rarely do we have a chance to be in each other's space and classrooms
There are universal teaching and learning conundrums which we all struggle with What's the right amount of scaffolding to support or inhibit learning Building a culture of thinking for our students and ourselves A culture is a group of people enacting a story. What is the story of any classroom? Certain things we value and traditionalist, give visibility to, what's the culture of the school What is getting learned in here What is getting learned about learning in here Culture is what is created from the messages that are received about how people are expected to behave Culture is a message conveyer How does a culture get shaped and shared? How we act, what we bring visibility, what we talk about shapes culture. What is the story of learning when I went to school? Memorisation Study Skill repetition Saxophone and ensemble - developed critical thinking and analysis beyond the physical skill Dedicated activity which required hours of time to 'perfect' Where did the message come from? These things have traditionally shaped culture Tests, questions asked, how you were graded, Interactions with teacher, each other - hierarchy What was modelled Assignments you were given Routines and structures How mistakes were handled How did you handle that first mistake from your students this year - that was a HUGE message communicator to the kids and your class's culture How do we become aware of the messages, however subtle, we are sending? What is in my realm of influence? There are a lot of messages we convey that we control that are not the realm of the curriculum or BOSTES How do we look at the learning in our classroom and pay attention to the learning that will serve here and now as well as the long term What is the story of learning we are communicating? What is our sense of duty to the tests students face in their 20s, 30s etc. tests will look different but tests will come. We can't lose sight of the long term. Parents are paying a lot of money shor a short term outcome Need to think short and long term - need to serve the learning now and later What do we wish the students we teach to be like when they are adults? Dispositions - who we want them to become on the inside as interactive participants in this world; the residuals of education - after the name and dates and assessments come and go, what's left over? How do we pay attention to these residuals? Create classrooms that support development of residuals How do we help schools get there? What does a classroom need to look like? Enculturation - Ron Ritchard - what gets lived in the day to day culture fosters the dispositions Vigotsky - children grow into the intellectual life around them What is the intellectual life of this school Cultures of thinking Are places in which a group's collective as as individual, thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the regular, day to day experience of all group members Culture of thinking moves the organisation forward PD days give teachers a chance to make their thinking visible Cultural forces Routines and structures - what do we want kids to be able to do no matter what the subject? Opportunities Time Modelling - when to step in or our, making choices Interactions and relationships Environment Language - questions and provocations Expectations If someone stepped into your classroom - what would they see or perceive as of value in your classroom's culture Cross curricular peer review