Questions+to+think+about!

=﻿Write down your thoughts under each question in a colour of your choice. Please put your name after your comment. = = = =1) What will Personalised Learning look like @ St. Peter's? = =** First we need to have a common understanding to what we (St Peter's) mean by personalised learning. As I have already mentioned, many staff see personlaised learning as IEP's. **=
 * Professor Andy Hargreaves explored 'nine gateways to effective personalised learning. These nine gateways were student voice; assessment for learning; learning to learn; new technologies; curriculum; advice and guidance; mentoring and coaching; workforce development; and school design and organization. The concepts of deep learning, deep experience, deep support and deep leadership are vital components of personalised learning. How then do these gateways and concepts fit in with our vision? **

**These 9 gateways are a great reference point (and there are so many others) so before we can work out how they will fit in with our vision - we need firstly form a new vision and then have some agreement as to what our reference points will be. Secondly whatever it is unless we have a clear understanding of what each term means and how they will look in our context, they will be just words. What concepts do staff have at present as to what 'deep learning' or 'deep experience' means, looks like, sounds like. (I think Guy Claxton was spot on with what he said about the words we use - do we have collective understanding of them?). Linda**


 * I believe that personalised learning at St. Peter's needs to enhance the student's social skills and sense of responsibility toward others. We need to develop our students thinking skills and come up with our own St Peter's Dispositions. **


 * In terms of what the students want to know... we need to be true to this as we have begun the journey of asking our students and I believe as teachers we have shaped the learning to suit our needs. **


 * HOW I SEE PERSONALISED LEARNING...... **
 * Personalised learning will look like, sound like and feel like: **
 * graphic organisers, language of dispositions, a higher level of thinking is evident, design and creativity, ICT as a tool that assists students in their learning journey, students being able to articulate the process of their learning not the outcome, constructivism - students constructing their own meaning, learning that is real and is meaningful, partnerships with the school, local and global community, students who are able to make sense of the world, are engaged and motivated to learn, teachers as facilitators / students negotiating, self / peer assessment, reflections, goal setting, taking action, do something to make a difference in our world, working independently or in small groups as part of a team, **
 * Krys **

**Can I add - Staff being clear on our collective moral purpose - enhancing/improving students' lives. Staff nurturing learning dispositions - 'desire to learn'. Staff** **sharing in a vision of St Peter's being a 'thinking school' - learning to think & thinking to learn, thinking together (student inner dialogue to become outer dialogue, and thereby contributing to the knowledge of the group), thinking about big picture ideas, teachers as coach - helping students to get better at their thinking. Students as** ** co- creators of knowledge, to express their views and opinions and being stimulated by such a curriculum approach. Using strategies that build the skills of productive collaboration. Students being able to spot the problem, being motivated to want to engage with the problem; have ability to select and use the most appropriate tools to solve the problem. ****Student feedback to teachers and to leaders, preparing our students for the test of life. Linda**

**Three leadership fundamentals (at the basic level) that I raised at that staff meeting in term 3: 1) moral purpose, agency (making a difference) and context. We need to be able to share in an agreed vision, pursue priorities and directions with one another within our own learning journey.** **Linda**

= We need to work out what we want the students at St Peter's to achieve and then build pedagogy around this so we are true to our context, our story, our journey. We have already got this documented from our staff activity earlier this year (what we want students to know, be, do etc). Maybe we could begin with this as a starting point in answering this question because we have everyones input here and a great opportunity to use something that already exists. Linda = = Learning for ALL has to be at the epicentre of our endeavours. A question for all of us is how will the culture of our school nurture the learning for everyone? Linda =

what will our culture look like, sound like, feel like? What will we expect from teachers?, from students? MvdW I agree that we need a 'model ' to work form. This will enable consistency and common understandings of our moral purpose, context and agency. This I think is what we need to document as a reference point for us all. Marie

= 2) What PD will teachers be involved in? =

===I think we need to be a part of a project in the Northern region where we are equipping our teachers with the skills to enable them to personalise the learning for our students such as the E-Learning projects. Research has found that schools involved in E-Learning are seen as having the potential to revolutionise teaching and learning! Food for thought! I also believe that Jeni WIlson will guide us/give us some insight on our own journey. Our PD needs to be strategic - it also needs to be based on individual needs e.g. ICT. If we are to be truly distributive in our leadership we need to 'tap' into the skill sand talents that staff have to offer. === Krys = Definitely school visits followed by a debriefing. From the reflections, this has been our greatest learning so far and has made an impact on staff to try new things. As for other PD we do have to make sure that all teachers get the benefit - so we will need to be strategic and always ask will this help us to further develop our approach? We will have to factor in 'sharing time' after teachers return and not just focus on what I learnt and what I might try but for staff to also articulate how this information will help our collective approach. Linda =

I think we need to have a plan for PD so that it fits with the direction we want to go. Teachers need to be able to tap into PD that suits their needs. Professional Learning can also be done through coaching and modeling. Mostly I think we need to find out what staff feel their needs are. MvdW = = = 3) What tool will be used to document student assessment? = = Assessment needs to be the starting point and data needs to be placed at the centre so it can act as a lever to take this next step. Engaging in data-based decision-making will help planning teams to make sense of the learning environment, maximise learning opportunities and create meaningful actions. It is in essence - accountability. While we currently consider data in planning, could we be ustilising this information better? It could help us to make the change in practice and build a culture of inquiry, so we are ALL learning. Is there a habit/s of the mind that teachers could use to flex their own thinking muscles and develop skills to assist them in using data wisely and effectively? How good would that be for staff to use the habits to increase their learning power as well as helping the children to develop them. Maybe this can be something we stand for? Linda = = = I agree we need to make better use of data and learn what the data is telling us. Perhaps Philip Holmes- Smith could help us with interpretation and also some documentation. We need to have common and consistent understandings. mvdW


 * Asking Philip Holmes Smith would be an excellent starting point. We have already looked into his availability but he is all booked out with only a few days at the end of term 4 left. Staff need to hear him speak when they are fresh so I think it is better to opt for a time very early in 2012. Linda **

**We need to explore several assessment tools such as on demand testing, google docs.** **Teachers dispositions regarding assessment also need to be explored - it will have an impact on their daily work program. Therefore the tool we decide on as a school to document student assessment needs a lot of consideration.** **Data needs to drive our teaching and we do use data in Literacy and Numeracy. I have been in touch with Philip Holmes-Smith as Stella has mentioned, he is very happy to work with us next year but we will have to book very soon. However, Marie and I can analyse the NAPLAN data for this year. But what about other areas of learning especially if we believe that we are developing the whole child.** **Krys** I hope that Maria is good at data analysis ! I have spoken with a colleague who uses googledocs and discovered how it works for that school. The leaders put together the google doc and the teachers simply fill them in. This sounds good but extremely time-consuming to set up in the first place. Much of the literacy in that school is based around VELS but it looked relatively easy for teachers to complete. Marie = 4) How will we get into classrooms? = = This must be factored into our approach and has to be non-negotiable. To not do so and ask the staff to make this change without our support in my opinion would not be wise. The question is not 'how' but 'when'? Each person can not be stretched to offer each level support. Offering this support on a needs basis is fine if we were a couple of years down the track. However as a starting point, if we take a level in the first instance and try to be as dependable as possible and negiotate with the level what form this support will take it may help to build confidence in managing the new approach. As the review pointed out this is clearly a need. Linda = = = I agree we have to be in classrooms to maximize learning. We need to be careful that we Are not seen simply as " another pair of hands" but rather as a member of the team. My concern with each of us taking a level is how do we then maximize the expertise of our leadership team? We each have strengths in different areas. I think we need to be clear about our role in the classroom and we need to communicate that role well and consistently. We also need to determine how long each of us swill stay with a level and negotiable that will be. MvdW

**Absolutely yes - we as leaders do need to be seen as a members of the teams. I agree Marie, we all have strengths in certain areas but ultimalely if we are not very capable teachers in our right then what business have we in being on the leadership team? I just mention working in a level as a starting point (one term first, so we can be there for teams and they know they have support especially for the ones who haven't ventured very far yet and we do have a few, and then evaluate) otherwise if leaders are going to be available across the P - 6 spectrum I can see it turning into something too difficult to manage with our own administration competing for time. We need to start small and build. I like the idea of being available on a needs basis but I'm not completely sold on it as a way to start off. Good questions Marie! What do the rest of you think? Linda**

**Personally, I would not like to be confined to a level. As a leader at St. Peter's I want to have opportunities to get to know all of the students and have some idea of where all of our students are in terms of their learning. I like this flexibility. This helps especially when parents have a concern about their child. I can then observe the child in the classroom. If I am confined to a level this will not work for me. Roving in classrooms is a great way to start. This will help us to see what is happening, ask students questions, to gain the trust of the students and staff etc. Coaching/mentoring is another way to go. Time in the classroom needs to be planned well and not be in conflict of network PD days etc., especially for Linda and I, as we have so many other commitments in ensuring that we are ultimately leading the school in the right direction. It is about us finding what is out in the global world that will make a difference in the learning outcomes of all our students, bringing it to the rest of the leadership team and distributing the leadership. We need to find out from the staff what they want from us as we are not in the classrooms to give the teachers a 'break'. I think this is a common misconception.** **Krys** I too would not like to be confined to one area but it may be the best way to begin for 2011. I need to think a bit more about this one as it's not straight forward. Marie = 5) How will all this be relayed to the parents? = ===**﻿Through parent information sessions, (would this be compulsory?), Circle Conversation times, a special newsletter once a term highlighting different aspects of PL **=== ===**At the beginning of each year we could have a parent information session for each level to discuss PL, expectations etc. Krys **=== =All good ideas Krys! Yes we do need to make one compulsory so all parents understand our new direction which will be related to our school improvement plan. We have to keep in mind that many of our parents believe in the traditional approach to learning. Asking parents to attend a curriculum briefing at the beginning of the year would be ideal (turning the Term 1 Learning Conference into an level curriculum briefing with maybe the children in attendance, presenting an aspect - if possible). All parents are then welcome to make an appointment with the teacher throughout the term, regarding their child's learning needs. Food for thought! Linda =

I think we need to do all of these things and we need to keep repeating the message consistently. We also need to provide readings for parents so that they have research to refer o. MvdW = 6) Will the current planning structure need to change? If not, how will we maintain the same structure if we are to go into classrooms? =

I would envisage going into classrooms on the mornings that I am not in planning. I think we need to discuss how we can keep our expertise across the school in a planning focus. Do we share planning? How do we do Inquiry planning to include other areas of the curriculum? MvdW

**Yes I do think that current planning structures will need to be tweaked. Linda**

==== Not initially... I think as leaders we will need to meet more regularly to ensure that we are moving in the right direction. It is about us knowing what we are planning with each level and having the professional dialougue of how we can include other curriculum areas particularly when planning Inquiry. I do think planning the Inquiry units will need to undergo many changes if we are to personalise the learning for our students. ====

I see the overviews changing dramatically, they will become more of an outline of the skills/concepts that need to be taught according to the data and needs of the students.
====** The current overviews should already be an outline of skills and concepts according to the 'needs of students' - I use that expression here loosely as I'm sure sometimes it is a hunch of what teachers think students needs without real consideration of the data. However I will venture into planning this term and see for myself. I might be pleasantly surprised! Linda **====

==== For me, I am already in the class on Monday afternoons not as the mathematics leader but as a teacher. I know that the Level 3 teachers respect this and the students like seeing me working along side of them. I also make it an effort to visit every class in the mathematics session every week. I know we are talking about being in the classrooms in a different capacity but it can work if we are in planning. ====

Krys
I agree that overviews need to be tweaked. I've been looking at Literacy overview with that in mind. I agree that the Inquiry units need to develop. I also agree that we need to plan other curriculum areas into Inquiry units more effectively. Perhaps co-planning might work with literacy and inquiry. Marie = 7) What are the stages of implementation? = We need a clear plan so that everyone can see where we are going and where we are at.it needs to be regularly reviewed to keep us all on track. MvdW
 * This is great Krys that you get into classroooms. Please share when we are together on Thursday, how this fits into your day to day routine. How long are you in for? What part of the numeracy sessions do you see? Are you engaging with the children about purpose/skill etc? Do you give teachers feedback? Linda **

**How we use our planning proformas and the emphasis we place on them needs to be given consideration. We need to adjust this especially if we are to start with assessment first because our refined approach won't work if we keep them as is. Here is one suggestion for you to consider. The curriculum letters appear to be a task item, a one-off at the start of every term. Are they looked at again after they have gone home?? Why don't we write these as learning goals (linked to VELS) that the children will strive for over the term and then ask students to select learning goal/s they will work on and monitor. This could be a very simple way of personalising the learning for the children. And teach them self-management, self-reflection and not too mention a sense of having a say (with support) in what they will focus on. This has got to beat the idea of setting goals such an improving handwriting which is a very low level goal. These goals can be reflected on during the individual conferences (if we go ahead with conferences) with the teacher acting as a coach for the children. Linda**

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I think as a staff we need to be clear about our vision and what stages we are implementing and why. I can see staff meetings having an element of professional dialogue around PL regularly. There are a number of stages we need to look at: rewrite the school vision and mission, unpack the declaration goals, develop and create our own thinking muscles / dispositions, (not necessarily in that order) We also need to develop interactive workshops for staff on thinking, graphic organisers, etc ===== Daily work programs will change immensly and cannot be done a week in advance - PLT's could become a forum whereby daily planners can be viewed and discussed especially if we are teaching to the needs of our students.(?)

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<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I also believe that the curriculum newsletters are very important for the VRQA and I believe that they are still relevant for our parent community... ===== I Love the idea of learning intentions/statements becoming goals. I have done this in the past and it has been very effective. We used goal setting to begin our personalized learning journey. We worked with Jenni Wilson on goal setting strategies and also on using assessment strategies with children. Marie

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Krys
= <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8) How will the structure work considering we still have mostly traditional classrooms? = = Regardless of what the learning space is, my hope is that we will all take on this approach and all be committed to the non-negotiables. Linda =

The learning spaces are a bonus to personalized learning NOT a requirement. There is much that can be done in any space. It's about a mindset first and strategies second, spaces later. MvdW

I totally agree with Marie it is NOT about the spaces. We can do so much in 'traditional' classrooms, it us up to the students and teachers to utilise the environment that we are in, that will help us to maximise the learning. It is about us as educators letting go and allowing the students to direct the learning. It is about us providing the tools needed, giving students the flexibility to become independent in their learning. We have many great learning areas around the 'campus' / school that we do not utilise. I have done this in a 'traditional classroom structure' successfully. Yes it is about mindset and strategies. Krys = <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9) What areas will we tackle (literacy, numeracy, inquiry, etc...)? = = **Let's build on what we have started. Inquiry should be the foundation. I could see inquiry and literacy planning coupled as Marie has already suggested. Student Engagement is the theme for the next four years. We need to work out how we will tackle learning engagement of the mind. This means hands-on and minds-on. Planning needs to factor this in, now for me these two elements should be one of our non-negotiables and always factored into curriculum decisions. I really like the engagement continuum: chaos-> attending-> active-> inquiry-> flow. Based on this- if we could see every classroom on split screens what would we see - hands-on, minds-on?? and where would we place our classrooms based on this continuum? Linda** =

= **I think we need to continue on our 'inquiry' journey as we have started to make some inroads.This is where our students can be engaged in their own learning, can make connections to the world around them, become independent learners. If we get this right then the other curriculum areas will intertwine eg Literacy will be driven by what the students need to do in order to make their inquiry rich and relevant. We do have to be careful however that we are not putting a square in a round hole though, we can't make everything fit all of the time.** = Krys

I agree that we need to continue with Inquiry as that's probably the easiest way in to personalizing, however, we need to let go of our inquiry units more and let the students begin to have an impact. That way our Celebration of Learning times would be more diverse and the students would be more articulate about their learning. Marie

= <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">10) What are the non-negotiables? = = Whatever they will be, we need to get all staff to input here, otherwise there will be no ownership and the non-negotiables will be forced instead of embraced. Linda =

I agree that the non- negotiables need to be part of a staff discussion to ensure ownership and participation. We need to start small and ensure small successes which will build on each other. MvdW

Before we get to the non-negotiables we need to develop an understanding of what we mean by personalised learning and share a common language around this 'title'. Then as a staff we can explore what the non-negotibales will be. As Marie and Linda have indicated - ownership is very powerful. Staff will want to be a part of this journey. I think if our non-negotibales are based around assessment and using the data to plan would be a good place to start as teachers are concerned with accountability... and rightly so. In terms of numeracy the non-negotiables will be the concepts that need to be explicitly taught (VELS/ AUSt Curriculum) Krys

Good point Krys. If we as leadership can document in some way what we're on about then as a staff we can unpack it to develop ownership and in the process of that I think the non- negotiables will come. Marie

= <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">11) Will we involve ourselves in an Action Research Project? = <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Depends on what we are wanting... I am happy to ring Jose Blackley who is known as a guru on Action research to find out more. Krys

I think we need a common understanding of what action research is. It can be as small or as large as we make it. Personally, I have had great success with small action research as long as the pre and post testing for that action is simple, contained and done. Teachers are more likely to try things when they can clearly see their successes however small. MvdW

** ﻿Action research has many pluses - teacher engagement and commitment will be the keys as to whether an approach like this will work? Linda **

I've done action research to develop goal setting with students. I did that one with Jose Blakely. Marie

= <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">12) Any other questions? = =<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 90%;">Has this really been a worthwhile exercise? Just wondering - Linda =

I think this has been a good opportunity to think a bit further prompted by other's thoughts.

Personally I have found the WIKIs to be good ... as I get ideas or thoughts about PL I have been able to share them straight away. This also gives me an opportunity to reflect on what others have had to say. Krys