In yesterdays post “Student Voice – From Back in the Day“, I promised I would post about student focus groups today and how they are a vehicle to not only check on a students engagement, but also a barometer of how things are going in classrooms in terms of a students learning, and of teaching…
Author: Principally Mused
Day 23: Student Voice – From Back in the Day #28daysofwriting
How do you collect student voice? I am fascinated by student voice and student agency, I always have been. Back in the ‘day’, my classroom was all about co constructing learning and behaviour, with the students. Very little happened without student input, design and consensus. At the time it didn’t have the modern label of…
Day 22: The Buzz of Learning #28daysofwriting
Something strange on the playground….I wonder… At our place, we are working on strengthening our collaborative opportunities and providing our students with learning experiences that ignite their sense of wonder, curiosity and inquiry. So today, to kick off our whole school inquiry, something strange happened. Watching the Video of the ‘incident’ in the hall…
Day 21: Isn’t Teaching a Full Time Job? #28daysofwriting
Sometimes I read things that make me mad. Not a little cross or partial fuming, but eye narrowing, brow furrowing and blood boiling mad! What would make me mad you ask (no, it is NOT a trick question those of you who know me well)?…
Day 20: Finding Inspiration #28daysofwriting
A friend posted this on her FB wall and I had to ‘borrow’. It is ironic really, because I had just been sitting here, on a Saturday night, pondering tonights #28daysofwriting and my inspiration cup was sitting low. Don’t get me wrong, ideas and random snippets of prose flow in and out of my mind…
Day 19: Reinvigorating a Mojo Meltdown #28daysofwriting
Ever had a mojo meltdown? By mojo meltdown I refer to those times in your career when you feel like you have lost your passion, that the bounce in your step is more of a dull thudding drag, and the enthusiasm for jumping out of bed each morning has become something akin to a sloth…
Day 18: A Mighty Totora Has Fallen #28daysofwriting
Photo: 3news.co.nz “Kua hinga te Totara i te wao nui a Tane The Totora has fallen in the forest of Tane” The above Maori Whakatauki (proverb) epitomises the perfect metaphor to express the deepest sadness in my heart on hearing of the passing of Celia Lashlie. A Totara is a large tree that lives…
Day 17: Speed Dating for Beginning Teachers #28dayofwriting
I‘ve not long returned from a speed dating for student and beginning teachers workshop called ‘advice at first sit’. Run by our local teachers union, it was designed to assist those teachers new to the job market with some advice on their CV, Cover Letter and the job interview. I had been asked to be…
Day 16: So Now What? #28daysofwriting
Part Four: This is the last in a series of posts on poverty. In part one we looked at the differences between generational and situational poverty, and made the connection that at any given time, any one of us could end up in the position of situational poverty. Then, in part two we looked at…
Day 15: Negotiating the Hidden Rules of Poverty #28daysofwriting
Part Three: Todays post is a continuation of the two prior – the first was about talking about Generational versus Situational poverty, yesterdays was about the resources you need for success, and today is about the hidden rules that define our lives. Hidden rules are the unspoken habits of a group and refer to when you…