The Value of Twitter

I used to think Twitter was just for celebrities and so I was a bit hesitant to join. However, last September 2016, I decided to take a closer look. I wasn’t sure of what to do so I took the lead from any teenage kid -  I signed up, gave it a go and was instantly hooked. Now as I’ve shared in previous blogs the last year has been a very rewarding time in my Teaching career and it is no coincidence that this corresponds with my new-found ability to tweet. Twitter has certainly played an integral part in my progress and I want to share what I’ve found beneficial.

Connections:

Teachers are very busy people - in our own classrooms, our own staffrooms or our own school grounds. We sometimes forget that there are thousands (or millions) of other teachers out there who have similar trials, tribulations, goals and achievements as us. Twitter makes it easy to connect to likeminded people anywhere, anytime. People that are willing to share, discuss, give feedback, compare, add to or collaborate on ideas. The more time you invest in Twitter the more you work out who the people are that are going to be most beneficial to you and those who would appreciate someone with whom to share.

Resources:

Twitter is a one stop shop to see and hear about the plethora of resources that are available. Props, people, information, technology. There is always someone out there who has tried and tested something before you. It’s not only a great place to access information regarding resources but also to allow you to see things people are using and doing for the first time. It’s a public noticeboard of conferences, web chats, twitter chats, webinars and professional development opportunities to participate in.

Inspiration

Not only does the exposure to resources provide motivation, people often post inspirational sayings, quotes, rhymes, etc. I know we’ve all seen these on social media and they can be ‘over the top’ and annoying. But take the time, be selective and you’ll find some gems. The first thing I do when I get home from a hard day is kick off my shoes and sit on my couch with my I-Pad to scroll through my Twitter feed. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve come home feeling exhausted or a bit down to find something inspiring on Twitter that picks me up, puts things into perspective or gives me a great idea to focus on for the following day. 

Self-promotion

There is no better way to promote the great work you are doing than putting it out there for the world to see. I’ve already discussed the benefits of sharing your work but there are many more benefits to self-promotion. Teachers work hard, so why shouldn’t we promote the good work we do. The worst case scenario is that you might receive feedback. Even bad feedback allows you to reflect, reassess and improve. Don’t wait for your boss to ‘talk you up’. YOU are the best person to promote YOU! Be proud of what you have done.

Learning

I've never read more! There is so much that grabs the eye and inspires you to look, read and read a bit more! Soon you find you are trying all sorts of crazy ideas in your classroom that challenge and delight the students. This then just stirs the hunger to find out more and widens the horizons of your knowledge. I’ve read articles and heard and been involved in conversations about whether or not Twitter is Professional Development. I believe that if you are getting ideas, being inspired to try something different, gaining knowledge, developing confidence or self-belief and ultimately using that to better educate your students and yourself, than that’s what’s important.

Sharing

Twitter is a sharing platform. It has been beneficial to me as a teacher because of the people who are willing to share their ideas. I try and share regularly so that I can hopefully contribute to this platform. When I am working on something different, I try and add pictures to highlight the ‘What?’ and ‘How?’ If I have implemented something that someone has shared with me, I always try and share that with that person. A colleague of mine once told me he loves to share what he is doing and is not afraid that someone would implement it in the their class or school and do it better. He sees that as affirmation that what he does is good and sees it as a challenge to improve it further. After all, the benefit to our students is what is important. 

I am constantly looking to challenge my students as I’m sure all teachers are. Twitter has opened my eyes to the many, many teachers out there who are willing to share, discuss and collaborate to make learning engaging, real and relevant. But you get out what you put in. Put aside the time to look at connecting with others. You can even do it in our pyjamas on your couch. I have developed an interest and curiosity around loads of things that I have tried in my classroom which have benefitted my students’ learning. I have discovered things that have taken me to conferences, allowed me to meet and chat with amazing educators and developed interests that have transformed my teaching. I have even taken up blogging! Give it a go. It might just be what you are looking for.

Critical and Creative Thinking.

A few weeks ago I attended a PD at QUT. In one of the sessions, the Question was asked, "How do you foster critical and creativity thinking in your classroom?" We didn't spend much time discussing it, but it was a topic that I kept thinking about and wanting to discuss further. On my return to school, I was discussing this with a colleague and it really got me thinking about how I encourage Critical and Creative thinking in my classes. Below are the things that I value.

Teacher Mindset – We have to have the belief in critical and creative thinking and its importance to our student’s education. Secondly we have to model it. Hopefully students will copy these behaviours. The language we use is imperative. Answering questions with questions. Challenge students with, ‘How could we...?’ or ‘Yes but…?’ or ‘What if’s…?’ Encourage students who ask questions. Take the time to talk this through with those students and validate the student creativity by recognizing the importance of that questioning. It’s also important that the teacher has a range of strategies that support critical and creative thinking and pass these onto their students. Brainstorming is a simple but effective way to think deeper about any topic. Group work is another simple but great way to get students sharing ideas, and giving and receiving feedback helps to challenge students thinking. It also pays to mix things up a little. Use props to introduce a new topic. Act something out or give clues as part of a game. Maybe hold back the task sheet and develop curiosity and ambiguity around the task before launching into it.   

Student Choice and ownership – If students have a say in their learning they have to be interested, don’t they? Why would they choose a topic if they weren’t interested in it? Like relating learning to the real world, student’s choice and ownership has to help with engagement and engaged students makes our job much easier. Get to know and understand your students and their interests. What are they into at this age? What are the differences amongst them? What are the common interests? What drives their curiosity?  

Less Scaffolding – In earlier times when using Design thinking, I used to scaffold folios for our students a lot more than I do these days. Scaffolding is an invaluable process in the right situation. However, over time I have come to realise that by scaffolding less allows students to think more critically. It also allows students to be more creative. I firmly believe that Design Thinking as a problem solving process naturally allows creativity and critical thinking. But, if your prepared to let go (as discussed later) and lose the scaffolding and take a risk on the direction that the learning will take your students, then we all have more chance to exploit the critical and creativity thinking. The key thing to remember here is it’s not about what makes the class easy for you to manage. It’s what’s best for our students learning.

Not ‘Google-able’ – This is my new favourite term! Students have all the information they need on mobile devices in their pockets. It’s our responsibility to challenge them beyond a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer from Google or on an answer where they settle for ‘that will do’. It’s important that the tasks we set go beyond this. Tasks that encourage research, or collaboration with others. Tasks that stimulate curiosity and foster ambiguity in students to not just obtain but to understand and analyse information.

Authenticity - Real World. If students are engaged, they are likely to be interested in the learning. If the learning has some real world relevance, students can make the connection and understand the importance or relevance of the learning. Through the use of Design Thinking we often have the opportunity to make the task and learning real-world. Through Design Thinking we have a larger focus on the process rather than the product. This enables us to prototype more which allows the students to design and produce for example the airport of the future or a home room for senior students. The prototyping encourages the engagement but the task seems relevant to the students because of the ‘real’ task.

Letting go of control - In an earlier blog I wrote about a message board I designed with year 3 students. It was a task I tweaked to allow more creativity for the students. However, it also required me to let go of controlling the learning. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how it would end up. I wasn't sure I was going to have the time or resources at my disposal for individuals to design and produce solutions that were all unique. However, in hindsight it is probably one the best units I've written and taught in my career. Students took ownership of their learning. They collaborated and experimented and shared their learning with each other. But most importantly, they were engaged and loved being in control of their learning.

Classroom culture – As Teachers we all create a safe and inviting classroom for our students. A space where they feel comfortable to learn. But we need to focus on the culture as much as the space. We need to encourage students to feel free to express opinions and ideas and be able to receive feedback on those in a non-threatening manner. It’s also important that students are encouraged to have a go with the possibility of being wrong or failing. Developing the culture that ‘having a go’ or learning from mistakes is an important mindset for students to foster.   

Facing a future that will be different and more uncertain than ever before, we need to be preparing our students with skills that equip them for that future. Gone are the days when we taught content. Today’s students need to be prepared for an uncertain future. They need to be armed with skills that allow them to think creatively and to think critically. There is lots of research that suggest artificial intelligence will replace a certain amount of jobs in the future. But critical and creative thinking are not skills that robots or AI will be able to replace and skills that our students will need to shine.

Junior School Design Week

At St Paul’s school our vision is to be leaders in Education thinking and practice. As such we have rolled out five unique Learning Realms which support Teaching and Learning. These Learning Realms are Design Thinking, Creativity, Inquiry, Global Sustainability and Entrepreneurialism. As a Design Technology Teacher, Design Thinking fits within our Design Thinking Realm and I am an advocate & firm believer of the learning opportunities that exist within, for our students.

This year I introduced a Design Week into our school calendar not only to support the Learning Realm, Design Thinking, but also to celebrate all things Design. This inaugural event was implemented in our Junior School with a range of activities, displays, competitions and professional developments.

Although our participants were our Junior School students, throughout the week we had Parents, Industry experts, past Students and our Middle School and Senior School student’s mentor and host events. This was an amazing opportunity to forge connections with our wider community but also for our students to collaborate and learn in a real world context.   

Some of the activities throughout the week were:

Junior Architect – Designing a house using Google Sketch Up

Design for Drone - designing a Drone course for a drone to test

Putt for Glory – Designing a life size Putt Putt Golf course

Design from Scratch – Designing a simple game using Scratch coding

Comic Capers – Designing electronic Comic strips

How High Can You Fly – Paper plane ‘design & fly’ competition?

Exciting Electronics – Building simple electronic circuits

Farm Puppets – designing a puppet & a puppet show.

Students across all Year levels in our Junior School had opportunity to participate. Even our Early Learning Centre students didn’t miss out. They participated in seeing how our school Media group put together a News piece and even got to experience the roles in front of and behind the camera. We also had numerous displays of Design Posters, Great Designers and of course, the finale, of showcasing the work of our very clever and determined design students.

Throughout the week students, staff, Parents and Family could also vote on specially printed postcards, what they thought the World’s Greatest Invention was. It was wonderful to see nearly 500 postcards hung and displayed as a Gallery Walk through our Junior School walking paths. It was interesting to read different suggestions across different age levels but the Prep students who voted for the rainbow because it makes the world colourful and pretty was a favourite. 

The week was a wonderful example of how Design has an impact on all of us. How Design is all around us in decisions we make everyday. It was also an example of how through Design, we can share and learn together. In 2018 we hope to expand this event across all our year levels and invite more of our school and local community to take part, to make this even bigger and better!

Justin Hill 

Perspective

My Grandfather died this week at the respectable age of 95. He – my Poppy - was the most laid-back person I knew. He never got worked up about little issues and always seemed to have a different perspective, from just about everyone else, on most things. But this never bothered him.  Attending his funeral this week gave me the opportunity to chat with the family and the many friends he had and to listen to their stories. Everyone had a story about Poppy. And as sad as it was, it was a great opportunity for me to reflect on my relationship with him and the way he had chosen to live his life. This then led me to contemplate my own life.

At the start of this year I had very specific goals and things that I wanted to achieve. We are nearly 3/4 of the way through the year and I have already achieved most of those, plus more. I have happily put in lots of extra time and thought into my projects and experimented with some creative learning opportunities for the students, their parents and, even the staff. Professionally, I am very proud of what I am doing and where I am headed. But perhaps I have let other areas go unattended.

In my haste to forge ahead, I haven’t taken the time to reflect on where I have been. While I pride myself on being an innovative Teacher, always looking for ways to make my lessons more exciting and engaging for my students. However, taking more time to reflect on what we did in class and points which can be improved, might just make those lessons more innovative, engaging and exciting - adding a little more clarity and refreshing the ideas. Just last week I read the book, The most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires to my Pre-Prep class.  It is a story about a girl trying to invent something magnificent but struggles for ideas. Finally, she goes for a walk, taking the time to reflect and consider what she has done and what she could do. Suddenly I realised that this simple lesson from a picture book was one I could take on board myself. 

On my desk I have a quote from George Couros. It says “In a world that is constantly moving forward, if you are standing still, you are falling behind.” I love this because it gives me motivation to keep pushing to be a better teacher for my students but this is only part of the story. Instead of blindly surging forward I need to learn from what I have done and from what my students have taught me. Perhaps a better quote for me would be one from U.S. businessman, Peter Drucker, which says: Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. Definitely worth thinking about!

Beyond the classroom, I need to take the time to count my blessings for the wonderful opportunities afforded to me and for the people in my life who take the time to encourage and support me. Without them I would not have had the confidence to move beyond my comfort zone and grow as both a person and a professional. Once again life keeps moving forward and all too soon the moment to say ‘thank you’ has passed and so this is another area of my life on which I would like to reflect.

My Poppy was not an educated man. He worked hard his whole life but he also took time to enjoy his life. By the time I came into this world, he already had 50+ years’ experience and so, to me, he always seemed to have his priorities sorted. He appreciated the simple things in life and took the time to enjoy them. Poppy made time for others, not just to have a chat but to really listen to what they had to say. In short, Poppy took the time that I have often thought I don’t have. So, although it has been a sad week for me, it has been in reflecting on my Grandfather’s life that I have learnt a great deal about my own. Thanks Poppy!

Design Thinking in Pre Prep...How???

Let Parents be involved.

Let parents be involved!

In my very first blog, I wrote about relationships and their importance to our kids’ education. This week, I spent some time working with parents, developing relationships between home and school and I thought this was a good opportunity to expand on that blog, in particular, the Parent/Teacher relationship. 

Early in Term 1, the Junior School invited the parents into the classroom to introduce themselves and their classrooms. On this particular evening, the creative subjects set up a market stall to showcase what we do. As such, I set up a display of work and photos. The volume of parents I had lined up to talk with me was overwhelming and the encouragement and support I received from them planted a seed. It was clear that the parents wanted to know more about 'Design Thinking' and the learning dispositions being fostered within my subject. Many said it was often a topic of conversation that their kids initiated and, so naturally the parents wanted to find out what was sparking this enthusiasm. Thus, the ‘Parent Design Thinking Boot Camp’ was born! 

I saw this as an opportunity to share with our parents what their kids do, but also to get them on board to further support the relationship between class and home. It was important to me to try to install in my audience the same excitement that they had seen in their kids so the ‘talk and chalk’ method of instruction was not an option. I had to get these parents to not only understand Design Thinking but to experiencing exactly what their kids were doing in my classroom. So, I set up a quick design challenge for them.

I had 2 hours and I wanted it to be busy, fast paced. I wanted the parents to learn through participating. I wanted them creating, out of their comfort zone. I wanted them sharing collaborating and making. But most of all, I wanted them to be curious, experimenting, failing forward, being optimistic, empathetic and iterative. I wanted them to ‘low definition’ prototype, draw, share, scribble on whiteboards and play with materials the way their kids did. I wanted them to experience all this to not only value the process, but experience how their kids are engaged and learning throughout the process. I had set myself a large task.

Firstly, the parents were organised into small groups with people they didn’t know. The challenge was introduced to them and then I shared with them the Design Model we use. Then, they were presented with a provocation to work through using the Design Model. As they worked through the process, strategies for each step were added. Eventually, the group had designed and created a solution to the problem. The groups were then invited to share their creations. Even though their creations were quick prototypes, the thinking that had gone into them was inspiring. The presentations were a chance to have a laugh at their own creations but also explain the thinking behind them. I think the group surprised themselves with the creativity they had displayed! Overall it was an informative but fun night and one which was very rewarding for me personally.

In an earlier blog, I stated that, “Parents can be a challenge… but they can also be great allies, supporters, volunteers and sources of expertise”. This event has further reinforced my thinking. Since the Boot Camp, I have had parents donating materials for our Tinker Club and offering their expertise to assist in various fields. Parents are regularly emailing me asking if I need certain things, offering industrial waste materials from their business or telling me about something they saw or read that might assist in my classes. However, more importantly parents are having discussions with their kids about what they did in the session and what their kids are doing and working on.

Sure it took a little bit of effort to make this happen but the benefits have been well worth it. I’m now looking forward to other ways I can include or collaborate with parents and the community to provide better learning opportunities for our kids. I’m excited about the possibilities!

Getting Organised

Getting Organised!!!

If you’ve read my blog before you will know that, in the last couple of years, I have had somewhat of an epiphany regarding the way I teach. My perception of how I taught and how I should be teaching has changed. This has had a huge impact on many areas of my life. 

We, as teachers, are very lucky in that we have more holidays than most. I used to always treat my holidays as well earned time away from work. I would make a point of not going anywhere near school, school email or my laptop. I believed that I had put in the hard yards during the term and I was more or less prepared for the term ahead – I could justify my decision to impose a ban on all things school in many many ways.

Then came the epiphany!

Teaching has now become so much more than a job to me. In fact it’s my passion and so I enjoy spending time on my practice. It has also meant that, in order to give my best, I need to be organised.

Being organised is in my DNA. I love a good plan and to ensure that the preparation is in place so that all things come together. I know that this is an area that many struggle with and so I thought I’d share a few tips on how I get things sorted.

 Planning prevents poor performance

To do anything well you have to have the right attitude and the determination to invest some time to the task. The big thing for me once I knew I had the right attitude was to invest time into making a plan. I started by drawing a document with three columns. I headed the columns - Short term, Medium term and Long term (not very original, I know). However, after more thought, it seemed more relevant to label them with more specific time frames, which then became ‘this week’, ‘this term’, ‘this year’.

I've always had an A5 diary that I wrote in everyday. Not memoirs or personal matters but things I needed to get done. It's the best $10 I spend every year! However, my attitude has changed and I knew if my teaching was going to reflect this, my organisation needed an overhaul. After some serious contemplation I realised that what I wrote in my diary were the things I had to do. What I needed to write in my columns was things I wanted to do! 

So I started to think about what I wanted to achieve? Things I wanted to do this year to improve my teaching and to improve my students’ learning. Things above and beyond what I had always done. I then broke those down into achievable chunks and placed them in the appropriate columns. 

While there’s nothing better than a good list, It's pointless unless you refer to it often. So I place my plan in a place where I can read it, adjust it and work to it.

Benefits 

A day in the life of a teacher is often littered with interruptions – photos, music lessons, special assemblies – some of these are expected but sometimes things happen out of the blue. However, I’ve found that being organised, makes it so much easier when those other distractions come along. You have things in place ready to go. You can focus on making those individual lessons even better! And best of all, you have the flexibility for a Plan B if necessary.

Possibly the most important benefit is less stress or pressure. You’re confident because you have already put that thought and planning into your preparation. You’re not thinking on the run as much. You may find that you have more time during term and that is a luxury!

Rewards

Let's put this into perspective. Everyone has their own interests and life outside of work. It's unhealthy to make life all about working. But here's something for you to think about. I have found that devoting a few days in the holidays has so many rewards. It sets me up for the term. It gives me the confidence to deliver lessons that I know will be better than the last time I taught the concept.

However, most importantly, it's the kids who reap the rewards. I read a paper recently that described a Teacher’s responsibility as “not just teaching Maths or English, but teaching the hearts and minds of our students.” I view my job now as the opportunity  to challenge my students to be the best they can be. So it is essential that I set myself the same challenge.  And now, I challenge you!

Creatively Speaking

What is Creativity? What does it mean to be Creative? How do I teach creativity? These were questions to which I thought there were no answers. However, when I enrolled in a PD on Creativity, these were the exact questions that I wanted answered.

To kick off the PD, we were asked to bring along a unit of work that we could develop. I chose a Year 3 unit because they were my youngest class and my starting point to changing the way I added creativity to my units. I thought this PD was going to be about me being creative. Creative in the way I planned units of work and the way I delivered those units, but it was more than that.

I’d been teaching this unit for a couple of years and there some good learning had happened. From a Design Technology point of view, the students were learning skills with tools and machinery as well as working with and learning about materials. I had also included in my planning opportunity for the students to design and be creative. However, I was about to realise there was room for students to be even more creative in their designing.

Usually the way I had taught this unit was to:

• Have the kids frame up the base
• Design the outside shape
• Attach and decorate the ply 

The overarching idea was for the students to use the product to convey a personal message. I was very chuffed that all of the products achieved there desired purpose, but when I was asked why the kids all make the base the same, the only response I had was “because that’s how we do it.” …There it was! The most dangerous phrase in Education! Because that’s the way we’ve always done it! In that light bulb moment, I realised that I had to change this unit and I was now starting to think I needed to reflect on all the other units I taught!

Conveying the message was still the overarching idea of the unit. We were using the same materials, tools and machinery and had the same time frame. I was uncertain about so many things. Did I have enough time to get through it? Would the kids run with it? How was I going to teach how to construct all the individual designs that would come from this? However, I was excited about the possibilities and was willing to jump in and give it a go and that was essentially the key!

The big difference with this revamped unit was the kids were now going to design their own bases. One of the strategies I used to help them visualise their ideas was to model in cardboard. I cut cardboard pieces the exact size of the materials they would be using for the base. They spent time playing with the cardboard, manipulating it into shapes and designs. Lots of shapes and designs and they photographed each one. They loved this process and wanted to share each step with their peers and me. We then had a lesson where they had the opportunity to discuss/share/critique each other’s ideas and this was the moment I realised how powerful this learning strategy is. 

The kids had conversations about:

• How suitable each other's designs were
• How strong they thought they would be
• How to best construct them
• Good and bad aspects of each and what improvements could be made

Reflection and cooperation – such valuable tools for learning!

In yet another departure from my ‘usual’ practice was that I let go of the reins. The kids experimented with how materials joined and worked together. Literally, we had boxes full of scrap materials that they joined and glued together, then they broke them apart. Again, the kids analysed what worked and what didn’t and why. Conversations about their learning flowed and there were no correct answers. These were conversations that I would normally facilitate. Was I doing myself out of a job?!

In the end, every student came up with a different solution to the problem. Every child had worked through the design process, drawn on their own experiences and created a unique solution to suit his or her situation. But more than that, they had an explanation of why they designed and made it like that and could and would explain this.

What stood out the most for me were:

• How engaged the kids were in this task.
•  How giving them more freedom to design allowed individual creativity.
• The ownership they had of this task
• Through play/experimentation kids were learning more deeply than they would from me lecturing.
• How they were teaching each other
• And how by standing back or letting go allowed more critical, meaningful learning that also naturally fostered learning dispositions.

·        Don’t get me wrong. Not everything was plain sailing. There were lessons I had to change on the run. Sometimes I cut things and other times I extended things to take advantage of the quality of learning. I still have to make changes for next time I use this unit and, in fact, creatively speaking, this unit and I will continue to change and evolve with each new set of students.

The Power of Professional Conversation

In my last blog I wrote about the struggle I had experienced with one of my classes at the start of the year. I outlined how the class addressed the issues and settled on 5 class values. This exercise got me thinking about values in general and, more specifically my values. What do I value in my classroom? What do I value every day? What do I value in life? What had been a seemingly small hiccup in a lesson plan turned into a personal contemplation about the dramatic changes to my attitude towards education and teaching over the past two years.

A couple of years ago I was assigned a mentor. At the time it did not impress me. I thought I wasn’t being considered professional or that the school was keeping an eye on me. Why were they watching me? Were others being watched ….mentored?        

Thankfully my mentor was someone with whom I had worked closely and someone I respected. We started meeting once a week and, surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. The meetings were really informal. We discussed my wellbeing and how I was travelling in general. These discussions branched into how my classes were travelling and where I was with them and eventually developed into discussion specifically to my subject area, the delivery of the curriculum and learning strategies used in my classes. I would never have believed that I would have gained so much from a meeting.

Now, we all know schools have meetings. Sometimes it seems like there are meetings for the sake of meetings! A buzzword that I had been hearing a lot of lately was ‘professional conversation’ but I wasn’t to be fooled. I knew that this was just a new name for a meeting. However, my mentor had mentioned this word in our discussions and even referred to our meetings as professional conversations. How did I get in this position? I was now having ‘professional converstions’!  

I could go into a lot more details about our meetings/professional discussions and the outcomes of them, but in short, they have changed my mindset about what I do, how I do it and most importantly, why I do it. Although initially I had resisted the idea of having a mentor, over time not only did I reap the benefits of my professional conversations with my mentor, I actually looked forward to them. So how did my mentor achieve this amazing transformation? By making the time to talk and listen to me. To share, discuss, debate and engage in my teaching and learning. Through these simple acts, I grew as a person and a teacher. My mentor and I have gone on to develop a supportive and encouraging working relationship. A relationship that has encouraged me to take my teaching practice to another level. One that has given me the confidence to challenge myself and the desire to continually strive to improve. And, in particular, a relationship that I would like to see fostered in other professionals within and outside my workplace.

At some stages in life we all find ourselves in a rut. In life and at work. We form habits, we take the easy road, the comfortable path, the line of least resistance. Doing what needs to be done without taking the time to think about ‘why’ we are doing what we are doing. For a long time I was just like that. I was one of those people. Someone who was just doing a job. Sure I was doing some good things but I had settled on that. I was doing it that way all the time. I wasn’t challenging myself to do it better.

However, with the encouragement of my mentor and my active engagement in professional conversations I now take every opportunity to reflect and review my teaching practice. I have the courage to challenge myself daily and, rather than being a chore, it is exciting and invigorating. My kids come into a classroom where the teacher is energised and that is contagious.

As teachers, we work in an environment where we are surrounded by a valuable and free resource – our peers.  Other people like us that day in day out share similar experiences to us. But, how often do we make the time to talk and share with them? To listen and learn from them? To lend an ear, support and encourage them? To collaborate or prop them up when they need someone? To challenge them? Creating an environment where teachers feel supported to take risks and try new things is a gift that will be passed on to the children in the classrooms. In the words of Grace Hopper, ‘ The most dangerous phrase in language is We’ve always done it this way’.

So what do I value? I think I’ve already answered that. But, I ask you, ‘What do you value?’  Take the time to think about it – I’m here if you’d like to have a professional conversation.

Ready...?

Am I ready? You bet! Another new school year & new school classes. I was prepared and confident. I'd been in well before we were due back & had all my unit plans completed & was ready for that first lesson with each new class. However, there are always some things for which you can never be prepared.

I walked into my new year 8 class, excited to meet them, willing to get started & looking forward to seeing what I could do with a unit plan that I had spent considerable time reflecting on and ‘pimping’ over the holidays. But…… the first lesson wasn't great. In fact it was quite uncomfortable. It was almost like all 18 kids were new to the school and each other. I walked out of that lesson and couldn't stop thinking about the strange atmosphere. The next lesson I went in confident I could improve the dynamics and get on with the year. But it was similar to the previous lesson. No one was talking, despite opportunities to share and collaborate. No one was even mixing socially. This was the quietest class I had ever been in. What was going on? 

It got to a point where I asked the kids to pack up. We sat in a large circle ‘counselling style’ and I had to ask, “What's going on?” Again, no one spoke? After some serious cajoling and asking them to help me out, I finally got some answers. They were scared of being judged! Worried about getting the answers wrong. Concerned that if they shared an idea, thought or answer that someone might laugh. They were worried that if they were the person to answer the Q's, they'd be considered the goodie, goodie! I could not have foreseen this and certainly wasn’t prepared for it.

We spent the rest of the lesson breaking this down. We talked about the issues they raised. I was able to relate a lot of this to the Design Thinking process we use for solving problems within Design Technology. The fact that there often isn’t a right or a wrong. The fact that no idea is a bad idea. The fact that people like Albert Einstein, Thomas Eddison and Steve Jobs probably had their ideas laughed at, at some stage. It wasn’t much, but Finally …we had some discussion in the room!

I knew that next lesson I had to build on last lesson so we could have a learning space that everybody felt comfortable in …including me! Through a little Teacher persuasion I was able to get the kids to agree that we needed to set some rules to address these issues. But, I needed them to collaborate and all agree on them. Progress wasn’t fast. In fact it took the whole lesson but I was determined not to force this. It had to come from them. All of them! Eventually this is what they came up with.

1.      We should respect everyone’s ideas (Listen to them. Never laugh at them)

2.      We should all have to contribute equally (if everyone has a go we are all equal)

3.      We should work together (to be more comfortable and share the load)

4.      We need to understand that everyone is different and has different ideas (never laugh at them)

We were getting somewhere. I posed the questions “What if someone breaks these rules?” Did they need to be ‘Hard and fast’ Rules? Did they need to be ‘Rules?’ The discussion hovered around naming them something else. Standards? Guidelines? Things we respect? …ValuesJ They all agreed on ‘Values’ and we spent the rest of the lesson (collaboratively) writing these as values. This is what they became:

Year 8 Design Technology Values

1.      We value others’ Ideas

2.      We value others’ Contributions

3.      We value Teamwork

4.      We value Feedback

5.      We value Creativity

By the end of this lesson I had mixed feelings. I won’t lie and tell you the kids had turned a complete 180 degrees, but I do believe we had made progress. Each kid had contributed. Each kid had agreed that these would be our class values and I may have even sensed that this class was now ready to get started.

Personally, I was a little disappointed that I had spent three lessons to get to this point. I had a clear idea in my mind, where I wanted to be by now, but I was still at the starting line. It was only through discussion with a colleague that I realised I had in fact made significant gains. I had managed to start a Teacher/Student/class relationship that I could build on. I had set them a challenge that they had solved. I had started to teach Design Thinking without even realising. They had collaborated, shared, given feedback, ideated, developed and refined ideas. All key dispositions that we use and refer to in teaching Design Thinking. I also had a base from which I can launch the rest of my time with Year 8’s.

Was I ready for the new year? In hindsight no. However, as Teachers we have to be flexible and accept change every day in every lesson. It’s what we do. We also have to learn from every day and every lesson. Will I be ready next time? Who knows? But I’m confident I won’t underestimate this kind of situation next time.

Reflections

As the end of the school year approaches, I can’t help but reflect on the year that is almost over. 2016 has been a particularly productive year and one in which I have made significant gains. One important aspect of this year’s achievements that particularly resonates with me are the relationships I have developed and how they have benefitted the teaching and learning in my classroom.

We all know that the relationships we develop with our students are key to gaining trust and directly influence the learning that can happen in our classes. However, it’s the relationships with others aside from students that have been beneficial to my teaching and ultimately, beneficial to my students learning. Some of these are:

·         Teacher – Parent

·         Teacher – Community

·         Teacher – Teacher

·         Teacher - Boss

Teacher – Parent

Parents can be a challenge… but they can also be great allies, supporters, volunteers and sources of expertise. By involving parents in some of my classes & design thinking opportunities this year, I have found that they really want to know what their kids are doing. Not just the conversations after school with their kids like “What did you do at school today?” When I invited Parents top the learning space they turned up in droves to see and participate in their child’s learning. This then, sparked conversations between Parents and their children about their shared learning experience.     

Earlier this year I hosted a 2 day design symposium for year 3 students where they got to design & build the air travel experience of 2028. One group was working on catering and early on the second morning a year 3 girl told me she had discussed at length the night before with her Mum, the decisions her group had made & the thinking that went behind those decisions. Her Mum had apparently made all types of suggestions and things to think about. When I asked her if she was going to make those changes she replied “I considered them, but I told Mum it was my design and that she should find her own. Two things resonated with me about that conversation. I LOVED that that girl had gone home and discussed what she was doing in the design symposium. She was engaged, excited, interested in what she was doing & without even realising, went home & kept on learning through reflection with her mum. The second is that through having that child engaged in the task, she went home & wanted to explain & discussed her learning at home.

Teacher – Community

Some might think that being a Design Technology Teacher lends itself to connections with community and it probably does, but you still have to actively make those connections. This year the theme for Morphing Week was ‘We Can Fly!’ so the obvious community connection was the airport. I was lucky to meet someone from BAC who put me in contact with some Project Managers and Engineers who happened to use Design Thinking. What happened from there has been mutually beneficial on so many levels. We both realised that the Design Models that we use are essentially the same (although their budget is slightly bigger than ours) and we both had human centred design as our focus. Through this connection, BAC jointly facilitated our Design Symposium making the learning more authentic than I could have thought possible. The students have since been on a guided tour of the airport to see firsthand the sorts of things BAC deal with in their planning of such a large scale and real life problems.

The off shoot from this connection was the realisation of mutual interests, ie Design Thinking and its possibilities. This in turn has had flow on effects in terms of the concept being introduced to other people from within BAC and from other outside agencies. Of course this produces more professional dialogue as well as possible connections/opportunities for authentic learning for our students.

Teacher – Teacher

One of the things I push with my Design students is the sharing of ideas. “Combine your ideas and don’t be afraid to critique each other’s ideas. Your idea/ solution can only be better for it!” Yet I am guilty of not practising what I preach within my own department. We all get busy and some things get neglected but I think this is really important. If it’s important to teach our kids, it has to be important to practice ourselves.

How often do you walk past a fellow teacher in the school yard and never take the time to say more than good morning? These are people just like us that possibly teach kids that we teach, have similar educational interests, goals and expectations and are a possible source of knowledge and expertise at your fingertips. I have been lucky enough this year to facilitate some staff training and have essentially forced me to have professional conversations with people I don’t normally. I can’t believe the wealth of knowledge and expertise I have missed out on. The links between subjects in terms of similar thinking and the learning opportunities through collaboration that are possible. These people are in my backyard! One of IDEO’s(global design company) philosophies is to meet and mix with a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Regardless of the size of your school there is always someone that you haven’t met. Mental note to self… Change that!          

Teacher – Boss

The last relationship I wanted to reflect on is that with your boss. Let them know what’s happening in your class. Invite them to see the learning and the teaching. They haven’t got to the position they are without experience on their side. Draw on their knowledge and expertise in your lessons. They may be able to nudge you in the right direction of assistance or advice. They may have connections or know parents upon which you can draw on also as discussed above.