Changing Spaces & Developing Learner Agency

Last week my school, Stonefields School, had the pleasure of hosting the first Changing Spaces conference in partnership with CORE Education. The day was a great success with nearly 300 delegates attending. 

It was an honour to participate in the event and alongside Kirsty Panapa (Associate Principal) and Amy Shields (Year 7/8 Teacher),  I presented on the topic of Student Agency.

Below you'll see our presentation where we first define student agency, then consider how different factors can affect it. Half way through the workshop, we broke off into three mini workshops where we each followed our strengths. You'll find my section on the digital space on slides 45 - 49. 

We discussed learning design and benefits of digital space before having some 'sandpit' time to explore free online digital learning tools. After this we followed the delegates interests where I was able to share my expertise in setting up and managing a class of individual blogs, and data management strategies. 

Overall it was a fantastic experience, we had a full house with over 80 delegates attending our workshop. 

#changingspaces @StonefieldsSch Dream Team! Learned so much about student agency through collaboration with these 2 pic.twitter.com/jqBZoTmWxm

— Amy Shields (@AShields27) April 29, 2016

Full house in hub 8 for #changingspaces talking #studentagency 80pax and great dialogue pic.twitter.com/0G7vijUJMN

— Stephanie Parker (@Sparketter) April 28, 2016

Taking Risks in Learning and Innovation

Risk taking is an orientation that we want our students to learn, in being creative, innovative and trying new things to expand themselves. This is one of the many things which I know as true for my learners and find that as their teacher, need to take my own advice and model such behaviour. 

In my teaching practice and in my role as an ongoing learner in post graduate education I need to develop the confidence to take risks. I could play it safe, follow the rest of the pack, and in some circumstances that is the best thing to do, it's safe. However, I don't want to be an ordinary teacher. I want to be an amazing teacher. I want to accelerate my students and I want to further myself in my own education. 

In our 740 Accelerated Learning lecture today we talked about innovation vs efficiency and being a routine expert or an adaptive expert.  An adaptive expert needs to takes risks and and tolerate ambiguity, not knowing whether something will be a success or failure. If we know that something will be successful then it's been tried and tested and not going to lead to innovation. To innovate we need to be resilient in the face of failure, learn through struggles, adapt, eventually, hopefully realising success through innovation. 


This is the own learning I need to take into consideration at the moment. Undertaking a research proposal in attempt to accelerate my learners, I am wading through a wealth of ambiguity. I have no idea if my tentative question will in fact accelerate their learning or if I can even successfully implement it in my class at this stage. How can instructional rubrics be co-created in writing to develop self-regulated learning? I am experimenting with this, with my learners at the moment and working through some of the logistics, some interactions being more successful than others. 

I wonder, how can I more explicitly model my own personal risk taking and innovation attempts that I am taking in my learning and teaching, so that my learners can themselves develop the courage and aspiration to become innovative risk takers in their learning? 




This reflection and ongoing research relates to NZ Teacher's Council Registered Teacher Criteria
12. use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice. 
        i. systematically and critically engage with evidence and professional literature to reflect on and refine practice

Learning to Animate

This is an animation that I made in Google Presentation. As the students in my class know I am mildly obsessed with Pukeko's - hence choosing them for my character in this animation is not surprising. 

All up it is made of 79 slides. 
I used Keynote's 'instant alpha' to remove the white background from the pukeko image, then copy it into the slide show. 
I copied and shrunk/enlarged/cropped the pukeko to make the different characters, and each slide was made by copying the last, then adjusting the movements of each character, before copying it again for the next slide. 
Finally I published the presentation to web, then changed the html to adjust the time between slides to 200 down from 1000 or 3000. 
I must admit, I enjoyed making this a lot more than I expected. 

Promoting discourse for future focused learning

In order for students to take charge of their own learning they need to be able to discuss it. To talk about what they are learning with their peers, teachers, whanau and wider community. 
I attended two conferences last week, the BYOD conference at Hobsonville Point Secondary School and the Maths Symposium at Manurewa Intermediate School. Both days I found myself reflecting on student voice and how without, learning is hypothetical concept. To actualize and cement learning, students need to be able to discuss and vocalize what they are learning about. This was a common theme over both days, even though both had very different foci. 

Today I was also privileged to join my peers and colleagues at our Graduation. The guest speaker Mr Andrew Patterson, spoke of how learning needs to revolutionize, how the old education system no longer fulfilled future needs. Be a disruptor, be innovative. He referenced several learning initiatives and 'disruptors' including Pat Sneddon and the Manaiakalani Trust. This made me elated, to know that I am on the future path of innovative 'disruptors', that by doing what has never been done before within the Maniakalani Digital Teaching Academy [MDTA] I may be able to help lead learning in the future. 

Heading back to school tomorrow to teach and learn with my class of 29 year 7 and 8 students I am recharged, inspired and eager to help them be the best that they can be.