Disobedient Teacher

Ability to Learn

This book should be arriving in my letter box this week and I'm looking forward to having the time over the Term 1 holidays (aka 'non-contact time') to read and understand why Ings feels so strongly about why schools need to make a shift away from the assessment and box ticking that school has become.  

During Ings' interview with the New Zealand Herald, he talks about "putting children in the tractor seat and allowing them to drive their learning".   This idea is not unfamiliar to me and it's something that I've been working on with greater intensity for at least the past five years.  The one wall that I keep facing, however, is the wall of assessment and reporting.   I find it difficult to have the time and energy to be innovative and/or let the learner's interests drive their learning when we are constrained to assessment and reporting against assessment within the areas of English and Mathematics - not Science, Technology The Arts or P.E.

Watch this NewsHub interview with Ings to help understand a little more about his views on why education needs to change:

Click here to view

Ings believes that learning is both emotional and cognitive.  He also believers that if a child loses belief in their ability to learn, then we (educators) have lost them.   I know that it's going to take more than just reading a book, but if it becomes a stepping stone for helping me to enable at least one child to believe that they have the ability to learn, then spending my holiday time to read 'Disobedient Teacher' will have been worth it.

Digital Technologies in Learning

Designing Blended Learning Experiences

I've had an interest in blended learning for a long time.   The use of digital technologies provides us all with the ability to access and produce information in a variety of ways, e.g. video, photos, interactive websites, apps and text.  Digital technologies also enable learning to be accessible to all learners - language or a disability is not a barrier to learning.

Initially, when introduced to digital technology (or ICT as it was known to be 10 years ago), my class and I were allocated 40 minutes once a week to visit our ICT room.   It was a case of let's go and use a computer to learn maths or literacy in an interactive way for 20 minutes - because let's be honest, it took the other 20 minutes for my 7 year olds to line up, walk across to the other side of the school, get their swivel chair to the correct height and log on to the computer.  For many teachers, this often became too difficult and unfortunately, some reduced their visits to the ICT room, especially if difficulties with the hardware and network were also added to the mix.

Today, I was able to attend Digital Technologies PD, that was organised by the Connected Learning Advisory/Te Ara Whītiki.   I had not personally signed up for this seminar, so I was curious about the contents and what I would learn.

My morning workshop unpacked digital citizenship, digital literacy and digital fluency.  I was heavily involved in learning around digital citizenship five years ago at my previous school as we ventured down the road of GAFE and BYOD.  My questions were - "Had our thinking changed in any way and what was the difference between digital fluency and digital literacy?"

The first activity required us to think of all the ways that we use digital technology in our daily lives.

A fast paced workshop with Ann and Tania (Slide Presentation)

This highlighted the fact that digital technology is all around us so even the computer-shy should understand that they are users of digital technology - one day the user of a wringer washing machine, the next, an electronic machine.  That's what technology is all about.  Making a change to meet the need and making our lives a little easier.

Further links to explore:

• Digital Citizenship - Resources to support schools
• Designing Blended Learning -  A sandpit of activities to explore and use.
• How Kawakawa Primary are using blogs for learning - Ashton's Blog

How has technology changed my life... how has it changed the life of an educator - or learner?

While on holiday today (who said that educators work from Monday-Friday, 9-3?), I took some time to go back through some links that I had saved for reading (and there's never enough time for that), and came across this one:

While LH2 is not a New-entrant environment, this research also included Year 1 classes and, after spending one term in LH2, I have recognised that a large proportion of the Learners are still development their oral language and social skills - much of which is developed in the ECE and New-entrant years.

The following explains why this research was important, and I have highlighted the words that grabbed my attention:   

Children transitioning into school are often confronted with formal teaching and learning methodologies that contrast sharply with the approaches to teaching and learning of contemporary ECE settings these children are likely to have experienced (Carr, Smith, Duncan, Jones, Lee, & Marshall, 2010; Peters, 2010).  In those settings, play, interests, strengths, dispositions and working theories of learners are the modus operandi (Ministry of Education, 1996).  Limited research has been undertaken in new-entrant classrooms where these modes of learning and teaching are embraced as worthwhile, meaningful, and rich sites for learning and teaching.

Within our team, we often reflect on the day - what went well, not so well and what we will never attempt again (fortunately this is not very often).  We have recognised that during iExplore and iExperience, most Learners are engaged, social interaction is abundant, creativity flows and problem solving is apparent.  However, once we move into the iDevelop phase of the day, we are noticing more off-task and disruptive behaviour.  Could it be that the Learners are feeling uncomfortable with the more formal setting?   

I was interested to read more about this research; especially with questions such as:

How might teachers design curriculum (and environments) that support learning outcomes described int he New Zealand Curriculum that also:

          -  Supported children’s transitions from ECE to school? 
          -  Responded to young children’s interests and motivations?

... and asked:

         -  What teaching pedagogies encourage children’s thinking, creativity and inquiry in 
             new-entrant classrooms? 

I liked the way that the teachers at Mairehau Primary School (north-east Christchurch),

retained a high focus on literacy and mathematics, but left behind prescribed notions of inquiry and the traditions of “topic”. They instead designed a play-based programme they called, “Relating to Others Time”, to run each morning of the week from 8.30am, when children started arriving at school until 10.15am. The teachers felt the name, “Relating to Others Time”, reflected the emphasis on relationships in action and provided a strong link to the key competencies as being central to learning in every area (Ministry of Education, 2007).

From my own observations, many of the Learners in LH2 are at an emergent stage with the key competencies, e.g. finding it sometimes difficult to Manage Self for instructional purposes by getting the required resources, listening to instructions and following directions.  On the flip side, during iExplore and iExperience, these same Learners are demonstrating a higher level of capability with Thinking and Participating and Contributing.

I'm interested in exploring opportunities to create a non-threatening environment during iDevelop.  One where the Learner's feel a sense of 'play' -  with the intention of drawing out their curiosity, creativity, problem-solving and love of learning.

The Fascinating Brain: Part 2

Notes and thoughts during a session of learning about the brain with Nathan Mikaere-Wallis.

Mindfulness

Taking 10 minutes to provide time to relax and make the child feel safe and secure will enable the frontal cortex engage in learning.  Taking these 10 minutes is going to have a greater impact on the learning because the child will not be able to learn while the brain stem (brain #1) is tipping the scales.

Sourced from http://www.chrisroebuck.co/mindful-mindfulness/

Resilience

A child that receives a limited attachment relationship with their parent, will be likely to have higher levels of aggression and lower set of social skills.

Support the child in class by building on the relationship.   Enable them to see and feel that you are there to provide support.  You are not a threat.  You understand them and can show them another set of skills and/or behaviour that is positive and safe.   This will help to form a resilience from the behaviour that they are learning from home.   

Relationships and Social Skills

Human beings are wired to have a dyadic relationship.   This is the most important factor to brain #1.

The child will develop greater social skills through a relationship with a parent, not the aunties.   So, a child with poor social skills at school will be best to build on the relationship that they are naturally gravitating to first, then build on social skills with others.  Human beings are not designed to be looked after by a group of people.  They need a dyadic relationship.

Healing the Brain

Neuroplasticity

The older we get, the lower the amount of plasticity (totally understand that!).  

Sources from http://www.dumpaday.com/humor-pictures/crazy-cats-22-pics/

CATS   

caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugar

... have a huge effect on the plasticity of our brain - the receptiveness of new learning. 

The brain of a typical newborn weighs 400gm; a 3 year old is 1.2kgs and an adult is 1.4kgs.   Why is the human brain born underdeveloped and so small - well, that's not rocket science :)   Instead, nature only grows enough in the womb for survival.  This is why vision is not developed at birth.  The newborn only needs to see a face at close range - in black and white.  When light hits the retina at birth, the brain stimulates the development of vision.   The brain is 'experience expectant' for light hitting the retina at birth.

Brain #2 - Movement

'Rhythmic Patterning' is one of the features of this brain.   This is a steady rhythmic pattern (rocking the baby) which is one of the needs for brain #2 in order to progress to brains #3 and #4.  This rocking is seen in cases of traumatised or upset children.   Chewing gum pacifies.  The rocking or twirling the hair can help calm down brain #1 when feelings of stress and anxiety are present.

Brain #3 - Emotion

Having a positive disposition towards learning, culture and gender.

Getting a child to know their ABCs and colour names by the age of 4 is a cultural perception of that child being intelligent and a head above others.   It is not backed by research.  ECE centres that encourage this are stepping away from research and instead, following the needs and wants of the parent.    These children are not being given the time to play.  The time to build on resilience. Instead, they are learning to be a 7 year old, two years before they need to. 

Dispositions are a set of beliefs and attitudes.  These are a major factor in forecasting the future achievement and success of children between 3-6 years.    What disposition do children have about themselves as a learner? 

When a child tells you that they can count to 100, do you say "awesome!", or do you say "and what comes next?"

We don't learn from formal instruction.  We learn from practise.  Don't correct, just role model the correct phrase, e.g. 

Child:  "Look at all the sheeps." 

Parent:  "Yes, look at all the sheep."

What does a child between the age of 3-7 really need to know?   

Sources from http://www.myece.org.nz/educational-curriculum-aspects/106-te-whariki-curriculum

Te Whariki and Key Competencies are both wonderful evidence based curriculums.  Unfortunately, at Primary School we have a blanket snuffing out the KCs.   This scratchy blanket being the National Standards.

An aside:  Hana O'Regan (Nathan's partner) has researched cultural stereo-typing - worth going to a seminar of hers if you're able to.

What are children picking up about their culture?  What disposition do they have about who they will be in the future?  

How do we deconstruct unhealthy dispositions?

If we role model 'risk taking',  e.g. speak and encourage te reo, then it will help our learners to feel that it's okay to take risks too.

Reading for a purpose:

The boy who was raised as a dog by Bruce Perry

Brainstorm - the power and purpose of a teenage brain by Daniel Siegel (You Tube)

Why Love Matters  by Sue Gerhardt (quite heavy reading)

Sir Peter Gluckman - why does NZ have so many delinquent teenagers

Listen to Nathan's interview on Radio New Zealand  - What 3-7 Year Olds Need to Learn

This day with Nathan gave me plenty to think about and I'm looking forward to channelling it through the learning in LH2.

The Fascinating Brain

How Brain Development Affects Practise

Day 2 of the Term break and I'm here with fellow #oresome colleagues, to learn about the brain from Nathan Wallis.   Face-to-face learning - which according to Nathan, has a far greater impact on the brain than learning alone.

Interesting that prior to the 90s, research was always on the dead brain; making it quite difficult to understand the living brain.  We now have 25 years of research to support the understanding of why the early years of a child have a huge impact on how that child will perform in their adult years.

Watch:  'Why am I?"

What are the 'risk factors' that a child has been exposed to which could have a detrimental effect on the outcome of that child, e.g. is the home life stable, does the child's parent stay at home to look after the child, will the parent not smack the child, will the child learn two languages, will the child learn to play an instrument, does the parent tertiary qualification?

The first 1000 days (from conception), will be a data-gathering time which will inform your brain of what it will need for its lifetime.  It's therefore important to identify the factors that a child is exposed to in these first 1000 days.   The first year is the golden year.   For example, two children adopted from an orphanage: the 3 year old girl who was looked after by her grandmother until the age of one, will have a greater chance of being successful, than the one year old boy who was put into the orphanage at birth.

Mother/Baby Bonding

The language that the mother uses to speak to the newborn and infant is the language that counts when that child begins to speak.   The baby is 'intuned' with the mother, not the environment in which the mother communicates with.  In other words, if the mother speaks to the baby in te reo, but speaks english to those around her, then it's more likely that the baby will speak te reo, when it begins to speak.

By the age of 3, your outcomes will not be governed by your genes, but rather what has 'triggered' the brain.  So it's not a case of nature vs nurture, but instead, the relationship that nature (genes) has with the environment.  The human brain is designed to evolve according to the environment that it encounters.   The brainwaves of a baby do not become independent until around the age of 18 months.  So any brainwaves that the mother has during pregnancy and early years, do have an impact on the baby.  This will, down the track, have an impact on the risk and resilience factors.

The quality of the relationship between mother and baby will have a huge impact on how that baby forms relationships later in their life.

Brain #4 - The Frontal Cortex

This is what sets us apart from the family pet.   All the skills that we develop, e.g. reading, writing, etc. are due to having a frontal cortex.   Research currently suggests that this part of the brain is fully mature at 18-24 for females and males are up to 22-32 years.  

The first born child will most likely reach maturity at the earliest stage of the scale.  Therefore, if a boy is born first, then he will seem to be at the same stage of development as the girl that is born second.  On the other hand, if the girl is born first with a boy second, then he may appear to have quite significant delays in development than the girl, however, it's really just a reflection on their state of development of the frontal cortex.   

To support this research, Nathan suggested to have a look at the statistics: which gender and birth position (first or second born) has the highest number of suicides, imprisonment, employment opportunities.

Brain #1 - the brain stem.   It's our brain for survival

Brain #2 - the sports brain.  Supports our movement.  

With these two, you have a reptilian brain.

Brain #3 - emotion.

To be a mammal you need all three of these brains.  This is what sets the pet dog apart from the pet lizard.   These three brains are compulsory to us.   However, brain #4 is not compulsory for survival and its development is largely dependant on the data that it gathers in the first 1000 days, including what the baby will hear while in the womb in the third trimester.

The only way to get to brain #4 is through brains 1-3.   Without a connection with the child through brains 1-3, it would be difficult to support their learning with brain #4.  

What is the relationship between brains 1 and 4?  

To be using our cortex, we need to be calm.   If we want the child to learn, then the child needs to feel safe and calm - a result of developing an understanding and empathetic relationship.  It's like a set of scales.  If brain #1 is on one side, we would prefer that it weighs less than the other side of the scale which has brain #4.  

An example of how these two brains work would be in an earthquake.   When this happens, our brain #1 will more than often take over;  the scales tilt and no longer is our brain #4 taking control to support our thinking and direct us to take cover... instead, we freeze.

My Wondering...

So, how do we support learners in the class when we meet them well past their 1000 days of data gathering?

Safe to Fail Probe

Fail?  That's not something that sits easy with me.  So when I was introduced to the idea of carrying out a 'Safe to Fail Probe',  I felt anxious and apprehensive.

Why plan for something that could quite likely fail?

During an ELT in Term 1, we were given the opportunity to experiment with designing a Safe to Fail Probe.  Within a safe environment, we explored how sharing an idea with other groups encouraged us to question and delve deeper into our 'probe'; making changes and redirecting our thinking.

This practice highlighted the possibilities that sharing can create.   Through our own eyes we felt that we were designing a great plan.  But with the support an independent group, whose role was to question not praise, we were able to see gaps - not only in our plan, but also in the way that we delivered the concept.

Safe to Fail - LH2

In early May, following our discussions on Safe to Fail Probes and how to identify whether it is risky - yet not disastrous if it fails, we constructed our first 'probe'.   Our thinking which lead to this probe was that we felt that many of our Learners were not engaging in an iExplore activity in a meaningful way.   Many of the boys were making guns an swords out of the multilink cubes and running around the habitat.   Many girls were drawing princesses and making cards.

In our minds, iExplore was to be a time for the Learners to explore their curiosities, yet also extending their learning.   Were these activities providing this?   Could we design iExperience opportunities out of their interests which could then lead into a more personalised and challenging iExplore?

One area of difficulty with designing a probe is to make it simple - to keep it granular.   Also, it is challenging to design a probe that would help to solve a problem, rather than to learn something from.   

Chris and Leanne reminded us that it needed to be an inquiry to learn, rather than an inquiry to solve.  They also suggested that we keep our eyes open to notice what would happen if we make small changes - to be alert for anything that is not normal - emergence of the unusual, e.g. the quiet Learner suddenly starts speaking.

Our initial probe was redesigned towards the end of May and although we have started the 30 minute taster experiences, we are not overly pleased with Learner acceptance to choose an extension experience on the Wednesday.     It seemed as if they felt little need to delve deeper or extend their understanding.    

Today, during our EOD, we designed Our 2nd Safe to Fail Probe - 3.6.2016.  This was influenced by a day of discussion in which we identified that we wanted the iExperiences to generate greater independence, yet to also meet their individual Proximal Zones of Development.

I'm sure there will be some tweaking and I'm curious to find out who can manage this and which taster experiences ignite their minds.