Crawl before you can walk

 It appears to me that there seems to be a prevailing thought from our Beginning Teachers that they are stepping into the profession on an equal footing with their experienced counterparts.

I can't help but wonder if this also coincides with their counterparts letting them find their feet and not setting a scene where the expectation is that they should be seeking and receiving support.

Why are we letting them fall, before helping them up? We have learned that this practice does not work for our ākonga, yet we still place our colleagues in this position.

What damage will this create?

There are two categories:

1. The sponge... They are eager to learn. To soak up everything and everything that they can, in order to be the very best that they can be and learn from as many as possible.

2. The stone. They try to convey experience and capability, without showing any sign of vulnerability. They forge ahead with the knowledge they know, without contemplating the changes and adaptations their counterparts may have made, from learned experience.

What I've observed in the past few years is that there is a backwards slide due to several factors. Beginning teachers don't seem to be equipped with collaborative teaching pedagogy. They default to what is happening or modelled in the kura. Sometimes this may not be the best practice.

There is a lack of peer support systems. Back in the semi-dark ages, when I was a Beginning Teacher, I attended Provisional Teacher Development Days. A room full of teachers from across the province, all teaching similar year levels, with a specific focus for each day that they could openly learn and share ideas. Teachers were able to share questions, barriers etc in a safe space, with feedback or ideas given from the group with the support of an experienced facilitator, should there be a need to put specific steps or strategies in place.

How can we support our newcomers to the Profession of Teaching to embrace the short period where they can utilise their "training wheels" and extra Classroom Release Time to build on their limited practice?

To be seeking or accepting support is not a weakness, but a strength.

Reigniting Collaboration

As we perch on the cusp of the 2025 school year, it's hard not to pose and ponder the questions that may lie ahead.

Reading Derrick Wenmoth's blog post 'Creating the future' brings a few wonderings to mind.

It is very clear that, like no other year before that I have taught in, the government is going to have a huge impact on what is occurring within the walls of the classrooms. Whether it is due to:

• the stipulations placed on the teaching time allocated to the core curriculum areas of Reading, Writing, and Math.
• the new curriculum implementation.
• Implications of increased CRT on classroom continuity.

So many changes in a short time span can only be disruptive. 

As always, there is the disparity between the declarative knowledge of what the expectations are, and the functional knowledge actually being implemented within classrooms and kura. It is only as strong as the collective understanding.

Already I am seeing differentiation around the expectations that are held from teachers, Leadership Teams, Kura... In a situation where there appeared to have been a very clear and consistent message delivered, the message on the ground does not appear to have been received or interpreted quite as clearly.

Up until the middle of term 4, my Across School Leader role covered the implementation of the new curriculum, so I like to think that I have an in-depth understanding of it, due to the countless hours I delved into every document published, and the many posts of other who were also seeking to gain an in-depth understanding. I have found it somewhat confusing, disconcerting and alarming that many in our profession have picked up unusual lens' with which they are viewing the changes.

Collaboration.

One of the best innovations that I have seen within education in the past 15+ years can be summed up by collaboration.

Teachers used to hold resources, lessons, ideas anything they had created for themselves, or found from another source... It would be kept close to their chests. On the rare occasion somebody ventured into their classroom and spotted a fantastic specimen, the praise would be welcomely received, however, it wold often not be readily shared. Teachers were in silos and expected they needed to reinvent the wheel day in and day out. 

It is one of the best changes in education, having teachers eagerly sharing ideas, resources, and creations not only among their inner circle but happily with strangers across the motu. Is this not the type of society we wish to create?

Students learning to effectively collaborate is one of the most important foundations of social skills that has come to fruition in that same time period. It's long been known how much of an impact classroom design has on effective teaching and learning. Once upon a time, hours were spent on seating plans and desk layouts. I for one was a child for which this shirt would be appropriate:

 

As I said, it's been many a year since I ditched the desk layout. I had a collaborative space, where there was a mix of group tables and individual/pair seating options for students to explore working at. I firmly believe that this encourages them to be accountable for their learning by choosing an area they can work well, as well as those individuals among their peers that they work well with. They are also required to be accountable for positive learning behaviours. After a year of observing a highly teacher-directed learning environment, it is these key aspects that were missing. These were the key aspects of learning behaviour that I saw slipping. 

One of the first things I find myself observing when visiting a new classroom space, is the ability for learners to collaborate in learning tasks.

In the 1980's, open-plan classrooms first appeared under various names. They had sliding doors that were quickly utilised by teachers who didn't want to adapt their practice to embrace the change. Post-earthquake Christchurch saw schools demolishing walls to retrofit classrooms in preparation for replacement buildings that were being built. We learned from the past... well "We" did in the kura I was in. It was identified that teachers understanding the pedagogy behind collaborative teaching, and the various models was of utmost importance. Teachers who learned this, and adapted practice, thrived... and I like to think that their learners did too.

Fast forward to now. Many of our spaces have had doors installed, where walls were once removed. 

Where is the encouragement for the early adapters? Why are the reluctant adapters often in positions of decision-making?

Reviving the blogs

 Over the last couple of years, the interest in our learner blogs has dwindled. In my opinion, this is down to teachers not placing importance and therefore time on it, as well as an assumption that learners "aren't up to it". Time is placed on the things that we value. We know that this year will be next level, with all of the curriculum changes; Teaching level changes; Device changes, therefore practice. I'm heading into the new school year with a mindset of how we can accelerate learning and practice.

We have students who slowly build, like the momentum of a train as it leaves the station, picking up the pace and quality of their posts. The end of the year has seen a number of students suddenly posting for the Summer Learning Journey, encouraged by the regular comments that they receive from the Manaiakalani team, as well as their peers.

So how do we keep the momentum going?

It has to come from both angles. Output and Input. The context for this year is that there are fewer students who are in the habit of posting on a blog. The seasoned ākonga will all be in one of the 4 classes. There are many students in the other three classes who have never had a blog before. We need to up the ante with them, while building good effective practice with the other learners.

Posting

Those students who are already in the routine of posting their learning to their blog need to be encouraged to allow this to not only continue but grow.

In order to facilitate this, there are a number of things being implemented at the beginning of the term. 

• Our Kawa of Care will be given to parents at the Discussions that precede the school year, with an emphasis on learners not being on devices until this is signed and returned. This sets clear expectations for Teachers, Learners and parents alike.
• Blogs have already been set up for all learners before the term begins so that there are no hold-ups or barriers. Each Teacher has their class attached to them, with an expectation that they will be managing and monitoring these.
• Cybersmart lessons are a must. These need to actually be being taught to enforce and reinforce the key messages. Over the holidays I have spotted that some learners had posted their Mihi to their blog. This tells me that the cybersmart message of Privte v Personal is not getting through, to both the learners and the teachers.
• For students new to blogging, they can be facilitated to start blogging with the Cybersmart lessons, then transferring the learning into posting from other learning areas. 

These are the foundations.

Commenting

Without the comments, what is the purpose? This is what builds the authenticity of the posts.

• Accessing Blogs from the Learning Site. Digital Learning Objects have been set up for each class, with links to each students blog. It's easy to read as well as use. 
• I am going to recreate something that has been successful in the past. Bloggers of the week. There will be a slide Deck with one student from each class identified on a slide. Students will read and comment on theose blogs throughout the week. Fish tickets can be utilised as a positive reinforcement for completing. This is easily set up in advance, and the front slide being the current week's focus. Alongside this slide deck will be the Effective Blog Comment Rubric, for easy reference.
• Backing up the Bloggers of the Week, I will personally make sure I am commenting on other students posts. I will set aside time to do this throughout the week. I will also encourage the other teachers to be doing this too, choosing a minimum number of students from their home class to comment on.
• To emphasise authenticity, I am going to utilise our School management database and subscribe with parent emails to their child's blog. Spoon feeding ensures it's done. All they need to do is click accept in an email. 
• I will send a message out to parents to encourage family/wider whanau to subscribe to the learner's blogs too.

What will success look like?

• By the end of term one, students will be posting a minimum of three blog posts each week.
• I will monitor the statistics and identify patterns. 
• Is the teacher needing support? 
• Is the learner needing more support to help their ability to post?
• By the end of term one, all students will have at least three comments on their blog. The next Step will be to encourage Replying to those comments.

Like anything, there needs to be aspirational expectations (How can we?) in order to progress forward, rather than the negativity that spawns from excuse-making (We can't because...").

Manaiakalani Wanaga Day 2

A beautiful start with a karakia sung by our nationwide facilitators.

Beginning the day with Impact Stories had us straight into the mindset of being inspired to create effective practice. Te Hiku shared their Film Festival, something we have thrown around the idea of doing within our own Kahui. We have contacts we could draw on, along with scriptwriting experience in our own school.

St Mary's Catholic School (Gisborne) spoke about how they have embedded the Manaiakalani kaupapa in their kura. Fidelity - Tikanga. They put all new teachers through the DFI to ensure that fidelity, utilising CRT to enable it to happen. They really hone in on the data, not just in terms of student achievement, but the observation data to look specifically at whether teachers are designing with a strong sense of purpose.

 highlighted the impact that the RPI has had on their teachers and learners within their kahui. Making literacy interesting and impactful. Bringing everything together. Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

Manaiakalani Updates

How are going to reinterpret this to our colleagues?

The Summer Learning Journey... There's a real need to plug it to whanau. Having students start the year two terms ahead cannot be ignored.

I love this graphic that shows explicitly how the new curriculum sits inside Learn Create Share. It's not different, It's how it's always sat.

Share is easily facilitated by stopping 5-10 minutes early and the learners picking an aspect to turn into a DLO to share their thinking and next steps quickly. Harnessing the power of technology to share their learning experiences. 

As teachers we need to be using the technology to support our kids ability to use it.

"Outside of our network, schools are marching backwards out of fear of progress."

The approaches we had at the turn of the century, and when computers first began... It is all the same. There was an uproar back when the pencil was created...

It's here. It's progress. We need to facilitate our learners to be confident and capable as they move into a potentially unknown world. It's just another strand of it!

Learning about AI already fits within our current Cybersmart Teaching Programme.

The biggest concern is that some people aren't thinking about the bigger picture of privacy and ethics for our akonga and whanau.

We have teachers who are capable of sharing on this.

Fancy spotting our new head honcho right here!

The Memorandum of Understanding that we all follow:

Tech Updates

We can utilise thissight to find out what is available to us from PB Tech via Manaiakalani.

We really need to convince our WHanau that this is a really great long term deal! 

The support for this will continue into 2030. This is the price that the Trust pays,not whanau pay.

Whanau need to know that they are not getting all the extra stuff.

This is the last bag run that the factory is ever going to make.

The last lot of 9th generation. 

A lease will be around $40.

We need to get onto this. It's free to New Zealand Schools but has Austrlian voice overs. YOu have to actually order this and start again (It's free... so a no brainer!) Kiwi accent coming mid year.

The grant is available to New Zealand schools only. If you have any questions please email us at: admin@pyefoundation.nz

Trying to get rid of all the extra things that plug into TV's. Testing TV's with it all internally built. They're testing glare, print viewablility etc...

No other company is providing Device Care anymore.

This is why we get the cover.

This is how we can educate other teachers and whanau. First thing we need to do is get the Kawa of Care out!

We've just had this done. We need to be really collaborative to ensure that anywhere there are issues we need to keep talking about negating any issues.

MyN4L has been in pilot. There is a toolkit coming up.

Contacts

Easier next year to start up. Haalelujah!

Impact Stories

Russell Dunn from Tamaki College spoke about secondary students at home in a digital world. Leverage Career Pathways and Partnerships. The VUCA (Vulnerable Unpredictible Complex A) world of NCEA. It's not just about the learning, it's about the whanau understanding where it heads and what else can happen in the wider community. 3D printing, laser cutting vinyl printing etc. These are things that we can do at our local Matitiki Centre. It's all about the cogs working together. Whanau, teachers, and teachers. 

The premise is to bring the experts in to work alongside the teachers to deliver learning experiences. Setting our students up for success beyond school.

Danielle Bence from the Horowhenua Cluster spoke about "Mahi Tahi". Working in partnership with local iwi to create a community of learners in which learning is engaging, empowering and success-making for their diverse population. Combined Meetings & Critical Literacy PD. Practice being shared and common practice across the schools. How can we perhaps harness this potential in our kahui?

Research and Development

Eric Dearing (2024) Accumulation of Opportunities Predicts the Educational Attainment and Adulthood Earnings of Children Born Into Low- Versus Higher-Income Households

https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241283456

We need to make sure that our learners are out the font, riding the wave. Our teachers need to be confident in ensuring they are capable and confident in doing this.

Ragnedda, M. (2020). Traditional Digital Inequalities: Digital Divide. In: Enhancing Digital Equity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49079-9_3

Maggie Farrar (2015) Learning Together: The power of cluster based school improvement https://ipsalliance.eq.edu.au/supportandresources/formsanddocuments/documents/seminar-series-249.pdf

These are collective accountability. We're accountable to our past and accountable for our futures. We all leas and be led, in our professional capacities.

David, C. (2000). Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. London: Taylor&Francis Books Ltd.

We require PCK (
Professional Content Knowledge). We need to be feeding into the next generatioon.

Adapted from: Sachs, J. (2015). Teacher professionalism: why are we still talking about it? Teachers and Teaching, 22(4), 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1082732

Democratic Professionals

Andy Hargreaves (2000) Four Ages of Professionalism and Professional Learning, Teachers and Teaching, 6:2, 151-182, DOI: 10.1080/713698714
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713698714

If we're not careful this can crumble and become deprofessional.

Hodge, S. (2024). Curriculum work and hermeneutics. The Curriculum Journal, 35, 6–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.214

https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/curj.214

Teachers are the place where the curriculum gets interpreted snd delivered. They are the place where the tide meets the shore. Our curriculum will only be as good as their interpretation of it.

Our teachers ability to be efficient AND adapatable.

Pantić, N. (2015). A model for study of teacher agency for social justice. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 759–778. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044332

Eunjae Park, Loraine McKay, Suzanne Carrington, Keely Harper-Hill (2024) Using hope theory to understand changes from professional learning in inclusive education https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/berj.4076

Leadership is not the easiest job in the world. How are we accounting and acknowledging all of the above?

Do the teachers know what the pathway is?

a)Sense of purpose

b)Competence

c)Autonomy

d)Reflect and adapt

And do you have systems for these things?

Is there fidelity to the place as well as the pathway?

Day 1 - Manaiakalani Wānanga 2024

 A sunny start to the 2024 Wānanga, with Pat Sneddon predicting the rain would start as we moved inside... He was startlingly correct.

The tamariki performing the opening was as spine-tingling as ever. It's SO impressive for those so young, this year from Panmure Bridge Kapa Haka!

We've been doing this for quite a few years now... and have grown dramatically.

Russell opened by reminding us that we are the navigators, of our kura, teachers for their classes. We can do stuff together, talking, hearing, and figuring it out, to navigate to a better place. Nobody stops us but us. 

Brilliant Basics: Calm, hopeful, joyful, gracious, tika, pono, aroha.

 Research and Development

Rebecca Jesson spoke about how large a group we represent now. These are the people we have accountabilities to, along with our teachers.

Mostly public education professionals, but also. research, PLD providers, and support partners that we are reliant upon. We are all trying our very best at whatever part that we are here to play. As leaders, we are here to coordinate "so that the places we touch become waters that join, not separate." Creating ways of working that are helpful, rather than unhelpful. There are some things we know that will not work and we know because we've been here a while now.

We used to do to create Equity... but does that still hold in these times of change?

We have been trying to improve progress and achievement at the same time. It links directly with what we've read from Russel Bishop.

We know what we need to do... but are we actually doing it yet? How do we effect change in order to get people (i.e. classroom teachers) to implement the research-based strategies that have been proven to have impactful change, rather than continuing to do what they have always done (but isn't working).

By tracking a cohort of students over many years we can see the long-term impact from the longitudinal data. We often think about what we need to change, but we need to be deliberate about what needs to stay the same.

It's about the structure in place. The effective teaching etc. What we are Cybersmart teaching is very different to ten years ago.

A new era of change...

We choose how we think about this season of change.

Individualised or standard measures can stand, or float upon a sea.

What is still core?

What is still needed?

We need to move together. We need to move slowly and carefully toward our choice points. What do we want for our schools, our clusters, and our community?

What do we maintain inside that core to maintain our island on a sea of creativity?

The basics are the floor. If we only aim for the basics, we don't get off the floor. We lower the ceiling and there is no room for growth.

Bransford and Schwartz (2005) Efficiency and Innovation in Transfer - Optimal Adaptability Corridor

As a leadership group, where are our people? How do we best lead them?

We've had these since the beginning:

How do we make sure our professionals are becoming more adaptive experts to hook our kids. We have been doing the basics for a long time.

People didn't know this before we started doing this. We talk a lot about the Research to inform our practice... but the practice has to happen to feed the research. This is the sharp end of the pencil.

JOUR, Trinidad, Jose (2023) Rethinking School Improvement Organizations: Understanding Their Variety, Benefits, Risks, and Future Directions

Our young people perform as well as we want them to. We get out what we put in.

Our boundaries can be tensions or joining points. There can be antagonism when people aren't on the same page.

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that we are first and foremost accountable to our community. Our young people. 

We need to create harmony, not tension.

How can we harness all the potential in the room?

How can we aim for the ceiling, not the floor?

The four kaupapa in the middle that holds everything up and the processes of effective practice in place.

How will we ensure the relationships inside our place thrive?

How will we use them in our place?

What We're Already Doing:

Teaching the Basics Brilliantly. 

While we have a great deal of change coming, it's actually what we've already been doing.

We've been focusing on creativity & engagement for a long time. They ARE included within the new curriculum if you delve deep enough.

\

We have been talking about the issues/dilemmas in reading for years now.

By 

The pillars of practice have been modified this morning, to include what is in the new curriculum.

The light blue boxes highlight what is included in the new curriculum. The dark blue shows where the RPI delves deeper.

The RPI is fantastic, well-rounded and responsive. 

Moving into Math:

There is a different picture for math...

The Pillars of OPractice have been developed for math, preempting the push in the current climate. The national and international research was combined and aligned. There has been great feedback from teachers who have partaken in the MPI.

There's an overlap of what TMP had foreseen as the 

Teaching components are on the left, the Big Ideas.

The light blue shows alignment, and the deeper blue shows where TMP have delved deeper. The white squares are where there's no alignment, mainly because there is no explicit teaching for "Whanau" or "Assessment".

We need to look at how we can collaborate across schools with what different phase resources look like.

When thinking about whether a choice is the right choice, think about what your school currently does. The pieces that matter to you.

Secondary:

TMP have been responsive in looking at what's being rolled out:

The problems require close reading of the text. TMP has looked at what students are going to need in the way of support, across the curriculum.

What are we going to do to ensure our learners are successful:

Greenleaf, C., Schoenbach, R., Friedrich, L., Murphy, L., & Hogan, N. (2023). Reading for understanding: How reading apprenticeship improves disciplinary learning in secondary and college classrooms. John Wiley & Sons.

The RPI is not only our Primary teachers, It is also available to our Year 7-10 teachers.

Assessment is nothing new. We've always had a warts-and-all approach to data. 

Watch this space regarding writing Assessment.

The "Learn" component in L|C|S has always been a focus for our clusters, and continues to be a focus moving forward.

We have monitored elements of the learning in observations and questionnaires for a number of years and will continue to do so.

In observations, we looked for lessons where the learners reflected on their learning intentions, In the questionnaires we asked if learners knew how much progress they were making, if they know what they are learning to do and if they know they have been successful in their learning during reading. 65% of learners and 82% of teachers thought that the learners know when they were successful. This combines the Always and Mostly responses. Explicit teaching means teachers clearly explain concepts with specific learning intentions and success criteria for each lesson, rather than expecting students to figure them out on their own. This approach is useful when teaching new material or addressing misunderstandings. 

From the curriculum: Explicit teaching is not just about teacher talk. In it, teachers gradually give students more responsibility for their own learning. Students stay actively involved, and teachers regularly check for understanding, providing immediate and constructive feedback.

In observations the use of a text set (more than one text on the topic or theme) was seen in 19% of lessons, this is down on previous years.  However, in the questionnaires, 63% of learners and 64% of teachers thought learners were reading more than one text on a topic. We know that to go wide and deep on a topic helps understanding and exposes students to more texts over the year. 

From the curriculum: In the teaching considerations at phase 2 it states Teachers should provide opportunities for students to read often and widely so they engage with a range of texts for enjoyment and to build knowledge.

In observations we could see the use of an audio text in 8% of lessons, a digital text in 31% of lessons, pictorial text in 15% and video is 23% of lessons. Print text was seen 75% of the time. In the questionnaires, 67% of learners and 78% of teachers thought learners got to read different kinds of texts.

From the curriculum Phase 2 working with texts:

Explore a wider range of national and international texts with students during this phase, including oral texts, visual texts, and both fiction and non-fiction written texts in electronic and print media.

In observations extended discussion was seen in 29% of lessons and different viewpoints shared in 39% of lessons, in the questionnaires 69% of learners and 85% of teachers thought learners were taught how to share opinions in discussion.

The curriculum in phase 2 states that Explicit teaching of oral language supports students to develop the more advanced skills needed to effectively present ideas and information in ways that engage an audience and take an effective part in collaborative discussions and group work.

In observations we looked for Higher Order Thinking Skills being used. Analysis was seen in 55% of lessons, Evaluation in 39% and Synthesis in 26% of lessons observed. In the questionnaires, 74% of learners and 87% of teachers thought learners knew what they were learning to do always or most of the time. This is learners being metacognitive about the learning process in reading.

From the end of year 6 - Critical analysis

At the end of this phase, students can discuss different interpretations of a text and justify a position using personal knowledge, evidence from the text, and knowledge of similar texts. They consider the effects of how people, places, objects, and ideas are represented in and across texts and can distinguish facts from opinions. They can also identify how their thinking has changed or solidified as a result of this critical analysis.

In observations Māori representation was seen in 32% of lessons, this matches 38% of our demographic that identify as Māori. Pasifika representation was seen in 14% of lessons, not quite matching our demographic numbers of 23%. (we acknowledge that it is sometimes difficult to find Pacifika texts and know that this has been a focus in the School Journals for a while now.)  In the questionnaires 54% of whānau, 46% of learners 67% of teachers and 64% of leaders thought learners read texts that included a range of different cultures.

In the text forms and genre section, the curriculum identifies texts from learners' cultures as being required. At the end of year 6 learners compare and contrast different text forms and genres across a topic, including cultural texts from their own and others’ cultures, and discuss how they are written for different audiences.

knowledge and learning but also creating and engaging our learners in their education. This holds true as we see a focus on knowledge building in Understand | Know | Do. 

But we also need to be valuing the pieces that have helped us create successful clusters if schools with a focus on creativity and engagement.

The digital create is usually a focus for us in Manaiakalani when we are upskilling teachers but we acknowledge that your teachers are creative across the whole of the curriculum in a myriad of different ways and not just digitally.

From the curriculum at the end of year 6 composition / writing:

Use a range of digital tools to create and edit texts with a mixture of print, visual, and audio content. We know we want this as a way to apply understanding for our learners across the curriculum, not just in writing.

This is an example of Manaiakalani going further or deeper in the teaching and learning than what we see in the curriculum.

In observations 16% of learners collaborated on their create activities, interesting to see the drop off in the NCEA years 11-13. In the questionnaires, 58% of teachers and 56% of leaders thought learners worked together always or most of the time. Being able to collaborate is one of our 21st-century ‘soft skills’

Again From Phase 2 developing positive identities as communicators, readers and writers:

Give students choice and opportunities to collaborate. We have looked at collaboration for a number of years in both observations and questionnaires.

**My provocation is that, in some spaces, our learning environments aren't designed to enable collaboration.**

In observations 37% of of lessons had the students share their learning, either on blogs or in person. In the questionnaires, 51% of learners and 57% of teachers thought learners shared their create activities always or most of the the time. 

In Communication for learning under Oral Language in Phase One in the new document, there is a section on metacognition, specifically asking students to reflect on what they have learned. We are asking our learners to be metacognitive about all of the learning they share with an audience by reflecting on the learning intentions and success criteria. When creating DLO’s to share students are being purposefully reflective about their learning.

what opportunities have we created for our learners in these areas?

How are we giving our learners opportunities to succeed in these areas?

Interesting to see the difference between what support Leaders highlighted in comparison to teachers.

Leaders focused on supporting teachers. Teachers focused on supporting learners.

My favourite word... Fidelity

Fidelity to our learners, our school, and our community.

How will we make aligned choices so that we maintain fidelity, knowing why we have made the decisions we make.

Pat's korero:

I always love a great talk from Pat Sneddon. It's fascinating to note the change in the audience. I doubt he even needs the microphone he grasps. You could hear a pin drop as the entire audience listens intently, with a subtle tap of keys the only sound, as educators attempt to capture the message he so successfully delivers.

"We are here to effect change.;"

Around 13% of Kiwi kids live in deprivation and poverty. They are invisible to the government and politics that are in a position to create change.

If capable governance over education was the only ingredient necessary for resolving educational outcomes for low decile NZers we wouldn't have our current literacy & numeracy challenges.

 It's about teachers wanting to undertake DFI, RPI, & MPI in order to make them better teachers for their learners.

Eric Dearing (2024) Accumulation of Opportunities Predicts the Educational Attainment and Adulthood Earnings of Children Born Into Low- Versus Higher-Income Households

https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X241283456

Ragnedda, M. (2020). Traditional Digital Inequalities: Digital Divide. In: Enhancing Digital Equity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49079-9_3

Maggie Farrar (2015) Learning Together: The power of cluster based school improvement https://ipsalliance.eq.edu.au/supportandresources/formsanddocuments/documents/seminar-series-249.pdf

David, C. (2000). Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. London: Taylor&Francis Books Ltd.

Adapted from: Sachs, J. (2015). Teacher professionalism: why are we still talking about it? Teachers and Teaching, 22(4), 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1082732

Andy Hargreaves (2000) Four Ages of Professionalism and Professional Learning, Teachers and Teaching, 6:2, 151-182, DOI: 10.1080/713698714
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713698714

Alot of content was covered today, throughout the day... however it seemed to go by in a flash!

Looking forward to another thought provoking day tomorrow.