Author Archives: mwalker

Jiangsu School Leaders Delegation

Posted on December 3, 2011 by mwalker

This week I was invited to meet a delegation of school leaders from the Jiangsu Province of China. After the introductions and overviews of each region or province were finished we had an opportunity to exchange views of education and … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Chinese Language, school, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

21st Century Learner

Posted on November 27, 2011 by mwalker

I’m constantly searching for better ways to engage in conversations with groups about learning, the work of schools to both reflect and lead communities in change and the leadership required to achieve these things. I came to this clip in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction | 2 Comments

Like to start teacher conversation about observing practice – with humour?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by mwalker

Recently we ran a workshop on observing teacher practice in classrooms within a coaching relationship. To break the ice but make the point we used this clip from Summer Heights High which was an Australian TV show that “sent up” … Continue reading →

Posted in Feedback, Instruction, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Leave a comment

Rick Wormeli on redo’s and retakes

Posted on November 6, 2011 by mwalker

I’ve been pondering some recent parent feedback about our senior students lack of engagement with some teachers and the material they are expected to learn. I began my reflections about the students coming from the digital generation and expecting to … Continue reading →

Posted in differentiation, Feedback, Instruction, teacher efficacy, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | 6 Comments

Inspect what you expect

Posted on October 30, 2011 by mwalker

Earlier this year Penny, one of my assistant Principal’s, and I participated in the ASCD summer conference in Boston. One workshop we attended was by Pete Hall the Principal of Sheridan Elementary School in Spokane. Pete spoke about the need to monitor classroom instruction … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 ASCD Conference, Conference, Feedback, Instruction, Instructional Rounds, school, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why are we still asking questions about students repeating or being retained in the 21st century?

Posted on October 28, 2011 by mwalker

I was requested to publish an updated post on the research around students repeating or being retained in the same level class. This post was first published some 3 years ago and surprise surprise the issue hasn’t gone away.  In summary I reported then, using … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, parenting, Repeating Classes, school, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Forbidden City using Pano

Posted on October 3, 2011 by mwalker

Standing outside the main gate of the Forbidden City and trying to use Pano an i phone 4 app to show the size of the entrance. Its a great app which I recommend to others.

Posted in China, Travel | Leave a comment

The Forbidden City – some photos and comments from a recent trip.

Posted on October 3, 2011 by mwalker

I have attached some shots of the Forbidden City that I toured as part of the Leaders Course in Beijing. Besides the fascinating history of the City which is nearly 700 years old its sheer size is amazing. It covers 178 … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Chinese Language, Travel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Asian perspectives across a curriculum are just as important as learning a language like Mandarin.

Posted on September 29, 2011 by mwalker

Front page of the Age newspaper today were two headings that caught my eye: “PM seizes reins on China links” and “Mandarin off schools’ menu”. The first article describes a government white paper due out early next year which seeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Language, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A view from the bell tower.

Posted on September 1, 2011 by mwalker

This week while I was inspecting restoration work on the bell tower (built in the 1880’s) I had the chance to play with Pano, an app on my iphone. Pano was easy to use. Like it. This picture shows about 2/3rds … Continue reading →

Posted in school, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Asian Languages in Schools: in decline!

Posted on August 21, 2011 by mwalker

This week our school was featured on an ABC show (Newsline – Language Barrier)reporting the decline in Asian Languages taught in schools. The show pointed to the low numbers of students continuing their language studies in VCE [which is our … Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese Language, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

For those who have had some trouble getting technology to work.

Posted on August 15, 2011 by mwalker

  Some times you just need a laugh and this appealled to me. Thanks to Greg Carroll for this one.

Posted in Technology, Video Clips | Leave a comment

“learning as a social process through which understanding is achieved”

Posted on August 7, 2011 by mwalker

The title of this post comes from a book titled “Schools and Communities: working together to transform children live’s” by West-Burnham, Farrar and Otero. Pictured above is George Otero, a co author of the book and Co-President of the Relational Learning Centre … Continue reading →

Posted in curriculum, reflections, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Reflections on ‘Learning Intentions’ of classroom lessons

Posted on July 12, 2011 by mwalker

Over the past 3 months I have been honoured to observe instruction by teachers in classrooms across a number of schools. One of the indicators of effective instruction is that each lesson has a clear learning intention stated up front to … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, Instructional Rounds, reflections, Teaching, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A new Internet paradigm for learning.

Posted on July 11, 2011 by mwalker

Last month I was fortunate to hear Mark Treadwell [pictured above] speak to a group of aspirant leaders I am mentoring. He had some I think important things to say about learning and I think leadership. He began the morning … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Assessment, Instruction, school, Teaching, Technology, Uncategorized | Leave a comment