +0000

Reblogged this on Cat's eyes and commented: A very interesting commentary on teacher education from Greg Whitby. It seems to be consistent with much of what is recommended by Teaching Scotland's Future in terms of ITE, and it will be interesting to track the parallel developments across the hemispheres. The idea of a "mutual transformation agenda" should be at the centre of the new partnership arrangements between Scottish local authorities and teacher education institutions, but the carving up or sharing of responsibilities for this seem to be as yet unclear. There's no doubt about the increasing availability of outside "experts" ready to dispense their wisdom, and with greater autonomy at school level enables school leaders to tap into this resource, but Greg's point about collegiate working is a good one and it raises a further question of why would teachers consider themselves the best people to educate future teachers if they themselves are often rendered dependent on outside expertise for their own professional development? Schools of inquiry as the basis for TSF partnership agreements? It sounds like it's worth a try.

Comment on Schools of inquiry by Greg Whitby

Greg Whitby — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:34:02 +0000

Thanks for the references. I’ll try and get a hold of these publications.

Comment on Schools of inquiry by Greg Whitby

Greg Whitby — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:32:14 +0000

Rob don’t give up hope. We are finally getting governments and policy makers to recognise what makes a difference to student learning. Thanks for the comments.

Comment on Schools of inquiry by cpaterso

cpaterso — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:15:29 +0000

Hi Greg and thanks for this post. On the one hand I agree that we have everything we need to improve our schools within our schools and we should be looking to our teacher colleagues for support and ideas. This requires facilitation and leadership.

On the other hand, looking inwards can lead to insularity and shared ignorance. I spent yesterday with a visiting expert, Mark Church (Making Thinking Visible). He worked with a number of small groups in our school, but the most valuable for me was when he observed me teach and provided one on one coaching. His expertise is not something otherwise available in my school.