Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tribes, Change, Risk, Discomfort

Posted on June 6, 2009 by mwalker

I recently read a blog on Seth’s presentation on Tribes as a way of connecting people in change and he posed several questions about connections, upsetting people and leading. Whilst reading the blog I was drawn to several quotes from … Continue reading →

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Courtenay Gardens P.S. Non fiction Writing in Victoria!

Posted on June 2, 2009 by mwalker

Recently, a professional learning team from Elsternwick Primary,  visited a school, Courtenay Garden’s P.S. in Victoria that focused on non fiction writing implementing the research of Douglas Reeves. Courtenay Gardens P.S. ,a school located in the growth corridior of the outer south eastern suburbs … Continue reading →

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Learning to Change and Changing to learn

Posted on May 20, 2009 by mwalker

I have been hanging onto this clip for a while not knowing what to do with it – in re-looking at it – again – its challenging. I heard some really interesting comments: “nearly now” space created by technology where … Continue reading →

Posted in school, school structures, Uncategorized, Video Clips | 1 Comment

Teachers do not teach comprehension they test it.

Posted on May 20, 2009 by mwalker

Last week I attended a presentation by Di Snowballwho has recently returned from working in schools in the States for over 16 years. Di has been contracted to work in some regions in Victoria to hlep “struggling” schools, I gather, however … Continue reading →

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A new model for “Writing” is needed in schools.

Posted on April 12, 2009 by mwalker

It seems writing is now more in focus than reading. Over the last 6 months I have heard and read a great deal about the power of writing and how the model needs to change in schools. I wrote about … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Reading, school, Teaching, Uncategorized, writing | 4 Comments

Reflections on University Life at Monash

Posted on April 9, 2009 by mwalker

Well, I have submitted my second reflective piece of writing this week, on my holidays. It’s been a while since I’ve had my writing “marked” and I was quite nervous I must say in accessing my assessment [what students at … Continue reading →

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Mitchell at the Red Centre

Posted on April 9, 2009 by mwalker

Mitchell, my son has just returned from 13 days in the the Northern Territory and South Australia exploring the red centre of this vast continent. He has been to places I haven’t and has a set of experiences that will last … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Holidays, school, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Reading Comprehension Strategies made explicit in classrooms

Posted on April 4, 2009 by mwalker

I visited Matthew Needlemans blog and really like the way his is trying to get his students to anchor their reading comprehension skills through the creation of posters that students can connect to. Often charts displayed in rooms don’t provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading, Teaching, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Will Lyon’s Bites

Posted on March 30, 2009 by mwalker

Thanks to John Connell I found this fantastic resource for teachers by Will Lyon on his Flickr site should they need an image for their lesson. This one struck me as I was writing my next post.

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assessment for learning

Posted on March 29, 2009 by mwalker

At last weeks leadership meeting we struggled for some time with the question how to best use the latest assessments we had of students mathematical understandings. During March we had all our 350  Prep – Year Four students individually tested … Continue reading →

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Why a Master’s Degree now?

Posted on March 20, 2009 by mwalker

“You did it… You did it”, the words of Professor Higgins from My Fair Lady were ringing in my ear as I drove home from University this afternoon – yes I did it – I’ve enrolled and started my Masters … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Masters in Education Course, Monash University, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Learning Walks on improved relationships and engagement.

Posted on March 19, 2009 by mwalker

Near the end of February my Assistant Principal and I went on a series of learning walks or walkthroughs with a focus on classroom rules and norms of working. We spent a short time in each classroom listening to students and teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Teaching, Uncategorized, Walkthroughs | 4 Comments

Typealyzer, a tool to promote dialogue about blogs

Posted on March 12, 2009 by mwalker

I stumbled upon this site, typealyzer, that looks at your blog and tries to analysis the type of blog it represents. There are many different types and when I typed in my blog address it looked at several entries I image … Continue reading →

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The Star Fish Story

Posted on March 11, 2009 by mwalker

This video reminds me of a former school council president, John Stafford who would each year thank the teachers for their service to the community. John would present each of them with a star fish he would make and a … Continue reading →

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social networking possibilities in classrooms

Posted on March 8, 2009 by mwalker

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzpix/3332094759/  I was reading Will Richardson’s article on the use of social networking sites in classrooms. Will was quoting the research of Christine Greenhowa doctoral student at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Yes, some of you might say that … Continue reading →

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