About:

This week we meet Summer Howarth, Director of Learning at Education Changemakers in Australia. Summer’s work with schools isn’t about offering answers from the front of the room, it’s about empowering teachers to design their own change that make sense in their schools. Today she talks about what’s possible when teachers choose their own change.

Key Points:

Design thinking for education

Teachers designing their own change

Shared language of process

Student led enterprise

Wellbeing of staff to increase retention

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

Summer is @edusum on twitter

educationchangemakers.com

Edcuation Changemakers ideas website: ecideas.org

About:

This week we meet Arturo Pelayo. A connector of people and ideas, Arturo’s interests include using 3d printing to teach astronomy to the blind, helping young people explore genetic maker culture, and bringing the power of empathy and parental guidance to help students make better decisions. Today Arturo shares his thoughts on the future, and how we can help guide the high school students who are learning to re-code our DNA.

Key Points:

The genetic maker movement

Creating spaces for inquiry and curiosity

How do parents guide the curiosity of young genetic engineers?

The role of societal morals to help guide our young people

Peer funder science projects - sequencing the Kakapo

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

iGEM conference

Arturo on twitter

About:

Karla has worked in Sydney, London and Central Otago developing her passion for brain-based learning, philosophy for children and gifted education. She’s also an ICT facilitator who has made an art of bringing the digital world into good face to face learning about who we are online, and why that matters.

Karla loves creating authentic leadership opportunities for young people, so it’s no surprise that her current role is being the ‘sole adult’ amongst a talented bunch of youth leaders as part of her work with the Sticks and Stones cybersafety project. Today she talks about authentic collaboration, and really letting students lead the way.

Key Points:

Religious diversity and finding the similarities within difference

Alternative education meets standardised testing

One day school as a place for giving new approaches due time

The mess or real learning

How we need to see young leaders as experts

Involving students in important processes

Building confidence in New Zealand teachers

Sticks and Stones youth projects

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

Karla in Pond

Karla on Twitter

Project Positive website and Twitter

Sticks and Stones website and Twitter

About:

This week we meet Dr Jason Ohler, a professor emeritus, writer, teacher and storyteller.

Ten years ago, I found an amazing resource on storytelling. A short book by Jason, that spoke to the heart of what a great story really is, and how we can make our own from local ingredients. It changed my practice forever.

Over the last thirty years, Jason has taken his skill for communicating the value of story to help his school, university and community students develop the new literacies they need to be successful in the digital age.

Key Points:

futuring - and the future of our relationship with technology

eportfolios as a way to plot growth

Figure and ground relationships

The innate value of story

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

http://www.jasonohlerideas.com/

Digital Citizenship Summit http://www.digcitsummit.com/

Reclaiming Conversation (Amazon)

Wilson Miner - When We Build (Great video that explains some of Marshall Mc Luhan’s thinking

Neil Stephenson’s book - The Diamond Age

Mental health storytelling project - Voices of Petersburg

About MOOCS

About:

Rachel Bolstad is a senior researcher at the New Zealand Centre for Education Research (NZCER) in Wellington. Her experience exploring the breadth and depth of education is exceptional. Researchers have the unusual opportunity to make borderless connections, and see patterns across theory, practice, community, and policy.

Today she shares her thoughts on the future, the power of immersive experience, and how we can really shift thinking in education.

Key Points:

What researchers hear that never shows in their research

The lasting impact of asking a good question

The Museum of Before and the power of immersive theatre

Dealing with an unknowable future

How true learning takes place

How we think about Modern Learning Environments

How can we really help people and communities change

is it OK to experiment with other people’s education?

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

https://twitter.com/shiftingthinkng Rachel on twitter

The Diamond Age - by Neal Stephenson

Rachel’s blog, and her post on The Museum of Before.

About Rachel at NZCER

About:

Sue Cattell and I were in the same Aspiring Principals course in 2013. In 2014 she made the leap to principalship at Milford School in Auckland. Now, a year into that journey Sue shares her experience and offers some advice for those stepping up to new responsibilities. This is a rare insight into the challenges of new leadership, and the strategies that help make it successful.

Key Points:

How to start as a new leader

How to build relationships

How to know what to change, and what to leave alone

Three things to know about your new team

What questions to ask in a self review

How provocations can build engagement

Less is more - for engaging students

What’s a non-googleable challenge?

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

About:

This week we meet Jewella, AKA Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen, Griffith University IT lecturer and founder of the Tech Girls movement, and Alyona Medelyan, founder of Entopix, and organiser of the ‘STEAM Ahead’ events to encourage girls to consider careers in STEAM. Thought we’d like to think that gender stereotypes are mostly a thing of the past, the truth is a different matter. Today Janine and Alyona talk about what they’re doing to try and change things.

Key Points:

Hidden gender stereotypes that change career paths

STEAM ahead events - changing how girls see STEAM subjects

How events change what students think about helping the world

Real-life role models making STEAM accessible

The value of hands-on experience

How to support schools to develop STEAM in class

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

STEAM Ahead site

Video: Why are fewer people studying science and engineering?

Tech Girl Superheroes on Twitter (Tweets by Jenine)

http://www.techgirlsmovement.org/

http://www.techgirlsaresuperheroes.org/

https://twitter.com/TGAsuperheroes

Alyona on Twitter

About:

Andrew Cowie has always had a passion for digital citizenship and he’s developed that knowledge through his experience working with the NEAL group, the National Library, and most recently CORE Education. When Andrew works with parents, teachers and students he brings his invaluable perspective, as a father who has had to address these issues in his own home. Expect to come away with some great ideas for managing devices in your own home, or supporting parents faced with the same challenge.  

Key Points:

The temptation to multitask

Practical steps to manage work on devices

What to do when you can’t keep up

Managing the ecosystem of the home

How to have better conversations with your children about their learning

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

Andrew on Twitter

Upper Harbour Primary Digital Citizenship agreement

Home Digital Citizenship agreement

About:

This week we meet Diti Hill, researcher, lecturer, and an expert on the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and learning.

If you’ve ever felt like taking some time to re-examine your practice as a leader, teacher or a learner, this is the podcast to have. Be sure to read the articles in the notes below too. The ideas Diti shares here are fundamental, and strike right at the heart of why we teach and what it is to be a learner.

Key Points:

The value of listening

How to reflect on the role of a teacher

Theory happening in front of our eyes

The image of the child as a threat

The environment as the third teacher

Using provocations to create engagement

How we unconsciously override student dialogue

The image of the child as powerful

Welcoming uncertainty and complexity

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

Ann Pelo: From Teaching to Thinking Re Igniting our Role as Educators

Ann Pelo: Children as Researchers

Margie Carter: Doing Reggio?

About:

This week we meet Maurie Abraham, Principal at  Hobsonville Point Secondary School. Hobsonville Point opened last year to year 9 and 10 students. Today he talks about how to hire great teachers, and how to work together to design a school that consistently follows its vision and honours its community by moving beyond an industrial model of education, to help students prepare for the future.  

Key Points:

Growing a school from scratch

What is future focussed schooling?

How to implement new approaches in any school

How to hire for a growth mindset

How can schools attract great teachers by raising their profile

Addressing assessment anxiety

Approaching NCEA with student wellbeing in mind

What to ask if you visit HPSS

Other resources and Links Mentioned:

Hobsonville Point Secondary School

Maurie on twitter