Sunday, February 21, 2016

Reflecting on the week that was...

WOW, what a week.
I left home very early on Monday morning, boarded a flight for Auckland, via Wellington.  Travelling with the team to Kia Aroha College, then across to Ormiston.  WOW, both schools were amazing.  
The welcome to Kia Aroha was perhaps the most moving, spiritual welcome I have had the pleasure of experiencing.  The power, feeling and aroha in the waiata was inspiring. Anne Milne welcomed us and challenged us to think again about culturally responsive education. I have many, many wonderings from the visit and know that I will hold her challenges close as I visit my school and work this year on my own cultural responsiveness.
A visit to Ormiston was a chance to see a slice of a day of a brand new school, who have been gifted a vision to uphold.  With a rapidly growing, diverse cultural community they are continually working to grow their innovative learning environment and pedagogy.  It was wonderful to see Caro again.
A journey to Hamilton on the bus, a dinner on the balcony at the Ibis, a walk along the Waikato river and day one was complete. 
Day two was an early start at Waikato Uni with the Te Toi Tupu consortium.  A day of challenging our thinking as we face new pathways followed.  A walk around campus, then dinner, and day two was complete.
Day three was another very early start and a morning as a consortium and the afternoon in our LwDT team.  Helen led us on a very powerful journey through new approaches, new confidence, new ways.  Getting my steps today involved a treadmill inside due to continued rain.  A dinner on the balcony at the Ibis was followed by a wonderful night at the Craft Bar and Wonder Horse with the stunning CLA girls.
Day four was a stunning day with our LwDT team at Novotel.  We had a variety of sessions, interactions, and fun learning times.  All too soon the day was over and we parted.  Leigh took me with her to Dianne's.  It was wonderful to see her again. Sue picked me up later and I had a wonderful family evening.
Day five, Friday dawned with VPLD, UChoose and consultancy online meetings.  The day flew by in a rush.  A walk around the Lake with Sue concluded the day.
Day six, Saturday and what an adventure we had.  R and R cycled and I walked from Cambridge to the Avantidrome.  What a stunning cycleway.  It was incredibly hot and we relaxed with a cold drink at the velodrome and took in a few cycle races.  Off we headed for the walk home, HOT!  After a yummy platter for lunch I checked out the retail in Cambridge and bought two stunning tops, before meeting up with my sister after work.  Another walk around the lake saw a stunning 31,000+ steps for the day!  A fun night in with carpool karaoke wound up day six.
Day seven dawned with packing up and off for an adventure.  After looking around the shops, a coffee and a trip to Browser's bookstore we headed to the gardens!  WOW!!! What a stunning masterpiece these gardens are.  I felt as if I had been to an Ellerslie Flower Show.  The Summer Garden Festival added an extra dimension with bands and singing and entertainment galore.   And before I knew it, here I was, in a plane heading home.  What a week! A stunning mix of work, learning, socialising, family time, retail therapy, exercise, food, coffee and a whole lot of laughter.  What more could I ask for?
So to look towards this next week!
I am very excited to be beginning scoping my new schools for 2016.  How exciting to be making new connections, looking at new possibilities, embracing opportunities, collaborating where and whenever possible, with opportunities for clustering where needs meet. There is something truly wondrous about beginnings. With my focus this year on 'mentoring mindfulness' I am acutely aware of the impact of all actions and words.  Again, Fionna's words are my mantra - every action or word of ours serves to include or exclude.  

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Inquiry and our work journey this year and going forward...

‘Being comfortable with the discomfort’
Taking time to get to the question
Not fixing the outcomes and measures too quickly
Take time to know where you are going
Not using the usual tools to measure
What are we focusing on
Be comfortable with the uncomfortable…. Our mantra… dance with the dissonance… ‘Alana Madgwick’

Four key statements….
A context, recommendation, action and evidence of practice…
Evidence into action and impact


4 x 1
Context
As a facilitator we have utilised individualised inquiry process ourselves. We are now working with a school that has collaborative teams, and wants to carry out a collaborative inquiry. The learners have not worked this way before, therefore we are all in a new space.

Recommendation

Use research based on SOI & 7 Principals of Learning for FFE and pakirehua to develop TTT approach.
Time and opportunity for cross-partner collaboration

Action
Immersion in the SOI & change framework
Discuss ways to take the theory into a collaborative context
Virtual coaching and mentoring

Evidence
Experience, confidence and capability of the facilitators in a shared inquiry, turning theory into practice.
Embedding knowledge and systems to support inquiry.
Student improvement.























Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Māori Medium non negotiables - English medium dimensions

It's okay to come together, it's okay to work apart.
Māori potential underpins Māori Medium.
Deconstruct who you are, contract obligations, re-construct with your community.  Making a difference for akonga!
Is it okay for Māori medium dimensions to be different?

English medium - collaborative pathway to date, from October last year. 

There is a synthesis of ideas coming through - international ideas - Fullan and Quin, coherence; EDUCANZ summary paper; facilitator dimensions; addressing the changes and new environments.

Iterative process - revisit and explore the facilitator dimensions.   

Developing the Facilitator Framework... Helen Cooper

Welcoming the interruption to our work...
Change can take a long time, it's continuous, and we need resilience and tolerance.  We need to understand each other and build trust. We need open dialogue. 

Standards for accreditation - March?

Development of a one-pager.  

Pou Herenga - unifying/common approach

Unpacking the framework...



Exploring the thinking and changing needed going forward...

How can we support learning in and across communities?

Framing the national priorities...







Early achievement challenges and involvement!

What expertise do we bring in to build their capability... intentional interruption!  Knowing when and how as a team of facilitators!

Building on what we do well and take it into a new context!

Best practice and next practice, and it is about us all together... as all players in all layers of the system learn and build capability together. 

How do we support schools and educators to know what they don't know?

How do we make sure the expertise that is available is publicly known - so schools can support known expertise?

CoL - will be in a position to hold support accountable - what will this mean for us and what will it look like?

Relational Trust... pathway collaboration... 

Bringing BOTs together - into the conversation - honour real voice in the journey. 

What matters? What are the unavoidable consequences of being in a CoL?  What changes will we see?  Time frame? 

Professional accountability and clarity around what we are doing? How are are going?  Successes and challenges?

Turning the finger inward... pointing at self!  What am I going to do differently?  What are we going to change?

Align frameworks and ways of working and thinking... getting a shared language... 

Teams into CoLs... it is a team approach, not individual PLD.  All players in the room together. 

Lorna Earl #TTTPLD2016 - How Networks for Learning work

How Networks for Learning work -


  • are very complex 
  • can influence learning 
  • changing in thinking and practice is the key 
  • locus of change 
  • the correct, shared focus is necessary and needs to be understood by everyone 
  • strength of engagement is important 
  • distributed leadership is necessary... 
  • Upload and download - consider the things that matter, issues arising, and bring into the discussion; reflect back alternatives and options 
  • Shared purpose and foci for work - look through a variety of lenses 
  • Collective agreement, 
  • Facilitation role - bringing everyone together; 
  • There will inevitably be conflict in the bringing together of communities. 
  • New shared knowledge enables us to move forward, with everyone on the same page.
Learning Focus for Students and Adults
  • Clear and defensible learning foci for students, Teachers and learners - look at the evidence; 
  • If that's what they need - what do I need? What do we need
  • Learning focus across schools and learning focus for the teachers; 
  • Focus takes time and is complex; 
  • Getting the focus clear and understood, 
  • Avoid the doings that are not needs basis or necessary... activity trap; 
  • Monitor the focus in the school and the network;
  • Engage all! 
  • De-privatise schools in relation to their communities; 
  • Create hunger - visible as consummate learner; 
  • Be aware of the distractions, how do you keep the focus!
  • Prioritise and avoid the 'if only' 
Collaborative inquiry...


Relationships and Collaboration:
  • Working together
  • Discuss
  • Give and seek
  • Feel supported to try new ideas
  • Feel responsible to help and support all
  • Collectively coming up with something that is bigger than any of us individually!
  • Feedback for growth!
  • Talking openly about differing views and values,
  • Dealing openly with conflicts and disagreements;
How do we create the conditions for a group to:
  • talk openly
  • value, discuss, share...
Facilitation as Intentional Interruption
Facilitation for change, what we actually know, believe and feel - we have to interrupt! New learning happens in the ambiguity. We have to rethink the schema. New learning is hard work.
Facilitation as interruption.
Facilitation is a role - not a person.
Facilitators as a community of practice!
How do we create the conditions to move us forward as a team?
Zone of proximal development - providing the scaffolding to move through the journey.

What needs interrupting?

  • The culture of activity - from activity based to learning based.
  • Moving beyond the nice-ness - separating person from practice
  • Leader as lead learner as opposed to lead knower...
Sea of barriers...
  • Imposter syndrome...
  • Cognitive misers - mental shortcuts...
  • Exception to the rule
  • Risk averse
How do we ensure that the growth of us all in our role is an unavoidable consequence?

If it's not about learning what should it be about?

In a fast changing world, if you can't learn, unlearn, and relearn, you're lost. Sustainable and continuous learning is a given of the twenty-first century. Stoll, Fink and Earl (2003)

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Tomahawk Lagoon Walk


I Yet another walk to tick of my walk's brochure! Starting around the edge of the Tomahawk Lagoon I was very surprised to see so many swans! 
Around the edge of the lagoon, through the bush, up the hill, through the paddocks across towards Highcliff Roaf. 

Then over for a walk at Tomahawk Beach! A lively spot in a sunny Sunday afternoon!





Maureen's birthday!

Awesome day today for Maureen's 80th birthday! Jo-Ann organised an awesome surprise party!