Friday, August 19, 2016

CADAP 2016 - If I knew then what I know now ...Linda Tame


Linda Tame, ex Principal Lincoln High School, MoE consultant. 

Some things to think about - 

1 Know yourself ( and how your team works) 
2 Relational Trust 
3 Strengths  based approach 
4 Other observations 

1 What's my way of operating?  - many models to choose from. What process do you use to understand your behaviour? 
 Eg Hermann Brain Model 
Important to know how the people in your team 'ticks'. Cheryl Doig as an evaluator if this. Need to put time aside for this. 
Why am I senior leader? What is your moral imperative? 
 'it's about us changing not the students changing?' 

2 Relational Trust  (Vivianne Robinson) 
Don't just expect it happen! 
Deliberate strategies can be used to build trust - chaos if no 'genuine' trust! 

Interpersonal Respect 
- genuinely listen - challenging 
- not allowing inappropriate behaviours - eg behaviour at staff meeting/ student interface 
- valuing people's professional work 
- actually have system to value what the staff do

Personal regard for others
- the class for senior leaders are the teachers!  

There needs to be a DELIBERATE drive to build relational trust. 
The only way you know how you're going is to get anonymous feedback, at least once a year. Essential. 

Perception is reality! It may or may not be true, but the perception is there. So acting on this is essential. 
You need to have relational trust in the bank when things go wrong! We are all going to make mistakes, but we need relational trust to get through. 

3 Strengths based approach 
- believe that we all want the best for the students 
- all have positive intentions 
- let's look at what is working well - and do this deliberately 
Great quote - we tend to focus on the wrong

4 Other observations 
- who do you talk to about the big things at work - it's quite lonely for a Principal 
- we need to manage up, as well as manage down 




 



Thursday, August 18, 2016

CADAP2016 - if I knew then, what I know now! - Neil Hayward

16 months into the job - what have I learnt? 

Not much would have prepared me for the role! 

Management vs Leadership - how do you keep the balance between leading and managing? 
Be brave - can I have the difficult conversations? 

1st Challenge - building relational trust - how do we go about this? 
- be seen 
show that you care - look after them 'RHS' family
- be on top of the portfolio ASAP
- staff assume you know everything admit that you don't know everything - and that mistakes are made from learning 
 Relational Trust 
- respect everyone's role 
- listen
- have competence 
- act with integrity 

Establish the Priorities 
- what are the priorities - what is the current vision? 
- individual 15 mins with every staff member - what do you like, where do you want to be? 
- being visible
- get involved 
- open transparent communication 

What is 'part of the furniture' here? 

Building the Team 
- loyal
- supportive 
- believe in the vision 

5 Dimensions of Leadership 
Goals
- simple
- manageable 

Resourcing Strategically 
- who I employ vs who I have to work with that's existing staff?
- are meetings the right meetings? 
Ensuring quality teaching 
Leading Teacher Learning and development
- focus on teacher inquiry 
Ensuring a safe and orderly environment 
- protect teacher time 

Change Management - biggest challenge
Kotter's 8 steps of Change





CADAP 2016 - Keynote Speaker - Patrick Walsh - Education Law



Patrick Walsh, ex Head of Principal Assn, presented on Education Law (Principal and holder of law degree). 


The law is a very fluid issue in schools, not a lot of case studies to go on. Every school is also a unique situation. 

The focus in schools should be on teaching and learning - often this is not the case -. Other high risk things take over - suspension, relationships, financial issues. 

10 years ago very few lawyers practicing  in education law, 25+ now. Parents seem to go to lawyer rather than go to school. Lawyers attending suspension meetings. New laws mean that students have jurisprudence, not school and board. 

52 Acts govern education - generally around compliance eg Section 23 Privacy Act, we need a Privacy Officer.  Important to know what the penalties are. 

We are a 'rights conscious societies' - bodies geared to ensure that the rights are complied to. For example the Ombudsmen has the ability to open investigation into any Principal or Board if presented by parents; Education Council, ERO. A really strong complaints policy will mean that few actually go to the Ombudsmen. 
There has been a growth major growth in litigation and the massive growth in 'social media' litigation! 
Students need to know the complaints policy as well. Really important that the students know to go through our student council at the moment as we have no student rep on the Board, as no Board. 

Apparently we can create 'by- laws' for the school - there needs to be a robust reason - why is this rule necessary for the running of a school. Why is it necessary for good order and governance? Hard to justify around hair colour, jewellery, puffer jacket etc!!!!  Schools have a right to set rules in consultation with the community. 

Staff - BOT can develop a code of conduct for staff, some Principals 'enforce' a code of conduct - which can be problematic. Is this a good idea - and aim for staff buy in as opposed to imposing something that is lawful but may not be successful eg staff and ties!!!

Case Law the use of precedence to inform education issues that get to court. Currently these cases do not seem to be in the public  knowledge - they tend to sit with the Ministry - provide a summary, set the precedent and advise action. Ministry has not done this yet.
Legal risk management is important - need for policies is essential. They need to check that the policies actually match the current law. Audit that the policies match the law - handy if you have a lawyer on the BoT. 
Legal literacy - really important that rushing into make procedural errors! Complex issues need advice! 
Copyright - not for your school but for anyone who uses your facilities!!!

Recent Case Law eg MvR vs Syms vs PNBHS (2003) - alcohol consumption - suspended and excluded. 
- Taken to court for judicial review. Invalid in law - cannot have policy that predetermined outcome and mitigating circumstances. Need 'weasel words' in policy eg 'maybe suspended' ! 
- Difficult for staff to understand that there cannot be a simple list of misdemeanours and outcomes. Maybe different outcomes for same offence. 
- BOTs may come to different decision than the Principal 
Bill of Rights has come into play a lot more - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1506/S00037/morag-hutchinson-green-bay-high-school-v-a.htm  - student's rights over rode the school's and teacher's rights here! Special needs of the student were not taken into account. 
NB - when a student presents with discipline we need to 'discover ' the cause and THEN investigate other options! 
Student hair length - St John's http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11381722 - was this by-law necessary - obviously not!!! 'Suspension disproportionate to the breach of the rule'.
St Bede's case - education lawyers believe judge intervened unnecessarily as NOT interfering with education of the students http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/67516631/St-Bedes-College-rowing-row-may-settle-out-of-court . This has created an unfortunate precedent for schools - all sorts of judicial reviews. SPANZ don't think this is good law and will challenge any further cases that rely on the precedent. Judicial Review - the right to review ANY decision that affects the rights of individual students. 

Schools are 'civil' cases. Students who deny any charge can be difficult - but do not have to prove 'beyond reasonable doubt' - more than 51%. Board can decide on 'balance of probabilities' which could be different from 'beyond reasonable doubt'. If 'suspending staff' MUST check with MOE that they will pay for reliever. 

Contract Law - in the world of 'self managing schools' it's important to follow sensible commercial practice. 
- don't pay before you get goods 
- buying businesses that are not key to school business 
- check who leases your properties - insurers need to be notified of who are additional users 
Nice to have a lawyer on a BOT ! 

Governance and Management 
Quote from Richard Harrison, 1993 - BoT and Principal should be consultative and co-operative ! More irony!!!

Employment Law 
- must have a fair and transparent process 
- competency - often fails because too much time gathering evidence - Employment RA checks the process, not the evidence - they do not know the standards - interested in that there has been a fair process 

Procedural Fairness - Competency 
- particularise concerns - need to be specific and details need to be clear 
- communicate concerns in a manner they understand - check with the employee 'do you understand what I say when .......' Onus is on us to explain concerns 
- set out the required standard - this is what you need to do 
- minimum of 10 weeks - unless gross incompetence - don't move immediately to dismissal 

- Support and Guidance - needs to be very clear that they know it is not appraisal 
Very difficult in area of workplace bullying due to subjective nature of complaint. 

Dismissal of Staff - judge steps into BoT shoes - if the judge was sitting here today, would they see this as a fair process. Double jeapordy - as a teacher does not just lose job, but also lose registration and career. Due process must be followed. Howick College good case - http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3965451/Howick-teacher-fails-to-get-job-back . It is important to ASK into mental health. 

Has the school contributed to the problem eg has the school contributed to the problem - by putting the staff member into a job there are not suited for!

- If you restructure to avoid going down the competency road - is that legal? Courts will investigate that you have genuine reasons for restructure OR just avoiding difficult people. 

- How do you avoid the 'roller coaster' effect? Competency, gets better, then goes backwards, competency.....
- is it a substantively reached the standard? Will they get there? 
- if there are multiple 10 weeks -  then it's misconduct - choosing not to maintain competency! 

Really important to ensure that appraisal is robust for teachers who are under competency. Attestation and appraisal need to match. The Principal has to check that the data provided by the S and G person. 

Procedural Fairness - Serious Misconduct of staff 
- never have a complete list
- disclose allegation at initial meeting - if admitted or substance becomes a disciplinary nature 'I must advise if I don't like the answers that you give me, I'll refer to BoT'
-  what support do we have to give to support at initial meeting - tension around being a 'good employer' - also complicated if there is a criminal investigation going on.
- Sect 66 of Ed Act - there is delegation of authority - Principal must have delegated authority from the BoT - eg conduct a Prima Facie investigation, discipline letters - generally not substantive inquiry 

Stress Claims - see the case here regarding workload and not being a good employer http://www.findlaw.com/12international/countries/nz/articles/2184.html
There has been a rise in education related stress claims. Court requires: 
- unreasonable level of stress
- linked to a recoginisable medical condition 
- not related to out of work issues 
- did you know - identify staff who may be stressed - quiet, or angry or sick a lot - enquirer how they are coping in the job (do we need a stress register for Staff? ) 
- check the conditions 'industry standards' eg number of special needs in one class
- what can we afford to do in support - in our resources
- can invoke competency if stressed by incompetency 
- EAP - who do you chat to if stressed 
- SLT raising standards and expectations causes stress - leads to bullying - BoT needs to manage change 

Health and Safety + Students with Special Needs 
- programmes must be provided for all special needs 
- any child who presents with special needs has to be treated differently - how do we actually provide resources to deal with this? 
- MoE could be at fault if these not met! 
- what have you done positively to support the child with special needs (ie no additional support) 
- staff who have to manage these without support COULD create personal grievance if no extra support given in classroom 
- hazard register and RAMS forms should name and manage the BEHAVIOUR not the child 

Students committing crimes 
- if students commit a crime outside of school police currently have no obligation to notify school 
- social media impacts on jurisdiction - especially if victim and perpetrator at school - school  currently has no jurisdiction over these such events - what is the gross misconduct eg sharing video at school of offsite or out of hours offence
- If there is a strong nexus between student and school then there is a strong case for jurisdiction (close to school, in uniform, time of day) - Northcote College example student reinstated - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=222627
- if an event disrupts the running of the school, then we have jurisdiction over it - double edged sword - we can be responsible for everything  - Harmful Digital Comminications - Netsafe will be working to create how this will be investigated - students and parents can bring charges. 

Search and Seizure
- potentially dangerous areas include - searching electronic devices - not OK, you can ask them with parent present, or ask police investigate if criminal activity involved. 
- do not to treat confiscation as punishment eg taking a beanie! 
- does a breath test classify a breach? Or do we need to get an official 'non govt' agency to do this! Even if they sign a form agreeing to conditions. 
- schools are bound by BillofRights - even if parents consent
- random drug tests - a grey area around jurisdiction - lawyers on both sides 

Freedom of Expression -
- sections 72, 75, 76 of the Acts are rights of freedom of expression - this UK school in breach - http://gu.com/p/43479?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
- section 5 states that these must be reasonable in a free and democratic society 
- schools are not adult communities - need rules and regulations - parents expect this too - being different is not recognised by the courts 
- section 14 - cultural and religious value - test the reason for the deviation - political reasons harder to justify 

Education Council 
- mandatory reporting of dismissal or competency proceedings  - in the preceding 12 months if dissatisfied or intending to investigate 
- Rule 9 serious misconduct - self explanatory 
- laptop agreement - some misunderstanding of the laptop agreements and use of the laptop 
- any act that discredits the teaching profession - balance between being role models and not being the 'moral police' of teachers - and the role of social media in this - do we need a national policy on this? Information on EdCouncil site on this https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/teachers-and-social-media . Must disclose to senior leader if any inadvertent access or pop-up. 
Principal prosecuted for not notifying BoT, police, not ensuring children safe.
Weight of opinion is that the charges against staff member SHOULD be disclosed to community. 

Health and Safety 2015
Education not intended as part of this but caught up, and seen as low risk. Would need to be a high level of systems failure if someone was to be prosecuted. 
Everyone who is involved in overseeing EOTC - seen as an officer. No insurance against the fine. So Board and Officer Liability. 

NB: Most of the youth who appear before Andrew Beecroft are students that been excluded from school! 

Principalship is about relationships 
- relationship with BoT is PARAMOUNT 
- appoint people who are good at the jobs that you are not good at doing 
- leading learning is the key - but all the other shit actually has to have time spent on them - finance, property, community support 
- get out into the classrooms - how do you know if you are not out there looking at what's going on 
- fight the battles that are student centred! 



Saturday, August 13, 2016

#edchatnz Stanley Frielick - walking backwards into the future - possibilities and provocations

Kia whakatomuri ti haere  whakamua - looking backwards to the future 

1962 - Doug Engelbart - Augmenting our reality and in 1968 'the mother of inventions' - mouse founder! 



1968 Alan Kay - the DynaBook


1967 - Richard Brautigan 'Machines of Loving Grace' - poem - merging cybernetics with ecological 

1971 - Ivan Illich  - learning webs - 

1969 - Seymour Papert - LOGO Turtle - education has to do with engagement 



'Education should above all equip pupils with the resources with some sense of what it means to be alive' 

We have all of these things - but what are we doing with it all? 
How can we use this power to actually make a difference? 

Knowledge is not just for understanding but for cutting - the cutting edge of knowledge progression. 



These things are inevitable - words to structure curriculum and pedagogy around eg cognising, screening, sharing, flowing, accessing, becoming .....


A few more books to read!!!






#edchatnz Kaila Colbin - Riding the Exponential Wave of Change

TED ex Chch founder and member of Singularity University

Predictions made in the '80s about technological change are about 86% correct.

SU - how can technology be used as leverage for social impact?  

Moore's Law - ( doubling curves) 


exponential understanding of what you could buy for $1000 - today you can buy a mouse brain can hold, by 2023 a human brain , by 2049 all human brain. 

Think about the exponential growth of camera photography. 

Almost impossible to understand the linear growth vs exponential growth. 


What happens when exponential progression converge eg biotechnology and 3D printing? 

Almost everything you see on sci-fiction is probably already here! eg Star Trek medical scanner! 



Huge opportunity + terror! 

47-81% if jobs disappearing due to Technology. We have never been here at this speed and at this scale. 

AI able to now recognise cancer cells 1000 at a time 1000x faster! And will only get better! Pathologists start with zero! 

The level of immersion of reality goggles has become unbelievably complex and more realistic - becoming indistinguishable. 

What happens when virtual reality disrupts reality! 

Skiing vs Surfing - mountain stays put, wave always changes. 








#edchatnz16 Workshop 4 - Jane Gilbert - What does the complex future of education mean for teachers!

Be alarmed when things seem set in concrete!!!

What are the demands being made on teachers and our cognitive processing! 

3 things - the problems , the learning, complexity theory 

Part 1 Major changes in education
This is the story that we now know! 
Major change is needed urgently to the one size fits all education system ( the sausage machines turning out the faceless clones). 
Transformation needed not just improvement or working smarter or adjustment. 

What is education for? 
What should students learn and why? 
What is the role of the teacher - the rock bottom core?
How does this relate to the work of other teachers? 

Educations future - a two part story - digitalisation and globalisation 
AND 
The growth of networked forms of knowledge  ('Too big to know' - David Weinbetger ) 

and the anthropocene (impact of man).

Recent world events - a tipping order of cultural chaos on a relatively stable current world order. We can't begin to imagine what impact this with have! 

Welcome to the 'post normal' - complexity, chaos and contradiction - no return to the idealised past ( Ziaddin Sardar)

The age of VUCA - volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity! 

Part 2 Education needs to change 

Improve structures and systems - 


Assumes teachers know what to do - in times of chaos do we? 

We've in investment in the hardware of schools (building) but little in the software ( the teachers) ! Great metaphor! 

The major shift that is required should be done by teachers  with support.  Most teachers haven't experienced what we need to do, but how do we get this? 

No one knows the answers - we have to work out how to work together? 

Part 3 - Systems Thinking 

New ways of thinking about human systems - systems thinking and complexity thinking. 

These ideas are everywhere - TLIF - change from within the system. 
Innovation from within the system. 
But these ideas are not understood yet.

What is systems thinking? 
- an entity that functions as a whole through interaction - not individuals within 
- self organising 
- emergence - can't predict what the outcome is going to be - you can't know what's going to emerge

Systems are non- linear
Small changes can make big difference, but not conversely so - especially do in education!!!!
Closed systems - will be non productive - needs new energy or disrupters to keep it going! 

No one is in charge - there is s collective intelligence - more than just the sum of the parts. 

Education is a complex system - DaveSnowdon and Cognitive Edge - the Cynefin Framework. 


Where does our Education system sit? 

Simple - follow a recipe
Complicated - sending rocket to moon - one solved fairly certain it will follow pattern
Complex - bringing up a child - no guarantee once you've done it once it will be right next time

What does this mean for teachers in schools now? 
Are the CoL going to be enough?
Is collaboration alone enough? 


All 3 elements in the above slide are crucial. 

Strong collaboration - not just working nicely and sharing ideas - this will just cement existing practice! 
Not just collecting and using ideas of others! 

R Evans 2012 - teachers are good at congenial collaboration BUT everything has to be on the table for robust debate and knowledge building.

So what does all this mean change for teaching?


Teaching is cognitively demanding - so teachers need support! 
We need next practice, not best practice! 
Focus on individual cognitive growth and being able to work different and new ways with others.

Historical change is like an avalanche! The starting point is a snow covered mountainside that looks solid.
All the changes that take place under the surface and are rather invisible. 
But something is coming. 
What is impossible is to say when..,,
N Davies (2012) 



#edchatnz16 Workshop 3 Student Agency - Paula Wine DP Rototuna Junior High School

The context of new and change and growing!!!

Co-constructing as we go - teacher agency as well as student agency - transparent process. 

Interesting that they are in their 5th cycle of teacher induction. Always feedback on the process - induction changes each time. 

Quite a few of us here are interested in the Curriculum Design and Curriculum Tracking. 

A very honest approach 'didn't all go sweet!!'  Week 4 and 5 high stress for staff - creation of the non negotiables. 


No existing culture to change - but there is secondary change. 

Learning Advisory 

The cloak - challenging the mindset - is essential. 

The extended advisory time is essential - never feel there is enough time - curriculum tracking; support. Learning advisory of 14-18 students. DP has the largest group. Mixed ability groupings - Yr7-10. 

The first 3 weeks are in advisory - systems, Google Apps etc - essential. 

Lots of choice for students - modules have 2 subjects combined - authentic connections. But there is an element of 'you have to' - directed where needed.

 

Every semester they must have English and Maths - others come from the tracking of the curriculum. Standardised testing (as a part of triangulated data) is used to see where kids need extra support. These kids maybe on a targeted learner base. Flights are more 'pure' eg chemistry, French. 

Two year framework for curriculum - in a 'structured choice' - in order for all things to be covered. 

Learner Narratives 
This is where students track their learning  - just by using Google Doc 


This is such a simple process. Each semester is linked. Parents starting to make comments. There should be no surprises at the end of each Semester. 
E-AsTTle is visible to the students. 

All of the courses have evidence linked to the learner narrative. There will always be some students who find this challenging. 
Students choose  how to document their learning. The narratives are checked every week and commented on by the advisor. 

Students who find this difficult are supported to complete. Lots of links back to parents. 

Curriculum Tracker 
What's the purpose - how much do we want to cover. 
A two year approach - curriculum coverage over Yr 9 and 10. 


A detailed overview of what they cover of the curriculum - great handover for teachers who leaves.

Teachers also complete the curriculum tracking sheet - so that all can see what is being covered. 

Solo rubrics for the values of learning 


IEMs 

Scaffolded, linked to learner narrative - element of choice! 
Not allowed to read from narrative.
Not - this is what I did but this is what I learned. 
Clear guidelines for staff. 
Goal for 100% attendance - school shut for two days - drew a line in the sand and put up with minor 'flack'! For kids who could not get family there, the kids were able to Skype or invite Principal or other SLT as audience. 

Leaders of their own learning - 

A really structured time frame for the initial meetings - but was not mandatory. Translators available for second language families. 


An example of an active IEMs. 


















 



Friday, August 12, 2016

#edchatnz Tribal Activities - Kereru


Kereru Tribe - planning our pitch! 

Think we're running with Andy's 'Teacher Matching Site' T- Squared 

Here's our 'pitch' - thanks to Andy Crow from my old Wesley Intermediate for putting our ideas together! 




Thanks to Justine for letting us be as relaxed as we are!!

#edchat2 - Student Perspectives - Learning in and innovative learning environment


4 extremely confident student ambassadors explained their vision for the school: 

Connect Inspire and Soar: 10 minute 

- We have more choice and we control what and how we learn. 
- We tend to focus on one learning environment 
- Much more project and student focussed 
- A lot of kids and team teaching
- the kids are more self managing - more self directed over the course of the year 
- based on student needs 
- relationship between teachers is a whole different dynamic 

Modules 
- the human machine - PE and Science module(Yr9/10) 
- Jam and Maori - read music and speak 
- Da Vinci - science and Art - light and colour perspectives 
- Special effects - art and technology - weta workshop module 
- enjoyed Maths when we learnt it in a Science way 
- 'somewhere to be' - Maths and PE - planning a run, going on a run, geocaching on the run and mapping  co-ordinates 
- all use dashboard for tracking student learning 

Concentrating in open learning environment- how do you do it? 
- if it's too noisy I go to a breakout room 
- I put on my headphones 
- I move to a different room

Curriculum Tracker
Students keep track on a spreadsheet of what they need to cover 
Simple spreadsheet - we check where our gaps are 

Advisory activities -

For the start of the year

Nail challenge:  hard to believe this could be done! 


Lego challenge: 


Learning Advisory 
- very strong belief in that the teachers learn as well 
- students complete 'what am I learning' 
- SOLO rubric for all learning - lots of work being done with Pam Hook - the students could explain this quite clearly

An excellent presentation from the students. 

Quote: the teachers have to trust us a lot! 

No laptops at lunchtime! 
All social media blocked. 
Phones only allowed for school work. 

Quote 2: it may really look different - at the end of the day we're still learning! 






edchat16 - Workshop 1 - Computational Thinking - Rich Rowley and Stuart Kelly

Computational Thinking - what the hell is this? 
An interesting discussion on where coding is going! 

Basically solving problems, abstraction and change! 

Guess the number using yes/no questions! Solve by halving the range each time! 

Computational thinking and coding - repetition and scale = elegant coding. 
Coders are lazy! 

Computational thinking is important - because coding is disappearing - dying professional because of the way in which 

'Let's teach kids to code' Mitch Resnick 



When we code in pairs - pair programming exists in the real world.
Collaborative - constructionist pedagogy. 

Thinking is the outcome - through coding, not other way round! 

Extreme excitement when we did the Square! 

Where could you use this in English? 
- collaboration 
- follow instructions 
- follow a structure 

It's about thinking and perceptive - excellence @ NCEA 


#edchat 2016 Opening keynote - Rototuna Junior High School



'Pushing the boundaries of educational possibilities' 
Fraser Hill and Danielle Myburgh 


RJHS - getting the students ready for being 'emerging adolescents' 
660 - Yr7-10 - biggest opening role of a new school. 

The secondary school is being adjoining the middle school. 

Tribe: Find the perfect group for you - people who challenge and push you to go further. Be the first follower - who makes a lone nut a leader! (Derek Sivers).

Has automation affected your job? 

 Has  your job become more complex? 

We no longer know how to solve the problems that are presented to us? We can't predict the future.

What does a conference look like? It is the bridge between reality and possibilities. Diverse groups of teachers collaborate and create possibilities - for schools and beyond! 

Sustainability a key focus - recyclable everything - cups, no paper 

Met my tribe - Kereru - one is from the Game Lab - learning through gaming. Others from primary, intermediate and secondary areas. Led by Justine Hughes. 
What would be the one thing you'd like to change?