The second day (Thursday) started with some vision casting - where was this journey heading. By morning tea time it was a relief to let out that big sigh and say, "Yes! - I am working with the right people - they think like I do."
We covered a little bit of Growth Mindset...
a bit about curiousity and thinking...
and some things about trust.
It was so refreshing to talk, so early on, about trust being one of the biggest factors within a team environment. Stephen M R Covey has a book titled 'The Speed of Trust - the one thing that changes everything,' I love the second part of this book title, as having experienced a change in trust with a colleague before, I realise the significance of that statement. Ultimately now, I have grown from that situation and I know that for me building trust looks like: leading by example (showing others what trust looks like), communicating and taking ownership when it doesn't happen, building a relationship first, looking forward to improving the relationship, not back. I am so looking forward to working with this team - I truly believe that after this conversation together we are already have a high-trust dynamic.
We also had a wee look at the essence of the NZ curriculum. I think the NZ curriculum is a fantastic document and really fits with developing a whole child. My personal belief is that primary education in particular is about exposure to exposure to everything and growth of the child. This video from Julie Atkin sums it up nicely as the 'development of self.'
Dr. Julia Atkin: Expressing the essence of the NZ Curriculum from EDtalks on Vimeo.
We were asked to consider these two questions and would love to hear your responses as well: What is learning? What is my job?
We found the second one much easier to answer succinctly - to make learning happen.
Friday was another great day with the team and guest Rob Clarke who gave us a whirlwind tour of everything Google. It was fantastic to learn about the vast scope of what Google can do. Apart from lots of shortcuts and handy hints to organise emails, one of biggest take-a-ways was the power of a Google+ profile and inspiration to develop this new blog.
By the time Saturday rolled around it was definitely time for a brain break and the opportunity to make the most of this environment with a bike ride, walk, lunch out and a swim (indoor at the events centre - not quite brave enough for that lake!!).
Having mutual trust with your colleagues is paramount for success and it is pleasing to hear foundations are being built on the openness of the topic.
ReplyDeleteI myself have referred to the NZ curriculum as an amazing document for the last year and found myself trying to explain the differences between the NZ and AUS curriculums. Dr Julia Atkin explains it so well and I encountered a lightbulb moment listening to her EDtalk, it now makes more sense to why I think differently as I transition into using a totally different curriculum document.
These are big questions and my instant reaction is, how do I summarise those thoughts that sped through my mind as I read each question?
What is learning? An opportunity given to you in which at the end of the experience you gain knowledge and skills you didn't have prior to that opportunity or experience, you now know how to use the knowledge and skills for that particular opportunity or experience, and you also know what not to use about that knowledge or skill for that particular opportunity or experience,,, not an easy question to answer at all!
What is my job? Using all the adjectives that possibly describe my job: teach, inspire, empower, guide, support, encourage etc whilst creating experiences, boundaries, opportunities etc to grow great minds. And in the meantime this is all happening you are strategising, data collecting, being proactive and open minded etc to achieve the results for individuals, year levels, whole school, and department requirements!