Author Archives: mwalker

The Class Size Debate

Posted on October 20, 2008 by mwalker

I was fortunate to meet John Hattie recently who is one academic I often quote in my work. John Hattie is from New Zealand and has been researching amongst other things the effects of various strategies or innovations on student learning. … Continue reading →

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Ethics in teaching grammar – surely not to pass tests?

Posted on October 19, 2008 by mwalker

I recalled a conversation I heard between Jerry Starratt and Hedley Beare recently on how metaphors can portray or even drive our thinking about curriculum when I read an article [featured in the daily newspapers in most capital cities] about the new National Curriculum. … Continue reading →

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“learning that is supported by teaching”

Posted on October 16, 2008 by mwalker

At the recent ACEL conference in Melbourne I heard a group of young leaders from a school in Greenford High School in West London speak about their contributions to school improvement which included students being trained to give constructive feedback to volunteer secondary … Continue reading →

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Famous speeches that one might use with students

Posted on October 16, 2008 by mwalker

Last week I was wandering around Chadstone Shopping Centre looking for basketball boots for my son’s birthday and I came across this book on 50 famous speeches that changed the world. The book is now on my Christmas wish list … Continue reading →

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Making a difference by Douglas Reeves.

Posted on October 14, 2008 by mwalker

I was fortunate to hear Douglas Reeves for the second time at the recent ACEL conference in Melbourne. He is the founder and chief executive officer of the Center for Performance Assessment, an organization dedicated to improving student achievement and … Continue reading →

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Shift Happens: Australian Version

Posted on October 9, 2008 by mwalker

Readers of my blog will know how I have used the Shift Happens clip to stimulate discussion at staff, council and parent levels about futures in schools. One of the workshops at the recent ACEL conference put me onto the … Continue reading →

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Global Citizenship

Posted on October 9, 2008 by mwalker

One of the emerging mindsets of the 2008 ACEL conference was that of global citizenship started by the opening address of Jean-Francois Rischard the former World Bank Vice president who wrote the book High Noon. In his book he sets out 20 … Continue reading →

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Leadership Footprints

Posted on September 26, 2008 by mwalker

  I’m on holidays in Queensland this week for a break before the final term which is usually jammed packed full of tasks. Next week Sarah, the assistant principal, and I are presenting a research paper on our instructional leadership … Continue reading →

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This is Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise calling CERN

Posted on September 11, 2008 by mwalker

I have been watching the live feed from CERN on the worlds first Hadron Collider. The live set in the world’s largest particle physics laboratory explains how this marvel of engineering works. I get that this is a significant moment … Continue reading →

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School improvement is not unlike peeling an onion – the jouney is layered and may produce tears .

Posted on September 11, 2008 by mwalker

  At most weekly leadership meetings we agenda a discussion on a published research paper distributed and read prior to meeting and this week it was the 90/90/90 Schools: A Case Study article. The article written by two journalists was based on research … Continue reading →

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Coaching – Teaching – similar stories.

Posted on September 8, 2008 by mwalker

Anyway after the Fathers day movie my son Mitchell and I were at basketball training with the Melbourne Tigers Junior Club and a well known coach was watching me work on Mitchell’s shooting technique. There are three courts open to everyone to … Continue reading →

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Turning on the lights in a dark room.

Posted on September 8, 2008 by mwalker

This Fathers Day I was spoilt with a cooked breakfast, a lazy morning watching a not so old movie and midday basketball training. The not so old movie was Freedom Writers staring Hilary Swank. For those of you not familiar with this … Continue reading →

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Sport with your kids

Posted on September 5, 2008 by mwalker

Last weekend I went skiing with my kids [the first two in the picture] at Mt Buller. Skiing is one of those sports that you can do together and all weekend I kept on wanting to pinch myself saying “how good is this?” Whether … Continue reading →

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Maths materials – tools or manipulatives? A walkthrough query.

Posted on September 4, 2008 by mwalker

Readers of my blog will know that we have Michaal Ymer, an educator with a focus on maths, coaching teachers in classrooms. Michael early on in his work with us presented three main messages: students need maths materials to manipulate so … Continue reading →

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Is personalised learning the holy grail?

Posted on September 2, 2008 by mwalker

I was watching the Da Vinci Code movie the other night and got to pondering was the holy grail that so many knights had fought to find and in some cases protect, in fact Mary Magdalene’s sepulchre as the Dan Brown’s … Continue reading →

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