“The best teachers don’t give you the answers...

They just point the way ...

and let you make your own choices.”

Term Four 2015

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Index 3

Your Soapbox 4A letter to my new Principal Laura Bradley 5A Pair of Happiness (At Anatolian Schools) Insan International 6Napier EXPO IPL University of Waikato 7Studying the IB’s Theory of Knowledge Online Anne Keeling 8Modern Learning Practice at MOTAT? MOTAT Education 14One person can make a DIFFERENCE Elaine Le Sueur & Margaret Mooney 18Making bookmarks as gifts and to stockpile for book week Elaine Le Sueur 203 Lasting Lessons For Teachers From Grant Wiggins Jay McTighe 24Introducing Chatterboxes talk cards IPL, University of Waikato 28Getting better at getting better Laurie Loper 30Paperless classroom a reality Poppy Louw 33Anxiety Taming In The Classroom Elaine Le Sueur 34Victoria Park Markets 37A Morning Adventure at Mt Crawford Park Melissa Hudson 38Do You Have Good “PM Hygiene?” Michelle LaBrosse 44Chinese schools adopt an American approach Seth Doane 46The 13th Wonder of the Modern World? 48Drawing Animals That Don’t Want To Stay Between The Lines Iantha Naicker 50Fluency in any language! Helen Parkinson 55The Global Search for Education: Can Tech Help Students Learn? C.M. Rubin 56Sarah’s Travels: Japan Sarah George 61Travel Agency First in NZ to Offer New Training Qualification 68Visibility high priority for principals Michael Hooker 69Self-Taught Polish Artist Uses Fallen Autumn Leaves As Canvases For Her Paintings 70Nine Women Kept This Secret For Decades 7417-Year-Old Self-Taught Mexican Artist Dovas 76

Occasional Tale - a teacher turns to‘The Good Life’ Roger 80

is produced in the first week of each school term and uploaded to http://www.goodteacher.co.nz

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If you want to have YOUR SAY please email your offering to: soapbox@goodteacher.co.nz

Your Soapbox!

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“

”

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A letter to my new Principal

Laura Bradley

Dear Soon-to-be New Principal,Welcome to the happiest place on earth! Oh, wait -- that’s Disneyland, isn’t it? Well, we aren’t exactly an amusement park, but as far as middle schools go, we are a pretty happy place. And we want you to know that we’ve got some great things going on. We are a hard working, innovative, and enthusiastic staff, and we hope you will find our school to be as great as we know it to be.I’d like to offer some suggestions as you gear up for your first weeks on the job. I haven’t met you yet, and I don’t know what kind of experience you have, but after 25 years teaching middle school, I’ve learned a little bit about what makes for effective school leadership. I want you to be successful in your new position, and I know that my own success (and the success of my students) will in great part depend on you. So here’s what I know:Effective principals genuinely care about kids. That means that when you are roaming the quad and cafeteria during break and lunch, you are chatting with the kids, smiling, high-fiving, getting to know their names, their cliques and their idiosyncrasies. Our kids need you to establish relationships with them, to show them that you care. Your relationships with them will go a long way toward motivating them to work hard, be respectful, and enjoy their time at our school, and that will directly impact the work we do with them in the classroom.

And if you genuinely care about kids, you will care about their teachers. You will value what we do, you will trust us to be the experienced professionals that we are, and you will support us in our work. So what does that look like? The best principals I’ve known make time to be in our classrooms. They pay attention to who does what on campus. They notice the programs and clubs and activities that make a school so much more than the standard classes. That way they know what matters to us, they know our

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individual passions, they know what makes us such a great school. And because they know us that well, they are able to speak about us with authority when talking with parents, and they are able to defend and support us when necessary.

And if you are a principal who cares about and supports teachers, we can count on you to respond to our needs. If we send you an email, you will answer. If we express concern about something, you hear us. If we have big, bold visions for our students, you will find ways to see those visions through to reality. An effective principal knows that if the teachers aren’t supported, the kids will suffer. And so, Soon-to-be New Principal, my colleagues and I look forward to sharing our exciting work with you, and we trust you will do what you can to support us and our students.

Finally, I hope that when you join our staff, you will watch and wait before jumping in with any changes. One of the best principals I’ve known told me that in her first year at a new school she didn’t try to change anything except the landscaping. She watched her teachers work, she listened to what they said, she chatted with students and parents, but the

only changes she made were to trees, shrubbery and flower beds. She knew that the staff would resist any significant changes coming from someone so new to their school, so she focused first on relationships, got to know the school and its culture, and built trust before bringing in her new ideas.

Now it’s your turn. How can we support you in your new role? What do you need from us to help you become an effective leader of a really big, really cool middle school? What are your visions for your new role? Please let us know in the comments below.

Sincerely,

One of your many enthusiastic and innovative middle school teachers

Laura Bradley, MA, NBCT , Middle school English/Digital Media teacher Posted 07/17/2015

This post was created by a member of Edutopia’s community. If you have your own #eduawesome tips, strategies, and ideas for improving education, share them with us. http://www.edutopia.org/discussion

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Studying the IB’s Theory of Knowledge Online

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Studying the IB’s Theory of Knowledge Online

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Why is TOK so challenging?For many students, Theory of Knowledge is challenging because it’s so abstract. “Some students see it as endless questions with no answers and so don’t realise the relevance and importance of it,” says Bill Roberts who has 22 years of experience teaching TOK. “In addition, it involves fewer teaching hours than a subject course, is graded in conjunction with the extended essay, and counts for a maximum of three points. So, if students are thinking quantitatively, as many young people do, then they see TOK as less time, fewer points and so of less importance than their subjects. Hence one of the biggest challenges facing TOK teachers is helping students to see the importance and relevance of the course,” he adds.

Theory of Knowledge is an essential element of the IBDP, and important for preparing students as able, critical thinkers for higher education and life beyond school.

Theory of Knowledge is a fundamental part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. But for both students and schools it’s considered one of the greatest challenges. Now Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is available as an online course from the IB’s only online IBDP provider, Pamoja, and it could be the solution that many students and schools are looking for.

What is Theory of Knowledge? As one of the core components of the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), Theory of Knowledge is a must for all students and is central to the education philosophy of the International Baccalaureate. It asks students to develop their understanding of one simple but highly complex question: ‘How do we know?’

During their TOK course, students spend time studying the nature of knowledge and critically reflecting on their own learning; considering what counts as evidence, how to judge evidence, and challenging stereotypes about knowledge as well as their own beliefs. The course asks students to ask such questions as how do we know what we know? How do we know what happened in the past? How do we know if a science experiment has given a reliable result? And can we ever know something with certainty?

It takes students on a journey along which they become more active, reflective and critical thinkers.

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A solution for students and schoolsThe new online TOK course could be the solution for many students. Rather than studying a subject in the traditional classroom, online IBDP courses allow students to work at their own pace, at a time and in a place that best suits them, and in a wholly digital environment that appeals to many young people. “It really is a cool way to learn!” says student Alexander Roman from Harding High School in the US who has spent the last two years studying one of his IBDP courses online.

TOK online uses innovative edtech and communication tools to enable students to actively connect with their online teacher and classmates and, combined with skilful curriculum design involving highly experienced TOK teachers, is structured in a way that’s particularly engaging for young people. It takes advantage of the digital medium to offer a range of creative ways for students to reflect and develop their understanding. “TOK in the face-to-face classroom is all about

discussion, whereas in the online course, students interact with the material in a much wider variety of ways; using journals, discussion forums, videos, podcasts and more,” explains Bill Roberts. “This allows reflection to happen in different ways which could appeal to more students.” The course is delivered by experienced TOK teachers who are also trained to teach online to ensure students receive the support and attention that’s necessary.

For schools, in addition to resolving timetabling issues and providing access to skilled TOK teachers, the online course gives them the chance to offer a personalised learning experience using an IB approved rigorous approach that helps students to develop independent learning skills in preparation for higher education. It also provides opportunities for students to learn with online classmates who are based around the world.

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Learning with othersHayden Wiles, a student from Warwickshire, UK who has studied an online IBDP course for the past two years says that he was able to learn from the contributions and perspectives of all his online classmates who were from a number of different countries. “You can communicate with everyone and you can share in everything,” he says. This is because the collaborative process, designed by Pamoja for online learning, is very defined. For

example, in discussion forums, everyone has to contribute, everyone has a voice and everyone shares in the perspectives of others which many students find valuable. Hayden’s schoolmate, Ailie Rennie who also studied online says “you don’t get chance to read other people’s work in normal classes. Online, you see their views; you can see the similarities and differences to your thinking. This is very helpful. You learn a lot from other people in the online class.”

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Getting startedFor IB schools that don’t already offer online IBDP courses, TOK online could be an effective way of introducing students to digital learning as well as giving rightful attention to a core IB component.

With all introductions and orientation to the learning approach conducted online, skilled Pamoja subject teachers supporting students throughout the course,

all online participation recorded for evaluation of engagement, and a course that meets the academic rigour of the IBDP, schools can be assured that they are preparing students well for their journey to becoming more active, reflective and critical thinkers.

More information about TOK online is available from www.pamojaeducation.com

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Modern Learning Practice at MOTAT?

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Now, hang on a minute….! MOTAT is all about old vehicles and Victorian village life, isn’t it? You go there to experience education as it was in the ‘olden days’. The schoolmarm dressed up in a hoop skirt and a severe hairdo, lecturing at the front of the room to a class seated in neat, military style rows. Students reciting the alphabet in unison, endlessly practising cursive script, and NEVER, EVER daring to voice an opinion.Well, yes …… we can offer you that experience here at MOTAT, and your students will love being able to compare ‘olden day’ schooling to the way they experience education today. Today’s students expect to have an opinion about what they learn and how they learn it and, what is more, they expect to be asked what that opinion is. They might not use terms such as ‘learner agency’, ‘inclusive design’ and ‘digital convergence’, but increasingly these trends are affecting their day-to-day learning encounters...

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Modern Learning Practice at MOTAT?

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We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about education at MOTAT and, while it’s important to continue offering the yesteryear experience, we also want to present education experiences which model 21st Century thinking - student driven, richly resourced experiences catering to the diversity of learner needs.

So we’ve been looking at modern learning practices with Cognition Education.

The initial focus is on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how it can guide the why, what and how of learning. We’ve been reviewing our existing programmes and wherever possible, introducing multiple means of representation, action, expression and engagement to better cater for individual learners. Our intention is to revitalise MOTAT’s teaching practice to mirror that which is occurring in schools. This would allow students to continue applying their established learning behaviours in MOTAT’s unique environment.

We know that this review and revitalisation work is a ‘first order’ change which will result in a better, more student-focused version of what we are already doing. But we have big plans for education at MOTAT and we’re excited to move onto the ‘second order’ change. This will involve a paradigm shift in the way we take advantage of MOTAT’s extensive resources to offer education programmes which are unique, exciting and most of all, relevant for today’s students.

”Change is the end result of all true learning”. Leo Buscaglia

To find out more about Education at MOTAT or to book, contact bookings@motat.org.nz

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We are in the process of putting together a non-fiction biographical book to show our smart school age students that they can learn from each other as well as famous people in the community. If you are (or you know of/ can recommend) a student who has made or is attempting to make a positive difference to the lives of others through a project that they are engaged in (and would like to participate) then we would love to hear from you. Someone else can write the article but it needs to be a true story with how the student dealt with any issues that arose as they went along. If the biography is included in the book then he/she will get a free copy when it is published. Any profits made from sales of the book will be donated to the Starship Foundation.If you have any queries you can contact us at: justelaine@xtra.co.nz (Elaine Le Sueur) or margaretmooney@xtra.co.nz (Margaret Mooney) with the words gifted bio in the subject line.

from Elaine Le Sueur & Margaret Mooney

An Invitation:

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All biographical articles must be completed by the end of Term 1, 2016 to be considered. Every student entry (whether published or not) will go into the draw for a class set of Monster Bookmarks. Each one is different. (See step by step instructions for making your own, at the end of this article). Winner will be drawn in the Easter holidays, and the result published in Good Teacher, Term 2, 2016.

ARTICLE OUTLINEThe following suggestions for the student might help to provide a framework for the biographical article.• What did you want to achieve?• What was your motivation? (What made you de-

cide on this action?)• What did you do?• What did you need to get started?• If you needed guidance or help, where did you go

to get it?• What difficulties did you meet (encounter) along

the way?• How did you solve them?• How long did it take?• What have you learned along the way about your-

self and/or others?• What is important for you to share about the

experience that would help others thinking about a Making a Difference project of their own?

• Did you achieve your aim?• What next for you?• Do you have any suggestions for other kids for

making a difference?

NOTE :The reason that others will read these stories is to find out how to solve their own problems and make decisions. Have you included enough information for the readers to know how you arrived at the choices you have made?Articles and supporting material such as photos, newspaper clips etc will not be returned so please send copies.

PERMISSION :The permission slip must be included on the bottom of your article. (Copy and paste) The student’s parent/ guardian needs to give signed permission for your biography to be used if it is selected:

E-mail your completed article (with supporting material/ photographs attachments if desired) to: Elaine Le Sueur, Gifted Education Consultant at justelaine@xtra.co.nzOr Margaret Mooney at margaretmooney@xtra.co.nz

ABOUT US:Elaine Le Sueur is a writer who has worked in the gifted field as a teacher and gifted education consultant for more than thirty years. She is a regular article writer for Good Teacher and has published several books for teachers. Elaine believes in the value of having gifted students learning from each other as well as from biographies of adults who have made a difference to the lives of others, and that is her motivation for this enterprise.

Margaret Mooney is a teacher, author, editor, and international literacy consultant. She received an Order of New Zealand Merit for her work in literacy development. Margaret has written some sixty books and has edited several series, including some for gifted readers and writers. Biographies are her favourite genre both for reading and writing and she is currently helping some people write reviews of their life.

PERMISSION SLIP Name/s of parent/guardian giving permission (please print clearly)

I/We certify that this is work is by __________________________ (name of student)

Age at the time of the project _______

I/We give approval for the attached biography to be published, should it be selected for inclusion. We understand that there is no payment other than a free copy of the publication if it is used in the book, and that any profit made from sales of the book will be donated to the Starship Foundation.

Signed Date

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Making bookmarks as gifts and to stockpile for book week

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Sheraleigh Waru Papakura High School with Alistair McIntyre

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With thanks to Elaine Le Sueur

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3 Lasting Lessons For Teachers From Grant Wiggins

The start of the new school year offers the perfect opportunity to

reflect on the life and work of Grant Wiggins, an extraordinary educator

who died unexpectedly at the end of the last school year (on May 26,

2015). Although I am an only child, I

considered Grant my brother as well as an intellectual partner and best

friend. I think of Grant every day and miss

him terribly.While Grant is no longer with us, his

spirit and ideas live on. Indeed, we can honor and celebrate his life’s

work by acting on the sage advice that he offered to teachers over the

years. As we prepare to meet our new

students, let us consider three of Grant’s sensible and salient lessons

for teachers.

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3 Lasting Lessons For Teachers From Grant Wiggins

What Grant Would Want You To Know...Lesson #1: Always Keep the End in MindGrant always reminded teachers of the value of designing curriculum, assessment, and learning experiences “backwards,” with the end in mind. While the idea of using “backward design” to plan curriculum units and courses is certainly not new, the Understanding by Design® framework underscores the value of this process for yielding more clearly defined goals, more appropriate assessments, more tightly aligned lessons, and more purposeful teaching.

Grant pointed out that “backward design” of curriculum means more than simply looking at all of the content and standards you plan to “cover” and mapping out your day-to-day lessons. The idea is to plan backward from worthygoals—the transferable concepts, principles, processes, and questions that enable students to apply their learning in meaningful and authentic ways. Grant knew that in order to transfer their learning, students need to understand “big ideas.” Rote learning of discrete facts and skills will simply not equip students to apply their learning to novel situations. Thus, he advised teachers to plan backward from desired transfer performances and “uncover” the necessary content needed for those performances.

Here are several curriculum-planning tips that Grant offered:

• Consider long-term transfer goals when planning curriculum. What do you want students to be able to do with their learning when they confront new challenges, both within and outside of school?

• With transfer goals in mind, ask yourself these questions: What will students need to understand in order to apply their learning? What specific knowledge and skills will enable effective performance?

• Frame your teaching around essential questions. Think of the content you teach as the “answers.” What are the questions that led to those answers?

Grant noted that teaching for understanding and transfer will develop the very capabilities identified in the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards, which are necessary to prepare learners for success in college and careers.

Lesson #2: Feedback is Key to Successful Learning and Performance

However, Grant cautioned against thinking that grades (B+) and exhortations (“try harder”) are feedback.To be effective, Grant pointed out that feedback must meet several criteria:For years, Grant reminded teachers that providing learners with feedback was a key to effective learning and improvement. His insights have been confirmed by research (from educators like Dylan Wiliam, John Hattie, and Robert Marzano) that demonstrates conclusively that classroom feedback is one of the highest-yielding strategies to enhance achievement.

• Feedback must be timely. Making students wait two weeks or more to find out how they did on a test will not help their learning.

• Feedback must be specific and descriptive. Effective feedback highlights explicit strengths and weaknesses (e.g., “Your speech was well-organized and interesting to the audience. However, you were speaking too fast in the beginning and did not make eye contact with the audience.”).

• Feedback must be understandable to the receiver. Sometimes a teacher’s comment or the language in a rubric is lost on a student. Using student-friendly language can make feedback clearer and more comprehensible. For instance, instead of saying, “Document your reasoning process,” a teacher could say, “Show your work in a step-by-step manner so others can follow your thinking.”

• Feedback must allow for self-adjustment on the student’s part. Merely providing timely and specific feedback is insufficient; teachers must also give students the opportunity to use it to revise their thinking or performance.

Here’s a straightforward test for classroom feedback: Can learners tell specifically from the given feedback what they have done well and what they could do next time to improve? If not, then the feedback is not yet specific enough or understandable for the learner.

Grant also reminded us that classroom feedback should work reciprocally—that is, teachers should not only provide feedback for learners but also seek and use feedback to improve their own practice. Here are four ways that teachers can obtain helpful feedback:

by Jay McTighe

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• Ask your students. Periodically, teachers can elicit student feedback using “exit cards” or questionnaires. Here are a few sample prompts: What do you really understand about ____? What questions do you have? When were you most engaged? When were you least engaged? What is working for you? What could I do to help you learn better? Response patterns from such questions can provide specific ideas to help teachers refine their teaching.

• Ask your colleagues. It is easy for busy teachers to get too close to their work. Having another set of eyes can be invaluable. You can ask fellow teachers to review your unit plans, inspect the

alignment of your assessments to your goals, and check your essential questions and lesson plans to see if they are likely to engage students

• Use formative assessments and act on their results. Grant often used analogies to make a point. He likened formative assessment to tasting a meal while cooking it. Waiting until a unit test or final exam to discover that some students haven’t “got it” is too late. Effective teachers, like successful cooks, sample learning along the way through formative assessments and adjust the “ingredients” of their teaching based on results.

• Regularly analyze student work. By closely examining the work that students produce on

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major assignments and assessments, teachers gain valuable insight into student strengths as well as skill deficiencies and misunderstandings. Grant encouraged teachers to analyze student work in teams, whenever possible. Just as football coaches review game film together and then plan next week’s practices, teachers gain insight into needed curriculum and instructional adjustments based on results.

Lesson #3: Have Empathy for the LearnerIn our writings on Understanding by Design, Grant and I described six facets of understanding: a person shows evidence of understanding when they can explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective,

empathize, and self-assess. These facets serve as indicators of understanding and guide the development of assessments and learning experiences.

Grant pointed out that the facets have value beyond their use as a frame for curriculum and assessment design. They can be applied to teachers and teaching as well. As one example, he described the phenomenon that he labeled the Expert Blind Spot: “Expressed in the language of the six facets, experts frequently find it difficult to have empathy for the novice, even when they try. That’s why teaching is hard, especially for the expert in the field who is a novice teacher. Expressed positively, we must strive unendingly to be empathetic to the learner’s conceptual struggles if we are to succeed.”

Grant reminded us of the value of being sensitive to learners who do not have our expertise (and sometimes not even an interest) in the subject matter that we know so well. He pointed out that “what is obvious to us is rarely obvious to a novice—and was once not obvious to us either, but we have forgotten our former views and struggles.” He cautioned us against confusing teaching for understanding with simply telling. He encouraged teachers to remember that understandings are constructed in the mind of the learner, that understanding must be “earned” by the learner, and that the teacher’s job is to facilitate “meaning making,” not simply present information.

Grant encouraged teachers to develop empathy for students by “shadowing” a student for a day and reflecting on the experience. Recently, a high school teacher took his suggestion and described what it was like to walk in the shoes of a student. Her account, summarized in a blog post with over a million hits, should be required reading for all teachers, especially at the start of a new year. Maybe you will be inspired to engage in this action research in your school.

These are but a few of the many lessons that Grant offered us. Although he is no longer with us, his brilliance lives on in his thought-provoking blog posts, articles, and books. His advice elevates our profession, and our students deserve the benefits of his wisdom.

Jay McTighe leads ASCD’s Understanding by Design® cadre and brings a wealth of experience that he developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. McTighe is an accomplished author, having coauthored 14 books, including the best-selling Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins.

This post originally appeared on ASCD’s inservice blog. Image attribution: flickr user sparkfunelectronics

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Families are children’s first teachers.

They provide the early learning about the home, the environment, the culture, the religion and all of the important things that make up a child’s early knowledge. This important time for a child sets them up with beliefs and values that they will carry on as they grow and go to school.

The time spent talking to children about any and everything creates a knowledge of their world and gives them vocabulary with which to talk about their experiences themselves. This sets them up for success in education. Talking can happen anywhere, in the car, at the shops, watching TV, making a meal, doing the housework, and at the countless other times that parents and children are together. Talking about family stories, special events and special people in their lives provides children with the experiences of language and life that they need for school learning.

Talking to children is one of the most important things a parent can do, takes little extra time and is the least expensive!

Introducing Chatterboxes talk cards - because…Language is the foundation of education

Over recent years, teachers of new entrant classes have constantly commented on the diminishing ability of 5 year olds to hold a conversation about the common, everyday things in their world. The teachers say that many new entrants have a limited vocabulary and cannot easily converse about daily life, family and the world in which they live and play. Many are unable to speak in sentences, lacking the early knowledge of language and how it works. This seriously impacts on their ability to begin the learning, the reading, writing and mathematics that make up education in New Zealand. However, it is simply and cheaply remedied.

Literacy facilitators at the University of Waikato, with this in mind, and being very aware that the child’s first teachers, the parents are often very busy supporting their family, decided to create a series of “talking cards” with ideas for conversations.

The aim of this resource is to suggest prompts for parent-child conversations around the ordinary aspects of life that build vocabulary and experience in children in their early years. Parents have a wealth of experiences, knowledge and cultural information to share with their children. Parents who have ongoing conversations with their children provide them with a bank of knowledge with which to inform their learning. These experiences, and their associated vocabulary, are those that form the basis of early reading and writing.

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Introducing Chatterboxes talk cards - because…Language is the foundation of education

At present the card sets are available in English, bilingually

in Māori and English and completely in Te Reo (Māori).

They are available from the Learning4 Stores for $6 each. Only $5 for 10 or

more. (Plus postage)

These cards cover a variety of common situations and give ideas for conversations. The packaging also has additional prompts and ideas to consider when with family. They are aimed at pre-school and new entrant learners and their families.

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Getting better at getting better

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A remark reported in the Bay of Plenty Times recently got me thinking. It appeared in an article about how boys in secondary schools were closing the achievement gap on girls. Alluding to the time it was taking to raise the level of boy’s achievement, Otumoetai College’s Bruce Farthing said, “The worry is, of course, how many boys we lose along the way.”That struck a cord. It has long been apparent that the rate of improvement in educational achievement across-the-board is too slow and too costly in human terms, particularly where boys are concerned. I began thinking about how it could be sped up. Having recently been alerted to the work the Carnegie Foundation has been doing in developing improvement science, I naturally turned to that source to find inspiration. Tony Bryk, president of the Foundation’s Advancement of Teaching had this to say, “We need smarter systems, organisations capable of learning and improving, that see learning and change as what it means to be vital, to be alive.”

That was the sort of rev-up message I was primed to hear. Furthermore, I’ve been on record many times advocating for a better understanding of the learning process than the belief-based, hence mistaken, one that continues to drive educational practice the world over. In my opinion that very mistaken understanding is why education systems are not “getting good at getting better” fast enough to ensure all students get what they should be getting from education systems.

So, time to change tactics. Time to ditch the most commonly used strategies as they are not improving things for all students fast enough. Time to think differently. Time to give that inefficient educational process a long overdue makeover. Time to throw out the belief that improving educational outcomes has to be a slow process. Time to embrace the Carnegie Foundation’s improvement science and to watch change acceleration happen. Time to turn the thought that we can get better at getting better into policy.

Being privy also to the Bobbie Maths developments, and having met that programme’s creator, Associate Professor Roberta Hunter, and seen her in action, makes what needs to happen very obvious. To date, few have been aware of the factors involved in getting things moving and in providing the means to keep them rolling. The iterative process being used has proved itself as a strategy pointing the way, and one making sure that contextual variables do not derail projects.

That iterative process is beginning to highlight what factors need to be kept uppermost in mind. Clearly massive change is inevitable for it will need to encompass the whole gamut of educational activity, especially things like classroom practice, understanding how the learning process works, teacher training, policy formation and funding.

Evidence also indicates that change on that scale will require massive support. For instance, to get the best out of the teaching practice changes, that support will need to be provided for some three years. Hence, the

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Getting better at getting betterLaurie Loper Psychologist

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provision of mentors will be crucial as will be their training.

Initial impressions suggest, too, that the whole current approach to change management in education needs to be replaced with new thinking, for instance, about how mentoring can be best delivered. Also, the degree and scale of pedagogical change that’s needed suggests we should perhaps be thinking of clearing the decks, tsunami style, and building a new start for it’s apparent that our current understandings of terms like paradigm change and sea change in contexts of this nature are incredibly naïve.

In this context, what people who are undergoing fundamental change require suggests that any new replacement practice must more closely match the nature of the skill changes that are involved and the time it takes to bed them in.

Make no mistake, change of the kind being spoken of here is like nothing else that’s ever been experienced before, being about as different from current practice as it’s possible to get. However, if properly undertaken, by being ultra mindful of the nature of the tasks involved, the evidence shows the benefits accruing to everyone taking part are second to none.

Change of the kind needed to effect improvement across the board cannot occur in a vacuum. If it were the spread of a disease or a virus that was under consideration we’d say it would need a vector. In this instance, the vector that has emerged just happens to be a maths programme. Evidence shows it does increase teacher’s knowledge of the subject content and that it does lift achievement spectacularly for low achieving Maori and Pasifika primary students, (as much as 4 – 5 year progress in maths can be expected in one school year). So successful is it in this regard, there is a real danger that its major achievement will go unnoticed. That concerns the fact it isn’t just a successful math’s intervention, it comes packed full with every attribute needed to rid teaching of the inherent inefficiency that has dogged efforts to accelerate the improving of teaching

improvement since time immemorial.

Chief amongst the several factors that contribute to it being so distinctive in this regard is the evidence about the transfer effects that are being achieved across the curriculum. Rarely is such an effect reported, in and of itself it has to be worth the cost of introducing the programme. But that’s only part of a package with the extra things included being the five key competencies, accelerated oral language development, and an inculcation of the values that underpin both the New Zealand and Maori (Te Marautanga) Curriculums, all this obviously making it more than just a curriculum intervention. Countering bullying is another impressive contribution. If asked, it’s likely Dr Bobbie Hunter would say the vector here is largely the friendly and polite arguing that’s encouraged as each of the small groups used learns to ‘play the ball and not the man’ when the situation calls for defending one’s thinking in relation to the particular problem solving strategy that’s been put forward. This is good news for teacher ears, long aching to hear that about bullying, and coming from, of all things, an anxiety-producing subject like maths whose reputation for being difficult to master persists for most people well into adulthood.

Looking back, when I was to the fore in introducing the Assertive Discipline programme to about 30 schools, I realised how big a professional development hole that programme was trying to fill. Bobbie Maths fills that same hole far more convincingly, and matter-of-factly, by the use of a simple mechanism, friendly but polite argument about differences in problem solving thinking. In similar vein to the bullying evidence is that concerning risk taking during learning. In the days of yore, pre-Google, I challenged a 5th Form History teacher about a fact to do with Vasco da Gama’s voyages, but only did so because I was very certain of my facts. Had there been any doubt whatsoever I wouldn’t have had the confidence to challenge. Under Bobbie Maths pedagogy, the

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situation is a whole lot less fraught. The group is responsible for the answers, not the individual; risk taking to get a solution is encouraged; as is making mistakes. Taking time to come up with a properly considered solution is considered ‘good form’. Under such a regime risk taking and learner confidence develop side by side.

Bobbie Maths impacts advantageously on another important factor, education’s responsiveness to the diversity of learners in New Zealand classrooms and to everything they bring to the classroom of their lives and cultures. For Maori and Pasifika students especially it is the factor that makes them feel they are being valued in their own right as Maori and Pasifika learners. Hazarding a guess, I would say that if this ingredient weren’t part of the mix, there would be nowhere near the same level of gain as is currently being reported. Attending to this factor seemingly taps into a learning wellspring in all other ethnic groups as well, enabling Bobbie Maths to reach across the cultures in an unparalleled way. Bearing in mind that all students possess a remarkably similar capacity to learn, it speaks to diverse (all) students giving the rare prospect that all of them will be able to get from education everything that’s due to them but, till now, has been rarely delivered in full.

Evidence showing that the nurturing of this responsiveness factor is in the DNA of Bobbie Maths. Hence a lot of effort goes into developing in teachers and in school systems a responsiveness in the observance of those cultural imperatives known to matter. A few of the many ways being used is the planned way teachers are going about this task; the effort, enthusiasm and collegiality being employed; the planned way parents are integrated into the learning communities that are part and parcel of the programme; and, the visible efforts being made to both keep tabs on and to honour the various ethnicities and iwi/hapu/whanau affiliations present in their own school’s population. Thus with the diversity of all students taken care of, all of them are positioned to be successful learners in their own right.

Irrespective of the circumstances of their upbringing, students always arrive at school with experiences. Their success in learning whilst at school will depend largely on how well the education on offer in each classroom butts on to and makes use of (and in that way, values) the experiences each child brings.

Evidence shows that Bobbie Maths regards the knowledge that children acquire as they grow up in their own families and communities as being both valuable in its own right and as a launch pad for future learning. It’s also being seen as a vehicle for connecting with families and validating their contribution to knowledge building and to their being genuine partners in their child’s education. Bobbie Maths makes sure there is a firm connection made between home and community knowledge with what happens in the classroom. It also ensures that this

aspect of teaching remains an active part of the ongoing business of improving teaching and learning. But Bobbie Maths goes even further. Evidence shows it is not only respectful of what children bring with them to class, it accords the same respect to the languages they bring and ensures they become accepted as part and parcel to all learning that goes on. (This is undoubtedly one of the several major reasons why Ngai Tahu is so keen to see Bobbie Maths introduced and spread throughout the rohe.)

The Bobbie Maths programme obviously offers much promise to the children of families that hail from ‘the wrong side of the tracks’, giving them and their families an enhanced hope in regard to their chances in life. But not for nothing is Bobbie Maths being held up as a programme capable of lifting the educational performance of diverse (all) students. One school has already demonstrated the truth of this claim. It is a Tauranga decile 7 intermediate school that took on the programme with the assistance of a funding grant from a local power company. The resulting evidence shows that students from higher decile schools also benefit, in this instance having obtained higher gains than their own teachers expected. The students themselves reported the same pleasure as lower decile children have expressed in respect of the many changes evident in the new learning environment Bobbie Maths creates.

Not only that, the improved performance was the main reason why the school in question was a joint winner of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Teaching Excellence Award for 2014. (See also addendum below.)

To conclude, the variously obtained evidence clearly shows that Bobbie Maths possesses “a unique portfolio of characteristics” (quote taken from the Saturday Morning Show, National Radio, 12/9/2015 – Kim Hill presenter). Together they are the mix of ingredients that must be present in each and every programme attempting to improve the rate and quality of educational improvement. The only policy focus with any hope of achieving the needed increases quickly enough will be one that makes use of the trail blazing evidence Bobbie Maths has provided. Otherwise, by allowing education to continue to under-serve social justice (as it is has done for far too long), stores up far too much societal raruraru (trouble/mayhem) for the future. Getting that improvement occurring fast enough must be the guiding principle because allowing even one student to fall behind not only imposes ongoing societal cost, it runs the danger of putting an indelible stain on our history.

(Teachers in higher decile schools wishing to explore what Bobbie Maths offers can click on the link provided: http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/topics/BES/developing-mathematical-inquiry-communities)

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“A dream we never realised is finally here. Our children can finally take their education seriously now that they see their government is taking their education seriously,” said Joseph Mabaso, the prinicipal of Protea Glen Secondary School in Soweto.The school was recently given a technological upgrade for its Grade 12 pupils as part of the Gauteng education department “Paperless Classroom” project, piloted early this year.

Each of the 258 matric pupils received Huawei tablets, the teachers given laptops and their eight classrooms installed with two interactive boards, all with complete internet connectivity.

The Times visited the township school to take a closer look at the project.

For most of the pupils, the new mobile equipment fitted with tracking devices and internet access comes at a time when they need it most.

Rendani Singo, 18, used to spend between R30 and R50 on data for his smartphone to do research online

for his school assignments.

He said the use of technology was important and that the new devices would allow him and his peers a better chance at improving their academic skills.

“The time allocated for tests and activities will also help us work faster, which will come in handy during the exams as some of us never get to finish our papers,” he added.

Singo and his 24 classmates of Grade 12(A1) navigate their way through their tablets, which are connected to the 3D LED interactive boards, as their teachers give lessons.

Life Sciences teacher Sweetness Radebe takes the pupils through the principles of genetics using the interactive board, loading the 45-minute lesson she prepared for her class.

More than 9000 Gauteng teachers and subject advisors have been trained and 375 high schools, mainly in township and rural areas, selected for the programme.

The provincial education department has projected costs of R17-billion over four years, some of which are covered by the private sector and other government agencies, including the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre and Telkom.

Paperless classroom a realityPoppy Louw

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/07/27/

Matric pupils at Protea Glen Secondary School in Soweto were among Gauteng’s lucky recipients of tablets to use in the classroom.

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Anxiety Taming In The ClassroomGifted children and anxiety often seem to go together like bread and butter. It is natural for all children to have some worries and fears as they are growing up, but for children who have a heightened awareness of what is going on in the world around them and what the future might hold, the worries can be magnified out of proportion. Issues such as acceptance, perfectionistic tendencies and not being able to live up to perceived and/or real expectations can cause anxiety as the child strives for independence and a sense of self. Teachers are not qualified to treat the anxiety of a gifted child if it is causing concern, but if we are able to understand the worry and fear and empathise rather than trivialise it then we can avoid increasing the problem at school. The focus of this article is on helping gifted kids to cope with anxiety as distinct from fear or phobia. Fear is felt when faced with an immediate danger. That’s where the danger IS. There is a direct cause for the emotion being felt and fear is the reaction to being afraid of being harmed. A phobia is much stronger than simply being afraid of being harmed. It is an intense unreasonable reaction to something that interferes with everyday life. Anxiety can be defined as the worry that is felt when thinking about what might happen. It relates to a perception that something bad is going to happen. Thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all combined in such a way as to make the brain’s survival response centre (the amygdala) react instinctively by increasing heart rate, tightening muscles ready for flight and causing rapid breathing. It ranges from general

uneasiness to panic. The reaction of others can make the difference because everyone perceives things differently.

What The Teacher Can Do:Talk to students about how worries can impact on performance and discuss how these might be alleviated so that you help them to gain confidence in their own ability to cope. Practise active listening and don’t try to ‘fix it’ by appearing to have all the answers, but give information if it is asked for. Encourage students to check their ‘what if…’ thinking as a way to identify what can be controlled and what can’t, and let them know that positive thinking leads to positive outcomes.

Some gifted students are reluctant to take part in any activities in which they are afraid that they might fail. Failures are inevitable in all our lives but they are not final. If you don’t fail then you don’t learn. It is how we react to the anxiety that will make the difference.

Many able children can be intensely worried about things that their imaginations conjure up but dismissing them out of hand is not helpful because it will make them not prepared to tell you about them.

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Anxiety Taming In The Classroom

What The Teacher Can Do:

Focus on process rather than outcome and provide regular constructive feedback for the student to review so that anxiety is overcome by taking smaller steps and builds into success when the task is completed.

Encourage calculated risk taking. Talk about situations where you have taken risks yourself and how you dealt with them. Each student is more talented in some areas than in others. Don’t trivialise the issue by brushing it off with comments such as … you will be fine, don’t worry about it. Such comments do nothing to alleviate the anxiety because children like to succeed and their concerns are real to them.

By Elaine Le Sueur

I’m not as smart as

they think I am.

What if I can’t do it?

Tomorrow I have to present my work to

the class. I know they are going

to laugh at me.

What The Teacher Can Do:Modelling can be a positive motivator for summoning up courage. Talk about how you felt on your first day in front of a class of students, and how you dealt with the butterflies in your interaction with an audience. Give encouragement and praise for attempting to comply rather than judgement or interpretation when the student tries to solve the anxiety with action.

What The Teacher Can Do:

Encourage students to read books with kids solving issues that they can relate to in their own quests for understanding about life. The following is a handful of my personal favourite fiction books that are suited to middle school level. (Upper primary).

Two sophisticated picture books that I highly recommend are written by Emily Gravett.

What if I never find anyone who thinks like

me? Is there something wrong

with me?

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The first is ‘Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears.’ by Emily Gravett (2007) published by MacMillan,London. Winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2008

The author herself says ‘This book has been put together by an expert in worrying, who draws on a lifetime’s experience of managing her fears through the medium of doodle.’ Each page has a large blank space to encourage the reader to record and face fear using a combination of drawing, writing and collage. Life from the point of view of a mouse is cleverly written and illustrated and provides plenty of opportunity to open discussion.

The second is ‘The Rabbit Problem.’ by Emily Gravett (and a lot of rabbits).(2009) Published by MacMillan,London. This is a clever pop-up book in the style of a Fibonacci explosion of rabbits. (Love the ideas that the author introduces via a monthly calendar). Opportunities abound for deeper exploration of the work of Fibonacci.

Alphabet Squabble by Isaac Drought & Jenny Cooper (2013) Published by Scholastic. Winner of the Joy Cowley Award. The A’s know they are very important because they begin in alphabet in Alphabet Land, but what about the lesser used letters of X, Y and Z. Do we need to consider them at all? An investigation into the place of difference in the world we live in.

One of my favourite authors who writes about issues affecting gifted young people is Stephanie Tolan. It is no surprise then that her books have a place on my bookshelf.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan (2002) published by Harper Collins, New York. A Newbery Honor Book. Jake has been expelled from a number of schools and finds himself with a highly talented creative family where the children are home schooled and fans of ‘The Sound of Music.’

Listen! by Stephanie Tolan (2006) published by Harper Collins, New York. Charley has to deal with the emotional pain of losing her mother at the young age of 12, and the physical pain that she is left with following an accident.

Welcome to the Ark by Stephanie Tolan (1996) published by Morrow , New York. In a world of increasing violence, four people brought together in a residential treatment centre have the potential to change the world. Issues of alienation, fear of what the future might hold and heightened sensitivities strike a chord with middle school gifted students.

Matilda by Roald Dahl (1998), published by Puffin Books, New York. Matilda speaks the thoughts that many gifted students have but don’t express aloud when they are faced with ignorance and spitefulness.

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, (1995) published by Viking, New York. Mrs Fibonacci, the maths teacher, is convinced that nearly everything can be thought of as a maths problem. There are little math jokes to find amongst a world of math predicaments. Fun for the mathematically minded student.

What The Teacher Can Do:Look for ways for students to make a difference with their actions through local action. Discuss how it is possible to make a difference by starting with something small and support student efforts. Encourage students to read about projects such as…http://ripplekindness.org/community-project/for-kids/how-you-can-make-a-difference/ (There are ideas here for the whole class)http://www.parenting.com/gallery/kids-who-make-difference (stories about 8 kids who made a difference)http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/index.php/teacher-guide (finding solutions to hunger)http://www.more4kids.info/1203/kids-can-make-a-difference-the-girl-who-silenced-the-world/ (a student takes her case to the United Nations)http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/photos/8-amazing-kids-who-have-changed-the-world (students who have used social media to make a difference)Encourage your able students to see this kind of worrying as a motivator for action based on real needs and help them to find ways to accomplish this. If a child expresses concern over something such as the plight of refugees, and the response is ‘you are too young to worry about things like that,’ then it reinforces the child’s feeling of helplessness and can lead to a more serious outcome. There is ample support for the notion that groups of gifted students working together on projects can really make a difference. (The Future Problem Solving programme is a great example). Teachers can help by facilitating for students to identify needs and find ways to develop actions as extensions of classroom experiences recognising a need that they are able to fill as a group or as individuals, thus providing opportunities to take a leadership role and make a difference.

Many gifted students feel deeply about social justice issues.

They worry about things such as global warming, poverty, war and

the plight of refugees. They feel helpless in the face of

such huge problems.

Good Teacher Magazine Term 4 2015 37 Back to index>NZ Herald

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A Mornings Adventure at Mt Crawford Park

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A Mornings Adventure at Mt Crawford Park

Discovering lots of cool thinngs

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Finding bugs for the birds to eat.

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Even put them on an environmentally friendly bark plate

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A quiet morning tea with the birds and the trees, then a trip back into the bustling city

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Do You Have Good “PM Hygiene?” Four Questions That Will Help You Improve Your PM Routines

When Project Managers establish effective routines for both their own daily work and for managing their teams, they also develop healthy Project Management “hygiene.” This “hygiene” metaphor relates to having consistent processes in place and it is what Project Management is all about. The better you can develop consistent routines as a PM, the better you will be able to consistently deliver value on your projects.

Of course, if you’re a Project Manager who follows Agile principles and practices, you might be thinking: “But what about ‘responding to change over following a plan?’ And ‘individuals and interactions over processes and tools?”1 The good news is that neither of this principles is incompatible with having consistent daily routines. In fact, here at Cheetah, we’ve found that consistent routines like the daily stand-up meeting improve our Agile approach.

1 From http://www.agilemanifesto.org/

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Do You Have Good “PM Hygiene?” Four Questions That Will Help You Improve Your PM Routines

By Michelle LaBrosse,CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP,and Founder of Cheetah Learning

About the Author:

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is an entrepreneurial powerhouse with a penchant for making success easy, fun, and fast. She is the founder of Cheetah Learning, the author of the Cheetah Success Series, and a prolific blogger whose mission is to bring Project

Management to the masses.Cheetah Learning is a virtual company with 100 employees, contractors, and licensees worldwide. To date, more than 50,000 people have become “Cheetahs” using Cheetah Learning’s innovative Project Management and

accelerated learning techniques. Honored by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), Cheetah Learning was named Professional Development Provider of the Year at the 2008 PMI® Global Congress. A dynamic keynote speaker and industry thought leader, Michelle is recognized by PMI as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world.Michelle also developed the Cheetah Certified Project Manager (CCPM) program based on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality profiling to help students master how to use their unique strengths for learn is recognized by PMI as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the world.

To determine if you have what we like to call good “PM hygiene” routines, ask yourself these questions:

How do you make your to-do lists?

Are they a chaotic sprawl of Post-It notes wallpapering your cubicle wall, or are they a neat list in your Google Calendar color-coded by priority? While the latter method might be a bit extreme, prioritizing your daily tasks in some way is a crucial PM routine. Take a few minutes at the beginning of each work day to write out your tasks for that day and note how important they are. Then (you guessed it) tackle the most important tasks first. This will keep you from procrastinating on more complex projects and ensures that your most important work gets DONE.

What kinds of tasks do you write in your to-do lists?

If you find that you have items like “prepare for project launch” on your list, take a minute to break these down into small, specific, and more concrete tasks. What, specifically, do you need to do to prepare for your project launch? Give each of these items its own to-do. If you can’t think of everything that will need to be done, that’s okay; you’ll make to-do for those to-be-determined items after you’ve completed the existing tasks. The value of creating small, manageable tasks for your to-do lists is that it prevents procrastination: it’s much easier to do a task on your list when you know how to do it and you can clearly define when it is done.Do you hold regular check-in meetings with your project teams?

The key word here is REGULAR. This might mean a half-hour meeting to review the project schedule every Monday at 9 a.m., or, if you’re doing an Agile

sprint, a 15-minute stand-up meeting every morning for the duration of the sprint. When you’re meetings are consistent (and as short as possible!) your project team members know what to expect and are less likely to resentfully think of them as a “waste of time.” Additionally, they speak to your competence and consistency as a PM.How do you supervise your project team members’ work?

As a Project Manager, you know how difficult it can be the toe the line between being an overbearing micro-manager and being too hands-off, finding out significant problems in the project work much later than you need to. One way to monitor your teams work more effectively is simply to change your mode of communication. If you’re co-located with your project teams, take a few minutes in the afternoon to walk around the office and check in with team members face-to-face; if your teams collaborate virtually, call your team members on the phone or via video conference rather than sending off an email. An email is easy to ignore, but more personal face-to-face (or “ear-to-ear”) interactions are not. And as a PM, you’re more likely to pick up on subtle cues in a person’s voice about how their work is really going than you are in an email.

Incorporating these good Project Management hygiene routines into your daily work doesn’t need to take up a lot of your time. As these practices become habit, you’ll find that they actually save you time by allowing you to use your time more productively and efficiently. This is crucial for both helping you advance in your own career and for delivering more value to your organization.

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Chinese schools adopt an American approach

Some of China›s children are now being taught in a style that›s more typically American.Beijing elementary school students are back in the classroom. And whether they know it or not, their education is about to filled with grueling exams that will determine their future.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-schools-adopt-an-american-approach/

Boston College Professor Mike Barnett

“Memorizing a lot of information doesn’t necessarily lead to creativity or problem solving skills,” says Boston College Professor Mike Barnett.

The Chinese government has recruited Barnett to help.

“They’re seeing a lot of what their students produce is kind of imitation in nature, as opposed to innovation in nature,” he says.

Barnett doesn’t use textbooks. Instead, he teaches students to think and reason using real-life problems. His methods are used in 500 schools across the U.S.

“It’s good to know facts, but what’s really important

© 2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-schools-adopt-an-american-approach/

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Chinese schools adopt an American approachBy Seth Doane

Boston College Professor Mike Barnett

about knowing a fact is how they are connected to other pieces of information -- because as they get connected, you solve a puzzle.”

Fifth grade teacher Zhou Sisi sees the problem in her own classroom.

“What bothers me is that in China, we don’t pay enough attention to ways we can improve kid’s real-life skills,” Zhou said. “That’s what I could learn from America.”

The puzzle Barnett gave to these elementary kids in a polluted China is, how do you take make a filter to purify water? Why did he chose that problem?

“Because it doesn’t have a right answer! Every filter will be different that they design -- and it could be that every filter works or every filter fails,” Barnett says. “And you’ll learn from that.”

Eleven-year-old student Sky called Barnett’s exercise “vivid.”

“It guides us to the answer instead of telling us the answer directly. It makes us think,” he said, adding, “The joy of thinking is infinite.”

In China’s test-centric culture, the freedom to fail, Barnett argues, is what prompts real innovation.

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The Internet has to be the 13th wonder of the modern world. Don’t ask for the other twelve, as some are classified.Every day, I marvel at the power at my fingertips-that is unless my ISP decides to stream at less than a gigabyte per second…or is it gigabit? Whatever? Living in the country demands sacrifices.

Bandwidth aside, I have the ability to find out; to obtain knowledge Dr. Faustus would only dream about. Last week I had a ball. I now know all the countries of the world. I could see the places where my children visited. I watched Leonard Bernstein conduct Westside Story. Fascinating stuff! He lambasted poor young (it was 1985!) José Carreras and eulogised our own Kiri T.K. Fifties’ jazz chords contrasted with ethereal melodies-heaven! In the clouds, on the cloud.I checked out Reddit, the ‘Front page of the Internet’. Cutesy kittens vied with 9/11 conspiracies. I tried to up-vote one contributor but being a novice I clicked on the wrong button and was

informed that I had to pay him something, so anchors were rapidly aweighed.I popped in on my youngest child via Facebook. He had walked nearly 3,000 kilometres of the Pacific Crest Trail (eat your heart out Reese Witherspoon) and I marveled at a picture of him sitting in a café near the California-Oregon border with ten empty cheeseburger bags in front of him. I told him to eat his vitamins.I have learned about secret German fighters of WW2. Numerous tutorials on acrylic painting instruct me on how to get my hands dirty. I now know that Stanley Kubrick faked the Apollo 11 moon landing video but felt so guilty he confessed via symbolism in The Shining-I wonder who faked the other landings? Thanks to the WWW I can now make a scone, put the belt back on the ride-on-mower and learn Sanskrit. Could come in handy, you know.There are so many lovely people out there who want to share their knowledge, often for free.Recently, my euphoria has diminished somewhat. I’ve always smugly told

The 13th Wonder of the Modern World?

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people I don’t have TV. No mindless pap-I’ve waved goodbye to tabloid journalism, soaps where men are made to look like dorks (what’s the male version of misogyny? I had to look up how to spell it online) and of course, advertising.Nothing good lasts forever, right? In the last while, advertising has begun to ooze into my online domain. Despite running anti-ad software, the damn things are taking over. Often I can’t watch a news item before a plug for some bank counts down from 15 seconds, which, on my computer, takes about a minute. To add insult to injury, often the net goes down just afterwards and I have to return at a later time, only to, you guessed it, watch the ad again. Worst of all, the Philistines have recently taken to interrupting movies, or YouTube segments. This happened when watching Westside Story. Some MENSA reject spliced an ad halfway through a song. At least TV people sort of time things to an appropriate moment. José was belting out, ‘The most bootiful sound in a single w…’ and then something about toothpaste splashed across the screen. The second time, José nailed it. Lovely voice.Advertisers are getting more devious on-line. Sometimes I may see a headline inviting me to look at the ’10 Most Beautiful Tractors in History’, or something like that. I click on No.10 and sit in awe for a few seconds. Such a blending of form and function. Massey-Ferguson, you good thing. Then I click ‘NEXT’ for No. 9. Now here is the devious part. ‘NEXT’ which is right under the picture, doesn’t relate to tractors. Oh no. It is a link to another site plugging some product, usually something unrelated to tractors, like Viagra for Father’s Day. Being frustrated and somewhat irate, I then try to get back to my tractors but usually get lost in the wilderness. Once I did manage to

return and found that the appropriate ‘NEXT’ button was right at the bottom of the page. I had to scroll down, past minefields of other links to reach it. In WW2, trainee airmen had something called a Link Trainer. We need it now.I have been caught out several time with this missing link ploy. Once I thought I was going to enjoy the ‘Top 31 Renaissance Paintings of all Time’. I did well for the first three but then fell foul of the false-link trick and ended up stumbling into a number of unwanted sites. I clicked on a site which, I think was promoting Kim K. underwear. Without my glasses I thought it was a tent. Then it was Miley’s turn. I thought her underwear was a postage stamp. Once again it was anchors aweigh. (For those who doubt, ‘aweigh’ is definitely a word and it means ‘just clear of the bottom’ which is quite apposite for Kim and Miley, I think.) I then stumbled into an item about Prince Harry’s thoughts about abstinence before 10 a.m. and finally hit a blog where some woman was congratulating herself for having read ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ in only seven attempts. I did it in two. Going to get a tee shirt to skite about it.Still, I guess I can ignore the tabloid creep across the web. I can ignore the daft chain emails where Bill Gates will pay me $5.00 if I pass on some nonsense about angels and I can permanently delete from my spam folder the promises of some Russian vixen who wants to meet me tonight and it will cost me only $500.00- sent to her blind father’s home in Lagos. Even wonders of the world can have less-than-lofty aspects. I recall seeing some rather salacious graffiti left by some disgruntled Egyptian artisan on the walls of a burial chamber a few thousand years ago.Plus ça change...excuse my French.

The 13th Wonder of the Modern World?

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I drew these animals on lined paper with color pencils (watercolors). I love creating cute and funny images!Iantha

Drawing Animals That Don’t Want To Stay Between The Lines

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Drawing Animals That Don’t Want To Stay Between The Linesby Iantha Naicker

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The year abroad is touted by professors as the best opportunity for language students to become fluent in their language of choice. For a year, we leave the anglicized learning environment of our British universities behind and replace it with a foreign culture for which even the most helpful lectures and textbooks can’t fully prepare us. Twelve months and often too many croissants later, we’re expected to arrive back in the UK having mastered the most troublesome tenses and conjugations.Fluency: that’s not too much to ask, right? With plenty of immersion and dedication, it’s certainly not impossible.But as my stay as an exchange student in Geneva, Switzerland, comes to an end, I appreciate that my French won’t be receiving any praise from the Academie française just yet.Of the many reasons why language learning can stall during our time away, it seems to me that the prominence of the English language locally is the biggest one.My host city is home to countless international organisations, including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. As a result, I can go without hearing a single word of French spoken on my daily commute to university. English, on the other hand, is often in earshot. On the whole, Genevans are very encouraging to foreigners’ attempts to speak French, but bump into lakeside souvenir sellers and you’ll be greeted by a cheery “hello” rather than “bonjour”.Stephanie Rogers, an exchange student studying French at Lancaster University, says: “Most people here under the age of 40 speak English very well, so they like to use it as soon as you stutter, because their first reaction is to believe that you don’t understand. You’ve just got to trust your own abilities and persevere.”

Technology is another factor that can prevent our total immersion into a foreign culture, because it gives us unlimited access to the English speaking world. After a day of French seminars, the lure of an evening spent binge-watching British TV or chatting in English on Facebook is often tempting.By spending every night using anglophone social media, however, we’re missing out on amazing opportunities to consume our target language – such as going to a foreign cinema or theatre.Before leaving for our foreign hosts, my university lecturers warned us against only making friends with other exchange students. This is easier said than done for me, though. Most of my classes consist solely of international students and often English is the classroom lingua franca, not French.Michael Pearson, a law and French student at the University of Leeds, currently on his year abroad in Nancy, France, agrees that speaking English is a convenience. “I only hang out with other Erasmus students and we all speak English fluently, so that’s what we use,” he says.John Paddison, a student of Spanish, French and Portuguese at the University of Nottingham, says speaking English a huge hindrance to his language learning. “In all three countries I was living in accommodation where people spoke English – either natively or as a second language – and in two countries I socialised with English speakers.“For most of my year abroad I was also working as an English language assistant, so speaking English was a major part of my job,” says Paddison. “And my nervousness about making mistakes when speaking hindered me from wanting to speak much.”

‘By giving us unlimited access to the English speaking world, technology can prevent our

immersion into a foreign culture.’

Fluency in any language!Helen Parkinson

If you’re feeling swamped by the prevalence of English on your year abroad, here are my tips to increase your exposure to your target language:• Find a tandem partner online or through your

host university to have free, regular conversation practice in an informal setting. As a bonus, you’ll probably come away with a new friend.

• Change the language of all your electronic devices and social media sites to your target languages and you’ll pick up new technology-related vocabulary without realising.

• Make the most of free resources like newspapers and university publications, which are perfect for reading and translation practice.

• If you’re studying abroad, taking classes outside of the language faculty will allow you to meet more native speakers and integrate yourself into your host university even more.

http://www.theguardian.com/education Back to index

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A new report, “Students, Computers, and Learning: Making the Connection,” investigates the stats on crucial contemporary issues of technology and education. The author, Francesco Avvisati, is an analyst of education reports for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The report’s surprising findings include the fact that the development of ICT (information communication technology) in school systems has not necessarily improved student achievement in reading, math, and science; and has not demonstrably closed gaps between disadvantaged and privileged students. What is sorely lacking, based on this report, is the need for “intensive teacher-student interactions” as well as education

that can capably and intelligently adapt technology to the classroom. In our interview, Avvisati gives his tips to teachers and parents concerned about the future of technology in education, and clarifies what tactics have worked in classrooms and homes so far. Francesco was previously a researcher and lecturer at the Paris School of Economics and at the French Ministry of Labour, and has been a member of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab – Europe.Francesco your report states that schools are lagging “considerably behind the promise of technology.” What were the most notable findings from your research?

In the past decades, bringing technology into schools was a major priority in some countries, such as Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Yet there has been no appreciable improvement in student achievement in reading, mathematics or science in

The Global Search for Education: Can Tech Help Students Learn?

“There are many people involved in translating the promise of technology into a tangible benefit for students, and as a consequence there are many possible leaks in the pipe where things can go wrong.” Francesco

Avvisati

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most of the countries that have invested heavily in ICT for education. Meanwhile, Korea, where only 42% of students use computers at school (but many more use them outside of school), is a top performer not only in more traditional paper-and-pencil tests of reading or mathematics, but also in assessments of students’ digital reading skills or problem solving skills using computers.

So there is a gap between the expectations that justified those investments, and the impact that they had on students’ learning – including the learning of digital skills. In this report, we try to answer why this is, and to draw a nuanced picture of how learning is affected by students’ use of technology, how well students master some new skills that are important in a digital world, and how teachers and schools are integrating ICT into students’ learning experiences.

Your findings indicate that technology boosts in classrooms have done little to bridge a skills divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students, or help raise baseline proficiencies in math and reading. And frequent Internet use proved psychologically problematic for students. Where have schools gone wrong?

What the report clearly shows is that the link between more computers and better learning is not a direct one. There are many people involved in translating

the promise of technology into a tangible benefit for students, and as a consequence there are many possible leaks in the pipe where things can go wrong.

In some cases, the objectives that people hoped to achieve by introducing technology into education were unclear; and while this makes it hard today to judge their success, it also means that the expectations of industry, teachers and other stakeholders were not always aligned. This made it harder to locate high-quality digital learning resources from among a plethora of poor quality ones. Other plans were naive, in that they overestimated the digital skills of both teachers and students, and underestimated the need for complementary resources. For instance, the report shows that teachers who are more inclined and better prepared for what are known as student-oriented teaching practices, such as group work, individualized learning, and project work, are more likely to use digital resources. But in many cases, teachers were not adequately prepared to use the kind of teaching methods that make the most of technology.

Overall, the most successful plans were incremental and built on lessons learned from previous plans. When there is clarity in the goals and good feedback from the different actors – including industry, school leaders and teachers – it is more likely that over a 5-10-year period, we would be able to identify and

The Global Search for Education: Can Tech Help Students Learn?C.M. Rubin

“Technology can support a culture of innovation, transforming what used to be an individual teacher’s problems into a collaborative process of finding solutions.” — Francesco Avvisati

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create the conditions that support the most effective uses of ICT in schools. Unfortunately there were not many such plans.

To what extent can the issues with technology identified in your report can be addressed by teachers in classrooms? How much has to be the work of parents at home?

Teachers must address issues related to digital literacy, such as information overload and plagiarism. Students need to learn how to plan a search, locate information on a website, evaluate the usefulness of information, assess the credibility of sources, etc.

Meanwhile, parents must be aware that children online may be exposed to risks such as fraud, violations of privacy or online bullying. Many of these risks existed well before the Internet; but measures to protect children from the corresponding offline

“Parents need to monitor children’s media diet to ensure that is appropriate for each age, that leisure time online is balanced with other uses of time and, that children have enough time for sleep. There is no simple recipe, but excessive use of the Internet is often a symptom, if not the cause, of school difficulties, interpersonal problems and health issues.” — Francesco Avvisati

threats (such as physical barriers, age-related norms that prevent access to certain spaces, and adult supervision) are difficult to impose and enforce in a virtual space. And when solutions do exist, parents are sometimes unaware of them. In 2010, as reported in an OECD study, less than 10% of all Internet users in Europe used a parental control or web-filtering software. Schools can help raise awareness of such threats among children and parents. Children who encounter such threats must recognise them and find support among teachers and parents about how to handle them.

Parents need to monitor children’s media diet to ensure that is appropriate for each age, that leisure time online is balanced with other uses of time and, that children have enough time for sleep. There is no simple recipe, but excessive use of the Internet is often a symptom, if not the cause, of school

difficulties, interpersonal problems and health issues.

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“Integrating technology successfully in education is not so much a matter of choosing the right device, the right amount of time to spend with it, the best software or the right digital textbook. The key elements for success are the teachers, school leaders and other decision makers who have the vision, and the ability, to make the

connection between students, computers and learning.” — Francesco Avvisati

Your report suggests that schools and governments have forgotten about how crucial unmediated student-teacher relations are, and that this has slowed down learning. What ideas do you have for bringing this ideal back into the zeitgeist of educational thought?

There is increasing recognition of the important role of teachers in education. But we need to go beyond the idea that teaching is an art that requires exceptional talent. There are exceptional teachers, but we need to support the professional development of all teachers, and we can do so if we invest in the scientific base of the teaching profession and empower those very exceptional teachers to become leaders who inspire other teachers.

Technology offers great tools in this respect. I’m thinking of platforms for collaboration in knowledge creation, where teachers can share and enrich teaching materials; of the amount of data that can be collected to measure students’ learning; or of the increasing use of blended learning models in teachers’ training, in which online lectures are combined with individualized expert support and feedback from peers. Because they enable feedback loops between theory and everyday classroom practice and are supported by a network of like-

minded peers, these models have been found to be much more effective than the traditional model of courses, workshops, conferences and seminars. Meanwhile, data systems enable teachers to learn about how well they are doing more than they could in the past. Technology can support a culture of innovation, transforming what used to be an individual teacher’s problems into a collaborative process of finding solutions.

Based on what you learned in this study, what advice/tips do you wish to pass along to educators and parents around the world about making the ICT connection work better in the learning environment?

Integrating technology successfully in education is not so much a matter of choosing the right device, the right amount of time to spend with it, the best software or the right digital textbook. The key elements for success are the teachers, school leaders and other decision makers who have the vision, and the ability, to make the connection between students, computers and learning.

I would encourage all educators to invest in their professional knowledge about how technology can improve their work practices. And two tips for parents:

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on the one hand, be somewhat sceptical about what a device or software can do by itself to help your child’s learning; on the other hand, set an example by showing pride in their learning wherever it takes place, whether online or offline; and encourage using the Internet for serious pursuits, such as reading about current affairs or finding a summer job, as well as for entertainment.

For More Information:

Join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (U.S.), Dr. Leon Botstein (U.S.), Professor Clay Christensen (U.S.), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (U.S.), Dr. MadhavChavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (U.S.), Professor Andy Hargreaves (U.S.), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (U.S.), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Honourable Jeff Johnson (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Dr. EijaKauppinen (Finland), State Secretary TapioKosunen (Finland), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Lord Ken Macdonald (UK), Professor Geoff Masters (Australia), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Shiv Nadar (India), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Pak Tee Ng (Singapore), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (U.S.), Richard Wilson Riley (U.S.), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Professor Manabu Sato (Japan), Andreas

Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon (UK), Dr. David Shaffer (U.S.), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (U.S.), Yves Theze (LyceeFrancais U.S.), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (U.S.), Sir David Watson (UK), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today. The Global Search for Education Community Page

C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland, is the publisher of CMRubinWorld, and is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow.

Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld

C. M. Rubin and Francesco Avvisati (All Photos are courtesy of C. M. Rubin, The Dwight School and OECD)

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Sarah’s Travels: JapanSarah loves to travel... this time she has travelled to Japan... and is sharing some of her photos of her visit to Ichinoyu Shinkan Ryokan... from the amazing to the beautiful, natural to quirky...

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Thanks Sarah... see you next time you’re a visitor in another land!

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A travel agency is the first in the country to offer a unique new technology based training course to a local high school graduate.House of Travel has launched a nationally accredited qualification gained via on-the-job training to graduates, and Stephen Parsons, owner-operator of House of Travel in Palmerston North, is the first to enrol an employee on the scheme.

Eighteen-year-old Joanna Dargie has come direct from her final year at Palmerston North Girls’ High School to join Parsons’ team, and will learn the travel business as an employee of the leading local business while gaining a recognised NZQA accredited qualification.

“Many of the graduates who come to work in the travel industry after training elsewhere have basic knowledge, but we need to teach them our technology, systems and culture before they can start work in earnest,” says Parsons.

“Now we can identify talented people and fast-track

their career, while also ensuring we get fresh ideas from new generations that will help future proof the industry.”

The scheme will see inductees working toward a National Certificate in Travel Level 4 over a 12-24 month period, an NZQA accredited qualification paid for by the company, while employed by the travel company.

“We’ll be training Joanna in the technical side of things, such as how to use the up-to-date technology we have in the office and how to process a sale, as well as teaching her how to deal with customers on an everyday basis,” says Parsons.

“I have no doubt that after she gains this qualification through working for a couple of years in our office, she’ll be a top seller,” he adds.

“She is also younger and knows a lot about the online world, so she’s able to look at aspects of the business such as social media which are crucial for the industry to embrace heading into the future. That’s a real asset to any business.”

Manawatu customers can also be assured they will get the best quality service with someone who is trained to the highest industry standard and knows the systems inside out after completing the training, says Parsons.

Dargie, who initially did work experience at the agency while still at school, says she’s grateful for the opportunity to learn from the experienced team at House of Travel in Palmerston North while still gaining a recognised qualification.

“Getting a full-time job a week out of high school, and getting to train without having to take out a big student loan, is an amazing opportunity,” she says. “The team are really supportive and know so much, and I can’t wait to learn more, and travel more, as I work towards the qualification.”House of Travel believes the ability to train staff on the job to the highest level will rule out the need for some young people to get expensive student loans at external training organisations, instead giving them the chance to earn their qualifications while working in the organisation.

Head trainer Pania Burgess says the ability to offer the qualification in-house is a huge step forward in offering development opportunities to staff.

“It also demonstrates how serious House of Travel is about not just looking professional, but truly being professional,” says Burgess. “We see real value in giving younger people the opportunity to join the industry in a much more practical way than ever before.”

Travel Agency First in NZ to Offer New Training Qualification

Joanna Dargie

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This is even more important for a new principal establishing themselves in a new context.

Equally, it is important that once a principal starts down this path of high visibility, that they maintain it throughout their tenure.

This is well known throughout leadership circles. Perhaps of even greater importance than just being seen, is the skill set that needs to be developed to ensure that principals build their credibility whilst being among the school community.

There is little value in a principal putting themselves forward to openly interact with their school community in less structured settings, if they are unable to effectively manage the tricky and sometimes difficult situations that can arise.

An over-zealous parent wishing to engage in a hostile exchange at the school gate at the end of the school day needs to be handled carefully.

As with most challenging situations in principalship, there are also opportunities.

An angry parent well-managed in front of other parents can send a powerful message within the community.

Being able to show that you are taking seriously what is being said, while remaining in control of your own response is a skill that takes time to develop.

Being able to walk up to a parent or group of parents and start a conversation is also an important skill to build.

Developing the skill to walk away from a conversation is also time well spent.

Making oneself available in different settings will also assist a principal in building a wider range of working relationships within the school community.

The same parent that you meet at the school gate may not be involved with the Parents and Citizens Association, but it is still just as important that they have the opportunity to approach their school’s principal.

The opportunity for principals to model interactions with students for staff is an opportunity not to be missed.

A significant amount of research shows how students value seeing their principal in different situations around the school. This can also be said for staff.

The actions and interactions of the principal can send a clearer message as to what is being valued in the school and what the expectations are within the school, more so than a principal talking about how things should be occurring.

Being a highly visible principal is a practice that enables greater contact with all key stakeholders within the school community. It is time well spent.

What principals build during these times are trust and respect; both are vital if principals are to take true leadership roles within their schools.

If principals are to move from managing into education leadership, then respectful, positive working relationships are a must.

Being a highly visible principal is a great way to start building those relationships.

Michael Hooker is principal of Wentworth Falls Public School. He has been a principal with the NSW Department of Education and Communities for the past 15 years.

http://au.educationhq.com/news/30136/visibility-high-priority-for-principals/

Visibility high priority for principals

The importance of being highly, and regularly visible when in the principal’s position cannot be underestimated.

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In Afghanistan, many girls are forbidden to ride bicyclesThe Skateistan organization empowers girls through skateboarding

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Self-Taught Polish Artist Uses Fallen Autumn Leaves As Canvases For Her Paintings

The leaves that autumn paints with brilliant reds, yellows and oranges are already brilliant works of art, but Polish artist Joanna Wirazka adds a twist by using those leaves as canvases for her colorful paintings.Wirazka, who is a self-taught artist, encourages her followers to “try to find real art everywhere and let it inspire you.” If you like what you see, be sure to follow her on Instagram!

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Self-Taught Polish Artist Uses Fallen Autumn Leaves As Canvases For Her Paintings

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Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women - or “The 9 Nanas,” as they prefer to be called - gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine - a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. They have one mission and one mission only: to create happiness. And it all begins with baked goods.“One of us starts sifting the flour and another washing the eggs,” explained Nana Mary Ellen, the appointed spokesperson for their secret society. “And someone else makes sure the pans are all ready. We switch off, depending on what we feel like doing that day.“But you make sure to say Nana Pearl is in charge, because she’s the oldest!” she added with a wink and a smile.

Over the next three hours, The 9 Nanas (who all consider themselves sisters, despite what some of their birth certificates say) will whip up hundreds of pound cakes, as part of a grand scheme to help those in need. And then, before anyone gets as much as a glimpse of them, they’ll disappear back into their daily lives. The only hint that may remain is the heavenly scent of vanilla, lemon and lime, lingering in the air.

Even the UPS driver, who picks up hundreds of packages at a time, has no clue what these women, who range in age from 54 to 72, are doing. He’s just

happy to get a hug and a bag filled with special treats. What he doesn’t know is that he’s part of their master plan. A plan that began 35 years ago - when the “sisters” got together for their weekly card game - something their husbands referred to as “Broads and Bridge.”

“Pearl says it was all her idea,” Mary Ellen teased, “but as I remember it, we were sitting around reminiscing about MaMaw and PaPaw and all the different ways they would lend a hand in the community.” MaMaw and PaPaw are the grandparents who raised four of the women, Mary Ellen included, when their mother passed away; and they took in Pearl as their own, when her parents needed some help.

“MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died,” Mary Ellen remembered, “and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?

So the ladies began brainstorming.

“One of the sisters suggested that we should all start doing our own laundry and put the money we saved to good use. I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.”

And then the women started listening. They’d eavesdrop - all with good intentions, of course - at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries. And when they heard about a widow or a single mom who needed a little help, they’d step in and anonymously pay a utility bill or buy some new

clothes for the children. “We wanted to help as much as we could,” Mary Ellen said, “without taking away from our own families, so we became coupon clippers. And we’d use green stamps. Remember those? We’d use green stamps and we’d make sure to go to Goldsmith’s department store on Wednesdays. Every week they’d have a big sale and you could spend $100 and walk away with $700 worth of merchandise.”

The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note

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Since then, it has spread to Cambodia and South Africa as well

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that simply said, “Somebody loves you” - and they’d be sure to include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes.

The more people they helped, the bolder they became.

“We gave new meaning to the term drive-by,” Mary Ellen said with delight. “We’d drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes that had fans in the window. That told us that the people who lived there didn’t have air-conditioning. Or we’d see that there were no lights on at night, which meant there was a good chance their utilities had been turned off. Then we’d return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.”

For three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected - that is, until five years ago, when Mary Ellen’s husband, whom she lovingly calls “Southern Charmer,” started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash being withdrawn from their savings account.

“He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!” Mary Ellen said, recalling the horror she felt. “I tried to explain that I had bought some things, but he had this look on his face that I’d never seen before - and I realized what he must have been thinking. I called the sisters and said, ‘You all need to get over here right away.’”

So 30 years into their secret mission, the 9 Nanas and their husbands gathered in Mary Ellen’s living room and the sisters came clean. They told the husbands about the laundry and the eavesdropping -- even the drive-bys. And that’s where their story gets even better - because the husbands offered to help.

“They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.”

It wasn’t long before the couples decided it was also time to tell their grown children. And that’s when happiness began to happen in an even bigger way. The children encouraged their mothers to start selling MaMaw Ruth’s pound cakes online, so they could raise money to help even more people. And it wasn’t long before they were receiving more than 100 orders in a day.

“The first time we saw those orders roll in, we were jumping up and down,” Mary Ellen said with a laugh.

“We were so excited that we did a ring-around-the-rosie! Then we called all the children and said, ‘What do we do next?’”

That’s when the 9 Nanas moved their covert baking operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons, where they can sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff comes in. They even hired a “happiness coordinator” (whose code name is “Sunny,” of course). Her identity needs to be a secret, too, so she can help out with the eavesdropping.

“We swore her to secrecy - her parents think she works in marketing. And, really, if you think about it, she is doing public relations and spends a lot of time looking for people to help at the supermarket!”

These days, The 9 Nanas are able to take on even bigger projects, given their online success. Recently they donated more than $5,000 of pillows and linens and personal care products to a shelter for survivors of domestic violence. And this August, they’ll celebrate their second consecutive “Happiness Happens Month” by sending tokens of their appreciation to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community.

And that million dollars they once wished for? They’re almost there. In the last 35 years, the 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community.

But that doesn’t mean they’re too busy to continue doing the little things that make life a bit happier. Sometimes they just pull out the phone book and send off pound cakes to complete strangers. And if the Nanas spot someone at the grocery store who appears to need a little help, it’s not unusual for them to start filling a stranger’s cart.

Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong.

“So this is our way of giving back,” Mary Ellen said. “We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.” To learn more about The 9 Nanas and Happiness Happens, you can visit their website:The9Nanas.com.

Nine Women Kept This Secret For Decades

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17-Year-Old Self-Taught Mexican Artist Creates Stunning Watercolors And Pencil Drawings

Dany Lizeth, a creative and talented 17-year-old in Mexico, creates expertly detailed and beautifully colorful drawings of animals and people using watercolors and colored pencils. What’s even more impressive than her amazing talent at such a young age, however, is that she taught herself how to draw this well!

This developing artist will begin selling prints of her works in a few weeks, so be sure to follow her Instagram and Facebook for more of her beautiful art!

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17-Year-Old Self-Taught Mexican Artist Creates Stunning Watercolors And Pencil Drawingsby Dovas

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Good Teacher Magazine Term 4 2015 79 Back to index>www.boredpanda.com

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Occasional Tale - a teacher turns to‘The Good Life’Friends sometime refer to our little property as THE FARM. It would not be charitable of me to accuse them of being facetious but I’m sure I can detect a whiff of mockery when they use that word. Actually our little two hectare piece of karst landscape might as well be called a farm, as it has every farm-like feature with the exception that it doesn’t make any money. Trees fall over on to fences, animals eat gates, pipes freeze over and weeds grow. Crescos fly over very low to deposit fertiliser next door, so from a distance, it looks like we’re being real farmers.

Anyway, my present tale concerns, as promised previously, two more of our canine residents, who became part of our family.

First there was Rex. Before you scoff at the cliché name, Rex was a rescue dog and being six years old when we acquired him, (actually we exchanged two pigs for him-but that’s another story) was too used to his name to warrant a change. Rex was a beautiful Golden Retriever and was considered bomb-proof. He loved to come inside, wagging his massive tale across the low tables and sprawl on the floor at our feet. He also loved to go for rides; we had to be careful, as he was not particular as to whose vehicle he jumped into-visitors, tradesmen, evangelists-all had tempting transport.

I discovered Rex’s only fault. It’s a well-known fact that Retrievers are rather partial to food. Table manners are non-existent. For proof of this, have a look at this video for about 15 seconds…(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYTSS14SFY0&authuser=0)

We soon learned that Rex was trained to wait if we told him to wait before dining but if he were to discover anything edible by himself, then all rules were off. I can distinctly remember my elderly father not instructing Rex to abstain at a BBQ. His sausage was neatly removed from his hand as it was on its last journey from plate to mouth.

If we wanted to give Rex a treat, it was much safer to hold it on a long stick, as his Pavlovian

response missed out the salivating phase in the process-he was very quick.

This food addiction was tolerable but what became dangerous was Rex’s behaviour if he were to discover a food source which was not accessible. I discovered this one day when turning over the vegetable garden. Rex accompanied me and I appreciated how companionable he was-lying quietly beside a sealed bag of blood and bone, staring into space. When I went to lift the bag, he jumped at me and snarled. I managed to hold him down and remove the bag. Within seconds he was looking at me, docile and relaxed, a slightly bewildered look on his face. This behaviour repeated every so often. A stray grain of wheat, or crust of bread fallen into a crack in the porch, a bone in the garbage, all were catalysts for Rex’s ‘guarding’ behaviour.

We became fearful when guests visited. We came to be aware when he was guarding but couldn’t expect visitors to know. We had to remove him from company. Tradesmen especially appreciated this, as Rex would have no qualms about taking their lunches.

Otto arrived on the scene when he was about 10 weeks old. He had been shipped up from Christchurch and our first view of him was a little nose peeking through a crate on an Air New Zealand trolley.

From the outset Otto was at home. Dobermanns are generally quick learners and Otto was no exception. He followed me everywhere and quickly learned basic commands. Within a week he was sitting, lying down and waiting, sometimes all three within a second.

At five months he was about 30 kg of muscle and very active. Dobies have a ‘reputation’ but much of the aggression has been bred out of pedigree stock and this was mostly the case with Otto. One morning a young workman arrived to do some fencing. He scoffed at how ineffective Otto was as a guard dog. A few minutes later I recognised Otto’s growl-a sort of deep, rolling sound, like an approaching

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Roger

Occasional Tale - a teacher turns to‘The Good Life’ Episode Two:

earthquake. He must have taken offence and was squatting by the workman, who was frozen to the spot. I think Otto had actually spotted something strange in the far paddock, possibly a stray plastic bag and was growling at that. Still it pleased me to know that word would go around that we did indeed have a guard dog.

One morning I observed my partner feeding Otto. From the start we had practised interrupting his meals, playing with his food, even taking some away. We didn’t want another Rex. He never seemed to mind. That morning, she went up to Otto and said, ‘Gently, Otto.’ She put a dog biscuit in her mouth and leaned in to him. He slowly leaned in and removed it. No humans were hurt in that manoeuvre.

Otto encountered an electric fence one day. He yelped loudly and turned to look at me, the whites of his eyes prominent. I could tell that he thought that I had hurt him. I sat on the ground and he came and sat on my lap. From then on, every time I sat down, he’d jump on.

One afternoon, another howl had us rushing outside. Otto had been bitten through his right ear. He had interrupted a Rex-guarding moment.

Otto was not too good with sheep. Our sheep run for any reason. Otto loved to chase them. His recall was not the best when that happened. He would lope around the paddock, howling, and as he grew stronger, ever closer to the sheep. We became so concerned that he would bite them that we employed a canine behaviouralist to help. She loved Otto and had him obeying her by shaking a bottle filled with stones. She also threw water balloons at him when he occasionally misbehaved. He didn’t like that. She suggested hiding in the flax bushes and throwing balloons when he chased sheep. I liked the sound of that.

We tried her suggestion. I hid behind the flax and my partner ushered Otto into the sheep paddock. The sheep, true to form, took to their

heels. Otto yelped and took off in pursuit. I had a supply of about fifteen balloons.

I have always prided myself on my throwing ability-used to be handy at cricket-but this was another thing altogether. The first two balloons fell about 10 metres behind Otto-he was totally unaware of their impacts. After that, sheep and Dobermann were out of range. I remembered about deflection shooting and calculated I‘d have to aim about 11 metres in front of Otto. I yelled to my partner to try to herd the animals back in my direction. This she did. When in range I threw. It took about three seconds for the balloon to hit. In that time, the sheep and Otto had changed direction and the missile exploded, saturating a couple of thistles. I should’ve filled it with herbicide!

I did manage to land one balloon close to Otto but it didn’t break.

Otto had to visit the vet several times. We were concerned that he was falling over a lot. The vet prodded and poked and took his temperature. I’m glad I’m not a dog.. Otto was cool though-he went to sleep on the examination table. On subsequent visits, he’d hide his head in my lap.

We were referred to a specialist. He didn’t like treating Dobermanns but said that Otto had changed his mind-he’d repeated his sleeping act. I think it was his way of overcoming fear. The specialist recommended an MRI. The result wasn’t good-there was a spinal deformation, which would get worse. Also, Otto had hip-dysplasia. Treatment was not guaranteed to work and recovery from surgery would mean months of confinement to a kennel. We made the hardest decision.

We planted a golden totara where Otto is buried. A few weeks later we had to repeat for Rex, who’d become old, sick and aggressive. He has a tanekaha over him.

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“The best teachers don’t give you the answers...

They just point the way ...

and let you make your own choices.”