Author Archives: mwalker

Student Reports: Are they worth the time and cost?

Posted on July 24, 2019 by mwalker

During May I visited a number of schools and invariably teachers spoke to me about starting their student reports which were due in 4-5 weeks time to parents. It seemed a long time in the prepare phase but then as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Yarra – Darebin Network of Schools

Posted on November 8, 2018 by mwalker

Hi everyone, This post has the requested resources from our day together and some snapshots to remember the highlights: De-identified Primary School Data Inventory 2016 – 2018 DW Minutes sample The Five WHY’s protocol. Compass Points (survey monkey) Leadership-compass-self-assessment   … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Data Wise Program, Harvard, professional learning, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Maribyrnong Network of School Leaders

Posted on October 29, 2018 by mwalker

This post is to follow-up our network day on the first 2 steps of Data Wise. We spoke about answering the WHY question when change is being advocated – as we are about to advocate for change in collaboration in … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, differentiation, Feedback, Instruction, Leadership, Networks of Schools, professional learning, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Leave a comment

Inferencing in the early years

Posted on May 23, 2018 by mwalker

This week I’m writing about inferencing. It’s nearly 5 months into the Australian academic year for our Foundation to Year 2 students and teachers have built Reading Workshops where students build sufficient reading stamina for guided groups to run, where learning … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading, Teaching, trainee teachers, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lesson Transitions

Posted on May 6, 2018 by mwalker

About 9 months ago I started working as a casual academic for Deakin University, Faculty of Education, in Victoria. Students are placed in schools for at least 80 days, depending upon their course. They work along students and experienced teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in Deakin Teachers in training, Deakin University, Teaching, trainee teachers | Leave a comment

Painting a new school’s curriculum and pedagogy.

Posted on October 1, 2017 by mwalker

As an educator, and now consultant, it’s hard not to get excited when you are asked to support a newish school develop its curriculum and pedagogy.  In many ways, it’s like a starting a painting with a blank canvas, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why have learning intentions without success criteria?

Posted on July 24, 2017 by mwalker

John, in this 9 min clip, puts the case for why we need to explain what we intend students to learn, why and how they might self assess success. It’s hard to defend the opposite. In this clip John’s work … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, differentiation, Feedback, Instruction, professional learning, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is Dante’s Hell a view of adaptive challenges? If so, hold onto that moral compass.

Posted on June 27, 2017 by mwalker

I recently watched a TED talk by Dan Leahy – The Dance of Learning Meets the Adaptive Challenge. In the talk Dan uses Heifetz, Glashow and Linsky’s need for adaptive change which is about facing the unknown and having to learn new skills to … Continue reading →

Posted in Data Wise Program, Harvard, Teaching | Leave a comment

Effective Lesson Planning: classroom systems and lesson sequencing

Posted on June 22, 2017 by mwalker

This is a follow up post number 2 on effective lesson planning. Now that we understand lessons should go differing lengths of time 20 – 40 minutes, what would that look like in one of the timetable blocks of 90-120 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deakin University, teacher efficacy, Teaching, trainee teachers | Leave a comment

Effective Lesson Planning: length of lessons

Posted on June 20, 2017 by mwalker

Some of the questions, concerns and issues raised by trainee teachers so far include: constantly repeating instructions to students students forget what to do students either don’t finish the tasks in the time set or finish in the first 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deakin University, Instruction, Monash University, teacher efficacy, Teaching, trainee teachers | Leave a comment

Working at Deakin University

Posted on June 19, 2017 by mwalker

One of the exciting opportunities that has presented itself this year is to work at Deakin University as a casual academic. What that means is that I work in the professional learning unit supporting trainee teachers in schools learn the … Continue reading →

Posted in Deakin University, teacher efficacy, Teaching, trainee teachers | Leave a comment

Dirty Data!

Posted on May 23, 2017 by mwalker

Well I’m now officially retired as a school principal – no really! I’m sleeping well, planning holidays and of course playing more golf. But what about my mind – it’s not ready to give up as an educator. So I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, school, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Leave a comment

Songs can hold our memories!

Posted on May 23, 2017 by mwalker

Certain songs or voices can bring many memories flooding back to us. It’s 1970 and the happy and even melancholic memories flood back to me when I hear Simon and Garfunkel sing their classics. Its been over 45 years since … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, history, politics, Video Clips | Leave a comment

Are you Humpty Dumpty waiting for a fall?

Posted on March 28, 2017 by mwalker

Quite often Principal’s can feel like Humpty Dumpty “just waiting for the fall”. When you think of how many “clients” you serve (students, their parents and then the wider community) even a middle size school of 500 would add up … Continue reading →

Posted in coaching, Leadership, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

features of a wise leader

Posted on November 15, 2016 by mwalker

I was recently going through my email and found this from a close Scottish colleague. THE TEN FEATURES OF A ‘WISE’ LEADER Holds unshakeable values which define their being; Translates their ‘way of thinking’ into the ‘way they do things’; … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, reflections, school | Leave a comment