Category Archives: Education

140 characters x 8 ways = Tweeting for purpose

I don’t really care what you had for breakfast. I don’t have anything to say Why would anybody follow me? It’s just a fad! A while ago I attended a seminar about learning, along with about 100 or so other educators. My colleagues and I are keen tweeters and we decided to take notes usingContinueContinue reading “140 characters x 8 ways = Tweeting for purpose”

Schools + Change: Resisting or embracing

Change often fails because the Rider can’t keep the Elephant on the road long enough to reach the destination.* The journey for change at Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) began in earnest about six years ago, when the principal, Stephen Harris, recognised a few key things: The world is changing rapidly – at a paceContinueContinue reading “Schools + Change: Resisting or embracing”

Motivation: We don’t need more carrots or sharper sticks

What really motivates us to do good, meaningful, satisfying work? You may be surprised to know that science tells is it’s not just about the money. At the recent  Apple Education Leadership Summit, Dan Pink drew on the science of motivation to challenge commonly held assumptions about motivation and then outlined the three true motivators.ContinueContinue reading “Motivation: We don’t need more carrots or sharper sticks”

Schools + Change = How do you eat an elephant?

…One bite at a time. When I started school it was the mid-1960s. I remember the controversy over Miss Crackenthorpe’s mini-skirt and her overall personification of the fashion of the Swinging Sixties. As a little girl I was in awe. I also vividly remember school life, the way that the classroom was arranged, learning ‘socialContinueContinue reading “Schools + Change = How do you eat an elephant?”

Professional development that gives voice

How do you engage more than 100 teachers, ranging from K-12 and across the faculties? The un-conference is the solution. There are no formal presenters, no PowerPoint presentations and no agenda, other than one big important question that is relevant to everyone. Here is what some teachers said at the end of the day: This is aContinueContinue reading “Professional development that gives voice”

Australian schools: From Good to Great…and then maybe Excellent! Learning from Singapore

“As the skills of educators rose, we needed to change our approach in how we managed them. We could no longer prescribe what they did, we had to treat them like professionals who had good judgement, knew the students well and could make their own decisions.” Encourage peer-led creativity and collaboration of professional educators throughContinueContinue reading “Australian schools: From Good to Great…and then maybe Excellent! Learning from Singapore”

“Hard is soft. Soft is Hard” …What really matters?

In 1982 Tom Peters co-wrote In Search of Excellence. This book became an international best seller which, according to Wikipedia, “one of the biggest selling and most widely read business books ever, selling 3 million copies in its first four years”. By Peters own admission* the biggest takeaway from that book was the simple motto:ContinueContinue reading ““Hard is soft. Soft is Hard” …What really matters?”

scil on the road – Abraham Guest School, Wigan UK

I visited Abraham Guest School in Wigan last week. The school has developed innovative science projects as part of Project Faraday. The school has sought to change the paradigm of science teaching from one that focusses primarily on the laboratory as the default learning space for science education. I was afforded such wonderful hospitality fromContinueContinue reading “scil on the road – Abraham Guest School, Wigan UK”

scil on the road – DOK Library Concept Centre, Delft

DOK, Delft best library in The Netherlands – celebrating stories DOK is challenging the notion of library. Located in the commercial/retail precinct of Delft, within a pedestrian zone, it is the site of a former supermarket. As we wait for the doors to open at 10am, so do members of the local community. In theContinueContinue reading “scil on the road – DOK Library Concept Centre, Delft”