Category Archives: Teaching

“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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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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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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Challenges of learning to change and changing to learn

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mwalker

This 5 minute clip is useful for educators either as individuals or in teams in schools to talk through and using technology to so new things in new ways. It challenged me – do we have classrooms or learning communities [go outside … Continue reading →

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tests and the Rudd education revolution

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mwalker

Today the Prime Minister of Austalia, Hon Kevin Rudd delivered a speech at the National Press Club on the education revolution. I received a transcript of the speech which for me had several highlights: While Australian schools stand up reasonably … Continue reading →

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Virtual Worlds Tour

Posted on August 26, 2008 by mwalker

I came across the short 6 minute clip which shows about 50 online virtual world games. It has some excellent quotes and I am sure teenagers will recognise many of these worlds. I am just sharing at this stage.

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Phone a friend in exams?

Posted on August 26, 2008 by mwalker

I have just finished reading Chris Betcher’s post on PLC in Sydney where year 9 girls sitting an English test were able to use a phone to search the Internet for an answer as long as they quoted the source. The papers were … Continue reading →

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“Lessons from the Supreme Tester” by Julia Gillard

Posted on August 25, 2008 by mwalker

  Julia Gillard is reported to have said this month that she was blown away by the works and ideas of Joel Klein, the former Assistant Attorney General of the United States – anti trust division. Mr Klein has been … Continue reading →

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Does consistency mean sameness or mindfulness?

Posted on August 24, 2008 by mwalker

At this weeks staff meeting Sarah, the assistant principal and I talked about the weeks walkthroughs posing some questions in particular the above question – is consistency between classrooms sameness or mindfulness?  We used a fish bowl strategy to share our thoughts where Sarah and I … Continue reading →

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