Twelve Thousand Hours Education and Poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand

This afternoon I had the privilege of attending NZEALS visiting scholar session, with Dr Vicki Carpenter and Dr Karen Nairn.

We need a real living wage... 

The book - 

Taking all children to their potential! 

A powerful contributor list... 

 Fabulous discussion starters...

Out of sight, out of mind, looking at Karen's chapter! Exploring transitions. Is it transition from primary to secondary, or changing pre teen to teen? 

Male and Maori are disproportionately over represented in alternative education. 

Poverty of vision and provision. 

AE provides for disengaged learners. How do we engage the disengaged or renegade? 

Critical success factors:

Relationship, passion, compassion, future focus, holistic, leadership and teamwork...

Poverty of vision and resourcing for alternative education providers.

Relationship with schools... 

Barriers to re-engagement... 

Resourced pilot project tracking school leavers across Otago - explore this... 

What a fabulous discussion this was. I felt incredibly moved by the story and privileged to be a part of the discussion.  So much of what was shared must be at the forefront of where we are at when working with schools, leaders, teachers and learners.  

Engagement, well-being, learning, holistic view of learner and learning, all at the forefront of ideas shared.  And yet again Fionna's blog post challenge...  

"Every action of ours serves to include or exclude."

A greater awareness of our actions, our reactions and interactions enables us to be more mindful of this quote.  Relationship is crucial, really getting to know our learners, and understand what they want, need, perceive as inclusion or exclusion.  

I can't wait to read this book!

Reflecting on our hui #tttlwdt2015

Here I am awaiting the flight home. Wow what an amazing hui. What was it that made it such an amazing two days?

Firstly, as always; he tangata, he tangata, he tangata!

Without a doubt it is always the people in the room that make the MAGIC!

This hui was incredibly focused on our journey and has supported us into a powerful place for the rest of the year. The sharing of personal story hui was a real highlight! There is a whole lot of MAGIC in telling a story and digging deeper into the story and the emerging themes. I feel incredibly attached to my story and am so grateful to Viv for capturing my story in pictures and to Brad for capturing my story in words.

...this is my story...

Another highlight for me was sharing a snapshot of the MAGICAL way in which Jo worked with hr storyhui to link to the RTCs and how she reflected on the storyhui experience! Thank you Jo for your powerful story, and thank you Liz for the opportunity to share.

A real highlight from day one was the session led by Merryn and Heather on wellness and mindfulness! Increasingly we are aware of the need to take best care of ourselves but do we always have a kete ready, full of ideas? I am particularly grateful for this very timely reminder, thank you girls. I am also incredibly grateful for the kete of quotes and sayings.

As we head to the pointy end of our year with our schools I think it will be very important for us to be aware of stresses and pressures, and prepared to support our colleagues and team members.

So heading home tonight I am uber grateful for this opportunity!

As we put the finishing touches on sessions for Ulearn I am increasingly aware of the need to bring my story into play.

On the flight tonight I have taken the time to record snapshots of my learning journey. I am not sure yet how much I will share at my session, but I know that sharing of myself, my story, my struggles is crucial in connecting with my participants. Sharing a story of the transformational journey from isolation to connection is essential for me. Acknowledging the key players, coaches and mentors in my journey is essential for me. Celebrating successes is essential for me.

About to touch down in Dunedin I am renewed, invigorated, inspired and amped ready for the next few weeks. Thank you to you all for the conversation, the collegiality, the motivation, inspiration, challenge and connection that has been the past two days.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Auckland

"When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower." Part 2

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to Claire and Jo for commenting on my post.  

"When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower."

And Claire thanks so much for inspiring a follow up post. Claire you have really challenged me, inspired me and made me reflect deeply on this metaphor.  

I am sharing the comments in here to add context to part 2!

1. Claire BuistAugust 30, 2015 at 11:00 AM

   Love, love, LOVE this Anne! Your questions have got me thinking as well... We have taken Sir Ken's quote "creating a climate of possibilty" (with his permission) for our vision. This metaphor you share really resonates to me... I will have to use this one with the team! Thanks!

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   annekennAugust 30, 2015 at 9:04 PM
   Hiya Claire,
   Thanks so much for the comment. I have spent time this weekend thinking through this quote! It really resonates in so many ways! At the end of the day today I was planting my sweet peas in pots around an arch way I want them to grow around. I thought lots about the environment... and I look forward to many sweet fragrant blooms... I also put in a lot of support, in the form of potting mix full of nutrients, watered them in well and added structures to support their growth... the more I think about the quote the more it intrigues me... Looking forward to unpacking it further and would love to see what you come up with as well.
   I love your "creating a climate of possibility"... and I hope I have done this for my sweet peas! Now to do so for my 'flowers' this week...
   Thanks
   Anne K
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   Claire BuistAugust 30, 2015 at 9:41 PM
   I guess my only question is - do your sweet peas (my favourite/ childhood blooms) have a desire/ need to grow around that arch... How much of your plan is plant led? ;)
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   annekennAugust 30, 2015 at 10:38 PM
   Oooh Claire, what a great question! And by the way, I am loving the conversation and challenge...
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_pea
   So, I guess a sweet pea's desire is to scramble up support, and bloom...
   "They are grown up canes, with the new shoots being regularly pinched out to promote a bushy habit and higher flower yields." To align this with learning, what do we 'pinch out' regularly?
   "the flowers appearing in midsummer and continuing for many weeks if regularly deadheaded." When do we dead head?
   "They are grown up canes", we provide the support we know they need....
   I love the fragrance and the colours. This year, unusually for me, I have gone with black, white and white with a black fringe for the colours of my sweet peas. I only hope their fragrance is strong because I grow them for their fragrance as much as their looks.
   "The plant led' part of my plan is for them to flourish in an environment that meets their needs....
   I feel a second blog post coming on....
   AK :-)
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   Claire BuistSeptember 2, 2015 at 7:50 PM
   Just saying.... I Love that even more - "...scramble up support and bloom!"
   
   I am really looking forward to that next post as I am really enjoying the possibilities that come from this metaphor!
   
   :)
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   Jo @ SchoolAugust 30, 2015 at 3:29 PM

   Great quote - we need to remember this every single day!

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      annekennAugust 30, 2015 at 9:08 PM

      Hi Jo,
      Thanks for the comment! Indeed we do need to remember this everyday. Just as each plant or flower needs it's own unique 'environment' to flourish, so do our learners. From the mix, to companion planting, to weeding, pruning, watering.... there are many great analogies here to explore.... As winter end, and spring begins, our learners, just like our flowers, move into a new season, with new possibilities, new sprouts and shoots, and colours...
      Thanks
      Anne K

Today as I was looking at my sweet peas, I saw that the environment wasn't what they needed.  They looked slightly windswept and flattened.  I used scraps of spouting guard to provide support for them to cling, extend and grow.  I giggled as I reflected on the lectures I sat through listening to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development.  

If we are thinking of my sweet peas as learners, the ZPD is the support I give them, the bridge to the structure to allow them to climb freely unaided.  

How do we do this for our learners?

How do we provide the support without doing it for them?

How do we encourage them to take risks, fail, learn from failures and continue to try?

Will the sweet peas cling to the support?

Will they withstand the wind and rain as they scramble up and bloom?

I just loved Claire's challenge - I guess my only question is - do your sweet peas (my favourite/ childhood blooms) have a desire/ need to grow around that arch... How much of your plan is plant led? ;)

What is the desire of the plant?  What is their goal, aim?  And am I supporting that?

I continue to think of 'fixing the environment'... My sweet peas are withstanding four seasons in a week at the moment.  What inner resilience do our learners need to withstand chaos, uncertainty and challenge?  What of the learners who do not have this inner resilience?

1. 
   

"When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower."

WOW, what a powerful quote.... how often do we try to fix the flower?  How often do we expect the flower to grow, and change and thrive to meet our 'standards'?  How often do we neglect to 'fix the environment'?

What does this mean for me in my inquiry?

I must focus on the growth and needs of my individual flowers...
I must fix the environment... 
I must make changes to meet the needs of all my individual flowers...

Changes around the push and pull factor are a constant challenge... a constant area of reflection for me.  

Am I being too nurturing, too protecting?  
Do I need to take the frost cloth off to allow hardening off?  
Do I need to allow the frost cloth on for longer to allow for greater protection from the elements.  
How do I allow the flowers to cross pollinate?
What is my role in pruning the dead wood?
What is my role in allowing the flower to reflect on it's beauty, and growth and purpose?

What a wonderful Saturday morning quote to really get me thinking...

Would love to hear your thoughts on 'fixing the environment, not the flower'....

The power of feedback and feedforward...

As I journey, I am increasingly aware of the need to capture some feedback for my own inquiry.

As a team of facilitators we support each other, challenge each other, and are able to give specific feedback and feedforward to support our journeys.I live a mantra of: “if you learn, teach; if you get, give!” This has always shaped my way of being and I am happiest when I am learning, sharing, interacting, supporting and socialising. Yes, it comes as no surprise that I love socialising. I am extremely positive and just today, facebook shared a post with me that is worth celebrating… “NEVER apologise for enthusiasm”. Often I am challenged on my overuse of the word MAGIC and my rose tinted glasses. Sometimes, just sometimes, this really dents me. It makes me sad that I should repress what I am feeling, should change my language and my sharing, for the sake of others…. So, gladly, I repost this quote. I am unashamedly, unabashedly optimistic, enthusiastic, positive and extremely hopeful.

The Optimism RevolutionIncreasingly I am aware of the basic human need of recognition, affirmation, acknowledgement. I have worked with teachers over the past couple of weeks that make my heart sing, they give the most incredible feeling of joy, and hope for our learners. They have profoundly good teaching pedagogy, and they are pushing boundaries to ensure that their learners have agency, autonomy, access to learning challenges to address their experiences and challenge them. My role as a facilitator is first and foremost to hold a mirror to this practice, to allow the educators to share their stories and see the MAGIC in their journeys. Most especially, my role is to allow educators the time to talk… just talk. Sharing their story and having a willing listener is a rare privilege in our busy world. As I listen I am privileged to ask, provoke, dig deeper and empower the educator to reflect aloud on their journey. As we increasingly move to recording progress and journey, through the MAGIC of Storyhui, we can capture rare and precious insights. How do we use these as evidence? How do we unpack our story? How do we make sense of the changes within our learners; our programmes; and MOST importantly within ourselves? I see spirals of inquiry as the KEY. Inquiring, reflecting, gathering evidence, holding the mirror to our journey, our story. 

At times I work with educators who are challenged with circumstances beyond my belief, be it: temporary learning spaces, uncertain futures, facing mergers, unreliable or limited technology… Our Learning with Digital Technologies contract is rich with hope, opportunities and possibilities. Increasingly clustering for PLD is our reality. Opportunities for sharing, networking, collaborating and travelling a path together are plentiful. For years I have felt I am channeling Derek Wenmoth when I begin to talk of Ubiquity, Agency and Connectedness. Increasingly I see these as our mainstay in transformative practice. If our learning environments allow for ubiquitous access to our learning journey, anytime, anywhere, by our learners and community we have the potential to be transformative. If we have agency in our programmes, genuine agency, choice, based on our learners current reality, passions and needs, we have the potential to be transformative. If we have a learning environment that allows for connection with an authentic audience, colleagues, whanau, local and global communities, we have the potential to be transformative. Throw in a HUGE dollop of growth mindset and a whole lot of fun and MAGIC is possible. I guess it is unspoken that learner feedback and feedforward is a crucial component in any transformative environment. 

The feedback and feedforward I have received over the past week has shaped me and challenged me to go further… way further than I would without the power of someone holding a mirror to my practice. 

I acknowledge and celebrate all who take the time to give feedback. When you are up, feedback takes you higher, when you are struggling, feedback can help you find your wings, when you are down, feedback may well be the difference between you getting up or sinking. What is it that holds you back from giving feedback?  What is it that helps you give feedback?What is it that holds you back from giving feedback? 

What is it that helps you give feedback?

I know how wonderful I feel when I receive unexpected and surprising feedback. 

I know how wonderful I feel when I ask for feedback and critiquing of my facilitation.I know how wonderful I feel when I give feedback...                     





Imagine the difference we can make....

Kei te pēhea koe?

VPLD hui 2015 - Our Stories - with a focus on Collaboration and Connection, MLE/MLP, Student Agency

Our Stories - with a focus on Collaboration and Connection, MLE/MLP, Student Agency

Oh the MAGIC of reconnecting with friends and meeting new friends.  Here we are in amongst the first session of the first day.  So many people to connect with, so many stories to hear!

The buzz of reconnecting was palpable.  MAGIC indeed!

After a welcome by the team we had the opportunity to go and meet someone new and share a personal connection!

Whatʻs our VPLD whakapapa?
We were gifted a kete of kupu, and the opportunity was for us to see opportunities to organise the kupu. We had many reo kupu that we had to using an online dictionary to translate, then we used the dictionary to translate the other words into reo kupu. We saw the words as interwoven...



Opportunities for educators to connect and share online:
http://ifyoulearnedhere.weebly.com/ 

http://kidsedchatnz.blogspot.co.nz/ 

http://padlet.com/heathereccles/VPLD

Starting with the WHY of connecting and collaborating... 


Getting connected in our VPLD journey!

Questions to start or continue the journey:
What are you already doing to connect and collaborate with your students?
What are your next steps?
What are your student's next steps?
What support do you need?
What questions do you have?

Student Agency - Itʻs not about me:

My Story with Charlotte French: Secondary school example from experience with NCEA student agency at St Orans College

Involving the learners, structure allowing to share their voice, agency, understanding.

Making thinking visible

Is the power in us taking our hands off?
Wow - powerful learning from Charlotte French - Link presentation

Ignite with TH Biddle: ePortfolios with Māori students at Maeroa Intermediate

Wow - just wow - what an incredilby powerful journey

Inspire with Kyra Leatuafi and Nicola Stevenson. Why, how and what we do to develop learner orientation/student agency at our primary schools.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EoyJgQuNgizRPmq6gXyRxfmU7i9azCLzHI08bk3gONs/edit#slide=id.g6ec7174f4_02
Moving from a journey of one teacher, to three teachers in a space, to involving the learners and having 80 learners in the space. WOW - powerful journey
Actively involving the learners in writing weekly goals and reflecting on these goals.
Allowing the learners to drive their learning journey, aligned with interest and passions..
Choice of sharing the learning...
Involve the learners in the UDL principles - children reflect on how they are going...
Involving the learners in active opportunities for learning...
What's in your backyard?

http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/

Agency - how?
Let go - of control;
Embrace the messiness; 
Grow together;
Side by side journey;
Explicit open dialogue;
Validating the journey;
Modelling growth mindset;
Changing OUR practice;
Reflect on our teaching and learning;
Developing relational trust;
Out of chaos comes something quite MAGICAL;
Freedom to explore;
Pushing through the pain barriers;
Must be planned for and explicitly taught, and embraced;

What evidence are we basing this on - how can we capture evidence?
How do we harness the power of the student voice?
How do we empower our learners to demand agency?

World CAFE - the power of listening - going deeper into the learning... provocations, challenges, unpacking the journey around the question.... What will school be like in 2020?

Spirals of Inquiry - Transforming Learning in Schools: Extending the Network

Where to now with Spirals of Inquiry?

WOW – what powerful sessions with Judy Halbert and Lynda Kaser.  I have so many next steps and I am incredible aware of the need to make it manageable.

Read the book:

My first step is to read the book. I am hopeful that we will have online contact details of our group by then and we can start some discussion groups…

I also need to continue to work my way through the Joan Dalton ‘Learning Talk’ books as they continue to inform and shape my facilitation.

Carol Dweck PD:

I really need to upskill on the work of Carol Dweck.  Step one – reading through Nina’s fabulous notes from her session in Christchurch recently was a great start.

Joining http://www.mindsetworks.com/default.aspx and reading up and watching videos here is another step.

Viewing http://www.jamesnottingham.co.uk/media/videos James interviewing Carol Dweck is another step.

I would also like to read her book and be part of a bookclub discussion.

Deliberate acts of facilitation:

Taking the deliberate acts of facilitation into my sessions with Principals and e-leaders is a must.  We have had modeled for us supremely well, deliberate acts of facilitation.  As a team we have reflected on them and now work to make them a routine part of our practice.

Teaching as Inquiry sessions:

We all have Teaching as Inquiry sessions coming up in our facilitation roles.  How can we best take our new learning into these sessions? I am incredibly keen to collaborate with others as we create a resource to support us all in this area.  The power of the collaborative inquiry is increasingly challenging me as I am beginning to see it as the ‘best’ if not the ‘only’ way to school transformation.  The four questions are all powerful.  Supporting principals and e-leaders to embrace a schoolwide quest to identify possible inquiries might be a next step.

Sharing readings with a cluster group and empowering them to run their own unpacking of the inquiry phases might be another way of working.

Reflection:

Continual reflection on my new learning is essential.  As I enter into more PD I am increasingly aware of the need to encapsulate all my learning in not only my own personal inquiry, but shaping it in a way to support our principals and e-leaders.

Exciting times indeed….