Category Archives: Leadership

Hard lessons for better leadership

Posted on September 21, 2010 by mwalker

I’ve been feeling a mixture of guilt, fatigue and overload over the past month as I grapple with work commitments and university study so the blog has gone somewhat quiet of late. But I couldn’t help notice this article by Professor … Continue reading →

Posted in Industrial Issues, Instruction, Leadership, school, school structures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Yong Zhao speaks about the limitations of test scores to define good schools

Posted on August 30, 2010 by mwalker

Yong Zhao a University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education at Michigan State University and international consultant to many governments talks here about the dangers of the narrow use of national test scores to define what students need. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment, Leadership, reflections, school structures, Technology, Uncategorized, Video Clips | Leave a comment

What are the challenges of working in flexible spaces?

Posted on June 29, 2010 by mwalker

New flexible learning environments are being built in schools as rate never seen before [and given the country’s debt probably never again] in this country. The ‘Building the Education Revolution’ Commonwealth Government initiative was part of Australia’s economic recession proofing … Continue reading →

Posted in flexible learning spaces, Instruction, Leadership, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is there an execution gap between our goals and actions?

Posted on June 15, 2010 by mwalker

I’ve been reflecting lately on our strategic plan which lists a number of worthwhile actions and improvement goals. I know the goals as the principal as I interact with the plan on a regular basis but I wonder if  they … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Leadership, school | 2 Comments

Our Blind Sides

Posted on May 19, 2010 by mwalker

I have been reading the book Blind Side by Michael Lewis and thinking about the parallels here in life and education. Now I do like watching American football on TV and confess besides the quarterback passing down field to receivers … Continue reading →

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

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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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

Is it that important to build teacher efficacy?

Posted on March 8, 2010 by mwalker

“Well, what are the most important things to achieve in the strategic plan this year?” This question was posed recently at a school council committee discussion on strategic plan accountabilities. While I was initially challenged to say everything in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, teacher efficacy, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 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 →

Posted in Accountability, Assessment, Leadership, school, Teaching | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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

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 →

Posted in cyberbullying, Leadership, parenting, school, Teaching | Tagged | Leave a comment

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

Does a school transition program make any difference to parent concerns about student class placements?

Posted on December 22, 2009 by mwalker

Certainly one of the by products of an effective school transition program we hoped was the easing of parent concerns about the student class placement for the following year. An earlier post on school transition described the program that we have … Continue reading →

Posted in Instruction, Leadership, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Leadership, Networks of Schools, school, school structures, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“teacher roles defined as covenants should be at the centre”

Posted on October 6, 2009 by mwalker

Sergiovanni in this book gave me one of those precious light bulb moments, as a school leader, when he defined roles as “the most sacred obligations and commitments we have towards each other, toward the school and toward its purpose” [p … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Masters in Education Course, Monash University, school, school structures, Teaching | Tagged , | 1 Comment