Category Archives: school

National Tests for students next month [NAPLAN] – so what?

Posted on April 8, 2010 by mwalker

Next month all year 3, 5 7, and 9 students in Australia embark on a series of National Tests over a 3 day period in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation and number. Teachers have been encouraged to better prepare … Continue reading →

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Followership

Posted on April 1, 2010 by mwalker

Thanks to others including Nina Davis I found this clip on leadership which suggests that the courage shown by the first follower is what determines the success or otherwise of the ‘movement’. In applying this view of leadership to schools … Continue reading →

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Ultranet – what is it and why is is important?

Posted on April 1, 2010 by mwalker

Our statewide improvement agenda for public education in Victoria includes using an online learning environment called the Ultranet which amongst other objectives gives students their own online workspaces with all the relevant web 2.0 tools. These online workspaces eventually will … Continue reading →

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We are all working on the same thing! Instructional Improvement presentation for the ACT Principals.

Posted on March 23, 2010 by mwalker

I’ve just returned from Wollongong where I was invited by the Australian Capital Territory [ACT] principals to share my journey of school improvement. For those like me who are unfamiliar with the ACT public education system it has approximately 81 … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, Instructional Rounds, Leadership, Masters in Education Course, school | Leave a comment

Using data to improve teaching – a work in progress.

Posted on February 25, 2010 by mwalker

I don’t think many teachers would disagree with the idea that its a good thing to use student assessment data to try and determine what students need to learn next, at least in Victorian schools – or would they? Often teachers … Continue reading →

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Cyber Safety – a bigger issue in homes than in schools?

Posted on February 25, 2010 by mwalker

At the start of the school year I’m teaching a series of workshops on cyber safety for students from Years 3 – 6 . These workshops coincide with the distribution the annual student Internet Agreement that parents and students sign. Part … Continue reading →

Posted in cyberbullying, Family, Leadership, school, Teaching | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Chinese New Year hits Elsternwick Primary

Posted on February 25, 2010 by mwalker

This year we celebrated Chinese New Year. Thanks to our new Mandarin teacher students this year had a week long celebration of Chinese New Year. Students learned Chinese cultural dances, made lanterns and the week ending with the traditional dragon … Continue reading →

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Online Safety

Posted on February 15, 2010 by mwalker

Last week I sent an email to the middle and senior team leaders offering to take the students from years 3-6 for an online safety session. This was partly a response to several incidents that occurred last year with students. … Continue reading →

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League tables

Posted on January 26, 2010 by mwalker

Over the past week newspapers all over Australia have featured articles and editorials on the Federal Governments new tax payer funded website “My School” which will allow parents [and others] to see how their schools rates against the national average … Continue reading →

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Student empowerment vs engagement

Posted on January 18, 2010 by mwalker

I’ve been following a conversation started by Chris Lehmann and joined by Dave Sherman questioning whether student engagement is a worthwhile improvement goal for schools to set. The conversation is worth some thought as Victorian schools like Elsternwick Primary are … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, reflections, school, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

New School Facilities

Posted on January 18, 2010 by mwalker

This photo of the new school gym and performing arts centre was taken over the January 2010 school holidays. Part of the governments recession proofing strategy in 2009 was to build much needed school buildings. Elsternwick Primary School was entitled … Continue reading →

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Reflections on a year just finished – what changed and what’s ahead.

Posted on December 23, 2009 by mwalker

Photo courtesy of Bayside leader At the end of a school year I generally get a little reflective – after a day or two on holidays that is and after I’ve spent some time catching up on the uncompleted tasks … Continue reading →

Posted in construction, Instruction, Leadership, reflections, school, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

How far have we come as teachers in using technology to engage learners?

Posted on December 23, 2009 by mwalker

Have a quick flick through this presentation as we in Australia shut down for the summer school holiday period. I’m reminded of a now famous quote “Yes we can” when I see this. I remember as far back as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Collaborative Communities, Instruction, Reading, school, Teaching, Technology, Uncategorized, Video Clips, Walkthroughs | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Facebook dilemmas

Posted on November 26, 2009 by mwalker

Recently we faced a dilemma as school leaders about students using Facebook and in posting this I’m seeking feedback from a wider audience. To explain we were alerted to a situation about a young student who had a Facebook page. The police had been involved … Continue reading →

Posted in cyberbullying, school, Teaching, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

National Standards – do they improve teaching and learning?

Posted on November 22, 2009 by mwalker

Thanks to Greg Carroll I came across this video where John Hattie makes a case around issues like accommodation, retention [repeating classes] or dumbing down learning surrounding National Standards. National Standards are due to be introduced in Australia next year. He concludes … Continue reading →

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