m3teacher: February 2009

The following notes were collaboratively created by Jan-Marie, Amanda, Jo, Rachel , Jacqui, Dave, Heath and myself using an excellent tool called Etherpad. Read more about it here. The keynote was inspiring and confirmed my beliefs about systems of change and my own view of quality teaching and learning.

The Fourth Way of Leadership and Change

Andy Hargreaves websites http://www2.bc.edu/~hargrean/
Collaboration started with heheboy via twitter
The Fourth way - What are the other 3?
How did we get here. What did we leave behind?

Other notes on: http://etherpad.com/7WRSymcSBh

The First Way of Change - 60's - 70's
Wanted to change the world. Age where there was alot of flexibility. Alot of innovation in this period, but few ways of spreading it around.

Second Way
Top Down Government
Trying to add some coherernce to performance of schools. Goals / performance / Targets. Reminds me of the ticky box culture we went through and coverage.

Third way: Combination of Top down government and bottom up support.

Fourth Way
Finland a different perspective
Nokia - Finland has not always been high performing - lost access to Russian Market
unemployment 19% Head of Nokia (no tourism - no resources - all they had was people) Become the leading knowledge economy.Skills unmatched any where else. They had very few resources but recognised that people were greatest resource - Therefore set goal to become the best knowledge economy in the world. Nokia named after a town in Nokia - large furry rodent called a Nokia!!! Was a timber company then a rubber company (GUMBOOTS!!!!) 30s ladiesw rubber highheeled shoes cables. Change job every 15 months in mangagement so you are loyal to the brand not the job.

Nokia is named after a town/River Nokia/Large furry rodent! Nokia galoshes/high-heeled showes/electrical communication cables. Bad news travels fast?

Collaboration is direct in Finland

So agree with comment: To be the best you have to reconnect to what you did well in the past. We do need to reinvent the good stuff that we did in schools. That's so right - too much throwing baby out with the bathwater has happened
its the return of the cycle

less than 1 in 10 chance of becoming a primay teacher in FInland - fantastic (!)

competition is a good thing, we need to be more competitive
See teachers as leaders
More value on teachers
Switzerland also recognises value of teachers to uplifting society into knowledge skills,sustainability etc.
Broad Guidlines.
Teachers create curriculum together - trust, cooperation, responsibility important.

Create success by lifting EVERY child up from the bottom

Responsible for all students in your school, not just those in your class

Collaborative trrust and responsibility. For leadership it means if you are away or sick or drunk
school belongs to all of the teachers not just the principal - trust of staff high trust model where have we heard that before norms become important
Capabilities to deal with staff/situations.
Community is

Finnish Improvement Qualities
clear societal vision
strong public investment
high-quality high-status teachers
steering by the state
local curriculum development
trust, cooperation and responsibility
improvement through uplift
leaders who teach
no initiative -itis

Commited to future of community together

Strong helping the weak - not ideology but human decency - lift them up

Tower Hamlets. low decile.

Poverty is no excuse for failure!(Chrisine Gilbert)

imposes impossible expectations...excellent

Measureable targets set with the principals; better to have ambitious targets;
Better to have ambitious targets and not quite get to them than to have mediocre targets and achieve them. Know your people the district the school before applying standards that don't fit.

Finland has no standardised assessments. Lot of data

Great investment in families, communities etc in Finland - not just in education.

high quality teachers with commitment to the community.

They got rid of the poor teachers.

Yay, we want classroom assistants! They are called Parent helpers if you can get good ones (YEP! - just have to train them well). Would like less paperwork!!

And someone doing playground duty - could then get out and play more with the kids.

Support for teachers from the community - including the Imans in the Mosque!
Work with your parents and community.
article from guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2003/mar/11/schools.gcses2002
Community engagement.

Competition & collaboration can go together
Frienldly Win win rivalry not at the expense of others
How to get schools to work together for their communities...

sticking-ness?
keeping people on websites - rather than browsing away

Do we favour students who remind us of "our fabulous selves"?

Andy hates rubrics! - "how can you divide life into four different levels?"
- loves using them too much, penalising students who had different talents, valuing things important to him
Tthe rubric should be a check against our favoritism.

It's like trying to make people think according to the 'De Bono Hats' when their way of thinking doesn't fit any of them.

Powerpoint on the conference website:
http://centre4.core-ed.net/modules/kb/viewentries.php?space_key=21231&module_key=70381&category_key=950

**Fourth way**

* Open professionalism working together
* If you want achievement you have to have investment - there needs to be a return on investment
* ROI - return on investment
* Corporate partners - who practice corporate social responsibility - only be partners with coroprations that practice corporate social responsibility
* Students as partners in change - students are usually the targets of change efforts and services - without students there would be no teachers!

3 Priciples of Professionalism
-high quality teachers
-powerful professionalism
-lively learning communities

Invest in the development in leadership to ensure and develop change

Not heroic leadership but sustainable leadership - so that things can continue in your absence

Network with no nanny - hope NZ Govt is listening!

Responsibility before Accountability - accountability is the reminder that is left when responsibility has been subtracted.

Notes are already up on the L@S09 website: http://centre4.core-ed.net/modules/kb/viewentries.php?space_key=21231&module_key=70381&category_key=950

Tony Ryan: Digital Pedagogies

Stumbleupon

Think outside the dodecahedron

Staffroom dialogue and conversation defines a school

Get kids talking about learning

Big 4 Learning Support Framework

o Curriculum – what
o Pedagogy – how – MOST VARIANCE – Not necessarily legally mandated
o Assessment – what you measure
o Reporting – how you share

Collective intelligence

Online learning way of the future

HOW DO YOU ASSESS? Music example – assess the music or the collaboration

20th c learning theories – behaviourist/constructivist/cognitivist (cog – thinking skills stuff)

21st c – constructivist/mega-cognitivist/connectivist

SELF-TALK meta-self and physical self - mega-cognitivist - can then take ownership of their learning

CONNECTIVISM.CA few philosophical holes

Online gaming environments do have positives – eg. Working with others

Quality of teacher pedagogy that makes the difference.

YOU MUST HEIGHTEN the learning – intellectual rigor

Pedagogy is the art and science of learning for 4-18 year olds

What is the quality of the support you provide?

Digitial/ visual literacies as using symbols

Not the APPLICATIONS that drive the learning it is the ELEMENTS

“Charlie Bit My Finger” – youtube

Ripple Effects blog

Delicious account /TonyRyan