Category Archives: Uncategorized

Is assessment for learning one of the keys to personalising learning for students?

Posted on November 12, 2009 by mwalker

I want to repeat the question posed in the title on assessment for learning as its been raised by teachers and parents recently as we complete our strategic plan for the next 4 years. What is personalised learning and is … Continue reading →

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Do we have inclusive schools?

Posted on November 2, 2009 by mwalker

Over the past month I have stopped blogging about leadership or learning as I completed a major piece of research work for my Masters. On campus last week I attended a lecture on inclusive education. I heard about how most … Continue reading →

Posted in disability, Masters in Education Course, school, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Amazing new smart pen for schools

Posted on October 14, 2009 by mwalker

 Whilst attending a session at University last week I was shown the Pulse Smart Pen which I thought was amazing. The pen records your writing or drawing on a special notebook using an infrared camera positioned just below the nib. … Continue reading →

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School Regeneration Projects

Posted on October 14, 2009 by mwalker

School regeneration projects engage schools and their local communities developing a sustainable educational provision plan that covers educating young people from birth to adulthood. The school communities usually agree to reduce the number of sites and organise the provision of education … Continue reading →

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Children See ….. Children Do

Posted on October 8, 2009 by mwalker

I saw this short clip by NAPCAN for a “Child Friendly Australia” and thought it worth posting for its very clear and powerful message to us as teachers, parents, grand parents and any adult who is responsible for kids. It’s worth a look.  Thanks to Donald MacDonald … Continue reading →

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A school’s core purpose in a larger framework!

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/senecavalleyhs/childdev/maslow.htm We have trying to clearly define our school’s core purpose that will help give direction to our improvement work over the next years. The school’s purpose is stated in the strategic plan which is a formal agreement between the community, teachers and … Continue reading →

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Podcasts

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

I have been thinking about using podcasts on my blog and / or school website to talk about upcoming events or talk through some thinking about various topics ie school purpose – and I came across Bill Carazzo’s blog entry … Continue reading →

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Using sticky notes on a wall to promote dialogue about a school’s purpose

Posted on September 14, 2009 by mwalker

  I’m not sure this works for adults – hence my go at this for my staff but I can see this as a hit for students as they review their inquiry topic. I will post the wallwisher link for … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Creativity, Instruction, school, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Social Media in classrooms

Posted on September 3, 2009 by mwalker

The clip is thanks to Warrick Wynne. Today at the end of the school day I walked into a classroom to catch up with a teacher about workforce planning for 2010 and saw the face of a young teacher, currently in … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Technology, Uncategorized, Video Clips | 4 Comments

Cyberbullying – what can we do!

Posted on August 10, 2009 by mwalker

Recently a few parents asked for the school’s support in dealing with the issue of cyberbullying. Whether the problem arose at school or at home in the end is probably not the issue – its how to stop it in … Continue reading →

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Educating for the unknown- what’s worth learning?

Posted on August 6, 2009 by mwalker

David Perkins from Harvard University was another keynote speaker at the Singapore conference. He put the proposition that a lot of what goes on in schools is educating for the known – we teach lots of information – spelling rules … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, curriculum, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Instructional Leadership Presentation in Singapore: Using data to improve instruction

Posted on July 26, 2009 by mwalker

I co-presented at the international conference in Singapore on instructional leadership and the use of data and other strategies to improve student learning. After the session, which was cut short, there were a number of questions asked by delegates on … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Kishore Mahbubani – The New Asian Hemisphere.

Posted on July 22, 2009 by mwalker

Certainly one of the more challenging speakers at the recent World Convention of Principals was Kishore Mahbubani. For those not familiar with Kishore or his work, and I was one of them, he is currently a Professor in Public Policy at the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Leadership, school, Teaching, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals – Singapore – a hit!

Posted on July 21, 2009 by mwalker

I have just returned from the 9th World Convention of the International Confederation of Principals in Singapore. It was truly an international convention with1,400 delegates from over 40 countries. It was also an opportunity to meet up with old friends … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 Singapore Conference, Leadership, Networks of Schools, school, Teaching, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sir Ken Robinson on the ABC 7.30 Report about the narrowing focus for Schools.

Posted on July 3, 2009 by mwalker

I have just caught up with the interview of Sir Ken Robinson on the ABC 7.30 report on schooling and creativity amongst other subjects discussed. Warrick Wynne has managed to create a direct link to part 1 of the interview … Continue reading →

Posted in parenting, school, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Tagged , , | 2 Comments