UNLEASH

ED

Tag: learning

  • Digital Curriculum: Destiny or Disaster?

    From the first day of full time employment at a school, I was put in charge of “Technology”, not for my design process skills, but for my knowledge of ICT and computers. I became the go to guy in fixing problems with teacher laptops, sound systems and projectors. That soon became student Chromebooks and student iPads. Of course, the school had external support as well, but having someone onsite is incredibly convenient, especially when ICT can be problematic at the drop of a hat, and is becoming more and more relied upon by teachers to bring learning to today’s learners.

    You’d think I’d be incredibly excited and enthusiastic about the announcement of the new ‘digital curriculum’ being implemented around the country in 2020. What an opportunity to share my passion and knowledge of ICT with the next generation and prepare them for the world of tomorrow as we delve deeper into the digital age.

    However, I’m not.

    You see; I’m also a self-taught programmer myself. I design and code websites. This site was built by me, though largely a theme, it has been modified to suit my own tastes and coded to reflect that. I have built my own personal website from the ground up on the back of WordPress. I dabble in CSS (with SASS / LESS), PHP, HTML, and Javascript.

    There’s not many teachers (especially primary school) who can say that!

    I know that behind every code, there is a whole bunch of trial and error, refreshing, and testing. Programming is largely just problem solving.

    My issue is that in my current job, that we are having trouble enough teaching students to read, write, and do math, let alone be able to create a simple script that includes tags, if/else statements, or simple calculations.

    In 2015, I taught a class with one-to-one Chromebooks, and we spent the first term learning how to spell our last names, because the school email address for students is firstname.lastname@schoolname.ac.nz.
    Then it was time to remember our passwords.

    Sure, the curriculum itself isn’t going to be getting students to create complex code or learn any particular language, just like Year 1 students won’t be learning their 8 times tables. However, it would seem to me that certain priorities need to be addressed first – such as basic literacy and numeracy skills. Something tells me that for many students, it will become a matter of running before they can walk.

    My other gripe is that the Ministry can announce a digital curriculum and implement it within a few years, and yet there still isn’t an actual Māori / Te Reo Māori curriculum. I guess it shows where the priorities are.

    Fun and Games?

    So then, what will they be doing? And will it be at all relevant to what they need in the future? Or is it all just a little bit of fun and games and doing something “cool”?

    The curriculum document says:”

    In years 1–8, these two areas are usually implemented within other curriculum learning areas, integrating technology outcomes with the learning area outcomes. These two areas also significantly contribute to students developing the knowledge and skills they need as digital citizens and as users of digital technologies across the curriculum. They also provide opportunities to further develop their key competencies.

    – NZC Online, TKI. 

    It goes on to outline exactly what “Computational thinking for digital technologies” and “Designing and developing digital outcomes” mean for the students, and a lot of it is around raising awareness of what computers are capable, what their limitations are, what problems can be solved with them, and what possibilities there are. It ranges from programming to digital media and safety online.

    So it might not all be so doom and gloom – especially considering that for the most part, I already try to integrate digital technology throughout all other areas of learning.

    Those of you who have ever been around children and technology, you’ll know at how quickly they pick things up and run with them. I remember my 2 year old nephew taking photos on my phone and then flicking through them all after he’d taken some!

    Are you Ready?

    I have to give the Ministry some credit here too. Unlike National Standards where they were inflicted upon us without any kind of preparation or support, they have gone above and beyond to provide schools with resources and support through their Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko – Digital Readiness programme. Schools wanting to up-skill and get on board with the new digital curriculum should head over there now and check out the resources on hand to support you and your staff in getting up to speed with the new curriculum area.

     

  • Parents want teachers parenting

    Care provider. Call centre operator. Kitchen hand. Negotiator. Detective. Judge. Medic. Counsellor. Social worker. Psychologist. Personal trainer. Caretaker. Cleaner. Don’t get me started on the numerous things that teachers have to do each and every day. That’s even before they have to teach a class full of students some Maths, English, Science, Technology, Music, Art, Dance, Drama, Social Science, and Languages.

    Original article: New Zealand schools need to teach more life skills.

    Kiwi parents want more life skills taught in school, a new survey shows.

    From cyber safety to sex education and manners, two-thirds of parents believed it was the responsibility of teachers to impart lessons traditionally handled at home, according to a survey of 500 New Zealand families.

    Ethnicity played a role in what parents regarded as important in a public education, with Asian parents more likely to want schools to handle the teaching of life skills.

    Parents perceived schools’ responsibilities increased in secondary school.

    But Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) junior vice president Melanie Webber said that while teachers were role models, it would be difficult to fit more life skills into the curriculum.

    The study by the Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) and Melbourne’s Monash University found a “social shift” away from valuing scholastic success towards a more holistic education, ASG chief executive John Velegrinis said.

    “There are increasingly blurred lines as to where (teacher responsibility begins and ends as parents’ perceptions of their traditional roles and responsibilities change.”

    Asian amilies viewed education more traditionally and set higher standards for their children’s academic success than Pākehā parents.

    About 92 per cent believed a degree would help their child achieve their ambitions and 38 per cent did not think their child could be distracted from learning.

    Just 18 per cent of Pākehā families felt that way about distractions and only 66 per cent said they set “high standards” for their child’s education or agreed a degree was important to their success.

    Asian families overwhelmingly supported schools teaching more about social skills and public behaviour (91 and 88 per cent respectively), with about 42 per cent of Pākehā parents on board.

    Christchurch mother Michele Fantham said she wanted daughters Bella, 10, and Neve, 6, to be taught social skills and financial literacy at their school, Fernside.

    “I think the curriculum is pretty cram-packed full of lots of things the school or Ministry (of Education) think are really important that are just not going to benefit them in the real world.”

    She was concerned technology impacted children’s ability to “use manners and communicate properly”. She was among a third of Kiwi parents who believed teaching cyber safety was a school’s responsibility.

    Read more.

    Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/97798269/new-zealand-schools-need-to-teach-more-life-skills-parents-say

     

  • Māori Language Resources for Teachers | SchoolNews

    Original article: https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2017/08/maori-language-resources-for-teachers/

    Resources to help teachers prepare for Māori Language Week and to normalise use of Te Reo in the classroom.

    He uri nō Koterana e mihi nei. Ko Benechie te maunga. Ko Dee te awa. Ko North te moana. Engari, he Māori āku tamariki, nō Ngāti Awa. Aku taura here ki te kaupapa o te reo Māori me te mātauranga Māori ko rātou ko āku mokopuna.

    Background 
    It is 16 years since the paucity of Māori language resources was highlighted by educator Ian Christensen in his PhD dissertation (2001) on Māori language revitalisation. At the same time, an audit by Te Puni Kōkiri reached a similar conclusion. In 2007, the Education Review Office (ERO) reviewed curriculum materials that support the teaching and learning of te reo in the English medium sector. They acknowledged that resources were limited – a situation that was both disempowering for teachers and limiting for learners. ERO recommended that future resources should:

    1. support the range of English medium students’ proficiency levels;
    2. be informed by the Māori language curriculum guidelines (Te Aho Arataki Marau); and reflect current second language teaching and learning theories.

    The audit by TPK and the review by ERO also drew attention to a lack of professional development to help teachers use the ministry’s Māori language resources.

    More recently, the Waitangi Tribunal expressed concern about the lack of Māori language resources. And, in an unpublished thesis, Jackman discussed the reality of student disengagement due to the lack of suitable Māori language materials. Jackman found that children were hōhā having to do the same worksheets each year during Māori Language Week.

    Professional development to support the teaching and learning of Māori  
    There are two core MoE resources for the teaching and learning of Māori language in English medium primary schools (years one to six); namely:

    • – Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i te reo Māori – Kura Auraki (2009), the Māori language curriculum guidelines for years one to 13; and
    • – He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora (2011), the multimedia resource for the teaching of te reo Māori in years one to six.

    There is a (relatively new) process for schools who want to access centrally-funded PD around these resources – and indeed any associated kaupapa e.g. upskilling teachers’ Māori language proficiency; teaching in a culturally responsive way; unpacking the principles in Ka Hikitia; exploring the cultural competencies in Tātaiako.

    Firstly, having identified a need for the PD, schools must submit a proposal, to express interest in accessing such training. Then, if successful, schools will choose from a list of preferred PD providers – currently published on the Ministry of Education (MoE) website, with a two-page summary of their relevant knowledge and experience.

    Thereafter, the provider and the school will co-construct a delivery plan – setting out the desired outcomes of the PD, with progress measures. For example, one of the outcomes could be for staff to use Māori language resources in the classroom in a meaningful way – to enhance students’ learning of te reo Māori.

    Hitherto, this funding process has been handled by the MoE. However, the new education minister has recently announced that teachers’ access to PD will now be managed by the Education Council, a body that is independent from the Ministry.

    Te reo Māori – a core curriculum subject or not? 
    Also topical at the moment is the fact that NZCER has just published a report (commissioned by the Māori Language Commission) recommending that te reo Māori should be a core curriculum subject – beginning with Year 1 students in 2020, until it is being taught at all levels by 2037.

    NZEI has responded to this proposal with caution, even though the professional body recognises wholeheartedly the importance of valuing the indigenous language of this country and acknowledges the positive impact for Māori students. Teachers’ reservations emanate from their feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence. Hence their plea to the Ministry for increased support and resources.

    Read more here.

    Original Source: https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2017/08/maori-language-resources-for-teachers/

  • Stop Teaching Students What to Think. Teach Them How to Think

    Original article here: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/09/27/stop-teaching-students-what-to-think.html

    For more than a century, we’ve been creating an industrial workforce of human automatons, built for the purpose of performing routine labor not yet doable by machines. And we’ve been operating with the mindset that we should teach students the same way we program actual machines. In the 20th century, schooling became a process of information upload in which students are to be filled with all the appropriate data and applications to function as cogs in the machinery of factories and offices, or in the parlance of today, as walking hard drives.

    Modern mass production did more than increase efficiency. It chopped up work into simpler components in which one small task could be repeated day in and day out without thought and without knowledge of the whole. Centuries ago, shoes were made by hand, by one skilled person who made the entire shoe. And then hundreds of people became involved in making one shoe with one relatively unskilled person doing nothing but attaching soles all day, every day. Now that machines can perform all the tasks in making an entire shoe, what happens to the humans who were programmed to operate the machines?

    Human-automaton creation must end. To succeed in a world of automation will require being as unmachinelike as possible. The entire education system will need to be retooled around no longer teaching kids what to think but how to think. Memorization of facts is pointless in a world where everyone carries around the entire knowledge base of the human species on their person.

    The challenge is not information storage but information processing. It’s not about information itself but how to use information. The teaching of creativity, curiosity, critical thinking, analytical thinking, problem-solving, and a love of learning itself will be critical to transitioning from the industrial age to the automated age. Learning how to collaborate and empathize with others will be key. To be human is not to be a lone robot performing a singular task in a vacuum but to be a member of the whole of humanity contributing in countless interdependent ways, including even entirely unpaid ways. This will require nothing less than a redefinition of work itself.

    Most people when they talk about the future of work are talking about the future of paid work. But the future of work must recognize all work. Take, for example, someone editing Wikipedia, or contributing code to the open-source code-sharing platform GitHub, or even simply taking care of a family member in the same way any paid care worker would. All of that is important work but would be done for purpose, not pay.

    It is for this reason that unconditional basic income—a cash stipend starting everyone above the poverty line each month—needs to be a key characteristic of the future of work. That way, as paid work is automated, humans can focus more on all the work that needs to be done, in the ways that most engage them.

     

    Read more here.

    Source: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/09/27/stop-teaching-students-what-to-think.html

  • From next year, more than 250 year 9s at Wellington Girls’ College will learn Māori | Stuff.co.nz

    Wellington Girls’ College is set to introduce compulsory te reo classes for all year 9 students, after years of obstacles.

    The scheme, which begins next year, was something principal Julia Davidson said the school had been working towards for the past five years, but a lack of suitable teachers had made it impossible until now.

    “The time has come and we’re in a very fortunate position to have the staffing to do that … I know that not every school has the ability to have two staff helping them.

    “We’ve got to a point where we want to do a lot more, so we’re thrilled about this step.”

    The language will be compulsory for all year 9s for half a year, with the option to take it through to year 13 remaining optional.

    According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 754 year 9 students studied te reo in 2016 across the 32 Wellington secondary schools that offer the subject.

    Of those, 26 of them were from Wellington Girls’ – a number that’s set to grow to more than 250 once the subject becomes compulsory in 2018.

    While it would be a substantial jump, Davidson said the lessons would be co-taught, meaning two classes with two teachers would be run at the same time.

    “We hope that some of our other staff who are really keen, but perhaps don’t feel as comfortable teaching te reo, will be able to slip in as well, so we could by the end of next year have a few more staff who are prepared to help.”

    Read full article here.

  • Killing Cortisol: What if Education and Poverty aren’t to blame?

    Over the last year and a half, I have been thinking on this, ever since being introduced to the stress hormone cortisol. 
As always, I looked for a different way of presenting what I found out, and what I think could be a game changer in education - if anyone will listen. 
It is always quite scary and nerve racking being at the forefront of anything new. Essentially what I need are a few more knowledgeable people in the area of brain chemistry, learning, child development, and stress disorders, to confirm that what I have is legitimate, and will make a difference.
At this stage, it is merely speculation. It is paper proof - but now it needs to be put into action, which requires a big step of faith.
Either which way, here is my inquiry into the stress hormone cortisol and the effect it has on our children, especially the impact it has on those attending low decile schools, and why those of lower socio-economic areas generally have lower achievement rates.

Enjoy! 
<iframe width="800" height="11208" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="overflow-y:hidden;" src="https://magic.piktochart.com/embed/21674759-kicking-cortisol"></iframe>

  • Dyslexia in New Zealand Schools

    The current support for dyslexic students in New Zealand schools is a joke. An absolute joke.

    When there is a reportedly 7% of students in New Zealand Schools have Dyslexia, it doesn’t sound like much. However, in a class of 28 students (the funded class size), that’s 2 students who will be struggling with dyslexia. Statistics say that as many as 20% of students will have learning disabilities, and it’s been noted that overall, dyslexia makes up about half of those disabilities. This means it could be even 3 students in your class that will be struggling with dyslexia.

    I also suspect, that the aforementioned 7%-10% is just those that have been diagnosed, and as a teacher, there are many more that are never picked up for a number of reasons.

    That’s not good enough.

    What’s more, is the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and the Government all turn a blind eye about dyslexia support in schools – mainly because if they admit that it is a problem in New Zealand schools that dyslexia affects student’s learning, then they’ll be called upon to do something about it and support schools to address the problem. That comes at a cost to the Government. Essentially, what this has led to is a bunch of private organisations filling this void. However, this of course, comes at a cost.

    From the figures I have heard, to just get assessed for dyslexia, it will cost schools or families anywhere from $250-$400. This goes some way to explaining why so many more students are not picked up and struggle their way through the system with little or no support for them, their teacher, or their parents.

    Go figure.

    As a teacher, I am passionate about this. Not to find a reason for under-achievement or raise excuses, but to get support for these students who are struggling. It frustrates me to see these kids come in, and feel like I have nowhere to turn to get support for them, and if there is, how it always seems to come to a dead-end.

    In trying to understand dyslexia a bit more, and hopefully be able to support dyslexic students within my classroom myself (seeing as I’m getting no support), I have purchased a couple of books. One is ‘The Gift of Dyslexia’ by Ronald D. Davis (which I have leant to a friend when her child was diagnosed), and the other is ‘The Dyslexia Checklist’ by Sandra F. Rief and Judith M. Stern.  Hopefully they both offer some insight into how I can better support learners with dyslexia in my classroom.

     

  • Lend me your pencils

    As the new year begins, I have begun to prepare for the first day back at school, and the remainder of the term, and year.

    One thing that has always plagued my classroom has been the lack of pencils. Not colouring pencils, but your standard HB. Yes, you got it. The one you use all the time at school. For one or whatever reason, there are always a number of students who do not have one – and lots of the time it is difficult to lay blame at them for this. Their learning suffers if they don’t have one, and thus, this year, I have purchased (and will continue to purchase) stack loads of pencils for them to borrow.

    Some will argue (and this would have been me) that they should be able to provide their own else they miss out, tough love, etc. But something didn’t sit right with me doing this any more.

    I began to look for what other teachers do, and found this comprehensive look at the very problem, and helped me re-forumlate my own perception (and solution) of this problem.

    Read Full Article

    “I recently taught a university course in Seattle for graduate students seeking master’s degrees in teaching. In one lesson, our focus was on creating a psychologically safe learning environment for students. It was an issue of managing students and supplies. I posed a question:

    If a student shows up to class without a pencil, how should the teacher respond?

    Small groups collaborated for a few minutes. Ultimately, they came up with plans involving taking something (a shoe?) from the student as collateral to remind the student about the importance of having supplies, notifying parents and even assigning classroom cleanup duty or lunch detention.

    “What about you, Prof?” they asked.

    “I would give the kid a pencil,” I said.

    “You mean the first time?” someone asked.

    “Every time,” I said.

    This evidently had not occurred to them. There must be some punishment, subtle humiliation or a response that makes the kid pay for the error, right? They were concerned that my action would reinforce and reward poor behavior, possibly even help develop bad habits.

    What they failed to see is that the teacher is not the cause of the problem. Likely, the student has been doing this for years. The teacher can respond by criticizing the child in front of the class, reminding him that pencils are required at school, making her give up something as collateral or inflicting some punishment as a power move…

    …I resolve to remain a patient advocate for the child even if he is testing me. When I hand him the 50th pencil and remind him there is always one here, what will be his likely impression? Has humiliation worked so far in his educational experience? Has the status quo resolved the issue? Imagine the impact of endless advocacy. We should all be extended such grace.”

    Read Full Article

     

  • Learning and Teaching and Learning

    This week, the Minister published a new announcement through the media. The headline: “Hekia Parata – Let’s make learning better.”

    For whatever reason, this completely grated with all sense and sensibility within me. Something just didn’t ring right grammatically.

    I’ve heard “Let’s make teaching better” before (all the time) as the powers that be whip and flog teachers who are already doing their darndest to keep a level head, and keep it above surface level (at least once in a while so they can take a breath).

    But I don’t think you can just switch the verb to learning and it make sense. Someone with

    The term switch

    Learning is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something : the activity of someone who learns.”

    Teaching is defined as “the job or profession of a teacher, and something that is taught : the ideas and beliefs that are taught by a person…”

    Learning is therefore the acquisition of knowledge, while Teaching is the imparting of knowledge. The two are direct opposites and so when used in a sentence such as “Let’s make learning better”, we start to question what is actually meant by that.

    How on earth?

    How do we make the acquisition of knowledge better? Sure – imparting knowledge in different ways is possible, but to change how knowledge or experiences is acquired – is that even possible? Are we not, as humans, limited to how we can gain knowledge, through our 5 senses? Touch, Hear, Sight, Smell, Taste? Is this not the extent of how we can learn? And how does one make this better? Obviously, vision and hearing impaired students have glasses and hearing aids to assist with these learning facets we have.
    Is the Minister asking for schools to increase the rate of so-called evolution so that we can learn better?
    Or have we now resorted to student bashing instead of teacher bashing?
    Is the emphasis shift all part of making the student at the centre?

    Is ‘ako’ to blame for this?

    For decades now, the way to make what you have to say more authentic and culturally sensitive, it has become custom to translate certain words from English into Māori. Whilst that may be a very cynical view of things, and possibly the initial use of such terms was genuine, we have built a series of terms that we now use in common New Zealand speak. Terms such as whanau, mana, and in education, akonga and ako.

    Ako itself means “teaching and learning”, and educationalists around the country jumped on it and spread it amongst the myriads of documents. It was one of the first Māori terms introduced in our university papers when learning about teaching and education.

    Does this mean that teaching and learning are synonymous?

    Not at all. Whilst the Māori use the same term for both, the context in which they do is what provides the meaning (as it does for other terms as well – for example puku can mean secret or silent, as well as, fasting, to swell, or to intensify a quality such as pukuriri which means “furious” – riri means angry.) There are terms in English as well that we know to mean different things.

    No. Teaching and Learning are not interchangeable just to sound smart. They are opposites. Like inhaling and exhaling. Up and Down, Square and Circle.

    The minister and others should stop trying to sound smart and stop confusing the matter.

  • The Answer to everything is not an App.

    It’d seem that there is a reliance on tech and apps to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties.

    While there are apps and assistive technologies to help students with their learning, the reliance or focus on one particular app is not what the likes of RTLB or Special Needs teachers should be using to “solve” the learning needs of ‘problem’ children. It may be appealing because of a one off price that seems to satisfy the powers that be as a successful outcome for the student and signs off the intervention.

    But there is no way that any app, no matter how developed, how much money has been poured into it, that it should ever be “the answer” for students’ learning difficulties.

    Why?

    Because there is never ever one reason for students struggling in their learning. There are usually a myriad of issues, and strategies that address these are not going to be encompassed in an app.

    Don’t get me wrong, tech can be incredibly supportive in assisting students with with their learning; but in my experience it is much less about the apps you use, but the process that the technology makes and allows for in the classroom.

    Furthermore, teaching ‘an app’ is restricted to using that app and the limitations of it. Teaching a process opens up the student to other possibilities for using the technology (or not) in the future. Take for example Writing. You could teach a student how to use Microsoft Word and it could help them to write. But teaching them how to write is actually better (or more to the point – what is needed), and there are any number of apps that could assist with this, including Word, Google Docs, or Collabrify Writer.

    Somewhat ironically, I know of a case where a student diagnosed with dyslexia received the support of using the Chromebooks in the classroom to do her writing. This was the recommendation from the specialist that was providing the support for the teacher, and supposedly the student.

    However; talking with the student; she preferred to do her writing by hand because she didn’t have to ‘find’ the letters on the keyboard when she could just write them with a pencil when she wanted.

    Sometimes technology doesn’t have the answer that we’re looking for.