Category Archives: Teaching

Personalising learning at Bellaire Pimary School

Posted on June 1, 2008 by mwalker

Whilst attending the principal conference at Geelong this week my assistant principal and I visited Bellaire Primary School in Geelong. The picture is from the senior unit which has been remodelled so that no teacher teaches in isolation. The unit has 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Geelong Conference, Leadership, Teaching, Technology | 1 Comment

Teaching and learning coaches in schools

Posted on May 9, 2008 by mwalker

At this weeks district Principal’s meeting we heard a report from one of DEECD’s appointed teacher coaches working in our local public schools. She spoke about frustrations over the system’s need for accountability data  verses the need to just do it … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Protocols, Teaching, Walkthroughs | Leave a comment

Are your helping others use new media?

Posted on May 9, 2008 by mwalker

I found this short clip courtesy of John Connell.

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Fishbowling protocols that look at student work

Posted on May 1, 2008 by mwalker

This week we took the second step in learning to use protocols to look at student work.  At the staff meeting the leadership team modelled the process using a fishbowl technique. Teacher feedback from last weeks introduction to protocols indicated more learning experiences … Continue reading →

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150 years on and still Darwin’s theories cause debate!

Posted on April 29, 2008 by mwalker

“Given sufficient time, the non-random survival of hereditary entities will generate complexity, diversity, beauty, and an illusion of design so persuasive that it is almost impossible to distinguish from deliberate intelligent design.” It’s hard to believe that it’s 150 years … Continue reading →

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Teen Writing – some positive research

Posted on April 28, 2008 by mwalker

  I was reading a recent research report titled: “Teens, Writing and the Internet”. The summary which I have linked makes for easy reading and quotes in my view some positive information: 85% of teens engage in social forms of … Continue reading →

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Composite Classes – a pressure point- at least in East Lothian, Scotland.

Posted on April 28, 2008 by mwalker

  I have just read a post and added a comment on Don’s log which I thought was worth a mention. Don is the Acting Director of Education and Children’s Services in East Lothian, Scotland. School organisation it seems is … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Teaching | 2 Comments

Why use protocols when looking at student work?

Posted on April 28, 2008 by mwalker

We posed this question at a team leadership meeting last year when we discussed the quest to personalise learning more for our students? Perhaps one answer came after we introduced the idea to staff last week – it’s a bit like … Continue reading →

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“iNet” online conferences

Posted on April 25, 2008 by mwalker

I recently posted a comment on an iNet online conference. iNet is an international network of schools committed to innovative change that supports improved student learning.   The online conference had a focus on “curriculum redesign” and posed a question … Continue reading →

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Design meets learning

Posted on April 15, 2008 by mwalker

The teachers in the Years 5/6 team at Elsternwick Primary are faced with many challenges and questions when co-designing learning environments that stimulate and promote both collaborative and individual learning as well as the environment supporting students and teachers living a set of values: … Continue reading →

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Teaching for Understanding

Posted on April 8, 2008 by mwalker

Have you ever struggled with teaching or assessing growth in learners understandings – I do? It’s easier to teach and assess skills. I like the example many people give of coaching a sports team – you teach skills that are observable – … Continue reading →

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Student Writing: a focus for improvement

Posted on March 10, 2008 by mwalker

We have just completed a whole pupil free day looking at our instructional practice on student writing. Anne Hammond, our resident literacy coach had us look at persuasive text for most of the morning: where you would find it, how … Continue reading →

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What’s your vision for schooling?

Posted on March 6, 2008 by mwalker

This week after our staff meeting I have been reflecting about the dialogue on what value we as teachers bring to the deeper learning our students need in the 21st century. We watched a pod cast of Richard Elmore saying … Continue reading →

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Instructional tips that might make a difference

Posted on March 5, 2008 by mwalker

At this week’s leadership meeting I introduced John Hattie’s article on building teacher quality. We began talking as the instructional leaders of the school of our individual journeys to making a greater difference in student learning. Hattie explores this learning … Continue reading →

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“School can be like a vacuum cleaner sucking the knowledge out of kids.”

Posted on March 4, 2008 by mwalker

I am working on one of the DEECD principal focus groups for building an instructional model for teachers in Victoria. During the first workshop we listened to this video clip from Richard Elmore talking about some of the challenges.  Richard … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Teaching, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Leave a comment