I always ask myself the question… Are you sure you need to spend so much time on this section? The Design/Engage workshop is based on the idea: Design <insert> to engage <insert>. For example: Design professional learning to Engage teachers Design strategy to Engage your team Design a presentation to Engage your audience And of …
“We want to increase student engagement.” The intersection of three elements
I think we've all heard this said, "We want to increase student engagement." What do we mean by 'engagement'? Amidst marriage proposals, military operations and turning up for dinner, the relevant definition in Merriam Webster relates to “emotional involvement or commitment”. This article “School engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence” by Fredericks, …
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Education manifesto: 3 part strategy for this time of exponential change
I don’t want to look back on the first two decades of the 21st century and have people say, “remember the open classroom fad of the 70s? We repeated it again and it fell on its face, again”. Things have changed a bit in the 20-teens from the 70s, and it’s different from the 80s …
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Recalibrating the thinking-doing balance – Part 2: Growing a collaborative culture
I really appreciate it when people take the time to respond to my posts. Here are some responses over the last few days young teachers leaving the profession and the pressures they face. Adriano: The composition of today's classroom is dramatically different from 5, 10 years ago.... the necessary shift to soft-skills implementation, …
Recalibrating the Thinking-Doing Balance for Educators
Why up to half of all Australian teachers are quitting within five years I read this article with concern. It asserts that the work load for young teachers leaves no time for 'a life' and there needs to be a greater allocation for planning and collaboration with colleagues within the school day. Now, my own …
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Next generation teachers: How can we inspire current students?
This week the Australian Story featured a maths teacher from a Sydney suburban high school. One maths teacher, Eddie Woo, with a story on the national stage. “He sucked me into maths” A student recalled being in Eddie's class. She felt inadequate at maths, but Eddie didn’t let that get in the way. His personal mission is to get all kids …
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Simplicity & Nostalgia: A fractured fairytale of school.
Once, in a land that seems so far away, life was much simpler. Things were predictable. If you were successful in life, you went to school, learnt the stuff they told you to learn, passed your exams, studied your chosen vocation (chosen by whom was probably debatable), started a job, stayed in that job (and …
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(Pedagogy + Place) & (Rhetoric + Reality) in learning space design: A decade of dialogue
"How to bring our schools out of the 20th Century" was the title of an article in TIME in December 2006. It featured a more recent take on the Rip Van Winkle fairy tale. After 100 years of slumber, Rip wakes in the first decade of the 21st century. As he walks the streets, observing the citizens of the day …
Shifting the practice of education from polite cooperation to purposeful collaboration
Cooperation or collaboration? In lists of the various ‘Cs’ of the 21st century ‘collaboration always seems to make an appearance. In this past week I worked with a group of educators, looking at agile learning spaces, thinking about how we need to work to ensure engaged learning for students in these spaces. The necessity of …
How open learning space can work for introverts, extroverts & ambiverts: D.A.R.E.
Let me give you a snapshot of myself. I like people, I enjoy conversation. I am quite comfortable in settings where I don’t necessarily know anyone. I don’t find it difficult to strike up a conversation with a new person. I’m fairly confident communicating with small and large groups. I actually enjoy a good …
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