tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post3710850558625318530..comments2015-04-29T02:02:33.731-07:00Comments on My musings: A view from the plane we are building...while flying it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662514507063338348noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-68332839258025578592015-04-29T02:02:33.731-07:002015-04-29T02:02:33.731-07:00Thank you for recounting your experiences - and yo...Thank you for recounting your experiences - and your insights. Your blog made for interesting reading re physical environments. <br /><br />As a big fan of open space, I've always tried to push desks to the edges of a room to minimise that cramped feeling by opening up floor space. Currently, we have chosen to go with not have a desk for everyone in our open plan space - there are bean bags, lily pads, and some standing benches. Students can work wherever they feel comfortable.<br /><br /> Interestingly, when we surveyed them about what they liked and disliked about the shared space, many said they wanted more desks! Noise was a big negative for most (even though we have one-to-one devices, and at any one time nearly half the students are 'plugged in'). But as I say, this is in no small part due to the fact we are not in a purpose-built space - that is coming.<br /><br />I think there is little argument over value of well-thought out spaces - as the research you cite suggests. What I am seeking is robust evidence that the whole package - environment and 'MLE pedagogy' - actually has the resoundingly positive and sustainable impact on learning and achievement the anecdotal evidence suggests. <br />In the meantime, my colleagues and I continue to read, think and discuss the merits (and challenges) of this approach.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662514507063338348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-33528336554626809142015-04-29T01:32:22.609-07:002015-04-29T01:32:22.609-07:00Ha! Love it! Thanks for the affirmation, Pam. I do...Ha! Love it! Thanks for the affirmation, Pam. I don't mind the term 'disruptive' in the sense that in my own shambling way, I am disrupting the flow of rhetoric on the matter! Yes, I plan to document how I pick my way through this 'there be dragons' territory. Keep those slide-rules primed...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662514507063338348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-78686549792483904482015-04-29T00:44:09.699-07:002015-04-29T00:44:09.699-07:00Ah, the voice of reason! Thanks for you feedback, ...Ah, the voice of reason! Thanks for you feedback, Pam. Yes, the word 'research' seems to confer a halo effect to all manner of ideologies/theories masquerading as 'science' - education being no exception. The student motivation vs achievement - interesting reading. On face value, it seems counter-intuitive - given how much it flies in the face of received wisdom on the matter...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662514507063338348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-10574855151474356782015-04-28T23:38:30.019-07:002015-04-28T23:38:30.019-07:00Fabulous questions Belinda. I wouldn't call th...Fabulous questions Belinda. I wouldn't call them disruptive, but I would call them constructive. I too have concerns over the noise levels in MLEs that have not been properly sound proofed. I have these concerns as I find noisy spaces challenging, and I know many students do too. I also value the quiet of my own classroom after school to plan and mark and create, and I am easily distracted by other staff and the urge to gossip - which is why I'm often at school later than others for the solitude. I'm rather possessive of "my kids" and feel those relationships I develop with "my kids" are vital to their success as learners and my personal job satisfaction. I also have concerns regarding my flexibility to change the programme as the teacher when I have to share students and work in with other teachers. One of my strengths as a teacher is spontaneity and running with the teachable moment (which is why I hate writing a plan down that some principal's demand you stick to)!<br />Where I do differ with you Belinda is over self directed learning. While I haven't done this in a multi-group setting, I have kind of used this in my single cell room. It usually involves me touching base with the whole class first thing in the morning and each child telling me what they will achieve that day. While I know the more organised kids will touch base with me regularly throughout the day off their own bat, I make sure I target the ones who are the "avoiders" and keep them moving regularly.<br />This is my reflection on MLEs: Modern Learning Environments - how the furniture and space work with learning. http://melulater.blogspot.com/2015/04/modern-learning-environments-how.htmlmelulaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00912265739435105092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-22328772833546177892015-04-28T15:22:13.749-07:002015-04-28T15:22:13.749-07:00I agree with Wendy - Belinda's reflection on &...I agree with Wendy - Belinda's reflection on <i>"acronymed initiatives"</i> in education is not so much <i>"disruptive"</i> as it is an example of <i>effective pedagogy in action</i> <br /><br />The post is a teacher action (reflection) promoting student learning - and is an action actively promoted in pages 34 and 35 in the NZ Curriculum framework. Main stream - status quo stuff<br /><br />If only more teacher practitioners asked serial "whys" about their teaching and learning. Have some schools using the HookED SOLO Describe++ Map for just this kind of thinking about <i>"doing school"</i><br /><br /><i>"Effective pedagogy requires that teachers inquire into the impact of their teaching on students"</i><br /><br />1. Identifying what my students need to learn next - what is important and therefore worth spending time on given where my students are at - in my class or even across the school. The curriculum asks that we prioritise learning needs of our students. <br />2. Identifying strategies <i>(evidence-based)</i> that are likely to meet these needs - help students learn<br /><br />Across the year I hope to read more about:<br />3. Use these strategies and approaches with students.<br />4.The outcomes - the effect of these strategies on the learning need of students - and any unintentional outcomes.<br />5. What you will do next - the consequence<br /><br />P.S. I do not have any whale oil blubber but reckon I could find a slide rule or two if we continue to have second thoughts about how and why we use technologies in school.<br /><br />P.P.S. This caught my attention this morning - file under <i>"zealous anecdote"</i> Belinda - <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/apr/23/teens-tech-students-give-up-smartphones?" rel="nofollow"> “You have a weird feeling inside yourself that makes you feel happy.”</a> Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11030033180999459337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-84314672280303415422015-04-28T14:13:56.542-07:002015-04-28T14:13:56.542-07:00You raise some really important questions Belinda,...You raise some really important questions Belinda, and no Sonya, I do not find these disruptive, but questions and pondering that need to be discussed and revisited many times. We are undoubtedly in a time of a paradigm shift in education, even bigger than this, probably at the emergent stage of an educational renaissance. How we navigate this period is certainly challenging, particularly as it is just emerging. Illuminated texts replaced by the mass produced illustrations from the printing presses eh Belinda - what a loss. Yes, undoubtedly we must be mindful of protecting what we know and value as effective in our environments. Dr Wendy Kofoedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13246923666251888996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-43019031549709569352015-04-28T14:05:08.258-07:002015-04-28T14:05:08.258-07:00Great reflection Belinda - I am writing a new book...Great reflection Belinda - I am writing a new book exploring in part the struggles schools face when they look for evidence. Even if <i>"research says"</i> is wildly waved around, dusted over and drizzled across your newly <i>"acronymed spaces"</i>. <br /><br /><i>"From a school’s perspective there are two issues at stake - to what extent is teaching and learning in this school, research driven and evidence based? and secondly if we claim our pedagogical practice is research driven and evidence based - what is the quality of the teacher and researcher evidence being used to make this claim?" Hook 2015 </i><br /><br />It is the secondly bit above that captures my attention in the text.<br /><br /><i>"Regardless of the method used any claims for optimal outcome for an instructional method should be able to be replicated with other groups of students in other schools. <br /><br />The school’s position when using educational research to drive pedagogy becomes problematic when the research cited is not based on randomised control trials (RCTs), meta-analyses, effect sizes and when a limited number of third party, direct replications of the research exist. Caution must be exercised even when looking at academic peer reviewed research claims as the number of independently replicated studies is very low. A recent report of the publication history of the current top 100 education journals found that only 0.13% of articles were replications (Makel and Plucker 2014)." Hook 2015 </i> <br /><br />And if <i>"0.13%"</i> is not enough to disquiet you - you may be startled by the sharing of this educational research in the Atlantic. It explodes many of the anecdotal claims and tropes used to support those "acronymed initiatives" in teaching and learning. And calls into question the usefulness of some of the measures and instruments we use in schools - <br /><br />From <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/does-motivation-even-matter/388565/" rel="nofollow"> Does Student Motivation Even Matter?</a> <br /><br /><i>Loveless relied on data from the past 15 years of domestic and international assessments to conclude that:<br /><br />On measures of student engagement, several countries noted for their superior performance on a much-cited international test—including Korea, Japan, Finland, Poland, and the Netherlands—rank below average on levels of student interest.<br /> <br />Increasing a student’s enjoyment of reading doesn’t correlate with improved reading scores, or at least such was the case when comparing student surveys to reading scores on an international assessment.<br /> <br />On measures of student motivation, many countries saw their math scores decline even though their students reported higher levels of motivation.<br /> <br />Meanwhile, some countries saw scores jump even though their students voiced less confidence.<br /> <br />Domestically and abroad, girls rule in school, a finding that is consistent with previous studies. Finland owes its heavyweight education status to its girls, as the nation’s boys trail by a wide margin behind the academic achievement of their female peers. In fact, every wealthy country—including the United States—has an education system where girls outperform boys. What’s really surprising is that by adulthood, that gap disappears.</i><br /><br />Unwarranted assumptions and anecdotal zeal are lurking all over Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11030033180999459337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-52779837045326892502015-04-28T11:43:22.297-07:002015-04-28T11:43:22.297-07:00Thanks, Sonya. 'Disruptive thinking', eh? ...Thanks, Sonya. 'Disruptive thinking', eh? Who knew? ;) But yes, I am genuinely concerned that I have seen few of the issues I raise addressed with anything but anecdotal zeal. The answers may be out there - they're certainly hiding in plain sight if they are...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662514507063338348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7714336833987872547.post-91426262959277948732015-04-27T23:18:13.568-07:002015-04-27T23:18:13.568-07:00Goooo Belinda. I knew it. I love what I have just ...Goooo Belinda. I knew it. I love what I have just read. I love the way you are questioning what is going on in education and saying 'Hold on a minute, should we not be asking deeper questions. I also can relate to being the child in the classroom who yes can cope with all the noise and busy learning that can happen in a room, but also must remind teachers out there about having a quiet cave for me to sort out my thinking in a quiet space. I love seeing room with nooky corners set up for children who need those spaces. I hope that other educators respond here to your disruptive thinking so that we may have an ongoing discussion. Sonya Van Schaijikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14911228364687589980noreply@blogger.com