17 March 2015
Why good leaders make you feel safe
Next year I assume the role of Pedagogical Leader of K2. I've been reflecting on the role of a leader and wondering what makes a good one. This video provided me with some great food for thought.
16 March 2015
4MWT - March 2015
4-minute walk through (4MWT)
Teachers observing other classrooms in action in small groups followed by a guided conversation to promote personal reflection and inquiry.
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Finding “gems” for you to use in your own classroom practice and using observations as a starting point for reflection and inquiry.
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This morning my Collaborative Pod (4 teachers) enjoyed a 4minute walk through on of our colleagues classroom. This year TKS are focussing on professional practice and an open-door culture. Below are my reflections based on the 4MWT.
"So what's some of the learning you're having right now in thinking about the walkthrough and reflecting on data?"
The classroom was set up with lots of inviting learning engagements for children. As our current Unit of Inquiry is "How the World Works" there was a station looking at floating and sinking, a tape and tubes area and block play area set up as well. There was an indoor/outdoor flow with chilren accessing curriculum areas inside and outside.When walking the walls I noticed the Units of Inquiry clearly displayed with photos and stories about learning that has been happening within the unit.
"So what might you want to apply in terms of your thinking around this walkthrough to your own practice?"
I was inspired by the tubes and tape area and have adopted this in my own classroom. Children have really enjoyed using push/pull/force/motion as part of their hands-on approach to learning about "How the World Works".
04 March 2015
Concept-Based learning
Update: This video and Chris Frosts thoughts can be found on his comprehensive blog here. Well worth a look and touches on thoughts I have had since coming to an IB School.
25 February 2015
24 February 2015
4MWT - February 2014
4 minute walk throughs (4MWT)
Teachers observing other classrooms in action in small groups followed by a guided conversation to promote personal reflection and inquiry.
| |||||
Finding “gems” for you to use in your own classroom practice and using observations as a starting point for reflection and inquiry.
|
This morning my Collaborative Pod (4 teachers) enjoyed a 4minute walk through our colleagues classroom. This year TKS are focussing on professional practice and an open-door culture. I absolutely love visiting other classrooms but have rarely prioritized this. Below are my reflections based on the 4MWT.
"So what's some of the learning you're having right now in thinking about the walkthrough and reflecting on data?"
It really is quite amazing how a 4-minute walkthrough can offer so much new learning. The particular person we visited always inspires me anyway so it was a refreshing visit.
* Visual Arts - I was inspired by the beautiful artwork on display in the room. I could see that most of this was inspired by great books.
* Literacy - There was a lot of evidence of literacy throughout the classroom e.g. Poems, songs, stories created by children.
* Indoor/Outdoor flow - just affirms for me that this is a great way for children to explore play-based learning in context. We saw a group outside the classroom playing with water and mixing with chalk. They were calm and thoroughly engaged.
* Challenges - In one area the teacher had set up little challenges for children i.e. Challenge: How tall can you build?
* Natural resource - Saudi Arabia is considered a country with endless sweeping desert land. This teacher has made every effort to offer all sorts of beautiful natural resources for children to use in their play.
"So what might you want to apply in terms of your thinking around this walkthrough to your own practice?"
Use stories to provoke/inspire Visual Arts in young children.
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